Lucknow’s 21-year-old makes ₹40,000 a month by selling OG Bihari food on the street, calls Chef Ranveer Brar his inspiration

One day, when Nishant Singh came back from school, he saw that there was no food prepared, no one in the kitchen, and no one around to cook either. He was just in Class 8th. 

He was famished and needed food, like any other kid coming home from school after a long day. So he took matters into his own hands. 

He started making food for himself. 

“I don’t even remember what I made,” Nishant laughs while speaking to Startup Pedia.  “But I remember how it felt. I enjoyed the process.”

That small, ordinary moment would quietly shape the rest of his life.

Today, at the age of 21, Nishant Singh runs his own growing food truck in the city of Lucknow, in the Gomti Nagar locality. Here, he serves authentic Bihari dishes like Litti Chicken and Litti Mutton. 

But the road here has been anything but smooth.

INSPIRED BY RANVEER BRAR

Nishant Singh grew up in Lucknow, in an Army household. His father retired from service and moved to Lucknow for stability. 

Nishant was enrolled in Kendriya Vidyalaya but was not exactly the studious type. 

“I didn’t feel like studying much. But food always interested me," he admits honestly. 

In Class 9th, studies got serious, and everyone around him was figuring out the next phase of their life. It was around that time that Nishant discovered the world of hospitality. He was binge-watching YouTube and came across Chef Ranveer Brar. 

He immediately became an inspiration for Nishant. 

“He’s from Lucknow. He studied from the same IHM college where I later took admission. He became my inspiration,” Nishant tells Startup Pedia in an exclusive interview. 

Therefore, he finalised his future. He wanted to study hospitality at the same institute where Chef Ranveer Brar was once enrolled. This is the Institute of Hotel Management in Lucknow.

After completing his schooling, Nishant worked hard, aced the entrance exam and secured a good rank, which eventually got him a place in the Institute of Hotel Management in Lucknow. 

But college life was not as hands-on as he had imagined. 

“Hospitality looks glamorous from the outside,” Nishant tells Startup Pedia.“But when you go inside, you understand the reality. There’s very little cooking initially. It’s more theory.

He laughs and states, “Call it the vigour of youth or just impatience, I was just trying to get through each day. It was all so boring, and I just wanted to do something hands-on.”

One day, while sitting and contemplating the next course of his life, another thought came to him, one that he had always carried but never had the means or motivation to materialise it. 

He tells Startup Pedia, “I never wanted to do a job. Since childhood, I wanted to open something of my own.”

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THE ₹1,200-A-MONTH CART 

In 2023, while still in college, Nishant Singh made a decision that shocked his family. He wanted to do something of his own, and like every Indian household, this was a cultural shock. 

He did not wait for permission; he just went ahead and rented a roadside cart at a monthly rent.

“I took it on rent for ₹1,200 per month. My family wasn’t accepting it at first," he told Startup Pedia. 

The cart used to stay parked around 3-4 kilometres from his house. Every day, he would borrow his elder brother’s car, drive to the location, set up the stall and begin cooking. 

Nishant said, “I learned driving just so I could manage everything.”

His stall served only one signature Bihari dish – Litti Chicken, a traditional dish from Bihar that is loved by people from Purvanchal. 

Nishant explained, “My fan base is from Purvanchal. They understand what Litti Chicken and Litti Mutton really mean and thus, can spot and appreciate a nicely made one.”

People started coming to his stall, and that is when Nishant started balancing college studies and the operations of the stall. 

In the morning, he would attend classes. Afternoons, he spent preparing for the stall. 

Nishant said, “I would finish college by 1PM, start prepping by 2, and reach the stall by 5 in the evening.”

For 6-8 months, things were picking up. Customers loved the authenticity. Word of mouth spread. 

At that time, Nishant was clocking daily sales of around ₹5,000-₹7,000, and the profit was approximately ₹2,000–₹3,000.

Then one night, everything disappeared.

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WHEN HIS STALL WAS STOLEN

One morning, Nishant found out that his stall had been robbed. 

“We saw everything on camera. But that didn’t change anything," he says.

For the next 9-10, Nishant had nothing to operate on and was shut down. He felt very demotivated and felt like leaving everything. 

However, it was his brother who pulled him out of this depressive episode and motivated him to give ait nother try. 

Nishant reflects, “He told me if I leave now, I’ll regret it forever.”

Instead of quitting, Nishant restarted with two simple tables and the same signature dish.

By now, his family also started to support him, as they saw his dedication and the ability to balance work and studies. 

“My family saw how hard I was working,” he says. “And then they surprised me. They bought me a food truck.”

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BALANCING COLLEGE, FAMILY, AND A DREAM

The food truck changed everything. He had flocks of customers who came to eat the authentic Bihari dishes lined up. 

He was also armed with more experience and acumen to run a stall. 

He learned how to properly curate prices for each dish. He had gained much insight into how much people are willing to pay. 

Initially, sales were only around ₹2,000–₹3,000 per day, but gradually things improved.

However, as a 20-year-old, juggling college and business wasn’t easy. Nishant mentioned that for almost  7–8 months, he had to shut the stall because managing both became impossible.

But, he didn’t let go of the vision.

After completing college in May, he restarted operations fully in October. Today, his food truck operates in Gomti Nagar, CMS Extension, Lucknow.

On weekdays, his stall sees a footfall of 50 customers, and on weekends, the number goes up to 70.

Each dish is priced at around ₹120 to ₹300, with an average price of around ₹200.

Monthly revenue currently stands at around ₹40,000, after managing staff expenses.

He is managing the food truck at a profit margin of around 19–22%

“It’s not huge yet. But it’s self-made, loved by the public, and I see a lot of potential for it to grow," he says. 

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WHY BIHARI CUISINE?

Though based in Lucknow, Nishant’s roots trace back to Ballia, near the UP-Bihar border.

Nishant explained Startup Pedia, “When I go to the village, I wake up at 5 in the morning and roam around exploring food. I love understanding local flavours.”

His dream is bigger than a stall.

“I want to open a proper Bihari cuisine restaurant in Lucknow,” he says. “There are so many dishes like Chicken Taas, Dal ke Dulhan, Dal ki Poori. These are not available anywhere.”

Nishant now plans to continue running the food truck for another year and a half while building capital and refining his menu.

He also plans to register under initiatives like Startup India to formalise and scale his venture.

“If you believe in your work, the system eventually supports you,” he concludes.