Project HUM, Bandra Pali Hill
Gastronomy meets Agronomy
to create a new Clean Culinary movement
Project Hum - the first farm-to-fork, a fast-casual experience that aims at democratizing clean food with a plateful of goodness
What we cook, where we source and how we eat has a direct impact on the health of our communities and environment. Catering to this Conscious Consumer Revolution Project Hum, aims to put food on the table with purpose while calling for greater conversations around sustainability, nutrition and local food systems.
Their collaborations are built around community-supported farming with focus on seasonality and local sourcing. with assured small distances between producers & consumers, involvement of small farmers & commitment to social, economic and environmental dimensions of sourcing, diners are a part of an alternative food system – which is the future of the culinary world.
The VTS (verify-trace-share) program, encourages customers to scan the QR code to learn about the journey of the ingredients used and the purveyors. Over the years, fast food companies have earned a bad reputation for contributing to global obesity. Other allegations include unethical treatment of animals, worker exploitation and deceitful marketing. Project Hum aims to rewrite this narrative with a culinary movement to dynamically change the way India eats, by making good clean food accessible to all.
Finding sustainable, local, organic produce, leads to tastier, healthier dishes. What healthy eating should really be is - unpretentious, organic, accessible and most importantly good, keeping one's conscience clean. Their progressive menu is a blend of global flavours with local ingredients. Buckwheat noodles served with flavours of Karnataka’s byadgi - peanut dressing, dishes like bajra-chilly and proso tabbouleh made with variations of millets sourced from tribal communities across western India, togarashi-grilled fish made with the fish of the month and locally inspired dressings like curry-leaf and solkadi vinaigrette.
Even the sides are made from scratch to ensure no compromises to the quality of the dish. Fresh-made wraps, seasonal salads, artisanal Sandwiches, wholesome bowls, fresh fro-yo, dessert toasts and more - food that is unique yet familiar, comforting yet conscious. It’s a labour of love, the 3 young founders exclaim. A journey of human spirit and conviction from farms, plantation and kitchens. Grown, harvested, reared and tempered with love and care.
The Journey of its Founders !
Three friends who met in college with a similar passion to create great experiences through food & beverages. After a fun college reunion night in March 2021, they decided to quit their jobs and create something meaningful in the farm-to-table space. Through the course of last year, they traveled to more than 6 states to build relationships and learn from farmers. Currently having a network of 60+ farmers across Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Gujarat, their produce is owned by the farmer collectives till it reaches the kitchen. Earlier this year, they also pitched the idea at the Environment & Sustainability program at Mad Academy, Copenhagen and got a scholarship to travel to Copenhagen and be part of the conference with other restaurants that work to improve farmer-restaurant relationships. Project Hum is hence their first effort to build an ecosystem of working with farmer-producer organizations and democratizing clean eating.
Raghav Simha is the co-founder & Operations head at Project Hum. After completing his Hotel Management from IHM Aurangabad, he worked under Chef Srijith Gopinathan at Taj Campton Place, San Francisco where his love for the farm-to-table movement blossomed. His passion for hospitality & fine dining took him to New York to work at the three-Michelin star restaurant, Eleven Madison Park. During his time at Eleven Madison Park, he worked in several positions in the dining room & passed his exam at the Court of Master Sommeliers. The rise of the fast-casual movement in the farm-to-table segment in the USA inspired him to come back and build an alternative supply chain for Project Hum. His learnings of community-driven hospitality are seeped into the culture of Project Hum.
Pragun Bajaj is the co-founder at Project Hum. A resident of New Delhi, he completed his school at DPS Rohini and then joined the culinary management course at IHM Aurangabad. After graduating in 2019, he worked at JW Marriott, Mumbai before becoming a part of the opening team at ITC Royal Bengal, Kolkata to work at Peshawri and Ottimo.
The dishes at Project Hum emerge from the combined love he has for cooking with fresh ingredients and sourcing from small farmer communities. He brings techniques he learned at fine-dining restaurants while following his dream of making sustainable dining more accessible. A certified trinity college certified musician, Pragun loves practicing yoga or keeping up with the latest trends in the automobile industry in his free time.
Jatin Talreja is the co-founder & business head at Project Hum. A resident of Bhopal, he spent the majority of his childhood at his family’s bakery. Driven by his love for finance and numbers, he studied commerce in school before joining the Hotel Management course at IHM Aurangabad. He worked in Food and Beverage at Sofitel BKC, Mumbai before returning to Bhopal to manage the franchisees of his family business. At Project Hum, Jatin brings his unique love for finance, marketing, and food & beverage together. On a day-off, you could find him exploring new restaurants in the city or watching the latest series on Netflix.
Concept & Design
The name, ‘Project Hum’ came from conversations about being more than just an eating joint, but instead an inclusive space that would keep growing with the movement. A name that would be reminiscent of a community that would keep on building a more holistic way of conversing around and consuming sustainable food.
The branding followed suit, earthy colours like mustard, mint, peach, saffron and blue were the primary palette chosen. The brand logo design was evocative of a stamp, giving the air of authority, with Devanagari letters as the main element to showcasing the ground level of the network that goes into building the final plate of food we consume. A leaf connected the letters, symbolising how food is what connects people and communities together. The clean, unpretentious typography celebrated the brand values of transparency, realness, and warmth.