In a quirky street in Brighton, behind the bright blue shopfront of Manju’s Restaurant, one of the oldest chefs in the world is hard at work. But Manju Patel doesn’t do it alone. Alongside are Manju’s sons, daughters-in-law and grandchildren, sharing cooking knowledge between them in this multi-generational vegetarian restaurant.
Every dish on the menu is cooked with Manju’s daughter-in-law and head chef Dipali, a highly trained chef, born and raised in Gujarat.
Manju says, “When I was 12 and living in Uganda, my father passed away and I was taught to cook by my mother, who was an amazing cook. To bring money in, I made 35 tiffns [portable homemade lunches] a day, helping support my family.”
It planted a seed to one day have a restaurant of her own. Later, Manju
