Analjit Singh and Chef Ritu Dalmia now partners in DIVA Restaurants

Piveta Estates Pvt. Ltd, a private venture of Max Group’s Founder and Chairman Emeritus, Analjit Singh, has announced its intent to purchase 51 per cent shares in celebrity Chef Ritu Dalmia’s Riga Foods.
Riga Foods owns and operates a successful chain of Italian-cuisine restaurants in the Delhi/NCR region as well as a catering service under the DIVA brand name.
The investment by Piveta Estates will be utilised towards expansion efforts, across India, as well as internationally. The company’s international expansion plans are aligned with the growing private hospitality footprint of Analjit Singh, currently targeting markets such as South Africa and the UK.
Among his private businesses, Singh has significant interests in lifestyle-related ventures in the Western Cape, South Africa, pertaining to viticulture, wine-making and hospitality under the brand name Leeu Collection. In the UK, he acquired the Linthwaite House, a boutique luxury hotel at Windermere earlier this year, his first such investment in the region.
Commenting on the investment, Singh said, “We are happy to partner with Ritu Dalmia, who is among India’s leading chefs and has consistently demonstrated year on year profitable growth. We intend to be a strategic investor, guiding the organisation through its expansion efforts, both in India and abroad.”
READ MORE: Ritu Dalmia: The Quintessential Italian ‘Diva’ and her kitchen secrets
Riga Foods was established by chef Ritu and Gita Bhalla in 2000, with the launch of its first restaurant DIVA in a prime south Delhi locale, and has been a leading F&B  brand over the years.
While Piveta Estates has purchased a controlling stake in the company, management control will reside with Dalmia. This is the first round of funding for the company.
Founder, DIVA Restaurants, Ritu Dalmia said, “We are excited about the investment by Analjit Singh. After 16 years of being one of the front-runners in Italian cuisine, DIVA Restaurants is ready for its next stage of evolution. This investment will provide a strong fillip to our expansion plans over the next few years.”
The Indian food industry is estimated at US$ 100 billion. Within this, the organised sector is expected to grow at 16 per cent CAGR to US$ 28 billion, in the next 5 years.