How Nitin Bhogale And Arati Bhogale Won Over The Cricket Team India In Australia In 1992

The World Cup was being played in Australia. Sachin Tendulkar wanted their amti bhaat in Australia. Wasim Akram, careful with his diabetes, still gave in to their gulab jamuns. Harsha Bhogle didn’t just eat — he sat, spoke, and became a fan of Arati Bhogale's home cooking, and still calls Nitin Bhogale his “brother from another mother.” Ultraman and Force One Chief ADG Krishna Prakash credits his diet during the gruelling and physically draining endurance Ultraman competition to the way they ensured his demanding diet was catered for throughout. These are not endorsements. These are habits that stayed. That is the difference. Meet Nitin Bhogale and Arati Bhogale — culinarians who did not just cook for people, but became a part of their routine, their memory, their comfort. And today, after decades abroad, Nitin Bhogale and Arati Bhogale are back in India. Not louder. Not larger. Just clearer.

The Way They Work

Spend ten minutes with Nitin Bhogale and Arati Bhogale and you understand something quickly. They don’t romanticise food. They respect it. There is no over-explaining. No performance. Just clarity. Food must be fresh. Cooked fresh. Served fresh. Nothing carried forward. No shortcuts. No confusion. It sounds simple. It isn’t. It takes discipline. And they have lived by it.

The Beginning

The story goes back to IHM Mumbai. 1977. Two students. Same classroom. Same grind. By 1980, Nitin Bhogale and Arati Bhogale stepped into an industry that tests you before it rewards you. After tying the knot came responsibility — of a child within a matter of two years. Nitin Bhogale went on a solo assignment to Kuwait to set up an Oberoi property. Back home, Arati Bhogale held everything together. She took on two jobs. Simultaneously, she worked with ITC Welcomgroup and continued her association with IHM Mumbai as a faculty member, maintaining her unbroken journey in hospitality. Not out of ambition. Out of responsibility. And through it all, she kept one thing alive — their shared dream of giving their child a better life. It was this same dream that took them to Australia.

The Move That Changed Everything

In 1990, Nitin Bhogale and Arati Bhogale moved to Brisbane. With a young child. With uncertainty. Australia was in recession. Jobs were not waiting. There is a silence in a new country when you have to begin again. They felt it. But they did not stay in it. Within two days, Nitin Bhogale found his footing at Sheraton Brisbane. While Nitin Bhogale held the kitchen at Sheraton, Arati Bhogale held the ground to lay the foundation of a stronger base for their son Karan, now all of five. Between 1990 and 2002, Arati Bhogale also set up and operated a food production line, supplying to Sheraton, Hilton, ANA and the Queensland Parliament House, among others. She built stability where there was none. She created rhythm in a new country. That balance defined them.

Where It Began to Change

At Sheraton Brisbane, something unexpected happened. It was the Indian cricket team that found its way to Nitin Bhogale. Long tours do that. Even the best hotel menus start feeling distant. What they miss is not variety. It is familiarity. Nitin Bhogale understood that. He began sending simple Indian meals to their rooms. Not elaborate. Not hotel-style. Just correct. Food that tasted like it should. And slowly, the distance reduced. At the hotel, it was the Indian team. At home, the circle widened. That is where the real connection began.

When Work Crossed Into Life

Then came the shift. Food moved from the kitchen to the house. Arati Bhogale stepped in. And the Bhogale home became something else. Not a restaurant. Not a service. A space. Where players came in, sat without formality, ate without hesitation. One day, someone asked if he could have his kit washed at their place. Arati Bhogale nodded. What arrived was an entire team. Jerseys. Socks. Whites. Pads. The backyard turned into a drying ground. Arati Bhogale and Karan sat guard, watching over the clothes. Not out of obligation. Out of responsibility. If something went missing, their players would not have their kits. And through it all, the couple did not charge a single penny. For them, it was never a service. It was their home team. And they were welcoming them home — in every sense.

The Restaurants That Followed

Recognition did not come chasing noise. It came looking for them. Nitin Bhogale and Arati Bhogale were headhunted for The Banyan Tree. Then they started their own — The Indus Indian Restaurant in Paddington. The menus were tailored. Guests could choose ingredients and curry flavours from a generous array of options. The chefs would then dish out a fresh, exclusive preparation. This was something no restaurant offered then. A unique menu choice meant the food would be inevitably freshly cooked from fresh ingredients, and the chefs were clear — what was used would be used only that day. The Bhogale restaurant journey grew with more Indus Indian Restaurants.

Growing Without Changing

The iconic Indo-Chinese Desi Dragon followed. And then came The Kali Gourmet Restaurant. Different spaces. Same truth.

What People Remember

Years later, Harsha Bhogle came on a tour organised by the Australian government. Among the restaurants was The Kali Gourmet Restaurant. He had never been there earlier. He had been served at the Sheraton by Nitin Bhogale, and treated to food in their home with love. But now it was another restaurant, another menu — decades later. Yet, it still tasted of something bigger than the curry as the ingredient. It had a generous dollop of love, affection, and Indianness, even in a distant country like Australia. He kept coming back through the tour — already calling Nitin Bhogale his “brother from another mother.”

Full Circle

In 1990, Nitin Bhogale and Arati Bhogale moved to Australia when Karan was five. Today, Karan’s daughter is five. Karan is settled with his wife Jotika. Life has come full circle. And now, they are back. To cook. To build. To create.

The couple is focused on mentoring, consulting and rebuilding the narrative around Indian cuisine with honesty and integrity. 

Through culinary consultancy, chef training and projects like The Gourmet Food Atlas, they are helping shape a new generation that respects roots while thinking globally. Their work now feels less like business and more like legacy — a quiet yet powerful reminder that true success is not about changing your identity to fit the world, but about making the world appreciate where you come from.

Arati Bhogale: The Quiet Strength

If Nitin Bhogale held the kitchen, Arati Bhogale held everything else. And that is what stayed.

And That Is What Stays

A plate that feels right. A memory that doesn’t leave. That is what Nitin Bhogale and Arati Bhogale built.

Published on: Friday, May 08, 2026, 12:43 PM IST