Nandini Vaidyanathan and Dominique Fieux: From Tinder to Concoctions

(Aug 9, 2026) What began with a Tinder connection during the Covid-19 pandemic has grown into a partnership blending Indian entrepreneurship, French culinary traditions, travel and a shared love for discovery. Entrepreneurship mentor Nandini Vaidyanathan and Michelin-starred French chef Dominique Fieux now run Concoctions, their culinary passion project in Bengaluru.

In the middle of the Covid-19 pandemic, Nandini Vaidyanathan connected with Dominique Fieux on Tinder. Sparks flew, and perhaps it was their common love for food that saw them come together. Soon, the couple started creating magic in the kitchen. What makes their story particularly interesting is how differently they arrived at that shared space. Nandini came from two decades of corporate life across 63 countries before turning to entrepreneurship education and mentoring, while Dominique had spent five decades mastering the craft of cooking. Together, their contrasting worlds would eventually find a meeting point in Concoctions, an open-air Indo-French eatery in Jaipur.

The couple later relocated and transitioned away from owning the traditional commercial restaurant format. They now operate an exclusive, highly personalized private dining and custom six-course French vegetarian supper club experience hosted directly out of their home in Bengaluru, continuing the Concoctions culinary concept on an intimate, reservation-only basis.

Their journey to Concoctions, however, began very differently.

 

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Two very different journeys

Nandini was born and brought up in Bangalore and has a pre-doctorate from the Delhi School of Economics. Dominique was born in France, in the Jura region near the Swiss border. He was drawn to cooking from a very young age. After training at a hospitality school, he entered the culinary world to build his career.

For Nandini, the path could easily have led to academia.

“I wanted to be in academics and research, as I was a painfully shy, gawky, socially ill-adapted youngster. Nose in books. Zero physical activity. Word was my world, as Iris Murdoch would say. I came into corporate after abandoning my Ph.D. programme. Rs 300 annual scholarship v/s Rs 1800 salary per month in my first corporate job made the decision for me,” recalls Nandini in a chat with The Global Indian.

After 20 years in the corporate sector, living and working out of 63 countries in MNCs, she returned to India, as her father had Parkinson’s disease.

“I started teaching entrepreneurship and mentoring entrepreneurs, and it has been nearly 15 years now as a teacher and mentor. I have mentored over 6000 entrepreneurs across the globe,” she adds.

Dominique, on the other hand, started working in kitchens at a very young age, as he was someone who always wanted to learn and discover new things. Incidentally, this year marks his golden jubilee in the kitchen as he completes 50 years of cooking.

“Driven by a desire to constantly expand my knowledge, I frequently changed employers and regions to master as many specialities as possible. With a competitive spirit, I participated in various national and international culinary competitions. While I never sought to work in famous restaurants simply to apprentice under renowned chefs, I never hesitated to seek their advice to gain as much knowledge as I could. Working abroad is a dream for any chef—an opportunity to discover new techniques and flavours while representing French gastronomy,” he adds.

Learning from countries and cultures

Having worked across countries and cultures, both have interesting takes on their experiences. For Nandini, they come down to two simple philosophies in life. “My tomorrow should be better than my yesterday. And every country and city has good and bad. Learn to enjoy the good and ignore the bad,” she remarks.

For Dominique, discovering Indian cuisine marked a turning point in his professional life. “First, I encountered vegetarian cooking, omnipresent in India, unlike in France, where it remains relatively rare. I had to learn everything about crafting menus that were not only appealing but also nutritionally balanced. Eliminating eggs from my pastries was one of my greatest challenges, as I wanted to share French pastry with the widest possible audience. Indian cuisine is deeply rooted in a culture that differs vastly from France’s; our perspectives on food, including the significance of the meal itself, the way we dine, and even how we host guests, are completely different,” he explains.

I am fortunate to have Nandini as a valuable partner who introduces me to India every day, not just its geography but also its culture, religion, and cuisine. I am a thoroughly fulfilled explorer.

Dominique Fieux

Indian roots meet Western management

The cultural exchange also shaped Nandini’s approach to leadership. While she is very rooted in Indian culture in her style of leadership, the Western influences on her have been in terms of attention to detail, contracts, compartmentalisation between personal and professional, and the ability to take risks.

“I have learnt that democratic leadership is not about doing what everyone in the team wants you to do; it is about hearing out the opinions and, based on that, taking a decision that seems right to me under the circumstances, based on my knowledge and experience,” she says.

Dominique has a different lesson from his experience of entering new countries and cultures. “When arriving in a new country, the first step is to observe, to understand. You must take the time to look around and analyse everything. Above all, however, you must acknowledge that you know nothing about the country and its culture,” he says. “The only assets you possess are the skills and knowledge gained through your years of experience; this is your sole strength for achieving success. You must realise that, to succeed, you cannot impose anything; you can only make recommendations.”

How Concoctions came to life

Their foray into the restaurant business was also serendipitous. Nandini always loved cooking but was not a trained cook and did not like to cook with a recipe.

I have wanted to open a restaurant called Concoctions for the last 20-odd years, but since I am not trained, I did not know whether customers would pay for my kind of concoction. But when I met Dominique on Tinder in 2020, and his profile said he was a Michelin Star chef, I right-swiped him because I thought he would make an honest cook of me. So, we opened a restaurant called Concoctions in Jaipur in a beautiful haveli with 50 plus covers. And we were an instant hit.

Nandini Vaidyanathan

For Dominique, the restaurant became an opportunity to share the knowledge and experience he had accumulated over five decades in the kitchen. 

I realised very early on that quality was the top priority in this field, not just the quality of ingredients used in the kitchen but also the quality of the work, the guest welcome, and the service. It is through all this that one can eventually become a Michelin-starred chef. I like to say that you don’t simply ‘become’ a Michelin-starred chef; you are one at heart.

Dominique Fieux

That philosophy also led him to establish his consulting company in India.

“I founded my company in India, ‘D Fieux Consulting Private Limited’, to inspire a passion for quality. Our ‘Experience Concoctions’ is our way of sharing who we are and our professional journeys, while also using the special setting of our beautiful home for lunch to tell the story of a culture and a mindset,” says Fleux.

Finding common ground in the kitchen

Building a restaurant together was not without its challenges. The biggest challenge was working with Dominique, whose idea of a restaurant was very different from Nandini’s.

“He was all about processes, authenticity, and French ways of doing things. I was a creative cook who took pride in crafting dishes on the fly. It took us almost a year to arrive at a meeting point,” she admits.

Their differences, however, also became an opportunity to learn from each other. When Dominique started his career, communication was not a priority for businesses. Too often, chefs would work on new recipes without wanting to share them, fearing that others might steal their ideas.

 

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“A cook knew how to perform the required tasks, but it was difficult to learn new skills. To overcome this, I always asked plenty of questions, believing there is no such thing as a stupid question. Whenever I was asked if I knew something, I would always answer ‘no’ so that I might receive a different answer than the one I already knew,” mentions Dominique.

Humility, he says, has always been part of his approach. “Even when I was an executive chef, I never hesitated to seek out a more experienced chef to ask for advice,” he recalls.

Lessons for aspiring entrepreneurs and chefs

For young people who want to become entrepreneurs and chefs, their advice is simple: just do it. “Become. Don’t just talk because it is glamorous. Communication is now the priority for the smooth running of a business. An entrepreneur can no longer go in alone to successfully carry out a project. Keep an open mind,” say the duo.

Their approach to entrepreneurship reflects the same willingness to learn that has shaped both their careers. For Nandini, it is about bringing together the strengths of different cultures and experiences.

Life beyond work

Outside work, the couple share a common interest in mountain climbing, trekking and off-roading with their puppies, Iris and Neige, and are self-confessed fitness buffs. For Dominique, life in India has also become another chapter in his long journey of exploration.

Nandini is the author of three books, two on entrepreneurship and one on cooking. The couple climbed Kilimanjaro last October, and their book on leadership lessons from their Kilimanjaro expedition will be published in the first week of September.

Staying curious until the last ball

As they look ahead, the couple remain positive about both work and life. Their philosophy is perhaps best captured in the advice they offer to others:

“Stay at the crease fitfully until the last ball. Never go to sleep at night without the certainty of having learnt something new during the day, until our dying day,” they advise.

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