By Piya Singh, Founder – Mestizo
Women’s Day around the corner, I often find myself reflecting not just on milestones, but on the quiet courage it takes to begin.
My journey began with a dream, a dream of creating a space where cultures could meet across a table, where stories could be told through flavours, and where people could feel connected beyond borders. Long before I took the entrepreneurial plunge with Mestizo now a leading Latin dining destination in Delhi, this dream lived quietly, yet firmly, in my imagination.
My story did not start in a restaurant kitchen. It began in classrooms far away from Delhi. At the University of Warwick’s Warwick Business School, where I pursued Business Management, I became fascinated by strategy and enterprise. I learned how businesses scale, how brands differentiate, and how leadership shapes outcomes.
Later, while pursuing my Master’s in Global Media and Communications at SOAS, University of London, my perspective deepened. I began to understand how stories shape perception and how hospitality is not merely food service, but storytelling through flavour, music, design, and shared experiences.
Even as I studied growth models and business frameworks, I carried within me the dream of building something of my own a place that would feel alive, welcoming, and meaningful. That dream would one day take shape as Mestizo.
Learning Before Leading
But dreams alone do not build businesses.
Determined to gain hands-on experience, I stepped into the world of operations as Director at Ashtan Sarovar Portico. There, I experienced first-hand the inner workings of the hospitality sector. I learned that excellence is built quietly in the background through coordination, communication, consistency, and attention to detail.
Taking responsibility early on, I worked closely with multiple teams to refine operations and strengthen guest engagement. Over time, I helped turn the property around to consistently achieve full occupancy, while establishing transparent systems and processes that ensured sustained excellence.
There were moments of self-doubt. As a young woman entering a demanding professional space, I sometimes felt the need to prove myself twice as much. I remember questioning, “Will I be able to do it?” But instead of allowing doubt to define me, I chose to commit fully to learning, observing, and growing, trusting that every experience was preparing me for something larger.
That preparation was tested when I launched Mestizo.
Introducing a Latin culinary experience in Delhi was not conventional within the city’s dining landscape. Blending the flavours of 22 Latin American countries with the vibrancy of India was even more ambitious. There were operational complexities, logistical hurdles, and quiet scepticism about my readiness, my experience, and the scale of my ambition.
But by then, I understood something important: challenges do not block your path; they build your capacity.
I chose to give more research, more resilience, more belief. I immersed myself in culinary traditions, engaged with chefs from around the world, and studied the cultural depth behind every dish we served. Along the way, I trusted my team, empowered creativity, and focused on building not just a restaurant, but an experience.
Today, Mestizo stands as one of Delhi’s leading food and beverage destinations, a living expression of a dream that once existed only in my imagination.
Leading in the food and beverage industry as a woman has shaped me profoundly. Strength, I have learned, does not always look loud. Often, it is persistence. It is the courage to rebuild. It is the quiet conviction to believe in your dreams even when they feel unfamiliar to others.
On this Women’s Day, I celebrate not just my journey, but the journeys of countless women who dare to build in spaces where they are still emerging as leaders. The encouragement of mentors, the trust of my team, and the unwavering support of my family and peers remind me every day that no dream is built alone. Their belief strengthened mine and shaped my understanding of leadership.
Looking back, I realise that when we give wholeheartedly to our craft, to our convictions, and to our purpose what comes back is not just success, but transformation. The more I invested in my dream, the more I expanded my capacity to lead and uplift.
To every woman striving toward her dreams, I want to say “Embrace every challenge, trust your journey, and never underestimate the power of your effort and resilience. It is in giving that you truly gain your becoming.” this is my story. And it is still unfolding.
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