Food & Beverage Buisness Review (Dec-Jan 2018)

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Hammer Food & Beverage Business Review

Oct-Nov ’17

Dec-Jan ’18

Hammer Food & Beverage Business Review

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EDIT ORIA L

Publisher cum Editor Rajneesh Sharma rajneeshhammer@gmail.com

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Associate Editor Swarnendu Biswas

he maturation of globalisation and significant increases in disposable incomes in select but sizeable pockets of urban Indian society during the last decade, along with the growing spread of cookery shows on television and Internet, have greatly increased the universe of discerning and well aware diners in India. Many of these discerning diners are not only aware about the nuances of varied cuisines, but they want much more than great food and decent ambience from their eating out exercises.

Thus in this scenario restaurants in India which offer extraordinary dining out experience through perfect amalgamation of food, décor, ambience and service, definitely have a market edge in the evolving Indian food services industry, over their competitors who do not offer such extraordinary dining out experience. In this issue’s Cover Story, we have briefly covered a few of these extraordinary eating out options, which might inspire many more players in the industry to do better than their best in terms of providing a simply out-of-the-world dining out experience for their guests.

Growing numbers of working women, large numbers of nuclear families, our hectic work schedules, the growth of retail segment in urban India are together contributing towards the growing popularity of the ready-to-eat and ready-to-cook segments in India. This is discussed in detail in our Business Story.

The digital age has been influencing the food & beverage business in a huge way, and it is expected to influence the food & beverage business even more in the coming years. We very well know that there are various ways by which the information technology can facilitate towards enhancing customer satisfaction of the restaurant guests. Digital age has also paved in lots of opportunity for the food service outlets to enhance their revenues and profits in quick time. At the same time, in this age the price of faltering in terms of food, ambience, décor, service or hygiene can be quick and quite widespread and huge for the food service outlets.

In the Feature section, we talk about some digital age influenced ongoing trends in the food service business and one probable digital age influenced futuristic trend in the context of Indian food service business. We also discuss the opportunities and challenges that this age poses for the food service business at large.

These and many other industry-relevant subjects are being explored in this issue, which can keep our valued readers engrossed between the covers of the magazine. We only hope our readers would derive as much enjoyment from this issue, as me and my team had while developing it.

I hereby sign off wishing the food service and hospitality industry a very fruitful and enriching Aahar 2018. See you there…

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Resident Editor Sharmila Chand (Delhi) Ashok Malkani (Mumbai) Layout & Design Hari Kumar. V Abhishek Singh Rathore Production Assistant Mamta Sharma Advertising Sales Delhi: Debabrata Nath, Sumesh Sharma Director Sales Sanjay Anand Mobile: +91 9811136837 Director Operations Rajat Taneja Mobile: +91 9810315463 Editorial & Advertising Offices: Delhi: Hammer Publishers Pvt. Ltd. 206, Samrat Bhawan, Ranjeet Nagar Commercial Complex, New Delhi-110008 Phone: 91-11-45084903, 45093486, 25704103 Mumbai: Hammer Publishers Pvt. Ltd. 105, 1st Floor, Aarpee Centre, Gufic Compound, 11th Road, MIDC, Near Tunga Paradise, Andheri (E), Mumbai-400093 Ph.: 022-28395833 Telefax: 022-28388947

Website: www.fbrmag.com E-mail: info@hammer.co.in © 2018 Hammer Publishers Pvt. Ltd. No part of the publication may be reproduced, stored in retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission of the publisher.

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

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

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

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

Annual subscription rate within India is Rs. 450 and for overseas it is US $110, for surface mail. Single issue is available for Rs. 90 in India and US $25 for overseas. Cheques are payable to Hammer Publishers Pvt. Ltd.

Hammer Food & Beverage Business Review

Dec-Jan ’18

Contents D EC E M B E R - J A N U A RY 2 01 8

Cover Story

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Departments

Making Dining Out an Experience Event 04

Business

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India Gets Ready to Eat

Feature

News 10 44

Food Service Going Digital

Agri

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Report 26

Profile 50

Healthy and Tasty Fruit Restaurant 68

cONFECTIONERY

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Promising Growth, Despite Challenges

Beverage

Chef Voice 60

Have Grin with Beer

Theme cuisine

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Operations 74

Health 82

Exploring the Flavours of Goa Interview 86

Hygiene

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Tackling Pest Infestation in Kitchens

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Product Preview

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Food&HotelAsia Returns as Even Bigger in its 40th Year

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he most comprehensive international food and hospitality biennial mega t ra d e eve nt i n t h e re g i o n , t h e Food&HotelAsia (FHA), will be held from 24th to 27th April 2018 at two venues – Singapore Expo and Suntec Singapore.

Ce l e b rat i n g 4 0 ye a rs of b u s i n ess excellence, Food&HotelAsia (FHA) is the preferred choice for industry professionals to access an international showcase of food and hospitality products, equipment and solutions, which are needed to drive business inspiration today and tomorrow.

The 21st edition of the show will house its biggest-ever industry congregation with 4,000 international exhibitors from more than 70 countries and regions; an increase of 25 percent compared to its last edition of the show. The event’s total floor area will span 119,500 sq. m, 23 percent increase from 97,000 sq. m. 68 international groups are confirmed with Armenia and Qatar being the newest countries to participate.

78,000 trade attendees from over 100 countries and regions are expected at the 2018 edition of the show.

A mega trade show for the food and hospitality industry in Asia and beyond, Fo o d & H o t e l A s i a ( F H A ) h a s g ro w n tremendously in tandem with Asia’s food and hospitality industry, and has earned itself a reputation as the most comprehensive premier international food and hospitality trade show in the region.

This biennial event has proved to stay relevant to the Asian markets’ needs. To

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cater to the diverse needs of its food and hospitality industry, FHA offers an extensive assortment of products and services through its six specialised sectors.

From innovative food ingredients, Halal food and beverages, speciality coffee equipment and accessories, unique tea blends, the latest bakery equipment, the most stylish of tableware and furnishing, to disruptive technology for backend food service or for frontend guest experiences and many more, FHA caters to your every business need!

FHA organises and hosts a series of world-class culinary competitions, topnotch workshops and courses, as well as a comprehensive range of conferences, seminars and master classes.

ProWine Asia 2018 Held alongside FHA for the first time in 2016, ProWine Asia, which is modelled after the globally recognised, world’s largest and most important trade fair for the wines and spirits industry — ProWein in Düsseldorf, Germany — will return with an

18 percent increase in exhibition area for this forthcoming edition of the show.

To b e p res e nte d by 3 0 0 l e a d i n g exhibitors, ProWine Asia will bring the world of wines and spirits to South-east Asia through its extensive representation of international wine and spirit labels, a broad scope of solutions and concepts for the region’s diverse consumer markets, as well as through its specialised master classes and seminars by industry speakers.

More than a Mega Trade Event Beyond the traditional sourcing ground, FHA also offers many experiential networking and learning opportunities through new and improved speciality zones and industryrenowned competitions such as the FHA Culinary Challenge 2018 and Asian Pastry Cup 2018. Through these activities, visitors will gain insights into the rapid changes impacting the F&B and hospitality industries, and with easy access to the necessary tools, contacts, skills and knowledge, they will be able to stay relevant and maintain their competitive edge.

The three-day FHA2018 International Conference, to be held in two venues from 24 to 26 April, will feature industry experts and business thought-leaders sharing perspectives, tips and strategies across 10 key tracks, from hotel revenue management and bakery, to central kitchen and F&B technology.

For more information, please visit www.foodnhotelasia.com.

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SINCE 1963

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VENUS INDUSTRIES WZ-1, Basai Road, Moti Nagar, New Delhi- 110015(India) Tel: (91-11) 43163300, 45061071 E-mail: v_khurana@venusindustries.in Website: www.venusindustries.in

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Aahar 2018: Expected to Garner Impressive Participation

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ahar, the international food & hospitality fair, will be taking place at its regular venue of Pragati Maidan, New Delhi. This would be the 33rd edition of Aahar.

Aahar is regarded as the largest trade fair in the food & hospitality sector in India.

The 33rd edition of the mega annual show for the food & beverage and hospitality industry would be taking place during 13th -17th March 2018. The forthcoming event is being organised by India Trade Promotion Organisation (ITPO).

Aahar 2018 will be demarcated into two separate but concurrent exhibitions.

They are ‘Hospitality India’ covering hotel& restaurant equipment and supplies, and ‘Food India’ covering food, processed food & beverage products.

The impressive product ranges displayed at the fair would include fresh produce & dairy products, confectionery/desserts, bakery products & ingredients and bakery equipments, organic & health products, frozen, canned & processed food products, meat, poultry & sea food, cheese and fine specialty food, snacks and convenience food, food ingredients, additives and preservatives, coffee and tea, syrups, juices & energy drinks. etc. The exhibition is also expected to showcase bar accessories, bed, bath and table linen, chafing dishes, tableware, cutlery, chopping boards, crockery, glassware, garden furniture, kitchen ware, spa amenities, stainless steel products, brass platters, toiletries, sanitary fittings,

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laundry equipment, dish washing machines and packaging machinery related to food products, among others.

The event is expected to be visited by a galore of professionals and entrepreneurs from the food & beverage and hospitality industry across the globe, which include Executive Chefs and Executive Housekeepers, Hospitality Procurement Heads, Purchase Consultants among others. Like the previous editions of the show, Aahar 2018 is also expected to give an impetus to the business potential of Indian food service and hospitality industry.

Besides facilitating business, Aahar also serves as a platform for the food & beverage and hospitality industry players to disseminate/ gather relevant information and gauge evolving and futuristic trends which can greatly benefit many participants at the fair.

Here it deserves a mention that about 900 exhibitors from India and abroad showcased their products at Aahar 2017.

The foreign exhibitors at the fair were from the US, China, Canada, Germany, Switzerland, Russia, Poland, Turkey, Italy, Bulgaria, Spain, Oman, Korea, Sweden, Thailand, UAE, Peru and Lebanon. Around 70,000 trade visitors visited Aahar 2016, over the five days of the fair.

Going by the emerging and ongoing trends in the Indian food & beverage and hospitality industry, we can safely assume that the forthcoming edition of Aahar is expected to supersede even these impressive figures of Aahar 2017, and is poised to become a great success story.

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EVENTS’ CALENDER Sigep 2018 20-24 January 2018 Rimini Expo Centre, Italy www.en.sigep.it

Europain 2018 3-6 February 2018 Paris Nord Villepinte, Paris www.europain.com

PlastIndia 2018 5-6 February 2018, Gandhi Nagar, Ahmedabad Gandhi Nagar Exhibition Centre, Helipad Ground www.plastindia2018.plastindia.org

Hotel Investment Forum India 2018 7-12 February 2018, Mumbai, JW Marriott Hotel Mumbai Sahar www.hifi-india.com

Gulfood 2018 18-22 Feb 2018, Dubai Dubai International Convention & Exhibition Centre www.gulfood.com

Aahar 2018 13-17 March 2018, New Delhi Pragati Maidan www.aaharinternationalfair.com

ProWein 2018 18-20 March 2018, Dusseldorf Fair ground Düsseldorf www.prowein.com

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Alimentaria to Become More Sector-inclusive importance and complicity of the Spanish agricultural industry with the backing of powerful brands, the weight of the HORECA channel, the international appeal of our gastronomy and the relevance of the tourism sector, among others,” he asserted.

In addition to attracting these international buyers, Alimentaira has also organised a promotional programme to identify strategic niches in foreign markets; which would attract trade professionals from all over the world and exceed the 42,000 international visitors who took part in the last edition of the show.

More Innovation, More Gastronomy

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limentaria is readying for its biggest edition in years. The forthcoming edition of the show will be held during 16th-19th April 2018, in Barcelona, Spain. It would offer the food & beverage industry a major platform for internationalisation and business, with brand new spaces and content and a high level of innovation. The joint organisation with Hostelco will boost synergies with the hotel and restaurant sector. The event is expected to attract more than 4,500 exhibitors, 27 percent of whom are coming from outside Spain.

With a net exhibition space of over 100,000 sq.m — almost the entire Gran Via venue — the joint organisation of the show, to be held with Hostelco — the International Exhibition of Equipment for Restaurants, Hotels and Mass Catering — represents the creation of one of the biggest international platforms for the food, gastronomy and hospitality equipment industry.

The show will offer a platform for internationalisation and business to the food, drinks and hospitality industries, with new spaces, content and innovation which will give added value to the world of gastronomy.

Thus with the aim of helping agri-food companies to internationalise their business and open up opportunities abroad for Spanish food and drinks, the show has

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upped its investment to invite some 800 key international buyers, which is 30 percent more than the previous edition of the show.

There would also be a significant number of high-level Spanish and international buyers, importers and leading operators in the distribution and HoReCa channels.

Together they will be taking part in around 11,200 business meetings with exhibitors at the show and will also play an active role in the various events organised for generating export opportunities.

J. Antonio Valls, Managing Director of Alimentaria Exhibitions,talked about the potential of the show. “The strengths of the event include its international positioning, the

Hammer Food & Beverage Business Review

In 2018, Alimentaria is strengthening its key shows of Intervin, Intercarn and Restaurama, as well as Expoconser, Interlact, and Multiple Foods, the last one being the show for consumer goods and food trends. In addition to all these individual shows, Alimentaria Premium provides an exclusive area for the producers and creators of genuine gastronomic treasures.

Boosting innovation and gastronomic quality will be the two major hallmarks of Alimentaria 2018. Consequently, besides promoting business opportunities, the show’s activities are geared towards driving innovation and identifying the main trends and enhancing the connections between the food, gastronomy and tourism industries.

Over 200 activities will take place in The Alimentaria Hub and The Alimentaria Experience, the major termed areas of the event. The Alimentaira Hub will be the main area for knowledge, trends, innovation and business for all the stakeholders involved in the value chain of the food and drink industry.

Meanwhile, The Alimentaria Experience will host in its Restaurama show a range of workshops, gastronomic classrooms and show-cooking sessions to showcase the awesome variety of culinary ideas, united under the triple crown of quality, product and innovation.

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Prataap Snacks Limited Makes Foray into Sweet Snacks Market Indian snack foods company Prataap Snacks Limited (PSL) has ventured into the sweet snacks market through its wholly owned subsidiary with the launch of its new brand ‘Rich Feast’. The first product under the new brand is ‘Yum Pie’, a three layered treat with sponge cake, flavoured jam and chocolate.

The company has set up a fully automated manufacturing plant by its wholly owned subsidiary Pure n Sure Food Bites Pvt. Ltd. in Indore, Madhya Pradesh to manage the production of Yum Pie. The product has been designed for kids in the age group of 4-14. Yum Pie is available in orange, strawberry and mixed fruit flavours.

“Our new brand ‘Rich Feast’ marks our entry into sweet snacks category where we see a lot of untapped growth opportunity,” said Amit Kumat, MD & CEO, Prataap Snacks Limited.

“With this, we will now get into a bigger macro-snack category from only being a salty snacks player. We intend to grow the Rich Feast brand further with new launches in the coming time,” Kumat added.

Prataap Snacks Limited also offers multiple variants of products across categories of potato chips, extruded snacks and namkeen (traditional Indian snacks) under the Yellow Diamond brand.

Potbelly Corp to Open 20 Outlets in India by 2022 US-based sandwich restaurant chain Potbelly Corporation has entered into a franchise agreement with food service company Kwal's Group to open 20 outlets in India, in the next five years.

The company opened its first outlet in Gurugram, in December 2017.

Kwal’s Group has already shortlisted various locations in different cities so as to open five outlets by the end of 2018, IndiaRetailing.com reported on 19th December 2017.

Potbelly Corporation is a fast-growing neighbourhood sandwich chain offering toasty warm sandwiches, signature salads and other items.

Its menu for India will feature customised items to meet the dietary preferences of the country, such as locally inspired vegetarian salads, soups and sandwiches.

“We intend to use high quality cheese, meats, vegetables and bread for a great Potbelly experience,” Sameer Lamba, Managing Director of Kwal’s Group said.

The Kwal’s Group is involved in operating and managing food courts for office complexes and malls. It currently has 26 food courts in operation.

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Since 1964 BASA

Pioneers in importing of Basa Fish in India, offering most premium quality Crystal White Fish.

SEAFOOD

Most Fresh and Premium quality of seafood available. All varieties like Lobsters, Crabs,Oysters, Mussels, Fresh Prawns and IQF Prawns (All Sizes) Indian & Imported are available .

POULTRY

Premium range of fresh and healthy poultry products, available in all cuts.

SUPPLY CHAIN

M.M. Fisheries offers comprehensive supply chain in northern India. It supplies to over 200 hotels, restaurants, caterers and banquets. Servicing the industry with best quality products on time, since last 50 years.

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Food Processing Industry Could Attract 18 Bn USD in Four Years With an annual growth rate of over 8 percent, India's food processing industry has the potential to attract investment of about 18 billion USD in the next four years, a top government official said on 20th December 2017.

In addition to increasing farmers' income, the food processing sector can generate huge employment opportunities, said Food Processing Secretary, J P Meena.

Addressing a PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry conference, Meena said the government had launched the Rs. 6,000 crore Pradhan Mantri Kisan Sampada Yojana (PMKSY) scheme to develop the food processing sector and this programme would attract an investment of Rs. 31,000 crore.

"If these committments are grounded, we will have an investment of 18 billion USD over the next 3-4 years which is a huge investment," the Secretary said.

PMKSY is an umbrella scheme for the overall development of India's food processing sector, which includes development of food processing units.

The major objectives of PMKSY are to create robust modern infrastructure along the entire food processing value chain, reduce wastage of agricultural produce and increase food processing/value addition which would, in turn, increase the income of the farmers and encourage them to adopt better farming methods/practices to increase farm productivity.

Meena said that whereas large and medium segment in the India's agri and food processing sector had been collaborating directly with farmers, the SME segment had somehow fallen behind in terms of working directly with the farmers.

Therefore, the SME segment needs to make certain amendments in their approach and come forward with a pro-active approach to directly work with the farmers; to enable them to optimise their production commercially, he added.

The Food Processing Secretary also announced that the government would be coming out with two additional schemes to promote several mini mega food parks across the country for uplifting of the agri and food sector in which the subsidy element for setting up of agro food clusters in such parks would vary from Rs.5 crore to Rs.10 crore. He urged the industry to take advantage of such schemes.

The government received investment intent of about 13.56 billion USD in the food processing sector from domestic and foreign investors during the World Food India 2017, held in New Delhi in November.

According to the data from the Ministry of Commerce & Industry, there has been FDI equity inflow of 6,492.19 million USD in the food processing sector during 2010-11 to 2016-17.

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Simply Sushi Opens at New Delhi’s Select Citywalk Mall Leading multiplex chain PVR Limited has brought Japanese restaurant Simply Sushi to Select Citywalk, one of Delhi-NCR’s landmark lifestyle and commercial hubs.

Established in 2015, Simply Sushi’s menu is curated by Chef Yutaka Saito, a veteran in the Japanese culinary space. Straying away from the notion that sushi revolves around seafood, the menu at this restaurant offers both non-vegetarian and vegetarian varieties.

“When we garnered positive feedback about Simply Sushi from our discerning guests, we learnt about its potential in the F&B segment," Chef Saito said.

Taking the cuisine beyond boundaries of sushi and nigiri, Chef Saito has introduced Japadogs, a Japanese version of the typical American hotdogs, with flavours like teriyaki, kimchi and chilli bean.

The Sumptuous Sunday Brunch The Claridges, New Delhi is now hosting Sunday Brunch. The ongoing Sunday Brunch was started on 19th November, and it is expected to continue till the last week of February, if the weather is conducive. The timings of the Sunday Brunch at The Claridges, New Delhi is from 12.30-3:30 pm.

In fact, this is the right time for hotels in Delhi to host brunches outdoors, which can enable the guests to enjoy the city’s soft winters dappled

with sunshine. The verdant lawns with elegant canopies surrounded by the lush palm trees at the hotel do provide the right backdrop for this ongoing brunch, which can make the pleasant winter afternoons of Delhi more pleasant.

Cold cuts, salads and grilled delicacies comprise the sumptuous fare at the Sunday Brunch of The Claridges, New Delhi. Here the connoisseur of food with global preferences can enjoy the salmon gravlax, parma ham, and chicken roulade with fig chutney. The live grills are serving an array of sea food like black grouper, Andaman’s coral fish, sea bass, baked oyster as well as chicken sausages and fragrant rosemary marinated lamb chops.

Then vegetarians can feast on pesto marinated cottage cheese steaks, broccoli and mushroom skewers, Mediterranean veggies, peas and corn stuffed potatoes to name just a few.

The aficionados of Indian food would also be spoilt for choice, which in this brunch range from the succulent kebabs and the variety of tikkas.

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Three Months Shelf Life Must for Imported Food Items Imported food items in India now need to have minimum 60 percent of shelf life or at least three months to go for expiry, India’s food safety regulator has ruled.

"Customs shall not clear any article of food unless it has a valid shelf life of not less than sixty percent or three months before expiry whichever is less at the time of import," said the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) in a draft notification issued in December.

The food importer needs to register with the Directorate General of Foreign Trade and needs to have a valid importexport code, as per the FSSAI notification.

FSSAI said that it would profile the importer, custom house agent, manufacturer of the imported product, imported product, country of origin, source country of the consignment, port of entry and history of compliance and any other parameters as it deems fit for assessing the risk associated with the commodity.

“The importer shall submit certificate of sanitary export from authorised agencies in exporting countries for the categories of food as may be specified by the food authority from time to time,” the notification said.

Indian Accent Restaurant Opens in London After two successful outposts in New Delhi and New York, fine dining icon Indian Accent, a restaurant of Old World Hospitality Private Limited, is now open in London.

“We are delighted to bring Indian Accent to London,” said Rohit Khattar, Chairman, Old World Hospitality.

“After a successful run of our other restaurant, ‘Chor Bizarre’ for 20 years at the same location, we hope London embraces Indian Accent with the same warmth,” Khattar said.

Indian Accent’s contemporary spin on traditional recipes — both home dishes and food from lesser known Indian regions and

communities — has made it a sought-after destination for modern Indian food in India.

At the newly opened Indian Accent restaurant in London, Chef Manish Mehrotra has highlighted rarely seen Indian food such as makhan malai, a medieval dish made of aerated milk infused with saffron; and playful presentations such as the ghee roast lamb with roomali roti pancakes, inspired by the format for Peking duck.

The London restaurant at 16 Albemarle Street also features local produce and creative spins on British classics such as black pudding stuffed inside kulcha flatbreads.

Dishes such as soy keema, quail egg and lime leaf butter pao, and kashmiri morels, walnut powder, parmesan papad are other highlights of the restaurant's menu.

The cocktail selection at the restaurant comprises Albemarle Chai Punch — a house-made milk punch featuring Batavia Arrack, Earl Grey, and Virgin Amaro. A glass cabinet in the lobby is stocked with a large selection of rare whiskies. Whisky flights are also offered along with wine pairings and premium wine pairings for the Chef’s Tasting Menu.

Set across two floors, the London restaurant, designed by Design LSM, has reimagined materials familiar in Indian architecture. A combination of brass, marble and combed pearl-lustred walls create a contemporary backdrop complete with rich crushed emerald green velvet upholstery.

Here it deserves a mention that the Indian Accent’s New Delhi branch is the only restaurant from India to be featured on the 'The World’s 50 Best Restaurant' list for the past three years.

Its New York branch was ranked among the best new restaurants of 2016 by several publications, including Eater and Time Out. It is currently among the top five restaurants in the city on TripAdvisor.

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Food Service for a Cause Keshav Suri, the Executive Director of The Lalit Suri Hospitality Group, has the credit of successfully organising an awareness event for acid attack survivors, a fashion show for transgender models, meet up events for people with special abilities and also contributing towards making drag shows popular in the country.

In 2018, the hospitality chain is taking forward its theme of inclusivity and diversity. Spreading the message of #purelove, The Lalit Suri Hospitality Group did recently introduce Chef Chris Trapani from Texas to Delhi. Chef Chris Trapani is the first transgender Chef to appear on the Food Network in the United States. He is

not merely a great Chef but an inspiration for the transgender community.

Chef Trapani, a globally celebrated authority on Tex-Mex Food,

recently took a five-city tour, visiting New Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Kolkata and Chandigarh. The tour began on 10th January in Delhi and ended on 19th January in Chandigarh.

During his visit in Delhi, Chef Chris along with The Lalit Food Truck Company Chefs conducted a skill development workshop for the members of transgender community, at The LaLiT New Delhi.

The aim of this workshop was to share anecdotes on how to set up and run a successful food truck & catering business and follow the passion for food. The workshop concluded with a live cook off session by the participants, judged by Chef Chris and the hotel’s Executive Chef Ajay Kumar, followed by a meet and greet.

The Chef also prepared a scrumptious meal for the members of media community & the participants of the workshop, with an endeavour to give them an authentic taste of Tex-Mex cuisine.

Keshav Suri expressed his enthusiasm on the prospect of introducing India to the culinary skill of Chef Chris. “I am immensely pleased with Chef Chris’s visit to India and in his joining us in this initiative to continuously support the marginalised communities,” he asserted.

Yumlok to Open 50 Outlets by 2020 Bengaluru’s popular street food restaurant chain Yumlok has announced plans to increase the number of its outlets from current three to 50 by 2020. The company is aiming to establish 100 stores in about five years.

Targeted at the youth, Yumlok specialises in serving north Indian meal combos, Delhi-style chaats, and some Indo-Western fusion dishes that are a blend of western recipes with Indian spices.

“Currently all of our stores are 4-star plus rated across all major food search platforms such as Zomato, Swiggy, Magic Pin, etc. Our stores are also one of the highest order generators in online ordering platforms like Zomato online ordering and Swiggy,” said Avinash Gupta, Founder and CEO of Yumlok.

Yumlok said it was planning to open its fourth store soon at Bengaluru’s Harlur Road. The company has identified five other cities in India — besides Bengaluru – for its expansion drive.

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Wai Wai City Plans to Go Global, to Set Up 1,500 Outlets by 2022 Quick service noodle bar Wai Wai City (WWC) said it was working on its international roll-out across the Middle East, Southeast Asia, and Europe with a target of 1,500 global outlets by 2022.

An initiative of CG Corp Global, the parent company behind Wai Wai Noodles, Wai Wai City has already sold rights to 17 states in India for its quick expansion.

“We expect to grow at a CAGR (compound annual growth rate) of 22 percent over the next three years,” said Varun Chaudhary, Executive Director of CG Corp Global.

An aggressive expansion plan in the last three months has seen the brand move from a single flagship outlet in Delhi/NCR region to 13 outlets across the country.

Their current footprint of the chain includes two outlets in Delhi/NCR and two in Pune; and one outlet each in Siliguri, West Bengal; Chandigarh; Vadodara; Chennai; Hyderabad; Lucknow; Kolkata; Surat; and Bhuvneshwar.

Upcoming launches include outlets in Agra, Pondicherry, Dehradun, and Mumbai along with the third outlet in Pune, Wai Wai City said in a statement.

Olives from Spain Attracts Guests at the Show At the 15th Uppercrust Food & Wine Show, which was held during 8th10th December in Mumbai, visitors indulged themselves in a party of flavours, trying wide variety of products and food brands. Olives from Spain participated in the event. It showcased Spanish olives marinated with Indian spices and condiments. At the Olives from Spain stand, guests were captivated by the different flavours and textures and by the Spanish olives in marinades prepared by Chef Saransh Goila.

Chef Saransh also shared his culinary skills and knowledge to an enthusiastic audience in his two Master Classes; presenting two Indian recipes with the taste and texture of Spanish olives in them. In his first Master Class, he delighted the non-vegetarian

visitors by cooking mustard prawns with a green olive rice poha. In his second Masterclass, he cooked a delicious vegetarian jackfruit biryani with black and green Spanish olives, giving the dish a juicy appetising variation.

For a fourth year in a row, Olives from Spain is targeting India as a key market for international promotional campaigns. One of the main activities of this promotional campaign has been the participation of Olives from Spain at the 15th Uppercrust Food & Wine Show.

Here it deserves a mention that Spain is the world leader in table olive production. It exports olives to more than 120 countries, representing 40 percent of the global market. The main markets for Spanish olives are the US, Italy, Germany and France. Since 2007, Olives from Spain has targeted other potential markets, India being one of them, where consumption of olives is steadily increasing. To continue with this positive trend, the campaign is focused on presenting ideas for integrating olives into the Indian diet. It also focuses on sharing the nutritional benefits and the importance of olives in the Mediterranean diet.

For information about Spanish olives and recipes, visit www. olivesfromspain.in or join Facebook@olivesfromspainindia or Instagram@olivesfromspainindia for updates.

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Review of GST for Restaurants Unlikely Despite intense lobbying by National Restaurant Association of India (NRAI) to restore the benefit of input tax credit (ITC) for eateries, the government is unlikely to make the necessary changes to the goods and service tax (GST) regime to bring back the ITC benefits, according to media reports.

The GST Council on 10th November removed 178 items from the highest 28 per cent category while cutting the tax on all restaurants outside starred-hotels to five percent, but withdrew input credit facility for them.

Many restaurants increased menu prices after the withdrawal of the ITC benefits – a move which did not go down well with the government. This led representatives of NRAI to meet the Finance Ministry officials and explain to them the circumstances that led some of its members to increase prices of menu items.

Restaurant owners argued that their cost involves not only food.

The rent payment, which in some cases adds up to 18-20 percent of the cost, is a substantial part of their spending. Moreover, even furniture and electronic goods, which are other cost components for restaurants, face high GST levy, according to the owners.

But despite these concerns of the restaurant owners, the government was unlikely to review the GST regime to restore ITC benefits, The Times of India reported on 4th December citing government sources.

Virwani Acquires Controlling Interest in JSM Corp Jitendra Virwani, the Chairman and Managing Director of real estate developer Embassy Group, has acquired controlling interest in Mumbai-based F&B company JSM Corp that operates several popular restaurant chains in India such as Hard Rock Café and Panda Express, among others.

The property baron partnered Sanjay Mahtani, one of JSM’s founders, to acquire shares held by Wipro chairman Azim Premji’s investment arm, Premji Invest, and other exiting investors, The Times of India reported on 13th December.

The Virwani and Mahtani duo now holds 95 percent stake in the company, according to the report.

“I have acquired slightly over 60 percent stake in the company,” Virwani was quoted as saying.

“I see big opportunity to expand Panda Express across malls, business parks, college campuses in India. I am not planning anything adventurous on the rest of the businesses,” he added.

Co-founded by Mahtani and Jay Singh, the JSM portfolio includes a repertoire of some of India’s most well known independent restaurants. The group also brought international restaurant brands such as Hard Rock Cafe to the country. The company operates other F&B brands like frozen dessert chain Pinkberry, Big Kahuna, Ginger Tiger and Asilo.

Goa Tourism Properties to Feature Food Courts Goa Tourism Development Corporation (GTDC) Chairman Nilesh Cabral said that most properties of the corporation were in the process of adding food courts.

Besides providing convenience to tourists, the initiative is also expected to help provide new employment opportunities to the youth of the state.

Speaking at the inauguration of a new food court at Baga, Cabral, however, warned that sub-letting of stalls would not be tolerated.

The Baga food court will have 18 stalls which are expected to run on solar energy. The Goa government also had plans to build an open-air auditorium at Baga property, Michael Lobo Goa Legislative Assembly Member & Deputy Speaker, who was also present at the function, said.

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Sweet Magic Ventures into Packaged Food Category

MM Fisheries Enters the Retail Segment MM Fisheries, which has been engaged in trading of imported and premium quality basa fish, fresh sea food and frozen poultry meat products in different cuts, across pan-India, and was catering primarily to the HORECA segment of the country, has entered the retail segment too, in a big way, in the recent past. The five-decade-old company has a comprehensive supply chain in northern India.

The company that has been supplying imported basa fish, sea food and poultry meat products to hotels, restaurants, caterers and banquets, is now also engaged in supplying to households. The company’s retail business or retail arm is named as Good to go. Good to go perhaps offers Delhi-NCRs 1st web and app-based meat delivery service by the name of goodtogostore.com through which orders can be placed by the customers. They also have two retail stores under the same brand and are expanding through franchisee in the coming year. Presently, the wholesale distribution business of MM Fisheries is confined to Delhi-NCR, Mumbai, Chandigarh, and other areas of Punjab.

With the launch of 'wheat rusk' early in December, Sweet Magic Foods, a leading sweets and bakery products brand in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, marked its foray into the packaged food category.

Unveiling the product, Sweet Magic Foods's Managing Director AVS Vara Prasad said that 'rusk' is a high growth segment which is expected to grow at 25 percent and become Rs. 5,000-crore market in India by 2020.

Sweet Magic is eying 10 percent of India's rusk market share by 2019.

The company has a turnover of Rs. 30 crore and the rusk unit of the group may require investment of about Rs. 10 crore.

European Cheese Showcased in India The European Union and CNIEL (National Interprofessional Center of the Dairy Economy, France) organised events in New Delhi and Mumbai in December to showcase the rich variety of cheeses from France and other parts of Europe.

CNIEL is a privately-run organisation whose main objective is to promote dairy products and to facilitate relationships between dairy producers and processors.

The events introduced members of the media (food journalists, critics, bloggers and culinary specialists), food importers, Chefs and restaurateurs to tastes of fine vegetarian cheese from Europe.

The event in Mumbai was held at Sofitel Mumbai hotel on 11th December and in New Delhi, the event took place at the Lodhi — The Garden Restaurant on 13th December.

François Robin, recognised as one of the best cheesemongers in France, prepared various delicacies with European cheese and Indian spices for the guests.

Mansi Jasani, the Founder of the Cheese Collective in Mumbai, spoke about consumption of European cheese by Indians and offered several suggestions on how and when to consume cheese, and how to present them.

Even though the consumption of cheese has increased by 15-20 percent in India in the recent years, India's consumption of cheese is quite low as compared to the global average consumption of cheese.

Per capita consumption of cheese in India is a mere 200 gms per year in contrast to the global average of 7 kg per annum, according to an estimate. But with a large section of the people opening up to acquiring new tastes, food habits in the country are changing.

With a market share of around 13 percent, France ranks as the third largest supplier of cheese to India, after Italy and Denmark.

Types of Cheese Soft : Ripened from the outside in with a white rind, often runny at room temperature. Examples: Brie, Camembert, Reblochon.

Semi-soft: Smooth or creamy interior with little or no rind. Flavour ranges from mild to pungent. Examples: Raclette, Morbier.

Hard: Firm texture with tastes ranging from mild to pungent; easy to grate. Examples: Emmental, Beaufort, Mimolette, Tomme de Savoie.

Blue: Green or blue veining caused by the addition of the mould penicillium roqueforti during production. Examples: Bleu de Auvergne, Bleu de Gex.

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Meet us at AAHAR 2018 Hall No. 9

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a p p oi n t m e n t be responsible for bringing in fresh exciting twists to the modern Asian delicacies.

Tarun Dacha Th e C l a r i d g es H ote l , N ew D e l h i h as appointed Tarun Dacha as the Corporate Chef. Chef Dacha brings with him decades of experience in the hospitality industry.

Beginning with the ITDC, Dacha has had the opportunity to work with the Hilton Group, The Marriott Group, Radisson, Old World Hospitality and the Sarovar Group.

Dacha became the youngest winner of 'Golden Hat' at the 11th Annual Chef Awards, organised by the Indian Culinary Forum (ICF). He won the 'Silver Hat' in 2012.

Over the years, Dacha has travelled around the world, gathering knowledge of ingredients.

Kapil Dubey Kapil Dubey has been appointed as the Executive Chef of the The Den hotel in Bengaluru.

C h ef D u b ey b r i n g s w i t h h i m r i c h culinary experience acquired from over 15 years of experience in the industry.

He began his career with Park Hyatt Goa Resort & Spa in 2002 and then got associated with One & Only Royal Mirage Hotel, Dubai; Four Seasons Resort Landaa Giravarru Maldives; Ritz Carlton, Dubai; JW Marriott, Mumbai; The Westin P u n e ; J W M a r r i ott A bs h e ro n , B a ku , Azerbaizan; The Westin Gurgaon New Delhi, and Sheraton Hyderabad Hotel, India.

Cheang Chee Leong JW Marriott Mumbai Juhu hotel has appointed Chef Cheang Chee Leong as the new Chinese Chef at Dashanzi; a modern Asian cuisine restaurant of the hotel. With a career spanning over 18 years, Chef Leong has worked with renowned hotel brands located in the Middle-East and across other parts of Asia. His expertise in the culinary field has brought him managerial certification from renowned hospitality brands such as Shangri-La and Fairmont.

Chef Leong focuses on marrying Cantonese sensibilities with local preferences to celebrate the authentic flavours of Chinese cuisine.

In his new role at Dashanzi, Chef Leong will

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Chatterjee had worked with Accor Hotels as the Operations Manager of Lavasa International Convention Centre in Pune, Maharashtra, while also overlooking the operations at Mercure Lavasa Hotel.

His previous assignments include working with Novotel Kolkata Hotel & Residences; Novotel Ahmedabad; The Westin Mumbai Garden City; The Resort, Mumbai; P&O Cruises, UK; and The Ambassador, Mumbai.

C h atte r j e e h o l d s a t h re e - ye a r d i p l o m a i n h ot e l m a n a g e m e n t a n d catering technology from the Institute of Advanced Management in Kolkata.

Pankaj Kumar The Westin Pune Koregaon Park has appointed Pankaj Kumar as the Director of Food and Beverage. Kumar brings with him over 12 years of rich experience in the hospitality industry. His previous stint was with the Hyatt Regency Mumbai.

Kumar, who began his hospitality career with Grand Hyatt Mumbai, is winner of several awards, including the Ciroc Bartender of the Year in 2008, at Taj Lands End, Mumbai.

Pannkaj Neeraj Surajit Chatterjee Sarovar Hotels & Resorts has appointed Surajit Chatterjee as the General Manager of Park Plaza Ludhiana in Punjab. A passionate hotelier with over 20 years of experience in the hospitality industry, Chatterjee brings with him hands-on experience in operation management, inventory management, quality- customer relationship management, team management and in pre-opening hotels.

Prior to joining Sarovar Hotels & Resorts,

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CG Corp Global has announced the appointment of Pannkaj Neeraj as the CEO for Wai Wai City. He brings along more than 18 years of experience in the QSR and F&B retail space.

After graduating from IHM Bhopal, he had played pivotal roles in management positions with prominent brands in the F&B industry such as Pizza Hut, Barista Lavazza, Gloria Jean's Coffees, Krispy Kreme Doughnuts, Fish & Co. (a Singapore-based QSR chain), among others.

His last assignment before taking on this new role was with Barista Coffee as the Chief Operating Officer.

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R e p ort

Who is to Blame for Kamala Mills Fire in Mumbai?

Reports suggest that the fire, which killed 14 people, started from the Mojo’s Bistro restaurant due to fire embers emanating from the fanning of charcoal kept for use in hookah

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n the intervening night of 28th December and 29th December 2017, 28-year-old Khushbu Bhansali celebrated her birthday at a rooftop pub at Kamala Mills compound in Lower Parel area of Mumbai. Moments later, a fire engulfed the building where the pub was located and Khushbu passed away, even before the celebrations died down. She was not alone on that fateful night. Along with Khushbu, 13 other people breathed their last. Most of those died – 11 of the 14 – were women. All the victims died of asphyxia while they took shelter in a toilet on the terrace of the '1 Above' pub. More than 50 others got injured.

But in its preliminary investigation report, the Mumbai Fire Brigade Department said that the fire started from another pub in the building, named Mojo's Bistro, and not from 1 Above as earlier believed.

Flying embers from illegal hookah served at Mojo's Bistro was the probable cause of the massive fire, the report noted.

“It was revealed from most of the eye witnesses that hookah was served at Mojo’s Bistro at the time of fire…

There is every possibility that during removal of lighted charcoal from the segree (stove) and or transferring it into hookah or during the fanning of the charcoal the flying burning embers came in contact with the combustible curtains/ decorative material nearby and started the fire,” the report observed.

The fire brigade department further mentioned about various violations by the two restaurant owners. It mentioned that the restaurants had unauthorisedly covered

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the open air terrace with combustible materials and the fire escape balconies on all the floors were enclosed/encroached, blocking the escape route. It further noted that Mojo's Bistro failed to produce the necessary permission/trade license and 1 Above did not have the necessary permission for hookah parlour and liquor bar.

More than a fortnight after the incident, the Commissioner of the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM) — also known as Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), Ajoy Mehta had submitted an inquiry report to the Maharashtra government.

According to the report, BMC's Assistant Co m m i ss i o n e r, P ra kas h S a k p a l e a n d Bhagyashree Kapse were found guilty, Zee News reported this on 21st January.

Citing the fire brigade department report, the BMC enquire committee report on Kamala Mills fire incident said that the owners of the two restaurants — Mojo's Bistro and 1 Above — “seem to have violated all the rules, regulations of constructions and fire safety norms.”

The BMC report backed the findings of the fire brigade department and concluded that the fire started from the Mojo’s Bistro restaurant due to fire embers emanating from the fanning of charcoal kept for use in hookah.

It however added that the role of 1 Above restaurant in this disaster is no less than that of the Mojo’s Bistro restaurant. “They had constructed a full scale restaurant illegally in the open terrace under their possession,” the report said.

The Municipal Commissioner's report also found that Kamla Mills allowed illegal

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alterations and usage of terrace by the two pubs.

The tragedy shocked the nation and several people were arrested soon after the incident. Mojo Bistro’s co-owner Yug Pathak was arrested on 5th January. Another co-owner of the restaurant, Yug Tuli, was arrested by the Mumbai Police on 16th January. Mumbai Police also arrested the three 1 Above pub owners — Jigar Sanghvi, Kripesh Sanghvi and Abhijit Mankar.

Following the Municipal Commissioner's re p o rt , M u m b a i Po l i ce m a d e t h re e m o re a r re s t s o n 2 0 t h J a n u a r y.

The arrested men were Ravi Bhandari, Director of Kamala Mills compound; Rajendra Baban Patil, fire brigade official who granted a fire no-objection certification to Mojo’s Bistro from where the blaze started; and Utkarsh Vinod Pande, a hookah supplier, the Hindustan Times reported.

Kamala Mills compound owner Ramesh Govani was also arrested on 22nd January.

Following the incident, a delegation of various associations of hotels and re s ta u ra nts , i n c l u d i n g t h e N at i o n a l Restaurant Association of India (NRAI), met the Municipal Commissioner on 8th January 2018 and expressed their commitment to cooperate with the MCGM to ensure the fire safety compliances. They agreed to start their own process of independent auditing of various restaurants and hotels by experts in the field of fire safety.

The incident exposed lack of seriousness in following the fire safety regulations on the part of the restaurants and building ow n e rs as we l l as i n i m p l e m e nt i n g these regulations by fire safety officials.

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Presenting the Tastes of North India

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esi Vibes, a restaurant chain focused on authentic North Indian and Mughlai cuisine, has one of its three outlets located in Sector 18 of Noida. Me and my friend Ashish happened to visit there some days back. The outlet reflects an honest endeavour to simulate the ambience of a typical Indian village, and the management of the restaurant has been quite successful in that endeavour, thereby contributing towards an ethnic Indian dining experience.

“In Desi Vibes, the theme is that of an Indian village, and this restaurant’s décor has been done while keeping that theme in mind,” said Varun Khera, the Director, Desi Vibes, while talking about the chain’s Noida outlet. “A lot of attention has been paid in the restaurant to the décor details ranging from presence of antique chairs of beaten wood, kancha & pebbles flooring, a small well in the center of the floor, mini cots, etc.,” he expressed.

He also informed that the walls of the outlet were done with actual cow dung!

“The puppets suspended from the ceiling along the bamboo and handi shaped lamps, further facilitates to weave the theme of a traditional Indian village,” Khera elaborated. Of course, as the readers may have expected by now, the service staff at the restaurant is also dressed in kurta dhoti and turban, which goes well along with the theme. The same Indian village theme runs through all the three outlets of Desi Vibes, but the minor detailing in ambience and décor are different in the three outlets.

The 80-seater restaurant, which is spread across two floors and which approximately covers 1500 sq. ft. of area, was opened in June 2005. “The outlet has been faring very well and we have received a tremendous response in terms of both

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Varun Khera footfalls and revenues. The Desi Vibes brand has also grown over the years; we now have three Desi Vibes outlets, the other two being in the Connaught Place and Defence Colony, and two more Desi Vibes outlets are in the pipeline,” informed Khera with a proud smile.

The primary clientele of Desi Vibes chain is the family crowd but that doesn’t mean the restaurants do not get their fair share

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of corporate crowd or youngsters. “I would go to the extent of saying that anybody who likes to eat out and loves north Indian and Mughlai food is our target guest,” proffered Manas Wadhwa, another Director of Desi Vibes. Wadhwa informed that they do both online and offline promotions to e n h a n ce reve n u e s of t h e c h a i n .

We found the dal makhni and butter chicken with naan quite tasty, which followed the heavenly Amritsari Murg Tikka, the sumptuous Murgh Malai Jaffrani and the wonderful Mutton Galafi. Of course, all these dishes were washed down beautifully with glasses of cool shikanji, which is also the welcome drink at the Desi Vibes's outlets. This drink is served complementary at the Desi Vibes's outlets.

“With Desi Vibes, our popular and signature dishes include Hari Bhari Mirch ki Kadhi, Bhutta Methi Palak , Murg Akbari, Bano Tikka, and Murgh Rara,” informed Prem Rawat, the F&B Manager of the Noida outlet of Desi Vibes. “We have many pickles and chutneys in our menu, which are immensely popular. They include Baingan Chutney, Apple Chutney, Navratan Chutney and Dela Pickle among others,” he disclosed.

However, here it deserves a mention that the three outlets under the ambit of Desi Vibes do not serve alcoholic beverages.

The menu at Desi Vibes has recently went through some changes. “We know that nowadays restaurant guests are increasingly looking to be surprised and inspired by their food, and we pride ourselves on designing creative menus with innovative flair. We have recently introduced Potli Kebab, Doranga Seekh, Hari Bhari Mirch ki Kadhi and Aachari Aloo to name some,” pointed out Inder Bahadur, the Executive Chef of the outlet.

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Making

Dining Out

an Experience

Dining out has graduated from being fashionable to being commonplace in urban India. For social get-togethers or for a cosy night out with your loved ones, spending a memorable evening or twilight at one of the restaurants is not at all uncommon nowadays.

If the dining out place has an exotic ambience and gives you a picturesque view of the surroundings, it adds to the pleasure, bliss and contentment of the eating out occasion. Then the dining out occasion can easily become a memorable experience for your friends and family.

People love to visit those F&B outlets which serve not only different and exotic cuisines but also provide an unforgettable ambience, which help etch memories among guests. Ashok Malkani takes a look at some of these wonderful F&B outlets across the Indian food service industry.

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here is no limit to the different ways people take their meals.

They may have it in their bed or in a coffee shop or at a dhaba. Considering the diversity of settings when you are consuming your food, one might rightly ask, just how much does ambience influence the enjoyment of food? Does the atmosphere of an elegant restaurant enhance the pleasure of what is eaten there? Great Chefs and gourmands are all of the view that eating is both a physiological and a psychological act. Where one eats can be as important as what is eaten. The body responds in the most subtle of ways to the surroundings.

Food is very important in a restaurant but many other things come into account in contributing towards the overall dining out experience, says a food connoisseur. It is no co-incidence that some of the highestrated restaurants are also among the most beautiful.

And if you are celebrating a special occasion then you would definitely like to do it at a place that boasts of a superlative

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ambience. Besides this, if the restaurant provides a grand view of the surroundings, it would be like adding cream on the cake.

Overall, there can be no two opinions about the fact that the joy of good food and good company is enhanced by the ambience, décor and scenery around.

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Let us talk about some of the wonderful eating out places, whose dining out experiences can inspire our food service industry in general.

Sky High One of the places that can surely steal

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your heart away, as far as ambience and diversity of cuisine is concerned, is the Skky — hotel Ramada Powai Hotel and Convention Centre’s signature restrolounge and bar, which has been offering one of the first rooftop dining experiences in Mumbai.

As you enter this place, the lush greenery and water fountains can take your breath away. As you are led to a cosy table, and you regain your breath you are thrilled by yet another sight; that of the water fluently travelling along the channel at the back of the table, giving you the feeling of dining near a flowing river!

Add to this the surrounding hills that whistle with cool breezes and the sheer expanse of open skies and twinkling stars above you and your night is definitely made!

As the restaurant’s Assistant Manager, Dheerendra, guided us to the table he came across as an epitome of politeness and courtesy. Here you are presented with a digital menu to make your selection from dishes galore.

As we were making our choice of the food, the bartender, Neelesh, concocted a Lemon Gingergrass Martini, comprising of gin, cointreu, lemon juice, gingergrass and vermouth with a garnishing of ginger slice.

From the vast array of soups you could select the Tom Yam Koong (traditional Thai spiced soup with vegetables, tofu & straw mushrooms). Originating from Thailand & Laos, ‘tom ‘ literally means the process of boiling &’yam’ refers to a spicy salad. Or you can go for Miso Soup (Japanese dashi stock with bonito flakes, soya bean paste,

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mirin, silken tofu , spring onions & wakame seaweed). Dheerendra informed that pure Miso paste though high in sodium, is an excellent source of dietary fibre, protein and minerals.

There are ten salad varieties for you to choose from. You also have a wide range of starters and main meal (vegetarian as well as non-vegetarian) selections that will make it difficult for you to choose only a few.

There are 20 starters and 11 varieties of dim sums at the Skky. The main course (including noodles) is spread across 50 dishes.

One could try the Nasi Goreng (roasted chili tossed rice with prawns, chicken, spring onions; served with fried egg, grilled chicken skewers & prawn crackers). Considered to be the national dish of Indonesia, it literally means fried rice in Indonesia & Malaysia. It traces its origin from the Chinese fried rice.

Phad Thai Shrimps (flat noodles tossed with

Shamsher Ahmed

Hammer Food & Beverage Business Review

Thai exotic vegetables, chili, tamarind, palm sugar & peanuts) is another delectable option worth trying at Skky. This variant of noodle was brought to Thailand by Vietnamese traders. It is a staple food in Thailand now.

Seafood Fried Rice (fried rice with egg yolk, scallions & XO) is another of the option at Skky which is worth trying. Developed in 1980 in Hong Kong for Cantonese cuisine, XO literally means 'extra old cognac.'

From a list of 10 desserts if you think you should go for just one then I would suggest you to opt for Sitaphal Rasmalai (a soft flat cottage cheese dumpling dipped in custard apple flavoured condensed milk) or Cherry Jubilee with Vanilla Ice-cream (black cherries flambéed with brandy on a frozen scoop of classic vanilla ice-cream).

These are a mere handful of delights from the wide range of delectable items on the menu, which runs on and on and offers the guests a wide gamut of F&B choices.

And you can enjoy all these delicacies in a perfect setting for a romantic evening, or for a celebration with family or office colleagues, with the vast sky as the roof.

The Aroma from Jyran If you want to have the best of both worlds, open air ambience and the rich, luxurious setting in an enclosed space – Jyran, at the Sofitel Mumbai BKC, can be the ideal place for you to dine out. Here one can have an enclosed space, created with an artistic sense of design, and as well as an open outdoor space where you can wine and dine under the moonlit sky with bright twinkling stars above, thereby affording an ethereal atmosphere. There are also shamianas in which one could ideally have a tete a tete with one’s adored one or have a family get-together.

Situated on the fourth level, its interiors are done artistically and with the classy French touch. A richness of colours and subtle tones can soothe the eyes and other senses as one enters this imaginatively created arty place. Reds, yellows and greens are visible in and around the restaurant. The colours and elements blend well and are pleasing to the eyes.

The word Jyran has a Persian connect.

Meaning, ‘lost love’, it also symbolises hope and new beginnings. The restaurant denotes the story of a small boy who once befriended an elephant and learnt valuable lessons of life from him. The structure of an elephant is thus prominently placed. It is set over the water feature and one is easily misled into

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imagining that it is walking on water.

The relaxed lounge-style of Jyran invites its guests to sink into the cushion-strewn seats as cocktails are mixed at the bar and mouthwatering aromas drift from the open kitchen. Jyran satiates the appetite of people who crave for different North Indian and Mughlai recipes paired up with an extensive collection of drinks. It is a place for connoisseurs of food and drink.

The restaurant emanates rich flavours and culinary traditions of North-west frontiers, far in Mumbai. Lavishly furnished in a contemporary style, the relaxed lounge-style of Jyran induces you to unwind and enjoy.

The highlights of the beverage section include some heady champagne cocktails like French 75 (gin, lime juice, simple syrup and champagne; this was originally created at Harry’s Bar, Paris, in 1915) or Bastille (Passion Fruit Réduction, red wine, Ciroc Cherry Vodka, and champagne). If you prefer a Martini Magnifique, there are a number of them. One of them is Bon Bon (Bourbon Whisky, spices, pineapple juice, Maple Flambé). There is also a range of classics and signature cocktails at the restaurant.

Succinctly, the comprehensive alcoholic beverage offerings at Jyran range from beer to cognac.

As far as serving food is concerned, Jyran presents a class of its own. The dishes

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from the kitchen are brought on a huge tray, which is set on a stand in front of your table. The food from this is served on your platter from this tray. This is something that is unique and rare.

Farzana, the Manager of the restaurant, came across as courtesy personified, as she ensured that the guests received service par excellence.

The Chef de Cuisine of the restaurant at the time of our visit was Shamsher Ahmed, who is originally from Kanpur. He created delicacies from the North-West frontier province of the country. His gastronomic repertoire included an enticing selection of starters, which were apt with drinks.

Dominic

Hammer Food & Beverage Business Review

If you are a non-vegetarian, at Jyran you must try the Afgani Tangdi Kebab (chicken drumstick marinated with red chillies, yoghurt and fresh cream) or Shahi Galawat ke Kebab. The vegetarians could try Paneer Khas (exotic cottage cheese chunks filled with mint chutney, cooked in clay oven) or Badam Kumbh Galouti Ulte Tawa ka Parathe.

For the main course, Kadhai Jheenga Hara Masala (fresh prawns cooked with onion, tomato and roasted coriander, finished with spring onion) and Raan Changezi (an ineffably aromatic and succulent leg of kid lamb gently massaged with a compound of Mughlai spices, potroast braided and finished in tandoor), are worth many visits to the restaurant.

For the vegetarians, highlights of the menu could be Paneer Lababdar (cottage cheese cooked in onion and tomato gravy) or Kofta Subz Bhara (vegetables and cottage cheese dumplings cooked in rich sauce of tomato, onion and cashew nut gravy).

There are Signature Set Menus besides the Vegetarian and Non-vegetarian Set Menus to ease your task of selecting the various courses at Jyran.

The enjoyment of all these sumptuous fare can be enhanced by the outdoor and indoor settings of the restaurant.

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Get Together at Bar 87 However, if you are in a mood to have a few drinks with friends under twinkling stars, Ramada Powai Hotel and Convention Centre can make that experience for you memorable with Bar 87. You have the option of merry making either in the enclosed space with a huge TV screen or you can do it under the starlit sky in the smoking area.

The courteous service and the signature cocktails make it worth your while to visit this place. The ambience with comfortable sofas is sure to meet the demands of the most fastidious. The Bar Manager, Dominic, came across as personification of courtesy.

If one wants to go for some of the best of signature cocktails at Bar 87 one could

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try the High 87 (Bacardi, Malibu, fresh pineapple juice blended with curacao and chunks of pineapple and finished with grenadine) or the Spicy Pomegranate and Gauva Margarita (tequila, pomegranate, jalapeno and guava juice blended with margarita mix). Among the wide range of bar’s classics one should make it a point to try Rob Roy with J.W. Black Label (Scotch, sweet vermouth, angostura bitters and maraschino cherry).

They also have some delectable snacks like Greek Liver Pate (corn fed chicken liver pate served on crisp bread and drizzled with balsamic glaze) and Chicken Kobab Roll (grilled pita stuffed with cured Spanish bacon and chicken minced skewers, served

Hammer Food & Beverage Business Review

with mint mayonnaise).

High on Hospitality Get the bird’s eye view of Bangalore from High Ultra Lounge, an Asian bar and restaurant; lavishly spread over 10,000 square feet. Located on the 31st floor of the World Trade Center building at a height of 421 feet, it is the highest dining destination in South India. High Ultra Lounge exudes sensuous interiors. The foyers' most arresting feature is a sculpted fluid resin wall that flows into the entrance of 'High Mix'. Its futuristic aesthetics is awash in hues of magenta and purple light and is juxtaposed with warm contrasting walls of vertical slatted timber.

The venue is divided into HIGH Edge, HIGH Dine, HIGH Mix, HIGH View and HIGH LIVE – each offering a different view of the Garden City. Since the USP of High Ultra Lounge is its proximity to the sky and the very fashionable and chic ambience, they have concocted cocktails with fancy names like Constellation (vodka & gin with an infusion of elder flower), Moonlighting (a vodka-based cocktail with subtle flavours of ginger, lemon grass, rose & lychee) and Inception (whiskey with rosemary, vanilla, fresh pineapple and earl grey tea extracts).

Among the signature cocktails you could try the Amethyst Mist (vodka and Asian ginger, cascading to a crisp finish of raspberry & cranberry). It has luxuriant peach & jasmine foam.

Mohammed Khan, the Director of Food & Beverages at the outlet, claimed that they offered classic and comforting Pan Asian food with a slightly modern twist. If one is a non-vegetarian, one can try the spicy

Dec-Jan ’18

celery prawns (succulent deep-fried prawns tossed with celery and chilli) and Chicken Satay (marinated chicken skewers grilled to perfection, served with homemade spicy sour mayo and sweet chilli sauce with peanut) with the drinks. For the vegetarians, the must try are Asparagus with Wasabi Potatoes (jumbo Peruvian asparagus grilled and served on wasabi mashed potatoes) or Cottage Cheese Tomato Compote (grilled sliced cottage cheese glazed with sweet tomato compote). For the main course, you have a variety of rice and noodle dishes besides vegetarian & non-vegetarian dishes. Delightful desserts culminate the meal, along with fascinating Bangalore in the below for company!

Delectable Italian Fare Alfresco by Bene, at Sheraton Grand Bangalore Hotel at Brigade Gateway, is an open air dining outlet with focus on Italian cuisine.

It is a casual dining extension of the award-winning Italian restaurant, Bene; which presents the ideal in-vironment to unwind while you sip through a selection of indigenous cocktails and enjoy the European small bites under the starlit skies.

The restaurant flaunts a casual and contemporary interior, with exposed brick walls, rustic furnishings and wooden furniture; coupled with a lot of green elements like potted plants in an outdoor setting, providing the perfect ambience to enjoy the Garden City’s salubrious climate. The café features upbeat, lively, both contemporary & retro music, which is ideal for millennials.

The place also offers space for live band performances.

“Inspired by Italian classics, the menu at Alfresco by Bene consists of small tapas style presentation, wherein food is served in small portions, giving the guests the freedom to enjoy multiple choices on the menu,” affirmed Chef Alessandro Becchini, Italian Chef de Cuisine at Sheraton Grand Bangalore Hotel at Brigade Gateway.

Some of the signature menu dishes here include Calamari Croccanti, Bene Tortilla — which is a classic egg preparation— Chicken morsels made with sweet paprika, and Prawns Aglio e olio. For the vegetarians, Alfresco by Bene offers a wide variety as well with signature offerings like Three-day-old Burrata served with vine ripened tomatoes, extra virgin olive oil & aged balsamic caviar, and Greek cheese & spinach cigars served with piquant chili dip among others.

Alfresco Signature, the highlight of their cocktail menu, is a gin-based cocktail with refined pure elder flower abstract, where pristine lemon juice is carefully infused with cranberry juice. The beverage makes for a very relaxing concoction. Another popular cocktail, You Can’t Miss Me, is inspired by classics. It combines whisky and campari with delicately muddled celery stick and pineapple, making it a cold weather cocktail, which can be craved this season.

The above few are only some of the wonderful places where dining can become an ethereal experience.

Overall, in almost all metropolitan cities of the country, there are now a number of places for dining with an enchanting setting.

The uplifting ambience and décor and the extraordinary outside scenery together gives a sense of satisfaction and completeness to the experience of dining out.

Our food service industry should be more proactive and come out with more such interesting dining out destinations, where great food complements great ambience. This exercise can give a significant fillip to the industry’s revenues, in the near future. n

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Hammer Food & Beverage Business Review

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BUSINESS

India Gets

Ready to Eat Growing numbers of working women and millennial population combined with hectic work schedules and mushrooming of retail chains have been the key factors towards increasing popularity of the ready-to-eat products and ready-to-cook products among consumers in India.

The RTE segment is growing at a fast pace as a result of the high consumer acceptance for such food products globally. With the market for these products expanding at a rapid pace, it provides entrepreneurs in India with an opportunity to not only cater to the Indian market but also exploit the RTE market globally.

As Indians can now be found all over the globe, and as they are eager to taste their home cooked meals, India’s ready-to-eat and ready-to-cook products have immense export potential.

Ashok Malkani opines that it is a market with lots of promise for small as well as large entrepreneurs.

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Hammer Food & Beverage Business Review

Dec-Jan ’18

T

he food scenario in India is undergoing an enormous change. The days when home cooked mother’s meal was the preferred choice is making way for packaged food. With the trend of nuclear families and more working women, packaged food is becoming more popular, and several enterprising entrepreneurs are keen to enter this lucrative market.

The next 20 years are likely to see India add approximately 245 million youth to its workforce. At the same time, there will also be a rise in the middle-class population, as well as increase in disposable income across the socio-economic spectrum, which could facilitate sustainable growth of the Indian packaged food industry.

According to Euromonitor International, the Indian packaged food market registered double-digit constant value growth in 2016, in line with its performance over 2011-2016 as a whole.

Ready-to-eat and ready-to-cook products play an important role in the packaged food industry.

Impressive Growth It may be noted that major shift in eating habits has been seen in the metropolitan cities of the country. There about 79 percent of households prefer to have instant food due to steep rise in double incomes, standard of living and convenience.

With considerably rising employment opportunities in the country’s urban set-ups, India has been witnessing continuing migration of a large number of people from its rural and semi-urban pockets to tier -I and tier-II cities. This has been consequently providing a huge impetus to RTE and RTC food products market in India, especially over the last five years.

“The Indian middle class, in particular, is witnessing a paradigm shift in its lifestyle and living standards. Presently, nuclear families and bachelors residing in metropolitan cities for academic and employment purposes are among the major consumers of RTC food products in the country. Due to cultural diversities, companies are increasingly focusing on launching regional RTC products,” stated NIIR Project Consultancy Services.

Another factor driving the penetration of RTE and RTC food products in India is their abundance across major retail chains, hypermarkets and supermarkets in the country.

According to NIIR Project Consultancy Services, the demand for ready-to-eat food in India is growing fastest in metros where a lot of working people don't get enough time to cook elaborate meals.

Dec-Jan ’18

Hammer Food & Beverage Business Review

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BUSINESS According to TechSci Research’s report titled ‘India Ready-to-eat Food Market Forecast & Opportunities, 2019’, the Indian RTE food market was projected to grow at a CAGR of 21.99 percent during 2014-19, in value terms. The report was published in August 2014. The report noted that increasing workforce, improving consumer lifestyle, and expanding retail formats were the key drivers buoying growth in RTE food products’ demand in the country.

According to TechSci Research’s report titled ‘India Ready-to-Cook Food Market Forecast & Opportunities, 2019,’ the RTC food products market in India is estimated to have touched 120 million USD in 2014.

The RTC food market has been segmented into dessert mixes, snack mixes and curry making enablers. Of these three product categories, dessert mixes outperformed other product segments in 2013 and were expected to continue their dominance through 2019. The report was published in January 2015.

Retail Powered Supermarkets, convenience stores and hypermarkets are emerging as the key points-of-sale for RTE food products in the country. They are offering a wide range of RTE food products manufactured by leading companies such as ITC, Kohinoor, Haldiram’s, McCain, MTR, etc.

Expanding retail formats are the key drivers towards buoying growth in RTE food products demand in the country. Another factor contributing to boosting the demand for these products is their wide availability online.

Karan Chechi, Research Director with TechSci Research, has stated, “Retail chains are the key contributors in increasing the awareness about the ready-to-eat products among consumers. The presence of retail players such as Big Bazaar, Easyday, etc., is also contributing towards increasing the

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Brand Image Change MTR Foods, one of the important players in India’s RTC segment, did realise that its brand needs an image makeover to reflect the needs of the key consumers of India of our times. Its target group has now shifted from the homemaker to all adults, with specific focus on the youth. It has, thus, changed its logo and packaging. The company has also shifted its geographical perspective from being predominantly south Indian company to being a pan-Indian company. It has, now, a balanced portfolio of north and west Indian products.

It has recently launched two large scale products – Spicy Sambar for the southern clientele, and 3 Minute Brakfast, with a national focus.

"While the overall acceptance of quicker meal formats has grown, we are not seeing the trend of preference changing from one category to another. Our mixes portfolio contributes 34 percent to our business. The RTE segment — which includes snacks, meals and desserts — contributes 8-10 percent of our business," disclosed Sunay Bhasin, CMO, MTR Foods.

demand for ready-to-eat food products in the country. However, as of now, such chains are not vastly present in the semi-urban and rural areas of India. Nevertheless, expansion plans of major retailers, across rural and semi-urban areas, in the coming years, are expected to increase consumer awareness and availability of ready-to-eat products in India in the coming years, thereby driving the country’s ready-to-eat food market.”

Heat and Eat One of the sub-groups of ready-to-cook food is heat and eat food. According to ValueNotes, the heat and eat food industry in India, valued at Rs. 2,370 million in FY 2014, has been growing at a CAGR of 18 percent over the last three years. It estimates that the industry will be worth approximately Rs. 6,405 million by FY 2019, growing at a CAGR of 22 percent. The heat and eat food industry can be segmented into curries, rice delicacies, light meals and desserts. According to retailers, the most popular heat-and-eat items include preparations of paneer, chana masala, rajma masala and pav bhaji, noted NIIR Project Consultancy Services.

This segment in the country is currently dominated by the top five players, viz.

ITC, MTR Foods, Kohinoor Foods, Gits and Tasty Bite Eatables. ITC and MTR together contribute to about 49 percent of the market share, while the other three players make up 35 percent of the total production of heat and eat food in the country. Other players in the category include ADF Foods,

Hammer Food & Beverage Business Review

Priya Foods and Heinz who are relatively new entrants in the market with limited product lines, having a regional presence.

Key Factors According to India Ready-to-eat Food Market Forecast & Opportunities, 2019, northern and western regions of the country are the key revenue contributors in the RTE food market, with major demand emanating from cities like Delhi-NCR, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, etc. The report observed that segment wise, shelf stable RTE food demand exceeded that of frozen RTE food in the country. This is attributable to the fact that frozen RTE food needs proper refrigeration for maintaining their shelf life.

However, high prices of RTE food products can be a major challenge to their growth in India as Indian consumers are innately price conscious and their preferences generally change with even slight change in price. This encourages RTE companies to come up with a variety of high-quality RTE food products in affordable price range.

Innovations in the packaging industry like sophisticated packaging products made of biaxially-oriented polyethylene terephthalate (BOPET), biaxially-oriented polypropylene (BOPP) and cast polypropylene (CPP) films have facilitated packaged food industry players to offer products in colourful packs , which can increase these products' market potential. Thus we can see that sophisticated packaging solutions has in

Dec-Jan ’18

Dec-Jan ’18

Hammer Food & Beverage Business Review

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BUSINESS turn can give a fillip to the ready-eat and ready-to-cook segment in India.

Newer preservation techniques have led to the advent of ready-to-eat products which are suitable for consumers during fasting season. Extruded products and those with different shapes and tastes have been some of the innovations which have widened the consumer base for the ready to—eat industry in the country.

Buoyant Snacks Market It may be mentioned that ready-to-cook and ready-to-eat market does not merely consist of meals for lunch or dinner. Data research company Nielsen states that the breakfast mixes market is growing at 17 percent in India and is currently pegged at Rs. 275 crore.

Sunay Bhasin, CMO, MTR Foods, has stated, “Ready-to-eat is a huge category with numerous sub-categories. Our core category is the breakfast category and its biggest market in the country is North India. For curries, which come in pouches or trays and can be taken straight off the shelf and eaten, we have 30 odd-products. Then there is the breakfast category wherein one needs to add hot water to the product, and there is no cooking involved. This category doesn’t have any big players, currently. Next is the ready-to-eat sweet category which also sees competition from local sweet shops. In this, obviously, we have a much smaller base.”

In the ready-to-eat market of the country, the snacks market too is enormous. This market comprises biscuits and namkeens and several other confectionery products.

According to industry sources, India’s snack food market is growing at 25 percent CAGR. India is one of the largest snack markets in the Asia-Pacific region. India contributes three percent to the total Asia-Pacific snack market’s revenue. The Indian market has more than 1000 types of snacks presently.

The branded salty snacks market in India has come a long way since the

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1990s, when the market was marked by the presence of brands like Haldiram’s and Uncle Chipps (eventually acquired

by Pe p s i Co ) . Th e re were few other regional brands floating around.

Acco rd i n g to a Technopak’s report, “The market registered a major leap in the mid 90s when beverage major PepsiCo introduced Lay’s and Cheetos, and later, Kurkure. Since then, many national and regional players have forayed into the space with diverse offerings. Post 2005, consumer products companies like ITC (with Bingo) and Parle Agro (with Hippo) also entered the market, and, in 2009, CavinKare also made inroads into the market through the acquisition of Garden Namkeens.” Several organised retailers have introduced their private labels in this promising market space.

There has been a change in tastes of youngsters as far as snacks are concerned. Indian youth seem to have recovered their taste for traditional snacks l i ke f a r s a n , b h u j i a a n d namkeen. This has given a boost to local firms like Balaji, Bikanervala, Prataap Snacks, Bikaji Foods and DFM Foods among others.

G i ve n t h e i n c re as i n g co n ce r n s s u r ro u n d i n g ‘unhealthy’ snacking, now many snack players in the country have positioned brands and products around ‘health’, e.g. baked, roasted, multigrain, low fat, etc. to reach out to the health conscious segments. This has helped them target a larger consumer base across the country.

Chandu Virani, the Promoter of Balaji Wafers, avers that the company has brought in healthier variants, covered more territories like Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, and reduced overhead costs, to enable it to post a 14 percent sales growth last fiscal.

On an average, regional snack brands operating in the country offer 30 percent higher volume than multinational rivals at similar price points, especially in highest selling price points of Rs. 5 and Rs. 10.

Euromonitor expected the salty

Hammer Food & Beverage Business Review

snacks segment to surpass biscuits with sales of nearly Rs. 35,801 crore by 2020, up from Rs. 19,151 crore in 2015.

Promising Future However, the ready-to-eat and ready-to-cook industry in the country still has untapped segments, which includes a largely underpenetrated rural market. Furthermore, export opportunities are rising with India’s growing integration with the global economy, and thus the export market for ready-to-eat and ready-to-cook products from the country does have great promise.

The fact that per capita consumption of food in India is much lower than that of the developed economies also offers good potential for ready-to-eat and ready-to-cook players to achieve success in the Indian market. This fact has been recognised by many companies, including the global ones, which are increasingly investing in India.

A n d of co u rs e, t h e p re d o m i n a nt l y yo u n g demographics of India and the rising number of nuclear families with working couples in urban areas also portends a bright future for the readyto-eat and ready-to-cook segment in the country.

For new entrepreneurs desirous of entering the RTE and RTC segments of the Indian food industry it may be mentioned that certain snacks are specific to certain regions of the country. So if one does not have sufficient funds, one can have a slim portfolio of products or have a single category which is popular within a small geographic range comprising of a single state or city.

However, in order to succeed in the RTE and RTC segments in India, the producers have to take into account of the fact that India is a highly price-sensitive market, where even slight change in pricing can alter brand preferences, especially in the mass market. At the same time, the Indian market is ripe as far as accepting innovations are concerned. Health consciousness in the Indian society too, is on the rise.

Thus success route lies in coming up with innovative RTE and RTC products, preferably endowed with health quotient, which are also affordably priced. n

Dec-Jan ’18

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Food Service Going Digital

By Swarnendu Biswas

I

t doesn’t deserve a mention that we are passing through digital age, which can be easily construed as an advanced stage of information age. This digital age is likely to pave in to the robotic age with its artificial intelligence, within a decade or two.

Over the years, we have seen that the new-age innovations of our times have been applied by several industries, with the objective to decrease costs, increase efficiency; to increase revenues and profits.

Over the recent years, for innumerable corporate players such objectives have b e e n t ra n s l ate d f ro m p ote nt i a l i nto welcome realities. The Indian food services industry has also applied an array of new-age innovations of our digital age with the above-mentioned objectives and many players in the industry have

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obviously reaped success in this regard.

We can expect that in the near future, the applications of new-age information technologies of the digital age are expected to be more pronounced in the Indian food services industry.

There are various ways the information technology can facilitate towards enhancing customer satisfaction of restaurant guests.

There are also various ways by which digitalisation can offer potential for enhanced revenues and profits for the restaurateurs. Some of these routes are already evident, some are pregnant in the future. "Next 10 years are big for 'out-ofhome dining and here the technology is going to be the game changer. Innovation and customisation are the mantra of today's Indian food service business,"

Hammer Food & Beverage Business Review

expressed Rohit Mahajan, the Founder, Loofre.com and Managing Partner with K5 Brand Solutions Pvt. Ltd.

Online Food Delivery The online food ordering is now old hat, but if done well, it can pose a serious challenge to the conventional restaurant business in the future. From the entrepreneur’s side, the establishment costs tend to be much less as compared to conventional restaurant business, and from the consumer’s viewpoint, online food ordering can save the cost of commuting and traffic hassles, which in turn leads to saving of time and saving oneself from tension. And who doesn’t know that in today’s post-modern age, time is not money but greater than money. It is

Dec-Jan ’18

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heartening to know that according to a RedSeer report, the online food delivery industry in India grew from an estimated gross merchandise value of 120million USD to an estimated gross merchandise value of 300 million USD between 2015 and 2016.

This is despite the fact the many roadblocks were faced by the online food delivery business in India, during 2016. "India’s online food delivery industry experienced many roadblocks in its growth story in 2016 with multiple players scaling down their operations or shutting shop. This was also visible in low investor sentiment wherein the industry saw a total funding of less than 80 million USD in 2016 against 500 million USD during the same period, in the year before," RedSeer observed.

One can say that despite the teething troubles, the potential of online food delivery business in the country is huge, and restaurants too are using online platforms to extend their reach.

For though the investors may have shown loss of faith in online food delivery business in India during 2015-2016, online food delivery is popular among Indian consumers. And what is more important that this popularity is only expected to increase with the years to come, as urban middle class India is having less and less time. And consumers' demand is perhaps what matters for the food service business the most.

Customisation of Menu Already restaurants are having tablets in place of paper menu for the guests to order their preferred dishes in an interactive manner. Online reservation apps are getting vogue in the Indian food service business, but as the competition intensifies in this field, the ones who would provide the exciting and exclusive deals unfailingly would thrive.

Online food delivery of digital age is complemented by the happening trend of digitally powered table reservation. “Loofre is a next generation table reservation platform through which we want to define the experience of dining in a new way.

Through Loofre, we are helping restaurants grow by increasing their footfall, and facilitating the diners to discover the perfect

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f e a ture table according to their mood, cuisine, budget, ambience and in finding the best restaurants nearby to them with best possible offers. Loofre.com is not merely limited to table reservation, it has more to offer. Team Loofre makes sure that our customers are updated about all the happenings in the city, be it the best offers available in the city or the most happening party thrown,” elaborated Mahajan.

But the time is ripe for advance booking of menu and customisation of menu. One of the ways these two facets can be merged is through customisation of the menu in advance. Though advance booking of menu sounds futuristic in India, but this writer thinks that soon it would be a reality. Let us explore this further. For example, a family is thinking of dining at a fine dining or a casual dining restaurant in the evening. In this evolved digital age, they should also have the option of selecting the dishes they want to have at the restaurant in advance after browsing through the restaurant’s menu; being displayed at the concerned restaurant’s website or on its Facebook page for that matter.

The restaurant’s website should have the user-friendly technical option for its future guests to select the dishes they want to have at the given restaurant (let us name the restaurant as restaurant A) in advance.

The guests can copy those preferred items and paste them in a special Feedback section of the restaurant’s website, which would be different from the usual Feedback section of the website.

This special Feedback section of the website of the restaurant A can be termed as ‘Feedback to the Kitchen,’ and here the feedback could be accessed and worked upon by two or three dedicated personnel

Tanya Agrawal on a continuous basis through the entire operating hours of the restaurant A. Then the future guests can write a note saying that they want these ‘selected’ dishes to be served within five minutes of reaching their restaurant or within ten minutes of reaching the restaurant or as soon as they reach the restaurant(as per their preferences), and also specify what kind of ingredients or oils they want in those dishes.

Of course, the future guests should also mention the date and expected time of their coming to the restaurant and how much time it is expected for them to come from their home/offices/other destinations to the given restaurant. Preferably they should inform the Feedback team of the restaurant when they start their commuting to the restaurant concerned.

Another hot and happening trend in the Indian food service business, which can gather momentum in the near future is the mobile payments. “Mobile payments are the current trend and it will contribute towards customer ease. Also now we are in a space where technology is going to be part of the ambience of the restaurant,” observed Mahajan.

Opportunities and Challenges We can say that digital revolution has on the one hand opened new floodgates of opportunities for restaurant business, but on the other hand, it has compelled food service business to be more accountable and watchful of quality and hygiene.

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

In this digital age if a restaurant falters in

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Hammer Food & Beverage Business Review

terms of taste, ambience or hygiene, there is not only chance of getting quick adverse criticism but those adverse views can go viral in digital platforms in extremely quick time span.

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

This digital age has come across as double-edged sword for the food services industry. If you do better than the guests’ expectations, the use of this sword can quickly take you to success, by cutting through competition, and if you do badly than the guests’ expectations, the same double-edged sword can cut down on your revenues very quickly. Succinctly, the digital age has made the present day restaurant business, which of course includes the Indian restaurant business, much more responsive to the guests’ feedback than they were a decade before.

Naturally then the outcome of the continuation and further maturation of this digital age is extremely likely to make the guests more valued and revered for the food services business at large.

“We can expect that in the Indian food services industry, especially in posh restaurants across metropolitan cities, reputation management would assume great importance in the future,” affirmed Mahajan.

Of course, digital age has given the restaurateurs enough potential to escalate their revenues and profits within a short period of time. For example, through Facebook, restaurants/restaurant chains can promote their special packages or innovative events or the news of opening of a new outlet without incurring much cost.

Social media is a much more affordable medium than print or electronic to promote your outlet. “The whole ecosystem of consuming and disseminating information has undergone complete change. These days we are very much dependent or rely on information on digital form. Most often we first get important news on social media.

And expectedly, food service business which operate in the service sector, has been hugely impacted by it. The best thing about the social media is that it allows you to create relationship with your guests on a real time basis, transcending geographical b o u n d a r i es , ” o p i n e d Ta n ya Ag rawa l ,

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Rajesh Khanna Director, Shri Radha Brij Vaundhara Resort and Spa, located in Mathura. She believes that “Social media is an apt platform to talk about your new promotions and services, at almost negligible cost, to a large audience.”

“Digitisation has been playing an important and interactive role in our restaurant business. You can now order from your favourite restaurant in a jiffy now, through apps! It is just a click away!

Online portals pertaining to food service businesses also help you to get instant feedback, ratings, suggestions, etc., and thus the restaurateurs can now get the opportunity to improve and upgrade their product/s quickly. Moreover, in this digital age, your menus are reaching the market through these portals, which has the potential to get you a wider customer base. The online portals are enabling the restaurants to have wider awareness and reach,” aired Rajesh Khanna, F&B Head, The Metropolitan Hotel & Spa. However, Tanya rightly pointed out the flip side of the digital age for the restaurant

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business. “Digital media is highly accessible in terms of airing of individual’s views, as compared to print or electronic media, and because of this there is high risk of somebody posting negative things about your outlet on an online platform or on multiple online platforms. No matter how genuine or non genuine that remark may be but it has the potential to reach nook or corner of the world in a matter of few seconds. So in this digital age, the food service outlets need to be on the guard all the time,” she stated. We can say that as the digital media is much more democratic in character and is not dependent on geography, its reach and power can easily destablise or even demolish a restaurant business in very less time.

Going the Extra Mile Especially, the computer savvy segment of younger generation is very much proactive on social media, and thus we can expect the Indian restaurant industry of the near future to specially tailor packages to attract young, upwardly mobile guests. But the challenge is that a great many of the young, Internet savvy guests who are fast moving through the Indian food services industry with impressive disposable incomes, are seldom easily satisfied.

Th u s , i n t h i s d i g i t a l a g e, s i m p l y providing good food and service in a pleasant ambience and decor or by simply providing what is expected of them is not likely to fetch the classy highly priced restaurants(consequently expectations are higher for them) much positive feedback on social media platforms in this age of increasing numbers of discerning guests.

The guests and/or former guests must be sufficiently impressed to get induced to give positive feedback about these outlets on social media platforms, in sufficiently

Hammer Food & Beverage Business Review

Rohit Mahajan large numbers.

One of the ways is by going beyond the call of duty or going the extra mile or by being flexible towards customer satisfaction wherever or whenever it is feasible. For example, a family has come to dine at an outlet of a three-star hotel, which is focused on Indian food. The kid asks for a Chinese dish, which is not in the menu of the restaurant, and the hotel has only one restaurant. Now if the restaurant’s Chef manages to go out of his way and prepare the kid’s desired dish (if not on the same day but at least on the next day of the family’s stay at the hotel) that would not only pleasantly surprise the kid but gladden the heart of his parents too. Chances are they would write glowingly about the given restaurant on their Facebook platforms, along with posting of relevant photographs.

Similarly, if the expected time to deliver a given dish to the guests is 25 minutes, and if the food service outlet manages to deliver it in 12-15 minutes, without compromising on the quality of the dish, then the concerned guests are likely to be pleasantly surprised and be induced to post their positive feedback on their Facebook page.

Overall, we can say that even a small error on the part of restaurant business can affect its business adversely in this digital age, but in order to enhance footfalls or revenues by using the digital media platforms, the restaurateurs of the Indian food services industry need to trudge through the extra miles, of course with a smile on their faces. We can say that digital media is not perfectly neutral in character as far as food service industry goes; it is slightly biased in favour of the guests. n

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PROFILE

Sizzling with Enduring Success

By Swarnendu Biswas Manik Kapoor doesn’t come across as your usual restaurateur. Down-to-earth and unassuming, the MD of Gola Group prefers to keep a low profile. Nether he is over enthusiastic like plethora of other restaurateurs to talk about himself; he prefers his brand do the talking instead.

And it is doing so…with admirable success.

Since more than last two decades, Gola Sizzlers has become a name associated with top quality sizzlers in the capital.

Gola Sizzlers, a casual dinning restaurant chain serving Chinese, North Indian, Mughlai, and Continental cuisines, is a venture of Gola Group, which came into being in 1988, with Gola Banquets. Gola Banquets and Gola Sizzlers are the creation of Naresh Kapoor, whose passion for cooking is continuing unabated, even today.

Even now he regularly visits his outlets.

However, now his able sons, Manik and Rajat Kapoor are running the show at Gola Group, which also includes another restaurant chain named Café Hawkers within its ambit.

Long Gastronomic Journey Here it deserves a mention Gola Sizzlers

brand is spread across outlets in Connaught Place, Rajouri Garden, Ansal Plaza, Gurgaon, Noida and in Pacific Mall in Subash Nagar.

In Ansal Plaza, the outlet is named as Sizzler Café By Gola.

“We began our journey in the restaurant business way back in 1991, with our Connaught Place restaurant, and today we have six Gola Sizzlers’ outlets across Delhi-NCR. What is more, over the decades of our stringent adhering to quality, we have earned many dedicated guests, who may sometimes venture to dine out while thinking they would dine at Gola Sizzlers only,” explained Manik Kapoor, as I enjoyed the smoking and delicious Chicken Tikka Sizzler, where rice, green vegetables and pieces of chicken sheek kebab too play their crucial role in developing a wholesome meal.

We were seating at the Connaught Place outlet of Gola Sizzlers. The 100-seater restaurant spread across two floors, which according to Manik attracts close to 90 percent occupancy on an average weekday and close to 100 percent occupancy on an average day of the weekend, is characterised by friendly staff, and unpretentious ambience and décor. “When we see the queues waiting outside our outlets, I feel that that all our sweats and tears have found their purpose,” Manik pointed out with a smile.

Innovation and Indianisation Coming back to their food, I felt that with beer or good quality whiskey the Chicken Tikka Sizzler or the Biryani Sizzler of

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Hammer Food & Beverage Business Review

chicken or mutton varieties at Gola Sizzlers can give a memorable gastronomic journey.

“We are the first to introduce sizzlers in Delhi’s restaurant business scenario,” affirmed Manik with satisfaction.

Manik informed that Gola Sizzlers were serving sizzlers based on Continental, Chinese and as well as Indian cuisines, which make their sizzlers enjoyable to a wide gamut of tastes. From Breast of Chicken Sizzler and Cheese Cutlet and Cottage Cheese Shaslik Sizzler, which are continental preparations, to Prawns in Garlic Sauce Sizzler and Vegetable Manchurian Sizzler which are Chinese sizzlers, to our very Indian Chicken Tikka Sizzler, the tables at Gola Sizzlers do sizzle with great taste and aroma. Moreover here sizzlers are available in both vegetarian and non-vegetarian varieties.

“In fact, Indianisation of sizzlers can be

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PROFILE Curry and Kadhai Chicken can feature prominently among those non sizzler dishes at the restaurant chain, whereas for the vegetarians, Shahi Paneer, Mushroom Masala and Paneer Lababdar could be among the must try items. Of course, this array of delectable fares is complemented by an impressive selection of beverages of both alcoholic and non-alcoholic varieties.

A Passion for Quality

Rajat Kapoor described as our USP, which has enabled us to make such a huge and enduring impact in the market of Delhi, where north Indian taste preferences still rule,” opined the savvy entrepreneur. “ O f co u rs e, we h ave m a n y ot h e r delectable dishes on the menu, though s i z z l e rs re m a i n o u r c u l i n a ry fo c u s , ” maintained Rajat Kapoor, who later joined us at the table with a disarming smile. For non-vegetarians, Butter Chicken, Mutton

“Even though we are an established brand name in the Indian restaurant business, even today we personally supervise all the little details across all our outlets, which of course includes random checking of the culinary nuances in order to maintain the quality,” elaborated Rajat.

Manik and Rajat are of course not resting on their laurels. “We are planning to have 7-8 Gola Sizzler outlets of 40-50 seater each within Delhi-NCR only, within 2019 itself,” stated Rajat.

Rajat also informed that all these forthcoming outlets would be owned, like the other six ones. “We are not very much eager to opt for franchising at present, as we have seen that in many cases franchising in the Indian restaurant business

Committed to quality and reliability for more than 70 years, here in India and around the world.

Manik Kapoor has led to the compromise in quality, which in turn can be detrimental to the business,” averred Manik.

I queried him on why the Gola Group is not keen on expanding beyond the capital even after close to three decades of operations, but the brothers said that they were presently earnest on exploring the dynamic market of Delhi-NCR only even further rather than venturing into lesserknown markets. n

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AGRI

Healthy and Tasty Fruit A

pricots grow in the apricot tree, whose height ranges from 8–12 m (26–39 ft), having trunk of up to 40 cm in diameter. Apricot fruit is a drupe and its similarities to the peach is evident.

In fact, the ripe apricot with its hues varying from golden yellow to orange looks similar to a small peach. The unripe apricot is green in colour.

Its size usually varies between 1.5 -2.5 cm in diameter and its taste can vary from sweet to tart. Apricot can be consumed in both fresh and dried forms. The fruit has a single ‘stone’ within its fleshy interiors and within the stony shell is enclosed a single seed. Treating the commercially grown dried apricots with sulfur dioxide gas during processing stage is fairly common. When treated with sulfur dioxide, the colour of apricots turn to deep orange. However, the organic apricots, which are not treated with sulfur vapour , are darker in hues.

Origin and Production The origins of apricot are wrapped in enigma, though it is widely believed that these fruits originated in China, some 3000 years ago. Apricots are believed to have arrived in the western world first in Armenia, and from there their usage spread to the rest of the European continent.

The scientific name of this fruit is Prunus armeniaca (Armenian plum), which perhaps derives from this assumption. The use of

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AGRI apricots in ancient Greece (since the times of Alexander the Great) , and in the ancient Persia is also evident. Apricots are believed to have arrived in India during the 2 nd century AD and in the US during the 18 th century. In India, apricots are commercially cultivated in Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir and Uttar Pradesh. To some extent, apricots are commercially cultivated in north-eastern states too. The Ladakh region of Jammu & Kashmir grows most apricots in the country.

Though the cultivation of apricots is mostly across the continental climate region with cold winters, they can grow in Mediterranean region too, if there is enough cool winter. Dry climate is conducive to the maturation of apricots.

These delectable fruits can be grown in altitudes varying between 900-3000 m above mean sea level. The ideal Ph for the soils conducive for the growing of apricots ranges between 6 to 6.8. Deep fertile and well-drained loamy soils are suitable for apricot cultivation. In India, apricots are usually grown from mid hills to high hills.

Turkey, Iran, Uzbekistan, and Algeria are among the major producers of apricot in the world.

Application of Apricots Apricots have extensive application in the food & beverage industry, especially in the bakery industry. Apricot cake, apricot jam and apricot cookies are well-known applications of apricot. Besides using it on bread, apricot jam can have usage as glaze on pastries.

Chocolate ice-cream with apricot sauce can be a delicacy worth savouring. Apricot and white chocolate tiramisu can be a

delectable dessert, if prepared well. These delicious fruits can add to the taste and as well as the nutrient quotient of milkshake.

Apricot juice is a refreshing delicacy.

Apricot pies and apricot pasta salad can bring more taste to the table. In green salad also the addition of fresh apricots can make a sweet difference. The chicken and vegetable stews can be endowed with Middle-Eastern culinary character with the addition of dried and diced apricots.

We supply wide varieties of Imported and Indian Dairy products like Grana Padano, Parmigiano, Gouda, Edam, Feta, Brie, Camembert, Cheddar, Emmental, Mozzarella, Whipping Cream and all type of Italian and French Cheeses.

We also offer varieties of Frozen Meat products.

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AGRI Apricots are also used to prepare brandy and liqueur.

Myriad Health Benefits Apricots are endowed with several health benefits. Naturally ripened apricots are spruced with healthy dose of antioxidants, which are required by the body to facilitate its natural functioning. The healthy dosage of antioxidants in apricots is helpful in reducing the threat of cancer. Apricots have significant amount of the antioxidant called lycopene, which is known to impede the growth of cancerous cells and neutralise the harmful free radicals. It deserves a mention that the impressive presence of antioxidants in apricots not only helps in preventing cancer but also contributes greatly towards maintaining skin health.

This panacea like fruit is a good source of both vitamin A(due to high levels of beta-carotene content) and vitamin C. Vitamin A not only promotes good vision but prevents free radical damage to cells and tissues. The intake of vitamin A is useful for the growth of the cells in the body. And intake of the right quantity of vitamin C, according to an expert, could help in protecting against immune system deficiencies, cardiovascular disease, eye disease, and even skin wrinkling.

A p r i cots a re r i c h i n p o l y p h e n o l i c antioxidants like flavonoids too, and a diet which has the right dosage of flavonoids can reduce the possibility of heart disease.

Apricots are also rich in carotenoids and xanthophylls. According to researchers, these nutrients could facilitate in protecting eyesight from aging-related deterioration.

Having two or three servings of apricots per day can facilitate preventing age-

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related macular degeneration, an eye disorder, which is one of the important reasons behind vision impairment among the geriatric population. Thus consuming apricots daily can be beneficial to one’s ophthalmic health in the long-term.

Moreover, dried apricots are a wonderful source of dietary fibre, which is helpful in safeguarding from gastro-intestinal disorders. As a result of their high fibre to volume ratio, dried apricots are also used to get relief from the troubles of constipation.

The high amount of soluble fibres in apricots can also keep the threat of heart disease away.

The high fibre content in apricots can facilitate in reducing the LDL or b a d c h o l es te ro l a n d i n co nt r i b u t i n g towards enhancement of the HDL or good cholesterol levels in the body. The lowering of LDL can in turn check the threat of cardiovascular diseases. Moreover, the high fibre content in this magic fruit can improve the digestive and excretory systems which in turn contributes towards improving the rate of metabolism. Thus apricots can help one to stay slim and trim. The fact that apricots have low amounts of calories also contributes to the fact its healthy intake would not let one put on unnecessary weight.

Apricots are also rich in potassium, and a healthy dosage of potassium in the human body is needed to maintain the blood pressure level stable. Thus apricots facilitate in controlling blood pressure.

Potassium deficiency can increase the possibility of developing hypertension, which is a common lifestyle disease of our

Hammer Food & Beverage Business Review

urban lives. Moreover, severe hypertension can introduce the possibility of heart attacks too.

What is more, apricots are rich in copper and low on calories.

Further, the rich iron content in apricots can help in preventing the sneaking of anaemia into one’s body system.

Consumption of apricots can also help in prevention against inflammation. A single apricot is endowed with 4-5 gm of catechin, and this phytonutrient has great potential in checking inflammation.

The Indian Story With the health conscious wave gaining momentum in urban India, the Indian food service industry should make use of apricots more proactively to address its growing numbers of health conscious diners, and also make efforts to create awareness about the myriad health benefits of apricots among the people, so that their demand increases in the Indian society.

Presently, India’s love affair with apricots can at best be described at a nascent stage, which requires full blooming in the years to come. India’s annual apricot production in 2012 was less than 20,000 tonnes, which was dismal. The situation has not improved drastically, over these five years. The time has also come when the production of apricots in India and as well as their transition from farm to fork in the Indian breakfast tables become more significant statistic than they are now. For this more financial encouragement to the cultivators of apricots across the country is the need of the hour. n

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con f ectionery

Promising Growth, Despite Challenges

By Swarnendu Biswas

D

es p i te t h e n ot s o e n co u ra g i n g economic climate of India, it would be an understatement to say that chocolate market in India is growing impressively.

According to Mintel, one of the world’s leading market intelligence agencies, sales of chocolate confectionery in retail markets grew by 13 percent between 2015 and 2016 in India. According to Mintel, “India’s chocolate confectionery market has had a strong CAGR (compound annual growth rate) of 19.9 percent, in retail market value, between 2011 and 2015, and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 20.6 percent from 2016 to 2020.”

A Buoyant Market According to the estimates of Mintel’s research, India consumed 228 thousand tonnes worth of chocolate in 2016, which was 50 percent higher than 152 thousand tonnes of chocolate consumption in India during 2011.

According to TechSci Research’s report titled ‘India Chocolate Market Forecast & Opportunities, 2020’, chocolate market in India was projected to surpass 17 billion USD by 2020. The report was published in September 2015. “Product innovations,

strong marketing strategies and increase in variety of products are driving consumer chocolate sales in India,” observed the report.

The findings of ValueNotes also indicate a promising future market for chocolates in India. According to the research report of ValueNotes titled Chocolate Industry in India 2014-2019, the chocolate industry in India was valued at Rs.58 billion in FY 2014. It was estimated by ValueNotes that the industry would be worth nearly Rs. 122 billion by FY 2019, growing at a CAGR of 16 percent. “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,” noted the report. Here it deserves a mention that ValueNotes is a market and competitive intelligence firm, based in Pune, Maharashtra.

No wonder the per capita chocolate consumption in India has increased from 50 gm in 2005 to 120 gm in 2013. The fact that still the per capita consumption of chocolate products is much less as compared to many developed western countries also indicates a huge potential for the growth of chocolate market in India, in the backdrop of the present day socio-economic scenario of the country.

Reasons Behind

Pic Courtesy: Windsor Chocolatier

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The above-mentioned report by TechSci Research maintained that over the last decade, chocolate market in India had been growing at a significant rate, on account of expanding middle class population and increasing use of chocolates in various confectionery products. It opined that expansion of organised retail industry in India and rising disposable income levels of consumers had been further propelling growth in the country’s chocolate market. The report by TechSci Research pointed out that manufacturers were luring

Hammer Food & Beverage Business Review

Pic Courtesy: Celeste Chocolates consumers by expanding their product portfolios and increasing availability of chocolates in various price ranges.

One can say that some of the reasons behind the impressive growth in chocolate consumption in India during the recent years can be due to the significant increase in disposable incomes in select but sizeable pockets of urban Indian society during the last decade, massive expansion of the retail industry in urban India and also due to the rising chocolate consciousness in some select pockets of Indian society.

However, the industry and the people at large hardly need the scholars of market intelligence agencies to arrive at the perception that the chocolate market in India is thriving with impressive growth potential. Chocolates are now not only loved by the kids, but are liked by people of all age groups in urban India. In Indian festivities, the role of chocolate products has become prominent during the recent years.

T h i s h u g e g ro w t h i n c h o c o l a t e consumption in the country during the recent years has paved the way for many

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con f ectionery

Zeba Kohli talented chocolatiers and impressive variety of chocolate products in the urban Indian market, and this trend is expected to continue in the near future. Though Mondelez India and Nestle India together account for about 80 percent of the estimated Rs. 7500 crore chocolate market of India, but there is no denying the fact that the market is now crowded with many players and premium chocolate brands.

The Extending Market In fact, the role and market positioning of chocolate products in India has seen a marked shift during the last two decades. In the pre-liberalisation era before 1991, chocolate products were occasional indulgences for the children. In the mid 90s, a highly creative ad campaign of Cadbury Dairy Milk titled Real Taste of Life Campaign having a hard to forget catch line Kuch Khass Hai Zindagi Mein, was instrumental in forwarding chocolate products’ appeal among grown ups too. The advertisement played a crucial role not only in changing the market positioning of Cadbury Dairy Milk, but also eventually in bridging the generation barrier in chocolate consumption in India.

In the next phase of shift in the market positioning of chocolates in India, chocolate products began to make their presence felt as the gift items during festivities, thereby encroaching on the market segment of traditional Indian mithais. This trend began gaining momentum in 2004-05 onwards. However, the credit for pioneering this trend in the Indian chocolate market should go to brand Cadbury again.

Cadbury Celebrations debuted on the Indian festival stage in 1997 — serving up a tantalising mix of chocolates in all shapes, sizes, flavours and packages at the many traditional festivals of India, positioning chocolate as a fitting replacement for the traditional mithai.

So we can see that over the decades the market positioning of chocolate products in India has moved from occasional luxurious indulgences for children to indulgences for all age groups and has also included chocolate products playing a role in endorsing or emphasising the emotional bond during festivities.

Now chocolate products are also positioned as a means of satiating hunger or as energy boosters. Premiumisation in the chocolate market is also gaining ground in urban India, whose height is manifested in the trend of designer chocolates and customised chocolate products.

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con f ectionery Emerging Trends There are other trends evolving in the Indian chocolate business too. For example, dark and less sweet chocolates are gaining currency. “Today the Indian palate is changing and more people are discovering the joys of dark & less sweet chocolate,” opined Zeba Kohli, the Managing Director of Mumbai-based Good Housekeeping Company Pvt. Ltd., which has the brand Fantasie Fine Chocolates in its ambit.

Fantasie Fine Chocolates is a 72-yearold brand name for exclusive handmade chocolates, having six outlets — five of them in Mumbai and one in Pune.

“Dark chocolates and as well as white chocolates are gaining market momentum in India,” opined Nidhi Bhageria, the MD of Celeste Chocolates, a Delhi-based company engaged in making artisan chocolate products with high quality ingredients. Her products presented in exquisite packaging are targeted towards corporate gifting, hotels, and for retail clients of the upper echelons of the Indian society.

“Our chocolate products can bring an added sweetness to the festivities or on occasions like birthdays, weddings, wedding anniversaries, etc.,” stated Nidhi. The dynamic businesswoman also maintained nuts coated with chocolate, and chocolate products with infusion of coconut, pistachio, fruits are gaining popularity in the fast evolving Indian chocolate market.

As far as customisation of chocolate products goes, Zeba feels that “The trend has really not taken over India by storm as yet and its presence is limited to niche segments and that too in the big cities of the country.” She is right, but though the market for customised chocolate products in India is miniscule, but it is growing nevertheless. Zeba conceded that the

Nidhi Bhageria consumption of customised, designer chocolate products has grown in India.

Chocolate products embodying fancy d es i g n s ; ref l e ct i n g t h e t ra i l of ve ry creative thought process, are gaining currency. According to Zeba, “Fantasie Fine Chocolates has created incredible chocolate novelties, which include chocolate chess games, chocolate puzzles, chocolate alphabets, chocolate butterflies and edible chocolate paints among others.”

Fantasie Fine Chocolates has a plethora of wonderful chocolate designs on offer, w h i c h i n c l u d e C h o co l ate M oto r b i ke, Chocolate Stiletto, Chocolate Aeroplane, Chocolate Eiffel Tower among many others.

Of course, their chocolate designs can be customised according to the client’s preferences. “If you can conceive something in chocolate, chances are we can make it a reality for you,” asserted Zeba, the chocolatier cum entrepreneur, who is the creative force behind Fantasie Fine Chocolates. She has also been involved in the creation of sweet and sensuous fashion statements in the form of chocolate jewelry, chocolate couture, skirts and stoles.

Infrastructure, Pricing and Awareness

Pic Courtesy: Fantasie Fine Chocolates

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Now how can chocolate products’ market share in the total sweet market of India be enhanced in the near future? “Increase in market share of chocolates in the country needs impressive cold chain infrastructure and sound logistics throughout India, along with more reasonable pricing,” said Zeba.

Besides bolstering of infrastructure and moderation in pricing, enhancement of consumer consciousness in relation to chocolate products is also needed to increase the market of chocolates in the country even faster, as well as further

Hammer Food & Beverage Business Review

and deeper. It is not a sign of maturity of the Indian chocolate market that the milk chocolates still remain the most popular chocolate category in the country. However, ValueNotes in its above-mentioned report observed that dark chocolate “is expected to be the fastest growing segment among Indian consumers due to its health benefits and increasing awareness among Indian consumers.”

“Only if more and more people realise the difference between a great chocolate, a good chocolate, and an ordinary chocolate, they would be willing to pay a substantially higher price for a great chocolate product.

In this regard, we can say that more chocolate workshops for both grown-ups and children, across hotels and exhibitions, are the need of the hour,” pointed out Nidhi. “One of the ways to make the tastes of average Indian chocolate consumers mature is by organising free tasting sessions of chocolates by chocolate products’ manufacturers or chocolatiers in retail outlets, exhibitions and events.,” she added further.

Here it deserves a mention that Fantasie Fi n e C h o co l ates co n d u cts c h o co l ate workshops for adults and children and organises chocolate theme parties on prior notice. Celeste Chocolates has also been active in undertaking free tasting sessions.

Succinctly, unless the industry makes a sincere endeavour to educate the palates of its chocolate products’ consumers and potential consumers, and unless our cold chain infrastructure gets bolstered, we cannot hope to develop the Indian chocolate industry in real sense, despite its current impressive growth rate. However, according to ValueNotes, the chocolate manufacturers are increasing their investment in the cold chain facilities across the country, which is an encouraging development.

Reaching Rural Moreover, urban areas of India still account for more than 75 percent of the consumption of chocolates in India, though majority of India is rural. To more vigorously tap the vast yet largely untapped rural Indian market, the chocolate manufacturers need to come with more affordable packaging options, and better warehousing facilities.

To explore the rural Indian market more powerfully, the chocolate manufacturers operating in the country also need to infuse more ethnic or localised character in their chocolate products through ingredients and packaging solutions. n

Dec-Jan ’18

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bEVERAGE

Have Grin with

Beer

By Swarnendu Biswas

I

t is widely known that beer is the most popular alcoholic beverage in the world. In fact, it is the third most popular drink in the world, with only water and tea ahead of this golden coloured frothy drink in this aspect.

The Frothy Beverage Beer is also one of the oldest prepared beverages in the history of humankind, with its origins dating back to 3500-3100 BC in ancient Iran. The drink has its reference in Mesopotamia and ancient Egypt. Laws regulating beer and beer parlours were there in the Code of Hammurabi of ancient Mesopotamia, which dates back to 1750 BC. Megasthenes, the ancient Greek historian and diplomat, did record the usage of rice beer in India, some two thousand three hundred years earlier.

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India had been having beer from rice or millet over millennia, but the European style beer, with which we are familiar today, has a colonial legacy; they were introduced to the country by the British, in the 18th century.

Beer is brewed from cereal grains like malted barley, wheat, maize and rice. Among these malted barley’s usage is the most popular. Most modern beer is generally brewed with hops. The cereal grains endow the drink with its nutritive value.

We can say that beer is an ancient drink whose appeal has continually flowed to our post-modern times. Of course, it tastes great and beer can help develop or pep up the partying spirit. The drink also gives a great time when one is alone. What is more, many health benefits may float in your glass or pint or bottle of beer.

Hammer Food & Beverage Business Review

Drink to Your Health The fact that beer has low calorie and low carbohydrate content and has no fat or cholesterol, contributes towards its health quotient. Beer is not only devoid of cholesterol but intake of beer on a regular basis and in moderate quantities can improve your HDL/LDL ratio. HDL is good cholesterol and LDL is the harmful cholesterol that the human body must avoid.

In 2016, a study by the Pennsylvania State University showed that a pint or two of beer a day could facilitate to reduce the risk of stroke or developing cardiovascular disease. Beer is loaded with B vitamins, particularly folic acid, which is supposed to facilitate in preventing heart attacks. Beer brewed with hops may also be helpful in preventing dementia.

Dec-Jan ’18

bEVERAGE Moreover, beer consumption helps in reducing the risk of having kidney stone, as beer has high dosages of potassium and magnesium. Beer also helps in the metabolic process. Hops, which are used in brewing beer, have a flavonoid compound named xanthohumol, which is helpful in preventing prostate cancer. In fact, xanthohumol is a powerful antioxidant which impedes cancercausing enzymes. Studies indicate that moderate consumption of beer also plays role in preventing type 2 diabetes. Beer also contributes towards slowing down the ageing process. It is helpful in tackling anemia.

However, all these above-mentioned health benefits can be accrued only if beer is consumed in moderation. If beer is consumed in excess, the negative health affects will far outweigh the positive health attributes of beer. But then, consuming anything in excess is bad for health, which includes water too.

Promising Potential In India, though the beer market is quite small, but the popularity of beer has gained momentum during the recent years. This is largely due to the significant increase in disposable incomes in select but sizeable

pockets of urban India during the last decade, and also due to the effect of globalisation, whose maturation has been slowly but surely erasing the long held social taboo associated with alcoholic drink consumption in India. The fact that India’s demographics is loaded in favour of youngsters has also perhaps contributed to this healthy and happening trend.

According to a report titled ‘Studying the Global & India's Beer Market 2016’ from Research & Markets, in terms of volumes, the

Indian beer market grew from 468 million liters in 2011 to 2,366 million liters in 2015.

The market was expected to cross 430 billion litres by the end of 2017. Presently, India has more than 85 large breweries, but the organised beer market in India is ruled by three-four major players.

I n 2 01 4 , U n i te d B rewe r i es G ro u p, SABMiller and Carlsberg together accounted for approximately 84 percent of the beer market in the country. Kingfisher from the United Breweries Group is the largest

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bEVERAGE selling beer brand in India. According to the website of United Breweries Group, Kingfisher commands a market share of over 50 percent in the country with 1 out of every 2 bottles of beer sold in India being of a Kingfisher brand. Within the brand umbrella of Kingfisher, there is Kingfisher Premium, Kingfisher Strong, Kingfisher Ultra, Kingfisher Ultra Max, Kingfisher Storm and Kingfisher Buzz.

Though in India, the consumers of alcoholic beverages generally prefer stronger alcoholic drinks, like whiskey, over beer, but the consumption of beer has also risen appreciably during the recent years.

However, consumption of beer in India is still much lower than the global average. But this entails huge potential for growth of the India’s beer market. The fact that the per capita beer consumption in India was only 4.6 litres in 2016, which is much lower than 57 litres per capita beer consumption for fast-growing economies in Asia (according to BMI Research’s figures), gives the country’s small but growing beer market a huge potential, if this statistics is considered in the backdrop of our evolving socio-economic and socio-cultural dynamics.

"While spirits will continue to dominate India's alcoholic drinks market, we expect to see strong growth in beer consumption over our forecast period. In volume terms, beer sales will rise at CAGR of 7.5 percent between 2017 and 2021," said a report by BMI Research titled Outlook for India's Beer Market.

Despite Lacunae However, licensing restrictions, high localised taxes and ban on advertising of alcoholic beverages are limiting the potential of growth in beer consumption in India to translate into realties.

According to BMI Research, “Given the sheer size and youthful demographics of the consumer base, India's beer industry could have been expected to have enjoyed a boom period over the past decade.

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However, beer sales have yet to take off in India as regulatory obstacles — including licensing restrictions, high localised taxes and a nationwide ban on advertising alcoholic drinks — have limited expansion opportunities for multinational brewers.”

However, the research body views that despite these impediments “India holds significant long-term growth potential as beer-drinking culture is growing in momentum in the country.” “ C h a n g i n g c u l t u ra l att i t u d es , l ow base effects and a young, increasingly affluent consumer base will drive beer sales over our forecast period. We highlight growing momentum in the country 's nascent craft beer industry as further support for our favourable outlook,” the research body observed.

Craft Beer and Others Yes, the craft beer industry is also developing in India, which reflects the growing focus towards quality among consumers in urban India as far as their F&B options go. However, craft beers tend to be higher priced than regular beer brands, which can impede their growth potential in the pricesensitive Indian market.

More and more microbreweries producing craft beer with focus on the quality of ingredients, flavour and brewing technique is the need of the hour in India’s beer industry. According to Studying the Global & India's Beer Market 2016, the micro brewery market in India was expected to grow to more than Rs. 50,000 crore by 2018. The rise of health conscious people

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and increasing global travellers has boosted the business of micro breweries in India, noted the report.

Overall, a shift towards premiumisation is evident in the present day India’s beer market. According to Euromonitor, Kingfisher has lost 4.3 percent of its beer market share by volume in India between 2011 and 2016. According to the data from Euromonitor, UB’s overall market share in India was 44.1 percent during 2016.

It could be attributed to the invasion of foreign beer brands in the country during the recent years, and also due to the fact there is now a sizeable section of Indian beer drinkers who are opting for high-end beer brands.

Carlsberg’s Tuborg and AnheuserBusch InBev’s Budweiser have experienced huge jump in their market share in India, during 2011-2016. Tuborg, and Haywards of AB InBev are now the second and third largest beer brands in India by volume. The popularity of Bira91 brand of handcrafted beers is manifested by the fact that highend beers are gaining growing acceptance in the Indian market.

Overall, these are exciting times for the Indian beer market. But in order to harness the potential of India’s beer market more effectively and translate it into impressive statistics, awareness about the health benefits of beer should be more proactively disseminated by India’s food service industry.

At the same time, the taxes on beer imposed by states need to be sharply reduced, so as to make them more affordable throughout the country. n

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THEME CUISINE

Exploring the

Flavours of Goa

By Sharmila Chand

G

oan cuisine is a product of varied influences. If one wants a broad description, then one can say that Goan cuisine is an amalgamation of Indian and Portuguese culinary traditions.

Of co u rs e, t h e s tate ’ s g e o g ra p h i ca l characteristic has also influenced its cuisine.

Th e Po rt u g u es e i nt ro d u ce d G o a n people to potato, tomato, pineapple, guava and cashew. But their most significant contribution in Goa’s gastronomic legacy is the introduction of the spicy Peri-Peri chilli, which is the most important part of Goan spices.

Some of the essential elements of Goan cuisine are rice, sea food, coconut, meat,

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pork and local spices. In fact, without fish, dinning at a Goan home doesn’t have a ring of completeness.

Rice and fish curry is the staple diet among most Goans. Kingfish (Vison or Visvan) is the most common delicacy. Other fish used in Goan cuisine include p o mf ret , s h a r k , t u n a and mackerel. Crabs, prawns, lobster, squid and mussels are also used in Goan cuisine.

Goans like to have an array of culinary specialties ra n g i n g f ro m p raw n s t o

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sausages, chicken to beef, and of course, several vegetarian dishes.

Use of kokum in food is another distinct feature of Goan cuisine. The intense flavour of spices used in Goan cuisine is in sync with the state’s tropical climate.

While taste is important to Goans, the presentation of t h e fo o d to o i s of significant importance for them as they like to share their food, especially during feasts, with friends and extended family.

In Goa, the locals still use clay pots on firewood for cooking

Dec-Jan ’18

THEME CUISINE

and it endows with a smoky flavour to their traditional dishes.

Signature Dishes of Goan Cuisine Bebinca Goa's most famous sweet is a multilayered pudding known as Bebinca, which is made from egg, coconut milk, sugar and ghee. The dish has Portuguese influence.

Cooking a perfect bebinca is no less than an art as it requires a lot of patience

and technique in its preparation. The next gravy dish that is usually prepared with layer of bebinca can only be added once dried red chillies, peppercorns and tamarind. the previous layer has been cooked.

The fish used in the dish is generally shark Each layer is cooked in the oven until it or catfish and it is usually served with plain has a light fudge consistency. Bebinca can steamed or boiled rice. be eaten hot or cold and is traditionally Crab Xec Xec served on Christmas.

It comprises a thick coconut gravy dish.

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THEME CUISINE

crab meat.

Fish Curry Rice It is the staple food for Goans. The curry is usually yellowish-red in colour due to the presence of chillies and turmeric. The tangy and spicy dish can be cooked with a variety of fish, although mackerel is one of the favourites. The dish is served with steamed white rice.

Chicken Cafreal This spicy chicken dish uses coriander, lime, green chillies, peppercorns, and mint. It can be cooked in oven or pan roasted. The origin of the dish can be traced from Africa.

The delectable dish is usually accompanied by green salad.

Goan Feni Feni is a very popular alcoholic beverage from Goa; it is characterised by strong aroma. The word ‘feni’ derives from the word ‘fenn’, which means froth. In fact, a good feni, when poured in a glass produces

some froth.

There are two types of feni; one is made from coconut and the other is made from cashew. Coconut feni is less popular and is made from the sap of coconut palms.

Cashew feni is made from cashew apples, which are manually crushed and allowed to ferment.

Traditionally, there are three grades of this famous Goan brew. Urrac is the product of first distillation, Cazulo is the product of second and Feni is the product of third distillation.

Sorpotel This dish is of Portuguese origin. It is a rich stew which is made from pork meat although sometimes the pig’s liver, heart and kidney are also added. Sometimes beef, mutton or chicken is also used.

Preparing sorpotel is a long procedure; first the meat is parboiled, finely diced, fried and then cooked in spices and vinegar.

Menu Planning

by Chef Prema Bhaskar at Sara Soda, Pune Goan Prawn Curry with Goan Rice Goan Prawn Pulao Mutton Vindaloo Chicken/Mutton Xacuti Prawn Balchao with Sanna (Goan Rice Cakes) Prawn Caldinho Vegetarian Specialties Vegetable Caldinho Mixed Veg Xacuti & Customisations Paneer Vindaloo Vegetable Hooman

Goan Specialties Chicken Cafreal Squid Fry Prawns Goan Style Sides Chicken Sausages Chilly Fry Goan Rice Surmai/Pomfret Recheado Masala Grilled Fish Wrapped in Banana Leaf with Goan Poee (Goan Bread) Goan Sanna (Goan Rice Cakes) Goan Spices Chicken Ros Omelette Desserts Fish Curry & Rice Sizzling Bebinca with Ice-cream Shack Style Beef Chilly

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Sorpotel usually tastes better on the second and third day from its preparation, that is once it has had time to mature.

Vindaloo A popular spicy curry where the name is derived from the Portuguese term for garlic and wine (“vinho e alho”) marinade. Pork vindaloo is a delicacy of the Goan cuisine.

Mackerel Reacheado This dish is prepared by slicing a crosssection of the fish and it is stuffed with red hot chili masala called ‘reacheado’.

Reacheado is made from red chillies, spices, ginger, garlic and ground with malt vinegar.

The fish is then pan-fried.

Sanna It is made by mixing white, fluffy bread that is made of coconut and finely ground rice flour with toddy, and then by fermenting and steaming it. Sanna is usually served at parties and special occasions and can be eaten with most curries, especially sorpotel, or simply with a cup of Indian tea.

Goan Sausages These sausages are made from pork meat and fat, which have been loosely diced.

The strings of sausages are marinated in pickling spices and then sun dried. They are usually served with pulao rice or with bread. These sausages are very popular at feasts.

Fish Udid Methi or Uddamethi It is a type of curry consisting of fenugreek and mackerel. A vegetarian version of this dish is also prepared using hog plums or anything sour and tangy such as pieces of raw mango and fenugreek.

Canja de Galinha A type of chicken broth served with rice and chicken.

Samarein Chi Kodi Goan curry made with fresh and dried prawns.

Patoleo or Patoli A dish of turmeric leaves stuffed with rice, dal, jaggery, and coconut.

Kismur A type of side dish normally consisting of dried fish (mostly mackerel or shrimp), onions and coconut.

Croquettes Beef cutlets and beef potato chops that are common snacks.

Bhaji or Shak A dish made of different vegetables and fruits.

Arroz Doce A Portuguese derivative of kheer (sweetened rice)

Dec-Jan ’18

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R est a ur a nt

Dine with Food Exchange

By Sharmila Chand

F

ood Exchange is the 24-hour all day dining restaurant at Novotel Goa Resort and Spa. The 100-cover dining space seems to be inspired from the festive spirit of Goa. It has a relaxed sunny ambience, offering multiple menu options showcasing European, oriental and Indian cuisine.

Food Exchange is a modern, all day dining re s ta u ra nt w i t h a n a l f res co k i tc h e n , overlooking the green paddy fields. Here a multi-cuisine menu cooked in unique styles in individual show kitchens allows guests to have direct interactions with Chefs.

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The team at the restaurant emphasises on fresh ingredients and creative plate presentations over breakfast, lunch, dinner, buffet and a la’ carte options.

Here service is fast and efficient but discreet, which facilitates the guest to unwind amidst tranquility.

Chef Siddarth Noronha, Executive Sous Chef for Novotel Goa Resort and Spa and Novotel Goa Shrem Hotel said, “When the tastes of European cuisine and select ingredients from around the world get into

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a marriage with fresh meat/ poultry and seafood with a presentation style that is truly international, the cuisine of Food Exchange is born. We present food from around the world with emphasis on regional flavours.”

“Our 100-seater all day dining restaurant is overlooking the vitality pool, banyan tree and lush green paddy fields. As guests take the elevator from the lobby and come down to Food Exchange they see an elaborate buffet spread, high ceilings and exquisite design on the walls of Food Exchange,“ he elaborated.

“Those who want to sip a cocktail in a sunny environ, we have the al fresco dining which offers a courtyard like ambience offering Italian and Goan cuisines,” Chef Siddarth added.

Dec-Jan ’18

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R est a ur a nt The Vast Menu Food Exchange offers a comprehensive menu ranging from the luscious Goan grills to the fresh catch of the day to al dente pasta or anti pasti, with lavishly laid buffets and an array of local beverages.

The courtyard serves Indian breakfast and international breakfast options with numerous live counters and transforms into three dining outlets in the evening — Indian and Italian fare in a slate menu and a blackboard menu of daily specials.

At Food Exchange, for presentations the inspiration comes from the classy Michelin stars and some of the most successful restaurants in the world.

For ingredients, the team goes all the way to the choicest producers and growers all around the world, not forgetting the richness of seafood around the region, thus reducing the carbon footprints.

Saraswat Thali At Food Exchange Chef Siddarth Noronha also talked about the Saraswat Thali being served at the Food Exchange.

“The thali is very similar to a full course menu; the only difference is that it is not served course wise but served all at once, in smaller portions. These portions are served in small bowls called katoris; all meticulously arranged in a large steel plate. There are many preparations that contribute towards this thali,” affirmed Siddarth.

“The composition of Saraswat thali varies from restaurant to restaurant, but ideally it should have two vegetable

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appetiser drink(usually sol kadhi),” he asserted.

The Saraswat Thali provides different nutritious food that a person needs, in varying proportions. It helps provide a balanced diet.

Goan Thali on Offer

"Goan cuisine has always been close to my heart. I have a lot of happy memories from spending time in the kitchen and learning the complete cooking procedure from my grandmother. With the support of my efficient culinary team, I am pleased to host the guests and recreate the Goan flavours at Food Exchange."

— Chef Siddarth Noronha, Executive Sous Chef for Novotel Goa Resort and Spa and Novotel Goa Shrem Hotel preparations, one portion of fish curry, one portion of dal, one portion of rice, fried fish, Indian bread, Indian green salad, chutneys, pickle, a sweet dish and a digestive/

Hammer Food & Beverage Business Review

The restaurant also offers Goan Thali, which includes Balchao Naan. Balchao is a signature prawn dish from Goa stuffed in Indian naan.

The other items in the thali include: Fried fish, which is Kingfish fried in the Goan style. It makes the perfect combination with prawn curry and rice.

Bebinca, which is a type of pudding.

It is a traditional Goan, east Indian and Mangalorean dessert.

Bhindi sol, which is okra cooked with kokam and spices.

Mungachi bhaji, which is sprouted green lentil cooked in coconut base curry.

Masala clams — clams tossed with onion, tomato and local spice Sol kadi. It is derived from fresh coconut milk to which soaked kokum water is added Kauchumber salad, which is a mixture of spring vegetables such as carrot, spring onion, cabbage and capsicum tossed together.

Batata banasti, which is a chunk of potatoes cooked in onion gravy and garnished with golden onions.

Prawn curry rice, which include fresh prawns cooked in Goan curry, served with rice. n

Dec-Jan ’18

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www.olivesfromspain.in 71

che f voice

In Pursuit of

Culinary Perfection

By Sharmila Chand

Ankit Mangla is the Executive Chef at Plaza Premium Lounge India, housed within the domestic and the Indira Gandhi International Airport of Delhi-NCR. At Plaza Premium Lounge, he has executed some exciting food promotions such as bringing the much loved street food into the airport.

Ankit Mangla is one of the youngest Chefs to have been awarded the prestigious title ‘Master Chef International Cuisine’ by the Indian Culinary Forum 2014-15.

Chef Ankit has over 10 years of culinary excellence. He specialises in Mediterranean cuisine with a love for Italian, French, Lebanese, Greek, Spanish, Moroccan and Turkish cuisine. He also loves to dabble in South American cuisine from time to time.

His passion for cooking took him to Germany and Italy where he had the opportunity to get a first-hand experience in European culinary nuances, further honing his skills in European cuisine.

From the renowned Chef Tarsillo Nataloni he learnt the nuances of Italian cuisine and the use of flavours. Chef Ankit further broadened his culinary skills by joining The Park Hotels where he learnt from the reputed celebrity Chef, Antonio Carluccio.

Chef Ankit is known for his discerning nature and his eye for detail. He is a people’s person; he strives for innovation and derives happiness from a delighted guest. He is also known for his quality of products, and his endeavours in contributing towards revenue growth while simultaneously reducing wastages and manpower costs. Chef Ankit is very fond of travelling and reading. The excerpts of the interview follow:

How do you define yourself?

What is your source of inspiration?

I would define myself as ambitious, professional, an enterprising leader, a dependable friend, a loving husband and an adoring father.

I take inspiration from vivid cultures around the world, which give insight into the food history, and evolution of cuisines. I often get exciting recipes in the process.

delighted expression on the guest’s face has been one of the most rewarding moments of my career. There is nothing which can be more rewarding for me than putting a smile on a guest’s face.

What is your philosophy of cooking?

What has been the most rewarding moment in your career?

Talk about a challenging situation of your career

There was a wonderful experience when I was working for one of the restaurants. We had a lady guest who had severe intolerance to gluten and always had a huge challenge dinning anywhere.

We did not serve gluten-free dishes at that restaurant; however, seeing the need of the guest, I quickly prepared a glutenfree Mediterranean meal for her. Seeing the

One of the most challenging situations for me so far was saving a restaurant which was about to close as it was not doing well.

I, along with a Senior Manager was entrusted with the responsibility of turning it around. It was a huge responsibility, but I love challenges.

After studying the customer demand and pattern, we re-worked on the entire menu, introduced an exciting Sunday Brunch which

I believe in using fresh local seasonal ingredients, and developing simple yet exciting dishes. I believe that the pleasure of cooking lies in cooking together and eating together.

Had you not been doing this then what would you have been?

I would probably have been an investment banker or a photographer.

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Dec-Jan ’18

became an instant hit and there was no turning back after that.

We could achieve our goals with great team work, by improving service excellence, ensuring food quality and consistency and not the least by cooking from the heart.

What skills are necessary for a successful Chef?

A Chef needs to have lots of patience and perseverance to hone technical skills and understand the science of cooking. The art of people management skill is also very crucial as to be a successful Chef requires great team work.

Furthermore, the willingness to always learn is a huge asset. In our profession one cannot afford to become complacent. The ability to take criticism and feedback in a good stride is one of the most important traits a great Chef can have.

What is your definition of success?

You are successful when your teachers, mentor/s, team and family are proud of you.

What is your strength, professionally?

I think my exploring nature and inquisitive mind are my professional strengths. They have led me to a lot of interesting discoveries.

What would you consider your weakness?

My over enthusiasm. Sometimes it has landed me in trouble.

How do you de-stress yourself?

I de-stress myself by spending time with my kids.

How do you rate yourself as a Chef?

I would rate myself 8 on 10. There is always room for improvement.

What is your favourite cuisine?

Indian cuisine has always been my favourite. I believe it is the most beautiful cuisine in the world. I think there is no other cuisine which has so much diversity and vibrancy.

What is your favourite spice?

It is black pepper. It can spice up anything.

What is your favourite dish?

Hummus with freshly baked pita is my favourite dish.

What is your favourite equipment?

Victorinox Knife.

Dec-Jan ’18

Who is/are your favourite diner?

People who love to experiment with food and have the palate to appreciate varied flavours are my favourite diners. They appreciate and respect food, and share valuable feedbacks, which always helps in improving my skills.

What is your hot selling item?

In my present tenure, we have a buffet style setting given the lounge dynamics. We serve absolutely delicious King Ranch Chicken which can be one of the best in the town.

What is the best compliment you have received so far?

In my initial days as a Chef, I prepared a Fettucini Aglio Olio Pepperoncino for my mentor for his lunch. He quietly finished his food without a word and entered the kitchen to ask who had made this dish. I have never been so scared in my life; I was so sure that I had made a grave mistake.

However, my mentor smiled and said it was perfectly done and was one of the best Fettucini Aglio Olio Pepperoncino he had ever had. The compliment always stayed with me and inspired me to become a better Chef.

Can you talk a bit about the lessons learnt in the kitchen?

One should have patience; in our profession you just can’t rush things. Mise en place, a French culinary phrase which means ‘putting in place’ or ‘everything in its place’ should be every Chef’s motto.

Teamwork is very crucial; investing and nurturing your team goes a long way. Lastly, positive attitude is contagious and preferred.

What are your future plans?

I would love to promote the diversity of the rich Indian cuisine to the world. It is one of the most beautiful cuisines in the world. However, with rapid urbanisation and changing food habits, a lot of authentic regional Indian food are getting lost and becoming uncommon.

My vision is to open a successful business venture specialising on Indian regional food and creating a whole new level of dining experience.

I would also love to encourage sustainable farming. It has become very important to preserve the ecological cycle. So many great ingredients are not being encouraged.

Perfect example of this would be millet, an amazing healthy ingredient which is really neglected.

Hammer Food & Beverage Business Review

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O P E R AT I O N S

Refrigeration in Food Service I

n food service industry refrigeration is one of the most important commercial equipments. Choosing the right refrigeration products is essential for establishments to ensure not only to have quality storage options but preserve food too. It is essential that the equipment models one select are energy efficient, long-lasting, and a perfect fit for the establishment where it has to be used.

There is an extensive range of restaurant refrigeration equipment including, chest freezers, blast chillers, food prep tables, drop-in units, chest refrigerators, reach in refrigeration, walk-in coolers and freezers, reach-in wine refrigeration, worktop and under counter refrigeration, and more.

Refrigerators have drastically positive impact on the food service departments of the hotel industry, restaurants, pubs and other catering establishments. Practically, food service departments these days cannot do without a refrigerator. It is used to store food and also preserve food. The industry can now save a lot of money from the food that would have been disposed of to the garbage, thanks to refigeration solutions.

Nutritionists also recommend that eating healthy foods improves our lives and enable us to live longer.

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A refrigerator offers the ease and convenience of getting food by helping in lengthening perishable foods’ lifespan and still retaining their nutritious contents, which is otherwise impossible. It also help in preserving beverages; making beverages cool every time the customers require good service. We all know that a cool desert is soothing. Low temperatures also inhibit bacterial growth hence preventing food decay.

The new makes of refrigerators not only preserve food, but they are also cost -effective, and consume less power. Let us take a look at some of the refigeration solutions in the market.

Refrigerator Refrigerator is one of the most commonly used appliances for storing food and beverages. The working principle of a refrigerator is based on refrigeration and evaporation, wherein heat is drawn out from the objects and transferred to the surrounding atmosphere. A refrigerator cannot cool below -10 degree Fahrenheit.

Low refrigerator temperature may slow down the growth of microorganisms, but it may not be effective enough to kill pathogenic or spoilage causing microorganisms.

For optimum preservation, maintain the

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temperature between 34 degree and 40 degree Fahrenheit.

Freezer Freezer is another commonly used domestic and industrial kitchen appliance that works on the same principle as a refrigerator. However, in freezers, an evaporating or a cooling gas is used to evaporate heat from the object. In addition, a freezer-only unit can store food at temperatures as low as -34 degree Fahrenheit, whereas the minimum temperature that can be achieved in a refrigerator can’t go lower than -10 degree Fahrenheit. Most food remain in good quality, if the freezer temperature is set between -10 degree and -20 degree Fahrenheit.

Chiller A chiller is used to cool food quickly at low temperatures, which prevents bacterial growth. As bacteria multiply at temperature between +8°C (46°F) and +68°C (154°F), chiller prevents bacterial growth by reducing the temperature of cooked food from +70°C (158°F) to +3°C (37°F) or below, thereby making the food safe for consumption. Chillers are usually used for commercial purposes, especially in food catering and fast food set ups.

Dec-Jan ’18

O P E R AT I O N S The Science To u n d e rs ta n d t h e f u n d a m e nta l s of refrigeration, few basic definitions should be considered. They are: A). Heat is a form of energy transferred by virtue of a difference in temperature.

Heat exists everywhere to a greater or lesser degree. As a form of energy it can be neither created nor destroyed, although other forms of energy may be converted into heat, and vice versa. It is important to remember that heat energy travels in only one direction; from a warmer to a cooler object, substance, or area.

B). Cold is a relative term referring to the lack of heat in an object, substance, or area. Another definition describes it as the absence of heat, no process yet has been devised of achieving 'absolute zero,' the state in which all heat has been removed from any object, substance, or area. Theoretically this zero point would be 459.69 degrees below zero on the Fahrenheit thermometer scale, or 273.16 degrees below zero on the Celsius thermometer scale.

C). Refrigerants are chemical compounds which are alternately compressed and

Dec-Jan ’18

condensed into a liquid and then permitted to expand into a vapour or gas as they are pumped through the mechanical refrigeration system to cycle.

The refrigeration cycle is based on the

long known physical principle that a liquid expanding into a gas extracts heat from the surrounding substance or area. You can test this principle by simply wetting your finger and holding it up. It immediately begins to feel cooler than the others, particularly if exposed to some air movement. That is because the liquid in which you dipped it is

Hammer Food & Beverage Business Review

evaporating, and as it does, it extracts heat from the skin of the finger and air around it.

Refrigerants evaporate or 'boil' at much lower temperatures than water, which permits them to extract heat at a more rapid rate than the water on your finger.

D ) . R e f r i g e ra t i o n s y s t e m fundamental components: The job of the refrigeration cycle is to remove unwanted heat from one place and discharge it into another. To accomplish this, the refrigerant is pumped through a closed refrigeration system. If the system was not closed, it would be using up the refrigerant by dissipating it into the surrounding media; because it is closed, the same refrigerant is used over and over again, as it passes through the cycle, removing some heat and discharging it. The closed cycle serves other purposes as well; it keeps the refrigerant from becoming contaminated and controls its flow, for it is a liquid in some parts of the cycle and a gas or vapour in other phases of the cycle.

What You Need If you own a restaurant, you know the

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O P E R AT I O N S importance of refrigeration. It keeps all your meat and produce fresh, resulting in better quality and happy customers. However, if you are looking to upgrade your system or just starting your venture into the restaurant business, you may not have the knowledge needed to purchase the perfect system for your establishment.

R e f r i g e ra t i o n i s a f u n d a m e n t a l component of any restaurant, but many times, owners don’t know what type is ideal for their set up. Essentially, there are three types of commercial refrigeration units to consider: reach-in, under-counter, or fullsize walk-in. Each offers a bevy of benefits and helps streamline the food preparation process.

Reach-in units are the typical units you may see in a residence; yet commercial ones offer more capacity and features, which allow you to set the perfect temperature for your needs.

Under-counter refrigerators also provide a quick way to access food you need while saving time. Often, these units are placed under food preparation counters and are a flawless way to keep the final touches for prep work, such as condiments or sauces, close at hand.

Fi n a l l y, a wa l k - i n refrigerator offers ample room for food storage. With this type of unit, you can buy in bulk without spoilage, which often earns you discounts from food wholesalers.

Once you have decided which refrigerators provide the most benefit to your business, you should also consider what sizes you need. Units that are too large tend to waste money, while refrigerators that are too small may not accommodate your needs. There are many different sizes for you to choose from, but many restaurants opt for customised versions if they can’t find the perfect one to satisfy their requirements.

For reach-in refrigerators, remember to find one that will fit through the door and where its condenser is located. If the refrigerator is massive, it may not work in your kitchen. In addition, the location of the condenser, either top-mount or bottommount, can play a role in convenience, cleaning, and accessibility.

Other Aspects While the refrigerators mentioned above are the cornerstone of a successful kitchen,

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don’t overlook other aspects of refrigeration.

You may need a refrigerated display case for beverages or a bartender’s fridge underneath the bar. At first glance, these may seem like high initial expenditures, but they often pay for themselves thanks to the time they save.

Saving Energy Commercial refrigerators and freezers use lots of energy, operating round the clock to keep perishable products cool. Typical commercial refrigerators consume up to 17,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity while large commercial freezers consume up to 38,000 kilowatt-hours, resulting in high energy bills.

To help businesses save energy and money, there are many ways to reduce energy use of commercial refrigerators and freezers.

Here are just a few tips: Only turn on anti-sweat heaters when ambient

conditions cause condensation on the display doors. Try installing adaptive controls for these devices so they turn on and off automatically when necessary.

Check door gaskets and auto closers to make sure they are in good condition. Warm, humid air can enter refrigeration compartments if these are not working properly, resulting in energy waste and spoiled food.

Make sure the refrigeration system is clean and dust-free, especially the coils.

This can help improve heat transfer within the system.

Besides this make sure the refrigeration system has enough space around it to ensure good airflow over the heat exchange coils. This helps lower the amount of wasted energy.

Install motion sensors for case lighting

Hammer Food & Beverage Business Review

systems. This will turn lights on and off only when needed.

Install night curtains on open cases to help keep refrigerated air from escaping when standard business hours are over.

Care and Maintenance Maintaining your commercial refrigeration isn’t necessarily a difficult task, as long as yo u m a i nta i n a r i g o ro u s u p ke e p schedule. Each week, you should check the temperature and defrost settings to make sure you don’t lose food to spoilage.

To keep your electric bill down, check to see that employees turn out the lights of the walk-in unit, as leaving the light on increases energy usage and causes the temperature to rise. Finally, you should clean all refrigerators to maintain a high level of food safety.

Every m o nt h o r two, t h e re a re extra steps you can take to ensure the i n t e g r i ty of yo u r refrigeration. This i n c l u d es c l e a n i n g the condenser a n d eva p o rato r coils, much like yo u wo u l d d o o n an air-conditioning unit. Once you have completed this, you can check the unit for leaks, as well as oil the fan.

To e n s u re yo u r unit works efficiently and lasts as long as possible, schedule one or two tune ups a year. During this process, take care of the inspection, cleaning, and maintenance of all your equipment.

However, this low-cost tune up pales in comparison to the cost of replacing the refrigerator altogether.

In refrigeration cycle the refrigerant undergo number of changes in its state to produce refrigerating effect. Such changes constitute the refrigeration process. For carrying out the process the system is provided with components and control devices for efficiency of the machine. These controls and components are to be checked and repaired as and when necessary.

There are safety devices like high and low pressure cut outs, motor overload switch, relief valve, oil safety switch, etc. which are also to be taken care of. The valves and safety devices constitute the controls. n

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hygiene

Tackling Pest Infestation in Kitchens Pest control starts with adopting the best hygiene practices and putting in place other prevention techniques

By Jyotismita Sharma

T

he problem of pest infestations in eateries is anything but limited, even though only a few cases of restaurants, bars, or pubs getting punished for lack of hygiene hog the limelight. One such instance that shocked the world was the “extremely high rodent activity” detected in two of Nando's restaurants in Australia. The popular chicken chain was fined A$40,000 for "filthy cooking areas, poor cleaning and hygiene", The International Business Times reported on January 23.

This is however, not a one off incident.

Many restaurants regularly come under the scanner for lack of adequate pest control, even in countries that have reputations of maintaining higher hygiene standards than India. Part of the pest control problem arises because of inadequate understanding of t h e exte nt of t h e p ro b l e m . M a n y restaurants owners tend to think that their responsibilities end soon after entering into an agreement with a pest controller. Far from so in reality. They need to keep an eye over the activities of the pest controller and monitor their progress in keeping the pests off the eateries in order to serve safe food to customers and avoid the wrath of food inspectors.

Another issue that can complicate pest control in restaurants is lack of understanding of the problem on the part of the staff. Therefore, the management should take extra care to give the employees basic

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training in pest management.

A great challenge to keeping the kitchen hygienic comes in the form of pests that can infiltrate almost at their will and have the potential to contaminate the edibles and result in food-borne illnesses. So ubiquitous are the pests that it is practically impossible to keep the kitchens completely free of some types of pests. Therefore, a single strategy to beat the pest menace may often fail. But a combination of different strategies may at least help control them, if not eliminating them altogether.

And an effective application of multiple pest management strategies requires an understanding of different types of pests on the part of those in charge of the kitchen, be it of bakery, a food processing unit or that of a restaurant. They should also evaluate the economical and safe ways to controlling pests.

In fact, controlling the pest in kitchen re q u i res t h e co o p e rat i o n of a l l t h e employees involved as each employee can advance the cause of pest control in kitchens and the associated areas.

Simple Preventive Steps • Make sure there are no cracks in the doors or walls. All potential entry points for the pests must be taken care of. Use of silicone caulk to seal cracks and crevices in baseboards, moldings, cupboards, pipes, ducts, sinks, etc. can be useful.

• Garbage should be stored in sealed packets and they should be cleared as frequently as possible. The garbage cans should be clean of food residue quickly.

• Keep ripe fruits in fridge.

• Dishes after the food intake must be cleaned at the earliest or at least they should be submerged in soapy water quickly.

• Any food spills must not be allowed to stay unattended for long and all food and beverage items outside the fridge must be properly stored in sealed containers.

Kitchen should be clean and free from cooking grease and oil.

• Blocking all sources of water for pests is very important. Therefore, besides fixing leaky plumbing, one must also see that standing water doesn’t accumulate anywhere.

• Make sure that the kitchen is not very damp.

• Screens on all floor drains, windows, and doors could be installed to discourage pests from entering the kitchen.

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Dec-Jan ’18

hygiene Therefore, the new employees should also be adequately educated about the pest management programme in place at the organisation and how he or she could contribute to that programme. The importance of pest control must also be underlined as food can act as a carrier of diseases caused by pests who have the unique ability to fit in compact spaces and survive in adverse conditions.

The ‘many roads’ method is necessary in pest control because the pests vary in their shapes, sizes as well as in their ability to contaminate surroundings. This journey in the kitchen starts with adopting the best hygiene practices and other prevention techniques. But it is not always a straight road and one may have to change course thereafter and eventually opt for mechanical and chemical control methods whenever required.

Common Pests and Their Control One of the ways that the pests use to enter the kitchen is through the supplies. So it is important to use only reputable supplier for all deliveries and check them before they enter the kitchen. If you notice signs of pest infestation in the shipments, such as

gnaw marks on cardboards containers, it is better to refuse them. To avoid infestation on stored food, it is better to place the supplies after delivery as quickly as possible into storage. Moreover, do not forget to keep powdered milk, sweetened beverages and nuts, etc. in refrigerators immediately after opening the packets or use as these food items easily attract pests.

Another important way to prevent pest infestation is to refuse them food, water and a hiding place. For this, quick repairing of any leakage in water taps, cleaning up spilled foods and disposing of garbage quickly and correctly is important. Besides keeping garbage containers tightly covered, maintaining a regular sanitisation schedule is very important. As for the recyclables,

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hygiene they should be kept in pest-proof containers away from the building.

To control pest, one must first be able to identify them. It is important to know which pests harbour kitchens because there are some species of rodents, which are not found in other places otherwise.

Pests found in kitchens are classified u n d e r ro d e n t s , c o c k ro a c h e s , f l i e s , microorganisms like bacteria in foods stuffs and spiders. All these pests are different from each other in terms of their habits and therefore one single control treatment can hardly be effective.

Rodents or simply the house mouse, are amongst the deadliest of pests. They not only contaminate food but also disrupt the basic hygiene of a kitchen. Rats, very easily re-appear once the use of rodenticides is stopped under the impression that the kitchen is free from them. Therefore complacency must not seep in in checking them.

Rats are not difficult to find because of their restless nature and the damage they cause to stored goods. They are fast and agile with a strong olfactory system and tremendous acrobatic skills. All these factors make it difficult for people to catch them. Moreover, they are generally very suspicious by nature and new rodenticides fail against them after using them for few times, as rats do not come near them.

However, applying a good combination of m e c h a n i ca l a n d c h e m i ca l co nt ro l methods, their population can be brought under complete control.

Flies or houseflies develop in warm moist environment. Their growth is faster near fermenting materials. Garbage, rotting vegetables, moistened dust flour or any place where water accumulates provides a good breeding condition for flies.

A kitchen possesses all the abovementioned conditions. Therefore it is always under the threat of infiltrating flies. Their rapid rate of reproduction is also a big problem in their control.

Flies affecting kitchens are of more than one variety: Fruit Flies are associated with material that is acidic or sour in taste.

Metallic Colored Bottle Flies are found on meat scraps.

In a bakery, flies are found in mixing ro o m , i n g re d i e n t s ca l i n g a re a , a n d dishwashing area. Areas where sugar, eggs, lard, grease, milk, etc. are handled should receive particular scrutiny. In cake and pie bakeries (where fruits are used) the fruit line and peeling rooms tend to offer

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Humane Solution to Pest Menace?

Experts at the University of Edinburgh in Britain are investigating how genetic

techniques could be applied to help control pest species in a more humane way.

The team is evaluating how a technology called gene drive could be used to spread an infertility gene among rats and mice. The technique could provide a more humane method of controlling vermin population, the University of Edinburgh said in a press release on 5th December 2017.

A similar approach is already being tested among mosquitoes. The researchers said they were interested in whether it would also work in mammals.

Gene drive is a powerful technique for ensuring that a particular genetic trait is inherited by all descendants.

It means that a gene of interest can spread throughout an entire population within a few generations. The technology makes use of a DNA editing technique called CRISPR/ Cas 9.

Researchers at the University of Edinburgh's Roslin Institute are using mice to evaluate the technology's effectiveness in a contained laboratory environment.

They are targeting genes linked to female fertility, to explore how this could be used to curb pest rodent population.

The researchers stressed that additional research to investigate the potential risks associated with gene drive technology would have to be carried out before the approach could ever be applied to the real world.

If their approach is found to be successful, they said it could potentially be applied to help control other pest species, such as rabbits.

"We have the makings of a technology that could reduce or eliminate pest population in a humane and species-specific manner. We need more research to better understand the risks, and whether these can be mitigated, but we believe the potential benefits merit further investigation," said Professor Bruce Whitelaw of the University of Edinburgh's Roslin Institute. conditions for breeding.

Electric fly screen (Electrocutor) is one of the easiest ways to keep them away while mechanical measures are also effective.

Cockroaches are most resilient of kitchen pests. Their capacity to survive all kind of chemical and mechanical control is stronger than any other pest. Cockroaches have survived the ice age and they can keep themselves alive in the hottest and most inhospitable environment.

The peculiarity about cockroaches is that unlike any other pest they are shy of light and humans. They rarely come out of their shelter during daytime. They strike after the shutters are down. Cockroaches never make shelters. They easily fit themselves in cracks and crevices in walls and floors.

Chemicals have proven their potential against them but not completely. They maintain their effectiveness only when they are used regularly and are changed before the cockroaches develop resistance against the chemicals.

Cockroaches have unmatched resistance power and scientists believe they are

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potential survivors of post nuclear war era.

Therefore, when it comes to cockroaches, prevention is the best cure.

It is important to make sure that all food items are sealed along with the cracks, crevices and empty and unused idle gaps in the kitchens. Then only we can hope to counter the cockroach menace in kitchens.

Spiders are a different kind of pest. They do not infiltrate until and unless other pests like flies, cockroaches, etc. are present in the kitchen area. Nevertheless, they create situations, which can make a place suitable for their presence, as they are architect of capturing other pests with elan.

Spiderâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s cobwebs can be vacuumcleaned easily. Spiders such as the Brown Recluse, Black Widow and the Hobo Spider require immediate control efforts. These spiders should be controlled promptly and stringently because their bites could have serious repercussions on us.

Thus it is clear that while pest infestation can cast a death blow to the hygiene of kitchen, a continually well sanitised premise can facilitate in keeping the pests away and help prevent food contamination. n

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he a lth

Debunking Cancer

Nutrition Myths

By Dr. Ritika Samaddar

G

ood nutrition is especially important during the treatment of cancer as it helps to tolerate chemotherapy, radiation and surgery better. Eating well entails eating a variety of healthy food products to get the requisite combination of nutrients through protein, carbohydrates, fat, water, vitamins, and minerals.

The body needs all of these in right dosages to fight cancer effectively. In fact, they are needed in right dosages in normal circumstances too, but their intake in right dosages is especially crucial during cancer treatment. Holistic eating will help get more energy, which will help withstand the cancer treatment-related side effects better, and also lower the risk of infection, and make

the process of recovery faster.

Here it deserves a mention that one can reduce the risk of cancer or cancer recurrence by eating a balanced diet comprising a variety of fruits and vegetables and whole grains and limiting the intake of refined sugar and processed foods. Avoiding smoking and limiting alcohol intake are also helpful in preventing cancer.

Although good diet and nutrition forms the cornerstone in the treatment of cancer, it is an under recognised challenge for most cancer patients in India. Dietary information found in many popular books, blogs, websites and fad diets often cause unnecessary weight loss, disrupt treatment, and sometimes make outcomes worse.

Cancer patients and even people in general need to be cautioned about various popular cancer diet related myths. Instead cancer patients need to be guided by their oncologist and nutritionist about the importance of eating good healthy food and its effects on cancer treatment. The food & beverage industry and the food service industry could also take into account of these aspects and could promote these to educate their guests, which would help them stand in good stead in these health conscious times.

While there is a plethora of information about cancer, there are still many myths surrounding diet and cancer treatment. Let us debunk some of these myths related to diet in cancer treatment.

Myth: Sugar Feeds the Cancer Cells Fact: There is no scientific evidence to suggest that eating sugar or sweet food products will worsen cancer. Sugar is a source of glucose which provides energy; essential for all cells whether normal or abnormal.

However, a diet high in sugar should be avoided. A diet high in sugar can cause you to gain excess weight and increase your risk of diabetes. People who are obese or have diabetes have a higher risk of developing certain cancers. So we do recommend to decrease consumption of refined sugars

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he a lth found in food products like aerated drinks, sweetened beverages, refined carbs like white breads, buns, biscuits, croissants, etc.

the conventional food products are washed properly, the level of pesticides in them becomes significantly lower. Both organic and inorganic food products tend to have similar amounts of vitamins and minerals, which can reduce the cancer risk. So just be sure of the quality of the fruits and veggies and eat them fresh.

Myth: Drinking Dairy Causes Cancer Fact: Studies looking into the link between cancer and dairy products have not shown clear results. Milk on the other hand is a good source of calcium and protein, which is required for good health and recovery.

But make sure that the milk one is having is safe and pure.

Myth: Stop Eating Raw Fruits, and also Veggies

Myth: Eating Meat Causes Cancer Fact: Lean meats are a good source of protein and other micronutrients, which are essential in the treatment of cancer. Hence there is no harm in taking good amounts of both vegetarian and non-vegetarian proteins daily. But limit consumption of red meat and avoid processed meats. The term processed meat refers to smoking, curing, salting or addition of preservatives in meat, which again is one of the precipitating factors for causing cancer.

Myth: Fats are Bad for Us Fact: Dietary fats are an important part of a healthy balanced diet. Adding fats and oils in one’s diet gives taste and satiety besides facilitating absorption of essential fat soluble vitamins like vitamin A, D, E and K. Omega 3 and MUFA rich fats which actually prevent certain cancers need to be taken

Dr. Ritika Samaddar from the diet. Shunning all fat from diet can be dangerous, since body needs a certain amount of fats to be healthy. But certain fats like saturated fats and trans fat have been shown to be detrimental to health – a little won’t kill, but avoid excess of them.

Myth: Organic Food Cures Cancer Fact: There is no scientific study to prove that eating organic food prevents or treats cancer. Organic food are grown without the use of fertilizers and pesticides, whereas the non- organic food use them. However if

Hygienic Tips Besides avoiding the practice of these myths, and adhering to holistic nutrition, also follow some hygienic practices. They will not only help one in cancer treatment, but these hygienic measures should be adhered to by the healthy persons also to keep food-borne infections at bay. The food service establishments should give adequate importance to them.

Thoroughly wash hands and kitchen surface often as bacteria can spread throughout the kitchen and get onto cutting boards, utensils, counter tops and food. Wash hands in warm soapy water for at least 20 seconds, before and after touching food. Wash cutting boards, dishes, forks, spoons, knives and counter tops with hot soapy water. Do this after working with each food item. Clean the lids on canned good before opening.

Cross-contamination occurs when bacteria are spread from one food product to another. This is especially common when handling raw meat, poultry, seafood and eggs. Thus keep raw meat, poultry, seafood, and eggs away from other food. Do this in shopping cart, bags, and fridge also. Use a special cutting board or plate for raw food products only.

Cooking to proper temperatures is very essential for healthy eating. Cook eggs until the yolk and whites are firm. Bring sauces, soups, and gravy to a boil when re-heating.

When cooking in a microwave oven, stir and rotate food.

Keeping the refrigerator temperature within 0 -5 degree centigrade and freezer at minus 18 degree centigrade is one of the most effective ways to reduce the risk of foodborne illness.

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Hammer Food & Beverage Business Review

Fact: On the contrary eat a lot of fruits, vegetables, whole grains and legume.

Plant food give important nutrient called phytochemicals, which are antioxidants that help to neutralise and remove the toxins from the body. But eat clean food, which means it should be hygienic and free of microorganisms. So thoroughly wash all fruits and vegetables and eat fresh always to prevent infection.

Myth: Breast Cancer Survivors Should Avoid Soy and Flax Fact: Studies have shown that moderate consumption of soy and flaxseeds (1-2 servings/day) does not have interaction with anti-estrogen medication and also doesn’t increase the risk of cancer recurrence.

Myth: Antioxidants and Supplements Stop Cancer Cells from Growing Fact: Eating fruits and vegetables which are rich sources of antioxidants prevent against certain cancers. However, there is no evidence to show that eating them in high amounts or as supplements will destroy or stop the cancer cells from growing.

The author is Regional Head — Dept of Clinical Nutrition & Dietetics Max Super Specialty Hospital, Saket.

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INTERVIEW

Striving to Maximise

Guest Satisfaction

By Sharmila Chand

Nitin Gupta, the Food & Beverage Manager at The Orchid Hotel, Pune, is a bachelors in hotel management with over 14 years of experience, among which 10 years were at the management level positions.

He has expertise in maintaining service standards and operational policies, and planning & implementing effective control measures to reduce running costs of the unit.

Nitin is proficient in inventory management and maintenance of a hygienic environment. He has proven ability of delivering valueadded customer service and achieving customer delight by providing customised products as per requirements.

He is endowed with excellent communication and interpersonal skills, relationship management and problem solving skills. The excerpts of the interview follow: What do you enjoy the most about working in this industry?

Every day for me is different and that is one of the things I enjoy about working in this industry.

What do you dislike the most, professionally?

I dislike excuses.

Is your job challenging? Can you talk about some of them?

Yes, it is. The challenges in my job include tackling increased competition and high guest expectations, the challenge of retaining guests, the challenge of energy management and controlling costs.

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?

My role is to ensure that our every guest has an exceptional F&B experience.

I also focus on the engagement of my

86

team members in the hotel. I have an obligation to the hotel to provide the highest possible quality of food and beverage while increasing its revenues.

What is the USP of your F&B outlets/ brand?

Away from the hustle-bustle of the city, The Orchid Hotel, Pune is one of the most sought after five-star properties in Pune.

It is also Pune’s first Ecotel (environmentfriendly) hotel. The Orchid Hotel, Pune has always strived to bring about a positive change in the Indian hospitality industry.

The hotel offers a midnight buffet to satisfy the midnight cravings. Boulevard at The Orchid Hotel, Pune hosts the ‘Happiest Brunch’ with amazing food and activities.

At Merlin's —The Bar, one can enjoy a wonderful mix of foreign and Indian liquors, along with refreshing cocktails and mocktails.

Anything else you would like to say?

There are not any two days alike in the

Hammer Food & Beverage Business Review

hotel and food service industry.

The growth in the industry and increased competition could be among the factors responsible for the ability of hospitality business to garner and retain guests.

Mention some of the essential traits for a successful F&B Manager T h e p e r s o n m u s t e m b ra c e t h e opportunity to engage with guests and employees. She/he must enjoy being around different people and in learning their different personalities.

What is your take on the hospitality business in general?

The hospitality industry allows you to develop yourself professionally and as a person.

Here not only could you improve on the professional skills you already possess, but with time and commitment you get to know people better due to the variety of colleagues, clients and situations that will put you to the test.

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Soft Sensations Pvt. Ltd. shreya@softsensations.net

Mustard Sauces Veeba presents an enticing range of mustard sauces.

It is one of India’s leading sauce, dips and dressing company. Tantalise your taste buds with these flavoursome mustard sauces and dressings ranging from spicy to sweet; available in three variants — Honey Mustard Dressing, English Mustard, an American Mustard Sauce.

Veeba has always endeavoured to bring authentic flavours from across the world that are tasty and better for you.

Indians love spices and once again Veeba has added a bit of twist to the mustard sauces to tempt the Indian consumers while keeping their authenticity. So, be it salad or glazed veggies, whip in some mustard sauce and enjoy the lip smacking taste from Veeba.

Honey Mustard Dressing (300gm): The mellowness of honey with the tang of mustard, makes for the most interesting combination to power up salad.

American Mustard (310gm): Veeba's American mustard is made

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from one of the world’s best mustard powder.

Goes best with sandwiches, hot dogs and pizza.

English Mustard (300gm): This classic mustard sauce has the potential to add zing to any meal, any snack. The pungent flavour is a great accompaniment to fried food.

Veeba is one of the leading condiments & sauce company in India. Their focus is on quality, innovation and ‘Better for You’ products, which has helped Veeba stand out in a very cluttered retail market. With a pan-India distribution network, it offers fresh and the most authentic flavours. Extreme focus is put on procuring the finest and most authentic ingredients from across the globe and then the products are manufactured in a world class ISO 22000 certified manufacturing facility. Veeba started of as a B2B sauce & condiments company and its client list includes some of the biggest global names in QSR & coffee industry.

Veeba Food Services Private Limited www.veeba.in

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