Tendulkar serves it up

Guests have no doubt about who the owner is

By Sanjeev Srivastava BBC correspondent in Mumbai

The world's greatest batsman and India's biggest icon, Sachin Tendulkar, now has his country eating out of his hands.

Almost every aspect of the restaurant has been selected by him

Restaurant partner Sanjay Narang

He has just opened a restaurant in an upmarket location in his home town of Mumbai, formerly known as Bombay.

Simply called Tendulkar's, it serves his favourite food from around the world, plays his favourite music and sports an ambience chosen by the man himself.

Tendulkar's name is commercially valuable

At a recent opening, the master blaster practiced a different stroke - playing host to cricketing greats like Shane Warne and Carl Hooper.

In a cricket crazy country where Tendulkar is revered by millions, this is the closest one can get to him.

Star flavour

They may even get to know the man behind the star, according to Sanjay Narang, Sachin's partner in the restaurant business.

"Almost every aspect of the restaurant has been selected by him," says Mr Narang.

Tendulkar's menu

Lobster thermidor

Lobster spaghetti

Fried Bombay duck

Phad Thai noodles

Cheesecake

"He has played a role in everything, whether it be selection of cutlery, crockery, design of uniforms, interior design, the menu - it's all about the foods which he likes."

The restaurant sports a minimalist, Scandinavian look and can seat about 250 people.

A table at the centre seats 11 and is called The Oval.

'Great eating place'

Some of the cricket star's favourite mementoes are on display, including a jersey presented to him by Michael Schumacher and autographed cricket stumps from the recently concluded cricket series in England.

It was sheer talent, grit, courage and tenacity and performance to get to where he's got to

Prahlad Kakkar,
film maker

There is even a special children's section.

The menu features a mix of seafood, Thai and Italian food.

On Tendulkar's insistence, the chefs visited the Signor Sassi restaurant in London and learnt how to cook lobster spaghetti and lobster thermidor.

They also visited Tendulkar's mother for her recipe of fried Bombay duck.

"It's his version of what a great eating place should be," says Sanjay Narang,

Tendulkar - the brand

Over the years Sachin Tendulkar has become India's most valued brand, endorsing everything from tyres to toothpastes and cars to credit cards.

The success of Tendulkar as a brand is not just because he is a great cricketer.

"Sachin is really one of the few role models we have in this country who's done whatever he has done against great odds with no stigma at all," says Prahlad Kakkar, a film maker who has directed many of Tendulkar's commercials.

Tendulkar is deeply involved in the project

"He's come from a lower middle class background with no political or other contacts.

"It was sheer talent, grit, courage and tenacity and performance to get to where he's got to."

Cricket is such a passion for many in India that days are just not long enough to play the game.

The sport is also amongst the few unifying factors in a country otherwise divided by regional, sectarian and caste considerations.

Cricket is now seen as something that can provide some people an opportunity to strike it really big, like Sachin Tendulkar.

Back in the kitchen at Tendulkar's the staff prepares for a busy evening at an exclusive party for all those associated with brand Sachin.

And the good times will not end till the master blaster successfully carries on his shoulders the hopes and aspirations of a nation of more than one billion people.