It all started in 1980, when Anup and Sadhana Nathu founded the first Tandoori Palace restaurant in Christchurch. Friends of the couple had often suggested they start an Indian restaurant and bring Christchurch what it desperately needed – an authentic restaurant offering delicious and nutritious Indian cuisine.
In opening the first Tandoori Palace restaurant, Anup brought out chefs from India to create the menu, ensuring they delivered a truly authentic Indian eating experience.
Having played cricket for New Zealand, Anup was accustomed to hard work and putting his heart and soul into what he did. After working two jobs around the clock, he left his day job to run Tandoori Palace full-time. The next few years were spent working on the shop floor, doing everything from waiting tables to washing pots. And all the time, Anup was talking to his customers and listening to what they wanted.
Jump ahead to 2011 and the business has now grown to eight Indian restaurants and takeaways in Christchurch, Queenstown and Rotorua and an authentic range of traditional Indian sauces and pastes available throughout the country.
Anup’s search for a New Zealand manufacturer with the expertise to make and market the Tandoori Palace product range led him to the family business of Barker’s in Geraldine. A joint venture was formed on a handshake, and the fact that Anup and Michael Barker worked together for a full year before any papers were signed is a true indication of their traditional business values and trust in one another.
The Tandoori Palace range is now sold in supermarkets nationwide and was recently voted ‘Most Authentic’ by other restaurateurs in a blind tasting on TV3’s Target.
The range of Simmer Sauces includes Butter Chicken, Spicy Butter Chicken, Korma, Rogan Josh, Tikka Masala and Vindaloo, together with the newly created range of pastes Tandoori, Butter Chicken and Tikka Masala.
All Tandoori Palace products are:
- 100% New Zealand made
- Gluten-free
- MSG-free
- Free from artificial colours and flavours
“We are very proud to offer truly authentic, quality Indian sauces and pastes developed by my team of Tandoori Palace restaurant chefs. We continue to receive positive feedback about how great our products taste. Our simmer sauces will help you cook tasty, healthy Indian dishes quickly and simply, and our new range of pastes will help you create versatile Indian inspired cuisine, whatever the occasion.”
Anup Nathu
Founder of Tandoori Palace