The social network: Advantage expat

A privilege programme offers expats in Delhi new and reliable ways to explore the city.

Earlier this year, Jeff Collier, a self-confessed “international man of leisure”, was a part of a group of expats in Delhi who were treated to a “theatrical cocktail session” at the newly revamped Smokey’s BBQ and Grill in Greater Kailash. It was an exclusive supper club event complete with nine cocktails as well as a no-fuss Bollywood-themed dinner of ribs, sliders and hot dogs. Collier, an ex-army man whose wife works at the Canadian High Commission, loves the good life: playing golf and ice hockey, riding cross country on his Royal Enfield, and eating out at different restaurants. In Delhi since July 2013, Jeff and his wife took a tour with Delhi Food Tours last year, since “the restaurants in Delhi are so diverse, in terms of cuisine as well as quality, that as an expat you need a reliable expert to gain the confidence required in exploring the city by yourself.”

The eclectic lifestyle choices of Collier, and several others like him, gave a cue to the husband-wife duo of Prashant Kalra and Ayesha Garewal, founders of Delhi Food Tours and Primo Supper Club, to come up with Primo Privilege, Delhi’s first loyalty programme for expats. They are the go-to guys if you want to discover the extensive food, nightlife, fashion and décor choices and to be able to meet new people in a fun, safe and relaxed environment. Garewal and Kalra quit their cushy jobs to start Primo Privilege, which has already received certificates of endorsement from various public and private expat bodies like the Australian and Canadian High Commissions, Delhi Network, Gurgaon Connection, Australian and New Zealand Association, American Welcome Association, among others. This, they hope, will protect them from copycats that are bound to emerge soon. “We wanted to set ourselves apart: to offer a niche clientele to businesses that they cannot reach out to themselves with conventional marketing strategies,” say Garewal and Kalra.

It works like this: an expat can apply for a Primo membership through any of the endorsing expat bodies, of which some are diplomatic and some private. That provides them with an exhaustive database of carefully vetted vendors. This is paired with a discount card (varying from 5 to 10 per cent) and user-review software. The businesses on the other hand tie up with Primo for an annual fee for a year’s visibility on the Primo website. Some of Primo’s confirmed partners include popular restaurants Smokey’s BBQ & Grill, Rara Avis, Uzuri Deck & Dining, The Yum Yum Tree, Elan at The Lodhi, Pout, The Basil Kitchen - Catering, On the Waterfront, Dude Food, the gourmet tea shop Mittal Teas, amusement park Worlds of Wonder and luxury cab service Presidential Wheels. Talks are on with a host of other brands as well, the final list of which will be locked down soon.

While a Primo card is not for sale — it is by invitation only — the database is available to everyone who visits the website. “In addition to bridging the gap between expats and businesses, we’re also focussed on bridging the gap between different expat communities, which are scattered all over Delhi. We want to be expats’ Google for all things Delhi,” proclaims Garewal.

Amanda Tolan, an expat who’s been living in Mumbai and Delhi for the last 10 years says that despite the fact that they’ve always adjusted well in the country, they wouldn’t mind somebody making their life easier. “The programme itself seems like it can be used by not just expats but anybody who’s new to the city and in need of some help,” she shares.

Another offshoot of the program is the Primo Supper Club: curated dinner parties that range from mixology sessions to experimental fine dining. One such occasion was Delhi’s first blind dining event at Indian Accent restaurant in New Friends Colony, complete with a six-course wine-paired menu, where expats had to guess what they were eating and try to keep their wine glasses safe from mischievous roving hands on the next table. Collier found it to be an enjoyable experience, and recalls how everybody reacted differently to the food and beverages served. “To tell you the truth, I don’t know how much of my senses were heightened, but it sure was a deliciously interesting menu, and we all had a pretty great time,” he says with a laugh.

A loyalty programme for expats might never fly in cosmopolitan globalised cities such as New York, London or Toronto where the population is inclusively multi-cultural. But for a city with a ‘difficult’ reputation, Primo Privilege might just be the guiding light that expats in Delhi have been looking for.