June 9, 2025: Gauri Khan’s upscale Mumbai restaurant Torii made headlines earlier this year when a content creator accused the establishment of using “fake paneer” in its dishes. The viral video showed iodine-stained cottage cheese, prompting widespread speculation about food quality at the celebrity-owned eatery.
Months after the controversy, Torii’s head chef Stefan Gadit is looking back with a surprising perspective. In a recent interview, Gadit revealed that the incident had a positive impact on their business rather than harming it.
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“It actually helped us. It brought more attention and curiosity. People realized that our quality is top-notch. We had nothing to hide, and the food chemistry involved is often misunderstood,” said Gadit.
Clarifying the viral iodine test, he added, “The test was not a reliable indicator of paneer authenticity. The soy-based ingredients in the dish can cause such a reaction. The creator acted with good intentions, but the science was misunderstood.”
Interestingly, the chef also shared that his own social media following increased because of the attention: “I got 20-30 new followers on Instagram. So, honestly, it was a blessing in disguise.”
The content creator, Sarthak Sachdeva, eventually deleted the controversial video, and Torii had already addressed the issue at the time. Their statement read: “The iodine test reflects the presence of starch, not the authenticity of paneer… We stand by the purity of our ingredients.”
Torii opened its doors on Valentine’s Day last year, attracting Bollywood’s elite like Sussanne Khan, Maheep Kapoor, Bhavana Pandey, Neelam Kothari, and Seema Sajdeh at its launch.