this one is for our first week regulars

it feels surreal - we've been planning this for so long and now it is real. very real.

every day, Moolita and R2D2 make batches of fresh wholemeal rotis/chapatis. No E22, no preservatives period. just fresh bread. that's why our mooli's are so light - of course, the salsas, apple, mixed salad all play their part but without fresh bread, a mooli wouldn't be a mooli. it also explains why on a Saturday morning after eating mooli's all week, both Mathew and i wanted to eat a mooli rather than go to PRET. i remember Phil saying 'mooli's are finding it difficult not to eat all the stock themselves.'

sometime last week, seeing the rotis puffing up at 50 Frith Street made me think of the people and the places which got us here. Dodie Miller (Cool Chile Company, Taqueria) who first gave us the idea (through Lupita RIP), inspired us and showed us it could be done. Richard Gonzalez (BE&SCO) who went out of his way to make me chapatis in San Antonio, Texas and help us develop our recipe. the countless artists who make roomali rotis in Delhi and Lucknow every day. Swami ji at the BAPS temple in Neasden who was kind enough to let us see Moolita's sister. Jack Sharkey at Vision Kitchens who managed to find R2D2 for us. And, of course, Raju our head chef and mooli master who makes amazing roomali rotis himself and who reassured Mathew and me that we could do it (he now says that R2D2 and Moolita would give any Michelin starred chef a real run for his or her money).

we've had an incredible first week. there have been many highlights but the most amazing thing for us has been how quickly the locals have adopted us. and how often they are coming back for mooli's (and yes, mooli's are liberal with their use of apostrophes). a big thank you to all of you. we are really touched. amidst firefighting (building issues, credit card machines, broadband, the beef didn't come today! etc.) and accounting, it is good to be reminded what mooli's is about. good food.

so this one is for all our regulars (i'm sorry if i forgot any names or people - this week has been a whirlwind): our neighbour from Tapestry who has eaten 3 chicken mooli's, the Jersey boys who come every single day before the show starts, the vegetarian motorcycle courier guys (thank you Alan!), Andy who came in Thursday 5pm, Thursday 9.30pm and Friday 2.30pm, David from Bincho Yakitori who loves the paneer mooli, the hairdressers from Fordham Soho on Greek Street, the guys from Karaoke Box and many others whose conversation we have enjoyed and whose faces we remember.