Gauri Devidayal is a law graduate from the University College London and a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants England & Wales. She pursued her career as a tax consultant with PricewaterhouseCoopers in London and Mumbai for 8 years.

After 8 years in London, Gauri returned to Mumbai where she was born and brought up. In early 2008, she met her husband, Jay Yousuf and was soon persuaded to leave the tax profession and to join him on his restaurant adventure. With no previous experience of the hospitality industry and having never dreamt of doing anything entrepreneurial, Gauri nevertheless supported Jay in creating The Table, a restaurant in South Mumbai, which has gone on to win many accolades and much recognition in the city as well as internationally. While planning the restaurant’s popular wine list, Gauri was encouraged to take on the WSET course and completed her Level III with a flying distinction. She has also been at the forefront of the farm to table initiative for the restaurant by setting up The Table Farm in Alibag, from where the restaurant gets much of its fresh produce.

Gauri has also co-founded Magazine Street Kitchen, a culinary playground for intimate dinners, cooking workshops and more, housed in a restored heritage structure, in Byculla - a space that has already created an unparalleled buzz within the food community. The Kitchen is also the base for the wholesale and retail bakery – Mag St. Bread Co. Most recently, Gauri partnered with the team from Neighbourhood Hospitality (Woodside Inn, The Pantry & Bombay Vintage) to open Miss T, a South East Asian restaurant and cocktail lounge in Colaba.

Gauri, now 37 and currently living with her husband and 4 year old daughter, Dia, is a full time hands-on restaurateur and mother and handles both roles with equal enthusiasm. She was recently listed in GQ’s list of the 50 Most Influential Young Indians as well as BlackBook’s Top 50 Women in Indian Luxury.

Jay, a graduate in Computer Engineering from the University of Illinois in Texas, spent the first 10 years of his career working with various telecoms companies including NEC America, Siemens and Motorola. Although he was predominately based in the US in cities such as Chicago, Dallas Miami and Philadelphia, he also worked overseas in Munich and Tokyo. In 1997, Jay founded his own company - Communication Methods - the largest authorised distributor for Nortel Networks in northern California and Miami, Florida.

After spending 23 years in the US, Jay finally returned to India in 2007. Having had the opportunity to live and work abroad, and experience a variety of cuisines and restaurants, Jay’s passion for exceptional food made him realise that there was a need for a high quality and innovative fine dining venue in Mumbai. This inspired him to fulfil his dream of opening his own restaurant and having lived in San Francisco for 14 years, he wanted to bring a taste of the city’s distinctive food culture back with him to Mumbai. Five years down the line, The Table with its fresh Californian inspired menu has gone on to win many accolades and much recognition in the city as well as internationally.

Jay has also co-founded Magazine Street Kitchen along with Gauri, a culinary playground for intimate dinners, cooking workshops and more, housed in a restored heritage structure, in Byculla - a space that has already created an unparalleled buzz within the food community. The Kitchen is also the base for the wholesale and retail bakery – Mag St. Bread Co. Most recently, Jay partnered with the team from Neighbourhood Hospitality (Woodside Inn, The Pantry & Bombay Vintage) to open Miss T, a South East Asian restaurant and cocktail lounge in Colaba.