Member Reviews
Teena i, Reviewer
Though I haven't been to any of Vikram's restaurants, I became aware of him from his stint on Dragons' Den. He seems like an interesting guy, I like reading bios and he lives in Canada.
Vikram starts his story by telling us about his upbringing in India. He didn't want to go into his father's business so ended up going to hotel management school in Austria. After that, he got a job working in a hotel in Austria where he caught the attention of a Canadian hotelier from Banff. That's what brought him to Canada as a young man and he has been here ever since. His goal was to have five businesses by the time he was fifty and he tells how he was able to do that. It wasn't always easy and it was interesting to read the behind-the-scenes experience of opening restaurants, having the vision but also of going into debt for them. He is honest about his relationships ... with his parents, his ex-wife, Meeru, and his two daughters.
As I was reading his story, I could hear Vikram's voice. As a head's up, he swears but I was okay with that. I liked the writing style and found his story interesting. While he admits he has an ego and likes attention, I think he would be fun to hang with. He sounds approachable and uses this style in his restaurant with his guests. I had seen him in the wine line at the Good Food & Drink Festival a couple years ago but assumed he wouldn't want to be bothered. After reading this book, he probably would have been okay with it.
