Ritu Dalmia, entrepreneur, itinerant gourmet and consummate manager, has donned many caps in her 29 years…the current one being the ‘co-founder’ of Delhi’s latest ‘authentic Italian restaurant cum café’ Diva, and an outlet at Delhi’s Italian Embassy that exclusively caters to the demands of the diplomatic community. And then there is another outlet at 3-Cs the capital’s happening shopping mall-cum-cinema hall. What more? Perhaps a countrywide chain of Diva dens in the future. After all she has been blessed with more then her fair share of energy and enterprise.

Hailing from Calcutta, Ritu moved to Delhi when she was 8 years old. A student of Delhi’s Convent of Jesus and Mary, Ritu was often jetting off to Europe to "sell marble, source stone samples and solicit trade enquiries." Her sojourns saw her trudging across Europe with a bunch of cross-cultural companions, predominantly Italians. " Staying in their homes during my trips to Italy, I got a ‘firsthand’ peek into their lifestyle, culture and traditional cuisine".

Her soon to become indelible passion for Italian food led her to the venerated 70-year old Marchessa Anna Tasca Lanza, owner of Italy’s finest vineyards, who schooled her in the art of Sicilian cooking. Ritu in turn gave her a ‘crash chilly-laden course’ in Indian cuisine.

In 1994 influenced by ‘Italianese’ and fired by experience, Ritu, then 21, returned to Delhi to start what was possibly the city’s first Italian eatery Mezzaluna (Italian for a crescent-shaped knife with a handle on either end) in Hauz Khas Village. " It offered a Mediterranean platter, but the focus was on Italian".

Ritu fondly recalls her small but dedicated clientele who loyally trudged through dung splattered bylanes of the Village to sample cappuccino, over chess and backgammon, and oven baked garlic bread. But the small clientele wasn't enough to make ends meet. After licking her losses for two years Mezzaluna shut shop. Ritu accepts that "I misjudged the Indian palate. Back then, Indians had not been fully exposed to international cuisine and wanted the ‘tried and tested’ fare."

In 1995 Ritu stormed the gastronomical capital of the world - London - armed with the wisdom of hindsight, a battalion of seven chefs, an ardent foodie pal Andy Verma (owner of the erstwhile Duke’s Place in Delhi) and a wealth of Indian culinary tradition at her fingertips! "London was the logical choice. As the English do not really have a cuisine of their own they welcome other cultures and cuisines with open arms. And yes most English still suffer from some latter day ‘Raj’ fixation which makes them especially susceptible to all things Indian!"

A year of working at breakneck speed and backbreaking efforts to arrange permits, figure out logistics, hire staff, fire ovens, create a menu, look and ‘buzz’, often had Ritu homesick and pining for India.

In 1996, she and Andy’s Vama – The Indian Room crawled into the crowded eatery space of London’s ‘hot, happening, hyped’ Chelsea district. According to Ritu " Vama means the ‘essence of women’ in Sanskrit and is an ode to the generations of Indian women who have created, crafted and carried the wealth of Indian recipes down the ages."

They soon tasted and toasted their success when Vama ("In fact today Andy prefers calling himself Andy Vama!") was voted the ‘Best London Restaurant’ at the prestigious Carlton Awards, and won the World Food Championships held by Sir Terence Conran.

Today with its ethnic aura, and rich ochre walls adorned with sepia photographs, oil paintings and Indian artifacts Vama has acquired a substantial following amongst the ‘Chelsea hot steppers’ who love its glamorous setting, exotic cooking (North West frontier cuisine) and the bustle of its frequent, famous clientele…Martina Navratilova, Bryan Adams, Dame Maggie Smith, Rowan Atkinson, Mick Hucknall, Tony Curtis, Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber and more.

Not one to shirk from experimenting, Ritu added tandoori duck and scallops to the North Indian barbecue repertoire at Vama. "Out of 1500 Indian eateries there, around 1460 are operated by Bangladeshi families alone. In such immense competition, quality and innovation become very important. Today I can vouch that food served in Vama is better than what is served in India".

After three years and having ensured that Vama was up and running with the best, Ritu returned to India, to her first love – Italian! She and Geeta Bhalla ("the official quality control checker, food taster and arbiter on everything!") are the real ‘divas’ behind Diva, which opened last month.

A blast from the past…(think Mezzaluna!)? Partly, agrees Ritu, but a more contemporary and eclectic platter this time with English, French and Lebanese add-ons. The ‘contemporary-chrome’ minimalist Diva has off white walls, Italian marble flooring, an anytime coffee bar, table top games (chess, backgammon) and ample ‘food for thought’ – books from Ritu’s personal collection line one corner. And no there are no pizzas on the menu… " We wanted to do something deeper than the rip off pastas and pizzas that has come to mean ‘Italian’ to many Indians."

Ritu’s average working day starts at 10 a.m., finishes by 2 p.m. and has her basting butter, baking trout and barking orders. She also does a hop skip and jump every now and then to London, Italy, or wherever her fancy takes her…and shows no sign of slowing down. So much so soon and only 29! What next for this self confessed impulsive, vegetarian (surprise!) Virgo? "Who knows…right now the world is my oyster and the sky is the limit!"

How has her conservative Marwari clan reacted to her globe trotting, gourmet business ventures? " Initially I guess they were really shocked as Marwari girls have been brought up according to a very conservative code. But now they have accepted my choices. And yes they have stopped lining up merchant grooms from good Marwari families for me!"

While she is the ‘cook that stirs the Italian broth’ Ritu herself prefers to eat simple Indian food, "Familiarity breeds content not contempt in my case, so its far more fulfilling to introduce others to the marvel of Italian cuisine"

But the foundation of the business acumen and gourmet expertise of this young entrepreneur is the awareness that " When somebody walks into your restaurant, you know you have the power to make or break that person’s entire dining out experience".

Let’s raise a glass of clear sparkling Italian wine to that, to her and her tribe!