unpacking Manjit’s secrets

Secrets of the Tandoor’ sounds like a perfect name for an Indian cookbook.

‘But Michael Cain’s book is about a tandoor of secrets, more precisely Manjit’s Tandoor of Secrets. Much more than a cookbook, it is the story of a charismatic family’s food-based enterprise.

The family of course, is Manjit’s. Not the restaurant in this case, but the restaurateur. Because that’s how they are known in Sydney’s Indian community - not, as you would expect, as ‘the Gujrals’ which is their family name.

The book presents the secrets behind some of the fine offerings you might have enjoyed at the iconic restaurant brand. It also chronicles the life and experiences of the family behind the brand – Manjit, Kanwal and the boys Deep and Varun.

That the family is not backward in coming forward we’ve already seen in a previous presentation (the SBS documentary Turban Legends). This book by Michael Cain builds further on the life experiences and business adventures of Manjit’s family.

As migrants in a new land, the challenges faced by Kanwal and Manjit are well documented through stories of their early struggles. Neither came from a food background, we learn, but followed Manjit’s brothers Amar and Surjit who were already in the industry here.

It wasn’t easy work, and it nearly prompted them to pack up and leave. But they persevered, with that stubborn determination that makes up the ‘migrant mentality’. Early discrimination also taught some valuable lessons, especially to a young Deep who was bullied on the first day of school because he wore a patka (Sikh head covering).

Cain describes poignantly how the fiveyear-old would resolve this trauma years later by developing a sense of humour.

These are but some of the stories that will resonate with migrant Australians as they settle their children in a new country.

As Cain takes us through the evolution of the Manjit brand, from the first restaurant to another, to two more outside of Sydney, from a popular catering business to a fully fledged events management company, and finally to an exclusive restaurant in the