Food & Beverage Business Review ( December-January 2015)

Dec-Jan ’15

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E d i t o r i a l

Publisher cum Editor Rajneesh Sharma rajneeshhammer@gmail.com

Associate Editor Swarnendu Biswas Resident Editor Sharmila Chand (Delhi) Ashok Malkani (Mumbai) Layout & Design Hari Kumar. V Narender Kumar Production Assistant Mamta Sharma Business Co-ordinator Pooja Anand Advertising Sales Delhi: Debabrata Nath, Sumesh Sharma Mumbai: Rajesh Tupsakhre Subscription Sales Dattaram Gangurde Director Sales Sanjay Anand Director Operations & Finance Rajat Taneja Editorial & Advertising Offices: Delhi: Hammer Publishers Pvt. Ltd. 1202, Pragati Tower, 26, Rajindra Place, New Delhi-110008 Phone: 91-11-45084903, 25854103 Telefax: 91-11-25854105 Mumbai: Hammer Publishers Pvt. Ltd. 105, 1st Floor, Aarpee Centre, Gufic Compound, 11th Road, MIDC, Near Tunga Paradise, Andheri (E), Mumbai-400093 Ph.: 022-28395833 Telefax: 022-28388947

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Hammer Food & Beverage Business Review is a bi-monthly magazine, printed, owned and published by Rajneesh Sharma from 302, Himgiri Apartments, J-Block, Vikaspuri, New Delhi. Printed at Age of Enlightenment Publications, Green Fields Colony, Faridabad, Haryana.

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These days, in the Indian food service industry, the ambience and décor of restaurants are getting much greater importance than they were given in the past. It is because nowadays, many of the guests in urban India are not satisfied by merely great food and beverages in ordinary settings; many of them want to get a holistic experience from their eating out experiences which many a time also includes dining in a wonderful ambience amidst refreshing décor.

Today, in many high-end dining options, the interior décor of the restaurant assumes as much importance as the food it serves. A decade or so earlier, ambience and décor improved the eating out experiences, these days they are fast becoming an integral part of eating out experiences, in the food service industry of India. Guests’ visits to restaurants are nowadays influenced not only by the food and beverage they serve and the services, but also by their architecture and in-vironment.

In our Cover Story we have covered some restaurants whose designs are far removed from ordinary. They could inspire many in the Indian food service industry to think out of the box in terms of their designing inputs, when they think of developing a new restaurant or new restaurants or of remodeling their existing restaurant/s.

It is common knowledge that a huge proportion of the food produced in India get wasted. If this huge wastage is prevented or even if a great deal of this shameful wastage is prevented, we can check the food inflation and alleviate the hunger problem in the country to a large extent. One of the pragmatic methods to drastically reduce the food wastage in India, and consequently give a fillip to the food processing sector is to bolster our cold storage infrastructure. We have discussed the opportunities for investment towards improving the cold chain infrastructure in India and also the various impediments towards it, in our Business Story.

In the Feature section, we have covered a unique restaurant in the heart of Delhi, which can accommodate close to 300 guests at a time.

It houses different options to explore the eating out experiences within its spread out ambit. One can also construe that the huge restaurant or rather the restaurant complex houses different restaurants within its precincts.

The bar which also provides a platform for showcasing and selling the art works of artists, rich and varied culinary legacy of north-east India, the role of condiments in the food service industry and the growth of the condiments’ business in Indian food service industry are some of the other interesting topics being covered in this issue. We hope our regular valued readers and also the plethora of visitors coming to Aahar 2015 (I know that they are not mutually exclusive groups) would be engrossed by the comprehensive editorial package presented by us.

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

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Contents

Cover Story

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Departments

Decor to Enliven Dining Out

Business

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Cold Chain is Hot Business

Feature

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Explore Ambrosia with Bliss

Processed Food

52

Condiments are Crucial

Agri

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News

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Report

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Focus

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Meat

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Beverage

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Restaurant Review

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Chef Voice

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Equipment

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Operations

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Product Preview

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Amazing Maize

Bakery

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Indians Loving Chocolates More

Bar

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Where Art Raises the Bar

Theme Cuisine Cuisines from North-East India

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Event

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Interview

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EVENT

SIAL China Can Foster Indo-China Trade

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IAL China, the Asian edition of the world-famous SIAL exhibition, recently invited media for a discussion on the developing momentum of Indo-China trade relations and to present new opportunities for furthering food and beverage trade between the two neighbours.

Tribhuvan Darbari, the Director General of the Chindia Chamber of Commerce & Industry, opened the discussion with a macroeconomic overview of Indo-China relations. “F&B industry is one of the fastest growing sectors in the world and supporting a platform such as SIAL China is a step towards the logical direction for India and China,” he pointed out.

Yao Jing, Minister and Deputy Chief of Mission from the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in India then added that India and China did have a long history of bilateral trade. He invited the two countries to “reopen the old Silk and Spice routes.” “This can be done with modern-day products such as agricultural commodities and processed food,” he observed. “China is not only a provider of manufactured goods but also a provider of goodwill. We invite Indian food processers and importers across the board to participate in SIAL China. Indian companies will be very competitive in the Chinese market and we would like to see them develop their presence in China,” he pointed out.

“We are happy to see events like SIAL China being promoted in India and we will be happy to provide the policy support required to further the development of F&B trade between India and China,” asserted Sanjeet Singh, IRS, Director of the North East Asian Desk at the Department of Commerce.

Bjoern Kempe, Exhibition Director, SIAL China, then took the floor to present the next session of SIAL China 2015. He explained that China is world’s largest consumer market and its food market was forecasted to exceed 1.5 trillion USD by 2016. “Chinese are savvy consumers and are interested in products that are of high quality, exotic, safe and novel. Dairy products, vegetable oils, livestock and poultry and seafood are some of the major Chinese food imports.

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As a developing agricultural production powerhouse, India is well positioned to supply China for its import needs in meat, seafood, dairy, fruit pulps, cereals and value added food,” he proferred.

He disclosed to Food & Beverage Business Review that for the 2015 edition of SIAL China most of the exhibitors from India would be exporters of meat products. Kempe urged that cereal producers from India should also participate at SIAL China in a big way, in the future to tap the yet unexplored market.

MK Parimoo and Rajesh Sharma from the Trade Promotion Council of India (TPCI), the organisers of the India pavilion at SIAL China, shared their experience of participation at the exhibition. According to them SIAL China is not only an excellent platform for promoting Indian F&B products to the Chinese market but also to access buyers from across Asia. Parimoo pointed out that,“In F&B, our strengths are bovine meat, marine products and dairy products to a certain extent.” Sharma reminded the audience that the SIAL China India pavilion 2015 was open for registration and interested companies may contact TPCI. SIAL China 2015 will be held in Shanghai during 6th-8th May 2015. The 2015 edition of SIAL China is expected to attract 2,700 premium exhibitors and 55,000 professional visitors from over 90 countries and regions. USA will be the Guest Country of Honor and Heilongjiang will be the Guest Province of Honor.

SIAL Innovation will be the right platform to explore the latest food trends. The SIAL Innovation area builds on the 50 years of SIAL Group experience in identifying cutting-edge food trends and showcasing them at SIAL Group exhibitions across the globe: in Canada, Brazil, France, Middle-East, China, the Philippines and Indonesia. At SIAL China, the SIAL Innovation display will present prize-winning food and beverage products that embody the hottest upcoming trends in the Asian F&B industry. Kempe explained that “in addition to these innovative products, Indian visitors will be able to discover gourmet products from a range of 55 countries participating at the SIAL China, such as Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Japan and Korea.”

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EVENT

SIGEP Scripts a Success Story S

IGEP, RHEX and A.B.TECH EXPO, which was held during 17th-21st January 2015 at Rimini Fiera, Italy, attracted a total of 187,223 trade visitors, which was an 8 percent increase over the number of trade visitors that visited the three events in 2014. The foreign visitors rose at the three expos to 38,122, with an increase of 10 percent over the last year’s edition.

Over a 1000 companies participated at the integrated expo scenario. 693,476 visits were made to the expos’ websites from 1st -22nd January, with a peak of 77,805 visits on the inauguration day of the grand show.

The social networks also gave the events good coverage.

The three expos were inaugurated by Stefano Bonaccini, the President of the

Emilia Romagna Region, and Rimini’s Mayor Andrea Gnassi, along with Rimini Fiera’s Chairman Lorenzo Cagnoni, who announced at the ribbon-cutting ceremony the launch of Rimini Coffee Festival from 28th to 31st May, bearing witness to the sector’s growth to the point of “earning” a dedicated expo.

SIGEP 2015 also hosted the launch of the new edition of Gelato World Tour with dates all over the world (debuting in Singapore) for the promotion of Italian artisan gelato. SIGEP, which had its 36th edition, is acknowledged among the world´s most important events in the artisan gelato sector. On show were the very latest in raw materials, basic products, plant, machinery, furnishing and fittings for the artisan gelato and bakery

trades. Extraordinary quality of the artisan gelato, pastry and bakery chains were also showcased at the three events.

“As well as the impressive increase in the number of visitors, there was also satisfied feedback from exhibitors and visitors who came to Rimini Fiera from all over the world to take advantage of the business meetings,” stated Rimini Fiera’s Business Unit Manager, Patrizia Cecchi.

All the busy international events held at the expo centre over the five days met with success, and the 2016 program already includes the Gelato World Cup (the Italian team was selected at SIGEP Gelato d´Oro 2015) and The Pastry Queen World Championship, with the world´s best lady Pastry Chefs.

The Results of the Contests at the 36th SIGEP GELATO SIGEP GELATO D´ORO Gelato makers: 1st Giordy Luca Babbo – 2nd Stefano Dassie Chefs: 1st Alberto Carretta – 2nd Stefano Buttazzoni Pastry Chefs: 1st Antonio Capuano – 2nd Giacomo Siracusano Ice sculptors: 1st Amelio Mazzella di Regnella – 2nd Mauro Sbalzer BEST CHOCOLATE FLAVOURED GELATO 1st Le Procope - Vere Gelaterie Artigianali (Catanzaro) – 2nd Paolo Antico (Partinico, Palermo) – 3rd Antica Gelateria Fortino (Cariati, Cosenza) A THOUSAND IDEAS FOR A NEW GELATO FLAVOUR 1st Antica Gelateria Strati - Enrico Cusenza (Siderno, Reggio Calabria) – 2nd Lampone e cioccolato – Lucia Gobetto (Castiglione Torinese, Turin) – 3rd Gelateria Pasticceria Papa (Sidney, Australia) 9th COMUNICANDO – PUNTI.IT AWARD Best Copy: Cartoprint campaign. Nominations for Elenka and Comprital Best Visuals: Prodotti Stella campaign. Nominations for Leagel and Silikomart Best Graphic Design: IFI campaign. Nominations for F.A.R. Rogelfrut and Pavoni Best Creativity: Fapec campaign. Nominations for Bussy and Fructital 2014 Special Brand Award: Cookies Mec3 2014 Communication Ambassador: Donata Panciera and Pier Paolo Magni Best Campaign chosen by readers: “Violetta” by PreGel 2014 Comunicando Award Alidoro for the campaign “I pilastri della bontà” PASTRY THE STAR OF SUGAR

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1st Yoshiaki Nagamune (Japan) – 2nd Alessandro Comaschi (Italy) – 3rd Yannick Kiama (France) BABBI “GUSTO 2015” AWARD Lucrezia Lerro (Milan) JUNIOR WORLD PASTRY CHAMPIONSHIP 1st Japan – 2nd France – 3rd Taiwan ITALIAN SENIOR PASTRY AND CHOCOLATE CHAMPIONSHIP 1st Lorenzo Puca (Pescara) – 2nd Mario Buono (Castellammare di Stabia, Naples) – 3rd Stefan Krueger (Osimo, Ancona).

SIGEPGIOVANI CONTEST 1st IPSSAR De Cecco (Pescara) – 2nd Istituto Professionale De Probizer (Rovereto) – 3rd Engim Veneto E. Reffo (Tonezza del Cimone, Vicenza) ITALIAN JUNIOR PASTRY AND CHOCOLATE CHAMPIONSHIP 1st Mattia Cortinovis (Bergamo) – 2nd Andrea Marzo (Venaus, Turin) – 3rd Monia Frassineti (Faenza, Ravenna).

ITALIAN PASTRY QUEEN HEATS Participant in Pastry Queen 2016: Silvia Federica Boldetti (Turin) Award for best plated dessert, best sculpture, cleanliness and preparation award: Silvia Federica Boldetti (Turin) Best “jewel” dessert award: Eleonora Schiavone (Milan) BAKERY BREAD TALENT SHOW 1st Davide Fantuzzi (Reggio Emilia) INTERNATIONAL BREAD IN THE CITY CONTEST 1st Holland – 2nd Belgium – 3rd Italy COFFEE WORLD BREWERS CUP Italian World Brewers Cup Championship valid for the WBCC. 1st Rubens Gardelli (Forlì) – 2nd Simone Guidi (Florence) – 3rd Davide Spinelli (Cagliari)

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CIBC - ITALIAN CAFETERIA BARISTA CHAMPIONSHIP 1st Giacomo Vannelli (Cortona, Arezzo) – 2nd Angelo Segoni (Pescara) – 3rd Francesco Masciullo (Florence) CILIA - ITALIAN LATTE ART CHAMPIONSHIP 1st Pietro Vannelli (Cortona, Arezzo) – 2nd Matteo Beluffi (Milan) – 3rd Luca Primiani (Sorbolo, Parma) ITALIAN COFFEE IN GOOD SPIRITS CHAMPIONSHIP 1st Davide Berti (Trento) – 2nd Fabrizio Giraudo (Cuneo) – Marco Poidomani (Modica) BARISTA & FARMER The baristas selected for the new edition are: Bogdan Prokopchuk (Russia), Julien Latin (France), Agustina Romàn (Argentina), Angelica Madrigal Garcia (Colombia), Deborah Cesanelli (Italy), Sandro Bonacchi (Italy), Patrick Sinapi (Italy), Stephany Dávila (Guatemala), Panuwat Yoosakda (Thailand), and Julian Dammanhayn (Australia).

CHOCOLATE ITALIAN CHOCOLATE-MAKING CHAMPIONSHIP 1st Massimo Carnio (Valdobbiadene, Treviso) 2nd Sandy Astrali (Castelfranco Veneto, Treviso) – 3rd Kim Kyunjoon (Novara) PIZZA NIP-NAZIONALE ITALIANA PIZZAIOLI CHAMPIONSHIPS The Pizza of the Future Contest: 1st Daniele Mirarchi (Davoli Marina, Catanzaro) – 2nd Federico Palombella (Forlì) – 3rd Filippo Nestola (Cesenatico) Classic round pizza: Antonio Bencivenga (Italo-Peruvian) Gluten-free pizza: Simone Alessi (Castelgomberto, Vicenza) Kamut pizza: Guerrino Liutio (Cerveteri, Rome) Diet pizza: Alessandro Pasini (Forlì) Dessert Pizza: Luan Sherifi (Albania) Hand-made pasta contest: 1st Lorella Orioli (San Marino) – 2nd Manuela Delvecchio (Rimini) – 3rd Silvana Barbieri (Cervia)

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EVENT EVENTS’ CALENDER Aahar 2015 10-14 March 2015 Pragati Maidan, New Delhi www.aaharinternationalfair.com

Anuga FoodTec 2015 A

nuga FoodTec 2015 will be held during 24th-27th March 2015, in Cologne, Germany. The venue of the event will be Cologne Exhibition Centre. It is an important international supplier fair for the food and beverage industry, which is held after every three years. The last edition of Anuga, which was held in 2012, attracted 1289 exhibitors and 43,000 visitors.

As a leading global trade fair for the food & beverage industry, Anuga FoodTec can be construed as an important driving force of the international food and beverage industry. Whether machines or systems, packaging material and analytics, ingredients or services; Anuga FoodTec is a right platform for the industry to present its innovations and technological visions.

Whether for meat or dairy products, drinks or frozen food, for bakery products or basic foodstuffs; at the Anuga FoodTec the visitors can expect to find solutions and ideas for all matters to do with the production and packaging of all types of food. Anuga FoodTec is perhaps the only trade fair in the world which covers the entire spectrum of food production – from processing to packaging. For the global food and beverage industry, Anuga FoodTec is the leading platform for

information and purchasing.

Anuga FoodTec 2015 will present new technologies for processing functional ingredients. The 2015 edition of Anuga FoodTec will not only present the significant trends in functional ingredients.

The focus will also be on the fascinating array of technology, with which powdered and liquid substances can be modified.

Succinctly, it is expected to be ideal platform for exchange of ideas and information across the food & beverage industry, besides facilitation of business.

The event can attract all sectors of the food and beverage industry, ranging from management decision makers to junior executives.

The forthcoming event will cover a fairly wide product segment which include process technology, packaging technology, packaging material, automation, data processing, controlling and regulation technology, food safety and quality management, service accessories, environmental technology, biotechnology, refrigeration and air-conditioning technology, conveying, transport and storage facilities, logistics, ingredients and auxiliary materials, components, assemblies and surface technology, accessories among others.

Event Information 24 March 2015: 01:00 p.m. - 02:30 p.m.

Forum 2 – Cheese Technology (Congress Centre North) 24 March 2015: 03:00 p.m. - 05:00 p.m.

Forum 6 -Encapsulation/Microencapsulation (Boulevard North) 26 March 2015: 10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.

Forum 18 - Innovative products and processes for the dairy industry (Boulevard North) 26 March 2015: 03:30 p.m. - 05:00 p.m.

Forum 23 - Camel milk – raw material and processing (Boulevard North) 27 March 2015: 10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.

Forum 26 - Pasta technology (Congress Centre North)

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EDT Expo 25-28 March 2015 Istanbul, Turkey www.cnredtexpo.com HOTELEX 2015 30 March - 2 April 2015 Shanghai New International Exhibition Center, Shanghai, China www.hotelex.cn SIAL China 2015 6-8 May 2015 Shanghai New International Exhibition Center, Shanghai, China www.sialchina.com HOFEX 2015 6-9 May 2015 Hongkong Exhibition Centre, Hong Kong www.hofex.com Anufood Eurasia 14-16 May 2015 Tuyap Exhibition Center, Istanbul, Turkey www.anufoodeurasia.com Thaifex World of Food Asia 20-24 May 2015 Impact Exhibition and Convention Center, Bangkok, Thailand www.worldoffoodasia.com AMBIENTE INDIA 25-27 June 2015 Pragati Maidan, New Delhi www.ambiente-india.in HEIMTEXTIL INDIA 25-27 June 2015 Pragati Maidan, New Delhi www.heimtextil.in

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Visit us at Aahar 2015 Hall No. 18

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The new The standard for Indian and Western cuisine

Welcoming Aahar 2015 A

ahar International Food & Hospitality Fair 2015 will be taking place at its regular venue of Pragati Maidan, New Delhi. This would be the 30th edition of Aahar. Aahar is regarded as the largest fair in the food & hospitality sector in India.

The mega show for the food & beverage and hospitality industry would be taking place during 10th-14th March 2015, during 10.00 am to 6.00 pm. The event would be meant exclusively for the business visitors during 10.00 am -2.00 pm on all the five days, and would be open for the general public during 2.00 pm- 6.00 pm, on all its five days. The event will be spread across halls 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 to 12 A, 14, 15 & 18.

Aahar 2015 will cover two separate but concurrent exhibitions. ‘Hospitality India’ will cover hotel & restaurant equipment and supplies and ‘Food India’ will be covering food, processed food & beverage products. The organiser of the event is India Trade Promotion Organisation(ITPO).

The event is supported by the Ministry of Food Processing Industries, Government of India(MOFPI). The associates of the forthcoming mega event are Association of Resource

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Companies for the Hospitality Industry of India(ARCHI), All India Food Processors Association, Hotel & Restaurant Equipment Manufacturers’ Association of India, Food and Hospitality Support Association of India(FHSAI), Forum of Indian Food Importers, and Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA).

In the 2014 edition of Aahar, the event was spread across an area of 44298.85 sq. m. Aahar 2014 attracted 776 exhibitors, which included 48 exhibitors from 18 overseas. Besides exhibitors from India the exhibitors from Australia, Austria, Canada, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Italy, Malaysia, Poland, Romania, Spain, Sweden, Thailand, Turkey, UAE & USA also participated at the trade fair. The event also garnered 23586 business visitors, including business visitors from overseas. More than 94 percent of the participants at Aahar 2014 indicated that their objectives were achieved.

Besides facilitating business, Aahar as a platform provides great opportunity for the food & beverage and hospitality industry to disseminate/gather relevant information and gauge trends, that can greatly benefit many participants. It is hoped that the 2015 edition of Aahar would supersede even the noteworthy achievements of the Aahar show, which was held at Pragati Maidan in the last year.

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NEWS SCAN

La Terrazza Trattoria, at Hyatt Regency Pune Makes India’s Longest Pizza La Terrazza Trattoria, an authentic Italian, home-style restaurant at Hyatt Regency Pune has created history by making the country’s longest pizza. The event, which was held at the hotel, saw the creation of the enormous 60X6 feet pizza.

La Terrazza Trattoria is an authentic Italian restaurant that serves home-style Italian cuisine and features an open kitchen that showcases the Chefs preparing Italian delicacies. Taking this Italian legacy forward, La Terrazza Trattoria decided to create the record breaking pizza to highlight that it serves some of the best thin crust pizzas in the city along with other unsurpassable Italian delicacies.

Speaking on the occasion Mohammad Labban, General Manager, Hyatt Regency Pune said, “We want to reinforce the message of La Terrazza Tratorria being a truly Italian restaurant through an event that is unique, fun, involves the local community and attracts the media. The current registered record for the longest pizza in India is approximately 16X5 feet long as per the Limca Book of Records and now there is a new record that has been created.”

Hector Beverages Introduces Refreshing Beverages Consumer beverage start-up Hector Beverages, which has been funded

by N R Narayana Murthy, has infused distinctly Indian flavours in the beverages industry of the country. Through its brand Paper Boat, Hector Beverages has recently launched spicy chilled rasam and sattu. Both rasam and sattu has been introduced by Hector Beverages in 250 ml retail packs.

Finely ground chickpeas, sand roasted to perfection coupled with lemon juice, puréed onions and some light spices give the sattu drink from Paperboat right amount of zest. The company has also come up with tulsi tea and ginger lemon tea in similar pack sizes under the ambit of its brand Paper Boat.

What is more innovative is that Paper Boat is marketing rasam as a chilled beverage and not as a hot drink. According to Neeraj Kakkar, Founder and CEO of Hector Beverages Pvt. Ltd., these newly launched beverages have natural ingredients and are devoid of preservatives. Furthermore, they have low or no sugar content.

Prior to this launch, Paper Boat’s portfolio of traditional beverages included amras, jaljeera, jamun kalakhatta, aam pana, kokum, imli ka amlana and golgappe ka paani. Now with this new launch its portfolio has been further enhanced. The brand is playing an important role in spreading the popularity of ethnic Indian drinks in a westernised Indian beverages market.

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NEWS SCAN

The End of a Partnership Gloria Jean’s Coffees, the Australian coffee café brand, has ended its master franchise agreement in India with Citymax Hospitality. Here it deserves a mention that Citymax Hospitality is the hospitality division of the Dubai-based Landmark Group.

Landmark Group is a retail giant whose retail operations in India’s food & beverage industry include the brand of Krispy Kreme Doughnuts.

Gloria Jean’s Coffees entered the Indian retail coffee market by launching four outlets in the country, in the first quarter of 2008. Citymax expanded the number of outlets to 27 and Gloria Jean’s Coffees was having brand presence in Mumbai, New Delhi, Gurgaon, Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad and Pune.

But the journey of the Gloria Jean’s Coffees brand in India has not been a smooth sailing one. Citymax couldn’t achieve the desired expansion plan of the brand due to operational challenges. Citymax even found difficult to maintain the operations of some of the outlets in India reflecting Gloria Jean’s Coffees’ brand name. Citymax went on to shut down five of these 27 outlets. More recently, Citymax did shut down five more of Gloria Jean’s Coffees’ outlets in India. At the time of the end of the agreement, there were only 17 Gloria Jean’s Coffees outlets in the country.

Nando’s Plans for India Encouraged by the favourable response of its remodelled franchisee run outlets in India, the South African restaurant chain Nando’s has set up a fully-owned subsidiary in the country. Nando’s is an internationally renowned casual dining restaurant chain, based in South Africa. It has presence in 34 countries.

Nando’s has envisaged to come up with 20 own restaurants in India, in the next three-four years. These would be in addition to Nando’s outlets in India, which are/would be opened by its franchisees.

This is Nando’s second innings in India. Its first innings in the Indian food service market ended in 2008, when Nando’s exited India by closing its three franchisee stores in Mumbai. In its second innings in India, Nando’s has changed its strategy by positioning itself as a dine-in restaurant chain rather than as a self service fast food chain. It has also come with larger 4500 sq.ft. outlets, as compared to its earlier size for the Indian market, of around 2,000 sq. ft. outlets. Nando’s has also introduced an extensive vegetarian menu for its customers in India.

Lite Bite Foods Aims for the US Food Service Market Lite Bite Foods has plans to launch of a premium restaurant chain brand named American Tandoor. The slated restaurant chain will offer Indian cuisine to the US in an American way, and it would be introduced in June 2016, in the US. The maiden American Tandoor outlet will have 250 covers and will be spread across 5500 sq.ft. It will be located in Tysons Corner Centre in Washington DC and would entail an investment to the tune of Rs.10 crore. Lite Bite Foods has plans to expand the brand in the US. Presently, Lite Bite Foods has 12 core brands under its ambit, which include renowned names like Punjab Grill, Zambar, and FresCo among others.

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Taco Bell on an Expansion Drive Across India US-based Yum! Restaurants has plans of expanding its Tex-Mex food chain Taco Bell in India, in a big way. By end 2016, there are plans to have 20-25 Taco Bell outlets in India. According to Unnat Varma, General Manager - Taco Bell & Pizza Hut, India, the new outlets could be company owned or franchised. Presently, there are seven Taco Bell outlets in India, which include four Taco Bell outlets in Bangalore. In December 2014, two Taco Bell outlets were opened in Mumbai. The California-based Taco Bell, which arrived in India in 2010, has over 6000 outlets in 16 countries. However, the success of Taco Bell in India would depend on how much the Indians are welcoming the Mexican food.

Safal Enters Frozen Snacks Segment Safal, which is the fruit and vegetable business initiative of Mother Dairy Fruit & Vegetable Pvt. Ltd., has entered the frozen snacks category with the launch of its frozen Aloo Tikki. The brand has also expanded its frozen vegetables range with the introduction of frozen Aloo Methi and frozen Spinach Blocks.

These products are natural and contain no preservatives or additives. Moreover, these products are ready to cook as they are blanched.

This initiative by Safal is expected to enhance convenience in cooking in our fast-paced urban lives, where time is always scarce. The initiative has been undertaken to add convenience to cooking because of paucity of time in the fast-paced life these days and falls in line with that need for ready to cook snacks and vegetables. Also, frozen vegetables serve as alternative to fresh vegetables, ensuring good quality and long durability.

Speaking on the launch, Pradipta Kumar Sahoo, Business Head, Horticulture, Mother Dairy Fruit & Vegetable Pvt. Ltd., said, “At Safal, we always strive to add value to the customer’s experience and this launch is yet another effort towards the same direction. Aloo Tikki is one of the favourite snacks here in India, but we often are worried about the hygiene factor of the snacks available in the market. The launch of our Aloo Tikki will ensure hygiene with consistent quality on offer.”

“Methi and spinach are loved by consumers but these vegetables are not available round the year and also require efforts for washing and chopping. The newly launched products are also convenient in today’s fast-paced life as they don’t require washing, cutting or chopping and are ready-to-cook. Also, when a consumer buys methi or spinach, most of the yield is wasted due to cutting and chopping the leaves.” he added.

The newly launched frozen Aloo Tikki is available in consumer packs of 400 gm (10 pieces) and is available at Safal booths and general trade outlets. The frozen Aloo Methi and frozen Spinach Blocks are available in consumer packs of 250 gm & 200 gm respectively and are available across all Safal outlets in Delhi and NCR only. The pack of frozen Aloo Tikki is available at Rs.75 whereas the packs of frozen Aloo Methi and frozen Spinach Blocks are available at Rs.32 each.

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NEWS SCAN

Ferriswheel’s Worldfest 2014 had Cuisine from 10 Countries Lavasa hosted Ferriswheel’s Worldfest 2014 during 17th-21st December 2014. Five eventful days of celebration of global cuisine, along with dance, music and art was held at Lavasa city, where over 200 performers participated. The event attracted close to 19,000 visitors. There was something for everyone.

Foodies could get the opportunity to experience cuisine from 10 countries at the Food Festival stalls.

One of the cuisines that the food specialists from Egypt dished out was their traditional cuisine koshari. It dates backs to the 19th century, and it is made of rice, macaroni and lentils mixed together, topped with a tomato-vinegar sauce.

The Polish food was the highlight of Worldfest 2014. The hot Zur Soup served at the Poland Food Festival was welcoming, delicious, and appetising. It blended well with the nippy weather in Lavasa. The key ingredients of soup are boiled potato and garlic pods with a speck of pepper. Zur Soup, served with a healthy chunk of boiled egg made it even more delicious. Also on the platter was Oblaty, one of the most traditional recipes of Poland. A sweet and vanilla flavored wafer made for a sumptuous snack.

Local Brazilian cuisine with key ingredients of banana, kidney beans, crushed corn and rice made for a sumptuous meal and a gastronomic delight to indulge in. Straight from Thailand were delectable Thai noodles that went down with relish.

The countries represented at the festival were Brazil, Egypt, Ethiopia, Lithuania, Maldives, Nigeria, Poland, Slovenia, Sri Lanka and Thailand.

Shubhra Bhardwaj, Founder and Creative Director of Ferriswheel Entertainment Pvt. Ltd. and Worldfest, while addressing the closing ceremony said, “I would like to thank all the participating countries for being a part of Worldfest 2014 and the Lavasa team for their tremendous support in believing in this festival and welcoming us at Lavasa.

Worldfest is all about encouraging people to travel, building friendships today for a better tomorrow.”

Here it deserves a mention that Ferriswheel is a Mumbai-based agency, specialising in conceptualising, producing and directing live events, shows, exhibitions & festivals for cultural, sports and entertainment platforms, at both national and international levels.

NRAI Wins Hookah Case in the Supreme Court Following the favourable decision on the Hookah Case in the Delhi High Court in 2013, the National Restaurant Association of India (NRAI) was pursuing the special leave petition, which was being heard in the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court on 8th December 2014 gave a favourable decision for NRAI. This is a landmark judgement in which the Supreme Court has set aside the judgements of Bombay, Madras and Gujarat High Courts. In those previous judgements of the High Courts, restriction imposed on smoking of hookah with tobacco content in Indian restaurants was upheld and power was given to municipal authorities to impose conditions in that regard. Tobacco hookahs can now be served in Indian restaurants but will have to follow the guidelines from the COTPA Act. As far as herbal / non-tobacco hookahs are concerned, the NRAI got a favourable decision from the Delhi High Court in 2012-13 where it was declared that those hookahs do not fall under the COTPA Act; and therefore, could be served in a restaurant.

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NEWS SCAN

Barcelos to Arrive in McDonald’s Enters Mangalore Hardcastle Restaurants India Private Limited (HRPL), a Barcelos, a South Africa-based restaurant, is all set to tickle the Indian palate with its brand of worldclass peri-peri flavoured, flame grilled delicacies.

After successful debut in Oman recently, Barcelos is to make its entry into India with its outlet in Delhi.

The restaurant would be coming up in the heart of the city in the upscale and well-visited Khan Market area. Today Barcelos has a global presence. There are 120 outlets carrying Barcelos’s brand name, which are spread across 17 countries.

The company sees India as one of the biggest opportunities to establish and expand its brand.

Barcelos will have its presence in 10 cities of the country with more than 20 outlets, in the next five years.

Rohit Malhotra, GM Operations, Barcelos, said, “We are very confident that with a combination of superior service from South Africa with the blend of peri-peri flavours, we will bring to the Indian customers a world-class casual dining experience.

With a growing awareness towards tasteful yet healthy dining, we at Barcelos aim to focus on the health and nutritional aspects of food, apart from tastes and flavours.”

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master franchisee for west & south India operations of McDonald’s restaurants, announced its entry into Mangalore with the launch of two restaurants in quick succession. These new outlets make the total number of restaurants in Karnataka having McDonald’s brand name to 44.

The 128 seat attractive new restaurant at the centrally located Forum Fiza Mall sprawls across 3500 sq.ft. and offers comfortable seating for guests while the restaurant at CityCentre Mall can seat up to 134 guests within the restaurant and 32 guests outdoors. The restaurants will each have a team of 50 employees to manage operations in the initial phase.

Commenting on McDonald’s launch in Mangalore, Ranjith Paliath, Vice President, Business Operations, McDonald’s India (West & South) said, “We are proud to open two McDonald’s restaurants in Mangalore, a city which offers great opportunity to grow our brand. Our commitment is to deliver a modern and exciting restaurant experience with delicious food and drinks, at the convenience our customers can expect from McDonald’s.”

“Mangalore, as a market holds huge potential for growth and we look forward to building our brand and our business responsibly here and make a positive impact in the local community,” he added.

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RETAIL NEWS

Walmart Opens a New Store in India Walmart will open a cash and carry store in Agra. The news is significant because this will be a new store of Walmart in India, after a gap of more than two years. Its last store in India was opened in Bhopal, towards the end of 2012. This forthcoming store will be the second Walmart store in the city of Taj Mahal.

Walmart has stated that in India it would focus on cash and carry business, in a climate where there is little clarity on FDI in multi-brand retail trade. Presently, Walmart runs 20 cash and carry stores in the country under the brand Best Price, which are spread across nine states.

On early 2014, Walmart unveiled its plans to come up with 50 wholesale stores in India, during the next four to five years.

Walmart also envisages to extend its B2B eCommerce initiative in all its stores in the country in a phased manner, during 2015 only. Here it deserves a mention that in four cities of India, that is in Hyderabad, Lucknow, Guntur and Vijayawada, Walmart presently operates its B2B e-commerce platform.

Spencer’s to Expand its Retail Space Spencer’s Retail, the retail arm of CESC Ltd., has envisaged to come up with 16-20 new hypermarkets on a nationwide basis, by the end of March 2016, that is within fourteen months from now.

This would amount to addition of approximately 3,50,000 sq.ft. of retail space by Spencer’s Retail, from now till the end of March 2016. According to Sashwant Goenka from Spencer’s Retail, four to five of these hypermarkets are planned to be opened in the Jan-Mar quarter itself.

Spencer’s Retail currently operates 125 stores in India, which are spread across 36 cities and a retail space of over 1.05 million sq.ft. Out of these 125, 34 are large format outlets or hypermarkets. Each of these 34 outlets covers an area of at least 18,000 sq. ft. The smaller stores, on an average, are spread across an area of 10,000-12,000 sq. ft. each.

Big Bazaar Reaches its 100th Destination At the time of writing this news, Big Bazaar was having outlets across 100 cities of India. In the recent past, Big Bazaar opened an outlet in Rourkela, in Orissa, and Rourkela became the 100th city in India where Big Bazaar is having an outlet.

During the last three months, Big Bazaar, the retail chain of the Future Group, did open 17 stores across the country. According to Big Bazaar’s Chief Executive, Sadashiv Nayak, each and every store of Big Bazaar was the product of in-depth research of the nearby area where the said store was to be planned.

Fresh from Haryana According to Haryana’s Agriculture Minister, OP Dhankar, a vegetable store chain named Haryana Fresh will be opened in every part of Delhi. This is expected to facilitate the farmers of Haryana to get better value for their produce. The farmers would have ownership right over these stores.

Dhankar, while speaking at the concluding ceremony of the fourth two-day Vegetable Fair, which was organised at the Indo-Israel Centre of Excellence for Vegetables at Gharaunda in Karnal, asserted that primarily the farmers from Uttrakhand, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, and Punjab were supplying vegetables to the New Delhi market. However, Haryana happens to be the nearest state to Delhi.

He also said that the Government of Haryana would not let the farmers of Haryana lag behind in supplying vegetables to the markets of national capital.

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APPOINTMENT

Ritesh Kumar Choudhary JW Marriott Hotel Mumbai has announced the appointment of Ritesh Kumar Choudhary, who has joined the property as the Director of Food and Beverage.

He has 10 years of experience in delivering and sustaining revenue targets in the hotel industry and is adept at planning, supervising and managing food and beverage operations. He has a record of planning and implementing effective control measures to reduce operating costs of the unit.

Choudhary has excellent interpersonal and problem solving skills and the ability to work effectively in a multicultural environment. Before joining JW Marriott Hotel Mumbai, he had been associated with various prestigious hotel chains like The Taj Group and The Leela Group. His achievements and efforts have also won him several noteworthy accolades.

Chef Diego Martinelli Le Cirque at The Leela Palace New Delhi has appointed Diego Martinelli as its new Chef de Cuisine. A quintessential

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culinary personality, Martinelli brings with him over 16 years of strong culinary expertise. He has worked with worldrenowned luxury brands. An expert in Italian cuisine, Martinelli has attained considerable experience across Europe and Asia working with five-star luxury hotels including Bulgari Hotels & Resorts and The Fullerton Hotel Singapore to name a few.

An alumnus from I.A.L. Institute of Culinary Arts in Modena, Italy, he has made notable achievements through his career. Martinelli plans to orchestrate a new era in the fine dining industry of India, with his penchant towards culinary creativity and experimentation.

Siddharth Manjeshwar Alila Diwa Goa has recently appointed Siddharth Manjeshwar as its Food and Beverage Manager. Manjeshwar brings with him around 10 years of rich experience with leading hotels in India and internationally. In his current role, he will supervise the hotel’s culinary offerings as well as direct and oversee the hotel’s initiatives across all its food and beverage outlets. Prior to joining Alila Diwa Goa, Manjeshwar was the Food and Beverage Manager at Club Mediteranee in Japan.

He has extensive exposure of working at overseas, which include tenures with reputed hospitality properties in Australia, Dubai and Maldives among others.

Gaurav Aggarwal Renaissance Mumbai Convention Centre Hotel & Lakeside Chalet Marriott Executive Apartments has announced the appointment of Gaurav Aggarwal,

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as Director of Catering Sales. He was the Director of Sales at Fairfield and Courtyard before joining Renaissance Mumbai. Prior to working in Fairfield, he has executed several responsibilities as the Sales Manager at Marriott International, New Delhi.

Aggarwal has robust and substantial experience of eight years in the sales and marketing realm, and brings with him great depth, insight and skill to Renaissance Mumbai Convention Centre Hotel & Lakeside Chalet Marriott Executive Apartments. He has been an active participant of core training programs at the Marriott.

Pradipt Sinha Pradipt Sinha has been recently appointed as the Executive Chef of Courtyard by Marriott Pune City Centre. He brings with him over 14 years of professional experience. He has worked at some of the leading hospitality brands in India.

Apart from his talent in crafting some delicious Italian and Continental dishes, Chef Sinha’s expertise lies is in menu planning and recipe creation.

His competency also includes performance management, food promotions, guest relations, quality assurance and staff training. His core experience lies in adhering to international standard service procedures, evaluating and resolving problems and in generating revenues with minimal investment.

The versatile Chef began his career path with The Oberoi Rajvillas in Jaipur, in 2000 as a Trainee and moved on to play key roles with the Hyatt brand, across various cities.

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REPORT

ARK in North Mumbai

By Ashok Malkani

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tep into the lobby of Courtyard Mumbai International Airport, and you are likely to be accosted by the huge sign directing you to the ARK International, Mumbai’s latest addition to lounge bars.

Yes, walk down on the right and you come to a huge door with the hostess outside guiding you inside. As you step into the lounge bar you come across a rack of collector’s edition wines.

The dim lighting and the plush interiors, done up in brown and rust, transform you into a comfort zone. Parikshit Sambavisan, the Assistant Food & Beverage Sales Manager, who seemed to be politeness personified, informed us that this was the only Courtyard By Marriott in India which boasted of a lounge bar. In fact, he disclosed, the idea behind starting ARK was to provide Mumbai with a nightlife location which catered to both partygoers and transit passengers. Its unique selling proposition (USP) is that it is the only bar in North Mumbai which serves craft beer.

The interiors are done up in wood and leather (earthy tones) while the bar is done up in copper (to contrast the earthy tones of the lounge). The tables resemble railway wagons with wheels . You can have your drinks and snacks on the roof of these wagons. And if you are tempted to sing and shake a leg, there is a dance floor waiting for you.

ARK also has a private dining zone with sleek textured fabric sofas. As you enjoy your snacks and drinks in the cove, the soft lighting enhances the ambience further.

The 70-seater ARK, spread across 3500 sq. ft., is surrounded by dramatically designed walls with huge LCD television.

ARK is surely the new party destination, celebrating Mumbai’s nightlife. Even when we visited the place, there was a party scheduled a little later.

The music takes different tones as

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the time progresses. The DJ, positioned overlooking the dance area and the huge TV (which focuses on important football and cricket matches, when they are on; else it gives an overview of the dancers on the floor), plays a choice collection depending on the mood of the dancers. At post 11pm, the tempo of the music is raised for you, to create a conducive ambience for letting your hair down.

The beverages on offer complements the ambience. “The ARK redefines the concept of an elite bar by serving a menu of selected signature beverages, including a collection of molecular cocktails,” said Sambavisan .

He recommended Pink Floss (a fusion of gin, lemon juice with peach flavoured Gomme and herbs strained over candy floss) served in a Martini glass. It was out of the world.

My friend had Jägerbomb, which was a bomb indeed! For the uninformed, it may be mentioned that it is a mixture of caffeine-rich energy drinks and the German alcoholic spirit Jägermeister. This intoxicating drink, which is popular with the young , was originally mixed by dropping a shot ofJägermeister into a glass of beer, but in recent years, it has become more popular with Red Bull or other energy drinks.

Sambavisan also recommended Smoke Desire — scotch infused with cinnamon.

The waiter lifted the lid of the tall glass to let the smoke flow. We took a whiff of the smoke and a sip of the drink. It was

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a novel experience! The intensity of the scotch was a pleasant surprise for us. He recommended that we complement the drinks with the Nasiley Jhinge (brandy spiked jumbo prawns, fresh out of the tandoor). These soft and succulent prawns have a spicy, tangy flavour. Served with mint chutney and sliced onions, the prawns proved to be delectable.

ARK’s molecular special cocktails are worth a try. One of them is the Pearl Martini (vodka with fresh watermelon juice is served with twinkling melon caviar that adds sparkle to the sweet Martini). The Twisted Flavours comes across as an amalgamation of rum, lychee liqueur and pomegranate juice. This is dry smoked with basil and orange peel to endow it with a pleasant smoky flavour.

Both these drinks, warned Sambavisan, were potent enough to have your head swimming.

“So sip them slowly,” he advised.

Coming to the ARK’s lip smacking menu, it is a heavenly complement to their drinks.

Try the Prawns Tempura with Ponzu Aioli, where the soft and succulent prawns are served with aioli (a sauce made of garlic, olive oil, lemon juice and seasonings).

The Philadelphia Stuffed Mushrooms is another Chef’s special. The baked button mushrooms are stuffed with Philadelphia cheese and sprinkled with vinaigrette to add zing to the dish.

From the specials, you could also try the crunchy Bruschetta (an Italian dish, consisting of grilled bread rubbed with garlic and topped with tomatoes, olive oil, salt and pepper) with olive and Philadelphia cheese Tapenade(a provincial dish, consisting of puréed or finely chopped olives, capers, anchovies and olive oil).

And if you are feeling high as you step out of the lounge bar, it may be not only for the drinks but also due to the atmosphere and the service.

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REPORT

Explore Your Tastes with Old World Charm

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ld World’s Charm or OWC is a newly opened quaint restaurant in Punjabi Bagh, Club Road, New Delhi. The management of the place seems to have made an honest attempt to recreate the old world charm of bygone era through its décor and ambience and manages to do so to a great extent. “OWC is distinctive conceptualisation of the old world charm in today’s busy and fast-paced urban world, which is accentuated with modern flavours,” proffered Pawan Arora, one of the Directors of the newly opened property.

However, this old world charm is more westernised in character than Indian in terms of recreating the past.

The place, which was opened on

20th December, does have the capacity to accommodate 95 guests at a time and offers multi-cuisine fare. The restaurant’s area is spread across in-house and also through an open air terrace. About 45-47 persons can be accommodated at a time at the terrace. Within the terrace, there is an upper lounge which according to the Restaurant Manager of the place, would be targeted for more exclusive gatherings in the near future and would expect to have the prerequisite of a minimum amount of expenditure by the guests.

“The restaurant in total is already attracting an average footfall ranging between 40-45 on weekdays, and on weekends, the average footfall enhances to 80-85,” said Rajesh Kumar, the Director at Old World’s Charm.

Though the menu has greater focus on continental cuisine, but it has some delicious Indian and Mughlai food items like Veg Galouti Kebab, Banjara Chicken, Dal Makahani, Dum Aloo Kashmiri, etc. in its culinary repertoire. Burgers, pizzas and pastas of the place are also worth trying.

As was expected, the sumptuous offerings were complemented by an exhaustive array of alcoholic beverages, which would interest many a guest wanting to indulge in their heady spirits. The restaurant, which houses a luxury bar, offers live music at the terrace.

There is Something About Dairy It seems the dairy business is becoming a lucrative business avenue for many established players in the Indian food & beverage industry. The Ahmedabad-based Vadilal Industries is expected to expand its presence in the dairy industry. It has plans to come up with paneer or cottage cheese in the near future, for the domestic market.

The company would launch paneer under its frozen food brand named Vadilal Quick Treat. The company would launch paneer in Gujarat and Maharastra in a month’s time. The company has been exporting paneer to the United States, UK, Australia, New Zealand and the Middle East, since the last two years.

Here it deserves a mention that just two years back, this renowned ice-cream maker included flavoured milk in its dairy business portfolio. The company introduced the Power Sip range of flavoured milk in the market about two years ago. Presently ice-cream segment comprises 80 percent of Vadilal Industries’ revenues. The company wants to reduce its dependence on the ice-cream segment.

At the same time, ITC Ltd. would also invest Rs.1000 crore into dairy and juice business. ITC’s expansion into dairy

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business entails setting up processing plants in Punjab, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. Trial production in Munger, Bihar will commence soon.

In the dairy business, the company will initially introduce milk powder and ghee and eventually ITC aims to launch a wide variety of dairy products. ITC’s entry into dairy business is expected to be sometime in the late next quarter. ITC seems to be well prepared. For its expansion into the dairy business, the company has already established 261 cattle development centres in seven states and its milk procurement network in Munger includes 194 milk producer groups with an impressive average daily procurement figure of more than 13,700 litres per day.

That is not all. Dharampal Satyapal Group also envisages to have five additional production units to bring out a range of dairy products in the next three years, for the Indian market. These five additional plants, which are planned to become realities within the next three years, will entail an investment of Rs.200 crore.

The group’s dairy division has recently

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acquired a production plant in Rajasthan.

The plant is equipped with an installed capacity to process 1.5 lakh litres of milk per day. According to an official of the dairy division of DS Group, the commercial operation of the plant is expected to commence by March 2015. Overall, the DS Group’s dairy division is aiming to garner a revenue of more than Rs.1000 crore by 2017-18.

Moreover, for its dairy products, DS Group also has plans to introduce a greenfield plant in Assam, which will be having an installed capacity of processing 1 lakh litres of milk per day. The setting up of the proposed plant will entail an investment of approximately Rs.30 crore.

With all these giants showing growing interest in the Indian dairy business, can Amul be far behind? Amul also has plans to invest Rs.5000 crore to set up about 10 milk processing plants in the next fiscal, with the objective to achieve a revenue of Rs.50000 crore by 2020. Out of these 10 forthcoming milk processing plants, two would be in Delhi, three in Uttar Pradesh, one in Kolkata, West Bengal, one in Maharashtra, and the remaining three in Gujarat.

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Discourse on Food Safety and Quality Regulations

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uring an interactive session on ‘Innovative Food Products in India – Regulators Role,’ which was jointly organised by MVIRDC World Trade Centre and the All India Association of Industries, Suresh Annapure, Joint Commissioner – Food, Greater Mumbai Division, Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Maharashtra, who was the Guest of Honour at the event, said, “Food Safety Standards Act 2006 has undergone a change since its enforcement on 5 th August 2011, with a shift from ‘adulteration’ to ‘safety’. The Act has an educative approach with friendly legislation.

It has a penalty system for contamination and substandard foods. Unsafe foods would face prosecution.” He also added that “Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Maharashtra has 7.7 lakh licenses issued, which is the highest in India at 36 percent. This was possible since FDA Maharashtra organised different camps to bring about awareness of the Act.” Elaborating further on the Act, Annapure said that the procedure for issuing licenses was now available online, providing transparent and time bound activities. On a futuristic note, he added that, he was looking forward to work hand-in-hand with industries especially with the ‘Make in India’ campaign, so that consumers get wholesome food.

Dr. Joseph I Lewis, Chairman-Regulatory Affairs Committee, Protein Foods and Nutrition Development Association of India (PFNDAI) deliberated on the topic ‘Product Development – Concerns & Expectations’. He said food regulations were about balancing food diversity with safety practices. He opined for freedom to innovate while adhering to safety measures. Innovating with safety is a provision made in FSSA 2006.

Pra b od h Ha ld e , He a d Te c hni c a l Regulatory, Marico Ltd. addressed the issue on ‘Impact of FSSAI Regulation on Food Industry’. Halde said that India could be a leading food supplier of the world if the production side of agriculture were taken care of in an optimal manner. Inspired by the Modi Mantra, he said that regulatory role of the food industry should also work within the framework of the ‘Make in India’ campaign, with ‘Minimum Government and Maximum Governance’ and a ‘Single-

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window Clearance. Thereafter, he provided a detailed presentation on FSSAI. He explained the importance of packaging and labeling.

Licensing and registration of food business is mandatory and there is a framework to monitor it, while detailing out the procedure.

He also spoke on the categories of food and elaborated on compliances and penalties.

Dr. Laxmi Ananthanarayan, Associate Professor, Department of Food Engineering and Technology (DFET), Institute of Chemical Technology (ICT), spoke on the topic of ‘Ensuring Food Safety and Quality through Advanced Technology.’ She said that food needed to be standardised, be safe for consumption, should be acceptable from sensory viewpoint and also be nutritious.

Markets for food are now global giving ample scope for contamination with the arrival of genetically modified foods. This gives rise for the need of good manufacturing practices. Quality of food is not always visible and so food quality and food safety are interdependent.

She emphasised that FSSA law should provide specification on consumer protection. There should be production specification and scope for value-addition with changing lifestyle and access to variety of food. She opined that adapting to emerging and advanced technologies was the solution. She also enumerated the various preservation processes available worldwide, elaborating on the ones that could be adopted in the Indian context such as aseptic processing and packaging, modified atmosphere packaging and microwavable packaging to name a few.

Enzymes also play an important role in food processing. Many upcoming technologies are available, yielding good quality, safe and shelf stable products.

Earlier in a welcome address, Sharad Upasani, Vice Chairman, MVIRDC World Trade Centre said that the Indian food processing industry was a sunrise industry, estimated to be 67 billion USD, employing 13 million people directly and 35 billion indirectly.

He added that value addition of food products was expected to increase from 8 percent to 35 percent by end 2025.

Firoze B Andhyarujina, Senior Advocate, Supreme Court India, proposed the Vote of Thanks.

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FOCUS

Chafing Dishes

Should Reflect the Cuisines

By Arjun Abbi

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n the food service industry, purchase of buffet equipments should not only take into account of the quality, price, look and durability factors. The buffet equipments should also blend into the cuisine and enhance the ambience and decor of the place, thereby adding value to the eating out experience. This is especially true if the restaurant where the buffet is being held, is focused on a particular type of cuisine or theme. One of the most neglected buffet equipments are the chafing dishes, which seldom reflect the cuisines they are serving.

Take the case of a high-end restaurant focusing on pan-Asian cuisine. Of course, the food is authentically pan-Asian but that is hardly sufficient to give a holistic eating out experience in these age of highly discerning consumers. Right from the outlet’s name to its design and decor,

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right from the oriental pattern carpet to the cutlery, from the design of its tablecloths to the wafting lemongrass incense, etc., a distinct Pan-Asian theme runs across the entire outlet. Religiously adhering to the theme facilitates to give the guests a holistic experience.

This business vision or acumen should be extended to the buffets too. Now let us assume a high-end ‘cocktails and dinner’ event happening at a banquet hall or outdoor garden, located next door to a fine-dining restaurant. The food is being served or rather showcased in buffet, waiting to be had by the guests.

The host has spend a huge amount in transforming the location into a beautiful magical space so that his guests can meet, drink and enjoy a wonderful meal together. When we look at the meal itself it is wonderful too. Twenty odd dishes of multi-cuisine offerings — Indian, Chinese and Continental fare — created by several talented Chefs coming together for a single special evening. On paper, or even apparently the event is perfect.

Except for the insipid row of dull stainless steel chafing dishes placed one after another on a bed of 4x6 tables, pleated and pinned together. When helping themselves in the buffet, the guests do not even realise when the line of Indian dishes finishes and the chowmein starts.

In my understanding, there is really only one major disconnect here that can and does compromise on the eating out experience. In most buffets, as different as they are from the other, all types of cuisines are served in almost identical industrial eyesores. So in our example, the holistic experience that a guest can and does enjoy in the pan-Asian fine dining outlet is very much likely to be missing in the buffet section at its adjoining banquet hall.

Not only does the traditional chafing dishes compromise to a certain extent the experience of the cuisine, but it also takes away from the décor. Among beautiful fresh flowers, waves of expensive draped

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satin, mood lit shades of pink, and soft instrumental tunes filling the room, one can find the chunky chrome food servers sticking out like a sore thumb. Wouldn’t the foodservice equipments serve as a bridge between the food and the diner?

Should they not be designed to enhance the experience of the cuisine and the décor?

The buffet presentation is a critical component of the success of the buffet event. It is what activates the senses of the crowd, draws them to the spread and then enables them to fully indulge in the fare. It is a prop with a purpose. I am not sure as

to why one insists on spending so much money on the location, setting, decoration, ambience, etc. but continues to overlook the tableware, especially in buffets.

The traditional clumps of food in a gastronomic food warmer lit by two foil covered fuel burners just don’t cut ice anymore. The buffet has to be romantic and enticing. The buffet equipment needs to describe the cuisine, its quality and its taste, from a distance. It needs to match up to the combined talent of the event planner and the Chefs. It has to seamlessly bridge the gap between the two and add to the overall experience of the event.

The author is a hotelier, restaurateur and caterer. He owns and operates the Holiday Inn Jaipur and Vikram Hotel Group, QSR outlet Wokstar and the catering service Asian Haus.

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C OV E R S TO R Y

OKO’s Nouveau Avatar, The Lalit Ashok, Bangalore

Décor to Enliven

Eating Out

Gone are the days when one walked into a restaurant solely or largely for the food that it served. Today the diners not only want delectable food but also appetising atmosphere. The interior décor is often as important in the restaurant as the food that it serves. In fact, architects and designers believe that it is the décor that initially attracts the diners.

You taste the food only after you have entered the restaurant. Thus not only the interior but also the exterior of the restaurant has to be appealing and alluring. Most of the fine-dine restaurants in urban India today lay as much stress on the décor as on the deliciousness and flavour of the food. The general consensus is that to get repeat customers, the interior design of the restaurant plays an important part. Ashok Malkani gets the opinion of some architects and elaborates on how the décor of some of the uniquely designed restaurants are conceptualised.

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C OV E R S TO R Y

T

he origin of food service can be traced to the ancient times. Street vendors and public cooks (caterers) were abundant in ancient Rome. Medieval travellers dined at inns, taverns, monasteries and hostelries. Colonial America continued this tradition in the form of legislated public houses. The modern concept of restaurant, is said to have been a byproduct of the French Revolution whereas modern food service is influenced by the Industrial Revolution.

The word ‘Restaurant’, derived from the French verb restaurer (meaning to restore), was first used in France in the 16th century, meaning a food which restores and was referred specifically to describe a thick soup. It was first applied to an eating house, founded by a Parisian soup seller named Monsieur Boulanger, in 1765. Ever since, restaurants have been imbued with connotations of hospitality and welcome.

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What do people do in restaurants?

They not only go there to eat and drink but also many a time to socialise and celebrate. They prefer to do all these in an atmosphere of warmth and comfort, which is expected to be provided by the restaurants. Today, besides the food, stress is also on the comfort and contentment the restaurant is able to offer by way of décor. In fact, according to some, interior decor is playing a greater part in attracting diners, than the cuisine.

It is important to ponder on the fact that before today’s discerning diners would get the aroma of the food, they would tend to judge your eating out establishment on the décor and colours surrounding them in the restaurant and how those things make them feel.

An attractive interior design and architecture can do wonders for a cafe, restaurant or bar. However, creating design that would click with the restaurant’s guests and potential guests is not that easy. There are thousands

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of factors to juggle. What will your restaurant, bar or cafe’s style be like?

How can you make the interior as beautiful and decorative as possible without disrupting the staff ’s workflow?

Will safety regulations even allow your grandiose designs to take form? These are among the several factors that a restaurateur may have to consider before undertaking designing of her/his restaurant.

Designing Experiences The interior designing of the restaurant should elevate the restaurant’s guests’ mood, which in turn may influence their repeat visits to the restaurant concerned.

According to Sanjiv Malhan, Principal Architect, Office for International Architecture, “A restaurant’s popularity is not only dependent on the food and beverages served, it also greatly depends on the ambience and decor. These days, designing is all about redefining the norms. If you want to get your potential guests inside the door of your restaurant,

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C OV E R S TO R Y your design should be very attractive because the first impression, which is the designing part, is always visual.”

Malhan believes that finding the right interior designer is mostly through the word of mouth. “About 80 percent of my clients come to me after seeing my work and projects, while the rest 20 percent come from online advertisements,” he stated.

“Designing of a restaurant should be done according to the type of restaurant to be developed. For example, designing for a cafeteria would be different from designing a self-service restaurant.

Finally, it is your experience and contacts that induce a restaurateur to ask you to design her/his restaurant,” opined Bhupendra Kumar, an architect.

“Guests need to have their ‘private space’ in the restaurant, so their seating arrangement should also be kept in mind. Lighting also plays its role to the ambience of the restaurant’s design.

When customers visit your restaurant, try to put light music during day time; however, lowering the ceilings, bringing soft ambience and mood lighting works during night,” Kumar elaborated further.

An apt designing can greatly contribute to the profitability of the restaurant.

Innovative Ideas Sudhir Thorat, the Managing Director of 3D Architecture Pvt. Ltd., opines that sustainability is a critical issue for the restaurant owners, as they are doing their best to minimise short-term costs. Thus designing of the restaurant should also reflect sustainability. “But being ahead of the game is important, which sometimes

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leads to innovative ideas. Over-sized windows for natural lighting, green walls and green roofs, recycling bins for guests, electronic water faucets, organically grown food for cooking and grey water recycling are just a few of the trends for staying green,” he pointed out.

Ideally, the interiors of an eating out establishment should be conducive for both formal business discussions and casual get togethers of friends. It should have both private and social areas.

“The dimension of design has transformed from the times where the eateries were considered merely as places for eating out. But today the facet of tranquility and ambience is a major consideration in eating out establishments. Wood embellishments, theme inspired decorating items, carpets, drapes, a chimney corner, a TV set

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and the possibility to play your guest’s favourite musicals… all these add up to an impressive outing,” Thorat elaborated further.

Thorat disclosed that the contemporary architecture focused highly on keeping the décor simply elegant by incorporating fewer patterns. “More colour and texture is not in vogue as it visually affronts the visitor. Embracing soothing textures instead enables to explore your senses, thereby endowing the diner with the feel of enthrallment and immersing him into a distinct realm.

The ideal approach is to integrate a few bright colours to animate spaces and bring about a soothing joyful atmosphere that works splendidly,” he averred.

Speaking on the basic concepts to be followed while doing restaurant designing, Malhan said that one should take special note of three basic aspects: colour coding, branding and the type of restaurant. “Colour is a successful part in the world of designing. A good colour tone will make your customer remember your restaurant and will promote appetites. Designing also contributes to the brand development of a restaurant. Study the design of the existing brands in the market. When I work on a restaurant design project, I look at it in terms of quality of interior design, branding and positioning of the restaurant. And finally,” he added, “the restaurant type should be kept in mind while designing your restaurant.”

Talking about the design aspect of a QSR that leaves a unique impact on the customer, he disclosed, “I recently

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C OV E R S TO R Y worked on a QSR project at Hauz Khas village. There I used blue and sand colour to give it a Persian impact as the restaurant is based on the ‘Faarsi’ concept. Thorat, on the other hand, iterated that the current inclination in architecture was towards focusing on coalescing local origins.

Uniquely Designed Restaurants Several restaurateurs have realised the importance of engaging architectural firms to make it more appetising for the diners to visit their establishments.

The result is that several restaurants have now come up which are famous for their external and internal architectural design. Here are a few of them.

BlueFrog Lounge: BlueFrog Lounge is located at Lower Parel, Mumbai.

Conceived by music lovers, this place is a platform for live music. Musicians from India and around the world perform six nights a week at this club – and its counterpart in Pune – which are known for their acoustic excellence.

The lip-smacking menu is modern European with Asian influences that take the palate by surprise and leave

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Sudhir Thorat you wanting more!

Anglo-Indian architects, Serie, are the mastermind behind this acoustic wonder. The lounge is used as a music venue within a complex of sound recording studios in a converted warehouse and incorporates a restaurant, bar and live music stage.

“Based on this desire to have it all, the question for us was: how do you merge a theatre, restaurant, bar and club into a warehouse whilst maintaining

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all the characteristics of each of these?” stated Serie Architects.

“The deep structure that was employed was of a cellular organization composed of circles of varying sizes approximating a horse-shoe configuration in plan. The differential extrusions of these circles, encapsulated at different levels, as tiered cylindrical seating booths, allow the eye level of diners and standing patrons to be distributed across staggered levels that increase in height away from the stage,” the firm elaborated.

“These booths seat between 4-10 people and are arranged around an open centre that can either double up as a potential 360 degree stage or accommodate standing patrons, bringing them closer to the main stage to create an intimate viewing experience. These mahogany paneled cylindrical booths maintain not only uninterrupted views to the stage, but also constant distance between diners irrespective of how crowded the lounge gets. The undulating height of the seating booths is gently modulated by a glowing acrylic resin surface, which unifies the disparate types and retains the presence of the

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C OV E R S TO R Y architecture even in the midst of the spectacle of a sound and light show at the BlueFrog,” Serie Architects explained further.

Spice Lane Fine Dining: This fine dine restaurant in Mulund, Mumbai has been designed in a complete modern style.3D Architects, the masterminds behind this restaurant’s décor, stated: “The entire place has been designed in a way so that the customer is translated into a warm, pleasing and relaxed mood as soon as she/he enters the restaurant.

This has been achieved by the use of cove lights and ambient lighting.”

The planning of this two- storied fine dine restaurant is very efficiently done.

The position of the kitchen is planned in such a way that it caters to the two dining areas in front and one banquet hall at the rear side. The internal staircase within the kitchen is so designed that it allows smooth functioning of the restaurant and the banquet hall.

“The main constraint in designing this space was lack of height, so while designing we had to use colours and lighting efficiently in order to create an ambience which gave a feeling of increased volume. We have designed the space in such a way that the customer does not visualise the lack of height,” the firm stated further.

The main ingredient of Indian cuisine is spices, hence this theme has been followed throughout the restaurant. The theme is also reflected in the graphics and wooden carvings at the restaurant.

“The entire front façade faces southwest direction and has glass which brings in harsh sunlight during afternoons.

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Sanjiv Malhan Hence we have designed a full water curtain over the glass which filters the light and the sparkling noise created by the water can take the customers into a relaxed mood. The ambience created by the tinkling sound of the water curtain and the light dispersed through the water curtain is very soothing. Moreover, the wooden furniture, along with the warm white light, creates a rich interior space,” pointed out 3D Architects.

Calicut Restaurant in Kerala: The project is a part of a business hotel (not classified in star category), in a tier-III city in the country. It has been redesigned by the firm, Collaborative Architecture, as repositioning exercise.

The strategy was to create a new identity to the already popular restaurant through interior architecture, making it a new dining destination in the city to spur the business of the hotel.

The architectural firm stated: “The brief called for a highly flexible layout with higher efficiency on floor, though it

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meant cutting down the seating capacity.

The brief, highlighted the project to be executed on a very tight budget, environmentally compassionate and low on routine maintenance.”

The brief also called for an ambience which could seamlessly straddle between a fine dine and a lounge — fine dine during lunch and dinner and lounge space during early evening hours. The biggest challenge was to execute a sophisticated project like this in a tier 3 city. The project had a bizarre mix of logistics; local as well as international.

So was the case with the execution team.

“A vibrant waiting lounge, carved out from the restaurant space, showcases the happenings on the restaurant floor.

The design derives its strength from the innovative architectural lighting. The minimalist design gets transformed by the custom designed lights which create an undulating topography and magical lighting quality to the space,” pointed out Collaborative Architecture.

The architects designed the series lights along the exterior wall named as ‘Thousand Moons’ which lends an unmistakable character to the façade.

Rakabdar Fine Dine: The restaurant is located in Bangalore. According to Sanctuary Architects, the designers of this project, a challenging design was put before the firm. “The clients wanted an up-market restaurant without any clichéd design features. The menu was intrinsically Indian and the interior design had to complement this. With Indian culture being so vast and varied it was hard to decide where to begin and where to end.

So we brought in some elements of past, used modern techniques and ultimately blended it all together into a physical reality that is universal and timeless in appeal,” stated the Sanctuary Architects.

“A rakabdar was the creator of signature dishes in the royal kitchens.

Inspired by these legendary figures, we decided to create an ambience that will meld well with signature experience. At level one, we have created a community table, ‘Talk of the Town’, which can seat 35 people. A gold plated flame glows through a cascade of cutouts,” the company added.

White Sands Lounge: This restaurant is located in Hyderabad. The company, Green Scene Studio, wanted to create an atmosphere of camaraderie at this place. It said, “ Eating out and

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C OV E R S TO R Y having a drink is all about celebration and the idea was to create a happy place for the end user. We wanted to transform a vacant roof top into a place with a personality of its own.”

At one level it resembles a fishing village by the Mediterranean coast , at another it could well be a quay bustling with bistros and at yet another level, it is a faraway land attracting wayfarers. All of these montages combine to evoke a sense of romantic mystery, which is the very essence of White Sands.

“An open oval door frames the interiors of the place like a picture.

The whole space has the appeal of the days gone by. The hand plastered walls are complemented with rustic old style French vanilla flooring,” pointed out Green Scene Studio.

Common Factors These different architects and designers discussed above have designed the restaurant projects differently but there are common aspects which all of them need to follow. Colours play a big role in the ambience because people relate

and react to certain colours based on past experiences. Spacing also goes along with design. Make sure people aren’t crammed or feel trapped when they are seated. Lighting is the third crucial part of interior design that needs careful consideration. Lighting helps create an atmosphere for each table, which most restaurant owners want to do since each

guest at the table is paying for her/his own experience.

“The reminiscence of a good restaurant stays with visitants for a long time if the experience is inimitable.

Bearing this in mind, the restaurant owners and architects are striving to personalise spaces as never before,” summed up Thorat. n

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BUSINESS

Cold Chain

is Hot Business A large percentage of the food produced in India transforms into waste. One of the reasons behind this colossal economic and human tragedy is insufficient cold storage facilities.

In fact, the entire cold chain infrastructure of the country, which includes the temperature controlled vehicles, is incapable of meeting the demands of the food industry of India. This is one sector which provides ample opportunities for entrepreneurs – Indian as well as international – to invest.

Cold chain is essential for effective post harvest management and in maintaining farm to fork food quality.

Ashok Malkani takes a look at the cold chain scenario and believes that with the government offering financial as well as other initiatives, the time for investing in this sector in a big way is now.

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BUSINESS

I

ndia happens to be the world’s largest producer of milk and also the second-largest producer of fruits and vegetables. If these statistics make you enthusiastic you should also remind yourself that India is also one of the biggest food wasters in the planet. It wastes Rs. 440 billion worth of fruits, vegetables and grains every year. Central Institute of PostHarvest Engineering and Technology (CIPHET) stated that eighteen percent of India’s fruit and vegetable production was wasted annually.

The challenge of feeding India’s billion plus people is not really about agriculture and food production but more about proper distribution and accessibility. The biggest contributors to food waste in the country are the paucity of refrigerated transport and the lack of adequate high quality cold storage facilities for both food manufacturers and food sellers.

In fact, one of the key reasons for high food inflation in India is the lack of efficient supply chains for food, of which cold chains form an integral part.

It may be mentioned that 40 percent of

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fruits and vegetables grown in India (40 MT worth $13 billion) get wasted every year because of insufficient cold storage facilities and energy infrastructure. This wastage is enough to feed countries like Brazil and Vietnam.

Succinctly, what India lacks, and urgently needs, is a well-developed, world-class cold chain infrastructure.

Without it, India’s food problems will remain vast and are likely to grow with the years. As an example, waste is responsible for 50 percent of the current cost of milk in India.

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During 2011-12, India produced about 127 million tonnes of milk, but the country only has an estimated 70,000-80,000 tonnes of proper milk storage capacity. In 2011, India’s vegetables output was about 147 million tonnes, which accounted for close to 11 percent of the world’s vegetable production. But here also the available cold chain capacity, a key requirement to stem wastage and enhance quality, was hardly 9 million tonnes about a year ago. The country ranks third in fish production, with

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BUSINESS

Opportunities for Investment

an output of over 8.5 million tonnes.

However, weak cold chain logistics again leads to wastage of about 20-30 percent of the production.

This statistics emerged during a national summit held in early 2013, which was organised by ASSOCHAM. The national summit was titled ‘Cold Chain—Emerging Trends and Market Challenges.’ Obviously, these statistics reflect on the urgent need to strengthen our cold chain infrastructure.

The robust development of cold chain infrastructure in the country will enable the Indian food & beverage industry to prolong the shelf life of food & beverage products. Cold chain infrastructure essentially means temperature-controlled storage and transport for perishable products from the point of origin to the consumption centre.

This will not only facilitate yearround availability of perishable food products at affordable prices to the end

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consumers but also contribute towards equitable distribution of food and in checking of food inflation.

The role of Ministry of Food Processing Industry, Government of India, is pivotal towards the development of cold chain infrastructure in India. Other departments such as National Centre for Cold-chain Development (NCCD), National Horticulture Board (NHB) and State Governments are also taking initiatives for the development of cold chain industry in India.

The hard facts about the cold chain infrastructure in India send a message that a great deal need to be done to bolster the cold chain logistics in the country. However, the Union Government is sharpening its focus on this sector during the last few years by allowing 100 percent foreign direct investment. There are other incentives offered by the government in this sector.

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Despite the lacunae in the Indian cold chain industry, the sector provides great opportunities for private investors. According to the estimates by ASSOCHAM and TechSci Research, the market value of temperature-controlled warehouses in India is expected to grow at 26 percent, compounded annually till 2017, thereby enlarging the market size from Rs 98 billion in 2009 to Rs 624 billion in 2017. By volume, the total capacity of cold chain warehouses in the country is estimated to reach about 47 million tonnes by 2017.

According to a recently published report by TechSci Research titled ‘India Cold Chain Market Forecast & Opportunities, 2019’, the Indian cold chain market is projected to register a CAGR of around 23.88 percent during 2014-19, in revenue terms.

The country’s cold chain market is anticipated to grow at a rapid pace on account of rising food exports, private investments and favourable initiatives undertaken by the Indian government to boost cold chain infrastructure in the country.

According to the report, “Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal together cumulatively accounted for around 57 percent of the available cold storage capacity in India, followed by Maharashtra, Punjab, and Gujarat.

Major organised players such as Snowman Logistics, GATI Kausar, MJ Logistics, RK Foodland are expected to perform well over the next five years due to rising investments in cold storage facilities and expansion of reefer fleet size. The market is also witnessing an increase in the number of cold chain equipment, with various manufacturers entering the Indian market.”

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BUSINESS There will be sufficient scope for further investment opportunities in cold chain sector in the country, taken in the backdrop of the growth in output of horticulture products and growing export of processed food and frozen items. Setting up of a 100-tonne singlecommodity cold storage in India entails an estimated investment of about Rs 50 crore, which include more than Rs 15crore on plant and machinery, close to Rs 25 crore on land and about Rs 9 crore for construction.

It is not an investment which many big business houses in India engaged in the food & beverage business cannot afford. Presently, the Indian cold chain market is a fragmented one with more than 3500 players. During the last few years, Indian cold chain industry has witnessed more private sector participation to cater to the increasing demand for cold chain logistics.

the over 5000 cold storages in India are using. Many of these facilities are more than five decade old and are suitable only for potatoes.

Another drawback of our cold chain infrastructure is that most of our cold storages are single-product facilities, which narrows down capacity utilisation. It is surprising that more than 75 percent of the cold storage capacity in India is suited only for potatoes.

But the multi-purpose cold storages in the country are coming up in a big way. “Due to higher returns from the multi-purpose facilities, the new

The Weak Links A major impediment towards the growth of cold chain in India is the outdated technology that a majority of

infrastructures coming up are mostly in this sector. In multi-purpose cold storages, various temperatures can be maintained at the same time, due to which capacity utilisation is significantly higher,” pointed out a ASSOCHAM-TechSci Research report.

The majority of the cold storages developed during the last few years in India are meant for multi-purpose storage and this trend is expected to continue in the coming years as well. The focus of cold chain logistics provider has been increased towards the milk and milk products, frozen fruits and vegetables, meat, etc. The

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BUSINESS

low profit margin in traditional items like potatoes, onions, etc. has led to an increased focused on high valued items.

However, the report titled ‘India Cold Chain Market Forecast & Opportunities, 2019’ by TechSci Research also reveals that more than half of the total cold storage capacity in India is dominated by potatoes. Most of the multipurpose cold storage facilities are also dedicated towards potato storage due to its high consumption, especially in North India.

Another weak link in this sector, which the investors could address is the paucity of sufficient numbers of temperature-controlled vehicles that are necessary to keep the cold chain intact.

By 2012, there were an estimated 30,000 temperature-controlled vehicles moving across India, with 80 percent of them being used for transport of milk and milk products and 11 percent for meat products. Thankfully, the revenue generated by these vehicles enhanced

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from Rs 400 crore to Rs 500 crore during 2010-2013.

The fact that most of the cold chain market in India is unorganised is also an impediment towards its growth.

However, things are likely to change fast in this direction. “Around 91 percent of cold chain market in India is unorganised. With government bringing cold chain under the ambit of infrastructure sector in 2011-12, the country’s cold chain market is poised to witness significant upsurge in future,” said Karan Chechi, Research Director with TechSci Research, a research based global management consulting firm.

Retail and Frozen Food However, despite the weak links, the cold chain infrastructure scenario in India is brimming with possibilities.

The organised retail sector, which is expected to grow to great heights in the coming years, is also expected to play a conducive role towards the growth of

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the cold chain infrastructure in India.

The growth of the frozen food market can also give a fillip to the cold chain infrastructure in the country.

Till recently, frozen food consumption in the Indian F&B industry was limited to frozen peas, non-vegetarian products and ice-creams. But now the frozen food are gaining in popularity.

According to a report by Frost & Sullivan, currently the Indian frozen food market is estimated at Rs 1500 crore, which is expected to increase to Rs 3750 crore during the next five years.

One can say that with the growth of the retail and the increasing demand for frozen food products, the cold chain industry in India has a bright future ahead despite its bleak present. It has a huge potential for untapped investment opportunities. Now cold chain can translate into hot business in India. It is the right time for the investors to enter this sector. n

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FEATURE

Explore Ambrosia with Bliss

By Swarnendu Biswas

A

mbrosia Bliss is a newly opened huge food service establishment, located at Connaught Place, in the heart of New Delhi. I could have easily defined it as a restaurant, but to call it a simple conventional restaurant wouldn’t give a holistic description of the place. It would be more apt to say that Ambrosia Bliss includes different eating out spaces within its 14,000 sq.ft. of area, which can cater to different profiles of eating out crowd from Delhi and outside.

In fact, more than its stately décor and aesthetic ambience reflecting understated opulence, the sheer size of Ambrosia Bliss amazed me at a first glance. Ambrosia Bliss reflects Moroccan, Persian and European influences in its contemporary décor, that is elegant and unobtrusive in character.

“Our outlet can accommodate close to 300 guests at a time,” said Rajesh Mohan Bhardwaj, the Co-Founder and CEO of Ambrosia Bliss. Here it deserves a mention that Ambrosia Bliss is a unit of Felicia Entertainments Pvt. Ltd.

to create a comprehensive eating out destination which would attract the varied interests of the niche segment of urban Indian society with decent disposable incomes, at the same time.

The vision behind Ambrosia Bliss can be elucidated as to give an out-ofthe-world experience to its guests while aiming to be the epitome of global standards & Indian hospitality. While dining here I could very well gauge that the restaurant complex(I think that is the apt way to describe Ambrosia

Presenting Holistic Hospitality According to Bhardwaj the business vision behind this establishment was

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Ghanshyam Dass Sharma

Hammer Food & Beverage Business Review

Bliss) has made a good job of marrying western professionalism with Indian hospitality. According to Bhardwaj, Ambrosia Bliss is one of the few food service establishments in Delhi which has ISO 22000:2005, ISO 9001:2008, ISO 14001:2004 and HACCP certifications.

“Whether you are a grey-haired corporate honcho looking for a lunch with business colleagues, or whether you are interested to have a good quality family time with great food and drinks; whether you are a housewife wanting to have a kitty party with other likeminded ladies, or whether you are middle level professional above 30 who wants to have a quiet drink in solitude with some chilled out music after a hard day at work, we are likely to attract your interest with our offerings,” Bhardwaj asserted. Often a woman/man can take these multiple avtaars at the same time.

Bhardwaj is quite right, actually.

Ambrosia Bliss houses different options to explore eating out experience within its spread out ambit. One of the eating out sections of Ambrosia Bliss caters to conventional dining experiences in an opulent setting; whether with family, friends or alone. This section, which is

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FEATURE

Rajesh Mohan Bhardwaj

named as Ambrosia, further includes a sub-section which simulates an informal private drawing room like ambience.

This sub-section has seating capacity for 15-20 people. “This sub-section of Ambrosia Bliss is targeted towards a large family gathering. If a family gathering of 15-20 people choose to sit in this sub-section they would feel at home while dining here,” observed Praveen Patni, the Vice-President, Ambrosia Bliss. Patni is engaged in looking after the overall administration and human resource of the massive restaurant or rather the restaurant complex, which has 90 personnel on its payrolls on a regular basis.

The section named Ambrosia also includes two terraces which could be ideal for guests who would like to dine in the open air or would like to have a smoke as part of their dining experiences. Especially, a guest who is new to Delhi may appreciate the view of Connaught Place in the sunny afternoon or twilight while have dining experience at Ambrosia. The total seating capacity of this section, including the two terraces associated with it, is 130.

For the partying crowd and also for

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those who want to unwind with a drink after a hard day with soothing music playing at the background , Ambrosia Bliss also houses a lounge bar which according to Patni, is targeted at the young but not the very young crowd.

“The sober ambience, décor and music of the lounge bar is targeted at people between 30-40 with decent disposable incomes; an age group which is young and yet matured enough at the same time. They are more likely to appreciate the effort that has gone into making this quality dining experience, and are more likely to become our loyal customers than the youngsters between 25-30 are likely to become,” explained Bhardwaj, while discussing the business logic behind this approach. The savvy entrepreneur has eighteen years of rich experience as a hotel and restaurant consultant.

He said that they also did play Bollywood music and Sufi music along with western music at the lounge bar, which could appeal to the divergent musical tastes of the guests.

Succinctly, the lounge bar, which is named as Bliss, caters to discerning and evolved tastes. “The music only gets loud when a party hosted here reaches its crescendo and people opt for shaking their legs,” Patni observed . It is needless to add that the lounge bar has DJs in two shifts, so that the place remains musically active through its entire operational hours, across seven days a week. The lounge bar also has a terrace associated with it where one can wine and dine while indulging in smoke.

Together with its adjoining terrace, the lounge bar has a seating capacity of approximately 130 people(80 in the lounge bar itself and about 50 in the terrace adjoining it).

Besides these commodious eating

Hammer Food & Beverage Business Review

Praveen Patni

out spaces, Ambrosia Bliss also has a private dining room with a formal seating capacity of 32. Informally, about 40 persons can be accommodated here.

This segment is known as Boardroom.

“The place is ideal for hosting a business meeting accompanied with great food and drinks,” pointed out Bhardwaj, while stating that at the same time the venue is ideal for hosting a private party.

One can view the entertainment extravaganza(from time to time Ambrosia Bliss has been hosting various musicians who play at the lounge bar) happening at the lounge bar in the private dining room from a glass partition and the same music which is/ are being played at the lounge bar can be played here too. “This way the guests at Boardroom can enjoy the partying spirit at the lounge bar without mingling with the crowd there,” proffered Patni.

Of course, a wide variety of food & beverage at the food service establishment also complements the diversity in spacing arrangements at Ambrosia Bliss. “We present a multi-cuisine eating out option with a difference. Instead of being Jack of All Trades, we have decided to become master of many. We have expertise in

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FEATURE

Parampreet Luthra

offering authentic Indian, pan-Asian and continental dishes to cater to the divergent tastes and profile of our guests,” conveyed Bhardwaj. “Of course, we have Chefs with specialisations in Indian, oriental and continental cuisines, so that the quality of the dishes are not compromised in any way,” concurred Patni.

Authentic and Fused Tastes However, besides quality and infusion of authentic ingredients, fusion is also very much evident in the menu of Ambrosia Bliss. “Based on market research we have experimented with fusion food,” stated Parampreet Luthra, Corporate Chef of Ambrosia Bliss. “Our Indian culture, which also includes our rich culinary tradition, has been welcoming and assimilating varied influences since millennia, which in turn has greatly enriched our pluralistic cultural cosmos.

Taking cue from this tradition, we have infused classic culinary styles from other cuisines into Indian dishes,” he explained as I probed further.

Cottage Cheese Balls with Thai Herbs, Hari mirch ka Tikka with Jalapeños, and Prawns in Chilli & Mustard are only three of the multiple

examples of culinary fusion at the outlet. “We give the option of having Mushroom Galouti with plain puffs, which is quite innovative,” said Luthra.

However, despite the plethora of innovative culinary exercises at the place, which according to Patni are attracting quite a number of new-age diners here, I, having fairly conventional tastes when coming to food, particularly enjoyed the Hari Mirch Ka Murgh — a dish comprising chicken leg morsels, cream, green chilli, and fenugreek leaves cooked in tandoor — and mutton Seekh Kebab at Ambrosia Bliss.

From time to time, the property has been hosting food festivals too, whose items are not included in the regular menu. For example, during the time of my visit, which was during mid January 2015, the restaurant complex was hosting food festival of seasonal vegetables. “What is more, the price for dining of two with drinks is not much higher at Ambrosia Bliss as compared to that of in a regular good restaurant in Delhi,” asserted Bhardwaj. According to him, two persons can comfortably dine with drinks at the place for Rs.2000-2200.

Cocktails of Their Own The creativity is extended in the exhaustive beverage section too. “We have developed a number of our own cocktails after a long research, where we have played with fruits, vegetables and flavours, ” informed Shailendra Rawat, Operations Head at Ambrosia Bliss.

Bhardwaj played a pivotal role in the development of those innovative cocktail recipes.

Truth or Dare, Jonga Road Trip, American Smooch and Coolatini are only some of these imaginative cocktails, which complement the cocktail preparations at the two bars of Ambrosia Bliss.

Of course, the cocktails are substantiated with single malts, quality Scotches, rums, vodkas, tequilas, gins and liqueurs to present a wonderfully heady offering for those who want to reach the high spirits.

An Ambitious Project Ghanshyam Dass Sharma, the Managing Director of Felicia Entertainments Pvt. Ltd., is the major financial muscle behind this ambitious project. From

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Shailendra Rawat

conception to fruition, Ambrosia Bliss entailed a huge initial investment. The management didn’t disclose the exact figure. “Though we are incurring a monthly rent of Rs.14 lakh for this property in prime location, which is a part of the Rs.65 lakh operational expenses per month on an average that is pumped in for running the place, we are confident of breaking even by the end of 2015, as our collective imagination and untiring efforts are paying off in terms of more than impressive footfalls,” he elaborated.

According to Sharma, who has interests in real estate and exportimport business, besides his new found interest in food service and hospitality that induced him to venture into this enterprise, “Already we are attracting 500 people on an average per day on weekends, and 250-300 people on an average per day on weekdays.”

Besides, Patni said that the property was already becoming very popular among ladies hosting kitty parties and also among the celebrities. I felt slightly disappointed at the lost chance of meeting the dusky Bollywood beauty, when I came to know that Bipasha Basu was present at the launch of Ambrosia Bliss. I was invited at the launch of the restaurant or rather the restaurant complex, but couldn’t make it, sadly for a much less important reason.

“The musical promotions which we are doing from time to time, where he we are inviting singers and musicians from outside, are also contributing greatly towards the place’s popularity,” concluded Bhardwaj. Very recently, MIDIval Punditz played at the lounge bar (at Bliss) of this property. n

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PROCESSED FOOD

Condiments are

Crucial

By Swarnendu Biswas

T

he role of condiments in the food service industry cannot be overemphasised. Though their definition may vary, with some definitions of condiments even including herbs and spices in the ambit of condiments, but about their importance there is hardly any dispute.

Though condiments in themselves are seldom partaken, but they play huge roles in adding value to the quality of dining experience. Mustard, tomato ketchup and mayonnaise are some of the important condiments which are playing a significant role in our food service industry.

The condiments add to the taste of the food, often in crucial ways. Condiments can be added prior to serving, or during cooking. They can also be had while having food. The example of the first

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is a sandwich made with ketchup or mustard where ketchup and mustard serve as condiments. Barbecue sauce and soy sauce are examples of usage of condiments during cooking process. The apt example of the usage of condiment during eating is the use of sauce while having omelette during breakfast.

“Nowadays, globally the quality of condiments has become an expression of the quality of a food service operator,” stated Akshay Bector, Chairman & Managing Director, Cremica Food Industries Limited. The company is an important player in the Indian condiments business. Cremica Food Industries Limited is a part of Cremica Group. The product profile of Cremica includes biscuits, bread and buns, Indian gravies /curries, tomato ketchup, sauces, bread spreads, mayonnaise, syrups, toppings, salad dressings and Indian snacks, fruit & flavoured syrups for milk and thick shakes, ice-creams and other desserts among others.

“We are finding that with changing lifestyles, and with increase in income levels in select but sizeable pockets of middle class India there has been a big increase in consumption of condiments and growth of the food services sector in the country. This market environment helps in familiarising customers about new types of products in the realm of condiments and is helping innovative companies like us to introduce new

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condiments in the market,” asserted Bector.

Growing Demand and Supply No wonder, the Indian condiments market is showing impressive growth.

According to a report by Technopak on the food processing industry, which was published in February 2013, “The Indian ketchup market is valued at 110 million USD to 120 million USD, supported by growth at a CAGR of 12-15 percent.”

And this data is probably about two years old. The Indian ketchup market has most probably increased further during these two years. The Indian ketchup and sauce market is dominated by tomato ketchup and tomato sauces. Mustard sauce is also gaining quick popularity. “New flavours like mustard and barbeques are widely accepted across nation and marketers are experimenting with the product sizes and convenience packing to increase penetration,” the Technopak report noted further. This trend has hardly changed in the last two years.

“The deep penetration of international dishes like pastas and other noodles has boosted the regular consumption of sauces and ketchups across all ages,” stated the Technopak report. And this trend is only expected to gather momentum in the years to come. In fact, the entire condiments segment is slated for a bright future in the Indian food service industry. Bector confidently

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PROCESSED FOOD projected that “In the next few years, the Indian middle classes would rely on food service industry in a very big way.”

With nuclear families on the rise coupled with fast-paced lifestyles, people in India are expected to rely more on appetising snacking options in QSRs and other eating out outlets, in the years to come.

This in turn would give a fillip to the condiments business in the country, as it is difficult to conceive a delicious burger or a pizza or even a samosa without the appropriate condiment to complement it.

This is the demand side of the story.

There is a supply side of the story too.

Another reason for the growth of the condiments business in the country could be accounted by the impressive processed fruits and vegetables market in India, which is also very buoyant. According to the above-mentioned Technopak report, “The processed fruits & vegetables(F&V) market in India is valued at 1.7 billion USD and it is growing at a CAGR of 15-18 percent. The key categories under processed F&V include jams, jellies, juices, sauces and ketchups.”

Especially the demand for processed tomato products like tomato paste, tomato puree, tomato ketchup and tomato sauces is expected to considerably enhance in the country due to the changing eating habits of younger consumers with increasing disposable incomes.

However, it would be simplistic to assume that the growth in the condiments business in India would be largely propelled by tomato ketchup.“The sandwich market in urban India is expected to expand very fast,” concurred Bector. This in turn indicates a better scenario for the mayonnaise and mustard sales in the country, in the near future.

Local Flavours and Discerning Tastes But new entrants in the food service industry should borne in mind that not every condiment is suitable for every kind of food. Condiments should be intelligently matched with the dishes served.

Besides that the condiments’ usage by the food service establishments in India should take into account of the local preferences. “Condiment has to complement the product and also the local preferences to become a success with the guests, especially in India,” affirmed Bector. The corporate honcho feels that despite the waves of globalisation, local

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Akshay Bector cuisine-based food service is expected to do very well in the Indian market and this entails that it would be pragmatic for the condiments manufacturer in India to tailor and market many of their condiment products according to varied local preferences. “If we produce condiments while keeping the local preferences in mind, the market for condiments in India is expected to only grow,” explained Bector.

Quality and Innovation Presently, the quality of tomato ketchup is a matter of concern with carrot and pumpkin adulteration being rampant.

Still a great number of operators in the unorganised food service sector in the country largely depends on homemade ketchups & sauces, where standarisation in quality is always a suspect. However, compromise in ketchup quality is not only limited to the unorganised food service sector in India. In the beginning of the last year, a report in a leading national news daily stated that faced with rising input costs and increased competition from smaller players, FMCG majors like Hindustan Unilever (HUL) and Nestle were reducing the tomato paste content in their ketchups.

But the food service outlets, especially the high-end food service outlets in the country must realise that the quality of condiments are expected to play an even more important role in the Indian food service business, as the consumers are getting more and more discerning.

As the market for condiments business in India gets hotter, more and more players are expected to enter the segment.

This will give the discerning segment of Indian consumers(whose numbers

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are increasing) more choices in terms of condiments and many of them are unlikely to settle for inferior quality of condiments. Thus quality and innovation will be key factors to create a long-term business in the Indian condiments market. In this regard, Bector feels that he has an edge in the market. “Cremica is known for product innovations and for offering customised and localised food products to the consumers. We are trying to offer as natural products as possible to our customers,” he offered.

In this regard, the entrepreneur stated that they had recently introduced “ the improved versions of Cremica Sandwich Mayo range in the retail market as well as across the food service industry, which have been developed to be grill stable.

They come in flavours specially suited for the Indian market. The flavours for this sandwich mayo range include chipotle, cheese, korma, tandoori, mint, pickle tickle among others. “Besides this the improved version of our already world class salad dressing range was introduced in the recent past to cater to the discerning demand in both retail and food service category. The improved versions of Cremica Salad Dressing is available in five flavours i.e. Caesar, Russian, Italian, Thousand Island and Vinaigrette,” he added further.

Affordable Quality Bector even feels that a marked upward shift in the quality of condiments can facilitate in enhancing restaurants’ business. “The difference in price between a high quality condiment and an average quality condiment may not be much, but the difference in the restaurant’s revenues that the marked difference in the quality of condiments can accrue can be significant in the longrun, especially if viewed in the context of the fast evolving Indian food service industry,” explained Bector further.

Moreover, he thinks that purchasing high quality tomato ketchup is expected to save money for the buyer in the long-run (though having high quality tomato ketchup may apparently seem to be a slightly costly proposition in the immediate future) as consumers tend to feel satiated by using a much smaller quantity of high quality tomato rich ketchup than what they would be needing if the ketchup is diluted in terms of its infusion of tomatoes. n

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AGRI

Amazing

Maize

By Swarnendu Biswas

T

he continuing popularity of some food products have not suffered setback by the passage of millennia. Maize is one among them.

In some English speaking countries it is also known as corn. The usage of maize can be traced to the indigenous people in Mesoamerica since the pre-historic times and its multiple usage is still very much part of the food & beverage practice of the twenty-first century. The domestication of maize could have began anywhere between 7500 years to 12,000 years ago.

Maize can be defined as a cereal crop, which enjoys wide cultivation throughout the world. It has the flexibility or the ability to grow in diverse climates. Generally, the height of the maize plant is 2.5Â m though it can grow up to 12 m in height too.

The Basics About 50 species of maize are there, covering different colours, textures, and grain shapes and sizes. White, yellow and red maize are the most common types of maize. The corncob is the

central core of a maize ear, where kernels grow. Young maize ears are called baby corn and they can be consumed raw, but with the maturation of the plant, the cob becomes tougher and then only kernels of the maize remain suitable for human consumption.

The kernels are the seeds of the maize. They have wide culinary applications. Maize kernels are used in cooking as a vegetable or as starch.

The kernels of maize have the majority of corn’s nutrients, and are the most popular edible parts of maize. Maize is consumed as a vegetable although it in reality is a grain crop.

Maize kernels are used in cooking of many vegetable dishes, and roasted maize kernels on the cob are also randomly consumed as an affordable snack item in India. The application of maize also adorns the breakfast tables of our post-modern world as cornflakes.

Cornflakes comprises generally of cored maize which have been milled to maize grits or flakes.

The Global and the Indian Crop The Olmec and Mayans cultivated maize in numerous varieties throughout Mesoamerica, and by 2500 BC, the maize crop was extensively spread through the geography, which in our times are known as North and South America. Europeans got a taste of the

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AGRI

maize during the 15th-16th centuries, when they came in contact with the then New World of the Americas.

The global spread of this crop is because of maize’s adoptability to diverse climates. Maize can be grown in diverse types of climatic and soil conditions. However, it requires 50cm-100 cm rainfall to grow without the help of irrigation. In areas where the rainfall is more than 100 cm, maize cannot grow. Today maize is the most important staple food for people of South America and sub-Saharan Africa. In fact, maize has become the most important staple food crop for the people of Africa.

The United States accounts for approximately 42 percent of the world’s harvest of maize. China, Brazil, Mexico, Indonesia, India, France and Argentina are other top producing countries of maize. US is also the largest exporter of maize in the world. Each year, a greater weight of maize is produced in the world, as compared to any other grain.

According to Dr. A Didar Singh, Secretary General, FICCI, “Maize is one of the most important cereal crops of the world and contributes to food security in most of the developing countries.” Maize is an important cereal in India too. Singh has also observed that “In India, maize is emerging as third most important crop after rice and wheat.

Its importance lies in the fact that it is not only used for human food and animal feed but at the same time it is also widely used for corn starch industry, corn oil production, baby corns, etc.” However, the maize’s yield in India is less than half of its global average yield of 5.5 MT per hectare.

Maize production in India is dominated by Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka. During 2010-11, these two states accounted for 38 percent of the country’s total maize production. According to the report of the India Maize Summit 2014, maize production in India has grown at a

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AGRI

CAGR of 5.5 percent over the last ten years to increase from 14 MnMT in 2004-05 to 23 MnMT in 2013-14.

The same report also stated that in India, the productivity of maize increased at a CAGR of 2.9 percent to grow from 1.9 MT/hectare in 200405 to 2.5 MT/hectare in 2013-14.

According to India Maize Summit 2014, “Nine states viz. Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat account for 85 percent of India’s maize production.”

Maize is primarily a kharif crop fed by rain in rest of India, except in Tamil Nadu. In India, it is generally sown just before the onset of monsoon and is harvested after the monsoon goes back.

However, in Tamil Nadu it is a rabi crop and is sown a few weeks before the onset of winter rainy season in the state, which occurs during September- October.

In Dishes Besides being staple food for vast swathes of population, maize plays important role in many of the dishes.

For example Makki ki Roti & Sarson ka Saag is one of the delicacies from Punjab, where maize plays an integral part. Makke di Roti is made from maize flour.

Similarly corn vada is a tasty dish from Andhra Pradesh where maize, as

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the name suggest, does play a pivotal role. Corn & cauliflower soup, sweet corn soup are other dishes where maize (which is also known as corn) plays a primary role. Sweet corn chat with peanuts can be a tasty snacking option.

High fructose corn syrup is another of the numerous applications of maize for the food & beverage industry. In fact, maize is consumed in various forms like corn flour, corn starch, corn gluten, corn syrup, cornmeal, corn oil, popcorn, cornflakes, etc.

Maize plays a crucial role in Mexican cuisine. Whether it is tortilla or tamale, whether it is pozole or atole, corn or maize does play a role in them. Tacos and quesadillas also have influence of maize. Even a fungus of maize, known as huitlacoche, is considered a delicacy in Mexico. Polenta in Italy and angu of Brazil are important maize-based dishes.

Here it deserves a mention that maize is a major source of starch, cooking oil as corn oil and maize gluten.

The Healthy Cereal Maize is spruced with great nutritional value too. Maize is rich in carbohydrate and is a great source of Vitamins B and C. Corn is rich in vitamin B constituents, especially in Thiamin and Niacin. Maize is rich source of thiamine or vitamin B1, which is needed by the brain to absorb glucose and to convert that into energy. Thiamin is required

Hammer Food & Beverage Business Review

for maintaining nerves’ health and for cognitive function. The deficiency of Niacin can lead to Pellagra, a disease commonly seen among malnourished individuals. Maize is also spruced with healthy dosage of Pantothenic acid or B5, which is an essential vitamin for metabolism of carbohydrate, protein, and lipid in the body. Without Pantothenic acid, it is impossible to use fats, carbohydrates, or proteins as sources of energy.

Maize is also endowed with Vitamin A, which also functions as an antioxidant and facilitates in preventing diseases such as cancer. According to studies carried out at a renowned university, corn is a rich source of antioxidants which puts up a fight with free radicals that can cause cancer. What is more, cooking increases the usable antioxidants in sweet corn.

The high fibre content of maize also gives it a nutritional benefit. Thus maize in diet can help one to lower one’s weight and cholesterol levels. The high fibre content of the maize can prevent constipation and hemorrhoids as well as colorectal cancer. Maize also provides a large proportion of the daily folate requirement. It must be mentioned the deficiency in folic acid can be detrimental to the pregnant women and can lead to birth of underweight infants and can also cause neural tube defects in newborns.

Maize also facilitates proper functioning of the gall bladder and contributes towards reducing acidity.

Maize can control diabetes, prevent heart ailments and lower hypertension.

Corn also contains minerals in abundant quantities which are beneficial to the human health. Corn has sufficient phosphorus besides magnesium, manganese, zinc, iron and copper.

The right quantity of phosphorous is required for maintaining normal growth, bone health and proper kidney functioning. For increasing bone strength and for maintaining a healthy heart rate the right dosage of magnesium is needed. Maize is a good source of iron and hence it helps in preventing anemia.

It would do good for our food service industry to use corn in more and more of their dishes. This pragmatic exercise can facilitate to reap rich revenues for the restaurant businesses in these increasingly health conscious times. n

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MEAT

Pork on the

I

Platter

ndia is a country embodying a diverse culture of contrasts and dichotomies, which are rampant in various spheres of our lives. This dichotomy is also evident in India’s food & beverage industry. On the

one hand the Indian food & beverage industry is experiencing a rising trend of vegetarianism, and on the other hand it is experiencing increase in meat consumption. It sounds confusing but it is true. With the increasing income

levels and changing lifestyles, meat consumption in India is rising. Despite the fact that more than 35 percent of the Indian population is vegetarian, meat consumption in the country is not merely sizeable, it is huge. Chicken is of course, the favourite meat of most Indians. In our country, the consumption of poultry is expected to increase close to ten folds to reach close to 10 million tonnes a year by 2050.

Pork is another of the important meat products, which can be enjoyed by the non-vegetarian and non-Muslim population. With the growing influence of global flavours on the Indian palates, pork’s consumption in Indian food service industry is expected to increase in the near future. There are numerous forms of pork products available in the country, consisting of fresh, frozen, cured, smoked, uncooked, and fully cooked. Some pork products are available breaded, seasoned or marinated.

Pork and Health Pork is rich in nutrients, which translates to the fact that it has a high level of nutrients in proportion to its

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MEAT calorie content. It contains a high level of some of the essential B vitamins, such as B1, B2, B6, B12, thiamin, niacin and riboflavin. It is also rich in other nutrients, such as phosphorous, zinc, potassium, iron and magnesium, which are important to our daily diet. The iron in pork is not only easy to absorb but also facilitates the absorption of iron from bread and vegetables.

Moreover, pork is rich in protein.

And we all know protein is required for muscle building and for keeping the organs healthy. Our bodies require a certain amount of protein daily and the body does not store protein so we need to replenish it each day. A 3-ounce portion of pork provides approximately half of our daily requirement for protein.

However, the high fat content of pork is a matter of health concern. Therefore it is always preferable to select lean cuts of pork. While purchasing pork, one should look for cuts having lower fat content, which include cuts from the loin or leg. Thankfully, pork producers these days have significantly changed production methods to produce much leaner meat than they were doing some 30 years ago.

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Reducing Fat Content There are various pragmatic methods to reduce the fat content and avoid adding extra fat when preparing pork.

First of all, remove most of the external visible fat from the pork before cooking it. Prepare pork with herbs and spices to enhance flavour rather than using sauces. It is better to cook pork using a low fat cooking method, such as roasting, grilling, broiling, steaming, poaching, braising, or stewing. Besides, it is always better to avoid using extra fat while frying the pork. To lower the amount of fat used when frying, stirfrying, sautéing, or searing pork in a pan, it is wise to use a nonstick skillet which requires less added fat, or use a nonstick skillet with a fat free nonstick cooking spray. After cooking ground pork, place it in a strainer and rinse under hot water to do away with the excess fat.

Careful considerations must also be adhered to while thawing fresh frozen pork. Pork should never be thawed out on the kitchen counter because the outside of the meat will reach a

temperature above 40°F while the inside is still frozen. The area that reaches a temperature above 40°F would be susceptible to bacterial growth.

Thawing pork in the refrigerator is a slow and safe method. This will result in the least amount of moisture loss in comparison to other thawing methods.

The temperature of the refrigerator should be maintained between 35°F to 40°F to discourage growth of

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Thawing and Hygiene

MEAT cooked pork.

When working with pork it is essential that the meat is handled and stored properly to ensure safety. You cannot see the harmful bacteria on the meat so you must handle pork while assuming that they are present. Trichina is a bacteria that is found on pork, which can cause a food-borne disease called trichinosis. Ideally, pork should be cooked at approximately 155°F to 160°F in order to do away with the possible danger of trichinosis.

Storage Concerns Pork should be stored out of the temperature zone in which bacteria causing food-borne illnesses grow quickly. The danger temperature zone harmful organisms as the meat thaws.

The meat could be left wrapped and placed on a platter or on a tray to catch the drippings as it thaws or could be unwrapped and loosely covered with plastic or foil.

After thawing in the refrigerator the pork can be refrigerated safely for three to five days. If you decide not to cook the meat within this time, the meat can be refrozen. Just remember that each time the meat is frozen it loses some of its quality. Pork should not be refrozen when thawed using the cold water or microwave methods.

Moreover, pork that has been thawed in the microwave should be cooked soon, rather immediately. It is because in this method of thawing some of the meat may have started to cook during defrosting, resulting in some areas of the meat being at a temperature of over 40°F, which would encourage growth of bacteria.

Many times, fresh or thawed pork does not require rinsing prior to its cooking for the simple reason that any bacteria lingering on the surface of the meat will be decimated during the cooking process. However, pork chops and steaks sometimes benefit from being briefly rinsed in cold water to rinse away bone grindings that may occur when the chops and steaks are cut apart. Once rinsed, they should be patted dry using a paper towel.

Needless to say a thoroughly clean working environment is essential in the prevention of contamination when working with pork, in fact while

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working with any meat. Wash hands thoroughly before and after handling raw pork. The work area, cutting boards, and utensils used for preparing pork must be thoroughly cleaned with hot soapy water after being exposed to raw pork and they should not be used for preparing other food products until comprehensively cleaned. This will prevent cross contamination of bacteria from pork to other foods. When working with other foods at the same time while preparing and cooking pork, use different utensils for each food. The same cutting board for cooked meat as was used for the raw meat should not be used, unless it has been properly washed and dried before using again for

Hammer Food & Beverage Business Review

ranges between 40°F and 140°F. Raw pork can be stored in a refrigerator for several days, depending on the type of cut. If it is not to be used within the recommended time, it should be frozen to prevent it from perishing. Leftover cooked pork should be wrapped tightly and refrigerated as soon as possible.

It is advisable to not leave any pork at room temperature exceeding two hours. If cooked pork is not going to be consumed within four days of cooking, it should be frozen. One needs to use moisture proof wrap or bags when freezing this meat. As wax paper is not moisture proof it should not be used for wrapping pork because it will not hold the moisture in the meat. n

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BAKERY

Indians Loving

Chocolates More

By Swarnendu Biswas

U

rban India’s love affair with chocolates is getting mature. In fact, the relationship of India with chocolates is a long one and has gone through various evolutions over the decades.

Over the years, the market positioning and consumer profile of chocolate products have undergone significant changes in India. Till the mid ‘90s, chocolate products were primarily or rather mainly children’s products, and were meant to be occasional indulgences for children. This bland market positioning addressed the market for chocolate products for several decades. From there chocolate products graduated to occasional luxuries for urban Indians of all age groups. This transition took place about two decades ago.

the present socio-economic dynamics, this trend is only expected to mature into a convention across upper middle class and middle class urban India, in the coming years. Cadbury has played an important role in positioning chocolates as gift items during festivities.

Cadbury Celebrations debuted on the Indian festival stage in 1997, and helped position chocolate as a replacement to the traditional mithai. Cadbury Celebrations also came up with a new format for chocolate — chocolate laddoos— which put up a challenging positioning to the traditional motichoor and other laddoos.

The role of chocolate products in India was further enhanced during the recent years. From luxurious indulgences for children to indulgences for all age groups to playing a role in endorsing or

Interesting Evolution A Cadbury Dairy Milk advertisement of the mid ‘90s titled Kuch Khas Hai Zindagi Mein must be mentioned in this context. The advertisement addressed to bridge the generation barrier in chocolate consumption in India. This advertisement was part of the ‘Real Taste of Life’ campaign by Cadbury India, which helped position Cadbury Dairy Milk as the chocolate that awakened the little child in every grown up.

In the next phase, chocolate products in urban India began to make their presence felt in as gift items. This trend began developing during 2004-05 onwards.

Nowadays, using chocolates as gift items during festivities is an established trend across big cities of the country, and given

emphasising the emotional bond during festivities, chocolate products are now also being positioned as energy boosters and as means of satiating hunger. A recent advertisement of Perk projects the product as an energy booster while Mars’s Snickers is being projected as a snack that can satiate pangs of hunger.

Along with these developments, the chocolate market in India has witnessed or is witnessing another parallel trend. From occasional indulgences of luxury, chocolate products have become affordable and fairly regular consumption items among many upwardly mobile well-heeled Indians. For them chocolate products have become fun to eat snack which feature fairly regularly in their consumption.

Moreover, the chocolate choices of a section of Indian consumers have also evolved during the recent years. They have graduated from occasional bites of Cadbury Dairy Milk, Kit Kat, 5 Star or Perk to indulging in high-end chocolate brands and even towards consumption of artisan and designer chocolates from creative chocolatiers.

The Broad Structure of the Market The chocolate market in India can be broadly demarcated into three segments.

They are mass brands like Cadbury Dairy Milk, Kit Kat and Perk, then there are premium chocolate brands like Bournville, Silk and Toblerone(all brands of Mondelez International), Ferrero Rocher, Kinder Joy, Snickers, etc. and then there are artisan and customised chocolates created by stand-alone chocolatiers or by Pastry Chefs in five-star hotels. “Parallel to premium Zeba Kohli

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chocolate brands and the market dominance of mass appeal, the market for handcrafted or designer chocolate is also emerging which is catering to the select pockets of urban India,” observed Ashish Kumar Gupta, Bakery Sous Chef, MLounge at Mosaic Hotels, Noida.

In this regard, he passionately talked about ‘Pink Beauty,’ the exquisite chocolate creation produced from MLounge. “Pink Beauty is a heart shaped chocolate-based product, crafted with red lines and with a filling of vodka and white chocolate truffle,” explained the Chef.

Besides the globally renowned multinational players, India too has its own indigenous producers of premium chocolates.

An important name in this regard is Fantasie Fine Chocolates. In fact, the Mumbai-based 68-year-old company is a testimony to the fact that gourmet chocolate creations are not altogether novel consumer preferences in the Indian context, though earlier they were consumed primarily by the elite sections of the society.

“My grandfather, A Fazelbhoy dreamt of making original, hand-crafted, artisanal chocolates in India. Chocolates which echoed the best of Swiss confectionary but were made here in India. And he went on to create them,” explained Zeba Kohli, the Managing Director of Good House Keeping Company Pvt. Ltd.—the company which creates Fantasie Fine Chocolates.

Today, according to Zeba, Fantasie Fine Chocolates is a 68-year-old brand name for exclusive handmade chocolates, well- known for its creamy milk, rich roasted almond rock & soft centred pralines, and European style truffles. From wondrous chocolate fountains to edible chocolate paint to sugar-free chocolates for the diabetics to chocolate jewellery, over the years Zeba’s creativity has manifested in various magnificent chocolate creations. Her plethora of awards can be construed as a reflection of her creative zeal. “If you can dream up something in chocolate, chances are we can make it for you,” asserted Zeba confidently.

“We have introduced a fabulous new Chocolate Game and a delicious new line of chocolate drinks & cakes & cookies. We have also published a fun Chocolate Dictionery,” she added, while talking about her company’s recent developments in the realm of chocolates. Presently, Fantasie Fine Chocolates has six outlets in the country; five in Mumbai and one in Pune.

Impressive Growth Along with the above-mentioned interesting developments, the overall chocolate market in India is also increasing steadily.

According to ASSOCHAM, the chocolate market in India is likely to cross Rs. 7500 crore by 2015. According to the same industry body, the Indian chocolate market in 2012 was over Rs.4500 crore. ASSOCHAM stated that the consumption of chocolates in India was steadily increasing in urban and semiurban areas. “Several Indian homes now have chocolates as dessert which increases the frequency of chocolate consumption in the country,” averred Gupta.

This indicates a huge growth of the chocolate market in the country. TechSci Research’s report titled ‘India Chocolate Market Forecast & Opportunities, 2018’ observed that the per capita consumption of chocolates was increasing in India, which would continue to flourish the market revenues.

According to the report, it is expected that India’s chocolate industry will be growing at 23 percent CAGR by volume, between the years 2013-2018 and would reach at 3,41,609 tonnes. According to TechSci Research, the Indian chocolate

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BAKERY industry had registered a growth of 15 percent per annum during 2008 to 2012 and the report noted that this market was projected to grow at an even higher rate in future. The report was published in February 2013.

According to recently published research report of ValueNotes on the Indian chocolate industry, the chocolate industry in India, which was valued at Rs.58 billion in FY 2014, has been growing at a CAGR of 15 percent over the last three years. ValueNotes estimates that the industry will be worth nearly Rs.122billion by FY 2019, growing at a CAGR of 16 percent.

The reason for the growing consumption of chocolates in India could be attributed to the increase in disposable incomes in select but sizeable pockets of urban India during the last decade or so, and the impact of globalised tastes on Indian palates due to the growing influence of travel, television and Internet in our lives.

According to the above discussed report

by ValueNotes, increasing disposable income, changing lifestyle, rising trend of gifting chocolates instead of traditional Indian sweets, and a surge in the sale of dark chocolates are expected to drive the industry growth.

Awareness Less The awareness about chocolates in urban India is also rising, though this awareness is nowhere near the level of chocolate awareness in Belgium and/ or Switzerland. “A section of the Indian consumers is becoming choosy, aware of the differences in the varieties of chocolates available,” observed Gupta. “Moreover, Indian consumers are increasingly enjoying designer-made and customised

Ashish Kumar Gupta

chocolates,” he added.

However, in the same breath Gupta stated that “Despite the growing popularity of chocolate products in India, chocolate consciousness in the country still remains at a nascent stage as compared to many developed countries. Still a vast majority of Indians are not able to discern between a good chocolate product and an average chocolate product. Neither are many of them, even if they can afford, are willing to shell out extra amount for ‘special offer’ chocolates of premium brands, which are costlier than the basic ones.”

“The longer the conching process, the more refined and expensive the chocolate is. It is the duration of this process which influences the fineness of chocolate paste, which again influences the quality of chocolates,” explained Zeba. But how many India knows this? Not many, I presume.

Gupta believes that conducting chocolate-tasting sessions can be an effective way to enhance the demand for chocolate products and develop the chocolate palate in India. Also, he rightly thinks that quality training schools and institutions are required to address the gap in chocolate education and to bring more talented chocolatiers in India.

Chocolate Challenges However, despite the impressive scenario, the chocolate market in India is best with several challenges. “The key challenges that the chocolate market is facing in India are inflationary pressures on raw material prices, health concern, lack of government initiatives, and price-sensitive consumers,” put Gupta very succinctly.

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“The rising sugar and cocoa prices are putting pressure on the companies to innovate with ingredients and packaging to offer better prices for the mass market.

Adding on to these challenges, are the stringent FSSAI regulations on imported product,” he elaborated further.

The health concern can be greatly addressed by giving the trend of sugarless chocolates a momentum. “Indian consumers are now more health conscious so there is a greater demand for sugar free or sugarless chocolates. At MLounge we create sugarless chocolates too,” proffered Gupta.

The paucity of cold chain infrastructure is another of the lacunae which is impeding the desired growth of the chocolate industry in India. However, it is encouraging that according to the findings of the above discussed research report by ValueNotes, manufacturers are increasing their investment in the cold chain facilities across the country.

Besides these, the rampant lack of chocolate consciousness among the chocolate products’ consumers and the potential chocolate products’ consumers can also be interpreted as a constant challenge that the industry has to cope up with. There is also the need for more creative chocolatiers in India.

In this regard, Zeba’s proactive efforts in conducting chocolate making workshops for children & adults can be regarded as the right initiative towards spreading the love for and knowledge about these dark delights across the society.

“I love teaching women how to make chocolates, though this exercise may create my own competition,” said Zeba with her refreshing laughter. In fact, she loves creating her own competition to keep herself away from disturbing complacency.

Besides these challenges, it must be noted that chocolate products in India are still primarily urban consumption. Urban India accounts for 80 percent chocolate consumption in the country, though more than 68 percent of India’s population live in rural areas. If the chocolate majors want to tap the huge and still relatively unexplored rural market for chocolate products they need to introduce more affordable pricing and innovative rural market-friendly packaging solutions for their existing chocolate products, and should also be proactive in coming up with new and more affordable chocolate products in the future. n

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BEVERAGE

The Most Preferred D

Brew

espite the growth of coffee café culture across India, and despite the sustained increase in coffee consumption in India, the popularity of tea in the country has not been affected adversely. In fact, it is growing further.

Tea is still the most preferred beverage in India. Tea is consumed by more than 80 percent of urban households, whereas coffee is consumed by less than 10 percent of urban households.

The National Drink?

Take the case of the state of Maharashtra, where perhaps the popularity of tea is highest in the country. According to NSSO’s(National Sample Survey Organisation) data, in urban Maharashtra, the per capita consumption of tea was Rs.67.59 per month during 2011-12, whereas the per capita consumption of coffee per

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month in urban Maharasthra during the same fiscal was only Rs.3.14.

Even in states like Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, where coffee drinking culture has been quite strong since ages, the per capita consumption of tea per month was much higher in the urban areas than the per capita consumption of coffee per month in urban areas of those two states, during 2011-12. I am pretty sure that the things have not changed drastically in the next three years. And it is common knowledge that coffee is primarily an urban drink in most parts of India.

Therefore, the demand of Tarun Gogoi, the Chief Minister of Assam, to make tea the national drink is more than justified. In fact, majority of Indians do not need an official declaration to celebrate tea as their national drink; they already know it in

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their minds. India is not only second biggest producers of tea in the world, but more than 70 percent of India’s tea produce is consumed within the country only. India is the world’s largest tea drinking nation.

Colonial Legacy It would not be an overstatement to say that tea is an integral part of the modern India’s culture. Tea has become such an essential part of average India’s mornings that it is difficult to digest the truth that Indians were introduced to tea by the British during the early nineteenth century.

However, during the nineteenth century, tea in India was largely consumed by the anglicised elites. Tea started gaining mass popularity in the country only since the second decade of the twentieth century.

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Tea for Health There are various types of teas in the world, the most common among them being black tea, oolong tea and green tea. Teas are traditionally classified in these three major categories, though myriad lesser known types of this beverage, such as white tea, yellow tea, pu-erh tea and blended teas are also there.

The enduring popularity of tea in India is good for the health of the Indian society at large, for tea is endowed with several health benefits.

Tea has antioxidants which can slow down the ageing process and safeguard us from pollution. Drinking green and black tea can also lower the risk of heart attacks and stroke.

Black tea consumption can lead to reduction of stress. Tea might also help protect ageing bones against osteoporosis.

Moreover, tea is a calorie free beverage unless you infuse sugar or any other sweetener or milk in it. Drinking tea is also believed to bolster the immune system of the body.

Oolong tea also may act as a blood cleanser and can reduce inflammation.

According to some researchers, a high dose of a catechin present in green tea(Epigallocatechin gallate ) might facilitate to stop the growth of certain cancers. Here it deserves a mention that catechin is a type of natural phenol and antioxidant. To put it simply, catechins are a type of antioxidant, which are largely present in the leaves of the tea plant Camellia sinensis. They are part of the chemical family of flavonoids.

“Due to its high polyphenol content, green tea has been shown to lower LDL (bad) cholesterol, because its potent antioxidant effects inhibit the oxidation of LDL cholesterol in the arteries,” explained Ritika Sammadar, Regional Head, Department of Clinical Nutrition, Max Healthcare Institute Ltd. “The secret in green tea’s health benefits are largely due to its high content of plant-derived compounds that are antioxidants called catechins,” she added.

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BEVERAGE healing powers.

Moreover, the Cha Bar menu is refreshed regularly with additional varieties of exotic teas and scrumptious snacks. More such creative initiatives which can give a momentum to the tea drinking culture in India are needed.

If tea drinking is promoted in a smart, sleek and hygienic ambience which is similar or better than the ambience presented by various coffee café chains across urban India along with some add on benefits(tea bars in the precincts of multiplex cinema halls or inside a departmental store can be a good idea), then tea is likely to attract a huge section of the upwardly mobile crowd who have chosen coffee over tea as their preferred beverage, in the near future.

The Endeavours Needed That is not all. A recent research has also showed that the consumption of green tea can positively influence the health of the eyes. No wonder, green tea is attracting popularity in urban India, with packs of green tea increasingly adorning supermarket shelves across urban India.

The Cha Bar Already tea is getting fashionable, with profusion of tea bars and a wide variety of teas available in the market. The growing health consciousness in the urban Indian society, where lifestyle diseases are rampant, is also contributing towards making tea drinking fashionable among the well-heeled crowd.

Cha Bar, a wonderful initiative by the visionary entrepreneur Priti Paul, has contributed towards the ongoing proces of making tea a lifestyle drink of urban India.

One can say that Cha Bar has snowballed the trend of tea bars in urban India.

Cha Bar came into being in 2002, and the first outlet of the chain was opened in Kolkata. Cha Bar was created as an integral part of more than 90 year old iconic Oxford Bookstore in the Park Street, Kolkata.

Soon the concept was expanded pan-India. Cha Bars are integrated into Oxford Bookstores and customers love the experience of being able to browse at leisure, leafing through the books of their choice, over a cup of tea from the wide selection of brews available at the Cha Bars. Today, Cha Bar chain offers this experience at Oxford Bookstores across

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multiple stores in Bangalore, Bhubaneswar, Raipur, Kolkata, Mumbai and New Delhi.

Whether one prefers a rich, fullbodied, strong flavour, or a light fragrant taste, the Cha Bar offers a wide and enviable choice for the guests. From the flowering teas, organic teas, herbal teas, diet teas, fruit teas, to an exclusive range of Darjeeling, Nilgiri, Sikkim and Oolong teas, complimented by the best in Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, Moroccan, Russian, Sri Lankan, South African and Thai teas, the tea drinking consumers at the Cha Bar are likely to be spoiled with choice. Cha Bar’s menu boasts of exotic and cultural blends like the Moroccan Mint, South African Rooibos, Decaf Teas, Green Teas and Ayurvedic teas with

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The Indian food service industry should become more proactive in this regard, and it needs to come up with more and more outlets selling a wide variety of quality teas with quality snacks.

Succinctly, more tea bars or rather more tea bars with additional facilities are needed to make tea truly fashionable among the higher echelons of India.

They can also highlight the health benefits of teas which they are serving, on the menus of the outlets.

The knowledge of the right pairing of the teas and food should also be widely disseminated by the industry among the public at large, which can also give a fillip to tea consumption in the country.

This can be done through hosting of tea festivals in winters. n

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BAR

Where Art Raises the Bar

By Swarnendu Biswas

I

n this extremely competitive food service business of urban India, creative innovation can help you to stand apart from the crowd and eventually can increase your potential to get a market edge like never before. Provided of course the basics, that is the food & beverage you are offering, are of markedly better quality than what you would expect from an average eating out establishment. The Art Bar at Hauz Khas Village, New Delhi, does just that… and perhaps more.

A Platform for Arts Here you can expect the unexpected.

It is a restaurant-cum-bar which also doubles up as an art gallery, especially for the lesser known talented painters, and also for the art connoisseurs and

enthusiasts. However, established artists can also exhibit their works at this place.

It is an ideal place not only for the connoisseurs of innovative, experimental food and quality drinks, but also an ideal place for the connoisseurs of arts.

The aesthetic interiors of the place are complemented by the wonderful paintings hanging on the walls. The guests at The Art Bar and other people can also purchase those paintings on the walls, if they wish so.

In order to give a platform to more and more number of lesser known and talented painters, the arts on display are changed after every 20 days, which are of course, replaced with new paintings.

A budding artist who is finding hard to showcase and sell her/his work can find

The Art Bar as a platform from where her/his artistic expressions can reach out among the people at large. The ceilings of the 40-cover restobar, whose area extends to the patio seating area, are also adorned with enticing art works. When the twilight descends, the lighting is intelligently being focused on the paintings, which in my case increased the aesthetic ambience of the place.

Sabina William, the Event and Artist Manager for The Art Bar, informed me that the place offered many upcoming artists to dabble in their creativity right at the outlet. “Often you would find artists doing their sketches here,” she said with an enthusiastic smile hanging from her lips.

Succinctly, one can say that The Art Bar is a place where art meets gastronomy, a place where palette merges with palate to create a truly uncommon eating out experience. Yes, one can make such a statement and look smart but it is an incomplete definition of the place. It would be more apt to define The Art Bar as a space dedicated to quality art of various forms, where you can also get quality music, food and beverages.

Promoting Musical Talent Yes, besides painters, The Art Bar also provides a great platform for upcoming musicians and DJs. “Besides our regular DJ, from time to time we also invite guest DJs to enhance the musical quotient of the place, and specifically on Saturdays we

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BAR have a group of DJs performing, which we term as The Local Gathering,” informed Sabina. The loud western music belted out however, had nothing for the Bollywood music enthusiasts like me. I wanted to hear some songs from PK, 3 Idiots or some old Bollywood melodies for a change.

My suggestion of including Bollywood numbers in the musical repertoire of The Art Bar met with a strict “no” from Sabina, in a tone which was full of disdain for me. “You seem to be a comic character,” she pronounced charitably. I was amused and not at all surprised for I have been habitual to disdain and ridicule from smart ladies. Sabina feels that Bollywood music would not gel with the elevated aesthetic ambience at The Art Bar. In fact, I have seen the extreme predominance of English songs in most of the high-end pubs in the country, which I had the opportunity to visit during my career as a journalist. This is despite the fact that Bollywood and cricket are the two important cementing forces of the Indian society.

“Our restaurant cum bar cum art gallery has a lot of open space as well.

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Here it deserves a mention that Teja did began his career as a DJ and then forayed into the restaurant business. Quite a heady journey indeed.

Experimental Food

Ricky Teja

Artists can host their workshops and events here. We also take bookings for photo shoots, video shoots and film shoots as well,” proffered Ricky Teja, one of the Managing Directors of The Art Bar. He said that besides giving platform to upcoming artists and musicians, The Art Bar also provides a platform for designers and sculptors to showcase their talents.

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The creative ambience at The Art Bar, as expected, is complemented by delightful experimentation in food & beverage. According to Megha Agrawal, the Assistant Corporate Chef at The Art Bar, “The emphasis of our food is on merging of divergent culinary styles to create innovative expressions in tastes and flavours.” The dishes at The Art Bar by and large, reflect culinary fusion.

“Here amalgamation of elements from different cuisines does have the potential to create a truly memorable experience for the connoisseurs of food. The kitchen of The Art Bar offers a wide array of flavours from across the globe including western, Pan-Asian, Lebanese, oriental and Indian,” stated Megha. She also informed that The Art Bar Signature Menus could be tailor made to suit individual specifications. Megha and Harman Singh, the Corporate Chef of The Art Bar, are

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BAR

heading the culinary show at the place, who are assisted by an able team.

When I saw the Lamb Shammi Kabab Burger coming to the table, I realised while sipping my Kingfisher beer that she was not exaggerating about the fusion aspect.

It must be said that the combination of German and Mughlai culinary legacy tasted great as was the Punjabi Butter Chicken Kathi Roll. Both did gel very well with the beer and I am sure it would gel with harder spirits too. Akbar Ki Maa Ki Sheekh Kabab Chaat, Mini Pizza Cones With Sausages and Jalapenos (yes, pizza shaped as cones), Wasabi Matter Ki Aloo Tikki, Moroccoan Meat Cigars, Black Belt Chilli Chicken Pizza are only some of the innovative creations of the creative Chefs at The Art Bar. The place also has an impressive range of delectable main course items. Spiced Lamb Chops with Korma Sauce and Toasted Almond Bits; Tender Coconut Prawns with Chilli Cilantro Rice; Steamed Fish in Green Curry Sauce; Pesto Paneer with Crusty Wheat Pao; and Cottage Cheese & Exotic Vegetables Stirfry with Noodles are only some of the plethora of sumptuous offerings at The Art Bar where epicurean and aesthetic pleasure get mingled with each other to create a somewhat different sensation. The spirit of innovation extends to the dessert section too. Fried Mars Bars, Fried Ice Cream Stuffed With Mars, and the Cheesecake Kulfi tasted delicious.

Exhaustive Beverage List The food menu at The Art Bar is amply complemented by its exhaustive bar menu. The selection of heady beverages at the bar can encourage the imaginative spirits of many an artist. From classic cocktails(which include names like Long

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Island Ice Tea, Margarita, Cosmopolitan and Bloody Mary among others) to Single Malts(Glenlivet 12, Glenfiddich 12 and Laphroaig 10) and other whiskies… and from vodka to gin to rum to tequila to beer to wines, the heady story of The Art Bar encompass a wide variety of genres.

Here it deserves a mention that the cocktail culture at The Art Bar is not only limited to the old classics. The gin based Chilli Lemon, whiskey based Cardamom Sour, dark rum based warm cocktail named Herbal Monk, and dark rum based Passion Fruit Caramelized are only some of the non classic cocktail options to explore at The Art Bar. And as far as brands of alcoholic beverages on offer are concerned, it can be safely said that The Art Bar has kept the bar quite high. Grey Goose, Smirnoff, Absolut(in the vodka section), Beefeater, Bombay Sapphire(in the gin section), Chivas Regal, JW Black Label, Jack Daniels(in the whiskey section), Bacardi White, Old Monk(in the rum section) and Absinthe and Cointreau(in the liqueurs section) are only some of the

in India is getting mature, I thought. “It is Wednesday and on Wednesdays we have the Ladies’ Night,” said Sabina, while cleverly reading my thoughts. She said that on Ladies’ Nights some selected alcoholic beverages are offered to the ladies at free of cost.

Sadly, in India security issue gains even more importance when ladies are involved.

“The security arrangements at The Art Bar with the bouncers and CCTVs are quite elaborate, which we are sure can prevent lumpen elements from creating a nuisance value in the Ladies’ Nights and otherwise,” concurred Sabina. Moreover, she told that they always ensured that no person who resonated an inkling of creating a nuisance value did enter The Art Bar. “We do not want to spoil the creative atmosphere for a few bucks,” she asserted. I couldn’t agree with her more in this regard.

The partying mood also explained the loud music being played at The Art Bar on the day I visited it, which sometimes was making the conversation between us difficult. “In the afternoon hours, we play serious and soft western music, which are introspective and are soothing to the ears,” assured Sabina. The Art Bar is opened from 12 pm to 12.30 am in the night, on all seven days of the week.

Present and Future

renowned brands which adorn the shelves at The Art Bar. Of course, as the readers have guessed, besides these renowned brands the various above-mentioned alcoholic beverages’ sections at The Art Bar have other brands too for catering to their discerning clientele. For those who do not prefer alcoholic beverages or abhor them, there is a series of imaginative mocktails on offer.

Nights for the Ladies While we were dinning some ladies began to stroll in. To my pleasant surprise some of the ladies also arrived without the baggage of men. At last the pub culture

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According to Sabina, the place which was opened on 27th November 2014, is already attracting impressive footfalls, especially on weekends. “The Art Bar is spread across an area of 2500 sq. ft. and the place is already attracting an average footfall of 80-100 during the weekdays and 100-150 people on the weekends,” informed Teja. According to him, The Art Bar entailed an initial investment of Rs.60 lakh, and is expected to breakeven within the next one to one-and-ahalf years.

Teja told me about his ambition to open more such restaurant cum bars with similar concept — where aesthetics meets innovative culinary expressions — across the country, in the coming years. These places, he believes, can not only give the guests innovative food preparations along with an impressive array of quality alcoholic beverages, but can promote inherent musical culture.

I wished all good luck to him, as today the role of innovative ideas in the Indian food service industry is perhaps more important than was ever before. n

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THEME CUISINE

Cuisines from

North-east India

By Sharmila Chand

N

orth-east Indian cuisines are characterised by their rich and variant zesty flavours, be it pork chops from Nagaland or a traditional Voksa Rep Chhum i.e. smoked pork with mustard leaves from Mizoram combined with delicious fragrant wild red rice from Manipur.

The eight states of north-east India, which are Assam, Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Mizoram, Tripura, Meghalaya, and Sikkim have a rich culinary heritage. Of course, topography, climate, geography and neighbouring regions have shaped the character of the cuisines of all the eight states of the north-east region.

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Each region of north-east India has its own specialty and style of cooking. “You cannot classify north-east Indian cuisines in a single category,” says Mary Lalboi, the Owner of the Delhi-based Rosang Café, a restaurant specialising in northeast Indian cuisines.

“The north-east Indian food is not just about momos or noodles as most people outside north-east India perceive about north-east Indian food,” added Mary who along with her husband, Muan Tonsing, does all the cooking for her guests at the restaurant. “Here at Rosang, we aim to clear all misconceptions about our cuisines and offer authentic food of our region,” said Tonsing.

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For example few in the industry would know that north-east India is home to some of the most exclusive and special spices in the world including the popular raja mirchi or bhut jolokia (Ghost Pepper). Bhut Jolokia is the hottest chilli in the world according to the Guinness World records. Let us have some glimpses into the varied cuisines from north-east India.

The Taste of Assam It is said that Assamese food is mainly based on rice and fish. Rice being the staple diet of the people in the state is eaten in various forms in Assam.

The Assamese breakfast too consists

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THEME CUISINE of various rice based dishes like thick cream­akhoi (puffed rice), komal chaul (a specially processed rice which doesn’t require cooking but just an hour’s soak in cold water) and hurum.

The popular snacks of the state are xandoh, kumal saul and bora saul with milk. The most popular dish of Assam is tenga which is prepared from tomatoes, kaji lime, thekera and other vegetables.

Also various kinds of pithas (rice cakes) are prepared from rice powder in Assam.

Different varieties of fish are cooked in the kitchens across Assam. The famous ones are the rou (Labeo rohita), the illish (Tenualosa ilisha) and the chital (Chitala chitala). Hukiti is a great fish delicacy of the Assam state made with dried fish(puthy mas). Assamese use very little amount of oil in their dishes. Chicken, meat and eggs also form an important part of their meals.

Arunachal Flavours There is a lot of tribal influence in the food of Arunachal Pradesh. Nonvegetarian food is largely preferred and the food is cooked with minimum spices, with lots of herbs. Thus the food of the

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state is not only tasty but also nutritious.

Organic vegetables, herbs and fermented bamboo shoots are the integral ingredients of tribal cuisine across the state.

Rice is the staple food of the state and people have it with meat, fish and vegetables.

Rice is prepared in different ways, e.g. Dung Po and Kholam are the two different processes of cooking rice in Arunachal Pradesh. Fish is used to make curry, soup or it is consumed in fried form. Pasa is a fish soup prepared from fresh raw fish. Ngatok is fish curry dish from Arunachal Pradesh. Bamboo shoot dry and Poora Haah are popular dishes from Arunachal Pradesh.

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Apong or rice beer is a popular alcoholic drink in Arunachal Pradesh, which is made from fermented rice or millet.

Magical Manipuri Dishes The staple food of Manipur is rice along with fish and vegetables. The Manipuris love fish and their favourite fish dish is

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THEME CUISINE

Ngri, which is prepared by fermentation.

The traditional Manipuri fine dining was a literally ‘sit-down’ affair with bananaleaf plates. Their love for rice can be seen in every household here. Some take rice with meat, and some others prefer a fish delicacy along with the main dish.

Kabok, a traditional specialty of the state, is generally fried rice with a number of vegetables. The Iromba, another popular dish, is a combination of fish, vegetables and bamboo shoots, which is served fermented.

Recipe of Dohneiiong — a traditional north-east Indian dish from Meghalaya — by Mary Lalboi, Owner and Head Chef at Rosang Dohneiiong Ingredients Black Sesame Ginger Garlic Bay leaf Green chilly Onion Mustard Oil Pork pieces Method: Make a paste of black sesame Chop ginger and garlic Heat mustard oil in a pan.

Add onion, bay leaf. Add chopped ginger and garlic when the onion changes into slightly reddish.

Stir for sometime. Then add black sesame paste in to it. Keep stirring it till all the spices are mixed well.

Add the pork pieces with sufficient amount of water. It will get ready after five whistles.

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It is said that the people of Manipur like to maintain a kitchen garden where they grow several flavoured herbs and roots, which are exclusive to the region including maroi napakpi, awa phadigom, mayang-ton, and toning-khok. The vegetables, mushrooms and herbs grown in Manipur are rare and unique to the state.

Some of their popular dishes include, nga-thongba (fish curry), ooti (a typical Manipuri vegetarian dish), chagem pomba (made with fermented soya and mustard leaves) and chamthong or kangshoi, which is a stew cooked with seasonal vegetables.

Meaty Cuisine of Meghalaya The Meghalaya cuisine has lots of meatbased dishes, particularly pork dishes.

Jadoh ­— a spicy dish of rice and chicken liver/ pork is eaten almost any time.

Besides, the local pork delicacies cooked Khasi-style, Meghalaya’s capital Shillong is also the Mecca of authentic Chinese food.

Kyat, the local brew made from rice, is a popular drink at all local celebrations across the state. It is also available at most of the bars in Shillong, Meghalaya.

Some Popular Dishes from North-east India are: Assam Laksa Stock It is a rich spicy broth made with a stock of flaked ikan kembong and daun kesom (polygonum). A seasoning with galangal, lemongrass, turmeric, dried chillies and with the wild ginger flowers endows Assam Laksa with a distinctive rich aroma.

Misa Mach Poora Misa Mach Poora is grilled or roasted shrimps on open charcoal, in banana leaves.

Thukpa / Gya-Thuk (Noodle soup) Gya-Thuk or thukpa is a noodlebased soup with vegetables or meat, which is not only popular in Sikkim but also in the rest of North-east India.

Poora Haah Poora Haah or roasted duck, is a special dish from Arunachal Pradesh, which is popular across north-east India. The whole duck is roasted and it is very delicious to eat with boiled rice and roasted potatoes.

Mizoram Serves Non Spicy It is said that Mizoram’s food is not spicy and is cooked in such a way that their nutritive value is retained. The locals are very fond of their home made wine. Also, ‘Zu’ is their tea which is very popular all over the region. Misa Mach Poora is a popular dish from Mizoram.

Hot Soups from Sikkim Maize is the staple food of Sikkim people, although most of the dishes here are made up of rice. Meat and dairy products are a regular among the people of Sikkim. In Sikkim, eating fermented vegetables is quite popular.

Momos and Thukpa or Gya-Thuk (noodle soup) are very popular dishes of the state of Sikkim. Gundruk and sinki are two of the few well-known vegetarian dishes of Sikkim.

They are soups that are prepared generally during winters when vegetables growth is at its maximum. Gundruk is prepared using leaves of mustard, radish and cauliflower but sinki soup is made just of radish tap root only.

They have fermented vegetable products which have a slight sour taste due to fermentation.

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Kinema is another vegetarian dish of Sikkim which is made from fermented soyabean. It is the main curry which is served with all rice dishes in the state. It is used as a substitute to meat curries.

A beverage to be sampled in Sikkim is the local Tchang; a beer made of millet and served in a bamboo mug. You can find this at small restaurants serving Sikkimese cuisine.

Mui Borak from Tripura The staple cereal for the people of Tripura is rice. Rice is generally accompanied by non-vegetarian food and also vegetables. The people of Tripura are largely non-vegetarians and they have pork, chicken, mutton, beef, turtle, fish, prawns and crabs in their non-vegetarian culinary repertoire.

The cuisine of Tripura is traditionally known as Mui Borok to its natives. Dried and fermented fish, which is known in Tripura as Berma, is an important ingredient in many dishes of Tripura. Fish stews and meat roasts are also popular dishes of Tripura. Chakhwi, Mwkhwi, and Muitru are other traditional delicacies from Tripura. n

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RESTAURANT

Rosang in

Delhi

By Sharmila Chand

R

osang means God’s gift. While dining at the restaurant named Rosang Cafe, I realised that it is Mary Lalboi and her husband’s gift to Delhi’s eating out crowd.

Décor and Background Offering authentic cuisines from northeast India in the capital, Rosang Cafe is one of the oldest north-east Indian restaurants in Delhi. What stands out at this place is its homely meals and personalised hospitality. Mary guides and helps her guests in choosing the right dishes. And many a time they come back again…often as her friends.

Located in the chaotic Green Park area near Uphar cinema, it is little tedious to reach Rosang Cafe. But once you step in the small cosy restaurant with seating for not more than 25 diners, you are

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expected to feel delighted. Rosang offers a countryside like ambience, with its display of artifacts, crockery and local handicrafts on the walls. The benchstyle low seating too is a distinctive characteristic of the outlet.

“The history of Rosang dates back to March 2003. We came to Delhi as a young couple with two beautiful children, Rosang and Mawi. We started out as a small eatery in Munirka to cater to the North-east Indian population and other North-east Indian food lovers in Delhi by providing authentic cuisines and indigenous produce from the region.

Within these wonderful and fruitful years we were blessed with our third child, Siambawi. With great response from friends and well wishers, we opened another outlet at Safdurjung Enclave, in March 2008,” Mary recollected.

Hammer Food & Beverage Business Review

Unlike many clamourous television journalists of our times, I chose to remain quiet so that my interviewee can speak her mind uninterrupted. “After serving our customers with love for many years and seeing the good response it garnered, it was only natural for us to expand our business. Now, we are serving as a cafe at Green Park Extension where not only you can savour authentic northeast Indian food and beverages but also have a look at the store filled with crafts and merchandise by artists from the north-east India. We wish to serve The restaurant providing a gamut of dishes from north-east India is located at: S-20, Green Park Extension, New Delhi (near Uphaar cinema) New Delhi-110016 Phone: 01165544411, 8447963810

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RESTAURANT

“

Most people perceive north-east Indian food to be only momos and noodles. My aim is to change that incomplete perception.

Another misconception is that our food is very spicy. Again, that varies from dish to dish and taste to taste. I have incorporated my grand mom’s recipes. And in our case, all the spices and herbs are sourced from the north-east India itself.

“

Mary Lalboi, Owner & Head Chef, Rosang not only our food & beverages, but also show documentary films, photos and handicrafts from the region,” she elaborated.

Food at Rosang Besides north-east Indian cuisines, Rosang also serves popular Chinese dishes. Reviving her ancestors’ recipes, Mary uses organic herbs as ingredients and most of her dishes are without oil. The aromatic flavourful herbs and spices used at Rosang makes the food authentic.

Rosang has a great menu that encompasses the cuisines of all the eight north-east Indian states. Right from Bilahi Masor Tenga of Assam to Ngui Ngosing of Arunachal Pradesh, not to forget the Iromba of Manipur and Arsa Chhum of Mizoram, the restaurant café offers a delectable journey through northeast Indian flavours and tastes. Here it

deserves a mention that Iromba, a hot Manipuri chutney made from fresh vegetables with fish paste, with the wild red rice, is Mary’s personal favourite.

Here the vegetarians can savour dishes like Maati Daali, an Assamese fried black bean stew; Ooti, a Manipuri dried green pea curry, Aloo Taama, a Sikkimese fried potato dish with bamboo shoot stew, or Bai, a Mizo variety of mixed vegetable stew.

For non-vegetarians, Naga style pork cooked with dried yam leaves in minimum oil is a hot seller. Together with the Manipuri wild red rice, a rich source of iron, the pork stands out for its subtle flavours. Fish lovers are expected to love the Bilahi Masor Tenga of Assam, a tangy fish curry cooked with fresh tomatoes. Among chicken preparations, a Sikkimese dish named Kukhura Ko Masu — chicken curry with tamarind and coconut — can be regarded a must try.

The options in dessert aren’t too many. However, it is a must to try wild red rice kheer. The Manipuris swear by it, and it is always made on every special occasion in their households. Red rice is cooked in milk and stirred together with dry fruits, coconut and jaggery to emanate a sweet flavour.

Do not leave Rosang without sipping some steaming wild red rice tea. Here red rice is first burnt and then powdered before soaking it in boiling water. The freshness of the lemon in the tea amalgamated with the aroma of red rice and dished with jaggery is indeed special. n

Signature Dishes at Rosang • Bilahi Masor Tenga (Assam) Sour fish curry preparation of Assam • Ngui Ngosing (Arunachal Pradesh) Fish minced with herbs and spices, wrapped in banana leaf and burnt. No oil is used in the preparation of this dish • Iromba (Manipur) Assorted vegetables with fish paste.

No oil infusion in this dish • Arsa Chhum (Mizoram) Chicken infused in north-east Indian herbs and lemon leafs. No oil is used in this dish

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• Jadoh (Meghalaya) Semi-wet rice, fried with chopped chicken liver/pork with black sesame paste.

• Etsuk (Nagaland) Pork with fermented bamboo shoot and Raja Mircha. No oil again • Wahan Mosden (Tripura) Pork cubes stir-fried; served with north-east Indian herbs.

• Kukhura Ko Masu (Sikkim) Chicken curry flavoured with tamarind, coconut, herbs and spices.

• Naga chilli dip with a sprinkling of sesame in it.

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C H EF VO I CE

Spreading Flavours from North-East India

By Sharmila Chand

Mary Lalboi, the Head Chef at Rosang Cafe, New Delhi was passionate about cooking right from her childhood. “My fondness for cooking resulted in spoiling my mom’s dishes but even after getting scolded I would add my own choice of ingredients and make something,” she recalled.

Even today, Mary loves to experiment and create her own version of dishes. The recipes are unique and innovative; that explains why her dishes are special.

Mary along with her husband serves food from north-east India and creates new recipes, while remembering what she did while her mom used to cook when she was just a kid. The excerpts of the interview follow: What is the most challenging issue to tackle these days in the Indian food service business?

In the Indian food service business, fluctuation in raw material prices (such as prices of vegetables, gas, etc.) creates lots of confusion, miscalculation and wrong budgeting. Besides that super high government taxes on the restaurants are a pain.

Are you happy with the response you have got for your restaurant?

Yes, the kind of acceptance and appreciation that the North-east Indian cuisine is getting in other parts of India excluding north-east India, and also globally, is simply amazing. It is much beyond my expectation. I dream to have a global journey of my region’s cuisine from this humble cottage of Rosang.

What do you enjoy the most about being in this business?

I enjoy cooking and serving with love.

That also happens to be my passion and also my lifeline.

What do you dislike the most?

I am promoting the north-east Indian food and culture. I hate it when people tag rest of the other north-east Indian eating joints in the capital as my rivals. To me, we all are

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partners towards the same mission.

What kind of pressures have you encountered at work?

I source all my herbs, ingredients and spices from the north-east India itself through flight, on every Thursday of the week. The pressure sometimes builds up when I am out of stock of some of the items. Besides this, there is no pressure as such.

What are your future plans to expand your brand?

I wish to open Rosang outlets in Mumbai and Bangalore sometime this year. Let us see if it happens.

Anything else you would like to say about your brand?

Rosang Cafe is the first and the only place in the capital which is bringing cuisines from all the eight north-east Indian states. Our motto is to promote and bring up the region’s food as a part of the mainstream culinary culture.

How would you describe yourself in one word?

I would describe myself as passionate.

What you are passionate about?

I am passionate about cooking, serving

Hammer Food & Beverage Business Review

and feeding.

How do you rate yourself as a Chef?

I think I am very good in creating and introducing new recipes and in sincerely maintaining consistency.

What is your favourite cuisine?

It is the Manipuri cuisine.

And what is your favourite dish?

It is Dohneiiong. It is pork cooked with black sesame paste. This dish originally belongs to Meghalaya.

What would you consider as your favourite equipment?

My Khasi knife is my favourite equipment.

What would you consider as your hot selling item?

It is Jadoh (semi-wet rice fried with chopped chicken liver/pork, along with black sesame paste).

What are your future plans?

My future plans include globalising north-east Indian food.

What is your philosophy at work?

My philosophy at work entails focus, determination, passion, creativity, patience and sincerity.

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EQUIPMENT

Making Refrigeration Energy-efficient

By Harshal Ganjawalla

A

t our restaurants, cafes, supermarkets and grocery stores, refrigeration can account for almost 40 percent of total energy use, thereby contributing a large portion of these businesses’ utility bills. By improving the energy efficiency of commercial refrigeration equipment – like restaurant-size fridges or the deli case at your store – we can make our businesses more competitive, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and save money.

Commercial refrigerators, freezers and refrigerator-freezers are typically used to chill perishable products on display or in storage, including at grocery and convenience stores, at restaurants and at other food retail and foodservice establishments.

Since these products must be kept cold constantly, commercial refrigeration equipment generally operates 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. A large commercial refrigerator used in grocery stores can consume up to 17,000 kilowatt-hours of power per year, while a large commercial freezer can use up to 38,000 kilowatt-hours of power per year.

Here are some tips on how we could make our commercial refrigeration equipments more energy efficient.

Using your Fridge: You must give consideration on where your fridge is located.

Install your unit in the coolest part of your kitchen. Avoid placing the refrigerator near cooking equipment or in direct sunlight. If you do, you are making the refrigerator’s compressor work harder than necessary to maintain the desired temperature. Allow adequate space above, behind and on the

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sides for free air circulation; at least 50 mm at the sides and 200 mm at the top and back but the more the better. Don’t cover your refrigerator with any material that will prevent air flowing around the cabinet sides.

Minimise Door Openings: To prevent warm air from entering the refrigerator (thereby again causing your unit to work harder than necessary), don’t open your refrigerator door needlessly. Decide what you want to take out before you open it and preferably take out several items at once.

Buy the Right Size: If you are thinking of getting a second refrigerator, consider replacing your existing refrigerator with a larger unit instead. It is generally less costly to operate one big refrigerator than two smaller ones. The additional fridge could cost you an extra Rs. 7000 to Rs. 15000 a year in terms

Hammer Food & Beverage Business Review

of electricity costs.

If however, your refrigerator sees regular periods of low usage due to the nature of your business, it may be more economical to use two smaller fridges. This way, during a quiet period, you can switch off one fridge and keep the other well stocked. Running two half-full refrigerators will use more energy than one well-stocked one.

Cover all Liquids: Cover all liquids stored in the refrigerator. Besides stopping them from picking up taints, this will stop them from evaporating away and causing ice and condensation build-up on the evaporator of the no frost system.

Choosing Your Fridge Buying an energy-efficient fridge and/or freezer to replace your static / inefficient one could cut carbon dioxide emissions by up to 228 kg a year, as well as saving you up to 70 percent in terms of energy usage.

Ensure that the supplier is a wellestablished refrigeration specialist and not just a fabricator/contractor of sheet metal equipment as refrigeration involves air flow technology and heat load calculations, not just good sheet metal fabrication.

Make sure the supplier’s quality controls and policies are rigorously maintained.

Breakdown rates, leak tolerances, etc. should be subjected to strict controls. Ensure that the supplier offers maintenance contracts, and preferably that he uses factory-trained technicians to carry these out.

Choose a refrigerator size based on the needs of your kitchen. A refrigerator will use a little less energy when it is comfortably full

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EQUIPMENT (but not overfilled).

An important environmental consideration when buying a refrigerator or freezer is to check what refrigerant (coolant) it uses. The international industry standard refrigerants, R134a and R404a (commonly known as HFCs), are Zero Ozone Depleting but they do affect global warming.

Ensure that your supplier has a ‘Zero Leak Tolerance’ policy with regard to its refrigerant. A system that loses 15 percent of its refrigerant charge through leakage will see a 50 percentage drop in cooling capacity and 100 percent increase in energy consumption.

Energy-efficient Refrigeration Choose refrigeration equipment with the following features wherever possible to ensure minimal energy consumption.

Automatic Defrost facilitates the refrigerator to run at maximum performance by initiating ‘Defrost’ mode to remove ice build-up. This saves on energy usage and prolongs the lifecycle of the coil.

Energy efficient fans are also needed.

Some manufacturers have improved energy efficiency by using fewer fans and

more energy-efficient components in the refrigeration system itself.

Large Capacity Evaporator ensures efficient cooling, and in preventing unnecessary energy usage in achieving temperature. Doors must be equipped with good quality gaskets, and there should be self-closing doors.

Service To maximise efficiency, you should ensure that a refrigeration engineer services your refrigerator regularly. How frequently a service is required will depend on site conditions. For example, a dusty hospital or bakery environment will need more regular servicing due to dust build-up on the coil, as will a fast-food outlet where the refrigerator is sited near the griddle, often causing high grease build-up. Ice build-up reduces the refrigerator’s cooling ability. Ideally therefore one should choose a refrigerator and/or freezer with an Automatic Defrost as this ensures that defrosting automatically takes place at the optimum time.

Ask your service engineer how often he would recommend servicing. To obtain optimum performance from your

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Maintenance You can minimise energy usage in refrigeration by carrying out the following in-house maintenance checks: Clean the condenser coils monthly.

Condenser coils allow the hot refrigerant inside their tubes to cool off. If they are covered in dust, this acts as insulation and prevents heat from escaping, making the refrigerator work harder and wasting up to 23 percent more energy. To clean the coils, simply unplug the unit, and carefully vacuum or brush them.

The Author is the Director at Hospitality Appliances Pvt. Ltd., Mumbai

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refrigerator this will be a minimum of once per year but could be as frequently as every 3 to 4 months. Regular servicing can have a dramatic effect on energy consumption of refrigerator.

Failure to carry out regular checks can also result in system failure, and thereby lead to subsequent need for replacing key components such as the compressor or condenser fan. Regular maintenance also prolongs the life of the equipment and reduces repairs.

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Dec-Jan ’15

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OPERATIONS

Prevailing and Emerging

F&B Trends

By Sharmila Chand

A

s we are in the last phase of 2014, let us take a look at some of the key trends that rocked the Indian restaurant business during this year. Some were good, some were not so good. There were some challenges as well along with the trends.

We talked to some industry professionals and got to know their opinions on the key trends that dominated the Indian restaurant business during 2014, and also what they expected in the forthcoming new year. However, many of these trends and challenges discussed below are not only germane to 2014 but have been continuing for some time. What is important in the context of this write-up is that 2014 also passed through these trends and challenges.

Eating Out in 2014 “Wine, whiskey and beer cocktails are trending in a big way. In the past, consumers enjoyed their wines without any customisation; their whiskies on the rocks and their beer chilled without any additions. But of late people have started experimenting with their classic favourite alcoholic beverages, in a more pronounced manner. The number of consumers for all these three beverages has also increased and so has the demand for their experimentation,” elaborated Nirupa Shankar, Director, High Ultra Lounge, Bangalore, while talking about the recent restaurant business trends in India.

“Pan-Asian cuisine is also creating a big buzz in the Indian food service industry.

Restaurants are offering classic pan-Asian food, comfort pan-Asian food and pan-Asian food with a modern twist,” she noted further.

Online food reviews are also playing a big

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role in the success of the restaurant business.

“More consumers than before are depending on reviews and ratings before venturing out to a restaurant or a bar,” Nirupa explained.

“In 2014, more restaurants in India are seen serving fusion cuisine, with east meets west being in demand. Even Arabic takeaway food also is on the rise,” stated Shekhar Bhargav, Senior VP Operations, Royal Orchid Hotels and Regenta Hotels, Bangalore.

“Extensive sourcing of locally grown organic food products to meet the demand of health conscious guests is the in thing in 2014. Moreover, preparing healthy dishes with seasonal vegetables was the flavour of the season which is likely to continue next year too,” Bhargav averred while elaborating that “2014 has been a tough year for the F&B outlets in India, in terms of competition. One saw the trend of Chefs wanting to showcase their craft in front of savvy diners who preferred interacting with

Nirupa Shankar

Hammer Food & Beverage Business Review

Chefs. Custom made food has also been a rising trend.”

“Social media has made a huge impact on the food service industry in general, with people sharing reviews and pictures of their eating out. The way food is being presented has also changed drastically, and it continues to be an important trend during 2014,” pointed out Vedant Kanoi, Co-Founder, foodcloud.in.

“Late night delivery, restaurants focused on delivery, and food delivery from home Chefs are somethings which are gaining a lot of traction,” Kanoi observed.

According to Kanoi, “In terms of cuisines, modern Indian and Mexican cuisine have been the major trends in the Indian food service industry.”

“Lately, the Indian market is flooded with cuisines from all around the world and the readiness of people to try these global cuisines has increased,” articulated Satej Saigaonkar, Executive Chef, Courtyard by Marriott, Ahmedabad.

“However, we have noticed that the consumer preference still remains tilted towards traditional Indian food with a modern twist to it. Based on this very concept, our vegetarian specialty restaurant — Shakahari — has been revamped. The restaurant serves Indian vegan food with a modern twist; an example of which is our Chikki Kurmura Cheesecake,” Saigaonkar noted.

“Keep calm and stay healthy was seen as the new trend, and given this, a lot of our customers shifted to healthier and lighter versions of food. Our latest addition, Java+, offers a variety of healthy smoothies and fresh juices to help our customers stay fit,” he added further.

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OPERATIONS

Sanjay Bahl

Indrashis Sinha

Vedant Kanoi

“The key trends in the Indian food service industry which have been observed in 2014 include the launch of the unique dining destinations and F&B hubs in DelhiNCR,” put Indrashis Sinha, Associate F&B Director, Crowne Plaza Today Gurgaon.

are opening every other day. This makes maintaining customer loyalty challenging as consumers want to try something new and visit the latest restaurant,” pointed out Nirupa. According to her, “Retaining good talent is also getting tougher for existing restaurants as new restaurants are paying increasingly high salaries.”

“More and more restaurateurs are going for designing specialised restaurants which feature food from a particular region to maintain the authenticity. Hence restaurants of hotels, which offer multi-cuisine are

suddenly feeling the threat,” affirmed Bhargav.

“Exhaustive government regulations and the lack of clarity of these regulations have been a challenge for entrepreneurs in the Indian food service business, which is continuing in 2014 too. Another major challenge is the paucity of skilled work force,” expressed Kanoi.

“The challenges in kitchen are increasing, ranging from paucity of trained manpower to paucity of supply chain effectiveness,” proffered Sanjay Bahl, Director, Food and

The Challenges to Consider Along with the prevailing trends, 2014 also passed through a series of challenges for the Indian restaurant business.

“Competition has heated things up. New restaurants and new restaurant concepts

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OPERATIONS

Gaurav Singh

Beverage, The Suryaa New Delhi.

“People are also re-discovering a taste for traditional, local food from all over the world. In some cases when the cuisine is not suited to the Indian palate, fusion of flavours is required, which can be a challenge,” offered Nirupa.

“Ahmedabad is emerging as the new business market, as a result of this we get to cater to multiple national & international clients. But coping up with their various preferences becomes a challenge for us.

Some of our major clientele includes South & East Indians, Korean, Japanese, Chinese, British, Arabic and Spanish,” informed Saigaonkar. This challenge for the food service professionals can be extended to food service businesses of many other big cities of India.

“Changing global F&B trends and discerning and very well-travelled diners are pushing the bar on quality. Hence training, quality of ingredients, expertise and knowledge of Chefs, and the willingness to raise the bar has become critical for the success of many restaurant businesses of India,” explained Gaurav Singh, General Manager, Courtyard by Marriott, Ahmedabad.

“A large section of guests are now expecting much more than good food and beverage from a restaurant. They want different experiences combined with superlative ambience and service,” asserted Nirupa.

“Repeat customers have come to expect restaurants to know their favourite drinks and dishes to keep tab of their preferences.

In this regard we can say that data analytics of consumer preferences will become important,” she elaborated further.

“Extensive use of technology will be the next big thing in this market. Today as technology has completely revolutionised how shopping is done, same can be forecasted in this industry as well,” viewed Bhargav.

“It can be forecasted that in the future most restaurants will present menu on ipads where customers will have the option of ordering through ipads. As the customers are getting health conscious, the menus will be expected to not only have content but also to have calories content with nutritional values written on them,” elaborated Bhargav further.

Bhargav had other interesting points too.

“Local customised food and flavours will survive, and authentic community food will also be in demand. Restaurants in hotels will have to focus on their breakfast spread with focus on health food and even dessert menu will have to be calorie conscious,” he expressed.

“The popularity of social media and its effectiveness will be on the rise in the Indian restaurant business. The reach of culinary establishments to woo their guests with much more net oriented, personalised service will emerge,” articulated Bahl.

“Many branded hotels and restaurant chains are coming up in key business cities, Ahmedabad being one of them. This paves the way for new food concepts to flow in, creating awareness and demand for newer products. Thus we can see that restaurants will get more opportunity to experiment with food based on their creativity,” explained Saigaonkar.

Moreover, diners are moving from three-meals-a-day concept to small bites and inter-meals. This will influence the restaurant business in future. “A prominent trend to rule the market will be of quick service restaurants, where quick bites, salads, Mexican street food, dim sums, wraps, rolls and frozen desserts will capture a big

The Possible Future Trends The expectations from 2015 or rather observations about the futuristic trends from the players in the Indian food service industry also made for interesting discussions.

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Satej Saigaonkar

Hammer Food & Beverage Business Review

Shekhar Bhargav

chunk of the market. This will be even more apparent in a market like Ahmedabad where many business clients travel from metros,” Saigaonkar added further.

“Going forward, we can see that low calorie, low fat and less carbohydrate options shall become more popular; though, being able to deliver these in a comfort manner with excellent taste that is recognisable to the Indian palates and following superb quality standards is going to be a challenge to deliver,” stated Singh.

According to him, “Some traditional methods of cooking and exquisite preparations will remain as part of the fine dining culture but easy to go dining options such as cafes, bistros and QSRs are going to gain volumes. Moreover, more and more diners are nowadays wishing to eat small portions. In this context, lighter meals like brunches, hi-teas, supper and mid night snacks are bound to have success.”

“I think consumers will have more frequent casual eating out outings than ever before, and the culture of dining out is going to see an upward surge,” Singh observed.

“Opening of new cafés, bars and restaurants would continue to mushroom in Delhi-NCR as there are lot of projects in pipeline. The industry would have something new to add to the existing pool of dining options in Delhi-NCR,” aired Sinha.

“The year 2015 looks promising for food service and hospitality industry of India, as the tourism and economy are expected to only improve from the current trend.

With more options for dining, with new concept based restaurants coming up and the existing restaurants expected to further shape up in helping the customers with more choices and new experiences, we are looking forward to an exciting time in 2015,” stated Sinha confidently, while analysing the macro trends in these industries. n

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PRO D U CT PR E V I E W

Gourmet Meats & Cheeses

Freshly Baked Waffles

Otto Fleischer from a village near Klings, Germany, started a small butchery that excelled in carving and making hand-crafted sausages. Later, in 1864, he partnered with Ulrich Koch to broaden their enterprise, and that came to be known as ‘Fleischer und Koch.’

Otto & Ulrich passed on their trade secrets — the art of carving and sausage making to their respective heirs, Rüdiger Fleischer & Wilhelmine Koch. The young couple Rüdiger & Wilhelmine not only took charge of the business, they became life partners too. They expanded their bouquet of offering to include a variety of sausages and cuts. Wilhelmine, who was an expert cook, controlled the sausage making business while Rüdiger managed the butchery. The Thüringer Rostbratwurst, Münchener Weisswurst, Bratwurst, etc., were the key products of the sausage line, while cuts such as Unterspalte, Schulter oder Laffe, Kotelletten – stuck, stutzen of pork - Hose, Seemerrolle, Rinderbrust, Nierenzapfen, Hohe Rippe of beef were all mastered by Rüdiger and his men.

With time, and with the world moving from hand-crafted meats to automation, the subsequent family generations diversified into other business realms... till one day what remained of the business was the name and the art of butchery with the few who were still interested.

When the opportunity arose, the company decided to become the custodians of this 150 year old name and craft, and proposed to supply gourmet meats, cheeses and other unique food products in India and neighbouring countries, under the banner of Fleischer & Koch. The products are meant for those discerning customers who understand that good meat becomes great with the art of butchery, that veal is a softer meat, that few cheeses are meant for the connoisseur, truffles are not morels, a Habanero cannot be grown outside Meso-Americas and that all tea are not same.

The products would be marketed through online store and delivered directly starting with Delhi/NCR and Mumbai. In three months time the company would also be serving Hyderabad, Bangalore, Chennai and Kolkata.

Fleischer & Koch fkgproducts@gmail.com

Rodaaji has launched a new concept for freshly baked Waffles in hotels breakfast offerings. Fresh Waffles add fun to the breakfast, offering unique experience for the customers.

Children specifically enjoy the option of having a fresh baked Waffle.

Waffles are slowly becoming a staple in the breakfast as their popularity has grown immensely. Guests and customers are beginning to look for

SpaceCombi - So Much Packed into a Little Space Many professional Chefs appreciate the multi functionality and user friendliness of a modern combi steamer. However, some of them don’t have sufficient room in their kitchen or they need their combi steamers situated suitably for front cooking and at serving stations, where every centimetre counts. With the space saving SpaceCombi models, MKN offers a professional solution which is specially geared to these conditions.

The SpaceCombi is only 55 cm wide, yet still comparably equipped to larger models. The state-of-the-art MagicPilot touch & slide operating concept with information steps and Favourites function, the automatic cleaning system WaveClean and the consumption display GreenInside are just a few examples of user-oriented features which make the SpaceCombi a high performance professional appliance. In addition, despite its slim width, it offers astounding capacity: 6 x 1/1GN in SpaceCombi Compact and 6 x 2/3 GN in SpaceCombi Junior.

MKN India mdas@mkn-india.com www.combisteamer-flexicombi.com

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Hammer Food & Beverage Business Review

Waffles as an option. Fresh Waffles are large and filling in nature. As a result, guests eat only one Waffle and this decreases consumption cost per guest. Cost of Waffles is only approx.

Rs. 27 as compared to other frozen offerings which are also approx. Rs. 32 but are 3 times smaller so guests tend to eat more, thereby raising food costs per guests. The Waffles are made with fresh & natural ingredients with fewer additives than many other breakfast items and are lower in sugar, salt, and fat. The Waffles are made with malted barley wheat which has a natural digestive so hotel guests fully digest their breakfast. It provides needed energy which will help guest lead a productive day. Moreover, the Waffles offer superior aroma, flavour and taste! Hotels just need minimal space requirements and do not require any freezer space. This cuts down on food preparation and the kitchen employees’ as well as cook’s time to concentrate on the preparation of other breakfast items. In many cases, the fresh Waffle offering has helped cut down cost because other (bread like/or redundant items) can be removed from the breakfast menu which do not directly influence score cards. Fresh Waffles are delicious and are egg less & non GMO. Rodaaji Company contact@rodaaji.com

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PRO D U CT PR E V I E W

Crafting Impeccable F&B Equipments

Bloody Mary Mix

Kumar Equipment (India) Pvt. Ltd. is one of the largest manufacturers of commercial kitchen, refrigeration and bakery equipments in India.

Its product range includes hot and cold equipments, bakery equipments, bar equipments, beverage equipments, dish washing equipments, cake pastry and icecream displays, salad display, racks, storage equipments among others. Kumar Equipment (India) is a certified ISO 9001: 2008 and a ‘Trust Passed’ accredited company.

KEI specialises in providing consultancy, designing, layout plans with complete technical details of F&B equipments for commercial kitchens, canteens, bakeries & messes, etc. on turnkey basis as well as on individual product basis. The company’s services also extend to designing, layout and installation of exhaust and fresh air systems as well as LPG pipeline, for facilitating the safety and economy of the projects.

KEI has been associated with kitchen equipment industry for well over two decades, and has been successfully providing its expertise to hospitality industry, residential schools, learning institutes, hospitals, messes of Armed Forces, industrial canteens, clubs, cafeterias, etc. Its operations not only spans across India but is also extended abroad. KEI has two manufacturing units in Bhiwadi, Rajasthan; well equipped with the latest state-of-the-art plant and machinery. Robust infrastructure, highly skilled and dedicated workforce, and sound R&D are the company’s strengths.

Kumar Equipment (India) Pvt. Ltd. kumar_equipments@yahoo.co.in

Shamsons Foods has launched 100 percent nonalcoholic tasty Bloody Mary mix. Made with premium and quality ingredients, the drink provides fresh squeezed taste of ripe tomatoes. The mix of dash of real lemon juice, coarse black pepper and a pinch of salt, makes drink perfect for any time.

Bloody Mary mix ensures satisfaction till last drop of Tomato Juice or Vodka. The product ensures consistent flavor to maintain quality at any place.

It is a drink that is completely adaptable to suit your personal taste and can be used for more tomato and related cocktail recipes.

The Bloody Mary mix offers a ready solution for large catering in pubs, bars & restaurants. It is available in pack of 24 x 160 ml can, with a shelf life of 12 months. The company already has range of products like tomato ketchup, sauces, jams, pickles, squashes, syrups, mango panna, ready-to-serve drinks.

Shamsons Foods anubhav_005@yahoo.com

No Bake Cheese Cake Premix The origin of the term ‘Cheesecakes’ is Anglo-Saxon. ‘Cheese’ is from the old English word tzscheeze, meaning cheese or curd; ‘Cake’ from the old English word ‘Kaake’ meaning cake.

Cheesecakes are generally cold desserts that are neither baked nor cooked. Cheesecakes are made with crumbled digestive biscuits combined with butter passed in to a dish, in order to form a base layer. Filling or toppings mainly constitute of sugar, cheese, cream, milk and gelatin mixed together.

Roman style cheesecakes use ricotta-like cheese and honey combined with flour and traditionally shaped into loaves. Italian style cheesecakes are the modern version of the Roman cheesecake. They use either mascarpone or ricotta cheese.

French cheesecake is generally

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very light and gelatin is the main binding ingredient in this cheesecake.

In America, cheesecake typically rely on cream cheese, heavy cream, eggs, and egg yolks in order to add a smooth consistency and richness.

Traditional cheesecakes contain large amounts of calories due to their dairy content and more if topping are added. These recipes are often loaded

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with sugar and fat, which could be detrimental to the cardiovascular health.

This can take away some of the joy out of consuming and enjoying the dessert.

Tropilite has transformed the recipe and has come with a solution in the form of ‘Cheese Cake Mix.’ This is a healthier substitution that will surely satisfy anyone’s sweet tooth. It is a complete replacement of traditional cheesecake recipe and provides good texture, firmness and rich mouth feel.

Its unique features include 100 percent veg; gelatin free, egg free, no need to bake and cook & ease of making.

Cholesterol and trans fat free, it is endowed with good texture, firmness and rich mouth feel.

Tropilite Foods Pvt. Ltd. info@davars.com

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PRO D U CT PR E V I E W

Kitchen technological up-gradation When it comes to selecting the best cooking equipments and pantry equipments manufacturer, then clients tend to choose Bharti Refrigeration Works.

The company has been manufacturing pantry equipments since 1998 and exporting the same to Nepal, Sri Lanka and South Africa. Their list of food preparation utensils is considered the best and reliable at the global level. The company examines all the quality constraints involved in the hygienic production of cooking equipments. On its basis, they conduct production procedures and hence assure a quality range. The kitchen equipments collection available with them is unique and it is assured to give a new uplift to your cooking related work. With perpetual investment in technological up-gradation, product

innovation and quality control methods,’Bharti Refrigeration Works’, has carved a reputation for its products in the national, as well as international market. Since its inception in the year 1998, they have been able to set standards for productivity and quality with ground breaking equipment design and entrenched themselves as one of the most preferred manufacturers and exporters.

Their products include Kitchen and Refrigeration Equipments such as Food Preparation Equipments, Pantry Equipments, Cooking Equipments, Bakery & Confectionery Equipments, Dish Wash Equipments, Pot Wash

Equipments, Food Storage Equipments, Food Service Equipments, Commercial Refrigeration Equipments, Exhaust System & Fresh Air System, Commercial Kitchen Equipments, Hotel Kitchen Equipments, Sweet Display Counters, Restaurant Kitchen Equipments, Ice Cube Making Machine, Imported Kitchen Equipments, Commercial Cooking Range, etc. For the last eight years, the company are relentlessly catering to the varied requirements of a wide spectrum of customers covering hotels, hospitals, industrial canteens, defense canteens and messes. Over the years, they have been able to set standards for productivity and quality with revolutionary equipment design.

Bharti Refrigeration Works santosh@bhartirefrigeration.com

Banquet Chairs & Tables

Innovations in Linen Established in 1996, Blue Fab is a premium manufacturer and supplier of linen to the hospitality industry.

The company offers an exclusive range of restaurant linen, banquet linen, bamboo & jute craft, furnishing, and uniforms. The range of restaurant linen includes napkin, napron, table cloth, place matt & runner, etc.

The range of banquet linen includes readymade frills, chair cover, buffet sheet, napkin, etc. Besides furnishing fabric, curtain and upholstery, and shirt, waist coat, trousers, suit, cravette and scarf used for F&B kitchen operations are some of the products offered by Blue Fab. The company has a unique range of production uniform and service uniform which are specially designed to cater to the department/category wise need. With the arrival of more and more fine dining restaurants with innovative ideas, the linen sales are increasing fast and this could enhance the business prospects of the company. At the same time, the introduction of a slew of ambitious hotel projects in the Indian hospitality industry is also expected to increase the demand for their products.

Blue Fab bluefab@gmail.com

Stackwell produces very high quality products for hospitality industry in India. The company offers range of banquet chairs & tables, approved by leading hotel chains in India.

The products are approved by Taj central purchasing for next 2 years. The company has also supplied its products to other leading hotels like Marriott, Novotel, ITC, Sheraton, Kamat group, Yogi hotels, Radisson Hotels, Westin, Orchid, Hyatt, Sayaji, Park hotels few to name. The company is also exporting to Middle east and Europe.

Chair frames made by Stackwell are chemically treated and coated in powder coating. The chairs have spine support, for seating comfort for long hours. Chairs upholstered in high quality fabrics from India. Chair frames are powder coated in mahogany/metallic gold/metallic silver. Fabric colour can be selected from our fabric range.

The Banquet tables range provide perfect strength for being strong and sturdy. The banquet tables are provided with with nylon flocked top surface and with aluminium protecting edges. The company offers special multy utility tables for the conferences and conventions. These tables are with stainless steel folding legs and laminated top and detachable front and side modesty panels. These tables are now been used by Pune International conventional center, Accor convention centre at Lavasa, Hydrabad convention centre, Uniliver training and convention center & taj hotels.

Stackwell sales@stackwell.in

The information published in this section is as per the details furnished by the respective manufacturer/distributor. In any case, it does not represent the views of Hammer Publishers Pvt. Ltd.

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BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY

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COMPANY

A D V E R T I S E R ’ S

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ADANI WILMAR LTD. 11 AKASA INTERNATIONAL 97 ALLIED METAL WORKS 69 ANI GLASS CORPORATION 20 ANOUSHKA GOURMET PVT. LTD. 61 ANUFOOD 91 ANUPAM INDUSTRIES 55 APPLE BAKERY MACHINERY PVT. LTD. 16 ARCHII 75 AUTODYNAMIC ENGINEERING PVT. LTD. 13 BMS ENTERPRISES 15 CONSTELLATION PROJECTS 73 DABON INTERNATIONAL PVT. LTD. 07, 23, 63 EDT EXPO 2015 89 FCML DISTRIBUTORS PVT. LTD. 31 FRANCHISE INDIA BRANDS LTD. 21 GENNEXT LOGISTICS PVT. LTD. 20 HINDUSTAN REFRIGERATION STORES 87 HOSPITALITY APPLIANCES PVT. LTD. 77 HOTELEX SHANGHAI 2015 83 HOTREMAI 67 IFB INDUSTRIES LTD. 27 INDIA INTERNATIONAL DAIRY EXPO 2015 98 JR FRAGRANCE 14 KANHAIYALAL TANDOOR PVT. LTD. 71 KING METAL WORKS 05 KITCH’N SOLUTIONS 81 LOOM CRAFTS FURNITURE (INDIA) PVT. LTD. 34, 35 MANISHA INTERNATIONAL BIC METAL AVENUES 45 MKN INDIA 41

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MM FISHERIES PVT. LTD. 09 MOD KITCHEN EQUIPMENTS PVT. LTD. 29 M.P. ENTERPRISES 25 MRS. BECTOR’S FOOD SPECIALITIES LTD. FIC MUNNILAL TANDOORS PVT. LTD. 53 NEENA ENTERPRISES 22 PACIFIC MERCHANTS 39 P LAL & SONS 59 PRIMETIME INTERNATIONAL SERVICES PVT. LTD. 17 PRIMO FOODS PVT. LTD. 19 RAJKIRAN KITCHEN EQUIPMENT 18 RATIONAL INDIA 10 RANS TECHNOCRATS (INDIA) PVT. LTD. 51 REMINGTON STEEL ARTS 99 RODAAJI COMPANY 47 SHAMSONS FOODS 65 SIAL CHINA 2015 95 SKYRA PROFESSIONAL EQUIPMENT PVT. LTD. 33 SOLUTIONZ CONSULTING PVT. LTD. 96 STACKWELL 85 STEC STAINLESS STEEL PVT. LTD. 57 THAIFEX WORLD OF FOOD 93 THE NEW INDIA ELECTRIC & TRADING CO. 96 TOPLINE FOOD EQUIPMENT PVT. LTD. 30 TROPILITE FOODS PVT. LTD. 43 UNILEVER FOOD SOLUTIONS BC UNITAS FOODS PVT. LTD. 12 VENUS INDUSTRIES 01 PRODUCT PREVIEW 90 BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY 96

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INTERVIEW

Continually Innovating for the Changing Palates

By Sharmila Chand

Sanjeev Mandal, Food & Beverage Manager, Courtyard by Marriott, Ahmedabad, has a rich experience of over 12 years in the hospitality industry behind him. He has worked in many esteemed hospitality properties and his exposure in each place has helped enrich his experience in food & beverage management and operations.

During his various tenures, he has gained expertise in designing & implementing training programs for bringing ardent customer focus, high energy level and team spirit among the employees. The excerpts of the interview follow: What do you enjoy the most about being a Food & Beverage Manager?

I find it quite interesting to continually innovate on our offerings for the changing palates of the guests. I firmly believe that long-term relationships are based on loyalty, and I love to share a good relationship with all my stakeholders, which in turn makes me enjoy my job.

What do you dislike in your job the most?

I think every day is a new day and has something new to offer, and so, there isn’t anything particular that I dislike about my job.

Is your job challenging? Can you point out five challenges?

I like to take the challenges in my job in my stride. The five major challenges that my team and I focus strongly on are the challenge of exceeding guest expectations, the challenge to sustain the number one position for food and beverage in the city of Ahmedabad, the challenge of increasing brand awareness in the local market, the challenge of adhering to costs and revenue budgets, and the challenge of ensuring the overall development of our team members.

The challenge of getting the right talent and skill is also there. The challenge of retaining them is even greater.

Can you talk about the measures in your organisation to strengthen your team?

Training and development are of

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utmost importance in our organisation and they are very crucial for the team’s growth and performance as well.

We constantly motivate and challenge our team with novelties so that they can deliver better, thus, making their job more interesting. We also frequently reward and appreciate them on completion of their job.

What is the USP of your F&B outlets?

Each of our restaurants at the Courtyard by Marriott, Ahmedabad is unique in its offerings. MoMo Café, our all-day dining specialty, offers perhaps the most extensive brunch buffet in the city that includes Continental, South Indian, Gujarati and Japanese cuisines amongst others. The buffet spread offers a range of specialties such as mezze and sushi.

Apart from the buffet, the restaurant offers a fine, easy to eat, made to order menu with popular dishes such as Bassa Gremolata, and Teriyaki Fish.

Shakahari is our exquisite fine dining vegetarian restaurant which offers a delectable array of North Indian and Awadhi specialties including kebabs, biryanis and curries. At Shakahari, we are offering popular dishes such as Dal Makhani, Palak Paneer, Dum Aloo Awadhi among others. The dessert selection at Shakahari is something that the local community always looks forward to, with distinctive offerings such as Fruit Baked Yoghurt, Chikki Kurmura Cheese Cake, Pan Supari Cremaux, and Gulab ki Kheer.

Java+, our swanky coffee bar, is the most recent addition to our F&B

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offerings and includes rare single origin coffees from Ethiopia, Java and Columbia and single estate teas from Assam and Darjeeling. It also offers signature cold beverages including the Java Chip, Chocolate Mudslide, Thai Spiced Iced Tea and the Red Velvet Thick Shake. The food offerings of Java+ range from the classic baked cheesecake, macaroons and eclairs to the eccentric Maggie Burger, Breakfast Salmon, Egg Cronuts and a delicate sushi platter.

Finally, how is your experience at the present job? What are the challenges of working here? How is it different from other places? What excites you the most here?

The experience so far has been great.

Courtyard by Marriott, Ahmedabad offers great room for opportunities and experimentation. During my present tenure, I have finished quite a few new projects, an important one being the launch of Java+, which is the first of its kind coffee bar in India.

My role here is everything I wished it to be. I love to experiment and create something that is unseen and unheard of and I get the opportunity to do it here.

What is your take on the hospitality business in India, in general?

As we all have witnessed in the last decade or so, hospitality business is growing day by day. The new hotel brands coming in India are giving a wide choice to the travellers, both domestically and internationally, providing a wealth of opportunities for the market as a whole. n

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