Food & Beverage Business Review (Aug-Sep 2020)

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Hammer Food & Beverage Business Review

Oct-Nov ’19

Aug-Sept ’20

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EDIT ORIA L

Publisher cum Editor Rajneesh Sharma rajneeshhammer@gmail.com

Resident Editor Sharmila Chand (Delhi) Ashok Malkani (Mumbai) Layout & Design Hari Kumar. V Abhishek Singh Rathore Production Assistant Jyoti Gupta Advertising Sales Delhi: Debabrata Nath, Sumesh Sharma Director Sales Sanjay Anand Mobile: +91 9811136837 Director Operations Rajat Taneja Mobile: +91 9810315463

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he six month of pandemic outbreak has affected hospitality industry in an unprecedented manner. It has brought the industry to its knees, which now needs a serious support from all possible

stake holders involved in the business. Many properties have been permanently shut down and thousands of jobs are lost. The industry was desperately waiting for government to announce re-opening of the hospitality and foodservice segment, which suffered the most. The restaurant industry is seeing some movement now with customers

Editorial & Advertising Offices: Delhi: Hammer Publishers Pvt. Ltd. 206, Samrat Bhawan, Ranjeet Nagar Commercial Complex, New Delhi-110008 Phone: 91-11-45084903, 45093486, 25704103 Mumbai: Hammer Publishers Pvt. Ltd. 105, 1st Floor, Aarpee Centre, Gufic Compound, 11th Road, MIDC, Near Tunga Paradise, Andheri (E), Mumbai-400093 Ph.: 022-28395833

coming back, offering some ray of hope to those struggling to hold on. But its impact is far from over, and it is pivotal that the industry

Website: www.fbrmag.com

addresses key pain points and builds a system that ensure better

E-mail: info@hammer.co.in

future for the industry. Thus it was important for us than ever before

© 2020 Hammer Publishers Pvt. Ltd. No part of the publication may be reproduced, stored in retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission of the publisher.

Hammer Food & Beverage Business Review is a bi-monthly magazine, printed, edited, owned and published by Rajneesh Sharma from 302, Himgiri Apartments, J-Block, Vikaspuri, New Delhi. Printed at Print Creations, C-112/3, Naraina Industrial Area, Phase-1, New Delhi.

Editorial Policy: Editorial emphasis in Hammer Food & Beverage Business Review magazine is on educational & informational material specifically designed to assist those responsible for managing institutional food & beverage business. Articles are welcome and will be published on the sole discretion of the editor.

Disclaimer: The editor and publisher believes that all information contained in this publication are correct at the time of publishing.

Content published not necessarily are the opinion or view of the editor and publisher. Editor and publisher declines any responsibility for any action taken based on the information contained in this publication, including liability for error or omission.

Annual subscription rate within India is Rs. 600 and for overseas it is US $180, for surface mail. Single issue is available for Rs. 100 in India and US $25 for overseas. Cheques are payable to Hammer Publishers Pvt. Ltd.

to restart our magazine to provide a platform where the industry can come together to network. The current issue is available not only in print form but on multimedia platforms like social media etc. including e-edition on our website www.fbrmag.com. Do send us your feedback on the industry issues for us to incorporate in future editions ands on e-platforms at info@hammer.co.in. We wish speedy recovery of the industry and better days for everyone in the industry.

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Hammer Food & Beverage Business Review

Aug-Sept ’20

Contents A U G U ST - S E P T E M B E R 2 0 2 0

Cover Story

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Eating with a Conscious

Business

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Intricacies of Starting a Restaurant

FEATURE

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The Digital Influence in India’s Restaurant Business

agri

Departments Event 04

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News 06

Nothing Nutty About it Report 11

Dairy 34 Milk - a Healthy Choice

Profile 30 Product Preview

Cover Pic: Monika Grabkowska, Unsplash

Aug-Sept ’20

view point Reading Books Keeps the Mind Ticking

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36 Interview 40

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event

THAIFEX – Anuga Asia 2020 Successfully Concludes

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midst the challenging business climate, THAIFEX – Anuga Asia attracted an impressive turnout of 797 exhibitors and 21,104 trade visitors at IMPACT Muang Thong Thani, testament to the trade show’s value to the F&B industry.

Apart from a strong showing from the local community, international businesses from countries like Brazil, Indonesia, Italy, Korea, Norway, Poland and USA participated through their local representative offices.

Affirming THAIFEX – Anuga Asia as the leading trade show in the region With a proven track record bolstered by the exciting collaboration of two reputable brands - THAIFEX and Anuga – this was the first edition of the jointly named THAIFEX – Anuga Asia and was a resounding success, and business networking and market exposure continue to be the main focus points of the show.

As the physical event in Bangkok comes to a close, business-matching opportunities will continue from 29 September to 2 October with the introduction of a new Virtual Meet element that extends the anchor networking platform – The Hosted Buyer Programme. Ensuring that exhibitors achieve maximum exposure and buyers continue to enjoy extensive sourcing opportunities, the Virtual Meet will facilitate interactions with a carefully curated group of more than 500 international buyers.

This group includes representatives from hypermarkets, convenience store chains, e-commerce groups and others, such as METRO Retail Group, Circle K and Lazada Group – just to name a few.

Laurent Pousse, General Manager, International Sourcing Department (Fresh & Grocery), Group Supermarket & Food Development, The Mall Group Company Limited : “We really want to show our appreciation to THAIFEX – Anuga Asia for being one of the first F&B trade shows to take place after COVID-19. F&B is a key industry and extending our network of sourcing partners is essential, so in a year with so many ups and downs, and serious unpredictability in business outlook, an event like THAIFEX – Anuga Asia with both

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physical and virtual interaction is a shining opportunity in difficult times. Face-to-face interaction is still irreplaceable for industries like F&B.”

Key virtual highlights from the hybrid trade show The trade show this year included both online and offline elements with virtual options made available for selected event highlights. This successful adaptation allowed THAIFEX – Anuga Asia to provide event participants with a similar variety and quality of activities while not compromising on safety and security.

A great example is how the Future Food Experience+ successfully returned this year as an entirely digital experience – with 13 industry leaders sharing F&B insights and engaging in discussions about future trends in Southeast Asia with more than 1,100 registered participants through webinars.

The longevity of this virtual event has also been extended as interested parties can continue tuning in till the end of October. Other key online elements included video streaming on Facebook Live, with 4,154 viewers watching 62 live sessions over 3 days, an upgraded online platform for buyers to obtain quotes and information from exhibitors and the THAIFExporter, a virtual initiative by the Department of International Trade Promotion (DITP) to facilitate international business negotiations. The THAIFExporter programme accepted 1,018 matching requests, bridging 261 Thai exporters with 752 international buyers.

William Silva dos Santos, Head of the Trade Section, Embassy of Brazil: “Our experience at the hybrid edition of THAIFEX – Anuga Asia this year was extremely valuable as it opened up unique opportunities for Brazilian companies to connect with not only Thai businesses but also international organisations. We are grateful for how the trade show pushed on with an inventive twist this year to overcome geographical borders, enabling the companies to network with partners across the world and form new business

Hammer Food & Beverage Business Review

partnerships amidst these challenging times.”

Key highlights at the exhibitions ground With stringent safety measures put in place at THAIFEX – Anuga Asia, the physical event was equally exciting and having a variety of different supporting programmes meant that participants enjoyed a holistic experience. DITP’s offline product showcase, Eat Responsibly, also engaged those interested in learning about the latest trends in modern food consumption.

THAIFEX – Anuga Asia is also well-known for discovering and highlighting the most innovative food products, and this year was no different. From plant-based meat to protein powder made from insects, the THAIFEX-Anuga Taste Innovation Show uncovered creative items, attracting interest from many major buyers.

Preparing for the future Discovering and developing new industry leaders is extremely vital for the F&B industry to continue thriving. This is why THAIFEX – Anuga Asia has always prioritised start-ups and technology, providing them with a platform to not only increase visibility but also to make the right connections for growing their business. At this year’s THAIFEX-Anuga Startup | Tech Pavilion, 27 local start-ups | technology companies were featured, giving them access to key decision-makers like F&B investors.

Provided with a precious stage to pitch novel ideas both offline and online, these dynamic companies had plenty of opportunities to shine. Chatchai Pholmoon, Managing Director, Robomotion Technik Co., Ltd.: “Participating in THAIFEX – Anuga Asia has been extremely beneficial as we have managed to begin many promising discussions. It is a major boost to our business outlook as 2020 has been very unpredictable and this has been the only event of its kind carried out this year.

It’s helped us take our business to the next level, and we also want to thank the organisers for making this connection.”

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'Out Of The Blue' and 'Deli By The Blue' Spreads Awareness of Safety Protocols The outbreak of coronavirus has introduced a new type of normalcy for people to adapt to. We all need to follow the safety and sanitization standards to safeguard us from this virus. To spread awareness of following the safety protocols, Out Of The Blue and Deli

By The Blue has come up with a COVID-19 food kit. This COVID-19 food kit comprises of bread in two flavors of herbs and sun-dried tomato in the shape of a facemask, a Peri Peri dip, or Cajun Cheese sauce in a sanitizer bottle, and mini chocolate-flavored desserts with a hint of cardamom and soft marshmallows depicting the image of gloves!

All the items are vegetarian and the kit is priced at an affordable range.

HRAWI Wants BMC’s Tax Waiver to be Extended for 6 Months The Hotel and Restaurant Association of Western India (HRAWI) while thanking the BMC and the Government of Maharashtra for acceding its representations for waiver on Property tax for the hotel industry has expressed that the waiver should have been granted to all hotels as well as restaurants for a period of six-months (during which they were asked to remain shut) instead of 3 months.

Gurbaxish Singh Kohli, President, HRAWI, says, “While we welcome the 3-month waiver, one cannot overlook the fact that hotels and restaurants have been forced to remain shut for 6 months. During this time, establishments had to shell out for electricity and maintenance, utilities, statutory fees and other levies and also salaries. There is no income but only expenses and we don’t know for how much longer these conditions are going to last. Even by the most conservative estimates, it will take nothing less than a year or a year and a half before businesses might see some recovery. Until then, we will require the Government’s support and which it can offer to us in the form of tax and levy waivers.”

BCA Seeks Respite from Government Bombay Caterers Association (BCA) has sought guidelines from the government for the survival of the wedding industry that has been severely impacted by Covid- 19. According to BCA since there has been no business since the last 6 months, the industry has been completely crippled and hence everyone is expecting some direction from the Government.

Bombay Caterers Association stated that the Wedding industry directly impacts many big and small industries like Catering, Decoration, Banquets, Florists, Beauticians, Event Managers, Jewellers, Bands & Music Party Organisers, Photographers, Invitation Card Manufacturers, Clothing, Sweet Shops, Fast Food Suppliers etc. .

Since Unlock has been initiated from Central and State Governments the wedding industry is still lagging behind due to restriction of 50 persons. Highlighting some important point, Yogesh Chandarana, President, Bombay Caterers Association, said, “In normal situations, the parameters for crowd movement are 8 to 10 square feet per person. Taking into consideration of pandemic situation we propose to raise this limit to 20 square feet per person and accordingly raise the total number of guests directly proportional to the area of the premises which we feel will serve the purpose of social distancing.”

“As per the current guidelines, wedding events are not allowed in A/C premises. We wish to inform the authorities, that most of the A/C premises have AHU units which provide fresh air circulation. Currently, public movement is allowed in hospitals, aeroplanes, Malls, gyms etc. We request them to allow the same for conducting wedding events,” added Satish Kamat, Secretary at Bombay Caterers Association.

Lalit Jain, Spokesperson at Bombay Caterers Association says, “the biggest problem for us is that the people have started enquiring for their wedding events scheduled in November and December 2020 ."

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Burger Singh Signs Master Franchise Deal in Gujarat Burger Singh, India's brand of fusion burgers, has signed a master franchise deal in Gujarat. The deal will see the company and the Master Franchise open 40 outlets within the next two years in Ahmedabad, Surat, Vadodara, Rajkot, and other cities of the state.

The 40 outlets will be a mix of dine-in and take away outlets along with some strategically placed cloud kitchens. The Master Franchise will be seeking suitable sub-franchisees in the area.

The Burger chain's bid to remain innovative and in sync with regional expectations is highlighted in its wide range of customised vegetarian burgers that they plan to launch across various outlets in Gujarat. "Gujarat has a vibrant food market with huge potential.

Eating out is a major source of entertainment in the state, and the people love going out with friends and family to bond over a good meal,” said Rahul Seth, Chief of Staff at Burger Singh.

He added, "Our franchise options are the perfect opportunity for those who have an entrepreneurial appetite and propensity

Red Ginger Opens its First Casual Dining Concept, “Cafe Cinnamon”

to progress at a good pace. With a proven business model, high returns on investment, quick service and delivery-focused outlets, we are seeking franchise partners in Gujarat to become a part of our vision to make Burger Singh one of the most loved burger chains in the country. Our model has worked really well in tier 2 cities like Jaipur, Hyderabad and Dehradun and we are confident it will do extremely well in Gujarat too."

The Master Franchise in Gujarat has been taken up by Balaji FoodWorks, a company established by two aspiring and young entrepreneurs, Harshil Soni and Yash Patel.

Red Ginger Hospitality India Pvt. Ltd., the F&B Master Concessionaire has opened the first outlet of "Cafe Cinnamon", its exclusive casual dining concept, at Shri Guru Ram Dass Ji International Airport, Amritsar.

Café Cinnamon is a reflection of the newest and best in casual dining experience offering a formal seating arrangement for 24 guests. The foodies of Amritsar can take delight in the innovative and refreshing beverages and appetising food items that it has to offer. In order to maintain a fine balance between coffee and chocolate lovers, the menu comprises of Lavazza Cappuccino, Masala Cold Drink, Cardamom Tea, Juice Fruity Sundae and Wicked Brownie. The food menu also includes freshly prepared food like Gourmet Pizzas, Pasta, Sub Sandwiches etc.

Gaurav Ahuja, Managing Director, Red Ginger Hospitality, said, "We are looking to welcome the discerning customer who looks forward to spending quality time in a plush ambience before boarding the flight.”

He added, “After a successful launch at Bhopal Airport we are very excited and happy to bring this concept to Amritsar as well.”

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Mad Over Donuts’ New Avatar Mad Over Donuts has decided to revamp and reintroduce itself to its customers. Initially positioned to offer an affordable indulgence, the brand’s new focus will be to become a part of all celebrations and joyful occasions, no matter the size. Mad Over Donuts will now position itself as a lifestyle brand in the treats and confectionaries category.

Their refreshing new avatar will be symbolized by a new logo with a modern design and cleaner lines yet encompasses the values which the brand was built on. The brand has also extended its colour palette to feature brighter, fun colours such as orange, yellow, purple, teal, and pink, which will emphasize their core ethos of Fun, Flavour and Freshness.

Their new tagline ‘Bite Into Happiness’ encompasses the very fabric of Mad Over Donuts’ spirit. With its new digital marketing strategy, Mad Over Donuts wants to stay connected with its customers via an omni-channel approach, in addition to launching new stores across India.

Mad Over Donuts is actively following the government’s directives for takeaways and all of their stores are equipped with contactless menus and payment mechanisms to power takeaway orders. With contactless, tech-enabled transactions, Mad Over Donuts is ensuring that customer safety is pivotal during these trying times, which is ensured by daily monitoring of hygiene practices across all the outlets.

Over the past 3-4 months, Mad Over Donuts has been aggressively collaborating with food delivery companies such as Amazon and Dunzo and has also partnered with Café Coffee Day and Rebel Foods for its expansion plans across India.

Tarak Bhattacharya - CEO, Mad Over Donuts, said, “When we first launched Mad Over Donuts 13 years ago, it was ‘love at first bite’ as people fell in love with our offerings.

Today, we are rebranding Mad Over Donuts to showcase what we have always stood for: fun, friendship, and a no-occasion-celebration kind of happiness. Our new look – be it the new logo, revamping the look and feel of our outlets, and introducing a new & exciting menu and packaging options is all about becoming synonymous with enjoyment and celebration even for the smallest of reasons. We want to spread joy and happiness and become the go-to name in the treats segment.”

Lavazza Introduces Contactless Coffee Dispensing through an App Lavazza has announced that it is enabling companies to offer safer work environments by introducing a new dispensing system which allows one to brew their favourite cup of coffee through an app without an internet connection.

Lavazza’s contactless coffee dispensing system through an app allows coffee dispensing using smart proximity signals where the app and the coffee machine connect via an internal SSID (closed WiFi network) without WiFi or 4G connection. One just has to download the Lavazza app on their phone, choose their favourite cup of coffee and pick it at the schedule time shown on the screen. “With select clients from various sectors, especially under essential services having opened their workspaces from April 2020, there was a need for non-touch beverage solutions. As social distancing and contactless modules became the new norm, we wanted to provide a hygienic coffee experience. So, we developed the contact-free dispensing system for everyone to enjoy coffee breaks without any compromises.” said Jai Ganesh Ramnath, MD, Lavazza India.

To make sure there is complete distancing maintained between people, the app features an automatic inbuilt queuing system to avoid contact between multiple users during break time while seamless synchrony between the machine and app ensures Zero lag time. Employees can access the machine without sharing their mobile numbers or being asked for an OTP. " prioritizing the customer and their needs has always been the centre of Lavazza’s innovations and products right from its inception 125 years ago, we have also ensured that the coffee we sell adhered to International Food Standards like FSSC 22000, ISO 9001:2015 and Kosher. The entire process flow from unloading the green beans, automatic storage into silos, roasting and packaging the coffee beans/ grounded powder is completely automated process with no human intervention, now we are happy to add the contactless dispensing system as well keeping customers wellbeing in mind.” Added Jai Ganesh.

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Bonn Group Launches 'Little Italy' Juhu Celebrates Silver Jubilee management was passed on Tiffin Cakes Variants Back to the time of bellWith the aim of offering products with better taste and best quality ingredients in affordable price for mass segment of the society during the coronavirus pandemic, Bonn Group of Industries added a new range of tiffin cakes in their elaborative cake portfolio. The moist and tender tiffin cakes have three flavors – Orange, Chocolate and Classic and will be available across the North Indian states of Delhi, UP, Haryana, Punjab and Himachal Pradesh.

In India, the cakes market is fragmented and is still growing owing to the product variants across packaging formats, flavors and sizes. The market vendors are developing new products with an emphasis on Organic and gluten-free variants to increase their market share and gain traction in global marketplace. During uncertain times of COVID-19, comfort foods have been winning over the customers for their long shelf life and relatively low cost.

The Bonn Bakery Cakes are soft and baked hygienically to perfection. They have the melt in mouth taste of real orange and chocolate to entice your taste buds.

“In line of understanding the needs of the consumer during the pandemic, when the demand of comfort foods like biscuits, breads and cakes has gone up, we have introduced the Tiffin cake to meet the growing requirement. Consumers want hygienic and nutritious option for anytime snacking. These cakes are filling and satisfying and are a welcome change from the commonly available cakes in the market.

The cakes are unique in its segment not only in shape but also in taste & serving size. The shape of the cake gives it a perfect option for your anytime snacking and that also in an affordable price. Cake is something which is being liked by all the family members irrespective of their age-group. It’s one of the best and easy snacking option with tea and any other hot or cold beverages. This move will facilitate Bonn’s strategic expansion while assuring the brand remains sustainable and catering to people’s need in these changing times”, said Mr. Amrinder Singh, Director, Bonn Group of Industries.

The Bonn tiffin cakes are available in 30 grams packs priced at Rs 10. Unlike bread and other bakery products, cakes in India are popular in urban demographics and gaining momentum in rural set up as well.

Aug-Sept ’20

bottoms and big hairstyles, Mumbai had just started getting a continental zest to its tongue in the ’90s.

Without a doubt, the glorious Italian cuisine of pizzas and pasta was wildly trending. In such a time, Little Italy Juhu was only the very second restaurant to have Mumbaikars acquire a taste of some vegetarian Italian goodness.

On the occasion of its 25th anniversary, t h ey re m i n i s ce a b o u t L i tt l e I t a l y ’ s uncompromised quality. With the primary focus on serving some good food and good drinks, they gave guest good time.

Founded by Late Umesh Laxmidas Mehta, Little Italy Juhu is popular for piquant delicacies, entirely made in-house. Right from the pasta to bread and even the sauces are made by the kitchen team, ever since the inception. Every morning for the past 25 years, sauces are freshly made and taste-tested to ensure quality and authenticity. Not even once, were the sauces refrigerated and reused. This tradition has been followed through the generation since the launch of the outlet.

After the sad demise of Umesh Mehta, the

to his wife Swati Mehta who not only upgraded Little Italy Juhu but also carved a path for her son, Abhi Mehta the current MD of Little Italy Juhu. He melted and moulded the menu complying to the new age needs of the food industry by introducing vegan and furthermore notso-run-of-the-mill vegetarian dishes.

Shedding light on his experience as the current Director of Little Italy Juhu, Abhi Mehta, says, “Throughout my course in learning, the primary focus has always been on bringing in variety and innovation to the dishes and cuisines in the vegetarian space.

We follow the ideology of our food to not only be visually appealing but also health."

On the occasion of marking the silver jubilee milestone, a sister brand called Little Treats Patisserie has been introduced

by Alisha Mehta. Little Treats Patisserie is again, a genuine attempt to have people turn to a healthier, vegetarian and vegan lifestyle while not missing out on the greatest pleasure of life - desserts. With Alisha's Diploma in Baking from Le Cordon Bleu in Melbourne, one can only imagine the dessert storm that's gonna be whipped up!

New Guide Offers Roadmap for Countries to Adopt Front-of-Package Labels Recent research reveals that people with obesity have 48% higher rates of death from COVID-19, and with more than 2 billion people overweight or obese globally, the push to combat obesity and improve nutrition has become more urgent than ever.

Evidence has shown that a key intervention is empowering consumers with clear front-of-package labels that identify the unhealthiest foods. Global health organization, Vital Strategies and global partners have released the ‘Guide to Introducing Effective Front-of-Package Nutrient Labels’ to assist countries in taking up this cost-effective, high-impact strategy to combat obesity.

“Smart labelling regulations work. Most shoppers spend fewer then 10 seconds selecting each food and beverage item—they need quick and easy ways to select the healthiest foods,” said Dr. Nandita Murukutla, Vice President of Global Policy and Research at Vital Strategies. “Our new guidebook will help countries develop smart strategies to use front-of-package space for visible and clearly understood nutrient warning labels that help consumers avoid unhealthy purchases and, ultimately, lead to healthier populations.”

The guidebook was produced by Vital Strategies and the University of North Carolina’s Global Food Research Program with support from Bloomberg Philanthropies, and presented at a virtual event alongside the United Nations General Assembly.

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India Protein Score - New Report Identifies India’s Top Protein Rich Pre-Packaged Foods LabelBlind®, India’s first food rating system today announced the launch of the India Protein Score, a report that highlights protein content in pre-packaged foods and recognizes them as top protein rich pre-packaged foods available in the country, to help citizens exercise their Right To Protein this Nutrition Month.

This first-of-its kind report is designed to guide consumers in making informed food choices based on the protein values of commonly purchased food and beverage products.

Nutrition labels of over 1789 food & beverage products from 150 brands across 18 categories ranging from health food drinks, energy bars, dairy to regular snacks have been given ratings based on their contribution to the Recommended Daily Allowances (RDA) of protein as established by Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI).

This easy-to-follow report can be downloaded by consumers as a handy guide to identify high protein food products available in the market. The India Protein Score has been developed in collaboration with Right To Protein, a nationwide public health awareness initiative, as one possible solution to the barriers to protein consumption outlined in The Protein Paradox study launched earlier this year.

This study, conducted by Right To Protein with commissioned research agency Nielsen, revealed that most Indian mothers (the food purchase decision markers of most households) do not know their key sources of protein. During the study, majority mothers (81%) were unable to correctly identify protein rich foods presented to them, and instead, incorrectly believed that the basic Indian diet consisting of just roti, dal and rice is enough to meet her family’s daily protein needs. As a result, Indian households hold back protein intake to a pinch with basic staples, as most protein sources remain unidentifiable.

“The India Protein Paradox study found that majority Indian households can identify only 3 out of 11 protein-rich food items shown to them. We figured this can be because consumers often struggle to comprehend the nutritional content present on the labels of the pre-packaged food items due to its technicality,” says Rashida Vapiwala, founder, LabelBlind®. “This is particularly pronounced for protein consumption in India, where protein-rich foods tend to be overlooked by consumers due lack of knowledge and understanding. So we developed the Indian Protein Score to equip Indian citizens with a tool that allows them to make better choices to meet their daily protein requirements,” she adds.

Consumers may refer to the India Protein Score to purchase protein rich prepackaged food products from commonly consumed categories like whole grains, atta, savory snacks, dairy and dairy products, soy products, ready-to-eat meals, bread, breakfast cereals and nut butters among others. To develop the India Protein Score, LabelBlind® studied the nutrition data of over 6,100 pre-packaged food & beverage products using its proprietary assessment tool, making it one of the most comprehensive studies on this subject.

Using information declared on the food labels, products were rated on their Protein content along with their Fat, Sodium, Added Sugar values on a scale of 1 to 5. This assessment by LabelBlind® is based on the nutrient labelling guidelines of FSSAI, WHO, USFDA and ICMR, of protein content of foods qualified to be ‘Source of Protein’ or ‘High in Protein’ (FSSAI Advertising & Labelling Regulations, 2018). As per the ICMR, an average adult requires about 0.8 – 1.0 gram per kg of body weight of protein.

The norm in urban areas is 50g of protein per day while in rural areas the norm is 48g of protein per day. This also evidenced in past studies that acknowledge the existence of declining protein intake (Source: NSSO) and protein deficiency in India (Source: IMRB).

Therefore, the Right To Protein initiative’s collaboration with LabelBlind® to release the India Protein Score is a step forward to developing sustainable solutions to educate the consumers on the importance of protein, champion its sufficiency and trigger a longterm behavior change among citizens.

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Hammer Food & Beverage Business Review

Aug-Sept ’20

Maharashtra Government allows Restaurants to Open The government of Maharashtra announces the opening of restaurants starting October 17. Maharashtra’s Chief Minister Udhav Thackerey announced that 4 lakh restaurant, bars and eatery outlets in the state could start their operations from the first week of October, just ahead of Navaratri. The decision came in after a meeting between industry and the CM. The decision is in line with the Centre’s Unlock 5 strategy and will bring life into a sector which is one of the biggest employment generators but has been struggling to recover since phase-wise unlocking began in June. The CM has also agreed to consider a waiver of excise licence fees for the last six months. Thackeray has advised hoteliers to ensure all health and safety measures are followed.

Sources said the state will allow 50% capacity initially.

Arjun Raj Kher

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Nikita Poojari

Ruchyeta Bhatia

ccording to Arjun Raj Kher, Brand Head of Bayroute & Hitchki, "We welcome this move by the Maharashtra Govt to consider re-opening of the restaurants. This will help revive the restaurant business in Mumbai, that has faced severe financial losses due to the expensive real estate, management of inventories and staff allowances in the past six months. It will kick start the popular Mumbai culture of eating out but of course with all safety measures that would be laid down by the authorities. We can’t wait to host our guests and create the best memories again.”

N i k i t a Po o j a r i , D i re ct o r of S h i v Sagar thanked the Chief Minister for allowing them to open in a timely fashion following all safety protocols. She emphasised on the safety of guests and will strive to ensure a safe and enjoyable experience for them.

Ruchyeta Bhatia, Co-founder & Director of Poetry by Love & Cheesecake said, "We’re looking forward to inviting our customers back into our restaurants. We will make sure to be responsible citizens and follow all the covid-19 safety protocols to its fullest. We can’t wait to put smiles on our patron’s faces again and begin the journey to normalcy.

Sagar Neve, Director, Neve Hospitality further enhanced on the decision of allowing restaurants to open for dine-in service in Maharashtra. He believes it will revive the restaurant industry which supports over 6 million direct employees and over 100 million indirect individuals. It's a chain reaction that influences almost 2 million individuals and households. The allowance of 50% capacity is a transition into the new normal in a slow and efficient way.

Prathik Shetty, Partner of 1522 Bar & Kitchen said, "The move will bring reassurance for Mumbai’s dining out and restaurant industry that have been under

Aug-Sept ’20

Sagar Neve

Prathik Shetty

frightful financial strain as our businesses remained shuttered since March. This is a huge sigh of relief for employees with a conception of not knowing whether they’re going to get a job in the near future.

This move should certainly reduce the percentage of restaurants looking to shut down permanently. Assuring the safety of our guests and employees will be our top priority. We’re looking forward to welcoming our guests with top notch safety measures and requesting patrons to support the hospitality industry."

Annie Bafna- Founder & Director of The Nutcracker is happy to hear the government's decision to open up restaurants, which will require them to put in place many new processes to give the customer comfort on hygiene and safety. However, she think people realise that corona virus is here to stay for the near future and they want to

Annie Bafna

Aji Nair

move back to some level of normalcy. While there may be an initial hesitation, eventually people will start going out if they feel comfortable in the space they are visiting.

Keeping fingers crossed and excited to finally be able to open up our doors!

Aji Nair, COO, F&B division - Mirah Hospitality said, "We have been waiting since few months to hear this good news.

Since all other cities were opened by June and July and Mumbai being the capital city wasn’t operational was a major challenge. As far as the safety and hygiene requirements are concerned, we have adapted world class standards and protocols and once the State SOPs are officially shared will further adapt to the requirements. We are sure even people are waiting for this day and in the coming few months, things should gradually reached a certain level, though not expecting to the previous levels so fast."

OBITUARY Mohinder Singh Grover, aged 70, passed away on September 08, 2020. Born on February 19, 1950 at Delhi, he was an integral part of the hospitality industry from 1982.

He had a strong technical background with comprehensive knowledge about the hospitality industry. He had started Allied Metal Works in 1985 from scratch and with his sound technical knowhow created a premium commercial kitchen equipment entity. He extended the company's pan India presence through offices and showrooms in Bhubaneswar, Mumbai, Delhi and other major cities. He was always ready to contribute towards the enhancement of the industry, through active participation at various industry platforms.

He was a generous soul, always available to help those who were in need. He touched the lives of so many with his unconditional generosity and kindness. The industry will miss him for long a time to come.

May his soul rest in peace.

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C OV E R S TO R Y

Eating with a Conscious Maintaining ecological balance has become important with almost everyone today. This is also affecting eating habits of individuals. Protecting ecological balance is an issue in which everyone has become involved. One way of achieving this, according to some, is to consume organic food. It may be mentioned that organic food profile rose in the early 2000s, as consumers began to see connection between diet, health and environment. As shoppers today turn to clean labels and demand transparency in the foods they eat and the beverages they drink, organic food seems to be poised for growth. Ashok Malkani views the scene of organic food and finds that the growth isn’t expected to slowdown. A recent TechSci Research report estimates the global organic food market is projected to increase at a compound annual growth rate of more than 14% between 2016 and 2021.

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C OV E R S TO R Y

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ore and more people are now laying stress on healthy food.

The consumers are now eating with a conscious. The trend for following a strict dietary regimen is now, with the corona virus scare, becoming popular with people of all ages.

Preety Arora, Head - Business Strategy, Amatra Hotels & Resorts, says, “The tragedy of novel coronavirus (COVID-19) has somewhat impacted the travel and hospitality industry in India in terms of travelers from Southeast Asia and the middle east. There are many business travelers from China and other Southeast Asian countries who go out on weekend trips from Delhi NCR to hills and other tourist leisure destinations but recently we have witnessed a fall in queries from such foreign nationals. However, it is a very small percentage of travelers and we do not foresee any major impact in the medium to long term. At Amatra we always maintain high levels of hygiene and are currently coordinating with government agencies to follow all the necessary precautions. We are also advising all travelers to follow the protocols laid out by the health ministry to ensure everyone's safety.”

While COVID-19 may have affected the travel plans of several people it has added to the awareness of people to have a proper diet. At the 2019 Academy of Nutrition and Dietics Food and Nutrition Conference it was pointed out that plantbase eating was a trend that is going to grow. A flexitarian eating style which allows anyone and everyone to add more produce and other plant nutrients to their

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day, according to the Conference, was the main driver.

Yes, people are now not only paying attention to what they consume but they are eating with a conscious.

Executive Chef Simran Singh Thapar, JW Marriott Mussoorie Walnut Grove Resort & Spa is of the view that ethical eating will be catching more audiences as more and more people are becoming aware and also following their food ethics as a means to choose what they eat and support as food choices. He emphasised that people today are eating with a conscious and they want to eat not only organic food but also ethical food.

He adds, “Ethical eating will be catching more audiences as more and more people are becoming aware and also following their food ethics as a means to choose what they eat and support as food choices.

Hammer Food & Beverage Business Review

We as a five-star hotel have also adopted various initiatives including supporting organisations that support the marginalised farmers to propagate and support the Fairtrade that is growing strong as a food ethic. We are also becoming more Veganfriendly for guests who look at Animal welfare as their ethic and have become Vegans to support their belief.”

M u ke s h S h a r m a , Exe c u t i ve C h ef, Sheraton Grand Chennai Resort & Spa states that people are, today, conscious of good food and view organic food as healthy since these products are grown under a natural system of agriculture.

H e a d d s , “ S o m e of t h e s te p s we should take to satisfy these demands of customers looking for ethical food are: Use produce from a Chef’s garden Free-range Egg Free-range Chicken A2 milk, milk products or dairy products where cows have access to the outdoors Tie up with authorized vendors” Abhishek Basu, Executive Chef, JW Marriott Mumbai Juhu, states “We have noticed the trend of people to go for organic and ethical foods and have, therefore, introduced cage-free eggs and antibiotic-free chicken at Bombay Baking Company, our patisserie, and deli. We also try and endorse our faux meats and vegan offerings across all our restaurants as much as possible to our guests.”

S u m a n t a C h a k ra b a rt i , Co r p o rat e Chef of Ambuja Neotia group, disclosed, organic food broadly meant food was not genetically engineered and grown with the assistance of toxic chemicals, synthetic pesticides, arsenic, bio solids etc. He added

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C OV E R S TO R Y fresh catch in our brunch and special events.

Further, we source our dry ingredients only from FSSAI approved vendors and certified Organic vendors. To keep a constant track, vendor premises audit is done four times in a year. To conclude, our customers’ and guests’ health has always been a top priority, and hence we prepare menus based on keto diets, nutritional value, calorie count and Instagram.” that the justification for the fast growth of this trend was that growth projection of fruits and vegetables “for the domestic market is 25.6 per cent over the next five years. 34 companies out of 71 companies (48 per cent) have stressed to diversify their product portfolio and diversify the supply chain operations in the future; major being organic pulses and soyabeans.”

Aniket Kathe, Director Food & Beverage, Novotel Hyderabad Convention Centre & Hyderabad International Convention Centre, however feels, “The food culture in India has evolved, but is limited to Urban India. Despite the growth, home cooked food still remains the first choice of the urban consumers. Food Safety and awareness of health- related illness has influenced the mind-set and the demand for Organic Food. The market for green products is an expressed interest, but Indian Market still needs more information of choosing these products that benefit the environment. At Novotel Hyderbad Convention Centre, we have an In-house Hydroponics farm where we cultivate vegetables, which are used in our canteens and restaurants on a regular basis. We promote them by Information on cards and social media.”

Rakesh Rana, Executive Chef, Indore Marriott Hotel declares that being a chef one has to be aware of the new trends and the demands of the customers. He adds “Many of our guests, particularly the Gen Y is more focused on ethical food.”

Chef Subhash Jana, Executive Chef, Swissotel Kolkata, is of the view that the F&B industry runs on face value and brand image. “We being a world known brand which is known for its food and beverage take certain initiatives from corporate level and also from unit level.

“At Swissotel Kolkata, we source local and sustainable ingredients that do not generate an excessive carbon footprint.

Also, we promote local growers to produce ingredients which have more nutritional value, than using cold storage goods. Another one is using local seafood and promoting

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Ethical Food Ethical food seems to have become the

Rakesh Rana

Abhishek Basu

Preety Arora

Hammer Food & Beverage Business Review

new mantra. So, what exactly is ethical food?

Rakesh asserts that ethical food should not contain anything, which could hamper nature or the environment.

He adds, “Ethical food is a moral decision to have food which will not have an impact on our community, animals, and our environment. This can be achieved by c h o o s i n g s u s ta i n a b l e s o u rces of ingredients as well as preserving fauna and flora on the earth.”

Avijit Deb Sharma, Executive Chef at Novotel Bengaluru Outer Ring Road disclosed, “When we choose to consciously buy Fairtrade sourced ingredients, we are promoting ethical food. Besides, joining a community gardening project, reducing wastage of food or overuse of plastic in food packaging also promotes the cause of ethical food.”

Aniket defines ethical food as “food which needs to be healthy. Anything grown organic without use of pesticides, naturally uncontaminated, and homemade is considered ethical.”

Abhishek explains ethical eating thus: “Ethical eating is a consumer practice of consuming food/ingredients morally, bearing in mind the impact on animals, the environment, labour practice and other such factors. People turning vegetarian/ ve g a n d u e t o t h e m i s h a n d l i n g a n d killing of animals in the meat acquiring process, people switching to organic ingredients to protect plant and wildlife f ro m c h e m i ca l p es t i c i d es a re a few instances of ethical eating.”

Sumanta asserts, “Society, today, due to the intense ‘obesity epidemic’ in Europe & America, is targeting “eating well” or ethical food. People are shifting from junk food, processed food to EATWELL food which has recommended proportions of salt, fat and sugar. Different colours like red, orange and green are being used to identify the nature of the products like organic GM FREE (Genetically modified) products, etc.”

Mukesh states, “Food ethics are moral consequences of food choices that are made by humans. We see a lot of people make basic lifestyle choices such as adopting Veganism or vegetarianism.

Some of the common concerns that drive people to make such food choices are damage to the environment, exploitive labour practices, and food shortages for others, inhumane treatment of food & animals, and the unintended effects of

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C OV E R S TO R Y food policy.”

Simran elaborates, “There could be d i ffe re nt ways i n w h i c h p e o p l e m ay perceive food ethics. They may choose either one or many choices of the below together while forming their food ethic: Animal welfare – People who follow animal welfare as their food ethics are vegetarian and commit not to eat any food derived from the slaughter of animals.

Healthy eating – People who follow healthy eating as their food ethic are only supporting organic and healthy food Saving the planet – This food ethics involves propagating the use of organic farming methods which is more sustainable Fair trade – People following this ethic want the farmers to get a fair share of what they pay for the produce and want them to prosper and get the fair compensation for their hard work.”

Subhash says, “Ethical eating refers to the moral consequences associated with making choices related to food.

Common concerns include damage to the environment, exploitative labor practices, and food shortages for others, inhumane treatment of animals, and the unintended effects of food policy.”

organic farming is more compared to other industrial methods of farming. He states, “The organic produce is available, but at a higher cost compared to the regular produce and thus, it still has less consumers opting for it. Until organic farming as a practice becomes a norm by the law of the land and until it becomes a conscious choice of the way people choose their food, the volumes will be slow to achieve and the costs will be higher. Once this is accepted as a norm and becomes the only practice permissible,

Simran Singh Thapar

Organic Food Ra p i d r i s e i n u s e of c h e m i ca l s a n d fertilisers have forced people to adopt a healthy way of living. Organic food is the ideal choice. Videos showing chemically produced vegetables, fruits and eggs have become viral, helping the popularity of organic food segment. Moreover artificially grown chicken and chemically shaped eggs have proved to have spread many diseases around the country.

Simran, explaining ‘organic food’ avers that this food is prepared/processed using only natural elements. It can be both Vegetarian as well as non-vegetarian.

He adds, “In case of meats, the feed, and Medicare of the animal being raised for slaughter needs to be composed of natural elements and no chemical agents, to artificially enhance the quality or quantity of the meat, is done.

“In case of vegetable produce, natural manures and insecticide (like neem oils) are used. No chemicals or artificial agents, to modify the quality or quantity of the produce, artificially, is permissible.”

He however believes that organic is still struggling as a food choice as the percentage of people into organic farming is very less and the cost of doing

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Aniket Kathe

Subhash Jana

Hammer Food & Beverage Business Review

the increase in volumes will also bring the costs down and have more and more consumers choosing it.”

All concur with the view that organic vegetarian food avoids the use of manmade fertilizers, pesticides and makes no use of genetically modified products. The state that as far as meat, poultry, eggs, and dairy products are concerned they are obtained from animals which are void of antibiotics or growth hormones. Poultry is cage free or range free.

Truly Organic?

Th e I n d i a n Co u n c i l fo r Res e a rc h o n International Economic Relations (ICRIER) warns that foods labeled organic but not certified cannot be considered to be safe? What are the procedures followed by different F&B outlets to ensure that the foods are organic?

Rakesh concedes, “Not all foods tagged as organic are natural. We can determine the same through a quality check of organic food. The consumer should be aware of the certification and the Price look-up (PLU) code. Organic food will always have a 5-digit code starting with 9 to indicate that food is grown organically.

We at Indore Marriott Hotel add vegetables like red lettuce, Kale leaves, Broccoli and Red radish to the menu.”

S u b h as h d i s c l o s e d , “ Eve n t h o u g h eating healthy and organic is growing at a fast pace during today's day and time, there are certain instances where people have indulged in fad dietary habits. Our team at Swissotel Kolkata focuses on following certain measures to maintain the authenticity of the dishes. We only allow FSSAI approved products within our premises. Secondly, a dedicated food hygiene lab test is done weekly to maintain the ethnicity. Thirdly we also lay stress on random sampling to ensure that their quality is not compromised .Our chefs and the purchasing team ensures a thorough checking and maintaining food packaging materials. Fourthly, the supplier premises audit takes place every quarter with the Hygiene Manager, Purchase Manager and the Executive Chef to be assured about the source.”

Avijit avers, “We at Novotel Bengaluru Outer Ring Road, look for FSSAI JaivikBharat or India Organics, or PGS-India logo on the food packet.”

M u k e s h re v e a l e d , “ I n t e r n a t i o n a l Economic Relations (ICRIER) has mentioned the need for a uniform standard for organic

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C OV E R S TO R Y foods. Now, the Food Safety Standards and Authority of India (FSSAI) has launched the Food Safety and Standards (Organic Foods) Regulations 2017 along with the unified logo for organic food products, supported with the tagline "Jaivik Bharat”.

All organic foods certified under this logo need to convey full and accurate information on labels about the organic status of the food. The 'Jaivik Bharat' logo will henceforth be recognized as a mark of quality assurance given by the abovementioned certification bodies in India or any other bodies recognised by FSSAI.” Sumanta divulged, “In India, 2 kinds of Organic Certificates are prevalent.

One is issued by 3rd parties accredited through National Program for Organic Production (NPOP), a body under Ministry of Commerce & Industry. Standards of which are export quality and SOP’s based on America, Swiss & European Union bodies “The second is a self-certification called Participatory Guarantee Scheme (PGS), implemented through Ministry of Agriculture through the National Center of Organic Farming (NCOF).”

S i m ra n s t a t e d “A t J W M a r r i o t t Mussoorie Walnut Grove Resort & Spa, we ask for organic certification and even do site visits to ensure what is being sold to us as organic is actually organic. This is the best way to be sure as the proof of the pudding lies in the taste. Don’t just see and believe a certificate or label, believe it when you find it.”

H e a d d s , ” U n fo r t u n a t e l y, w h i l e researching to include more organic foods to our ingredient inventory, I have also come across a vendor who had specified their cheese as organic, only to find that nothing beyond the fodder for the cattle is organic. Which is not the right way to represent their cheese as for a cheese to be organic, right from the feed of the animals to the treatment they receive from the additions to the milk to make it into a cheese, all should be natural and organic for the cheese to be organic.

“Yes, there are many fakes in the market, however, as already stated, one needs to be sure by actually verifying the same by a visit and inspection. If you are not sure, don’t support. When we find someone true to their label, we also support them by taking more from them and making them reach out to more and more consumers as they have been ethical to their labeling.”

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A Passing Fad? Human nature, as everyone knows, if fickle.

So is ethical eating, or organic food, just a passing fed?

Abhishek asserts, “There is definitely a surge in demand for organic food, especially in the last 2 to 3 years. We have guests coming to our restaurants specifically asking for dishes incorporating organic ingredients, which has led us to introduce a variety of them. At Bombay Baking Company, we have introduced an entire category of ‘Organic Farm Sourced” dishes last year, which is quite popular.”

Simran too is of a similar view. He

Avijit Deb Sharma

Mukesh Sharma

avers, “Organic farming is definitely here to stay and there will be more and more organic foods emerging every day. It is certainly here to stay and in the longer run, this initiative must be supported and promoted as the law of the land for it to get recognised as the only sustainable way of produce farming.”

Sumanta states, “The organic food industry is growing rapidly in India and over the past few years we are seeing a constant increase in demand of organic products. Today’s consumer is smart and also very conscious about his health and that’s why they are turning towards organic foods. In my opinion, the organic food industry has already fixed its roots and it will grow further.”

Avijit , contemplating on the issue, states, “This can’t be a passing fad, as now people realise that in order to sustain in this demanding and dynamic environment one has to be fit and the first step is to eat right.”

Rakesh too is of similar view. He believes that it is setting strong roots for growth in the future.

Subhash is very emphatic about its popularity He avers, “Eating organic is not just another diet. Consuming organic food goes beyond being a mere fad.

When it comes to going organic, the concept includes a decrease in the use of synthetic chemicals and getting rid of natural toxins in the food. Organic food is a healthy decision for everyone including infants. Since their immune system is at a developing stage, they are more vulnerable to the harmful effects of toxins and chemicals in food. Opting for organic foods is an effective choice for personal and planetary health.”

Aniket states, “Ethical food will evolve, veganism is what has evolved from organic foods, it has more following now. Recently, at Novotel Hyderabad Convention Centre, we hosted a French Chef who gave us the insight on the growing Veganism in France and how it is garnering more following.”

Conclusion

Sumanta Chakrabarti

Hammer Food & Beverage Business Review

According to a recent survey by the NPD Group, Sales of plant-based foods in the United States have grown 11 per cent in the last year. 16 per cent of Americans “regularly” use plant-based alternatives for meat or dairy products. In Britain, up to 33 per cent of consumers prefer plant-based milk alternatives. So the trend for ethical eating is a global one. And it is growing! n

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BUSINESS

Intricacies of Starting a Restaurant Globalisation has influenced various aspects of Indian society including the change in food habits.

Over last two decades, due to several economic developments, increasing spending power and a willingness to try new diets the F&B industry has seen tremendous growth. This has induced several aspiring entrepreneurs keen on entering this sector. In fact, breaking the stereotypes, several women too have entered – and made a success – in this field. Ashok Malkani examines the pros and cons and discusses the intricacies involved in opening an F&B outlet and running it successfully.

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ooking at the escalating restaurant business in India, several entrepreneurs are keenly eyeing this industry for lucrative business. The businessman is further encouraged into entering this industry when he finds several research reports projecting a robust growth of the industry. The growth has been mainly due to the growing urbanisation and the rapidly surging millennial population.

But before venturing into the industry one must make a thorough study of the pros and cons. One cannot become a successful restaurateur if one does not make a deep

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study of all elements which go into the success of a restaurant.

So what should be the aspects one should consider before venturing into the field?

Jaasjyot Surri, CEO & Co-Founder, SJI Hospitality Private Limited states, “The planning of an F&B outlet is a balance between passion and economics. Factors ranging from geographical aspects such as location, spending capacity, the type of cuisine prevalent in the area, as well as the cuisine and business segment having a lacuna in the market, should be

Hammer Food & Beverage Business Review

entrepreneur’s major factors for opening an outlet. Besides, this I believe that it is essential to have an operations team and Executive Chef in mind who is roped in early on during project inception to ensure a synergized approach and positive outcome.”

Parthiv Neotia, Managing Director Ambuja Neotia Hospitality, avers, “As the popular adage goes, “In the restaurant business, you earn through fulfilling people’s appetites, needs, and dreams.” That is a mantra one needs to stick to when in the F&B business.

“You need to be very clear about the

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concept and branding of your outlet. From the format (QSR to fine-dine) to the target patrons to the price point and the vibe and feel of the outlet, everything should be crystal clear before opening an F&B outlet. It is necessary to spend some quality time and money on developing your concept. A good team is a must to run the business. Make no compromise on selecting the right kind of kitchen, service and management staff.

“Of course, the importance of location and menu cannot be emphasized enough. In fact, if you don’t have anything else, at least you need to get these two areas sorted.

“Not just F&B business, but for any business, an effective and feasible financial planning is crucial. Take into account all sorts of expenditure and investment — including overhead costs — before rolling the ball. Minute details including sales projection, staff positioning, profit-and-loss and break-even calculations should be thought through well in advance. Factor in some money for marketing and PR activities as well.

“Permits and licenses are sacrosanct. From local municipal trade license and FSSAI license to GST registration, tax license and liquor license — make sure you are on a sound footing when it comes to the legalities.

“Often, there is a tendency of first-time entrepreneurs to overlook or pay less attention to suppliers and vendors. They are a vital resource for a successful business.

“Last, but not the least, remain updated about your competition and industry trends. Be not just aware of your competition but also do thorough research on them.”

Kaushal Shah, owner, Vice, Global Tapas Bar, outlines the requisites for starting an F&B outlet as: “Good location, legit legal property High Capex, initial 6 months of working capital.”

He reminds the entrepreneurs, “All licenses take 3 months to be approved and received, so one must make proper plans”

Locale and Cost One of the main factors to be considered for the success of an outlet is the location. Besides the locale, the cost of operation too has to be taking into consideration.

Parthiv states, “Ideally, one should consider the cost of real estate rent and also operational cost for having an F&B outlet in a particular location. It has been observed on many instances, that a business had to shut shop only because it had not taken the recurring property maintenance and rental costs into the financial planning.

“It is important to make plans to sustain the property cost way beyond the break-even time period.”

Jaasjyot is of the opinion that the real estate is of prime importance, especially in metros and tier I cities. He avers, “The viability of a project is dependent on the cost of real estate. The location helps decide on the target audience, the spending capacity of patrons, the type of cuisine, the format of the F&B outlet whether QSR, dine-in, takeaway etc. The return on investment and the success or failure of an F&B outlet are highly dependent on property costs, which is a reason we see a lot of outlets opting for the revenue share model with real estate owners more than ever before.”

Kaushal feels that both, location and cost of operation are equally important.

Type of Venture Different restaurant concepts – like QSR, casual dining, fine

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BUSINESS

dining – it is believed, have different profit margins. Which type of venture would be considered to be more viable for a new comer? Often people are also in a quandary whether to start an eating-out place or a pub bar.

Parthiv states, “The type of restaurant an individual wants to start would depend on the concept and finances. As a beginner, if you are not too confident about your concept, it is advisable to test the waters with something smaller in scale such as a QSR or a no-frill casual setup. More importantly, the type of venture should be primarily dictated by the kind of experience you want your patrons to have. There is no one-formula-fits-all solution to this.

“If you are taking up a franchise, then the format must subscribe to the brand’s existing requirement.

“As far as selecting between an eating out place and a pub bar is concerned, I would say that both have their own challenges and needs. Both options are viable but are completely different in operations and experience. Pubs have the benefit of liquor but also have the nuances, cost and compliance of having and maintaining the liquor license.

“Again, the focus and concern of an F&B entrepreneur should be in creating happiness for its loyal patrons and target customers. That done, anything can sell. The core belief with which our group, Ambuja Neotia Hospitality, operates is that we need to add value to the customer’s expectations, for which we need to constantly be on our

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toes to make sure we deliver more than what is expected.”

Jaasjyot states, “The viability for a newcomer restaurant is highly dependent on the F&B background and/or professional training of the entrepreneur. A venture which has a great concept and theme to the place, with an interesting vibe will be a good starting point for a newcomer, especially if he or she has a good operations team to look into the nuances of the business and smoothen the learning curve. Depending on the budget, a delivery-only model is a good starting point for someone wanting to test waters without heavy investment. For those with a risk appetite, a kitchen and bar are a viable option.

“The selection between starting a restaurant or a bar is highly dependent on the restaurateur, the chef and the location. In cases where there is a large youth audience, a bar is usually a good fit.

In cases where there are residences and offices nearby, a dine-in restaurant makes for a suitable choice. The choice between a restaurant or a bar shall always be based more on internal dynamics such as the team, their strength, the food quantity etc. rather than letting the demographics of the location solely decide that, since a good outlet of any kind will always do well in any locale and will carve out a niche for itself over a period of time.”

Kaushal feels that a new comer should start with a small cafe or a QSR. He adds, “As far as making a selection between an eating out place and pub bar is concerned,

Hammer Food & Beverage Business Review

I would say that it depends on how passionate one is and the time and money they are willing to invest. Personally I advise if anyone aspires to open an eating out place or a pub bar they need to be completely present and involved in it; else I would advise against it “

Expenses and Period for Break Even Different categories of F&B outlets would require different areas. A new entrepreneur is keen to know the ideal area for each type and what would be the financial investment? He would also like to know the break-even tenure.

Jaasjyot avers, “The area required for restaurants is dependent both on the model as well as the number of persons we look to cater. A QSR would be a good fit in about 300 sq. Ft. of space, where as a casual or a fine-dine restaurant would need just a kitchen larger than that size.

The seating capacity is of importance in a fine-dine, which often ranges in the 50+ seater segment. A fine-dining restaurant with a 100-seater capacity would be in the range of about 2500 sq. ft. whereas a casual dining would be accommodated in about 75% of the area.”

He continues, “For a city like Mumbai, the investment for a QSR or a takeaway kitchen would typically be within a budget of Rs.25 lakhs, whereas for fine-dining restaurants and bars, just the kitchen equipment alone could breach this figure. The interiors and ambience for dine-in restaurants could

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BUSINESS cost anywhere from a few lakhs to crores depending on the scale of operations and the locality. It is important to work with a break-even horizon of about 3 years, while highly successful outlets are even able to do so in a year or so, more often seen in cases where the brands have been established.”

Parthiv states, “While there is no rule etched in stone for the size of a restaurant, the usual industry success stories hint at the privilege of space in driving business for any F&B outlet. Having said that, one must remember that it is more about the experience that you create for your patron at your outlet — enveloping everything from the food and beverage to services, ambience and amenities — that decides your success and not just the area.”

He adds, “There is no particular thumb rule about the finance that would be need for a restaurant. The minimum money one needs to start a restaurant depends on the kind of menu (cost of ingredients and manpower), the location and associated tax and permits (a simple FSSAI license can cost you anything between Rs 5000 to Rs 10,000 while a civic body trade license can put you back by Rs 5000 to even Rs 1 lakh depending on the city and the neighbourhood), the technology you are using (a sound POS software can have a considerable installation as well as recurring cost), the basic kitchen infrastructure (costs vary from a simple refrigerator to a state-of-the-art cold storage, hence you get the drift) and the real estate investment (including interior design and tableware). The capital expenditure can range from a minimum of Rs 3 to 5 lakhs for a QSR outlet to as much as a few crores for a restaurant.

“To break even, the payback period also varies with the formats and can range from 6 months to 2 years.”

Kaushal is extremely precise about the cost of different types of properties.

He avers, “for a QSR one would need an investment of Rs. 20-35 lakhs, Casual dine – Rs. 1-1.25 cores and Fine dine- Rs. 2.5 - 5 crores “Break-even time would be anywhere between 18 months to 3 years depending on how well it does.”

He adds, ““QSRs typically need crowded busy areas mostly around markets and corporate. Casual dining restaurants are mostly in residential areas whereas fine dining would do good business in malls, business hubs or as stand-alone in some posh localities “

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Technology in F&B Outlets I n t h i s m o d e r n a g e, m a r ket fo rce s necessitate the usage of technologies in the F&B establishments to help them seek efficiencies and achieve agility in their processes. As we move further in the digital era, more technological innovations are emerging to shape the future of the F&B industry. What would one advise a new entrepreneur?

Parthiv vacillates, “When there’s this genie called technology waiting to serve you better and make life and business easier, why not use it? Running a restaurant becomes so much easier, streamlined and hassle-free with new-age Point of Sale (POS) softwares suited and tailor-made for

Kaushal Shah

your business model.

“It helps from inventory management to customer relationship management and indepth analytics that can help in determining actionable insights can significantly simplify and improve the running of a restaurant.”

Kaushal is cautious. He says “Technology definitely is very helpful but not mandatory for a new entrepreneur. Most important is the point of sales system and software you get as then all your data and your operation depends on it. Nowadays you can use tabs to punch in the orders which shoots orders to the kitchen through a connected printer, reducing the time and labour for one having to manually write the order and then place it in the kitchen or bar.”

Jaasjyot too is of a similar view. He says, “Technology is not essential to start a restaurant, but is highly recommended.

In today’s day and age, smaller setups or outlets with smaller scale of operations at multiple locations can access cloud-based IT solutions whereas the larger setups can use conventional LAN or server-based technologies. The cost-effectiveness, ease of operations and data mining available with Restaurant ERPs is phenomenal and a great step towards making the entire sector more organized. The decision making can be driven by data rather than by intuition and assumptions. The data available through various technologies can help know the top selling and least selling dishes, the busy and slack timings, the dependency on deliveries or online portals for reservations. The information can be used to send targeted messages to consumers, create patronage, decide menu updates and manage restaurants efficiently without being at the outlet 24x7.

Effect of Online Delivery Portals

Jaasjyot Surri

Parthiv Neotia

Hammer Food & Beverage Business Review

Online food delivery platforms like Uber Eats, Swiggy, Zomato, etc are expanding choice and convenience for customers to order from a wide array of restaurants with a single tap of their mobile phone.

The concept of food delivery has become a common one in India. It would seem like “dining out” is giving way to “eating in”.

So what does a new entrepreneur do?

Is there a scope for dine in restaurants?

Kaushal states, “There are always people who want to get out and eat and I experience the place view service etc so there is always going to be scope. However with delivery portals entering the field it has made it easier for the ones who cannot move out but would love to eat from their

Aug-Sept ’20

favourite place to just place a call and have it delivered to them.”

He adds, “One must realise that from opening a restaurant to running one is a challenging task. The major challenges are first and foremost to find a good clean legit property. If you have that as well as the Capex and the required time, have a go!

Jaasjyot maintains, “The target audience of online delivery portals and dine-in restaurants overlap to some extent. However, they don’t seem to eat into each other’s market. There will always be demand for dine-in locations and guests patronize such places for ambience, freshness of food, service quality, memories associated with certain places and the entire goingout experience and social gatherings which have their own importance in today’s urban lifestyle. The kind of patronage depends on the vibe as well as positioning of the restaurant – cafes often see college-goers and middle-aged crowd, family audiences are often seen at casual and fine-dining outlets and office goers have lunch at outlets that have set meals, quick service or convenient locations.

“Finally I would like to say that setting up a restaurant, on the whole, is a challenging business, just like anything else in the service industry. Consistency of food, hospitality, liasoning, training of staff, hiring and maintaining acceptable attrition rates of staff, manpower management and ensuring freshness and newness to the outlets from time to time make it a challenging and dynamic business.”

He adds, “Food is, and will always be, of paramount importance to the F&B industry. The real-estate cost is a pain point and the move towards the revenue share model or establishments purchasing premises and then commencing operations is a step in the right direction. Loyalty programs and rewards are a great way to engage customers and build a credible long-term audience. It is essential to be on-board with various online portals for the purpose of visibility but it is important not to be dependent on portals and deep-discounting.

A good product at any location can be a success, if served at the right price point with a smile!”

Parthiv elaborates, “2019 has witnessed ample disruption in the F&B industry with both online delivery and deep discounting gaining substantial traction with netizens/millennials.

“As global trends are emerging, such disruption created by players like Uber Eats and Swiggy is creating significant changes in the approach to the business dynamics. The concept of a restaurant from being a luxury segment has become more of a commodity. Such a shift in the business ecology calls for the business model to evolve with it.

“Moreover, deep discounting has been another moot point in dine-out landscape, leading restaurants to move out of the luxury segment in order to remain viable. However, from a simple takeaway to a casual dining hangout or a luxury finedine destination — the scope of each kind of outlet could be optimized if the respective business models are updated and upgraded in order to integrate the new players. The idea is to allow integration, not resistance.”

He cautions, “Some of the core challenges that an entrepreneur, in her/his early days, might overlook, before starting the business, include marketing techniques, identifying and establishing healthy relationship with suppliers and vendors, training and retaining the staff, and sustaining customer interest to ensure repeat visits and attracting new patrons in an environment where something new is coming up every other day.” n

Aug-Sept ’20

Hammer Food & Beverage Business Review

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FEATURE

The Digital Influence in India’s Restaurant Business

By Jhuma Biswas

T

he wave of digitalisation has greatly influenced many of our industries, and food service business is no exception to this trend. The digital wave has opened up many new possibilities for the food service business and has also induced our food service industry to become more sensitive to its consumer responses and preferences.

Of course, proliferation of foodtech companies with their online food ordering facility has revolutionsed the food service industry, and nowadays you do not need to step out of your homes to have the taste of eating out (though holistic eating out experience is a different matter, for which you need to visit restaurants to get a feel of the ambience, décor, concept, and service of the outlet concerned).

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After the lockdowns, the food delivery industry in India is recovering at a fast pace and online food ordering business is expected to grow further in our Covid inflicted times, in the near future. But the extensive role of digitalisation in food service business goes much beyond online food ordering.

Increased Accountability Nowadays thanks to online sites like Zomato, TripAdvisor and many other renowned online platforms, and also due to social media channels like Facebook, the power of guests has increased manifolds.

In this digital age if a restaurant falters in terms of taste, ambience or hygiene, there is not only a high chance of getting quick adverse criticism but those adverse

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views can also go viral in digital platforms in quick time.

For example, if a restaurant’s washroom is found unclean or if its tablecloths are found dirty or if its waiters are unkempt, then the guests are not only likely to avoid giving the restaurant a repeat visit, but may also post their ire about the restaurant on the social media. And if the post goes viral, of which there is a decent possibility, then the restaurant is in for serious trouble, which can not only be restricted to plummeting of its image and revenues but may also extend to initiation of stringent legal action against it.

Especially, during these trying times w h e n t h e wo r l d i s g ra p p l i n g w i t h a pandemic and restaurants across India are allowed to resume operations only with

Aug-Sept ’20

FEATURE stringent social distancing norms and other hygiene protocols in place, the faltering of restaurants or any other food service outlets in terms of hygiene can lead to its swift closure and inviting of legal actions, as news of such lapses can spread real fast in digital age.

Similarly, if a guest or a group of guests suffer from food contamination because of the restaurant staff’s lackadaisical attitude towards hygiene, then the guests’ Facebook posts regarding the same going viral can even lead to quick legal actions and eventual closure of the restaurant concerned.

Of course, a food service outlet which adheres to unhygienic practice deserves to be shut down and/or deserves to have legal actions slapped against it, but two decades or even one decade earlier such public outcry against those restaurants in India (even if they were operating in the organised food service industry of the country) who were seen flouting rules and norms of hygiene were not so quick.

In those days, many restaurants carried on with their unethical or unhygienic practices for years without any retribution from the law and public.

I agree today also many eating out joints in India’s unorganised segment of

Aug-Sept ’20

food service industry carry out unhygienic practices without care or concern but now with the mushrooming spread of social media it is becoming increasingly difficult for restaurants in the organised segment of India’s food service industry to disregard hygiene or behave with guests badly and still get away with it.

We can see that restaurants and other food service outlets are induced to be more accountable to guests’ needs and preferences in this digital age.

Marketing Impetus At the same time, restaurants which are going the extra mile to delight their guests can easily garner greater marketing mileage in a given period of time (say within six months) than they could have expected to get in the pre-digitalisation age within that same given period of time.

Through the widespread network of social media now restaurants or other food service outlets can build their image and/or enhance their business much more quickly than they could do a decade or two before. If they offer a lucrative discount or organise an attractive event regularly or introduce some innovative dishes, etc. then these initiatives can very quickly spread through social media to reach their actual

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and potential customers.

Moreover, in this digital age, marketing of food service operations on social media platforms can pay rich dividends with very little costs. Succinctly, now food service outlets can transmit their image building or revenue enhancing endeavours through social media at a much quicker speed and at a much much lesser cost than they could do through traditional media.

We can see that digital revolution on the one hand has opened new floodgates of opportunities for food service business, but on the other hand, it has compelled food service business to be more accountable and watchful to hygiene and other needs and preferences of guests.

This digital age has come across as double-edged sword for the food services industry. If you do better than the guests’ expectations, the use of this sword can quickly take you to success, by cutting through competition, and if you do badly than the guests’ expectations, the same double-edged sword can cut down on your revenues very quickly.

Keeping a Tab on Guest Preferences Moreover, in this digital age, it would be wise of the restaurateur to keep a

27

FEATURE

history of her/his guests’ food & beverage preferences, feedback on what they liked or disliked in the restaurant, and what they would like to improve in the restaurant, on computer (the process can be initiated by letting the guests fill a short form where their F&B preferences and what they liked or disliked in the restaurant and what they would like to improve in the restaurant would be asked for).

This data base can be used to serve the repeat guests to the restaurants better. For example, if the F&B Manager is already informed about the repeat guests’ food & beverage preferences she/he can direct the waiter to gently suggest those preferences to repeat guests when they arrive at the outlet. This would help the guests to develop an emotional connect with the food service outlet, which can lead to improvement in revenues for the given outlet concerned in the long-run.

Similarly, if from the data base it is deciphered that more number of guests do not like a particular aspect in a restaurant that can be changed quickly. If more number of guests like a particular aspect of a restaurant that can be retained or even heightened, if feasible. Guests’ pragmatic suggestions to improve the restaurant can also be quickly adhered to through digital medium by maintaining a date base of those suggestions.

Succinctly, digital power can facilitate greater involvement of the guests, and this can be creatively explored upon to garner additional revenues for the restaurants and other food service outlets.

Harnessing digital power is becoming more and more crucial towards operational s u cce s s of re s ta u ra nts , fo r i f as a restaurateur you don’t do it, be sure that

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your competitor would do it and you may end up missing the bus.

Advance Menu Planning Especially in the backdrop of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the role of digitisation in food service business has become more pronounced. Now eating out with contactless menus and paying through app are gaining currency across India, and is expected to become the norm in the organised segment of India’s food service industry very soon. But that is not enough in terms of exploring the huge potential of digital power in food service business.

Restaurants can also send the digital version of their menu through Whatsapp to their repeat customers, and when the repeat customers think of visiting the restaurant concerned, they can phone the Chef or the F&B Manager(their numbers can be provided to the repeat guests) of the given restaurant and order their dishes in advance. This would allow more scope for customisation and experimentation as the Chef and her/his team can give more food for thought to meet the guests’ customised

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demands, which may go beyond the menu.

In some cases, the repeat guests can also specify not only the day but also the approximate time at they would visit the restaurant, provided there is no room for traffic jams and other untoward delays. This would save the waiting time of the repeat guests at the restaurant. Within five minutes of their arriving at the restaurant, the repeat guests can be served their preferred dishes, piping hot. In case they are getting delayed due to traffic or other reasons that too can be informed beforehand to the Chef or to the F&B Manager concerned.

This advance menu planning facility could be extended to potential guests of the restaurants too. For example, the restaurant’s website could have the userfriendly technical options for its potential guests or would be future guests to select the dishes they want to have at the given restaurant (let us name the restaurant as restaurant A) in advance.

The potential guests or would be future guests can copy those preferred items and paste them in a special Feedback section of the restaurant A’s website, which should be different from the usual Feedback section of the website. This would involve better preparedness for the concerned restaurant staff to meet the demands of the potential or would be future guests and thus the chances of not meeting their demand due to paucity of requisite ingredients and other operational factors would be largely diminished.

I am not ruling out the introduction of such initiatives already in our food service industry, but just putting forward that advance menu planning should get more momentum in India’s food service business in this digital age, especially in the backdrop of the pandemic’s danger constantly hanging over our heads like a Damocles’ Sword. n

Aug-Sept ’20

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Hammer Food &VBeverage Review IA NEBusiness N WE CLEAR THE AIR

29

PROFILE

Ambro Asia:

How do you perceive growth in India?

An Innovative Model for India

O

ver the years we have witnessed many collaborations between Indian and Italian companies, but few of these have been able to sustain for a longer period of time. Often, after an initial impetus of energy and excitement, the interest tends to dwindle due to frustration in results, strategic errors, issues in communication, lack of support and cultural differences.

This can lead to frustration between both counterparties and end what could have been a successful collaboration. Sometimes, it would require just a little bit more patience, and better communication, for the brands to take off.

Recently we met with Ambro Asia team, who are planning to introduce few best international brands to Indian market. In an open talk with Chetan Sahai, Director, Ambro Asia, he said through their offices in Italy, London and Delhi they are aiming to connect some of the best Indian and European companies. According to him Ambro Asia caters to multiple verticals of the industry like Retail and Projects Dealers, Consultants, QSRs, Cloud Kitchens, and Corporates, with a wide offering including: convection ovens, combi ovens, modular cooking, salamanders, coffee machines, and dishwashers among others.

What are the propositions Ambro Asia has for Indian market?

We have following offerings for various market segments: 1. OEMs wanting to establish and/or grow their presence in India.

Ambro Asia acts as a local subsidiary at much lower costs and at the same time with increased market reach due to more market touchpoints and wide product offering.

2. Dealers desiring enhanced confidence in OEM through local presence.

Ambro Asia has a local office and sales and technical team, offers sales and after sales support, inventory management and servicing. Crucially, Ambro Asia also builds and manages the Dealer network to ensure optimal growth and margins across the value chain.

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We strongly believe that the Indian market is poised for growth in the commercial kitchen equipment sector. We believe India offers tremendous potential as there is a growing spending power and attention to quality. The current crisis does not change our long term view, and offers the opportunity to those with a long term view to come out on top once the crisis is over.We are focusing in developing and strengthening our relationships in the market. In terms of growth, markets for combi ovens, coffee machines and dishwashers are still small, but we expect double digit growth, especially for high quality products.

What different criteria you follow in choosing a brand?

Chetan Sahai

As we want to have a long term approach, we choose our brands carefully. We choose the brands if they allow us to meet our mission of offering: • a wide range of products,

3. Corporates, QSRs, Cloud Kitchens desiring strategic advice and a single point of contact.

What is your strategic strength in India?

Until now, Indian corporates have to speak to multiple OEMs or dealers separately. As Ambro Asia has a number of brands under its umbrella, it can act as a one stop shop. Often, an OEM allocates different sub-brands to different dealers, with each dealer promoting their respective sub-brands. Ambro Asia maintains the overview and can act as a strategic advisor to the Indian Corporates, by identify synergies in terms of pricing and cost savings across the product ranges. Ambro Asia also offers the possibility of billing from India in INR and also from Italy in EUR. Also the founders are Indians who have been based in Italy for over 50 years. They come from an advisory background where they have worked with leading MNCs across the globe, advising on mergers and acquisitions, business development and joint-ventures. As such, they combine the professional approach to internationalization with the capability to bridge the cultural divide and leverage the respective strengths of Indians and Italians. The company has a strong local team which it is building despite the COVID situation.

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• the best products with some unique technological advantage • the best value for moneyin each segment • long term approach and support We work with OEMs at the owner/CEO level and aim to ensure that we have a good cultural fit and working relationship.

Can you share strategy for brand placement?

We carefully assess the market, identify the appropriate segments and distribution strategy. For example, with our Giorik range of ovens, we target convection ovens (Easyair brand), entry level combi ovens (Easyair and Movair) and high end combi ovens (Kore and Steambox) with different models and brands. In dishwashers and coffee machines, we follow a similar approach. We want to be known for offering the best value for money.

Aug-Sept ’20

Aug-Sept ’20

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31

AGRI

Nothing

Nutty

About it

By Jhuma Biswas

C

ashew nut is regarded as a popular dry fruit with wide applications in food preparations, though it is neither a fruit and nor a nut, if one were to analyse scientifically.

Both cashew nut and cashew apple are the products of cashew tree. Scientifically known as Anacardium occidentale, the cashew tree can reach a height of 14 metres. However, the dwarf version of this tree, which grows only up to 6 metres, is generally more profitable for the F&B industry, as it has earlier maturity and

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higher yields as compared to its taller versions. Though native to Central America, the Caribbean isles, and northern South America, including north-eastern Brazil, cashew tree is now seen rampantly across many tropical regions of the globe.

Cashew nuts are produced in tropical countries because the cashew tree is very much sensitive to frost. Cashew nuts are regarded among the highly valuable processed nuts traded in the global markets, though it is not a nut in botanical sense.

Here it deserves a mention that cashew

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nut, which is used as a sumptuous snack and is also used in myriad recipes is actually not a nut in botanical sense, but is a seed.

However, it is popularly and erroneously called a nut. It is referred to as cashew nut in culinary sense.

The fruit of the cashew tree is a kidney shaped drupe that is seen at the end of the cashew apple. The fruit appears first and then the cashew apple appears behind it.

Both the fruit and cashew apple grow till they reach maturity.

Within a given fruit there is a single seed, which we commonly refer to as cashew nut or simply cashew. India got exposed to cashew tree and its seed through the Portuguese invaders, during 1560-65. In India, cashew was initially introduced to Goa and from Goa, the popularity of cashew nuts spread across the country. From India, the popularity of cashew nuts spread through South-east Asia and then to Africa.

Vietnam, India, the Ivory Coast, Brazil and Nigeria are the major producers of cashew nuts in the world. Vietnam is presently the largest exporter of cashew nuts in the world. Cashew is a huge source of foreign exchange for our country. In India, cashew nuts are mainly produced in Maharashtra, A n d h ra P ra d es h , O d i s h a , Ka r n ata ka , Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Goa, West Bengal

Aug-Sept ’20

AGRI and Chhattisgarh. Among the states, M aharashtra produces the maximum cashew nuts in India.

Culinary Applications Cashew is delicious to eat on its own and it has also extensive applications in Indian curries and desserts, and thus its role as an ingredient in the India’s food service industry is immense. However, the shell of cashew nut is toxic. Therefore, the shell is removed before these ‘nuts’ or rather the seeds are sold.

Cashew has starch comprising 10 percent of its weight. According to Wikipedia, this attribute makes them more effective than nuts for thickening water-based dishes such as soups, meat stews, and some Indian milk-based desserts. This unique attribute makes many South-east Asian cuisines to use cashew in their recipes. Cashew nuts can also be processed as cashew cheese and cashew butter.

Cashew can be a tasty snack with tea

history of popularity in our country.

The Seed Exudes Health

or with alcoholic beverages, and is being extensively used in Indian cuisine as a whole for garnishing of some sweets or curries.

They can be also grind into a paste to act as a base for sauces for some vegetarian and as well as non-vegetarian curries.

For example, in the recipe of Shahi Paneer the cashew-based tomato gravy can play a pivotal role in bringing the rich texture and flavour of the dish. In Chicken Korma also cashews do play an important role. Cashew paste is also used in some types of Indian sweets, such as Kaju Barfi.

There are numerous such examples of dishes where infusion of cashew nuts play a crucial role in enhancing the taste.

Besides extensive usage in Indian dishes, cashews also have applications in Thai and Chinese cuisine, generally in whole form. Here it deserves a mention that both Chinese and Thai cuisines have a fairly long

Aug-Sept ’20

Cashew nuts, besides being tasty and also contributing to the taste of many nonvegetarian, vegetarian and dessert dishes, are also endowed with nutritional value.

Cashew nuts are devoid of cholesterol. They also facilitate to reduce the bad cholesterol, and are a good source of magnesium which maintains strength of our bones.

Cashews are richly endowed with dietary minerals, which include manganese, phosphorus, copper and magnesium among others.

Cashews also help maintain healthy gums and teeth. Cashew nuts are laden with less fat content as compared to most of the other real nuts. Moreover, cashew contains healthy dosage of monounsaturated fat that facilitates good cardiovascular health.

Intake of cashews also keeps us full and thereby helps in keeping our weights in check. Intake of cashews is helpful for regulating blood sugar levels.

The Role of Cashew Apple Cashew apple is also edible. The pulp of the cashew apple is juicy, but cashew apple has a fragile skin, thereby making it difficult for transportation. Cashew apple teems with Vitamin C. In fact, it contains five times more vitamin C than an orange.

Cashew apple can be partaken fresh, could

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be cooked in curries, or could be fermented into an alcoholic drink.

In Brazil and Caribbean islands cashew apples are regarded as delicacy. Cashew apples can also be used to make chutneys and jams. In many South American countries, the cashew apple has more popularity as an edible item than cashew nut. The cashew apple has wide applications in the beverage industry too.

In Latin America, a fruit beverage is made from the cashew apple pulp. The refreshing beverage has notes of mango, raw green pepper, and just a hint of grapefruit-like citrus. This drink can also be introduced in high-end restaurants in India, whether they be stand-alone or chain outlets, in a vigorous manner. They are expected to be liked by increasing numbers of globally travelled and globally exposed Indians.

The Goan cashew feni, an indigenous alcoholic beverage of Goa with around 42.8 percent alcohol content, and with a global fame, is prepared from cashew apples.

Conventionally, only tree-ripened cashew apples which have completed their life and fallen to the ground are being crushed to make cashew feni. The cashew apples are de-seeded and stomped to extract the juice and the juice is kept for fermentation for three days. There is no infusion of artificial yeast or nutrients to quicken the process. The fermented juice is translated into cashew feni by going through two stages of distillation. n

33

dairy

Milk - a Healthy Choice H

uman being is the only mammal who drinks the milk of another mammal and this drink is most pleasurable at a cold temperature when the mercury rises.

A cold glass of milk, flavoured or natural just before going to bed or the first thing in the morning is liked by all age groups.

Today, dairy is an essential part of family’s diet, as it is for most Indians.

Indians have exhibited a strong preference for dairy products due to historical and c u l t u ra l re as o n s . Th e co u nt ry i s t h e world’s largest producer of milk, which is an important part of the diet given its nutritious value. A family’s dairy intake rises along with its income. Studies, too, establish this trend. This love for dairy products is set to grow if numbers are to be believed.

Most children run from mothers offering glasses of milk, but it has been found that children who drink milk in childhood tend to be healthier than those who do not.

Though not proven it has been suggested that regular milk drinkers are also found to smoke less than others.

Milk is beneficial. It is not a good idea to cut out dairy products. You should have three portions of dairy food in your diet each day. It has also been said by that drinking milk helps gain muscle and lose fat after exercise. The impact of drinking milk after heavy weightlifting has found that

34

milk helps exercisers burn more fat.

In fact, researchers found that the milk drinking group had lost nearly twice as much fat, while the carbohydrate beverage group lost one pound of fat. Those drinking soy lost no fat. At the same time, the gain in muscle was much greater among the milk drinkers than among those who drank either soy or carbohydrate beverages.

Dairy products make up 12% of the daily protein consumption of Indians.

Hammer Food & Beverage Business Review

As is the case with most enjoyable products, there have been scares about milk consumption as well. While some studies link it to breast cancer others say that too much of milk or even other dairy products could be harmful as it leads to high cholesterol levels. Most of these studies are then refuted in a short time by yet another study that would declare that drinking milk does not cause coronary artery problems and that it actually

Aug-Sept ’20

dairy protects against poor health.

The benefits of milk could be linked to its high calcium levels and that this might counteract the adverse effects of the saturated fat content of milk.

Milkshakes & Smoothies While home consumption of milk might be a simple blended exercise of fruit and plain milk, the commercial version is often sold as a cold beverage made from milk, often with added ice cream, flavourings or sweeteners and syrups with sauces. Most fast food outlets use machines and often the overdose of sugar and flavourings just takes away the food value factor of the milk content.

Milk shake recipes that use yogurt or fresh fruit without ice creams are technically called ‘Smoothies’. Yet another term for them, popular is a ‘Frappe’. Its popularity revolves around the acceptance of ‘Coffee Frappe’ which is enjoyed while on the move or as a relaxing beverage during any time of the day.

Many a consumers, children and adults alike, would shy away from making a milkshake at home but not hesitate in getting one from a commercial outlet.

One of the reasons could be that it seems

Aug-Sept ’20

a healthier option when compared to a carbonated drink and often the consumer does not look at the fat or sugar content of the commercial product.

Then there is a variety of choices that the consumer is faced with. While at home one would make one type of milkshake, in a commercial outlet the sheer options available can ensure that each member of the family gets to try something different and share it to get a wider experience.

Of course the creamier and smoother fe e l , a s a l s o t h e c h i l l e d fa ct o r of a commercial product makes it more appealing during the warm season. Many an individual consumer has been enticed into buying ready flavoured powder or concentrate that makes the actual task of churning up a milkshake far simpler – just open the sachet, add milk and ice and it is ready.

W i t h i n c re as e d ava i l a b i l i ty of international products in the Indian market there is easy availability of many a brand that were earlier available only during international travel. It is worthwhile to pay attention to added ingredients that extend the shelf-life of these items making it even less healthy in terms of advantages to be gained from a milk base drink.

Hammer Food & Beverage Business Review

There are also low fat versions or even sugar free options for those who wish to avoid these two factors while enjoying the ‘milkshake factor’. These products are not ideal for growing children though adults could also be warned to just be aware of the food value and other contents of the product.

For the medically challenged who are unable to enjoy a milkshake there is no reason to feel left out. There is the version of Soy Milk or Rice Milk available to them.

However, the limited option is a serious problem for them in the ready made sector. Yet the imaginative and innovative consumer can try almost any combination at home.

Milk shakes are neither seasonal nor age or gender specific, however, in summer they tend to sell more. While the old fashioned versions will always be available – like the vanilla, strawberry or chocolate options, newer versions are continually added by the dedicated Chefs.

The new age milk shakes might become more exotic or even more ‘adult’ in its approach by using exotic fruits or expensive alcohol contents to ensure that the young customer of yesterday continues to enjoy his glass of milk, albeit in a different form. n

35

VIEW POINT

Reading Books Keeps the Mind Ticking

By Sudhir Nair

You know you have read a good book, when you turn the last page and feel you have lost a friend – an avid reader

R

eading books have always transported me to places I never thought I could be in, middle of a war to peak of a mountain to the deep mysteries of the ocean or kitchens of royal household in an era gone by. I have always been a seeker with a lot of questions; my colleagues would often get irritated with my questions. They would tease me by saying, here goes the why-man. I frankly wouldn’t interest myself in studies, but I would be intrigued by origin of practices, traditions and rituals. I was once asked to move out of a ceremony by my father when I started asking many questions.

Early in my life I found solace in the quietness of my travel and constant company of books. I did try digital reading but somehow it didn’t give me the warmth and feel of reading. As a matter of fact, I keep myself updated with different news apps but I would never miss a chance to read a physical newspaper whenever I have a chance.

I read a wide range of subjects. Being a chef I have decent collection of cookery related, theory and science of food books.

But a major part of my books are devoted to the past in one form or the other. Be it in form of history, biographies, wars, evolution or travel. I do also indulge in psychology and management texts.

Reading started as a medium to pass time; today I make time to read. It keeps me charged and opens possibilities in life and work. I don’t know if it is normal for others to do but I usually read two books at a time and try to keep the subjects as

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different as possible. Doing this forces me to think and recollect the read part of the book and revises the entire context in my mind every time I pick the book to read.

When I started my career as a Kitchen trainee, I was training to be a cook. I learnt the basics of cutting vegetables, meat and making stocks, sauces. I had to follow recipes and make as per standard. I would be in awe of my Chef who would recite recipes of so many dishes even without looking at a book or file. So I went and asked him; how he remembered 100s of recipes. It didn’t seem humanely possible.

He laughed and told me to understand a recipe, know the ingredient then you don’t have to remember it.

I didn’t realize it then, now I know. If

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we read and have enough knowledge of the ingredient, their properties and the effect of time and temperature, you can make any dish. So I read about pH values, time, pressure, temperature, elasticity, coagulation, gelatinization, structure of bones and tissue, salt, sugar, lipids, osmosis, etc. Today when I read a recipe I can visualize the role of each ingredient and how the final dish should be like.

There a few books like “What Einstein told his cook” part 1 and 2 by Robert Wolke and Kitchen mysteries: Revealing the science of cooking by Hervé This; it stimulates the brain and solves a lot of queries. It also helps a chef understand the amazing chemistry involved in food and its effects on Human body. All books

by Harold McGee are a kind of Holy grail for the budding Chef.

Back in my management days, I was once working on a 5 slide presentation of a 350 page book as an assignment. I was repulsed with the idea of a book with so many numbers and graphs but the project took me to a different dimension. Within a few hours I was hooked. The book was “Good to Great” by Jim Collins. The jumble of numbers started making sense, I learnt about patterns and trends. The graphs spoke to me and depicted how minor adjustments could give major changes in the outcome.

I read upon a book by Richard Koch “The 80- 20 Principle”. Till date I use this in my kitchen wherein I organize my staffing rosters based on peaks and valleys of business. I plot graphs of my sales and

Aug-Sept ’20

VIEW POINT compare it to my costs. The results have surprised me and my bosses when I would tell them that costly dishes don’t give high profit but popular ones do, most of times they are the cheapest of the lot. It is not the expensive lamb chop that makes my restaurant profitable but it’s the humble French fries which rule the roost.

T h e re w a s t h i s m a g a z i n e c a l l e d “Competition success Review” which I wo u l d g et s e co n d h a n d f ro m t h e Kabadiya’s. It used to be cheap and had a lot of General knowledge reading available.

The issues would have a chapter on ‘Body language’ by Allan Pease. It once spoke about how a mother instinctively knows what her baby wants just by the gibberish talk and the look in the eyes. It is an art of reading nonverbal gestures and identifying patterns.

Th e re a re t i m es w h e n a g u es t i s absolutely unreasonable or seems annoying.

Most of us would normally avoid such clients, but a lot us have managed to make great friends out of such guests and even after years continue to be in touch with them. We mostly assume what the guests want, we try to listen to their words but not hear them out. We assume that we understood them. But that may not be the case always.

We fail to respond to the influence of their culture and traditions on their communication. But when you are able to read nonverbal signals and body language it becomes easier to comprehend. Most it comes by meeting different people.

Subconsciously we learn to read signs; almost all humans have the same basic body language. But it can also be learned and practiced. Allan Pease and his books taught precisely that. It has proved to be a great help in an industry like mine wherein interacting with people and understanding their needs and wants is what we strive for.

B i o g ra p h i es of s o m e o u ts ta n d i n g personalities inspire and act as beacon for times when we feel low or lost. Sardar Vallabhai Patel’s the Iron man of India depict how the most challenging tasks can be accomplished with grit and perseverance “Beyond the Last Blue Mountain” by R M Lala is a Biography of JRD Tata; the man who proved that passion can move mountains and conquer unchartered territories.

These book help you gain experiences of decades in a few pages. It makes me marvel how in today’s time and ages of free data and fast travel people make excuses

Aug-Sept ’20

of not having enough to succeed when all it requires is the will and patience to do it.

Each biography be it of Rai Bahadur Mohan Singh Oberoi or Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi tells us that you always don’t get what you want but you will surely get what you deserve….always.

Time and life is the biggest equalizer it is fair and square. It may sound very cliché but there are times when everything comes crashing down and nothing seems to work right. I just compare my plight with those of the successful ones I have read about; my troubles feel feather light. My drawing board comes out again and I start over.

Travel is the best way to learn new things about a place, its culture and history; Books is the next best. But travel books are second to none. Not surprisingly some foreigners have written some eye opening books on Indian culture and food. One of the few gems is Colleen Taylor Sen’s ‘Feasts and Fast- A history of Food in India’. It is a discovery of food in the backdrop of religion, moral and social traditions, vegetarianism, influence and innovations.

More than the recipes it’s the stories that excite me. There is also this less known book by Pamela Timms, “Korma Kheer & Kismet – Five seasons in Old Delhi”. It is pure passion in print. I have been to each of those places mentioned in the book and experienced the delight in the dishes mentioned. As I enjoyed each morsel I reminisced the author’s journey and relished it even more.

I have to mention Neha Prasada and her outstanding book ‘Dining with the Maharajas: A thousand years of Culinary Tradition’. It is a wonderful book replete with stories, anecdotes and traditions woven in the Royal fabric of food. Princely states, their kitchens, influence of Veds and Hakims in food all in a grand big book.

The recipes reflect the effluence, high taste of the families and their state, and their dedication to keep centuries old traditions alive. As a chef it is essential to note the attention to detail, sourcing of ingredients and commitment to quality that is clearly evident in these recipes. Only the best dishes survive the test of time and change.

Late K T Achaya was an eminent food scientist from Karnataka, India and authored innumerable research papers and articles for publications. His books on food are a revelation of sorts. His narration has no stories or anecdotes but crisp facts. His books state the kind of food that the Indian subcontinent cultivated in the Harrapan

Hammer Food & Beverage Business Review

civilization, the Vedic period and the influence of various travelers and invasions over the centuries. He wrote of the kind of meat and grains we consumed during the time of Mahabharat and Ramayana.

The books talk about the effect of various inter-continent trade, invasions, settlements and more that have facilitated evolution of Indian food to what it was to what it is today. I have read and refer to his books like ‘Theillustrated Foods of India’, ‘A historical dictionary of Indian Food’, ‘Indian Food – A historical companion’ and ‘The story of our food’. It is essential to know our past to plan our future. The past regales us with the losses and mistakes committed and ways it could have been avoided, be it food shortages or nutritional facts. It stresses the importance of seasonal produce and traditional ways to consume food. It offers solutions to grow crops which do not require high water tables but nutritious at the same time.

Some exciting young Indian authors like Sanjeev Sanyal whose books like ‘The Indian Renaissance’, ‘Incredible history of India’s Geography’ and ‘Land of Seven rivers’ educate us on the past and present.

While scholars like B M Hegde open our minds to keep ourselves healthy and safe.

He breaks common myths on cardiac health and lifestyle diseases. They teach us how common sense prevails over agenda backed surveys and studies. ‘A history of India as it happened’ by Francois Gautier is another work of brilliance. It throws light on some of the aspects of Indian history that have not been told so often.

I am currently reading the English translation of ‘Shriman Yogi’ by Ranjitdesai and ‘Let me say it now’ by Rakesh Maria.

Both books tell us more about the past, one fairly recent and the other a few centuries back.

My love for books is insatiable; the more I read, the more is the want to read, It is an addition I can be proud of. I have close to 150 odd books that I have collected over the last two decades. While I have read many more than that by borrowing from friends or from libraries, but the list of books I have yet to read is longer than that. These are my most prized asset and every time I move jobs and cities this is the largest and heaviest part of my luggage. I enjoy great company, especially when my company is a good book and a glass of Single malt.

The author is Executive Chef at Courtyard by Marriott Bengaluru ORR

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PRO D U CT PR E V I E W

Kitchen Equipment

Water Conservation and Food Safety

D r i s t i K i tc h e n S o l u t i o n s a re manufacturers of Commercial Kitchen Equipments based at Delhi, serving the Foodservice, Catering & Bakery industry and undertake multiple projects. The company manufacturers the complete range for a kitchen project.. The products manufactured by Drishti are with latest technology and suit any installation for different kitchen applications.

They offer the scope of both Indian and Imported kitchen administration hardware giving one stop solution for all kitchen prerequisites. It has a team of experts with relevant experience manufacturing quality kitchen & Bakery Equipments. The company manufactures wide range of products and are provides bulk requirement with good quality, with innovation and advanced technology.

Dristi Kitchen Solution info@dristiindia.com

Hand-washing is an essential part of operating a kitchen safely. But with many hand sink faucets delivering water at 15 L/min or more, the amount of water – and money – wasted can really add up. By simply adding a T&S CEF Sensor Faucet, you can significantly reduce the amount of water wasted while still maintaining a clean and healthy kitchen.

That’s what T&S CEF Sensor Faucets were designed to do – a sanitary alternative that will save you money and reliably and effectively work hard at a surprisingly modest cost. Even minor investments have a huge impact on saving water, energy, and money!

The larger the facility and the more changes you make, the higher the savings will be, because when you reduce the amount of water you use, you also save on energy costs by needing to heat less water.

Hygiene has recently become even more critical, especially in public spaces. We don’t realise, washing hands actually can defeat the very purpose of improving hygiene. We use soiled hands to touch the faucet, wash our hands and then touch the same faucet again to shut off then water, again recontaminating or resoiling our hands again..

Sensor faucets are the perfect solution for this problem. The use of sensor faucets has become more and more prevalent in recent times especially due to COVID and many facilities are retrofitting sensor faucets in most public spaces.

Due to the heavy duty usage in public spaces, sensor faucets needed to be: - Rugged - Long Lasting - Conserve Water All put together can bring down the total cost. Being electronically operated, sensor faucets come with a need for high reliability and longer life.

People often invest in sensor faucets that are low cost but end up struggling to repair and spending more money to replace it.

T&S Sensor faucets come with a high degree of reliability: - Saves up to 3.79 Liters / 1 gallon per hand-washing - Various Flow Rates Available (1.89 LPM / 8.33 LPM) - Below deck controls - Alkaline Batteries that lasts atleast for 500,000 cycles & up to 1 Million cycles for the Solenoid Valves.

- Built-in AC / DC Option T&S Brass and Bronze Works Pvt. Ltd. rchowdhury@tsbrass.com

Laundry and Kitchen Solutions Chandra Engineers provides a comprehensive range of commercial kitchen and laundry equipments, their spare parts and after sale service. It also offers turnkey projects.

The company is specialist in installation & commissioning, repair & service and maintenance of imported and Indian made commercial k i tc h e n a n d l a u n d ry equipments.

It has diverse clientele, s p re a d a c ro ss I n d i a , extending upto Bhutan and Nepal. The clientele i n c l u d es s ta r h ote l s , resorts, fast food chains, restaurants, clubs, caterers, offices and industrial canteens, multiplexes/food courts, flight kitchen, hospitals, garment exporters, commercial laundry companies having in-house kitchen among others. Moreover, as part of commitment to provide costeffective, trouble free and tension free solution, Chandra Engineers offers annual maintenance contract for preventive maintenance (AMC & CAMC) for commercial laundry and kitchen equipments.

The imported kitchen equipments marketed by Chandra Engineers include Angelo PO, Nayati, Cleveland, Cooktek, Adventys, Firex, Ice-O-Matic, Scotsman Powerline, Electrolux, Hatco, Hobart, Kold-Draft, Salvajor, Vulcan, Waring, Bravilor-Bonamat_coffee range, Fimar, Forcar, Moreillon Gastrotechnik AG_Burnishing machines, Adamation_Burnishing machine, Monlith_Pre Rinse faucets, Starmix, Flamic. In laundry sector brands includes Danube-International, Chicagio, Edro-Dynawash, Forenta, Multimatic, Rema, Shraper Finish, Thermopatch & Power Line and dry-cleaning equipments include Maestrelli and Multimatic.

Chandra Engineers info@chandraengineers.co.in

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Excellent Design What began in 1986 with a collection of office stationery has grown into an entire world of house wares. Freelance is in the business of bringing fashion at your home. The company manufacture, import and market an extensive range of items for the entire home (Table spoon, tea spoon, table mats, trays, steel, vacuum flasks, carafes, crockery, cutlery, microwave and many more). Through their diverse collection runs a common thread of excellent design and superior quality. Over the years, they have earned a reputation for bringing the best in the world to the homes of those who have a discerning eye for quality and design. Freelance tirelessly scout the globe in search of products that can deliver these values. Naturally, most of our offerings are sourced from places like Western Europe, Japan, Korea and Taiwan. Their clients include those who do not believe in making compromises, and if you share that sentiment .The company encourage to participating in the Freelance lifestyle.

Multi Creations Pvt. Ltd. hospitality@ShopFreelance.com

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A d v e r t is e r ’ s I n d e x Company

Page No.

Company

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ambro Asia

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Loomcrafts Furniture India Pvt. Ltd.

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chandra engineers

07

M.P. Enterprises

15

Cremica Food Industries Ltd. fic

Mod Kitchen Equipments Pvt. Ltd.

29

d k g sales pvt. ltd.

17

Rans Technocrats India Pvt. Ltd.

01

dristi kitchen solutions

21

Remington Steel Arts

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euro foods pvt. ltd.

25

Rezol 39

GPA Capital Foods Pvt. Ltd. gnosch foods pvt. ltd.

BIC 05, BC

sky enterprises pvt. ltd.

T&S Brass

06, 08 35

lionox 10

Aug-Sept ’20

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INTERVIEW

Building Loyalty through Enriching Guest Experience!

Vineet Kapoor, Food & Beverage Manager, Welcomhotel Dwarka, New Delhi Vineet Kapoor leading the F&B team at WelcomHotel Dwarka, is an ambitious and dynamic hospitality professional with a diverse experience, backed by strong leadership skills. He graduated from the prestigious IHM Pusa in the year 2005. He has over 15 years of work experience in Hotels and Restaurants openings and ensuring their financial and operational stability and working with well known brands where he honed skills for a holistic approach towards managing the Food & Beverage Operations. He ensures to provide the guests with the best culinary experiences through innovation and creativity. Prior to working with Welcomhotel Dwarka, he was Food and Beverage manager at Sandal Suites Operated by Lemon Tree Hotels.

In a candid conversation with Sharmila Chand, he talks more about himself and his work: What do you enjoy most about being F&B Head?

If you could change one thing about your job, what would it be?

What are the challenges of working here?

B e i n g t h e c u s to d i a n of Fo o d a n d Beverage service, it gives me an opportunity to showcase our rich cultural heritage to the guests by way of our award winning cuisine and service style. The lineage and history of a country is best showcased by the rich food. The profile also gives me the chance to interact with the guests and help in elevating their experience.

I wish it was possible to allow every employee to stay/avail the hotel service at least once so that they can get a firsthand experience of the product/service.

The same would help them think about the wow’s we can deliver to the guest at every moment of truth.

Since it’s a huge hotel, its challenging to meet the quality promise and yet maintaining costs.

What do you dislike the most?

This profession requires lot of hard work and long work hours hence often it is not easy to convince your team mates to sacrifice their personal commitments due to exigencies of work.

What are the challenges in your job?

F&B space is extremely dynamic in nature and the following things make it challenging: • The way you and your staff treat the guests will make or break your business.

There is a constant thrust on us to make sure anyone who dines with us should go back with a memorable experience which only comes with personalisation.

• Today’s guest is extremely informed and well-traveled and understands quality and the cuisine • The food has to be Insta-worth and yet appealing to the palate.

• The loyalty of your guests shifts very frequently and is at times unpredictable.

• You have to innovate and think creatively regularly to entice your guest.

Just serving good food won’t promise loyalty anymore.

• The human touch is actually the Midas Touch which our team has. It’s extremely important to keep them motivated in this materialistic world as Happy employee means Happy guests.

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What kind of pressures have you encountered at work?

• Delivering a high EDITDA without compromising on quality.

• Delivering consistent service even post attrition.

• Often dealing with high tempers amongst two different teams during peak operations.

• A successful restaurant or a wellorganised event is as good as playing orchestra where everyone plays an integral role. You often will have to cover your team mate who would have had a bad day at home.

Can you suggest any tips or insights to strengthen your team?

Our work calls for long hours and hard work. New challenges come our way every day so it’s extremely important to know your team’s strength and weaknesses. In F&B it has to be more like an extended family wherein there is respect for even the most junior team mate.

Finally, how is your experience at the present job?

It feels great to be a part of the country’s premier business conglomerate and a leader in the Indian Hospitality space. At ITC Hotels ‘Responsible Luxury’ is manifest in a collection of hotels that mirror the ethos and culture of the destination; through culinary experiences like Kebabs & Kurries.

Hammer Food & Beverage Business Review

What excites you the most here?

Since the hotel is located in a residential hub, so the scope for F&B is immense.

The population is young and is looking for experiential dining options. The hotel attracts both inbound and outbound guests.

Hence, giving us an opportunity to appraise the foreign nationals with the rich cuisines and ensuring that our domestic travelers relish the regional flavors of India.

What is the USP of your F&B outlets?

Welcomhotel Dwarka offers a broad spectrum of cuisines not only from different regions but also a varied timeline. Shanghai Club bridges the cuisines of the orient and ties them to the first Chinese settlers in the city of joy and delivers the same through Tangra Chinese. Pavilion 75, is not any usual coffee shop fare, rather it offers substantial pie with european classics, the best of Indian fare and Oriental. Kebabs & Kurries the Indian outpost reflects the cuisines stretching beyond our borders. Not just limited to Kebabs, Kebabs & Kurries provides morsels of Quorma and Salans along with breads cooked on charcoal hearths.

What is your take on the hospitality business in general?

With niche hotel brands entering the Indian Sub-Continent, I certainly feel that the hospitality business in India has the potential to grow exponentially both in terms of experience and turnover.

It is imperative to build loyalty for all players through an enhanced customer engagement.

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Ph.: 011-47820000 (10 Line) | Email: agropure@agropure.net Website: www.agropure.net Hammer Food & Beverage Business Review Dec-Jan ’20

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