Ignite Spotlight: Saffron Indian Foods

Saffron Indian Foods, 161 Main St., is one of the many establishments that is transforming the West end of Fredericton’s Main St. into an exciting culinary destination. Its owner Kumar Uprety is offering a culinary experience never-before tasted in Fredericton. Earlier this fall we spoke to Kumar about his exciting plans.

Uprety is a consummate chef. He completed a higher diploma in international cuisine while in his home country of Nepal. From there, he moved to Dubai where he worked for P. F. Chang’s, an American-style Chinese food franchise. He and his wife then came to Fredericton in late summer, 2018, when he started work as a cook for Thai Manao.

“It was a very big opportunity to work in Thai Manao. I worked with them for a few years, and … after that I was thinking to start my own business.” Uprety got some direction from Planet Hatch on the basic requirements for starting a business, including licensing and business registration, and was quickly on his way.


When he took over Saffron Foods, he maintained their menu, offering mainly Indian dishes such as Butter Chicken, Paneer Makhani, Tikka, and so forth. Now he’s returning to his roots and experimenting with a menu that reflects his Nepali origins, along with with Chinese and Indo-Chinese cuisine to create truly unique culinary fusion dishes.

Now in Saffron’s menu, “I have some dishes that are Chinese, and some street foods from Nepal. Chicken chili dumplings and vegan chili dumplings are a favourite Nepali street food… I also have a chicken tikka fried rice. It’s completely new in the city. And there are new dishes coming up in the next few months.”

He and his wife now operate Saffron Indian Foods as a two-person team, and so far it has been a high point. “Right now, I have been here for 4 and half years, and i am very comfortable living in this city running my own business. Fredericton gave me an opportunity to pursue my dream, and I am very thankful for that.”