Express Food and Hospitality (Vol.1 No.9) December, 2019

EDITOR’S NOTE

Giving back to community

W

e will be remembered only if we give to our younger generation a prosperous and safe India, resulting out of economic prosperity coupled with civilisational heritage - APJ Abdul Kalam The decision to take our renowned Great Indian Culinary Challenge (GICC) to the Tier 2 and 3 cities of India perhaps echoes these very sentiments of our former president. We want to give back and grow the community, search out unexplored hidden talent and preserve our culinary traditions.

That is the vision behind the GICC Live Series so that it reaches even the remotest corners of India to search out talent in the chef community in these regions and nuture it.

The first of the series was rolled out successfully in Dehradun and it was gratifying to see chefs coming in even from Rishikesh and Mussoorie to show their culinary skills especially in the regional cuisine category. The Live Series will next roll out in Pune followed by more cities known for being food hubs of the country.

With the growth of the global travel ecosystem and traveller demand for unique stay experiences showing no signs of slowing, increased collaboration

EXPRESS FOOD & HOSPITALITY NATIONALFOOD,HOSPITALITY& BEVERAGE SALES WEST Datta K +91 9821580849 | datta.kandalkar@indianexpress.com

SOUTH Sreejith Radhakrishnan +91 88675 74257 | sreejith.radhakrishnan@expressindia.com

Sanjay Kumar +91 9711099079 | sanjay.kumar@expressindia.com

OPERATION AND SALES Satish Dange +91 9821876620 | satish.dange@indianexpress.com

EAST Debnarayan Dutta +919051150480 | debnarayan.dutta@expressindia.com

Ziyad Tungekar +91 9820512718 | ziyad.tungekar@expressindia.com

Ajanta Sen Gupta +919831182580 | Email: ajanta.sengupta@expressindia.com

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December 2019

STEENA JOY Editor Express Food & Hospitality editor.efh@gmail.com

NORTH Prabhas Jha +91 9899707440 | prabhas.jha@expressindia.com

Satish Dange +91 9821876620 | satish.dange@indianexpress.com

Venkatesh Subramaniam +91 9892512644 | venkatesh.subramaniam@expressindia.com

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We want to give back and grow the community,search out unexplored hidden talent and preserve our culinary traditions

between digital travel platforms and properties is key, says Ritu Mehrotra, country manager, India, Sri Lanka and Maldives at Booking.com. Something which Oyo needs to seriously consider - reexamine the relationship with its partners and work on its business model so that it is for mutual growth even as it faces huge pressure from investors, mostly SoftBank to achieve profitability.

Meanwhile, realty developer Prestige Group has entered into an agreement with Marriott International, Inc to open six new hotels under the W, JW Marriott, Tribute Portfolio and Moxy brands across south India with nearly 1,000 rooms across the four brands.

Further proof that India’s rising affluent class and their increasing disposable incomes have continued to fuel the demand for quality branded hotel rooms, not just in metro cities but in the emerging Tier 2 and 3 cities where the opportunities for hotels to expand footprint are immense.

FOR PARTNERSHIPS,TIE-UPS,SPECIAL EVENTS Anishi Khetan +91 9930915221 | anishi.khetan@indianexpress.com

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CONTENTS SPA & WELLNESS Chairman of the Board Viveck Goenka Sr. Vice President Neil Viegas Asst. Vice President Harit Mohanty Editor

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Steena Joy* Correspondent

WELLNESS NEEDS OF THE NEW AGE HOTEL GUEST

Akshay Nayak DESIGN

HIGH SPIRITS

Assistant Art Director Pravin Temble Chief Designer Prasad Tate Senior Designer Rekha Bisht Graphics Designer Gauri Deorukhkar Senior Artist Ratilal Ladani Photo Editor Sandeep Patil DIGITAL TEAM Head of Internet

Bright future for DarkKitchens?

Thriving on an arrayof advantages like lowcapex,operational costs,and high returns in lowgestation period,cloud kitchens or darkkitchens as a concept has come a long way,disrupting the foodservice market since their mushrooming period just a couple of years ago.However,certain concerns like qualityand hygiene,customer retention and increased dependence on the Internet for orders,can cast a shadowon the future of the concept (20-25)

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WSET IS EXCITED TO TAKE WINE EDUCATION TO NEWER LEVELS IN INDIA: IAN HARRIS

Viraj Mehta SCHEDULING & COORDINATION Arvind Mane

P16: NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK

MARKETING / SALES

Taj Tirupati

Ziyad Tungekar Dattaram Kandalkar Satish Dange Venkatesh Subramaniam Sanjay Kumar Sreejith Radhakrishnan

P18: PRODUCT TRACKER

CIRCULATION Mohan Varadakar PRODUCTION General Manager B R Tipnis

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HOTREMAI EXPERIUM WILL INCREASE OUR PAN-INDIA REACH AS WELL AS GET NEW MEMBERS ON BOARD: ANIL MALHOTRA

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HOTELS NEED TO MAKE SURE THEY EXCEED EXPECTATIONS AT EVERY STAGE OF THEIR GUESTS’ STAY: JULIAN AYERS

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SHARAD FOOD SOLUTION PROVIDES FOODSERVICE SEGMENT WITH TURNKEY DAIRY SOLUTIONS

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EXPRESS FOOD & HOSPITALITY BRINGS GREAT INDIAN CULINARY CHALLENGE TO DEHRADUN

Range of cooling segment products

by Danfoss Industries

P44: MOVEMENTS Hilton Jaipur

PARTNERSHIPS, TIE-UPS Anishi Khetan

MARKETS

P50: WEEKEND Scene and heard by Marcellus Baptista

Express Food & Hospitality® REGD.WITH RNI NO. MAHENG/2019/78000, Printed and Published by Vaidehi Thakar on behalf of Global Fairs & Media Pvt Ltd and Printed at The Indian Express Press, Plot No.EL-208, TTC Industrial Area, Mahape, Navi Mumbai-400710 and Published at Express Towers, 1st floor, Nariman Point, Mumbai 400021.

Editor: Steena Joy* (Editorial & Administrative Offices: Express Towers, 1st floor, Nariman Point, Mumbai 400021)

Production Co-ordinator Dhananjay Nidre

* Responsible for selection of news under the PRB Act. Copyright © 2019. All rights reserved throughout the world. Reproduction in any manner, electronic or otherwise, in whole or in part, without prior written permission is prohibited.

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December 2019

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Food service distributors of Mumbai launch nation-wide trade association FSDA Akshay Nayak Mumbai THE FOOD service distributors of Mumbai have come together and formed a nationwide trade association Food Service Distributors Association of India (FSDA) with area specific chapters of distributors & wholesalers supplying to the food service industry.

The association was formally formed on September 1, 2018, in Mumbai to initiate aid and assist activities towards development of the Indian food distribution sector.

Speaking about the need of founding the association, Keyur Bhatia, president, FSDA, said, “The industry has been expanding at a fast pace.

Need of the hour is to standardise, and benchmarking of business processes for a struc-

tured and sustainable growth environment. The government policies are not very sensitive towards our industry as it has not been very well represented and in general we are a fragmented lot. We propose firstly to speak to the FSSAI for better implementation of their objectives to take us along as partners rather than penalise the honest law-abiding distributors on the part of the food business operators (FBO) for negligence. There is also a lot of confusion regarding the claims settlement process and the resultant accounting practices followed by us as per the commercial needs of our business. This leads to a lot of unnecessary confusion and stress at the time of the assessments for which we need to represent our case.”

Keyur Bhatia

FSDA is lead by some of the most distinguished and experienced distribution houses in the business.

“Under their leadership and on the basis of the suggestions made by our distinguished members, we have formed

various committees focused to address specific issues related to the industry in a quick and timely manner. We are building a rating platform for all the stake holders in the business as this will be of use to both members and job members. We will also bring transparency to the whole process and avoid unnecessary bureaucracy for which we will be maintaining communication among the members on an app that will also ensure accountability,” he informed about the functionality of FSDA. Being one of its first kind of association, FSDA is paving its own roads to address the concerns of their member distributors. “We will bring out newsletters, food service industry yellow pages and create knowledge and networking conferences on regular

basis. Also, we have initiated the process of informing industry groups and international and national trade bodies of the existence of our association for mutual benefits,” added Bhatia.

The road ahead for FSDA is to lead as an exemplary and benchmark national trade body for promotion of commerce facilitating in the creation of an atmosphere conducive of growth and fair trade, expressed Bhatia. “We are in discussion with many distributors across the country to form chapters of FSDA in their respective cities and take this endeavour forward. We will be the national voice of the industry representing our members interests to global and national government bodies, trade associations, embassies, etc,” he informed.

Godrej Locks and Architectural Fittings and Systems to soon roll out digital solutions for hospitality sector Steena Joy Mumbai INDIA’S MOST trusted and established locking solutions brand, Godrej Locks and Architectural Fittings and Systems (the new nomenclature to include future growth drivers - architectural and kitchen fittings segments) will soon roll out digital locking solutions especially for the B2B segments like hospitality and healthcare. In an exclusive interview, Shyam Motwani, EVP and business head, Godrej Locks and Architectural Fittings and Systems informed Express Food & Hospitality, “As far as the B2B or B2G (business to government), today roughly 12 per cent of our business comes from these two seg-

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ments. We believe there is opportunity to double that. We are actually now targeting and putting plans in place in terms of more focus on the B2B segment in order to double the numbers in next three years. And within B2B, hospitality plays a very important role for us. While residential is our mainstay and will continue to be our larger business vertical to contribute to our B2B business but hospitality is fast catching up. We have big plans for this sector in terms of developing very modern solutions that are currently in vogue and in demand. We will shortly be rolling out some very interesting digital solutions for the hospitality sector. And we do believe that will really pit us and pitch us in the same league as

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December 2019

Shyam Motwani

global players and help us get our true share of revenues which we are targeting from this sector.”

He believed that the future lies in digital technologies. “We see that happening in most categories of daily use. Even in

door and safety devices we find that digital will really become very big. There are some consumer perceptions associated with digital which is even today played out in the developed world. Even in the European market which is far more mature, the adoption of digital solutions is only 25 per cent. So mechanical is here to stay. The proportion will vary from country to country, it is a matter of culture. In our country, safety is not a big concern. So creating awareness is a challenge. But our technology adoption rates are very high in India so digital door devices will also catch up in every application, be it residential or B2B and we see future in that. We are making new investments in a whole new

range of new age applications using the new digital platform to make very sophisticated and modern and keyless solutions,” Motwani added.

In the next six months the division will be ready with very modern offline and online solutions for its end users in B2B segments be it hospitality, healthcare, offices, etc where there will be complete integration in real time with the back end server so that all relevant data is available to the management. Speaking about the future roadmap, Motwani said, “Future vision is to dominate the sector in digital locks. The next three to five years will be driven by new growth segments like glass fittings and kitchen fittings segments.”

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'HOTREMAI EXPERIUM WILLINCREASE OUR PAN-INDIA REACH AS WELLAS GETNEWMEMBERS ON BOARD' Anil Malhotra, MD, HSMC Asia is the newly elected president of HOTREMAI. Speaking with Akshay Nayak, he underscores the association's vision for having a strong presence across the country to address the members' concerns Recently a lot of chefs have been talking about IOT and smart kitchen equipment? Is the Indian HoReCa segment, both the manufacturers and chefs ready to welcome the trend?

The Internet of Things (IoT) is rapidly transforming not only homes but also manufacturing and other asset-heavy industries. A recent report found that using connected devices to predict when a machine needs servicing instead of waiting until it breaks down could reduce maintenance costs by 30 per cent and lead to nearly 70 per cent fewer breakdowns. In HoReCa, the improved efficiencies offered by linking sensors and RFID tags on equipment and stock to cloud-based databases that can be accessed by staff members via mobile apps, could make the difference between success and failure. One of the ways IoT is already being used in foodservice is to improve food safety. This needs to be implemented with due diligence, where the government needs to play a more active role in terms of bringing the correct

and immediate implementation of food safety laws. Going down the memory lane – as a student of a Hotel Management at an Austrian hotel school–I was pleasantly surprised to hear that Food Safety Officers are actually called “Lebensmittel Polezei”, which stands for Food Police. A country which takes Food safety seriously must think on these terms.

Indian HoReCa segment is already using IoT technologies such as temperature probes, barcode scanners and RFID infrared readers.

The key to success for Indian HorReCa, wanting to use the IOT to make their operations more connected is to fail fast and move on quickly from mistakes. Suppliers also need to work closely with the chefs to learn from their experiences to achieve results faster, using their expertise in IOT. What are the key challenges and opportunities faced by the hospitality equipment manufacturers?

The challenges include, not knowing what the hospitality

Anil Malhotra

customer wants (There’s a gap between the purchase fraternity and the vendors for HORECA); lack of governmental support for HORECA and lack of platforms that represent the concerns of the HORECA equipment manufacturers.

However, the opportunities are bigger with more and more people travelling, going on vacations and eating out. That itself is a big opportunity for the HORECA Industry and in turn the hospitality equipment suppliers.

How does HOTREMAI focus on vendor support and leveraging opportunities, liaison with government, staff training opportunities, etc.?

HOTREMAI is moving ahead in a planned manner to up its role both for the fraternity and its members. We hold associate memberships in bodies like the FICCI, ASSOCHAM and PHD Chambers of Commerce where the governmental interactions are made easy at the association level.

HOTREMAI in turn keeps all its members abreast with the happenings and the suggestions from the members are conveyed to the respective bodies so as to enable a two-way communication, directly with a HOTREMAI member. This brings productive results for our industry, especially during budget suggestions and recommends towards other government policies, while being drafted. An individual member on his own cannot get this kind of reach. HOTREMAI extends its support by participating in reputed events in India as well as abroad and negotiate its best

The Fern Hotels and Resorts with Aabid Surti launches “Fern Saves Water”initiative EF&H Staff Mumbai THE FERN HOTELS and Resorts, India’s leading environmentally sensitive hotel chain in association with National Geographic Traveller India & Aabid Surti (Drop Dead Foundation) has started an initiative “Fern

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Saves Water”.

The main purpose of the initiative is to fix leaking taps in houses across India. The objective of this campaign is to save 100 million litres of water in a year.

Amit Kumar Sharma, GM, Amanora The Fern Hotels & Club, said, “Our team at Amanora The Fern, Pune

EXPRESS FOOD & HOSPITALITY

December 2019

stepped out recently in two rural areas in Pune for this great cause looking out for leaking taps and fixed numerous leaking taps. The team also carried out an awareness campaign by spreading awareness by speaking to villagers/ residents as a part of community involvement and education.”

in favour of its members.

Is this sector getting any boost from Make in India perspective?

It is basically the manufacturers themselves who are striving to propagate the Make in India – a success. Also with the customs duties being decreased, it hasn't been of help for the indigenous manufacturers.

What is the vision ahead for HOTREMAI to keep the fraternity connected pan-India?

We’ve been working on growing beyond the northern region and have already scheduled for more regional meets.

One such initiative to increase our pan-India reach as well as get new members on board, is HOTREMAI Experium. It would be an intimate networking dinner for the hospitality decision-makers across verticals and the HOTREMAI members. We’ve already planned a three-city tour starting MidDecember covering New Delhi, Mumbai and Jaipur.

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Impresario Handmade Restaurants to focus on scaling up existent brands and incubating in aspirational brands Akshay Nayak Mumbai AT THE OPENING of the 24th outpost of the contemporary dining brand Social recently in Powai, Riyaaz Amlani, CEO & MD, Impresario Handmade Restaurants in an exclusive interview with Express Food & Hospitality pointed out that the government policies, specifically for the foodservice segment is not industry-friendly. He feels that although GST for restaurants is quite low, unfortunately, it has hurt the industry as the

restaurateurs cannot avail Input Tax Credit, because of which all the expenses have gone up by 18 per cent, boiling it down to a scenario wherein earlier one restaurateur could open five restaurants, but now they can only open four.

Voicing his view about the evolution of the industry in the recent past, Amlani said, “The real revolution in the foodservice segment happened in the last two decades because if you get into a time machine and revisit the year, you could see there were very little options to dine

out back then. Experiential dining was mostly restricted to 5star hotels. In the last 20 years, India has leapfrogged various kinds of evolution. It went straight to fine dining followed by casual dining. It has been an interesting one for us and we've had one of a kind journey. I think people do thrive on new experiences; want novelty, and at the same time want comfort. At the end of the day, the basics of this industry have not changed which is offering great food and warm service.”

Expressing the employment

scenario in the hospitality industry, Amlani said that it is one of the largest in the services sector.

“It is number two after finance and insurance. We are an employment powerhouse. We employ 8-10x more people than the IT industry and 24x people more than Bollywood. Right now, India is employing about eight million people in the hospitality business. It is up to the government to make tourism-friendly policies. It also includes the government considering restaurantfriendly policies because now if you see, 90 per cent of the peo-

ple choose food as their primary reason for choosing their destination,” he added.

About the future roadmap of Impresario Handmade Restaurants, Amlani said, “We hail to be one of India's largest foodservice companies. We have our brands like Social and Smoke House Deli, but we also want to invest in upcoming talent to create more successful brands across the country. So, our focus will be upon scaling up our own brands, and investing and incubating in aspirational brands, looking at the strategic growth.”

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'HOTELS NEED TO MAKE SURE THEYEXCEED EXPECTATIONS ATEVERYSTAGE OFTHEIR GUESTS’STAY' In an exclusive interview, Julian Ayers, area vice president - North India and GM, Hyatt Regency Delhi shares his insights on the industry dynamics and why he feels the future of hospitality is connected to technology. By Steena Joy What are your insights on the dynamics of the hospitality sector in India, especially in the north of the country?

Hotels and hospitality industry is driven by consumer behaviour and demand. The needs and desires of guests have led to the emergence of trends in the industry to improve guest relations and stay competitive. With the number of travellers increasing substantially every year, the hospitality industry is catering to a diverse range of guests and with the advent of technology, people are drawn towards services that meet their technological demands.

Thus, to keep up with these demands, hotels have adapted to these technological changes.

Additionally, consumers tend to prefer hotels which offer exclusive experiences and a majority of these consumers are loyal to certain brands. In order to earn the loyalty, hotels need to modify their offerings and change according to customers’ expectations.

How does Hyatt as a brand fit into this scenario?

The hotel industry is constantly evolving these days.

The future of the hospitality industry is connected to technology and its application as well as creation of personalised guest experiences. The evolution of technology continues to transform guests’ experience and enhance the overall hotel experience. Both customers and businesses can benefit from improved communication, reservations and guest service systems.

There also has been a notice-

able shift in recent trends in room and hotel design. At Hyatt Regency Delhi, we combine design and functionality to present unique concepts to the guests. We also endeavour to make the experience of the guest less of a hotel and more of a home.

You are overseeing operations of nine Hyatt properties most of which are in Tier 2/3 cities like Ludhiana, Amritsar, etc. We believe that these cities are the future growth engines for hospitality in India.

Your comments.

Yes, definitely, we believe it is very important to expand our footprint into these cities.

We want to play an important role as these communities continue to grow and thrive, The importance of sustainability in the hospitality sector. Hyatt's initiatives?

Plastic waste has become a major issue for our environment. From causing harm to the planet and clogging up the oceans to affecting wildlife, plastic waste is a serious problem. The hospitality industry is a major contributor to plastic waste, so it becomes imperative for them to look into ways to combat this problem. Along with contributing towards the wellness of the environment, reduction of plastic use by hotels also helps in portraying the hotels as conscious and sustainable. A lot of the times, guests prefer to stay at sustainable hotels in order to do their bit for the environment. Another advantage is the decrease in waste produced on a daily basis. The al-

10 EXPRESS FOOD & HOSPITALITY December 2019

With the advent of technology, people are drawn towards services that meet their technological demands. Thus, to keep up with these demands, hotels have adapted to these technological changes Julian Ayers

ternatives to plastic can be reused and recycled in turn reducing the amount of waste.

Hyatt Regency Delhi has recently launched its own inhouse water bottling plant, making it one of the first few hotels in India to take this stride. The fully automated water bottling plant at Hyatt Regency Delhi endeavours to eradicate approximately 1.08 million plastic bottles a year, by making the switch to reusable glass bottles! This process saves 28 tons of plastic waste every year.

The chefs at Hyatt Regency Delhi have adopted several ways to ensure sustainability in the kitchen.

Purchasing for food supplies is an important aspect of the hotel’s processes. A lot of thought and attention to detail is involved as some ingredients are sourced locally and the others are sourced from various other countries. The rule followed at Hyatt Regency Delhi is to buy only as much as is anticipated that will be needed at that point of time to reduce wastage to

whatever extent possible. We believe the key to having a sustainable food supplies it to minimise waste.

Additionally, we have a contract with a government approved vendor to collect dry waste for its correct disposal, and for wet waste we have installed Biogas plant of capacity of 500 kg/day.

The kitchen equipment does add to the hotel’s sustainability. Being truly sustainable is not just a matter of reducing food wastage, it is also about reducing overall wastage and trying to support local communities that our hotel is part of.

What are the challenges of satisfying the new age guest/traveller?

The hotel industry, driven by customer expectations when it comes to hygiene standards, exceptional service and customised personal experiences, faces a vast set of challenges. Combined with increasing competition, hotels need to make sure they exceed expectations at every stage of their guests’ stay. A

few of the challenges faced by hotels on a regular basis include cleanliness, technology, sustainability, meaningful experiences, etc. Efficient housekeeping teams, innovative use of technology that benefits customers, and meeting the challenges and expectations of the guests in a sustainable way can ensure long term growth and loyalty amongst guests.

What is your people/ management mantra?

Happy team, happy guests!

Future plans?

Hyatt Regency Delhi has been a pioneer in F&B in the city. This year the hotel is celebrating the 25th anniversary of our Italian specialty restaurant - La Piazza. Next year we will be celebrating the silver jubilee of TK’s Oriental Bar & Grill. We will be building on this legacy with the launch of our new outlet, which is going to be a modern Middle Eastern restaurant.

Hopefully, it would be another gem under our culinary belt.

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Sharad Food Solution provides foodservice segment with turnkey dairy solutions Akshay Nayak Mumbai PART OF THE UMBRELLA brand Damodar Chakubhai Group – a well-known grocery brand servicing the HoReCa industry, Sharad Food Solution excels in providing a wide range of dairy-based products to the HoReCa segment pan-India. Its USP lies in the degree of customisation that it brings to the products to meet the requirement of the customer.

Speaking about the dairy industry in India, Nilabja Dey, director - Commercial, Sharad Food Solutions, said, “The dairy industry at large, 85 per cent of it remains unorganised in India. In the remaining 15 per cent, Amul is the market leader followed by brands like Mother Dairy, Gowardhan, and Prabhat. We at Sharad Food Solution – the super stockist of brand Nadini and Warana, essentially focus on the

foodservice segment. In the foodservice segment quality, price, yield, pack size, and service play a major role. In the HoReCa segment, dairy products are an integral part of food production.

Looking at these needs, we at Sharad Food Solution address all the pain points bothering our customers, i.e. the hoteliers and restaurateurs.”

Being the head of purchase at Sodexo for eight years and in the HoReCa industry for more than 27 years, Dey reminisces how he learned the exact need of the HoReCa segment in terms of materials when it comes to abiding by standard and quality services.

“As I readily witnessed the gap between the humongous population striving quality products and a staggering per cent of the dairy industry being unorganised, I figured that bringing food safety, convenience and economy to this industry could yield multiplier effect in volumes and revenues,” ex-

Nilabja Dey

pressed Dey. As the super stockist for Nandini Group in the west region, the company promotes and provides with Nandini’s dairy products like Ghee, UHT Milk, Butter and Cheese to the HoReCa sector across India.

“Nandini has set up a 660 cr plant in Kanakapura near Bengaluru, where it produces cheese. As the local cattle there yield high-protein content milk, it gives increased elastic properties to the cheese, savoured by the end consumer. The launch of Nandini cheese about a month ago has

witnessed increased demand by the foodservice segment, and by next year, we are confident that it shall be the market leader. Our endeavour is to offer excellent quality with low rates,” Dey informed. In the words of Dey, Sharad Food Solution is popularly known for turning around the business for the milk co-operatives that it works with by bringing expeditious growth in volumes and revenues, which lastly benefits the farmers who work for the co-operatives. “Under the guidance of Dr Vinaraoji Kore, chairman, Warana Group, a paneer (cottage cheese) production plant at the Sanpada Facility in Navi Mumbai was set up in January 2019 exclusively for Sharad Food Solution. Currently it is the busiest paneer producing plant in Mumbai and supplies monthly 100 metric tonnes of paneer to pan India clientele,” he voiced.

Speaking about the USP of the company, Dey said, “We pride

ourselves on providing quality products. We also prepare an adulteration-free practices report. This is how we helped Warana to grow. Also, predominantly being a purchase professional and one of the founding members of Hospitality Purchase Managers Forum (HPMF), we maintain transparency about our business practices by organising frequent visits to the factories for the chefs and purchase managers of hotels, during which we also convey the costing parameters of various ingredients and production stages that is implemented on the end product. The central purchase teams of Taj Hotels, Holiday Inn, Vista Foods and many other known brands of hotels and restaurant chains were here to visit the factory.” Sharad Food Solution's future view is to reduce the operational burden in foodservice segment “We are growing at 200 per cent year on year,” concluded Dey.

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Express Food & Hospitality brings Great Indian Culinary Challenge to Dehradun

EF&H Staff Dehradun THE GREAT INDIAN Culinary Challenge (GICC) was held at IMS Unison University’s School of Hospitality Management in Dehradun recently. The competition witnessed participation from over 50 culinary enthusiasts who presented their culinary talent.

The competition was declared open for professionals as well as hospitality management college students who undertook live cooking in International and Regional cuisine categories. The

competition witnessed participation from institutions and hotels from Dehradun, Mussoorie, Haridwar and Rishikesh.

Some of the participants included JW Marriott, Ananda in the Himalayas, The ITC Savoy, Hotel Boulevard, Hotel Vana Enterprise, Hotel Softel Plaza, The First Gear Café, Cygnett Resort Grand, etc.

The students represented various institutions such as Government Institute of Hotel Management (GIHM), MAHAR, UIHMT and Madhuban Academy of Hospitality.

The Great Indian Culinary

Challenge is an initiative by Express Food and Hospitality to showcase Indian Culinary Talent. The platform has been curated by Le Cordon Bleu Chef Michael Swamy and Chef Gautam Chaudhary. Apart from Chef Swamy and Chef Chaudhary, the eminent jury included Chef Rahul Wali and Chef Debashish Guha from Dehradun.

The competition also had Masterclasses on Kashmiri cuisine by Chef Wali, Thai cuisine

by Chef Abhay Chamoli from IMS Unison and a workshop on Food Photography by Chef Swamy.

The winners across the four categories included: Live Cooking (International Cuisine) for professionals – Prakash Negi from ITC Welcom Hotel The Savoy who bagged Gold, Megha Maheshwari from Ananda in the Himalayas won Silver and Gautam Rawat from JW Marriott Mussoorie Walnut Grove Resort & Spa won Bronze. The second category was Live Cooking (Regional Cuisine) for professionals in which Dan Singh Rawat from Vana Enterprises won Gold; Himalaya Chauhan from Ananda in the Himalayas won Silver and

Sumit Canguri of GIHM Dehradun bagged Bronze. In the third category – Live Cooking (International Cuisine) for students, Yamuna Rana from Madhuban Academy garnered Gold while Leon Tindale from Ram Institute of Hotel Management and Manav Rai Dewan from Madhuban Academy won Silver and Bronze respectively. In the fourth category – Live Cooking (Regional Cuisine) for students, Kanika Garkhal from UIHMT bagged Gold, and Deepak Kumar and Harshit Khatri from GIHM won Silver and Bronze respectively.

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EXPRESS FOOD & HOSPITALITY

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December 2019

NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK

Taj Tirupati

Hyatt Regency Dharamshala Resort

H

yatt Hotels Corporation recently announced the opening of its first mountain resort property in India, Hyatt Regency Dharamshala Resort, in the scenic Kangra district of Himachal Pradesh.

Surrounded by mountains and lush forests, the resort’s signature Hyatt Regency offerings and insightful service will now be available to travellers visiting the region. Hyatt Re-

gency Dharamshala Resort has 80 contemporary guestrooms, including ten Regency Club guestrooms and three suites. The resort also features four deluxe villas, ranging from one to five bedroom properties. Each guestroom is well-equipped with modern amenities and provides views of the gardens, cedar wood trees or the snowcapped Dhauladar range of the Himalayas.

T

he Indian Hotels Company’s iconic brand, Taj, recently opened a new hotel in Tirupati. The city is home to the renowned shrine of Tirumala Venkateswara Temple, one of the most visited religious sites on earth. Located in close proximity to the Tirumala hills, Taj Tirupati offers unparalleled views of the hills. Inspired by the Dravidian style of architecture, Taj Tirupati has a distinctive design evident in its solid lines, open spaces and characteristic curves. The 106 spacious rooms and suites carry the inspiration further in silk wallpaper and local motifs in the floor carpets. Bringing the experience of the city within, traditional brass bells at the reception pay tribute to the local culture.

The Fern ResidencyAurangabad

T

he Fern Residency, Aurangabad is a 120-room business hotel offering modern-day accommodations, swimming pool and state-of-art banquet halls. A finely-designed multi-cuisine restaurant and a bar are the dining and unwinding options for the guests. The hotel offers three categories of room viz. Winter Green, Fern Club and Hazel Suite. Some of the amenities in the rooms include packaged water, eco-friendly light arrangement and bathroom conveniences, tea maker and satellite TV connections. The other facilities the guest can look forward to are laundry service, swimming pool, gym, etc. Riwaaz- the multi-cuisine allday dining restaurant at the Lobby level, offers a wide variety of food from different parts of the country as well as popular international cuisines. Firangi-The Bar is a relaxed lounge bar, where cocktails and cuisines strike the perfect balance.

Cygnett Style Signature, McLeodganj

C

ygnett Group recently launched Cygnett Style Signature in McLeodganj, Himachal Pradesh. Cygnett Style Signature has been designed strategically and aims to provide travellers enhanced stay experience with tastefully crafted rooms. The rooms have been categorised into Superior, Deluxe and Family rooms. Primarily, the central location of the hotel in proximity to modes of travel and social and commercial hubs of the city makes the property an ideal venue for corporate events.

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NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK

Karma Sitabani,Jim Corbett Cygnett Resort Alaya,Jim Corbett National Park

K

arma Group has announced the opening of Karma Sitabani, in the Jim Corbett National Park, part of the Corbett Tiger Reserve in the picturesque heartland of Uttarakhand in Northern India.

Spread over 3.4 acres (14,500 sq m), the resort has a total of 42 suites in various configurations, within expansive manicured

lawns and the usual Karma amenities such as spa, pool, restaurant, kid’s area, cinema, games area and gym. Named after Sir Edward Jim Corbett, the famous naturalist and photographer, the Jim Corbett National Park lies nestled in the foothills of the Himalayas and is one of the most popular destinations for wildlife enthusiasts.

C

ygnett Hotels & Resorts recently launched – Cygnett Resort Alaya, Jim Corbett, which is situated in Ramnagar further down in the hidden village of Kyari. It offers an environment to experience life both in leisure and business dimensions. Tucked in the picturesque landscape in the periphery of Corbett National Park, the resort is suited to spend holidays in absolute privacy that city dwellers long for. Ideal for stay during summers as well as winters, visitors can have a good time by indulging in a wide variety of adventure and activities.

Avani Melbourne Box Hill Residences & Avani Adelaide Residences Club Med Sahoro, Hokkaido

C

lub Med, the premium all-inclusive operator and global snow holiday leader has launched the renovated Club Med Sahoro, Hokkaido resort. At the newly renovated Club Med Sahoro, Hokkaido resort, guests will learn more about the Ainu culture – the indigenous tribe from Hokkaido – through the resort’s new design and public spaces. The public spaces including the bar, theater and reception have gone through a major overhaul, featuring a fresh modern look this November. Drawing inspiration from the Ainu ornaments, stitching and embroidery, the resort’s interior preserves the beauty and splendor of the culture, presenting a harmonious mix with a modern twist to the traditional Ainu patterns.

A

vani Hotels & Resorts continues its expansion plans in Australia with the opening of two new residence-style properties. Guests to the newly built Avani Melbourne Box Hill Residences and Avani Adelaide Residences can enjoy signature Avani hospitality while visiting the business and cultural hubs of Melbourne and Adelaide. Avani Melbourne Box Hill Residences in the up-and-coming neighbourhood of Box Hill features 75 spacious one- and two-bedroom suites with chef-style kitchens, deluxe bath amenities and upscale-hotel facilities, including a heated rooftop infinity pool, spa, and an on-site gym and sauna. Avani Adelaide Residences is centrally located in Franklin Street within Australia’s cosmopolitan coastal capital, close to Rundle Mall shopping and cafes, Adelaide Central Markets, the Art Gallery of South Australia, and the South Australia Museum.

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PRODUCT TRACKER

Range of cooling segment products

by Danfoss Industries

Smart Dose by Diversey India DIVERSEY India has unveiled Smart Dose in India. SmartDose is a thoughtfully designed innovative dispensing platform for super concentrated daily cleaners and disinfectants; setting a new industry benchmark for accuracy, simplicity and safety. SmartDose comes loaded with features that carefully understand the critical needs of the market. Features like Spill-TITE and smart pump leverages the power of super concentrated chemicals. It aids simplified usage with icon based instructions making it quick and easy to dispense the exact amount for wither spray bottle or a bucket / scrubber driers.

DANFOSS Industries an industry leader in energy efficient solutions for refrigeration, HVAC, heavy industries and district energy, recently unveiled six new innovative products from its Cooling Segment. These products are set to change the standard of applications for the refrigeration and cooling industry. The products range includes Danfoss Intelligent Purging System (IPS)/Air Purger, Danfoss Gas Detector, Danfoss Plate Heat Exchanger, EKE 400, IFCD Defrost Module, and ICSH 2 Step Solenoid Valve.

Gur Chana by Sattviko WHEN IT COMES to foods that are able to fight the deadly pollution, jaggery (popularly known as gur) is a less-known but highly effective solution. Iron and Potassium-rich jaggery has been scientifically proven to be a natural, extraordinary cleansing agent that helps us in removing internal body toxins. On the other hand, chana or chickpeas, apart from being known for its high nutritional value and numerous health benefits (such as reducing digestive disorders and controlling blood pressure), also consist of properties to tackle pollution, mostly because of magnesium which expands the airway passage. At this point in time, Sattviko, a New-Delhi based healthy food and snack start-up, has introduced Sattviko Gur-Chana which has surprising anti-pollution benefits.

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Choco-Nut biscuits by Bonn Group of Industries BONN GROUP of Industries has expanded its biscuit portfolio by adding a new flavour called Choco-Nut to its premium Americana portfolio in the states of Haryana, Punjab and Delhi NCR. Chocolate is the most popular flavour among kids and young adults. The Americana biscuit is available in 75 g packs worth Rs 20. The Americana range was already available in Americana Coconut, Americana Digestive, Americana Healthy Marie, Americana Butter Cookies, Americana XO-XO orange and Americana Tomato tangy flavours.

PRODUCT TRACKER

Luxury Beverages

by Lamborghini TONINO Lamborghini recently launched its luxury beverages products in India, in the presence of the CEO and Vice President of the Tonino Lamborghini Company, Mr. Ferruccio Lamborghini, and the founder of M/s Heinrich and official distributor for Tonino Lamborghini Luxury Beverages products for India, Thomas Manoj, VIP guests and local authorities. The exclusive Tonino Lamborghini Luxury Beverage line today includes Espresso coffee, Hot Chocolate, Energy Drink and Vodka. The products interpret the spirit of the brand also through an appealing design and a unique packaging style.

Smoke Vodka by NV Group NV GROUP has launched India’s first vodka in the premium segment - Smoke, India’s new age vodka – Smoke Vodka. It is a luxury Indian Vodka by NV Group – a leading distributor of Liquor & Wines in Delhi and one of the largest grain distillers in India. The 25-year-old company operates six state-of-the-art distilleries (in Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Goa and Maharashtra) with an overall production capacity of over three lakh liters of ENA per day. Smoke is manufactured one batch at a time. Made with locally sourced high-quality grain, each batch goes through five-step distillation process and is packaged at the same distillery.

New front load washing machines by Haier HAIER, the global leader in Home Appliances & Consumer Electronics has introduced the new series of 829 front load fully automatic washing machine. The new HW70IM10829TNZP and HW6510829TNZP models come with 7Kg and 6.5 Kg capacity respectively. The state of the art Muscular Drum washing machines incorporates unique 128 muscles technology that ensures better scrubbing of clothes with lesser abrasion while providing extra care to the fabrics. The washing machines come equipped with Haier’s anti-bacterial technology, which kills up to 99.8 per cent germs thereby providing a clean and hygienic wash. With up to 1000 rotations per minute, the LED display panelled washing machines cleans garments faster than contemporary washers do.

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COVER STORY

Bright future for Dark Kitchens?

Thriving on an array of advantages like low capex, operational costs, and high returns in low gestation period, cloud kitchens or dark kitchens as a concept has come a long way, disrupting the foodservice market since their mushrooming period just a couple of years ago. However, certain concerns like quality and hygiene, customer retention and increased dependence on the Internet for orders, can cast a shadow on the future of the concept.

By Akshay Nayak

T

aking strides in easing almost every tedious manual task across industries, technology, although a late entrant in the hospitality industry, has ironed out many wrinkles that often drove a wedge

between the customers and the industry. With hotels leaning on the technological charge, the labour-intensive industry in India started stockpiling dozens of technological products that would assist and ease out various tasks,

20 EXPRESS FOOD & HOSPITALITY December 2019

right from in-room connected appliances offering a “smart room� to the guests, to streamlining the complex inventory and revenue management systems at the back end operations.

As the advent of technol-

ogy was applied seamlessly in almost every vertical of operations in the hotel sector, the foodservice segment - the larger share of the HoReCa pie - was engulfed by it only about a couple of years ago.

Many developments unfolding

such as expansion spree by foodservice aggregators (FSAs) into India, the growing millennial population encouraging home-delivered food, higher costs involved in running a brick and mortar restaurant, etc, among others,

the main focus

laid the foundation for the mushrooming of cloud kitchens or dark kitchens.

Way back in 2014, two BITS Pilani graduates, Sriharsha Majety and Nandan Reddy decided they wanted to make life easier by changing the way In-

dia eats - all with just a tap.

With their idea of 'hyperlocal food delivery’, all they needed was the tech to power it and were introduced to Rahul Jaimini, who brought this vision to life with the first website.

And with this, Swiggy was

launched as a food ordering and delivery platform. Describing the rise in the number of cloud kitchens across the country, Vishal Bhatia, CEO, New Supply, Swiggy, notes, “The country has witnessed a huge growth in the food deliv-

ery industry. Unlike a lot of international markets, we leapfrogged the widespread dine-in culture. However, the supply gaps are yet to be fully addressed. Consumer behaviour is slowly shifting to the consumption of more outside

meals. Factors like traffic, parking woes and hectic schedules make consumers turn to delivery. Currently, out of the 90 meals consumed every month, 10-15 are eaten outside and 50-60 per cent of this is delivered.”

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COVER STORY

“We have invested time and energy in durable engineering to ensure that we deliver quality kitchens”

“Unless you have a certain number of same brand outlets, in the cloud kitchen space, you won't hit the critical mass.”

MOHIT SARDANA COO, Food Delivery, Zomato

Everyone's on the 'cloud'wagon A cloud kitchen or ghost kitchen is the kitchen that neither has a storefront nor does it have an area for seating customers. These kitchens deliver through their presence over a mobile-based application or via applications of various aggregators in the marketplace. “As these kitchens are not actually visited by consumers, they can be situated in locations where real estate cost is very low. They work on very low capital investment and relatively lower operational expenses than the high street restaurants,” explains Karan Tanna, founder, Ghost Kitchens. The recently launched Ghost Kitchens is an investment and incubation venture for startups in the cloud kitchen segment which focuses on investing in companies essentially working only on the home delivery format.

The biggest factor behind the cloud kitchen explosion is the meteoric growth of food delivery apps. “These apps have in turn aggressively fuelled the growth of the home delivery market,

RAJEEV MATTA

SAURABH RATHORE

COO, Foodlink Services India

founder & CEO, Gobble Me Good

driven mainly by high decibel communication and deep discounts,” points out Anurag Mehrotra, co-founder and CEO, Charcoal Eats. Charcoal Eats is a tech-enabled, on-the-go venture for Indian food, that delivers high quality, modern Indian flavours to its patrons.

Agreeing with Mehrotra's point, Gandharv Madan, general manager, UBQ - restaurant chain Barbeque Nation's home delivery brand, feels that with the delivery aggregators like Swiggy, Zomato and Ubereats coming in, connecting the kitchens to the customer has eased out, putting less hassle on the kitchens. The operating expenditures of these kitchens are lower than that of a typical restaurant.

Gobble Me Good (GMG), a self-funded enterprise is a dynamic F&B franchise management company that began its journey in 2017 by founder & CEO Saurabh Rathore who conceptualised London Bubble Co under the banner of GMG, when he discovered the delectable phenomenon of bubble waffles and decided to introduce it in In-

22 EXPRESS FOOD & HOSPITALITY December 2019

“With consumer sentiments promoting delivery-only format, we absolutely wanted to capitalise on this”

dia. The delivery-only kitchens of London Bubble Co. generate 65 per cent of the brand's total business. Explaining the reasons that led to the boom in cloud kitchens as a concept, Rathore articulates, “In my understanding there is a change in lifestyle and there is a change in the way people have started perceiving food now. What is happening is with the rise in a number of millennials and people continuously on the flyby of metros, they barely find any time for going out and eating. Also, the frequency of ordering in food has drastically taken off now as compared to five years ago. People don't want to dine out anymore but order in. A large part of QSR's contribution, about 60-65 per cent sales caters to only online business. There are cloud kitchens that are emerging that just want to cater to online customers. The whole idea is to not to take up real estate that is too expensive, but rather reduce the costs down. The concept is growing day by day.”

He added that when they started London Bubble Co, the online business hadn't picked up

“Unlike a lot of the international markets, India has leapfrogged the widespread dine-in culture” VISHAL BHATIA CEO, New Supply, Swiggy

“A cloud kitchen works on very low capital investment and relatively lower operational expenses than the high street restaurants” KARAN TANNA founder, Ghost Kitchens

back in 2016. “So retail had that essence to it, people would want to come and watch how their waffle is baked and eat it there.

However, with changing times, most of our business started coming from online windows and everybody would want to take a bite or two in a week. We wanted to absolutely go out and capitalise on this trend, so we did a ratio of 35:65, wherein 35 per cent of our retail outlets are still there at the most promising and prominent locations, just to keep the brand presence alive. The remaining 65 per cent we converted it for online business with our own cloud kitchens or we tied up with OYO,” Rathore explains.

Given its advantages like low capital investment, rentals and workforce requirements along with easy access to customers through online aggregators, the FSAs in India have already started setting up dark kitchens in metros and the emerging markets in India. “Zomato has helped provide the right ingredients to bridge the restaurant supply gap prevalent in most Indian markets. Cloud kitchens

are built keeping in mind the logistical and operational needs of a restaurant. We provide all necessary infrastructure like electricity, chlorinated raw water, RO plants, LPG, treated fresh air, exhaust and fire suppression systems, etc. The kitchens built

by Zomato are destined for rugged use, with kota flooring, wall tiles, and massive plumbing lines. The build ensures that the food is cooked in hygienic conditions, and later distributed efficiently. We have invested time and energy in durable engineering to make sure that we deliver quality kitchens for our partners to use and expand into new markets,” points out Mohit Sardana, chief operating officer, Food Delivery at Zomato. Zomato has presence in 550+ cities across India. Even Swiggy, has reportedly brought over 1000 access kitchens and has invested a total of Rs 250 cr to set up cloud kitchens for its restaurant partners. To retrieve the ROI in lesser gestation period, cloud kitchens are excessively built in key metros to increase volumes which in turn increases revenue.

But the sentiments among the

COVER STORY

“The biggest factor behind the cloud kitchen explosion is the meteoric growth of food delivery apps” ANURAG MEHROTRA co-founder and CEO, Charcoal Eats

players are changing, with Tier II and III markets on their radar for aggressive expansion.

“In 2017, Swiggy launched its pioneering efforts through ‘Swiggy Access’ to bring quality food options closer to the consumers and offer unmatched growth opportunities to its restaurant partners. Swiggy became the first aggregator to crack the cloud kitchen model to grow the restaurant ecosystem collaboratively. Within a short span of two years, Swiggy has expanded to numerous locations across the country, with 250+ unique restaurant brands and presence in over 14 cities,” claims Bhatia of Swiggy.

Also, what has come as a major relief for restaurateurs operating out of remote cities in India is the recent integration of Dineout with Amazon India for systematic inventory management. Ankit Mehrotra, cofounder, Dineout, says, “While we are providing a lot of software to the restaurant industry, two of the software are for managing the costs and supply chain management systems. All the big cloud kitchen brands in India

“Dineout’s integration with Amazon India for restaurant inventory management has rooted out untimely materials delivery”

“Cloud kitchens need to focus more on the product than on marketing.

Style over substance will never have a long shelf life”

ANKIT MEHROTRA

ANURAG KATRIAR

co-founder, Dineout

president, NRAI

like Freshmenu, Theobroma, etc, are using our supply chain management software because it allows them to track and order the raw materials in real-time.

With a central kitchen in place and multiple outlets spread across, the cloud kitchens work in a hub and spoke model of distribution. At the aggregate level it becomes very difficult for them to figure out when the products, say a biryani, is getting over and they need to prepare it again.

Say, a central kitchen is making 100 kgs of biryani and distributing it across the points of distribution, our software notifies them when the levels drop below 20 kgs at all outlets depicting that a new round needs to be prepared.” Also, for the restaurant working with an array of vendors, ensuring the delivery of each material on time becomes a key hurdle faced by mostly all the cloud kitchens. Dineout has aggregated the data of all the restaurants, while its counterpart, Amazon India has collated the vendors' details. When the restaurateur logs on to Dineout's dashboard, they are provided with a link that redirects them to

Amazon, giving them the liberty to check for the inventory of materials needed from all the outlets across locations. So instead of demand of 100 kgs of supplies, it boils down to 1000 kgs of supplies' demand. Also, with Amazon being able to provide it in bulk, the restaurateurs avail reduced costs. With this integration, it becomes a win-win situation for all the stakeholders, with the costs of inventory going down for restaurateurs, increase in supply sales for vendors and also logistics being taken care of

by Amazon India. Dineout is a dining out and restaurant tech solutions platform in B2C and B2B with InResto & Torqus, processing more than 40M diners and US$ 800M worth of transactions for its partner restaurants across its network of 45,000 restaurants in 20 cities.

The dark side While the grass looks greener on the side of cloud kitchens, it has its own flaws with many players throwing in the towel much before they reach breakeven. Explaining in depth of the disadvantages of

“Dark kitchen as a concept is growing but the need for consistency in quality is needed”

“With more chef entrepreneurs launching their cloud kitchen ventures, the concept will get more professional”

GANESH SHETTY president, Pune Restaurant and Hoteliers’Association (PRAHA)

running cloud kitchens, Rajeev Matta, COO, Foodlink Services India - a popular brand operating multiple restaurants pan-India like China Bistro, India Bistro and Glocal Junction has a cloud kitchen under the India Bistro brand, opines, “Currently, the cloud kitchen scene is dominated by delivery platforms like Zomato and Swiggy and brands like Rebel Foods who mainly deal in setting up these kitchens under different brands. Zomato and Swiggy are also setting up their own kitchens. There will be a churning before the clear picture emerges. All are burning cash to acquire customers.

Cloud kitchens are low turnover outlets. So, scalability will always remain a major concern. Unless you have a certain number of same brand outlets, you won't hit the critical mass. To have these certain numbers, you need to further economise the costs by having a central kitchen too which supplies semi-prepared items to all outlets and then you have skeleton staff at each outlet to finish the product for delivery.

Thus those who are entering into it for fashion will be kicked

CHEF GAUTAM CHAUDHRY founder, Demiurgic Hospitality

“Establishing a brand first by setting up a kiosk and then moving into the distribution module i.e cloud kitchen would make sense” GANDHARV MADAN GM, UBQ by Barbeque Nation

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COVER STORY

There are those who are abiding by all the hygiene standards but several others who may not be following the rules and guidelines out in no time.” Once the central kitchen is set up and outlets are functioning, how do you tell the world that you exist? Matta adds, “For that, you need a huge marketing budget and most operators fall prey to delivery platforms that extract blood out of you to promote your brand there. Add to it the discounts that need to be offered there and low costs at which all need to operate, all of a sudden, it becomes a risky business. People need to understand this carefully before they jump onto this bandwagon.”

Tanna opines, “While operating a cloud kitchen, there are cost of deliveries and customer acquisition which are relatively higher than high street restaurants. This makes the cloud kitchen business a very challenging one and contradictory to common belief of cloud kitchen being a cash cow business, it has complex unit level economies.

Cloud kitchen seems to have very low entry barriers and hence it is prone to lot of new entrants and competition. Most of the players end up being desperate and can cause harm to the marketplace by marginalising their selling price by compromising on food quality or kitchen hygiene. I strongly feel that the cloud kitchen industry will see faster consolidation than any other industry that we have recently witnessed.”

Bringing in the license com-

pliance and regulatory picture about cloud kitchens, Anurag Katriar, president NRAI echoes, “As per FSSAI's guidelines, if somebody's turnover is under Rs 12 lakh annually, he just needs a registration but not a license of FSSAI. There would be no cloud kitchen which would be falling under Rs 12 lakh turnover annually. In that case, all of them fall under FSSAI license purview and not registration. Even if I were to call it a nascent or sunshine industry, people are playing around. There are lots of private individuals who are doing it out of sheer passion abiding by all the hygiene standards guidelines but several others who may not be following the regulated rules and guidelines in running a cloud kitchen. So there is still some need of regulatory control in terms of hygiene for sure. You cannot be risking public health.

Also, cloud kitchens need to focus more on the product than on marketing. Style over substance will never have a long shelf life.

Most of the places fail because they do not have a good product, so 'n' number of marketing will not take you long. That is where a lot of people are struggling.

Since cloud kitchen isn't capital intensive, there is no entry-level barrier, so a lot of unorganised players jump in. What will happen over time is that only the quality players will survive.”

Speaking on similar lines,

24 EXPRESS FOOD & HOSPITALITY December 2019

Ganesh Shetty, president, Pune Restaurant and Hoteliers’ Association (PRAHA) voices his concerns, “Dark kitchen as a concept is growing but the need for consistency in quality is needed. They should leverage on maintaining hygiene standards inside the kitchens.

Nowadays, dark kitchens are not worth having a look at. It is really dirty and unhygienic. If you visit 10 dark kitchens, nine would be highly unhygienic.

People are not aware of where their food is coming from. Also, tracking a dark kitchen by FSSAI becomes a task since they operate out of offbeat locations.”

The road to success With a mix of advantages and disadvantages, is the future of cloud kitchens bright? Industry leaders believe that it will keep booming from here on for at least the next five years before achieving consolidation.

Mehrotra says, “In my view, there would be a lot of cloud kitchens coming up. Also recently a lot of cloud kitchens have raised funds. But at some point of time, consolidation will happen. For example, Rebel Foods is already the largest cloud kitchen brand with four to five brands. But India as a market has different geographies with different needs. So even though a cloud kitchen

might be successful in key metros, that might not be the scenario elsewhere in the country.

Likewise, the same consumer will today order a biryani but will relish a spring roll tomorrow and probably will be bingewatching with a pizza on another day. Consolidation will help increase the customer acquisition cost for the brand.”

Chef entrepreneur Gautam Chaudhry, founder, Demiurgic Hospitality, who has launched idabba, the next-gen delivery format lunch solution for the corporates and millennials, is confident that with more and more chef entrepreneurs launching their cloud kitchen ventures, the concept of cloud kitchen will get professional, adhering to hygiene standards, hence leading to a boom in the concept. Interestingly, Eathos a new venture set up by industry veteran Chef Sabbir Ansari is bringing to India one of the first chef-led cloud kitchen brands such as Biryani Hazir Ho, Bolo Tara RaRa, Ji Janaab, Arey O Sambhar and Madrasam.

Some leading players in the cloud kitchen business opine that there is the need for a brand to have some brick and mortar presence in order to exemplify brand standards and brand recall on the virtual medium.

“One of the major disadvantages of a cloud kitchen is that, if you are just dependent on the

FSAs for your orders, you need to have a strong brand recall, because otherwise, you are just one of the thousands of the restaurants that are mentioned on the app. If you have a very strong organic fanbase of the brand, then cloud kitchens present you a very good opportunity to reach out to the consumers who weren't serviced.

In my view, first establishing a brand by setting up a smaller kiosk and then moving into the distribution module i.e cloud kitchen would make sense,” elucidates Madan.

Likewise, Rathore feels, “Cloud kitchens will grow, but there will be a point where the players will have their apps in place, and also their logistics or a third-party logistics company to deliver the food so and so on.

Cloud kitchens will grow but only on the back of some sort of retail energy to it.” Matta concludes by saying, “All those who understand the meaning of cloud kitchen will survive and others will vacate the space as it happens with the brick and mortar stores too. Successful cloud kitchens would be getting the basics right - short menu, smaller portions, reasonable rates, central kitchen, multiple outlets, process-oriented, attractive packaging, consistent and tasty product with recall value, good and sustainable marketing.”

COVER STORY

Supporting the rising growth of cloud kitchens through advanced technology Navin Ladha, CEO, RanceLab - a leading retail software and POS hardware products provider especially meant for the retail and hospitality industry, writes on how cloud kitchens can burgeon through an efficient POS system

T

he concept of delivery-only or no dinein restaurant outlets most popularly known as the ‘Cloud Kitchen’ business has gained momentum in recent times more so because of changing customer preferences who now wish to dine in the comfort of their homes with their friends and watching their favourite movies or web series than being troubled by the hassle of going out and getting stranded in traffic snarls, just to dine at their favourite restaurant after a tiring day.

The coming of the newage concept has established itself as the fastest growing trend in the evolving market also because of its easy going approach, huge cost cutting operational methods and almost no costs involved in wait staff and real estate which otherwise are a huge investment for on-premise restaurants. Online food aggregators and delivery platforms like Swiggy, Zomato, Foodpanda, etc, have contributed humongously to this growth by making food available at the convenience of the consumer through effortless operations right from food ordering and tracking through constant updates on delivery to ease of payments through integration with various online payment options.

In fact, the rise of these food delivery platforms in recent years is what has caused a shift in the restaurant industry from the on-premise restaurants to cloud kitchens with more restaura-

teurs opting for the latter enjoying the perks of low costs, broader reach, quick sales and rising market appeal for home delivery options.

Despite the low costs involved in a cloud kitchen the challenges in setting up such businesses is no less, especially when the number of new entrants venturing into this segment is increasing by the day. With limited brand presence and no direct customer interactions, cloud kitchen suffers heavily from lower customer engagement that makes customer retention a daunting task. This is why most of these brands seek to adopt mediums like heavy discounting and offers to attract these customers which hampers profitability in the long run.

So like any other business format, cloud kitchens also need integration with modern technology that would not only help in synchronising all their business operations and monitor each function of the business but give them vital insights about their customers that will help owners in channeling and strategising their marketing activities efficiently for maximum customer retention.

Cloud kitchens, dark kitchens, ghost kitchens or virtual kitchens - all are variants of a single idea focusing on an off-premise dining solution with a minimum to no difference between their operations but all operating on a delivery-only food business format, are the next big thing

Navin Ladha

An efficient POS system is thus, the way forward to run a successful cloud restaurant that would take care of the entire business operation right from accepting order and processing to the final delivery driving severe changes in the food industry and paving the way for an all new dining trend. Proper planning and investment in the right infrastructure, resources and

technology will result in huge profits and success in this line in the long run.

An efficient POS system is thus, the way forward to run a successful cloud

restaurant that would take care of the entire business operation right from accepting order and processing to the final delivery. It would also help in collecting and managing orders from various delivery channels at the call center and analysing sales from the particular mediums. Advanced POS systems would also help in managing direct orders at the outlet and gain valuable information about these customers and their preferences by controlling the entire self home delivery channel.

RanceLab FusionResto provides restaurateurs a complete ERP software solution that helps in connecting all end-to-end business processes of their customers and helps them stay ahead of their competition from other similar and larger businesses. It not only helps in streamlining large orders from various sources ensuring faster order processing and quicker home deliveries but also helps in managing wastage, shortage and surplus food quantities while maintaining food costing thereby exercising strict control over loss of revenue because of such factors. It also enables restaurateurs to capture valuable data of their customer like their contact information, food preference, delivery address and order history which help in understanding their regular and frequent customers and make better strategies to create brand loyals among them.

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December 2019

SPA & WELLNESS

Wellness needs of the newage hotel guest As the global wellness movement continues to grow, hotels are examining how they can integrate health, fitness and well-being into the heart of guest experience, says Nilesh Kantak, spa manager, The Leela Mumbai

I

n today’s day and age, we see more and more people embracing wellness in their daily routine. There is a growing awareness amongst people that health is a complex spectrum rather than a simple binary.

Maintaining physical, mental and social well-being has become a priority and people want to maintain a healthy lifestyle even when they travel be it leisure or business.

But what does wellness mean for the hospitality industry? Previously most of the wellness activities like fitness centers and spas were outsourced by the hotels and the hotels used to miss on the membership and spa revenue. But now because of the wellness focused travellers, most of the hotel brands manage their wellness centers and spa and have also made wellness part of their brand identity.

Integrating health into the guest experience As the global wellness movement continues to grow, hotels are examining how they can integrate health, fitness and well-being into the heart of guest experience. It is vital to ensure that simple things are done correctly such as the right balance of facilities and opening hours as these factors reflect the demand and availability of the target market.

Hotels also have to keep in mind that today's health-conscious customers are unimpressed by superficial changes and expect a meaningful approach that will enhance their well-being. While a juice bar and a well-equipped gym might once have been sufficient, today’s wellness-seeking travellers want more. They are looking for challenging physi-

26 EXPRESS FOOD & HOSPITALITY December 2019

cal experiences, spiritual retreats, extreme digital detoxes and sleep regeneration packages to help them rejuvenate their bodies and minds.

Travellers are now dedicating their vacation to nurture their mental and physical wellbeing. Keeping that in mind many hotels have now incorporated wellness amenities and activities for their guests such as 24 hours Fitness Centre, enhanced timings for spas, daily group yoga sessions, sleep amenities like relaxing sleep balm and outdoor activities.

New age hotel guests now prefer wellness facilities, which are driving hotels to incorporate wellness programmes and facilities during their stay. Wellness is not just a trend anymore. There has been a collective shift in consciousness towards a healthier

Nilesh Kantak

SPA & WELLNESS

lifestyle. The hospitality industry is taking note of this and prioritising health and wellness for such guests.

Hotels have also integrated wellness throughout various touch points of the guest stay, from food and beverage menus to guestrooms amenities. At The Leela Mumbai, it is our constant endeavour to offer holistic wellness solutions to our guests. From a special pillow menu, fresh flowers across the property to handcrafted herbal teas and yoga sessions by the pool, we have all this and much more. In the hotel industry, the development of spas as a component of luxury hotel or resorts may be regarded as a first step for integrating modern wellness into the industry. Over time, the term “spa” has evolved to define places to “reinvigorate body, mind and soul” which focuses on the five senses to relax and calm the guest from the daily stress. Ho-

tels spas are now defined as hospitality properties with a strong spa component to provide travellers whose wellness activities are generally their first choice.

Lifestyle choice Studies have shown that there are immediate health benefits of going to spas like lower blood pressure and pain management in chronic conditions such as arthritis, sciatica, and muscle spasms. Such factors have driven demand in the market and have moved the spa experience from an occasional treat to an actual lifestyle choice that benefits the body’s well-being, which is why many fitness enthusiasts make it a part of their routine.

To ensure that the growing needs of the wellness industry are met, we at The Leela Mumbai focus on enhancing the guest’s lifestyle in a way that is both holistic and versa-

New age hotel guests now prefer wellness facilities, which are driving hotels to incorporate wellness programmes and facilities during their stay tile. Our signature treatments like Essence of Leela, Mind and Body Rebalancer and Detox Ritual are specific and each experience is tailor made for our guests.

Consumer base for wellness centres has seen a growth spurt in recent years due to the improved style of living. Going to spa is no more limited to the rich and royal clan or to women only. The male counter parts too have started pampering them-

selves. There has been an uptake in numbers that show men more than ever before are venturing into spas, this is identified in many trend reports as being a core target market moving forward. To cater exclusively for our male clientele we at The Leela Mumbai have devised a special spa menu to combat the environmental, physical and mental stress of modern day living. Due to the increasing numbers of health conscious

travellers, hoteliers need to prepare for wellness and wellbeing related requests from the guests.For instance, some hotel brands are now offering workout gears for a small fee and this helps the guests to pack light for their travel and some organise early morning fitness trails which help the guests to remain fit during their business stays. The trend is not far where the guests may ask for a fitness wake-up call which certainly puts new add-on on the regular morning wake-up call.

The key to providing services for the wellness traveller lies in personalisation. The more you know about your guests and what they look for, the more you can deliver personalised stays that take into account their health and wellbeing requirements. It is important that the guest’s needs are met for them to have a positive experience.

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December 2019

IN FOCUS

THE GLOCALISATION OFFOOD The F&B industry is at the cusp of significant transitions, primarily led by dietary assessments and re-assessments by new age customers, says Xenia Lam, F&B manager, Taj Holiday Village Resort & Spa, Goa

I

Xenia Lam

28 EXPRESS FOOD & HOSPITALITY December 2019

n today’s world, drinking and eating is not only a primary need, but has become a full-fledged lifestyle. With the dawn of social media, customers not only look for appealing food and drink but at the same time wish them to be fashionable. With customers sharing every experience online, consuming “instagrammable” food and beverage has become an absolute must for millennials. Which means that the deliverables must have the potential to touch all the senses and create magic with an amalgamation of taste, colour, texture, temperature, flavour and even sound.

With time, customers have also become busier than ever; forever on the go with exaggeratedly active lifestyles. However in today’s day and age this

is coupled with an increased need for self-care – clean eating and drinking; but with flair.

With information being straightforward and freely available, customers are able to make better informed, conscious, mindful and ethical choices about the items they consume. Combining health aspects with indulgences has traditionally been challenging as pre- conceived notions of “healthy” and “bad taste” synonymously going hand in hand; indulgence as per definition was “unhealthy” one of the seven deadly sins - a kind of guilty pleasure. But today one of the most significant benefits is that customers are able to recognise and understand an ingredient list and respect the product – its origin, heritage and story.

Glocalisation is the practice of doing business conferring to global and local considerations.

In our world this means tailoring the product towards both the local taste preferences and heritage, as well as disseminating those local nuances to other parts of the world. At the same time digitisation is increasing too, resulting in a huge online presence – buying power is growing as is the knowledge of what millions of people miles away are eating and drinking.

European flavours have become rather popular in the Asian market. Flavours of specloos have travelled to the east and Asian flavours on the other hand have increased their popularity in Europe with the rise of matcha and “chai tea.” Also dishes using international foods such as Asian dumplings

IN FOCUS and rolls as a vehicle for familiar flavours are a great way to introduce cuisines from around the world to diners, thus making it an easy fit in any food service concept.

tion of natural collaborations, inspirations that have come from living and cooking in melting pots.

Fusion is the new gastronomy

Chefs and industry experts have been wise to realise that more consumers are prioritising authentic local food and drink when they travel and are also most keen to experience global flavours at home as well. As food and beverage establishments work to accommodate and incorporate a diverse and eclectic flavour wheel to their standards, most customers nowadays look to enjoy food with local, foraged, authentic ingredients.

Bartenders are continually experimenting to translate the taste of a restaurants cuisine to their beverage list. Every now and then, diverse culinary heritages converge in a libation. The drinks don’t just compliment dishes, they are gastronomic adventures in a glass. I recently walked into a tiki bar in Bangkok and was taken by utmost surprise.

“Tropicopop” was the suggestion given to me by the bartender. “ It’s a “milk” punch ” he said “made out of goats milk and its really very nice”, so I said hey - sounds weird and all but what the heck! So I re-read the menu just to make sure and indeed it said - rum, planas rum, coconut water, lychee, lemon and goats milk. So I waited for my milky beverage to appear all white and all tiki!

And then it came - this colourless liquid with an engraved piece of ice and two neatly positioned edible yellow flowers. I couldn’t believe my taste buds nor my eyes!

Wellness and style have now become a priority which in turn helps them make pragmatic choices from a wide array of F&B offerings. Gone are the days when customers used to feel satiated with the conventional food and beverages wherein taste was the one and only compelling factor. Hungry eyes are on the lookout for variants offering a perfect convergence of taste and wholesomeness.

International food and flavours are increasingly in demand and diners are in search of new and exciting dishes.

Chefs and restaurants globally are trying to discover various ways to make them more accessible. While fusion cooking feels passé, countless cuisines have celebrated the ingredients and flavours from other cultures for a long time. For instance Peru, South America has a rich history of incorporating Spanish, Japanese and Chinese flavours into its cuisine.

This notion can rarely be claimed as one that was learned out of the blue. Chefs and bartenders over the world have taken to create fusion food and drink to bring forth a whole new gastronomic experience. Chefs started putting together different elements and experimenting with various aspects trying to create unusual experiences yet ensuring the combination is paired well and it was not long after that beverage enthusiasts started their own mixology platform. This laid the basis for a unique trend, customisation as per the diners taste and thus the rule book went out the window. The element of surprise, addition of adding a fun element, incorporation and elimination of produce as per seasonality and availability - and the concept of fresh, clean and maybe sometimes even healthy !

It is however vital to ensure that each creation is balanced in a surprising, simple and beautiful blend without going over the top. Each flavour element must be understood individually and then carefully merged together. I remember this quaint little fish bar in Bali which served a simple fish and chips but the highlight of it all was the fish was filled with Philly cream cheese and created the most explosive sensation once eaten.

The perfect convergence

Over the years this culinary marriage has been witnessed across some of the world’s best bars and restaurants. The brilliant minds behind it are but proof that this trend shall be in the limelight for many more years to come. The very idea behind it all is spectacular – there are no limitations, boundaries or rules when it comes to creation. It’s like a science, one can keep experimenting till the time something absolutely magnificent is discovered. My travels are mostly always centred around food and drink;

and the varieties and experiments of many a creative mind tend to find its way to my plate or for that matter even glass. In my opinion a successful fusion dish is one that is easily identifiable and one that people can relate to, something like comfort food. A little bistro in the heart of Seoul, South Korea came up with an ingenious concept of only serving chicken wings an (American favourite) tossed in different worldly sauces; to name a few – Japanese wasabi, Italian parmesan and garlic, Korean galbi, Chinese sweet

chilli and the list was endless.

Comfort food and a mix of culture- the perfect combination on a plate. No need for complexity, simplicity works well with fusion. Take for example this very clever pizza in Bhutan : using local ingredients and international influences- a pizza with its base made of red rice topped with poppy seed paste, chilli , local cheese and chicken cooked with local spices – healthy, local and totally instagrammable ! So instead of using the term “fusion” food we rather re-phrase it as a celebra-

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December 2019

HIGH SPIRITS

'WSETIS EXCITED TO TAKE WINE EDUCATION TO NEWER LEVELS IN INDIA' In an exclusive interview, Ian Harris, CEO, WSET (Wine & Spirits Education Trust) shares with Steena Joy his insights on the wine education industry in India and why WSET has chalked out a five-year business plan for the country

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HIGH SPIRITS

As a leading provider of wine education globally, what is your perspective of India as a wine market?

When we started to run WSET courses through providers in India, there was more interest in spirits than wine. But now there is a growing interest in learning about the wines of the world and I am delighted by the growth of students in India undertaking these courses.

India is now in our Top 20, so the growth has been very pleasantly surprising. One of the issues that is there not only in India but also in other countries that have a tough tax regime, is to bring in samples of wine since it’s an expensive commodity.

However, there are many Indian brands producing quality wines that are suitable to teach Level 1. We have a growing number of applicants for the Level 2 and a few handful for Level 3. We are hoping to expand our network of programme providers in other cities of India.

India is a vibrant and rapidly growing market and we are excited to take wine education to newer levels in India. The growing number of young adults and its thriving middle class population with an access to the world are relatively open to experiment. Also, India’s love for food and its relationship with wine…can it get any better than this!! We have a five year business plan for India and are witnessing a 50 per cent year on year growth in Indian students who are enrolling for Level I and Level II Courses.

People are drinking lesser, but they are drinking better.

People are upgrading their choices. Gin and Malt whisky as categories are growing, while Vodka and standard whisky are declining. Emerging markets like India and China are realising that wine is a healthy drink to consume, which is propelling consumption. Research shows that two glasses of wine consumed responsibly in a day adds to the longevity of your life.

What’s exciting is also seeing the growth of craft distilleries and boutique wineries, driven

When it comes to the industry, the margins in wine are quite low, so the hospitality industry often cuts their training budgets. But I emphasise that the latter needs to be part of the marketing budget, because if a sommelier is able to convince a customer to spend more, than everyone in the business chain wins. Education is a driver of the industry.

How many Indian wine institutes offer WSET courses?

In India, we have only six WSET Approved Programme Providers.

Ian Harris

India is a vibrant and rapidly growing market and we are excited to take wine education to newer levels in India. The growing number of young adults and its thriving middle class population with an access to the world are relatively open to experiment by passionate individuals.

India has many Master Chefs but very few Masters of Wine.

Your insights.

As mentioned earlier, we are also faced with certain challenges such as the lack of experienced teachers in India. The country is also traditionally a spirits-focused market, with a high consumption of whisky.

There are other issues too facing the growth of wine as a segment, for instance, high taxation.

How important is the role of certification and qualifications in wine to a sommelier?

What is the awareness about

such certification and courses in wine among Indian sommeliers?

There are several reasons why wine education is so important. People need to realise that wine, like food, is perishable.

You cannot leave it in a hot cover for months. After you remove the cork, it needs to be consumed; else it will deteriorate. Also, on the consumer side of things, the focus is to impress on people that if you are prepared to spend a little more, you can increase your enjoyment of wine. You don’t need to spend US$ 500 on a wine, but from a US$ 10 wine, you can upgrade to a US$ 20 wine and double the value of your enjoy-

ment. In India, as you rise up the ladder, the qualification courses become very expensive. In India, WSET has a select set of course providers and we are yet to establish a Diploma Centre - the flagship qualification course by WSET. Since we don’t have a Diploma Centre in India, applicants have to travel to London or Hong Kong. For diploma aspirants, I would recommend undertaking the distance learning programme that WSET offers and also attending all the possible wine events. India Wine Awards is an example of a great opportunity of someone who wants to understand more without spending more.

What new initiatives have been rolled out by WSET this year?

During the 50th year and during the start of the academic year in August, we have segregated our WSET qualifications by initiating WSET2 in Wines, Level 3 in Spirits and the Level 4 Diploma in Wines. It is due to the expanding field of spirits with keen interest in beverages like Baijou, Soju and Sake. The need to separate has been primarily because there has been so much evolution of these segments that we needed to focus on these as separate areas. WSET now runs two separate courses in Sake alone, which are quite popular.

In the 50th year, it runs nine streams: WSET level 1-4 in wines, WSET level 1-3 in Spirits and WSET Level 1-2 in Sake. It is interesting that for the Master of Wine examinations there are no spirits. Therefore those aiming to go for MW will not have to suffer spirits any more in WSET. What is the future roadmap for WSET? At WSET, we are consciously making changes to create courses as per industry needs and requirements. Recently we created separate course for wines, spirits and Sake. We review our qualification courses once every three years and we will change the syllabus if necessary to suit the global market in wines and spirits.

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December 2019

HIGH SPIRITS

'WE ATTHE HAPPYHIGH PRIDE OURSELVES IN BEING THE MAJOR SHAKERS AND MOVERS IN THE WINE AND SPIRITINDUSTRY' The Happy High is a wine & spirit education and consulting firm founded by Ajit Balgi in 2014. The firm works with hotels on staff training and bar menu development; liquor companies for trade and consumer advocacy; country wine and spirit boards on building awareness about a liquor category or brand, and with importers on wine selection and wine tasting.

Balgi spoke to Akshay Nayak to unfold The Happy High's deep rooted motto of exuding quality wine & spirit education in India What inspired you to pursue a career in spirits and alcobev industry?

My love for beverages started when I used to work as a freelance bartender in 2001 during my hotel schooling at IHM Mumbai. I kept my passion alive by focusing on beverages during my stints at The Orchid and Renaissance, Mumbai, by managing bars at both hotels. Another turning point came during my tenure at the Soho House London where I topped a wine course curated by a consulting Master Sommelier. I was the only Asian in that group and my inhibitions about Indians not understanding wines were overcome. I pursued my studies in wine, a level 3 from WSET (London) and have been teaching their courses in India since 2010.

Ajit Balgi

32 EXPRESS FOOD & HOSPITALITY December 2019

What were the initial chal-

lenges and opportunities faced during the journey?

I was away from the industry from 2012 -2013 pursuing my MBA from S P Jain, Mumbai and then worked in services marketing for a year. The love for wines and spirits prompted me to quit my job and then was the challenge, I found no job worth its salt for a year and I became an entrepreneur by chance. Education was a clear opportunity as the industry and the consumers were accepting mediocrity and at The Happy High we aimed to raise the bar with quality wine and spirit education. We began in 2014 by taking assignments on an adhoc basis with liquor companies and when they realised that we were here for a long run did they move meatier chunks of business to us. We now have been working with major liquor companies, top hospitality companiess like Taj and Marriott, and

a host of corporate houses.

At The Happy High how do you educate patrons about the array of wine and spirits whilst also promoting responsible drinking?

We operate in three verticals - professional education, consumer education, and brand advocacy for beverage companiess and country boards. For professionals, we offer bespoke wine courses like the Wine 101 and Wine Pro and do it exclusively for hotels and hospitality management institutes. For consumers, we do short sessions in wine tastings, whisky and cognac appreciation and also cocktail mixing. Through The Happy High Wine & Spirit Circle, a wine and whisky club of sorts, we offer curated experiences at the best of dining places in the city of Mumbai.

Lastly we work as ambassadors for different liquor brands

HIGH SPIRITS

and help them be their face in the trade and in consumer circles. As an education company, responsible drinking is our foremost priority as the darker side of liquor cannot be ignored. We believe that teetotallers aren’t missing anything and the people who drink must do so in a knowledgeable fashion.

You have recently garnered the feat of being India's first Cognac educator. How do you see the Indian market in terms of Cognac consumption?

I am India’s first wine educator who is also now a Cognac educator. As one of the 90 in the world, I am extremely elated to bring the story of Cognac to India. Cognac is happening in India but is delimited to the southern states where brandy is the primary tipple. Cognac being the best known brandy in the world, the cream of the society devours the same.

But this consumption is just a scratch on the total potential, given the whisky market India is. I believe Cognac suits the Indian palate and can be pan-India but certain

beliefs of it being a cure for cold, a night-cap drink, a drink for winters only, etc, is restraining people to take to Cognac. Cognac can be enjoyed with mixers, in cocktails or neat depending on the time of the day and we will see how slowly Cognac can become mainstream.

As an education company, responsible drinking is our foremost priority as the darker side of liquor cannot be ignored. We believe that teetotallers aren’t missing anything and the people who drink must do so in a knowledgeable fashion

What is the way forward for The Happy High?

Our success story is something that has been slow and steady. In the last five years we have been invited and hosted by seven countries in different capacities as thought leaders; as a judge; and as media. This has reinforced our belief of us being the major shakers and movers in the wine and spirit industry. We plan to do more work with more regional wine and spirit boards across the world to showcase them in India. We endeavor to do more Wine 101 and Wine Pros in Indian hotels to uplift their wine culture thus increasing their revenues and earning them a better brand image. Lastly we are planning to go brick and mortar with a bar school in Mumbai if the feasibility study works.

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December 2019

IN FOCUS

Converting challenges into opportunities Vineet Verma, CEO & executive director, Brigade Hospitality Services, notes the many tailwinds that would help hoteliers boost their business given the dynamic environment in which the sector thrives in India

H

ospitality is one of the most flourishing sectors in India with many national and international brands mak-

ing a beeline to establish a strong foothold in the country.

India being a diverse market in terms of culture and tradition, lifestyle and food habits

34 EXPRESS FOOD & HOSPITALITY December 2019

that change from region to region, makes it an incredible market for brands to introduce their various offerings under many categories to

cater to a wider audience. The metros have long been a melting pot of opportunities for hoteliers, where one gets to see many iconic hotels known

for luxury, experience, offerings, etc, that are unmatched.

In recent times, the focus is gradually shifting towards Tier-II cities where the next

IN FOCUS battle royale is expected to take place.

Already a slew of hospitality properties have come up in places like Goa, Jaipur, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Kochi, Indore to name a few as the hotel chains are building a strong portfolio in a country where the business is expected to grow stronger in the coming years.

For many of these brands, it is an opportunity to understand and experience a market as diverse as India, which will go a long way in capturing a good pie of the hospitality market. At the same time, well established Indian hospitality brands are strengthening their brand presence and are reinventing guest experience like never before.

Brands are introducing innovative guest programmes and taking initiatives to build a loyal customer base to ensure they are as much a part of the race as any other international brand to create higher industry standards.

While there is so much potential to be tapped, there is no denying the fact that certain challenges need to be tackled in order to make it a successful outing. To run a business, one has to consider internal and external factors that are of paramount importance, which affect the day to day operations.

One needs to look at three of the following most critical challenges as opportunities to succeed.

Competition from local and international brands The hospitality sector is one of the most dynamic sectors in the world. The arrival of technology has increased the demand and definitely has its impact on the economy.

For a very long time there was less or no innovation in this field. Businesses like Airbnb necessitated the industry to come up with new ideas to drive maximum revenues from the rising demand. The restaurant industry started to thrive and it impacted how one does food and beverage business in hotels.

A lot of international

brands have started expanding their footprint in India, as it is one of the fastest growing markets for travel and tourism. For one of the leading American hospitality giants, India is the second biggest market after China in the Asia Pacific region; there is a lot of competition but due to the high demand and the way they strategise to drive it, does not affect very much. Other leading European brands are not far behind, most of these hotel chains are strategically approaching the Indian market by customising their services and offerings according to the Indian market, which is making them a credible player in the Indian hospitality landscape.

On a separate note, when we talk about guest experience, the modern traveller is very brand savvy, whether it is from an international hotel chain or a local hotel chain.

Both international brands and local brands are in direct competition to meet customer’s expectation on price, level of service and overall feel of the product. Loyalty plays a big role here since travel is now not country specific. International chains allow customers more opportunities to earn on their respective loyalty programmes worldwide, while giving travellers a more personalised stay keeping on record their preferences from previous stays. For an overall city to deliver great experience, it needs all brands to come together to cater different price points, locations, service levels, etc to ensure the particular location meets the needs of each and every potential traveller. At the end, competition is a healthy sign as it motivates everyone to innovate and be better.

Laws and taxes Travel and tourism in India is one of the major revenue generators in the economy’s GDP and has a great potential considering the varying styles and influences. With the introduction of GST, the checking out process at hotels and restaurants has become much easier

The hospitality sector is one of the most dynamic sectors in the world. The arrival of technology has increased the demand and definitely has its impact on the economy Vineet Verma

and eradicating any form of confusion and arguments.

Very recently, the GST council announced reduction in taxes from 28 per cent to 18 per cent on room bookings, thereby allowing traveller’s savings on overall cost, which is a positive move to ensure that tourism and business travel continues to grow and boost our economy. This decision is bound to make a posi-

tive impact on business and growth.

both

Booking and revenue challenges The pillar of a successful business is revenue management. Segmentation of customers is an essential part of pricing. It helps in identifying the suitable price for the customer.

Selling the room to the right person at the right time for the right

price is very important.

Planning and forecasting the demand play a key role in actively avoiding overbooking.

Dynamic pricing strategies allow hotels to sell while making the maximum profit possible also keeping in mind the citywide demand. By analysing past bookings and cancellations, future demand can be predicted and the pricing can be done accordingly.

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December 2019

SPOTLIGHT - DIGITAL PLATFORMS

Pushing the alternative accommodation industry beyond its boundaries When it comes to small partners entering the business, they face stiff competition from big hotel chains and property owners that have a strong foothold in the market. There is need for a level playing field for these partners, says Ritu Mehrotra, country manager, India, Sri Lanka and Maldives at Booking.com

B

ooking.com today has over 880,000 reported listings in India, of which over 140,000 are in homes, apartments and other unique places to stay. Globally that number stands at 5.7 million reported listings in homes, apartments and unique places to stay, part of 29 million total reported listings which represents the widest selection of accommodation out there.

The alternative accommodation sector is key to

Booking.com’s global business and has demonstrated a high potential for growth, with the number of reported listings in this area growing faster than traditional options. Consider this, on average, seven guests per second are checking into a home, apartment or unique place to stay on our platform globally.

With travellers increasingly opting for a stay in non-hotel accommodation, the demand and supply of small-time business and property owners that enter the

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market with their unique offerings and authentic experiences have grown significantly in India.

However, when it comes to these small partners entering the business, they face stiff competition from big hotel chains and property owners that have a strong foothold in the market given their real estate, monetary backing, experience and technology infrastructure at their disposal. We acknowledge the need for a level playing field for our

partners and are increasingly working towards designing and introducing new features to enable a seamless interface experience for them.

Increased collaboration With the growth of the global travel ecosystem and traveller demand for unique stay experiences showing no signs of slowing, increased collaboration between digital travel platforms and properties is key. With over

20 years of experience in this space, Booking.com is singularly positioned to work in true partnership with all of its accommodation providers to pioneer new ideas to shape the future of the travel industry with its partners.

We recently unveiled new features that were developed by a team of specialists solely dedicated to ensuring professional short-term rental partners can deliver more great stay experiences to the ever-expanding set of travellers booking alternative

SPOTLIGHT - DIGITAL PLATFORMS accommodations.

Our new and enhanced features are specifically designed to address partner pain points and help professional rental partners grow their businesses. As we look to push the alternative accommodation industry beyond its boundaries, the company is continuously looking for ways to innovate its product to drive new business opportunities for its accommodation partners and showcase the one-of-a-kind benefits of each and every property on the platform.

New tools and product enhancements are directly informed by feedback from our partners and specifically designed to simplify day-to-day management and help professional short-term rental partners welcome more guests by leveraging technology to help property managers market their particular offering on our plat-

Ritu Mehrotra

form, and grow and maintain revenue. The products and features, which can be explored on, include: Group opportunity centre: Spot opportunities that apply to all, or some, of the partner’s properties and they can save

time making updates with this new tool offering relevant, actionable performance tips for their portfolio.

New connectivity tools: Cut down on workload with our new Connectivity features which make it easier for the partner property to manage their business, from key collection to damage deposits, through their software provider.

Features to highlight professionally managed properties: Showcase the property’s professional attributes to guests from the start through a range of new features, including a host score, based on the reviews from the rest of their portfolio, and an external review score, based on guest reviews from trusted sites.

We’re also spotlighting the unique facilities of your professional properties including 24/7 contact, keyless check-in, and much more.

Quality rating system: Attract travellers and match guest expectations for the partner’s property with the first-of-itskind objective quality rating system for the short-term rental industry, similar to that of traditional hotel star ratings, based on their property’s location, size and facilities.

Towards the end of last year we also introduced features that allow for a more versatile, personalised, unified platform to enable short-term rental partners to make across-the-board changes, and leverage time-saving mechanisms to fuel a userfriendly experience. Like Group Connect, which includes a templated guest messaging system and an automatic scheduling system, to help streamline operations. Or Bulk Action Tools that apply changes to all properties in their portfolio with just a few clicks. Partners can set cancella-

tion policies or special offers across all properties, at once, including bulk cancellation policies, bulk promotions and bulk house rules. There also other features like Guest Management, that lets the partner control who books their property with tools like guest requirements, which allow for set information like verified phone numbers, address details, number of past stays with Booking.com partners and more and Your Profile, the page that allows partners to add a personalised message about themselves, their properties and the neighbourhoods where these properties are, among others. We know that each place is unique and are deeply committed to providing our partners with technology that helps them to reach more customers and grow their business via our platform in the way that works for them.

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December 2019

SPOTLIGHT - PPFI SYNERGY 2019

A SYNERGY OF PROFESSIONALISM AND HUMANITARIANISM The annual event of PPFI saw the ‘Sadhbhavana’ fund being set up

N

ew Delhi-based Purchasing Professionals Forum - India (PPFI) recently organised its annual event Synergy 2019 at the Le Meridien in the capital. PPFI is a fraternity of purchasing professionals across the HoReCa sector, supporting in training and development of various purchasing functions. The event was attended by PPFI members, hospitality vendors and leading industry veterans. The keynote address was given by KB Kachru, chairman emeritus and principal advisor- South Asia, Radisson Hotel Group. Kachru advised procurement professionals to treat the vendors as

associates and partners in the business. He also urged PPFI members to harness technology for procurement functions. PPFI also announced the launch of a humanitarian initiative called ‘Sadhbhavana’ , a fund to support families of professional purchase managers. In instances of a fatality, the fund will offer a sum of Rs 1 lakh to the family of the purchase professional. Amarjit Singh Ahuja, founder and president of PPFI in his address informed that the Forum has been grown in terms of members with more than 80 members joining PPFI in the last one year. He said that PPFI will strive to build “smart purchase professionals” for the hospitality industry.

38 EXPRESS FOOD & HOSPITALITY December 2019

SPOTLIGHT - PPFI SYNERGY 2019

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December 2019

CHEF'S PLATTER

The Mother and Father of it all Chef Nilesh Limaye, executive chef, Meluha The Fern believes that learning and reviving the Mother Cuisine has to be the top priority of every chef who joins the profession

I

n all our experiences as restaurateurs or hoteliers, the Consumer has always dictated the terms. All our expertise has always been utilised to please them. Today that is the norm.

Be it an entrepreneur from IIT or a self imposed chef, doing a market survey, a feasibility study is important before starting a new venture.

Mostly it is about how the guests will perceive our restaurant, the target audience and finally the path to achieve the budgets.

Rewind to say five or six decades ago. When the hospitality industry was just taking shape. When the then students who today are stalwarts joined because either they didn’t get the desired marks to get into the science or medical stream or because they didn’t want to do the same ol’ degree course.

This year's Chef ’s Connect organised by WICA, was an eye opener for all of us cause we had various speakers who shared their valuable experiences. Chef Manjit Singh Gill, president, IFCA made a very important point and emphasised on the Mother and Father Cuisines.

It's not the first time probably that an authority on food spoke about going to roots.

Finding our roots. But this time it made an impact. Till such time that the comfort zone doesn’t scare you and make you realise from within you won’t feel the pain.

Those were the days when we read stories about how the dining houses came up because when people migrated they had left all their life’s savings or lost it in the

partition riots, they came empty-handed. All they could offer was their expertise in cooking. The tasty dishes that was their everyday meal became their livelihood.

That’s how the new cuisines were developed,. Look at Indo-Chinese, Udipis, Punjabi dhabas, Irani cafes all tell the same story. Even in Mumbai the vada pav was born out of a desire to make a living.

Then as the economy grew, became more liberal and as people travelled more and more people became rich and wanted to enjoy the niceties. Food travelled faster than it did before. International cuisine was the norm.

Aspiring chefs like us in the 90s wanted to learn Western and international dishes.

Cruising became the buzz word. migrating to UK or Australia was the norm.

Back to basics Today after spending considerable amount of time and money and exploring the world, we realise that in our quest to gain knowledge and make career paths we didn’t look for our own hidden treasures and the wealth of our regional cuisines. So when Chef Gill spoke his

Mother Cuisine It's the purest form of cuisine...It's Honest to God food.

It's the food that we grow up with. It's the food that we connect with - since that is what we have been eating throughout probably even before we came out of our mother’s womb.

When we use all our experiences to create what we learnt from our region of our community and we maintain the harmony of the ingredients by using the ingredients which grow in our region, the water which we use for cooking is drawn from our own local rivers, the taste that we create by cooking with our own hands can be termed as Mother Cuisine.

Father Cuisine The cuisine that we learn over the years from various Masters, then inculcate it in our own style, export our expertise as we progress and eventually teach what we learn, share our knowledge for more better and diverse tastes and textures.

Chef Nilesh Limaye

40 EXPRESS FOOD & HOSPITALITY December 2019

More and more students joined the industry. Suddenly it was the glamour that attracted everyone. But behind the glitzy cosmetics, we students forgot our cuisine. Our Mother Cuisine. We looked down upon our own dishes of litti chokha or chhole bhature, dosas and poha were no longer in vogue. Polenta, khowsuey, Thai curries, Mexican became the in thing.

Global had become the New World.

CHEF'S PLATTER

heart about going to the roots, it couldn’t have been more relevant to us and a great learning for the younger GenX to find importance in the cuisine of their community, region, state.

Learning and reviving the Mother Cuisine has to be the top priority of every chef who joins the profession. We have realised if we learn the Mother Cuisine, which like our mother tongue is not actually difficult to learn, we will get to know the knack of cooking. Once we understand the nuances of cutting, chopping, roasting, basting, grilling, costing, balance it will be much more easier to learn any cuisine of the world. Look at the team members who have been

working for years - be it a South Indian breakfast mate or the one who is in the Tandoor section. They have gained expertise in their food. This expertise has been achieved through commitment and consistency over the years. If they wish they can adapt to any other food.

We as chefs have adapted so many cuisines after spending much time in the kitchens.

But as we look back we can say it would have been easier and much more quicker to learn. The time is just ripe to first find expertise in our own khadya-sanskruti. If we ponder and scratch the surface of it, it opens up a pandora of hidden gems. Sustainability, science, creativity, nutritional elements are all hidden

in the bhakris and rotlis, pepper fry’s and rasams, amaranth and millets have always been a superfood in our diets.

An array of seasonal dishes based on the festivals which are based on seasons is not a mere coincidence. The monsoon greens like shevle growing in the wild can be equivalent to the truffles of the world.

Why Southern India used tamarind, Goa based its cur

Learning and reviving the Mother Cuisine has to be the top priority of every chef who joins the profession. We have realised if we learn the Mother Cuisine, which like our mother tongue is not actually difficult to learn, we will get to know the knack of cooking. Once we understand the nuances of cutting, chopping, roasting, basting, grilling, costing, balance it will be much more easier to learn any cuisine of the world

ries on vinegar and in Konkan, kokum was the tang.

There can be immense information which can be gathered on commodities, on various dishes popular with the cities and small towns.

We always admire the Italians for even today being so true to their pastas, pizzas and wines. The French are so passionate about their macroons and croissants but do we feel the same pride when we can make the chapatis puff even without the leavening agent. Do we get curious about the chirota or have we tried to study the science behind use of urad dal to ferment the batter?

Who could think of using rice semolina and urad dal in the right combination to make idlis? Every region can have a multiple of such examples.

And these are just the recipes which our ancestors used to cook, in which even the cleanliness in the kitchen was important. If this was ancient and we haven’t even got to the surface of it how can we claim about making Indian food progressive?

So there is lot we as chefs have to offer. There is lot of work for us.

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December 2019

CAMPUS NOTES

IHM Mumbai: The temple of hotel management in India As the first institute of hotel management in South East Asia, Institute of Hotel Management, Catering Technology and Applied Nutrition (IHMCTAN), alias IHM Mumbai has been focussing on the overall development of the student, while adhering to a curriculum in-line with the latest trends of the industry. Arun K Singh, principal, Institute of Hotel Management-Mumbai shares glimpses of the institute’s history and how it has upgraded its training modules to make its students industry-ready

T

he Institute of Hotel Management (IHM) Mumbai was established in 1954 in Bhartiya Vidyabhavan Andheri from where it was shifted to the premises in Dadar in 1966. Decoding the history of the establishment of this institute that set the chain rolling for other IHMs across India, Arun K Singh, principal, Institute of Hotel Management, Catering Technology and Applied Nutrition (IHMCTAN) says, “This was the first institute of hospitality education of South East Asia started by the All India Women's Central Food Council. It was later on taken over by the Government of India's Ministry of Agriculture, which developed it into a full-fledged Institute of Hotel Management. Since at that time, there was no technical knowhow about the hospitality industry in India, the Ministry of Agriculture tied up with the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the UN. The expert of that organisation, Sir Belfield Smith, was sent to India for seven years to develop hospitality education in India. He then moved to Delhi to develop IHM PUSA and IHM Chennai and IHM Calcutta, and nine food craft institutes in different lo-

cations like Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Lucknow, etc, which would help train and provide the required manpower for the entry-level job roles. The manpower requirement for supervisor, senior supervisor, and the managerial level was fulfilled by the IHMs. We have a total of 21 Central Governmental Institutes of Hotel Management which are affiliated with the National Council of Hotel Management – headed by the Secretary Tourism, Government of India. Along with that, we have 22 State Institutes of Hotel Management which have been developed by the state governments with financial support from the Ministry of Tourism, Government of India. They are also affiliated with the National Council of Hotel Management.”

He adds, “We have a large base of about 70 Central, State, and some private institutes, under the National Council of Hotel Management.

We conduct a joint entrance examination for the students to be placed in a different institute in the country. India is one of the leading countries in the world, at present, which has supported hospitality education so much. A large num-

42 EXPRESS FOOD & HOSPITALITY December 2019

Arun K Singh

ber of the infrastructure of manpower training is available in India which mainly deals with the training at the senior supervisor or management at trainee level, and as well as for the entry-level requirement of the hospitality and allied industries.”

Supplying quality manpower While the growth of the hospitality industry in India has been bullish year-on-year, the key concern that still lies today in this leading services industry is quality manpower.

When asked about IHM Mumbai’s efforts to prepare the

CAMPUS NOTES

students for quality work, Singh replies, “We are not just a hotel business school, but a hotel management institute which focuses upon operational management. In the US, Cornell University and some other known institutes are hospitality management institutes. They deal with managerial subjects like marketing, HR, etc, among others.

We at IHM Mumbai are dealing majorly on training our students in the core operational management topics and also the managerial aspect to some extent. Our focus on students mainly is on four factors i.e. attitude formation; personality and communication; knowledge and skills; and to upgrade the students time to them so they can connect with the ongoing industry trends for years to come. Since technological advancement in the hospitality industry is too fast, all the hospitality institutes need to understand it and upgrade their training infrastructure from time to time.

All our Central IHMs are getting funds from the Government of India to upgrade the infrastructure. For example, the software is used by all categories of hotels irrespective of being a standalone or chain-based property.”

IHM Mumbai has IDS software and others too in which the students are trained.

When they are selected for industrial training exposure scheduled in the second year for 17 weeks or during the job placement, they have the basic skills, thus making them equipped for on-field operations. However, he also points out that quality manpower is a very competitive thing where the demand for it is more but the challenge is the reduced supply.

New job profiles Speaking about the ongoing trend among the millennial generation of seeking new-age jobs in mixology, etc, Singh says, “Along with the traditional jobs, nowadays other interesting job roles like mixology is also coming into

this field. Though a limited number of students are interested in it, they move ahead and develop themselves. We are tied up with some organisations who host knowledge sessions imparting knowledge about wine, whisky, etc. They visit our institute to train the students. We also recommend to the students certain institutes specialising in training them in the skills of their interest to help them excel in the same. In our institute, 70 per cent of placement happens in the hospitality industry, whereas 20 per cent students go on to pur-

sue a career in allied industry, for which we permit one or two leading players in the retail business space, travel and airline firms along with hotels & restaurants, so students who are seeking a specific field, can get at least one job. Every year about 30 companies visit us.”

When queried about the vocational programmes that IHM Mumbai hosts for nonresident aspiring hospitality professionals, Singh explains, “The government is fulfilling its responsibilities in not only training youngsters in management programme, but it

also came up with the programme called Hunar Se Rojgaar, in which the entire cost of the programme is borne by the Government of India. It is in the field of food production, bakery, housekeeping, and F&B services.” He revealed that there is also another programme unveiled for skill upgradation through skill certification which is a week-long programme. During this programme, more than 2000 railway employees were trained in food handling safety at IHM Mumbai. The institute also conducted a programme for

the street vendors, to make them aware of food hygiene and safety while handling which is highly important. It has already done two programmes with the Street Vendors Association.

“So starting from the managerial level to the lower level, we are conducting various programmes which are needed for which the government is giving due support.

The only thing that the people must identify is the area of interest keeping in mind their qualification, personality, and communication and if they come through, there is a lot of opportunities which they can explore,” opines Singh.

The syllabus is being prepared at the national level and it takes three years to change it as such. With the inputs of FSSAI's move to encourage people to consume healthy food through the Eat Right India movement, the IHMs are inviting more and more industry stalwarts to address their students, who would then become the brand ambassadors for eating healthy as they join the industry. “We also did some programmes with FSSAI wherein about 60 students have been trained by FSSAI in food hygiene and other related aspects. Time to time, we upgrade ourselves; call the industry experts to share their knowledge with the students, most of them who are our alumni,” he adds.

“In our vision ahead, we are slowly shifting towards the managerial input along with the operational education as we intend to maintain a balance between both. We are trying to keep a tap on it to ensure that the students passing out of our institute are flexible to do the job as demanded by the industry.

We are also trying to exclude certain things that are obsolete now. Furthermore, we are improving the infrastructure and revising the curriculum so that the right kind of education is being given to the students,” concludes Singh.

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December 2019

MOVEMENTS Hilton Jaipur

Jangid will play a pivotal role in guest satisfaction plans and will lead the hotel’s F&B operations.

Jangid comes with an experience of over 15 years within the core area of the F&B industry.

A multitasker in his own way, he also specialises in areas of event management, menu planning, estimation and budgeting, supervision of food and beverage quality.

Hilton Jaipur has appointed Chef Arzooman Irani as head chef of the hotel. Armed with a culinary expertise of 22 years in the hospitality field, Chef Irani during his career as a chef with the Taj Group of Hotels where he worked at the Taj Fisherman’s Cove, Chennai; The Taj Green Cove Resort, Kovalam – Kerala; The Taj Fort Aguada Beach Resort – Goa; Vivanta by Taj – Whitefield; Bangalore

Swissôtel Kolkata Harshad Deshmukh

Tikam Panchal

Chef Neeraj Tyagi

Nirjay Antani has been appointed as operations manager at SK Lords Eco Inn, Ahmedabad, Gujarat. In the new role Antani will be involved in maintaining service standards along

press Towers Vadodara as a rooms division manager.

Lion Lords Inn at Rajula has appointed Saifi Aijaz as operations manager. He is a seasoned hotel/service industry professional with comprehensive experience in managing administration, operations, sales, hotel projects with reputed group of hotels. He will

cated at the trendiest new destination in the capital Aerocity have appointed Chef Neeraj Tyagi as the director of culinary of the upscale hotel. With excellence everyday as his motto, he will be responsible for the entire culinary operations across the six eestaurants & bars of the complex (Pluck, Honk, Food Exchange, Pling, Café Pluck, and Quoin). In this new role, he will be curating and presenting innovative dishes with a distinctive twist and handling operations of culinary teams of all the outlets at the dual properties, offering exquisite and modern gastronomy to guests.

Chef Arzooman Irani

Vivanta by Taj - Bentota, Sri Lanka; Vivanta By Taj – Gurgaon and The Intercontinental, Marine Drive. With his extensive knowledge of the hospitality industry and global culinary experience of luxury hotels and restaurants, Chef Irani is a great asset to Hilton Jaipur.

Lords Hotels & Resorts Lords Hotels and Resorts has appointed Harshad Deshmukh as GM of Lords Plaza, Lonavala. A seasoned hospitality professional he has completed his Masters in Hotel & Business Management from IHMES UK. His last assignment before joining Lords was with Holiday Inn Express, Ahmedabad as GM. Deshmukh will be overseeing all operational and commercial aspects of the hotel and also will be responsible to drive the hotel’s performance in the market through innovative strategies.

Nirjay Antani

with achieving customer satisfaction through the team work.

A diploma holder in Hotel Management from the Institute of Hotels Management & Culinary Arts his strength lies in organising hotel operations and ensuring standard operating procedures. Prior to Lords his last assignment was with Central Beacon Hotel as operations manager.

Tikam Panchal is the new operations manager at Lords Inn, Jamnagar. He has an extensive experience in various hotels in India. In his new role he will be involved in hotel operations, revenue growth and ensuring standard operating procedures. Prior to Lords his last assignment was with Ex-

44 EXPRESS FOOD & HOSPITALITY December 2019

The JW Marriott Mumbai Sahar

Saifi Aijaz

The JW Marriott Mumbai Sahar has appointed Manoj Jangid as the new director of F&B, effective as of November 2019. In his new capacity,

be responsible for overseeing the smooth functioning of the hotel and act as a core member of the leadership team. Prior to Lords his last assignment was with Carnelian by Glory Bower Hotel, Muscat, Oman as room division manager.

Jameson Solomon

professional, Solomon has more than two decades of experience in Hotel Management, Pre-opening, Strategic Planning, Client Relationship, Training & Development. An expert planner in marketing strategies with the ability to roll out and implement innovative corporate strategies, Solomon has proved himself as a versatile business manager over the years.

DoubleTree

by Hilton Pune-Chinchwad

Pullman & Novotel New Delhi Aerocity Pullman, New Delhi an epitome of the perfect blend of elegance and the vibrant & lively Novotel, New Delhi, both lo-

Swissôtel Kolkata, part of Accor group has appointed Jameson Solomon as the new general manager. A seasoned

Manoj Jangid

Piyush Sharma has been promoted as associate director of revenue at DoubleTree

by Hilton Pune-Chinchwad.

He had joined the hotel as revenue manager. He has contributed to reach the hotel’s ARR and market penetration during his stint as the revenue

MOVEMENTS

Chinchwad, he has been associated with prestigious brands like The Leela Palaces Hotels and Resorts and The Pride Hotel.

Renaissance Mumbai Convention Centre Hotel

Piyush Sharma

Aninda Guha

manager. The team at DoubleTree by Hilton looks forward to working with him in his new role.

Rachana Londhe has been promoted as finance manager at DoubleTree by Hilton PuneChinchwad. She brings with her functional and leadership experience in finance and accounting. She has led successful assignments at DoubleTree

hospitality industry. He has previously been associated with prominent hotels such as The Resort, The Orchid, The Lalit, Holiday Inn, The Westin, The Leela Kempinski, Oberoi and Taj. Amit Baxi has been appointed as the director of business development at Double Tree by Hilton Pune Chinchwad. After having successfully served as associate director of sales at DoubleTree by Hilton Pune – Chinchwad, his immense knowledge about the market have derived the hotel to strategise better against competition. He is all geared up to bring his impeccable expertise with his new role as Director of Business Development. Baxi will be reporting to GM on business development, planning and budgeting and brand building. He has a rich experience of 11 years in sales and marketing. Prior to joining DoubleTree by Hilton Pune –

Chef Shibendu Ray Chaudhury

Hilton Worldwide

Amit Baxi

Rohit Dar

Sudhanshu Anand

sector with a strong all round knowledge of hotel operations, with his most recent position as General Manager of Westin Hyderabad Mindspace.

Ranjan Malakar has over two decades of hospitality experience in multi-functional roles across locations in India, Maldives, South East Asia &

Prior to joining Sarovar Hotels, he worked with JuSTa Hotels and Resorts as associate director sales and marketing for leisure and MICE sales for more than a decade.

JW Marriott Jaipur Resort & Spa JW Marriott Jaipur Resort & Spa has appointed Amit Bhatia as director of F&B. As Director of F&B at the hotel, Bhatia is responsible

velop a dynamic personality, adapting to various roles across the country. Chef Chaudhury’s proficiency lies in various world cuisines in both fine dining as well as niche banqueting events.

Rachana Londhe

by Hilton Pune – Chinchwad as assistant manager finance.

Londhe will be reporting to GM in her new role on business strategy, accounting and analytics.

DoubleTree by Hilton Pune – Chinchwad has appointed Aninda Guha to head the F&B service team. In his new role, Guha will be managing the overall operation of F&B department and delivering excellent guest experiences. He brings with him more two decades of expertise in the

Chef Shibendu Ray Chaudhury has joined us as the executive sous chef at Renaissance Mumbai Convention Centre Hotel and Lakeside Chalet- Mumbai, Marriott Executive Apartments. He brings with him vast experience and multicultural learning garnered over the course of a rich career spanning 11 years across various cities and diverse cuisines. His passion, experience, sensibility and dedication to food in all its forms have seen him evolve and de-

Hilton has appointed Rohit Dar and Ranjan Malakar as regional directors of operations in India, aiming to further strengthen the company’s India operations. Rohit Dar brings with him over 25 years of experience in the hospitality

Ranjan Malakar

Middle East. His latest assignment was as Director Operations, IHG Holiday Inn Express & New Projects.

Sarovar Hotels and Resorts Sarovar Hotels and Resorts has appointed Sudhanshu Anand as the associate head of sales for its Key leisure hotels. A focused and analytical hospitality professional, Anand holds a solid career spanning over 13 years with expertise in sales and marketing for leisure and MICE.

Amit Bhatia

for managing the overall operations of the food and beverage department and delivering excellent guest experiences. He spearheads the property’s culinary team and systematically reviews and introduces new menu options, upholds menu standards, ensures high quality service, increases F&B profitability, whilst keeping an eye on labor and food costs.

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December 2019

BOOKSHELF

An Extreme Love Of Coffee

By Harish Bhat

H

arish Bhat’s new book ‘An Extreme Love of Coffee’ was recently launched. Celebrating the beautiful beverage that excites and sustains millions of Indians, young and old, for the first time ever in India, the book takes readers on an exciting journey from the coffee plantations of Coorg to graveyards in Japan, in a search for treasure, which is at the heart of this fast-paced adventure story. Published by Penguin Random House India, this title is Bhat’s debut novel. He has earlier authored the book 'Tata Log'.

“Anyone who loves coffee will love this unique story, which brings alive magic in your steaming cup of coffee. Through the pages of this novel, you will enjoy so many interesting and varied flavours of Indian coffee, and I am sure you will be enchanted by all of them. You will join a young couple, Rahul and Neha, in their search for secret treasure, accompanied by a friendly coffee ghost and pursued by sword-bearing strangers. This novel is all about discovery of coffee, adventure, travel and a streak of romance. Everyone will enjoy this coffee-drenched story!,” said Bhat.

An excerpt from the book: T

he coffee was softly sweet and refreshing. And then, slowly, they sensed the nutty aroma - of walnuts, mild but deliciously bitter. Rahul knew from his readings about coffee that such a delicate sweetness could only come from a fully ripened coffee berry that had been carefully picked and pulped on the ground under bright, clean summer sunshine. Because then the richness of the raw soil would mingle with the golden heat of the sand and soak in the sun to create this rare, luxurious and nutty taste.

The myriad tastes of coffee continued to amaze him, each one so different from the previous and each teasing the senses so delicately. He decided to use this opportunity to educate Neha, who sat nice and close by his side.

‘How do you like the old lady’s coffee, Neha? Isn’t it so beautiful? Can you taste the walnuts?’

46 EXPRESS FOOD & HOSPITALITY December 2019

BUSINESS AVENUES

EXPRESS FOOD & HOSPITALITY

EXPRESS FOOD & HOSPITALITY

December 2019

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WEEKEND

THE SEASON IS HERE The Leela Goa began its preliminary Christmas revelries with the popular Cake Mixing Ceremony on 22nd November this year. Christmas is round the corner and cake mixing is no longer confined to the traditional Christian household, it has now become a festive event across India. 200 kg of assorted dried fruits like apricots, almonds, dry cranberries, raisins, black currants, black raisins, glazed cherries, tutti frutti, dates, dry figs and spices like cinnamon powder, ginger powder, clove powder and cardamom powder was used along with a heady mix of brandy and rum

10 YEARS AS PIONEER Elanpro recently celebrated its 10th anniversary as a leading provider of innovative, customer centric commercial refrigeration solutions. The celebration is expression of the company’s last 10 years of pioneering products and services and continuous evolution

MINGLE ALL THE WAY Ushering in the yuletide season, Hard Rock Hotel Goa organised its annual cake-mixing event “Mingle All The Way” with much gaiety and fervour. Led by executive chef Arun Vats and his enthusiastic culinary brigade, the event saw a kaleidoscope of raisins, dry fruits and nuts taking centre stage with bottles of alcohol flowing into the heady mix

NEW FRONTIERS DoubleTree by Hilton recently launched it famous chocolate chip cookies officially on the International Space Station (ISS) to become the first food baked in space

CLEAN-A-THON 2.0 IN THE GARDEN CITY On the early Sunday morning of November 3, more than 3000 Bengaluru restaurateurs came united and joined hands together to clean up their city. They all pledged for a #plasticfreeIndia and participated in high spirit and cleaned about 1628 bags of waste in Koramangala and Indiranagar. Out of which 754 bags were full of plastic waste and 874 bags were normal waste

48 EXPRESS FOOD & HOSPITALITY December 2019

WEEKEND

THANKSGIVING REVELRIES A hearty feast this Thanksgiving with delectable preparations from the chefs was presented at AnnaMaya, the European foodhall at Andaz Delhi. The thoughtfully crafted four-course set menu included classic golden glazed turkey and special pumpkin pie

FLYING HIGH Airports Authority of India (AAI) has recently launched a first of its kind Airport Kitchen equipped with state-of-the-art-facilities at the Chennai International Airport. This unique and mammoth kitchen is fully equipped with the latest applications, high-end equipment, and cutting-edge technology. Spread across approximately 15000 sq ft, it will be operated and managed by Travel Food Services (TFS)

ADVANCE CATERING TRAINING The Hotel and Restaurant Association of Western India (HRAWI) in association with the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) conducted two more of its Food Safety Supervisory training in Advance Catering (FoSTaC) programmes in Navi Mumbai and Pune in mid October

NEXT GENERAL MANAGER OF INDIAThe Indian Hotels Company (IHCL) and Swiss institution Les Roches Global Hospitality Education, ranked number three of the world’s top institutions for hospitality management by the QS World University Rankings 2019 announced the winners of the “Next General Manager of India”

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December 2019

WEEKEND

Scene and Heard With Marcellus Baptista

Family and friends

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he inimitable and iconic Olive Bar & Kitchen celebrated its 19th anniversary with its creator AD Singh and wife Sabina inviting their close friends and regulars over dinner with a choice of any of two specified evenings. Guests were happy to step into the Mediterranean-styled eatery and bar and feel that distinct vibe of cheer and camaraderie as AD Singh warmly welcomed each and every guest. Naturally, it was time for sangria, fine wines, beers, spirits and cool cocktails with pass-around bites doing the rounds. Later, when guests were ready they were escorted to their table for a repast crafted by chef Viraf Patel and his team. And everyone looked like they were eagerly awaiting Olive’s 20th anniversary in 2020.

AD Singh, wife Sabina and friends at Olive’s 19th Anniversary

Anniversary action

Fourth dimension

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hirsty 127, Mumbai’s first microbrewery, completed one year with a chilled out party at their premises at Todi Mills. Divya Palat and hubby Aditya Hitkari were some of the guests spotted having a good time. And a good time was had by all the other guests who enjoyed the drinks and bites.

They were happy to note that till the end of December the place is staging the Thirsty Trails festival of North East India with Suraj Gurung, master mixologist of the famed Stockton Hong Kong bar, along with Thirsty 127’s chef and culinary team recreating and reinventing but at the same time retaining the culture of the region alive. The good news is that till the end of the year the winter menu is on.

True Tramm Trunk guests

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Thirsty 127 team

rue Tramm Trunk, known as T3 to all the regulars, had a double celebration. It was party time to bring alive its brand new look, known as Version 2, which they may call V2 and also party time to celebrate T3’s fourth anniversary, what you may call T4. Guests at T3 in Juhu were encouraged to raise a toast on completing what they called four damn drunk years and to get too damn drunk once again! Party people did not need further encouragement as they got into the party groove by eating, drinking and making merry. They decided to do with the usual celebrities that you spot on red carpets here, there and everywhere, and instead invited their regulars which was a very good thing indeed.

Peas pleaser

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eas and not potatoes go into the making of Rosella Gold Vodka from Uzbekistan. You learned this as All Things Nice hosted an evening of cocktails and canapes at Olive Bar & Kitchen to welcome this premium vodka produced in the Tashkent-based distillery of JSC Uzbekistan Shampani and imported here by Aditya Export. Guests enjoyed the curated cocktail menu crafted by Vedant Mehra of Olive and sommelier Nikhil Agarwal of All Things Nice along with appetizers by Olive’s new chef Viraf Patel. Everyone gave full marks to Garden of Eden (vodka, lemongrass, ginger, litchi juice), Tea Sour (vodka, green tea, lemon, sugar, egg white), Martini (vodka, vermouth) and Uzbeki Mule (vodka, lime, ginger ale).

50 EXPRESS FOOD & HOSPITALITY December 2019

Dipti Oka, Neejee Chabhra, Geeta Handa & Anshu Sharma Khatri at The Rosella launch party

REGD.WITH RNI NO. MAHENG/2019/78000,POSTAL REGD. NO. MCS/227/2019 – 21, PUBLISHED ON 10TH EVERY MONTH, POSTED ON 12TH,13TH & 14TH IN EVERY MONTH POSTED AT MUMBAI PATRIKA CHANNEL SORTING OFFICE,MUMBAI – 400001.