We recently connected with Shachi Mehra and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Shachi , appreciate you sitting with us today to share your wisdom with our readers. So, let’s start with resilience – where do you get your resilience from?
Difficult times and challenges in life often give us the opportunity to foster resilience. Personally, having been through hardships and struggle in my early life, I learned to persevere and thrive – I believed that that was the only way through. When I started to recognize this attitude as resilience in myself, I began to identify the qualities that helped me be flexible and strong. One of the most important factors in my journey has certainly been my relationships and the people around me that have helped me get through dark times.
Please move this sentence to new paragraph. Gratitude and acceptance of change are a couple of others that are vital. A few years ago, I did an exercise where I wrote down three things I was grateful for every night, before bed. Sometimes it was as simple as seeing a hummingbird in the garden. I didn’t recognize the impact this would have for me long term, but it helped me be grateful, always. I am now able to appreciate even the smallest things and don’t take anything for granted.
Accepting that change will happen (and should happen) has been important to my growth as well. I recognize and remind myself that in many situations, the only thing I can control is my own reaction. This allows me to accept what’s happening and be able to find a different, more positive way of looking at it.
Through difficult times and issues, I have fostered my resilience and continue to do so everyday.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
As a chef, my career has been focused on sharing the magic of Indian flavors with as many people as possible. At ADYA, my restaurant in Anaheim, CA, we are approaching our 10 year anniversary in 2024 and with that we are celebrating all the flavors of Indian Street Food and the remarkable produce available here in California. Our menu celebrates all the favorites, like Chicken Tikka Masala and Garlic Naan and also has creative mashups like our famous CTM Burrito.
I am proud to have been at the forefront of changing perceptions around Indian food in Orange County and with our current location we are thrilled to introduce Indian flavors to so many guests from across the country and world on a daily basis.
My quest to share Indian spices and flavors continued with the launch of Shachi’s Spice Girl Sauces in 2021. We currently have an Original Hot Sauce and a Tomato Chutney available online and in local stores. Both, the Hot Sauce and Chutney can be used to elevate every day foods – from pizza to stir-frys, burritos to mac and cheese. This year we’re working on expanding our product line with more chutneys and sauces and will soon be found in your local grocery store!
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
Confidence. It can take time to build confidence, it certainly did for me. I worked on my confidence with the help of people around me who believed in me, by celebrating all my wins (even the very small ones), and reminding myself often of my journey and how much I’ve already accomplished. A little confidence can be nurtured and grown in to a shining light that helps overcome challenges.
Ability to take risks. As an entrepreneur, our ability to assess and take risks is one of the things that sets us apart. Its the taking of risks and managing and learning from them that moves us upward and forward.
Flexibility. I have learned that as a chef, restaurateur and founder of a growing CPG business, one thing that is key to my success is being flexible and nimble. It’s important to assess where we are, what our consumer wants, how do we get to where we want to be – in these decisions, it’s been vital that we are agile and quick in making changes when necessary. There have certainly been times when what I had envisioned was not what was happening and when we were quick to recognize and make changes, we have found success.
How can folks who want to work with you connect?
I’m always looking for folks to partner and collaborate with – chefs, restaurants and food and drink businesses. I have done collab dinners with other chefs, creating menus that artfully marry both our strengths to create one of a kind experiences. I have also partnered with a local bakery to create pastries to celebrate Diwali – french style pastries with Indian flavors. There are also opportunities to pair Shachi’s Spice Girl Sauces products with existing menu items or create completely new ones. We have done a pizza collab in the past and are open to delicious opportunities.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.adyaoc.com, spicegirlsauces.com
- Instagram: @adyaoc, @spicegirlsauces, @chefshachimehra
- Facebook: @adyaorangecounty, @spicegirlsauces, @shachimehra
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shachimehra/
