The food and beverage industry is witnessing a drastic change in the world and India too doesn’t seem far behind. India has a rich food culture. A ‘pan’, a dessert made in betel leaf which is good for digestion is a typical Indian dessert. However, rarely we find someone going out of the box and experimenting with it. In fact, very few are up for a pan nowadays after a meal. The most experimentation seen with a pan is chocolate pan.

Pune now welcomes a new outlet which is a part of the 42 year long legacy by Kolhapur’s Ghalsasi family. Started as a small shop, Ruchi Banquets now look at an expanding business over Kolhapur, Mumbai, Pune and Goa with even a few international orders. Dnyaneshwari and Kavita Ghalsasi started this business as new, innovative desserts in a party.  Betel Leaf, the franchise owned by Rahul Jakhotia, Rajesh Vete and Ashish Patil was recently inaugurated in Pune. Currently, Betel Leaf, the Pune franchise of Ruchi Banquets hosts about 400 variants of pan along with the traditional pan with the client having the freedom to choose the sauce and toppings on them. The pan variants inlcude pan shots, pani puri pan, blueberry pan, white chocolate pan, fresh fruit pan. In some cases, they have redefined the structure of a pan, with fresh fruit, cheese slices, etc replacing the traditional betel leaf.

Vikrant Ghalsasi said while explaining the concept of opening a franchise in Pune, “We wanted the Puneites to get an experience of our pan variants in Kolhapur. To make certain that this franchise is a part of our effort to reinstate the image of pan as a dessert, we ship pan from Kolhapur on a daily basis to our franchise shop. This ensures that we are delivering the actual taste of pan from Kolhapur.”

Rahul Jakhotia said that “One day while tasting the ‘Pan’, I randomly thought that making this pan available for the public in Pune would be an amazing idea and soon we worked on the details about opening up a franchise in Pune. This is a unique concept and this franchise is not just a regular pan shop; it is basically a dessert shop”

All of these variants are tobacco, catechu and lime free. Orders are taken via WhatsApp and Facebook.