F&B
HOTEL Business Review
Coping Up The Impact of Pandemic Challenges By Sharmila Chand
A
s with other industries, the food and beverage sector is making endeavours to bounce back in business. The impact of the pandemic has been a severe blow in a number of ways. Yet, the F&B professionals are upbeat and hopeful about regaining the confidence of their guests through planned strategies. We ask experts to share with us how they are gearing up to face the situation and adapted to the ‘New Normal’.
Strategies & Processes In Place Praveen Shetty, Executive Chef, Conrad Bengaluru “As we were gearing up and redefining our safety assurance with our guests, our hygine manager worked together to ensure every corner of the hotel, from lobby to guestrooms, to our back areas were hygienically well equipped and maintained. Conrad brand always tries to aspire in every way, never just stay, stay inspired has always been experience. During the time when the lockdown phase was lifted and guests started visiting our restaurants and enjoying their staycations, to give them assurance on their very first step, with the global Hilton CleanStay programme already in place and with time and tested from our local traditional drink Kashayam infused with couple of immunity boosting ingredient were served as their welcome drink. Conrad Bengaluru is accredited with ISO 22000 : 2018 certification where in preparation, cooking and serving food and beverages within the premises are in accordance with industries management standard procedure. And it is one of the few hotels to have this accrediction and to have an in-house Lab to check each and every process
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since the pre-opening stage of our hotel. All food items were thoroughly washed. Fruits and vegetables (which are to be consumed raw) are being washed in 50 ppm chlorine and clean potable water before storage since the beginning of the hotel operations.” Sumit Sinha, Director of Food and Beverage, Crowne Plaza Today New Delhi Okhla Heightened safety and cleanliness protocols: It is mandatory for all the team members to wear gloves, masks and face shields at all
“Health, immunity and safety are the buzzwords of the season and our Menu Planning is based on primarily these three aspects. Assuring our guests with right communication strategy with respect to enhanced cleanliness protocols and safety measures is the key to infuse confidence amongst our guests” Sumit Sinha, Director of Food and Beverage, Crowne Plaza Today New Delhi Okhla
areas related to operations.We have included measures such as separate entrance and exit doors at the restaurants, availability of hand sanitizers, reimagined table set up, updated floor plans, disinfection of chairs & tables after every use and revamped reservations system. No collaterals are kept on the table as we have gone digital with our menus and payments. Crockery/Cutlery is only placed, once the guest gets seated. To avoid cross contamination, restaurant a n d b a r a re as a re ro p e d off d u r i n g non operational hours. We have clearly demarcated the roles and sections for servers and runners and defined primary routes for flow of food and guests to limit interaction between guests and colleagues. For In Room Dining services, the server would not enter the room of the guests. The guests shall collect the food from the trolley at the entrance. Assisted Buffet: We have discontinued self service buffets at our restaurants. We are offering Assisted Buffet Service at our all day Dining restaurant Edesia for (Breakfast/Lunch/ Dinner), weddings and other social events to minimise common touch points and enhance safety levels. With our servers standing behind the dish counters and unloading food on the plates of the guests, multiple contacts with the ladle is avoided. Floor markers have been placed across the buffet station to ensure adequate distancing. Infact, if we have curated special Breakfast/Lunch/Dinner On The Table menus for the guests to enjoy the variety of dishes with a personalised touch. Sumit Gulati, Managing Partner and Owner, Spice Market • We did not fire a single employee and
