Food & Beverage Business Review (Oct-Nov 2017)

Food&Beverage Oct-Nov 2017 l Volume XV Number 5 ` 90

Business Review

Business magazine for food service & food retail professionals

Business Health and Hygiene Influencing Food Service

Feature Trends in Food Retail Business

Agri Nutritious Seeds

Beverage Tea Lounges and Coffee Cafes

Theme Cuisine Oriental Delights

Processed Food Gauging the Indian Snacks Market

Time to Raise a Toast Restaurant Review

Chef Voice

Profile

Hygiene

Operations

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EDIT ORIA L

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he growing popularity and also the evolution of the bar c u l t u re d u r i n g t h e re ce nt years has been an important characteristics of the Indian food & beverage industry. The increase in the number of bars, pubs and lounges in urban India during the recent years is largely because of the growing need to socialise over drinks in urban India.

The significant increase in disposable incomes in select but sizeable pockets of urban Indian society during the last two decades and the perceptible shift in Indian society’s attitude towards alcoholic beverages are the other reasons contributing towards this trend.

Moreover, today visiting a high-end bar or a pub in urban India is not only associated with consumption of alcohol. Many of these places serve a wonderful selection of mocktails and other non-alcoholic beverages too.

In our Cover Story, we discuss the trendy beverages in the PBCL segment of today’s India, which include molecular cocktails and other new-age cocktails, the challenges of operating in India’s PBCL segment, and also the ongoing and futuristic trends in the realm of pubs, bars and lounges in the country.

The increase in health consciousness in the Indian society during the recent years has also altered our food service business. The growing importance of healthy food and impeccable hygiene in the restaurant business has been discussed in our Business Story. Some essential hygiene rules which need to be adhered to in commercial kitchens are also being elaborated. The health and hygiene standards adapted by some important hospitality properties in the country are also being presented through industry interactions.

The Feature section explores the prevailing and evolving trends in India’s food retail business. In the Agri section, we have covered pulses; an integral part of our daily diet and also of our eating out experiences.

The growth of tea lounges and coffee cafes in the urban landscape of post-modern India reflects the evolution in the perception of the consumption of our tea and coffees. The mushrooming of sleek tea lounges and coffee cafes has increased the element of experimentation and innovation in our ready-to-drink teas and coffees, thereby bringing a significant evolution in our tea and coffee drinking culture. The tea lounges and coffee cafes is the focus of this issue’s Beverage section.

These and many other interesting features relevant to the Indian food services industry are being discussed and/or explored in this issue. The rich information base of our magazine is provided by our News, Event and Report sections. The Focus section covers the recently held World Food India, which our readers may find to informative.

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Publisher cum Editor Rajneesh Sharma rajneeshhammer@gmail.com

Associate Editor Swarnendu Biswas Resident Editor Sharmila Chand (Delhi) Ashok Malkani (Mumbai) Layout & Design Hari Kumar. V 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 © 2017 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 Swan Press, B-71, Naraina Industrial Area, Phase-II, New Delhi-110 028.

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.

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Contents O CTO B E R - N O V E M B E R 2 01 7

Cover Story

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Time to Raise a Toast

Departments Event 04 News 10

Business

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Health and Hygiene Influencing Food Service

Report 24 Profile 49

Feature

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Trends in Indian Food Retail Business

Restaurant 64 Chef Voice

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Hygiene 72

Agri

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Nutritious Seeds

Processed Food

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Interview 79

Beverage

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Product Preview

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Tea Lounges and Coffee Cafes

Theme cuisine

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Oriental Delights

oPERATIONS

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Renovating Restaurants

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event

HostMilano Wins over International Operators The five-day hospitality exhibition drew 187,602 professional visitors, a jump of over 24 percent compared to the 2015 edition of the show

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he 2017 edition of HostMilano, a leading world exhibition for the hospitality industry, in all its different shapes and forms, once again confirmed its status as an international hub for the hospitality world.

The five-day event ending 24th October drew 187,602 professional visitors, a jump of 24.3 percent compared with the 2015 edition of the show. About 39 percent of the visitors were from overseas.

The crowd in attendance was mostly composed of Purchasing Managers and company decision-makers, notably including over 1,500 hosted buyers with specifically chosen profiles from all over the world.

Over 2,000 exhibitors from 52 nations showcased their products at the 40th edition of the event held in Milan, Italy.

“Host is a success story that is almost unique in the international world of exhibitions and events,” said Fabrizio Curci, CEO and Director General of Fiera Milano S.p.A., which organised the event.

“With an increment of 24.3 percent in the number of professional visitors, Host confirms its status as a true world hub of the

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hospitality macro-sector, the place where its chains meet to mould the trends of tomorrow and to do business and networking,” Curci added.

“In particular, the flow of foreign visitors are growing in double figures, reaching an increment of 20.4 percent: decisionmakers and buyers are also arriving from countries that are far away,” Curci said while discussing about the event.

The areas that sent an increased number of visitors included Europe, China, the US, Russian-speaking countries and the Middle East.

“Thanks also to the charm and allure of Italian style, every two years Host confirms Milan as the world capital of the various aspects of ‘glamour,’ away from home,” Curci said.

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Over 500 events were held during the exhibition, notably including the FIPGCWorld Pastry Making Championships, which, this year, in front of a stadium-style crowd, saw Italy claiming victory over 20 teams from all over the world, including China (second place) and Japan (third place).

The event also saw increased presence of international institutions. Business Beyond Borders, an international project promoted by the European Commission, engaged 240 companies from 53 countries in over 200 meetings, whereas Grupo Consular de América Latina y el Caribe N.I. participated for the very first time, grouping together consular representations from Bolivia, Colombia, El Salvador, Ecuador, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Uruguay and Venezuela.

For its ability to foster real business, this edition of the event also obtained the prestigious US Commercial Service certification, issued by the US Department of Commerce exclusively to a small number of international fairs.

The next edition of HostMilano will be held at the Fiera Milano exhibition centre during 18th-22nd October 2019.

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SINCE 1963

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event

Shanghai World of Packaging Finishes on a High Note

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WOP 2017, the leading processing and packaging exhibition in Asia, attracted over 700 overseas and domestic exhibitors. The event was held during 7th10th November 2017. 20,053 visitors from nearly 80 countries and regions, such as China, USA, Russia, South Korea, Japan, India, Vietnam and Malaysia came to the SNIEC fairgrounds in Shanghai to see latest innovations.

The four-day large-scale exhibition was organised by Messe Düsseldorf (Shanghai) Co., Ltd (MDS) and Adsale Exhibition Services Ltd. Visitors benefited greatly from the event, learning not only about cutting-edge innovative technologies but also about the status of the packaging market. Whether in terms of exhibition topics, concurrent conferences or exhibitor demonstrations, SWOP 2017 focused on innovation much more as compared to its previous exhibition. In particular, the SAVE FOOD initiative, with its debut in China, and the newly upgraded FMCG Future Zone, were widely acclaimed.

SWOP is now a member of the interpack alliance, which is based on interpack ­— the world’s leading processing and packaging trade fair — and spans all international events staged by Messe Dusseldorf under its processing & packaging portfolio.

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Additionally a German group pavilion presented its range of delivery and service solutions for the whole value chain with the support from the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMW) in cooperation with the AUMA-Association of the German Trade Fair Industry and accompanied by the VDMA Printing and Paper Technology Association. Whether in terms of exhibition image, content or international fame, SWOP is a highly anticipated event for the packaging world.

SWOP 2017 featured the entire value chain of packaging, from packaging materials production and processing, primary packaging, secondary packaging, l o g i s t i cs / e - co m m e rce p a c ka g i n g to packaging materials and containers, all in one fair. The exhibition served eight industries: food, beverage, bakery, confectionary, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, non-food consumer goods and industrial commodities. This makes SWOP the first ever one-stop sourcing platform covering

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the entire value chain. The fair included exhibitors and pavilions from 22 countries and regions, such as Germany, Italy, Spain, United Kingdom, United States and Austria to showcase their latest achievements in the packaging industry.

Many special highlights were featured at SWOP 2017. Some exhibition zones and forums were inspired by interpack. Among them the 'SAVE FOOD' initiative, a study of how to lengthen food’s storage period with innovative packaging materials and technologies, launched its debut at SWOP 2017 with a featured exhibition area and forum to share information with the public, especially the suppliers of solid food, liquid food, fresh food and agricultural products. At a featured exhibition area, around 20 exhibitors including MULTIVAC, BERRY, TORMA, MOCON, etc. exhibited their creative packaging technologies and products. SAVE FOOD China Forum was held on the second day of SWOP. FAO, MULTIVAC, TORMA, CHANGSU, MOCON and other companies shared the public information of how innovative packaging materials and technologies extend food shelf life, which would not only help enable food suppliers to reduce their costs but is also a good step towards environmental protection.

The 'FMCG Future Zone' was undoubtedly the special highlight of SWOP. Compared with the last edition's 'Packaging Materials and Products' zone, this year the upgraded zone occupied 10,000 square metres of the entire Hal W3, showcasing innovative and green packaging materials with latest packaging design. Nearly 200 packaging materials and container exhibitors, including RPC, BEAUTYSTAR, JINGLI, YUTONG LEEKEE, LUENCHEONG among others showcased the products covering plastics, paper, metal , glass, wood, printing ink and adhesives. These manufacturers exhibited high-quality products for FMCG end-users, creating a cross-boundary exchange platform and improving the brand competitiveness of manufacturers.

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event American Rise Show with Sebahattin Güney, American Cranberry meals with Serkan Çetintas and Indian cuisine with Vinod Kumar Chouhan were on stage while the visitors were experiencing delicious moments during the fair.

Colourful Competitions

FOOD Istanbul Expo Kick-starts with Great Promise The fair hosted professional visitors from 104 different countries from across the world

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OOD Istanbul Expo, which brought the food, packaging and out-of-home consumption industries under the same roof together for the first time in Turkey, was held at CNR Expo Yesilkoy, from 20th23rd September. The event organised in an area of 80, 000 square meters hosted nearly 25, 000 visitors. Professionals and representatives from the food & beverage, food processing, storage, cooling technologies, logistics and store equipment industries attended the event.

Products exhibited at the event included meat & meat products; fish, molluscs & shell fish products; poultry products; fruit, vegetables & dried fruits products; delicatessen & ready-prepared dishes; milk and milk products; confectionery, biscuits & pastry products; organic products; gourmet products; local and specialised products; non-alcoholic beverages, pet food products; storage & cooling technology products; and stores & market equipment products.

Within the scope of the ‘International Hosted Buyer Delegation Programme’, the exhibitors had the opportunity to meet with the buyers from 45 different countries.

The exhibitors met with buyers from 45 different countries including India, China, Taiwan, Singapore, the United States, Germany, England, France, Canada, Russia, Poland, Ukraine and Greece, among others.

Th ro u g h t h e B 2 B m atc h m a k i n g p ro g ra m m e , ex h i b i t o rs w h i c h w e re categorised based on the product groups, had the opportunity to establish concrete

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trade relations with international buyer delegations at the B2B meeting area.

Within the Buyers Delegation B2B Matchmaking Programme, more than 500 importers with 4 billion dollars import potential realised over 800 B2B meetings with exhibitors. In addition to international buyer delegations, which were hosted privately, the fair hosted professional visitors from 104 different countries from across the world.

Big Players at FOOD Istanbul Expo Ricardo Renzo Rojas, son of Raul Rojas, known as Sugar King, was one of the important names hosted at CNR Food Istanbul. Wayki en Golosinas SAC, the leading producer of Peru candy market, who opened South American gates for the first time to the Turkish food sector, met with Turkish sugar producers at a B2B programme.

Important food buyers such as The Balsharaf Group and Tajero LLC came to purchase to CNR Food Istanbul. The Balsharaf Group have 16,000 chain stores in the Middle-East and provides the supply of Carrefour stores in Saudi Arabia. Tajero LLC distributes the products of companies like Unilever, Ferrero, Ülker, Doğ u ş and Beypiliç.

International Cooking Shows Th e ex h i b i t i o n h o s te d we l l - k n ow n international Chefs for the cooking shows.

Peruvian cuisine with Bruno Santa Cruz,

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International Chefs voted for the stars of kitchen during the Local Chef, Pastry of Istanbul and Chefs of Future competitions.

The winner of Local Chef competition was Four Seasons Bosphorus. The second position went to Fairmont Quasar, while the third to Hyatt Regency.

Teams participating in the ‘Pastry of Istanbul’ competition were evaluated in pastry, praline chocolate, sculpture and bakery products. The winner of Pastry of I İ s tanbul was Le Meridien Etiler. The second position went to Movenpick Istanbul, while the third went to The Ritz Carlton.

The next edition of CNR FOOD Istanbul will be held from 5th-8th September 2018, at CNR EXPO Ye ş i lkoy.

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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The Beer Café Opens New Outlet in Delhi’s Khan Market Alco-beverage chain, The Beer Café, has enhanced its portfolio with the launch of an outlet in New Delhi’s Khan Market. The outlet features décor and cuisine inspired

by Spain’s rich culinary legacy. It also has an extensive list of aged wines in addition to a large collection of craft beers in the country.

“Khan Market is a strategic location and we are excited to be here,” said Rahul Singh, Founder & CEO, The Beer Café. “The menu features a thoughtful selection of craft beers, extensive wines, and scrumptious Spanish food in a cheerful setting, which is reminiscent of the Spanish culture,” Singh added.

The Beer Café offers a range of 50 different varieties of beer from across 20 countries in the world and a large collection of draught beers. The brand is looking to add to its current array of 35 outlets across 12 cities, targeting 150 operational outlets by 2022. The Beer Cafe is also looking to soon introduce its own brand of beer.

ITC Launches Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Brand— Farmland F M CG m a j o r I TC re ce nt l y u nve i l e d ' Fa r m l a n d ' — i ts n ew b ra n d fo r f res h fruits and vegetables. Farmland made a debut in the Indian market with an exciting range of variants in potatoes such as natural low sugar potatoes, potatoes with natural antioxidant, baby potatoes and French fry potatoes.

“Our brand Farmland will provide a win-win situation for the consumers by serving their emerging need for safe and nutritious fruits and vegetables as well as by opening up a new value-added market segment for the Indian farmers,” said S Sivakumar, Group Head - ITC's Agri Business and Information Technology.

Farmland potatoes are naturally low in fat and sugar with fat content below 0.2 percent and sugar level below 2 percent respectively, the company said in a statement.

With a consumer spend of approximately Rs. 500,000 crore, the Indian fruits and vegetables market is pegged at approximately Rs. 300,000 crore for the producers.

“Potatoes are the largest consumed vegetable in India. We believe that Farmland potatoes with their superior quality & taste in different variants will resonate well with Indian consumers who today have distinct tastes and preferences.

We are introducing them at highly competitive prices," Sivakumar added.

The total market for table potatoes in India in consumer spend terms is valued at Rs. 70,000 crore with consumption in metros and mini-metros alone is close to Rs. 5,000 crore, which is the market ITC's Farmland potatoes range will address in the first phase.

ITC informed that Farmland Potatoes would be sold through organised reta i l , e - co m m e rce p l at fo r m s a n d t h e n e i g h b o r h o o d ve g eta b l e ve n d o rs .

Del Monte Launches Packaged Dried Blueberries Extending the goodness of dried fruits, food and beverage major Del Monte recently launched its dried blueberries in the India's retail market.

The newly launched dried blueberries are an addition to Del Monte’s dried fruit family that includes dried prunes and dried cranberries.

Dried blueberries are a source of dietary fibre which slows absorption of carbohydrates and fats; thereby making you feel satiated. They also provide energy while being low in fat and sodium, offering the option of a health snack. One can enjoy these plump sweet berries on the go or blend them to make a delicious smoothie. They can also be mixed in breakfast cereals or added to salads.

A 130 gm packet of Del Monte’s dried blueberries is priced at an MRP of Rs. 430 with a shelf life of nine months.

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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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The Beer Café CEO Rahul Singh Becomes the Vice-President of NRAI Founder and CEO of The Beer Café, Rahul Singh has been named as the Vice-President of the National Restaurant Association of India (NRAI). The announcement was made at the recent Annual General Meeting (AGM) of NRAI that took place at India Nightlife Convention and Awards (INCA), in Mumbai.

Prior to being named as its Vice-President, Singh was associated with NRAI as the Honorary Secretary and led its previous Managing Committee during one of the most difficult years faced by the industry of late. He also spearheaded the battle against the highway liquor ban and was instrumental in making bars on highway stretches within municipal limits legally operational once again.

“To be chosen for this role by the NRAI, which is the leading organisation within the Indian restaurant industry, is a moment of great personal and professional pride for me. I hope to reciprocate the faith that the association h as s h ow n i n m e by l eve ra g i n g m y k n ow l e d g e, s k i l l s a n d ex p e r i e n ce towards driving the industry’s continued growth and success,” Singh said.

NRAI has been the leading association of the Indian restaurant industry since its establishment in 1982.

FieldFresh Ties Up with Japanese Food Brand KIKKOMAN FieldFresh Foods Pvt Ltd., a joint venture between Bharti Enterprises & Del Monte Pacific Limited, announced in November that it had entered into a strategic partnership with the Japanese heritage food brand KIKKOMAN to introduce its soy sauce in India. With this partnership, FieldFresh Foods will have the exclusive rights to manufacture and market Kikkoman products in India, thereby strengthening its condiment portfolio in the market.

“We are delighted to partner with Kikkoman Corporation.

This is a significant milestone and in line with the Government’s ‘Make in India’ initiative. We are confident with Kikkoman’s expertise in the premium oriental condiments segment and our deep consumer understanding of the Indian market will help both the companies to emerge as a leading player in the segment and achieve market leadership in the next 3-5 years,” said Rakesh Bharti Mittal, Chairman, FieldFresh Foods Pvt. Ltd. “With a surge in specialised restaurants offering oriental cuisine, we are expecting the partnership to also give a significant boost to our B2B business,” Mittal further added.

The KIKKOMAN range of products will be manufactured at FieldFresh Foods’ manufacturing facility in Hosur, Tamil Nadu, which was set up with an initial investment of approximately Rs.150 crore in 2009-10. “We are very excited to partner with FieldFresh Foods in India to introduce KIKKOMAN. The partnership will not only allow us to enter the vibrant Indian subcontinent, but also help us build and develop Japanese food culture in the country,” Osamu Mogi, Director & Executive Corporate Officer of International Operations Division, KIKKOMAN, added.

The size of the Indian soy sauce market is estimated at Rs. 100 crore in retail and foodservice combined, and is expected to grow at 20 percent year-on-year.

“We have been expanding our oriental condiments portfolio with the combined efforts of Del Monte’s global heritage, and now with KIKKOMAN’s expertise in Japanese cuisine, we are hopeful to expand our footprint in growing the condiments segment. We aim to achieve a market leadership position in the premium oriental condiments segment,” said Yogesh Bellani, CEO, FieldFresh Foods Pvt. Ltd.

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Manufacturing Unit: Marol (Mumbai), Kashimira & Vasai (Dist. Thane)

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Carysil Launches Professional Kitchen Gallery in Mumbai Professional kitchen appliances maker Acrysil Limited, part of Acrysil Group, recently opened its first professional kitchen products and appliances gallery in Mumbai.

Located at Andheri East, the gallery was launched in November and it was inaugurated by Chef Shipra Khanna.

The event saw Chef Khanna interacting with the audience and conducting a live cooking demo using Carysil appliances.

Engineered with German technology, Acrysi l ma r kets t he p rod ucts u n d e r t h e b ra n d n a m e ' C a r y s i l . ' T h e p ro d u ct s a v a i l a b l e a t t h e professional kitchen gallery include reparation equipment, cooking equipment, combination series, display warmers, dish washers, customised equipment, among others.

“Acrsyil has now ventured into the market of professional kitchen equipment with its turnkey products. Keeping in mind the needs of the Indian hospitality market, specifically the end user, and with emphasis on eco-friendly, energy saving and multi-functional technology, we have a well organised pattern of product supplies and proper availability of spare parts along with an efficient and technically strong after-sales team,” said Chirag Parekh, Chairman and Managing Director at Carysil.

“With our international equipments, we are very excited about this venture and pledge to cater to the ever growing needs of the Indian hospitality industry,’’ Parekh affirmed.

Venus Receives Excellence Award In a recently held ‘Hospitality India & Explore the World Annual International Travel Awards – 2017’ organised at hotel The Ashok, Delhi on 27th October 2017, Venus Industries was presented with an award of 'Pioneer in Stainless Steel Cutlery & Hotel Ware.' The award was presented to J K Khurana, CMD – Venus Industries, in recognition of his outstanding accomplishments & individual excellence in the field of hospitality & tourism sector, in the presence of distinguished professionals & decision makers of the hospitality industry.

Venus Industries was founded in 1963 by J K Khurana with an objective of providing its customers an extensive range of designs and products with unmatched quality, uniqueness and versatility while maintaining transparency and integrity. Since inception, with a view to give new dimension to luxury dining, Venus has always thrived to make its products unique, elegant and classic. Venus specialises in customised designs in tune with the décor and ambience while maintaining supreme quality standards.

Venus's range of products include Stainless Steel Cutlery, Chafing Dishes, Table Accessories, Buffet Serving Collections, Wine & Bar Accessories and many more. They introduced Roll Top Chafing Dishes in the year 1991, which we re w i d e l y a cc l a i m e d fo r t h e i r s u p e r b q u a l i ty, u n i q u e n ess a n d e l e g a n ce.

Their new range in Chafing Dishes was developed with the combination of steel and copper. These Roll Top Chafing Dishes have been designed in round and rectangular shapes. The unique blend of copper roll top and stainless steel lower body increases its aesthetic appeal and makes the product immensely premium. Like all the products manufactured by Venus, this new concept has undergone through various process of quality control and has employed highly sophisticated technology.

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The Indian Pale Ale Flows Along Indian craft beer major Bira 91 launched in October the first bottled Indian Pale Ale brewed in India. Calling it 'The Indian Pale Ale,' the company released the beer in Delhi-NCR, Mumbai, Bengaluru and Pune through a large scale promotion across 250 restaurants and bars.

“This is a sort of homecoming for the IPA. The IPA was perhaps the only beer style made for India by British brewers in the 1800s and pretty much died down in the world after lagers took over,” said Ankur Jain, Founder & CEO of B9 Beverages, the maker of Bira 91.

“Their rediscovery by American craft brewers in the 1980s really sparked the craft revolution and we believe that ‘The IPA’ made in India by Bira 91 brings the beer style full circle. It is a hop mutiny in a glass and we believe that the beer will spark a beer revolution in India too!” Jain maintained.

After the company’s flagship Bira 91 White (a low bitterness wheat beer) and Bira 91 Blonde (an extra hoppy craft lager) and recent additions to their portfolio – Bira 91 Light (a low-calorie lunch time lager) & Bira 91 Strong (a high intensity wheat beer with high alcohol), 'The IPA' is the company’s fifth beer.

The company said it would be launching the beers in the United States later this quarter making it the first IPA from India to hit global markets.

H i g h i n a l co h o l ( s eve n p e rce nt ) , t h i s b e e r i s m a d e w i t h a m i x of two row p i l s n e r m a l ts , p a l e m a l ts a n d w h e at m a l ts .

According to the company, brewed with some of the world’s most flavourful and bitter hops — cascade, magnum, brewers’ gold, and some secret exotic varieties — this is a beer with a refreshing bitterness while remaining true to the original pale ales brewed by British.

Godrej Nature’s Basket Opens New Store in Mumbai Food omni-channel retail chain Godrej Nature’s Basket (GNB) has launched a new store in Mumbai’s Worli area. Located at Dr. Annie Besant Road in Worli, it is spread across 3,500 sq. ft., IndiaRetailing.com reported.

A live granary, fresh spices section, an ice-bed for fresh meats, and an exclusive tea and coffee counter are some of the attractions of the store. “ Th e l au n c h of t h e Wo r l i s to re m a r ks a m i l es to n e i n o u r j o u r n ey as it reflects the brand’s new philosophy of ‘Daily Food Delights’,” Avani Davda, Managing Director, Godrej Nature’s Basket, was quoted as saying.

Godrej Nature’s Basket, which started in 2005 as a single store in Mumbai, has now transformed itself into an omni-channel retail business. It envisages to launch 6 to 8 more stores by the end of this financial year, in Mumbai.

“GNB is looking at scaling up its footprint to 60–70 stores by FY21,” Avni added.

ConnectedCooking 2.0 The networked kitchen.

Made by RATIONAL. Arguably the biggest digital platform for professional kitchens.

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French Bakery Chain L’Opera Opens New Outlet in Delhi Expanding its retail presence in India, French bakery chain L’Opera recently opened an outlet at PVR Directors Cut Ambiance Mall in Vasant Kunj, New Delhi.

L'Opera opened its first outlet in India, in 2011, in Delhi's Khan Market.

The new outlet recreates the atmosphere of France with its fittings and furniture brought from overseas, and can accommodate around 20 people at a time.

Even the menu has been especially curated so that customers can have a wide range of options besides pastries. The other items included in t h e m e n u a re s a n d w i c h es , b a g u ettes a n d c ro i ss a nts , a m o n g ot h e rs .

L’Opera makes over 26 types of breads every day, including baguettes, croissants, pain paysan (peasant bread). It also makes macarons, quiches, verrines, teas and jams among other bakery and confectionery items.

The bakery chain has so far opened five outlets in India this year, including the one in Ambiance Mall, and plans to extend to other cities of the country as well.

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Ne w s s c a n

First Indian Wine Day celebrated on November 16 For the first time in the modern Indian wine history, Indian Wine Day was celebrated pan-India on 16th November 2017 as The Lalit Suri Hospitality Group tied up with Indian Wine Academy to celebrate this day. Premium and super premium Indian wines were paired with Indian cuisine at the award winning Baluchi Restaurant at The Lalit Group hotels in Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Chandigarh, Jaipur and London, as a part of this extravaganza. Every dish was paired with wine from different producer. Bangalore also had complimentary Wine Tasting during the day at The Lalit Ashok Bangalore.

The concept is a brain-child of Subhash Arora, President of the Indian Wine Academy, who along with the French Corporate Sommelier, Charles Donnadieu, wishes to promote Indian wines with Indian cuisine to give an exclusive Indian gastronomical experience.

With the infectious enthusiasm of Keshav Suri, Executive Director of the Lalit Group and active support of the Corporate F&B General Manager, Ravindra Kumar, the aim is to create a bigger acceptance of the premium quality of Indian wines and encourage Indian producers and hospitality industry to come together on a common platform.

To highlight the importance of such a day for the Indian wine industry in the long-run, 16th November was selected to b r i n g h o m e t h e i m p o rta n ce of a n I n d i a n W i n e D ay.

Baluchi Restaurants at The Lalit are known for their excellence in Indian cuisine. They decided to pair their delectable dishes with select Indian wines from Sula, Grover, Fratelli, York, Charosa, Chandon and KRSMA. In Bangalore, the Indian Wine Day started at 11

am at The Lalit Ashok Bangalore where wines from eight producers were uncorked for sampling till 7 pm. Enoteca by Madhuloka and Karnataka Wine Board powered the tasting to create awareness about the premium Indian wines and their improved quality.

To make the Indian Wine Day (IWD) celebrations more exciting and to further the cause of Indian wines, The Lalit Group announced that Indian wines ordered at a restaurant in any of their properties in India and London would enjoy 50 percent discount on the Listed Price during 16th-18th November.

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ConnectedCooking Wins Over the Panel Gulf Host 2017, the largest gastronomy trade fair in the Middle-East, was an overwhelming success for Rational AG. The hot food preparation pro won the ‘Gulf Host Innovation Award’ for ConnectedCooking; the networking solution for professional kitchens.

In the 'Best Back of House Equipment Innovation' category, the global manufacturer of combisteamers won against high-calibre competitors a n d t h u s o n c e a g a i n d e m o n s t ra t e d h o w important the digitalisation of cooking processes.

“The award not only honours Rational, but also determines the path for kitchens in the future”, commented Vikram Goel, Managing Director for RATIONAL India. And Rational clearly sees this future in digitalisation. The cooking Alexander Wimmer, Business Devp. programmes can be transferred worldwide from EMEA at Rational, Simon Parke Davies, MD. RATIONAL Middle east and Benjamin a head office to any number of appliances Nothaft, Product Mgm. Tech. using ConnectedCooking; guaranteeing the same quality standards. Remote access to the appliances is possible, software updates are generated, HACCP documentation is automatically produced and stored and selected service partners can even access SelfCookingCenter units via remote diagnosis. The fact that data is protected from third-parties is a given for Rational. This most certainly also impressed the nine-member international panel.

Tata Global Beverages Pilots its First Tea Cafe in Bangaluru Tata Global Beverages, the world’s second largest tea company, is evaluating the out of home beverage space with the pilot launch of its first tea café Tata Cha. The first Tata Cha tea cafe is located at 12th Main Indiranagar, in the heart of Bengaluru.

“At Tata Cha, the essence of our offering is rooted in being authentically Indian. It is about bringing to our consumers the warmth of 'tapri chai' in a modern environment,” Sushant Dash, Regional President – India, Tata Global B eve ra g e s a i d at the opening of t h e p i l ot s to re.

To evaluate the consumer p ro p o s i t i o n a n d business model, Tata Global Beverages said it planned to test launch a total of four pilot stores. Based on the outcome of the pilot stores, the compnay will decide on future course of action for the out of home beverage space.

“At the core of this venture is the motivation to enhance the appeal of tea and make it more vibrant for the newer consumer groups like the millennials. At our first of the four pilot stores, we bring you an extensive menu crafted to revive lost Indian recipes, which blend warmth with a dash of youthfulness. This includes, signature tea-based hot and cold beverages, traditional snacks, dunkers and meals with a twist,” Dash added.

The hot tea range at the store includes Sikkim tea, masala tea and nimbuda black tea. The food menu includes regional recipes — from butter chicken khichdi to creamy veg stew. Indigenous recipes such as chatpata matar kulcha and dal pakwaan also form a part of the menu.

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a p p oi n t m e n t

Syed Asad Gauhar Sheraton Hyderabad Hotel, Gachibowli has announced the appointment of Mr. Syed Asad Gauhar as Food & Beverage Manager.

Asad Gauhar comes with over 12 years of experience in hospitality industry and will be responsible for day-to-day operations of the F&B unit, achieving of revenue targets and driving unique guest experiences at the hotel.

Syed Asad Gauhar’s career began w i t h Th e O b e ro i U d a i v i l as i n 2 0 0 5 , w h e re h e e n s u re d ex p e ct at i o n s of guest related to product delivery and guest services exceeded at all times, with the highest operational standards.

He has worked with leading hospitality brands like The Leela Palace, Udaipur, Ananda in the Himalayas Rishikesh, Anantara Resorts & Spa, Maldives and The Oberoi Udaivilas. His last assignment was at the The Leela Palace Udaipur, Rajasthan, India.

Anshuman Bali A n s h u m a n B a l i h as b e e n a p p o i nte d as the Executive Chef of JW Marriott Mumbai Sahar. With an illustrious career spanning over 16 years, Anshuman brings an array of skills, knowledge and expertise from the hospitality and F&B industry.

After graduating from the Institute of Hotel Management in Lucknow, he started his career in 1999 with the Taj Group of Hotels as a Management Trainee. In 2005,

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Anshuman joined the Imperial Hotel in New Delhi. He later moved to the Oberoi Hotels and Resorts in 2006, where he worked for over seven years and was responsible for running multiple kitchens and restaurants. He was also proactively involved in promotional initiatives, business development, GQ scores, LQA audit and employee engagement.

Prior to his current stint with JW Marriott Mumbai Sahar, he was responsible for kitchen operations with well-established hotels such as The Leela Palace Hotel in Udaipur and Four Seasons Hotel in Mumbai. comes with a distinct culinary experience. A seasoned chef, he has worked with some of India’s most eminent hotels. Before joining AccorHotels, Chef Yogesh worked with Park Hyatt Goa Resort as Chef de Cuisine.

Chef Yogesh brings with him an extensive array of expertise and a deep understanding of the unique and modern aspects in the F&B industry, which is critical to his role.

With a passion for all things gastronomic and a flair for International as well Indian cuisine, he emerges as a strong team player when it comes to innovative cooking techniques and management experience.

Liew How Wai Shangri-La Hotel, Bengaluru has announced the appointment of Liew How Wai as Asian chef de cuisine at their all-day dining, multi-cuisine restaurant, b Café. With diverse experiences across the Asia Pacific region, Liew will bring his dynamic and practical expertise to the city of Bengaluru.

Bringing close to two decades of culinary expertise under his belt chef Liew, will lead the Asian kitchen at b Café. His culinary knowledge, drawn by extensive travelling across countries, finds its expressions in the diverse flavours and dishes that he will present. As the hotel’s Asian chef de cuisine, he will work towards taking the hotel’s culinary recognition to greater heights. Chef Liew is all set to delight guests by adding a contemporary touch to food preparation, set up and presentation while preserving the authenticity and originality of the dishes. With Chef Liew at the helm, guests can expect a delectable d i n i n g ex p e r i e n ce t h at i s b o u n d to impress even the most discerning palate.

Chef Yogesh Deshpande N ovote l H ote l s & Res o rts , G o a h as announced the appointment of Chef Yogesh Deshpande as the new Pastry Chef, who

Hammer Food & Beverage Business Review

Prateek Kalra JW Marriott Mumbai Sahar has announced the appointment of Prateek Kalra as Director of Food and Beverage. Bringing over 12 years of rich experience in the F&B and hospitality industry to the role and backed with unrivalled knowledge and skill set, Prateek will lead the hotel’s F&B operations.

After graduating from the Institute of Hotel Management in Mumbai, Prateek started his career with the Taj Management Training Program. He began his journey in the food and beverage space, and worked across various markets during his stint with the Taj Group. Prior to his current appointment with JW Marriott Mumbai Sahar, he was the Director of Food & Beverages at Taj Coromandel, Chennai.

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R e p ort

ICF 14th Annual Chef Awards

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o celebrate and recognise the talent behind the kitchen, luminaries of the hospitality and culinary industry came together at the 14th Annual Chef Awards, organised by the Indian Culinary Forum (ICF) at The Ashok Hotel, Chankyapuri, New Delhi on 1st November. The best among the 100s of Chefs were bestowed with awards.

“We have been organising the Annual Chef Awards since the last 13 years as a part of the celebrations of International Chefs Day, as our contribution to accredit a Chef as an artist. The objective of Chef Awards is to offer fellow Chefs a professional platform to showcase, exhibit, and hone their culinary skills and raise the overall Indian culinary art at par with international standards,” said Chef Davinder Kumar, President, Indian Culinary Forum.

The festivities began before the awards night. The culinary extravaganza kicked-off with the four-day long 'Trade Test' where participating Chefs competed in 11 culinary categories and demonstrated their culinary skills. As part of the celebrations, ICF also organised the 'Chef Summit' for the fourth consecutive year, where eminent names from the hospitality industry like Anil Bhandari (Chairman, AB Smart Concepts & AB Smart Placement),

Chef Davender Kumar, Chef Sanjeev Kapoor, Chef Sudhir Sibal, Chef Manjit Gill, Chef Sabyasachi 'Saby' Gorai, Sourish Bhattacharyya, Sonali Sinha (CEO, Tourism & Hospitality Skill Council), Chef Vinod Bhati, and Chef Shaju Zacariah, among others, marked their presence.

The Winners of the Different Award Categories Were: Hall Of Fame. . ........................................................................................Chef Sanjeev Kapoor Lifetime Achievement Awar.........................................................Chef Manmohan Singh Golden Hat Award..............................................................................Chef Sudeep Bose (HOD, IHM Pusa) Silver Hat Award.................................................................................Chef Gautam Chaudhary (Demiurgic Hospitality, Gurgaon) Lady Chef of the Year.....................................................................Chef Mousmi Das (Galgotia University, Greater Noida) Chef of the Year..................................................................................Sumit Pant (Banarasidas Chandiwala Hotel Management Institute, Okhla) Best Food Writer Award.................................................................Sitaram Mewati Master Chef International Cuisine award...........................Mohit Pokhriyal (Le Meridian, New Delhi) Master Chef Baker Award.............................................................Sumit Kumar (Le Meridian, New Delhi) Master Chef South/ East/ West Indian Cuisine ...........Kamla Kamalakannam (The Oberoi, Gurgaon) Kitchen Artist award.........................................................................Jitendra (The Ashok Hotel, New Delhi) Master Chef North India Cuisine Award..............................Chef Vaij Nath (The Ahsok Hotel, New Delhi) Master Chef Indian Sweets Award..........................................Sukanta Pal (Lemon Tree Premier, Aerocity) Master Chef Oriental Cuisine Award......................................Harish Chander (Double Tree by Hilton, Gurgaon) Master Chef Kebab Award............................................................Ravindra Singh (Country Inn & Suites, Sahibabad) Student Chef of the Year Award (Male)..............................Vijay Chawla (Cake and Bake Academy) Student Chef of the Year Award (Female).........................Vrinda Kureel (IICA, Hauz Khas)

Hotel and Restaurant Apex Body Welcomes GST Rate Cut

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he Federation of Hotel & Restaurant Associations of India (FHRAI), India’s apex body representing the concerns of hotels and restaurants in India, has welcomed the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council’s decision to cut tax rate for restaurants (barring those located in luxury hotels) to five percent.

“We are extremely thankful to the Gove rn m ent fo r ma k in g t hes e m uc h required changes in the GST regime. This will help restaurants across India rationalise

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tariffs,” said Garish Oberoi, President, FHRAI. The GST Council on 10th November removed 178 items from the highest 28 percent category while cutting the tax on all restaurants outside starred hotels to five percent, but the council withdrew input tax credit facility for those restaurants. Under input tax credit, businesses can take credit of taxes paid on all goods and services and utilise the same for payment of output tax.

The decision became effective from

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15th November as the government issued notifications to this effect.

However, restaurants in hotels with rooms above Rs 7,500 per day would continue to pay 18 percent GST with the benefit of input tax credit.

But despite the sharp cut in GST rate, prices of food items in restaurants did not go down immediately, according to reports, because of the withdrawals of input tax credit, which apparently increased the operational cost of the restaurants.

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Food India Inspired by SIAL is Coming

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wo show organisers, SIAL & Interads, recently announced the creation of a new show named Food India, to answer the local booming market and international food and beverages companies’ expectations. The forthcoming event is supported by the Ministry of Food Processing Industries.

Food India will be held during 16th to 18th September 2018, at Pragati Maidan Exhibition Centre, New Delhi. The event is expected to welcome 8.500 trade visitors and 250 exhibitors who will showcase food and beverage products (including wines), equipment (including bakery and confectionery) and catering products.

For international exhibitors, a dedicated package is available, integrating a booth, a hosted buyer program, local store tours and legal workshops, to enable companies

to make the most out of their participation.

“We are delighted to support this new food event in India with such a well-known and established brand. SIAL network offers our country, and our companies, a great professional platform and the opportunity for local buyers to find out more about food diversity and foreign products, thus answering the growing Indian middleclass expectations.” said Harsimrat Kaur Badal, the Union Cabinet Minister of Food Processing, Government of India.

“It is our pleasure to be associated with SIAL and we take absolute pride to host Food India Inspired by SIAL. This platform offers a big window to the consumers and producers of India into the food diversity and variety. The support from the Government of India is a strong backing to this wonderful association. India is a country full of opportunities and demands, the only missing factor being the right platform to leverage the same. Food India Inspired by SIAL will help us broaden our horizons and discern the potential of the Indian food market,” averred Rajan

Sharma, Director, Interads.

“We are the SIAL, the world number one network of food innovation. We go along with experienced food experts all over the planet, and we all agree on this: it is time for future leaders to run into this great adventure with us. Most stories are uncertain. But this one has only one possible outcome: India is the next Eldorado for the agri-food sector.

We offer companies the best path to find their own way to India! Let us be inspired

by SIAL!”stated an enthusiastic Nicolas Trentesaux, SIAL Network Director.

SICA's Europe Culinary Tour

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n a first, South India Chefs' Association (SICA) organised culinary tour of Europe for 25 Corporate Chefs and Executive Chefs. This tour covered a journey through Germany, Italy, Switzerland and Spain from 11th to 27th September.

The Chefs visited facilities of renowned organisations like Blanco — Germany’s largest kitchen equipment manufacturer.

Here the SICA team got to try out authentic maultaschen, a traditional German dish that originated in the region of Swabia, in Baden-Wurttemberg. Dinner was arranged

by Blanco at Loewenthor restaurant, which dates back to 1701.

The team next travelled to Wolfenbüttel, a town in Lower Saxony in Germany, where the MKN, one of the world’s leading kitchen equipment suppliers, is based. At MKN, the visiting delegation participated in a Chefs’ workshop and cooking master class of German cuisine. This was demonstrated in

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the flexi Chef combi-oven. The team later left for Berlin for sightseeing, arranged by MKN, which included a river cruise and participation at Oktoberfest; the world’s largest folk fair and beer festival. From Berlin, the team left for Venice where its local host was FonderiaFinco, Italy’s

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five-decade-old manufacturer of cast iron utensils for healthy and natural cooking.

The tour also included visit to ElectroluxItaly, Electrolux-Switzerland and San Sebastián, a coastal city in Basque, Spain and home to Salva, a global leader in industrial ovens.

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FOCUS

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WFI to Give Fillip to Food Processing Industry

he food processing industry in India is brimming with huge potential.

The annual growth rate of India’s food processing sector is more than 7 percent and the online food delivery industry in India grew by 150 percent year on year, in 2016. And this industry is attracting impressive investments.

T h e U n i o n G o v e r n m e n t re c e n t l y announced that already Rs.65,000 crore private investment had been committed in India’s food processing sector. Out of this Rs. 65,000 crore, more than 40 percent of the investment has been committed by domestic players like ITC. Cargill, a leading food and agriculture company, announced that it was investing 240 million USD (equivalent to Rs. 1500 crores) in India, over the next five years. The announcement was made at the recently held World Food India conference by Peter Van Deursen, Chief Executive Officer, Cargill Asia Pacific, at a signing ceremony of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with India’s Ministry of Food Processing Industries, in the presence of the Union Cabinet Minister of Food Processing, Harsimrat Kaur Badal.

This fresh flow of investments is likely to add to the food safety and economic development of the country in general and benefit the country’s food processing and agriculture industries in particular.

“India is an important market for us and this increased investment demonstrates our commitment to the country and the development of its agriculture and food processing industry. With the growing population and changing consumer trends, Cargill is committed to nourishing the people of India in a safe, sustainable and responsible manner. The Ministry for Food Processing Industries is to be complimented for organising an event of the scale of World

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Food India as it lets us collaborate with partners in the public and private sectors to deliver to our customers what consumers want,” said Van Deursen.

“The food processing industry accounts for 32 percent of the country’s total food market. The industry has registered a positive growth in both manufacturing and services sectors despite global economic slowdown.

This ‘sunrise sector’ is now poised to take a centre stage in the global food market,” observed Harsimrat Kaur Badal. According to the Minister, companies like Metro, Mountain Trail and Amazon have committed investment in India’s food retail business.

Setting up food parks and agro-processing units, reducing excise duty on food processing machinery, are some of the praiseworthy measures initiated by the Union Government which could give a boost to the huge potential of India’s food processing industry. In the last year, the allowing of 100 percent FDI in retail marketing, including through e-commerce, of food products that are produced and manufactured in India, is one such laudable initiative in this direction. Furthermore, MoFPI has also set up a dedicated investors’ portal aimed at easing the process for investors.

In the background of this favourable business climate, it can be said that the recent hosting of World Food India 2017 in Delhi during 3rd-5th November 2017, which was organised by the Ministry of Food Processing Industries, can give a further impetus to the growth potential of the country’s food

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processing industry. The three-day event was being held in partnership with Confederation of Indian Industry(CII). The event had 12 Partner States, eight Focus States, and eight Special Focus States. More than 800 global companies, representing 22 countries, participated at the event.

Delegates from over 60 countries and global CEOs congregated in the capital for the three-day conference cum exhibition. The exhibition part of the mega event was spread across 40,000 sq.metres, across the verdant lawns of India Gate.

Narendra Modi, the Prime Minister of India, inaugurated World Food India 2017, at Vigyan Bhavan, in New Delhi, on 3rd November. The Prime Minister highlighted India’s diverse strengths in agriculture. He said, “The second largest arable land area, and as many as 127 diverse agro-climatic zones give us global leadership in a number of crops like bananas, mangoes, guavas, papayas, and okra. We are second, globally, in terms of production of rice, wheat, fish, fruits and vegetables. India is also the world's biggest milk producer. Our horticulture sector has shown an average growth rate of 5.5 percent annually, over the last ten years.”

"The combination of traditional Indian food, with modern technology, processing and packaging, can help the world rediscover the health benefits, and refreshing taste of Indian food ingredients such as turmeric, ginger, and tulsi, to name just a few. The perfect blend of hygienic, nutritious and tasty processed food, with the added benefits of preventive

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FOCUS healthcare, can be produced economically in India,” said the PM. The President of India, Ram Nath Kovind, graced the event at its valedictory session.

The President said, “India’s food consumption is currently valued at US $370 billion. It is expected to reach $1 trillion by 2025, in less than a decade. There are opportunities across the entire food value chain in India – including post-harvest facilities, logistics, cold chains, and manufacturing. It is a sector with a large business appetite and the food industry can be a huge employer.”

The President noted that the food story in India has world-wide implications. “On a global scale, the market for Indian food products is massive. It extends from 1.8 billion people in South Asia to a 30 million strong diaspora population, and to millions more in all parts of the world” he elaborated. On the occasion, the President gave away Start-up Awards and Hackathon Awards to college students who helped suggest ways of detecting food adulteration.

Here it deserves a mention that 13 MoUs worth Rs. 68,000 crore were signed on the inaugural day of World Food India 2017. Two of the companies which signed MoUs included PepsiCo, which committed

an investment worth Rs. 13,340 crores for setting up beverage and food manufacturing units over the next five years, and Coca Cola for investing Rs. 11,000 crore in juice bottling infrastructure and fruit processing plants and equipment. ITC and Patanjali also committed to investing Rs. 10,000 crore each in the Indian food processing sector.

Other MoUs signed at the event included Amazon in food retail business, Sharaf Group of UAE for farm produce, collection, processing and export; YES Bank for financing food processing projects across the sector.

Commenting on the MoUs, the Union Cabinet Minister of Food Processing, stated, “The Govt. has been successful in generating tremendous interest among global and Indian food companies in investing in this sector.

These investments will help us realise the

goal of doubling farmers‘ income as well as generating massive employment in India’s food processing sector.” According to her, business worth 11.25 billion USD with 50 MoUs were transacted during the three days of the event.

The Minister also stated that during WFI, states including Punjab and Haryana also negotiated MOUs worth 2.5billion USD. “Ministry of Food Processing Industries will forge ahead to work expeditiously on implementing these MOUs. A special cell has been setup in Invest India to follow up on these negotiations and the Knowledge Partners would help achieve the goals,” she informed.

Here it deserves a mention that at the recently held World Food India, a 50-member team led by a renowned Chef cooked 918 kg of khichdi, thereby setting a world record in the process.

Encompassing the entire food spectrum from production to consumption, WFI 2017 was aimed at creating a better sourcing environment, which could facilitate higher returns for farmers, creation of employment, and fostering entrepreneurship. Harsimrat Kaur Badal informed one of the objectives of World Food India that she envisioned was to double the income of the farmers in India.

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Time to Raise a Toast

People can drink at home but often they prefer going to pubs, lounges and bars as many of them offer you the opportunity of socialising, along with alcoholic drinks, mocktails and tasty snacks. No matter what your choice of beverage is, sipping it leisurely at a cool place has the potential to give you a sense of elation. In India many of these places have emerged as cool leisure spots where you go to refresh and refurbish yourself.

The pubs, bars and lounges have revamped themselves to drum up not only new concoctions that will boggle your imagination, while tickling your palate; many of them also offer extremely courteous service. And what is more, some of them even provide you with DJs who dish out music that is sure to set your feet tapping! Ashok Malkani delves deep into the evolving bar culture in the Indian food service industry and attempts to fathom the reasons for its popularity.

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ocialising has become an i n es ca p a b l e p h e n o m e n o n i n post-modern middle and upper middle class urban India, giving an impetus to the growth of bars, pubs and lounges in the Indian food service industry. Furthermore, driven by younger consumers, competitive pricing and a proliferation of options, there has been a mushrooming of bars and pubs in India.

According to an NRAI-Technopak report for 2013-16, cafes serving coffee and tea have seen a compounded annual growth rate of 6.9 percent for stand-alone and 5.9 percent for chains during 2013-16. In contrast, pubs, bars, liquor-serving cafes and lounges (PBCL) have witnessed the compounded annual growth rate at 25.4 percent. The survey shows the huge growth of the pubs, bars and lounges segment in the present day Indian food service industry.

media forum,” he added further.

“There has been an influx of bars and lounges in the Indian food service industry; essentially when it comes to stand-alone outlets, during the recent years,” declared Mohammed Khan, Director, F&B at Sheraton Grand Bangalore Hotel at Brigade Gateway.

“As far as our hotel is concerned, since Bangalore is an IT hub, we largely cater to the clientele with disposable income and one who come with an expectation of experiential services. These are the guests who wish to explore and welcome the varieties in terms of F&B options and experiences. For the bar, our target clientele

is in the age group of 35 to 45,” proffered Khan.

“The primary reason for the increase in the number of pubs, bars and lounges in the Indian food service industry during the recent years are probably the change in the demographics, growing urbanisation and an increased awareness of liquor options and global palates. Bars, lounges and pubs provide a great comfortable place for millennials to hang out; they are willing to pay for a better experience and so multiple players are vying to get a share of this growing market,” affirmed Sanju Arora, General Manager, The Irish House Mumbai.

Heady Scenario “There has been significant increase in the number of bars, lounges and pubs in India during the recent years as the need to socialise over a drink has increased in the country. This popular trend has encouraged entrepreneurs to invest in modern concepts of bars, pubs and lounges with affordable prices,” expressed Santosh Jori, Director of Food & Beverages at The Westin Mumbai Garden City.

“The people who frequent these places are usually groups and couples aged between 25 -35, who widely use social media forum to plan their night out. The trendy bars, lounges and pubs have become landmarks where everybody wants to be seen and they talk about the same on social

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C OV E R S TO R Y “The core clientele of these bars, pubs and lounges in India continues to be in the 25-40 age bracket. There is an equal mix of couples, single men and women (the single women ratio having increased significantly), depending on the day of the week and type of concept,” pointed out Arora.

“There was a time when visiting a bar was frowned upon in India and so many people, including the occasional or social drinkers, chose to enjoy their drinks at home. There always was a restaurant culture in the country where people wined and dined but this was largely limited to rare or occasional outings with family or close friends. However, there has been a major shift in perception and outlook towards visiting bars, pubs and lounges in urban India, during the recent years. The rising disposable income of the middle class India is one of the reasons that people in the country today are experimenting with their lifestyles more than ever before. Today bars, pubs or lounges in urban India are more a place for socialising, of meeting new people and of course for enjoying the latest delectable culinary and exquisite global cocktail choices,” mulled Vikas Suri, Senior Associate Vice-President, Lords Hotels & Resorts.

“Also today, the millennial understands that visiting a bar, pub or lounge does not mean that one has to consume alcohol only.

There is no dearth in the variety of mocktails among other non-alcoholic beverages that many of these places serve,” added Suri.

“There is a mixed audience, including couples and single women and men, who visit these places. However, single women and men in the age group of roughly 21 to 28 years are more frequent than others,” conveyed Suri.

Varun Kumar, F&B Manager, Holiday Inn Chennai OMR IT Expressway, averred, “The rise in the number of bars and pubs in India during the recent years is due to the increase in the number of people who love drinking and of the party goers, and the change in the cultural context in urban India; where consuming alcohol is fast losing its taboo tag.”

“Corporates/ couples/ stags visit the bars, lounges & pubs as per their requirement. Certainly the age limit of 18 plus applies but the age groups vary as per the ambience. In a discotheque pub the age group would be from 18 to 30 years; in a sports bar it would vary from 18 to 45 years and in an English style pub, the age group would vary from 35 to 60 years,”

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Varun Kumar offered Kumar.

Diverse Preferences Bars, pubs and lounges according to the laymen in India are normally associated with people who want to consume hard liquor; but the times have changed. There are people frequenting these places who prefer cocktails or even mocktails. Let us examine the consumer preferences of the guests at these places, in the context of the Indian food service industry.

“The choice of drinks is mostly dependent on the age of the consumer. We have noticed that generally men over the age of 35 years prefer hard drinks while women mostly consume cocktails. The younger generation mostly prefers beers or cocktails,” claimed Suri.

“These days, guests want to try different types of drinks which look good and are full

Vikas Suri

Hammer Food & Beverage Business Review

of flavours so different cocktail concepts are running the show in the pubs, bars and lounges business in India,” opined Jori.

“Personal preferences differ from guest to guest. Some people prefer their drinks neat or straight with few ice rocks but usually the youngsters prefer innovative mixers and ladies prefer classic cocktails,” informed Kumar.

“The younger segment of guests is more open to innovations and experiments when it comes to trying new cocktail concoctions.

The older groups might try a new cocktail once in a while, but usually go back to their favourite spirits. Beer, however is another story – there is an equally high preference for beer, especially draughts,” stated Arora.

“The choice of alcohol greatly depends on the gender mix and age group of the guests. In India, people prefer spirits over cocktails; but even in spirits, we have a large market dominated by clientele having a preferred taste for whisky. However, the success of cocktail offerings depends highly on the bartender and mixologist,” declared Khan.

Molecular Cocktails Speaking about cocktails, the new beverage concept in the Indian PBCL segment seems to be the molecular cocktails. These days, more and more mixologists are bringing the techniques of molecular gastronomy behind the bar, using high-tech methods to refine their drinks. What are molecular cocktails and why are they proving to be so popular, is a question that is normally being asked by the laymen.

“Molecular cocktails are the next generation of bartending presentation skills. It applies the science of mixology to create new flavours, designs and textures, the presentation of which is likely to leave you in awe. Today molecular mixology is taking the centrestage just the way culinary presentation did a few years ago. Here the cocktails are prepared using liquids or fluids of different density and viscosity to create visually pleasing patterns in the serving glass. The most obvious designs are bubble like spheres floating in the drinks. These days carbonated Mojito spheres, inside out Bloody Mary and cocktail in ice spheres among others are very popular among the molecular cocktail offerings. These are gaining popularity, firstly because they are novel and also due to the fact that their presentation are exciting. Other than that, these cocktails offer new tastes and are also more refined than the traditional

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C OV E R S TO R Y cocktail drinks, which are standard mix of a particular alcohol variety and other liquids,” Suri explained in detail.

“However, I may add that these innovative cocktails are still relatively new and not many people ask for them. We do offer our guests the choice and many who try them, do repeat them,” informed Suri.

“Molecular cocktails can bring new flavours, textures and surprising and innovative presentations that can enhance the overall drinking experience. We all need something new and exciting always.

Gone are those days when beverages were just something to quench your thirst.

Molecular mixology has created stuffs like cocktail jellies, cocktail marshmallows, paper cocktails, powdered cocktails, cocktail gums, frozen cocktails and flavour changing cocktails,” averred Kumar.

Khan however differs. “The molecular cocktails are not so much in vogue in India as much as the classic cocktails with twist are.

The time has proven that our today’s guest has the preference for natural products over the synthetic products used to prepare certain cocktails. Our today’s guests want to be served with classic flavours. They want to experience a concoction without any additional synthetic element,” he stated.

New-age Concoctions So what are the new cocktails that are being offered at India’s trendy bars, pubs and lounges, and what is their unique selling point/s (USP/s)?

“We have our cocktail concept which is called ‘Crafted at Westin.’ These cocktails are unique as they are made with local and natural flavoured ingredients. Like using aloe vera as natural bitter ingredient in one of our highly recommended and sold cocktails named Rosevelt,” stated Jori.

“As far as new cocktails are concerned, I would like to tell you that we update our menus at least once a year based on current trends. In our current menu, we have got sections for Beer Cocktails, Mules, Community Cocktails, and our Top Shelf Signatures. The community cocktails are the favourites for big groups; looking for sharable cocktails to share drinking experiences. Some of our new cocktails at the Irish House Mumbai are smoked cocktails like the Citric Spinner and Smoked Wisdom, which use vodka and whisky as bases respectively along with infused tea, topped with herbed smoke. For those wanting to have a smaller but potent cocktail, we have also introduced cocktail shooters like Whisky

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Sanju Arora Sour Jr., Short Island Iced Tea, Mini Tequila Sunrise, and some more,” disclosed Arora.

“Speaking about the USP of Irish House Mumbai, I may state that we were the ones to introduce the missing authentic pub culture to the country when the flagship outpost was opened in Mumbai, back in 2011. The brand has successfully and consistently been providing its guests a high quality, value for money, consistent, and innovative ‘pub experience’ over the years. Brilliant ambience; amazing collection of music; 50+ varieties of beer on tap and in bottle; unique specialty cocktails; large screens for sports; quality food; weekly, monthly and annual events to constantly bring something new and unique to our guests; and most importantly, enthusiastic and friendly service, together ensure that we have built one of the most loyal guest followings in the bar space, with our fans coming back consistently over the years,” he elaborated further.

“The in-house lounge bar – Distil – at

Lords Hotels & Resorts is a place to unwind with your choice of beverage/s with siders and/or nibblers, and it offers a relaxing ambience with music to suit the mood.

The lighting and seating arrangements are designed to give a very casual and inviting feel. The menu offers over 250 choices in both alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages along with starter or nibbler choices which complement drinks. However, our service supersedes all else. So we would say that Distil’s USP is a combination of great F&B, ambience and outstanding customer service,” claimed Suri.

“Distil has recently introduced a Vodkabased fire shot called the ‘Jammu Fire’ and it is very popular with the younger guests,” Suri further informed.

“The USP of High Ultra Lounge at Sheraton Grand Bangalore Hotel at Brigade Gateway is that it is the highest dining destination in South India at 421 ft. With a breathtaking view of the Garden City during the day and the starry sky and the lit-up city at night, High Ultra Lounge boasts of number of signature cocktails served with oriental cuisine,” asserted Khan.

“Since the USP of the place is its proximity to the sky and the very fashionable and chic ambience, we have concocted cocktails like ‘Constellation’, which is a mix of vodka & gin with an infusion of elder flower, ‘Moonlighting’, a vodka-based cocktail with subtle flavours of ginger, lemon grass, rose & lychee, and ‘Inception’, which is a deep, savoury, rich whiskey cocktail with rosemary, vanilla, fresh pineapple and earl grey tea extracts. While all our signature cocktails receive rave reviews, none more than the ‘Amethyst Mist’. It has luxuriant peach & jasmine foam on the tongue, balanced flavours of vodka and Asian ginger, cascading to a crisp finish of raspberry & cranberry,” Khan elaborated.

Challenges Galore

Santosh Jori

Hammer Food & Beverage Business Review

But while everything may seem hunky dory at the bars, pubs and lounges across urban India, it is not so. There are several problems affecting these places frequented by people of diverse inclinations and proclivities.

“Operating in the Indian PBCL segment and adapting to state-wise rules, policies and regulations are a little more complicated than for non-alcohol serving establishments in India. This also includes obtaining permissions for serving liquor and obtaining the several licences that are required to run a bar and maintaining compliance.

Additionally the fees for operating bar, pubs

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C OV E R S TO R Y and lounges are higher than that for a nonalcohol serving establishment. Not that we are not in favour of maintaining compliance and following the rules and regulations but the challenge lies in cutting through redtape and adapting to unanticipated changes in the regulations as and when enforced,” explained Suri.

“Issues in procuring the license is the primary problem in this segment. The paucity of skilled bartenders, procurement of liquor are other challenges of operating bars and pubs in India,” averred Kumar.

“The most pressing issue in the Indian PBCL segment would definitely be the difficult system of the license procurement and getting access to good quality real estate. Another concern is the high rents which makes it challenging to sustain the business for many new comers over the entire lease period, causing a high churn in the industry,” conveyed Arora.

Jori has several other issues. “These establishments have always to be on their toes due to various reasons. These days guests do not like anything which is monotonous. They like to try new places and concepts. Also the increase in competition gives more choices to the guests, which means that pubs, bars and lounges in urban India always have to be vigilant,” he stated.

“The cost of talent (i.e. DJs, bands, singers, etc) is on the rise. The more you have to spend on talent, just to get people indoors, the lower are your margins. You are hit especially hard by this if you are hiring Electronic Dance Music DJs now. But the trade-off is that the more popular the DJ, the more attendants she/he will bring with her/him to your club/bar,” pointed out Jori.

“If your competitor(s) have renowned

38

Mohammed Khan names performing at their club, you are in for a rough night,” cautioned Jori.

The Trends — Present and Future No matter what your choice of drink is, sipping it at a uniquely uber-cool place has the power to instantly pep-up your happiness quotient. Pubs are now no more dark-dingy places with loud music, where consuming liquor seems mandatory. The pubs in India nowadays also keep a wide variety of food on the menu to appeal to a wider audience. Late night gatherings or partying/ reunions are all held at pubs these days.

Yes, there is a constant change taking place not only in the menus of trendy pubs, bars and lounges in the country but in their ambience also. The latest trends in bars, pubs and the lounges in the country vary not only from city to city but also from place to place, as Kumar declared, “Different guests prefer different things in such places such as

Hammer Food & Beverage Business Review

unique ambience, trend setting music, mood lighting, innovative cocktails and so on.”

“These days many young people prefer hosting parties for all kinds of occasions including birthdays, anniversaries, treating friends on getting a new job or promotion or a raise. So bars, pubs and lounges have become the default venues for celebration for a gamut of occasions, when one is celebrating outside,’’ Suri added.

“The latest trends in the realm of bars, pubs and lounges in India are dive bars, specialised cuisines, local ingredients, craft beers, and craft cocktails. There is also a significant surge in the number of special events/nights with international DJs, local artists, stand up acts, bands, etc. With millennials becoming such a crucial part of our target group, technology is one of the key drivers for trends in the India’s PBCL segment. Tech inclusions like tablet menus, pre-ordering drinks, e-wallets are considered “cool.” These new-age initiatives help drive better customer experience and customer engagement and are highly beneficial for the business owners too,” disclosed Arora.

Jori comes up with an extensive list of new and futuristic trends happening in India’s PBCL segment. It runs as follows. “Bartenders are now respecting fresh and local produce the way Chefs do. Local ingredients are being sought. Also, craft cocktails are popular. Beer and wine cocktails will see a growth. They are a great bridge for non-cocktail drinkers! I think there will be huge growth in lighter, lower proof cocktails using aromatic ingredients such as wine, vermouth, sherry and port as a base," offered Jori.

“Although tiki (and with it, rum) is popular already, I have seen a significant escalation in the tiki movement. Tiki and frozen drinks are gaining currency. There is now a return to simple, basic drinks, with renewed focus on quality. Mixology bars are passé. People are tired of waiting for 25 minutes for a master mixologist to make a cocktail with obscure, hard to find ingredients,” he added further.

“The trendsetters for the bars, pubs and lounges in Indian cities are thematic places complemented with the décor, food, beverage, service, entertainment, etc. The biggest crowd driver to the trend is also the comfort food served at these venues.

With the introduction of comfort and global food on menu for the guests, the demand for gastro bar has also increased,” iterated Khan.

“People living in the cities of postmodern India lead pretty hectic lives.

Oct-Nov ’17

C OV E R S TO R Y Work and home take up most of our time and we are constantly shouldered with responsibilities. Leisure places including bars, pubs, and lounges give us the desired, quick break from our daily routines. Visiting such places allows one to unwind and momentarily forget the everyday monotony, tensions and drudgery. One can just recline and sip on a soothing beverage; chat with pleasant company and everything around it will be taken care of by us,” said Suri. The demand for pubs, bars and lounges in an increasingly busy urban India is expected to increase as they provide the guests with the rare chance and the latent need to unwind amidst good ambience, food & beverages.

“Since the spending power in India has significantly increased during the recent years, these places will continue to thrive,” observed Jori.

The future trend/s of bars, pubs and lounges in the Indian food service industry deserves exploration.

“In the near future, the scenario in bars, pubs and lounges will be different. It will revolve around new-age technology. We might also see the introduction of artificial intelligence into bars wherein there won’t

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be any manpower involved and all the drinks will be prepared by robots and delivered to the counter. Robotic bartenders, vacuum cleaning robots, self drying tables, and touch menu are some of the ideas we can presume to be translated in to happening trends in India’s PBCL segment, in the coming years,” affirmed Kumar.

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BUSINESS

Health and Hygiene Influencing Food Service There is a common saying, ‘You are, what you eat.’ Being health conscious, a huge section of the guests of the Indian hospitality industry these days demand healthy food prepared in hygienic conditions. Now, more than ever before, people are striving to eat healthy food and are seeking establishments that cater to their needs for food that will keep them in good physical shape. The old stigma of ‘healthy food never sells’ is, now thankfully passe. With increasing awareness about health and eating habits, there has been a steady shift towards natural food items across the Indian food & beverage industry.

Ashok Malkani finds that the success of India’s food & beverage sector would probably now depend on its adaptability to the growing needs of the dining out populace for healthy food, prepared in hygienic conditions.

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Hammer Food & Beverage Business Review

Oct-Nov ’17

T

he Indian consumer segment is dominated by a large urban mass, including graduates, post-graduates, MBAs and blue collar workers, and the country has one of the youngest populations in the world. More than 50 percent of the consumer base of ours is less than 30 years old, including 440 million millennials and 390 million members of generation Z (born after 2000). A huge number of these young people have higher disposable incomes than their older counterparts and many among them harbour a significant tendency to spend their money rather than save it.

So it is no wonder that over the last few years, restaurants, cafes and international fast food QSR chains have proliferated in India and eating out has become a popular pastime, particularly among the country’s younger consumers. The segment of young generation in India who are tech-savvy with exposure to overseas travel, and who are armed with sizeable spending power, are driving the growth index of the Indian restaurant industry.

Along with this trend, we are also witnessing that many Indian customers are also moving towards healthy eating options. So naturally food service outlets in the country are beginning to offer healthy/healthier dishes on their menus in a more vigorous manner. This trend is not limited to India, but has spread across the globe.

Now Healthy Food is Popular This trend of opting for healthy food is an interesting global phenomenon. Consumers are increasingly pivoting towards healthier food options. Global sales of health food, according to Euromonitor, are expected to reach one trillion dollars by the end of 2017. The diners are also increasingly opting for food outlets that serve healthy meals. The result is that fast food outlets are feeling the pinch. However, these days we are having healthy pizzas and burgers too by using nutritious ingredients and using organic or multi-grain bread.

However, here it deserves a mention that healthy diet means different things to different groups of people. While the generation X or the baby boomers counted calories and preferred not to eat much food to avoid weight gain, today’s youth knows that ‘not eating’ is not the right option, rather ‘eating right and healthy’ is. While previous generations counted calories, millennials care more about food being ‘fresh, less processed and with fewer artificial ingredients.’

One of the major contributors to this surge in health awareness is social media. Nutritionists and health experts on Facebook, Instagram and YouTube have spread the word about healthy eating and living. Added to this, the mouth-watering recipes of vegan, gluten-free and sugar-free food have enticed consumers to

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BUSINESS keep away from unhealthy, fat-laden food.

“Today consumers are more aware of the dangers of obesity, diabetes and heart diseases; some of the major health concerns which are prevalent not only in developed countries but also in metropolitan cities of our country like Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore and – even in cities like Pune. With the rise in awareness towards healthy eating, restaurants have started paying attention to usage of health-friendly fats and in having more grilled food items on their menus,” said Krishna Rao, F&B Manager at The Corinthians Resort & Club Pune.

He disclosed that in the US, and in some other countries, calorie counts for each dish were mentioned on the menus. “It has, in fact, become mandatory in the US and even the National Restaurant Association has supported it,” Rao added. “ Res tau rate u rs ca n n ot i g n o re t h e increasing number of savvy diners who are expecting ‘better-for-you’ options in the menus,” observed Rao. He disclosed that this year’s U.S. National Restaurant Association’s four-day trade show at Chicago brought to light the growing public consciousness about healthful food and how to creatively incorporate it into restaurants’ culinary offerings.

The growing realisation among diners about the importance of being healthy and observing healthy lifestyle has also contributed to the rise in popularity for organic food.

According to ‘India Organic Food Market

By Product Type, Competition Forecast and Opportunities, 2011 – 2021’, the market for organic food in India is anticipated to grow at a CAGR of over 25 percent during 2016–2021, on account of changing food consumption patterns and increasing instances of contamination of farm produce with chemical fertilisers and pesticides, and due to surging investments in organic food market and rising use of bio fertilisers.

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Future Trends in Healthy Eating The growing number of restaurants who are doing well by serving healthy food is a sign that the future is indeed bright for such establishments. But what would be the new trends in cooking and which would be the dishes that would prove to be popular in these increasingly health conscious times?

Saigaonkar sounded cautious as he stated, “Food trends are very unpredictable and highly perishable. They keep changing frequently as per location and current influences. However, one can say that food concepts which will be popular in the Indian food service industry are vegetarian comfort food, farm to table food, breakfast outings or all day breakfasts, food in cups or bowls, zero waste, DIY (do it yourself). Foods that will be highly in demand would include artisan cold cuts, blueberries, sea vegetables, pickles & ferments, tacos, etc.”

“The scope for the growth in the healthy food segment in the Indian food service industry is bright, as today, a great number of guests across restaurants in the country are yearning for varied flavours, food stories and experiences. With such changing trends, the menus will also be more interactive and will need more guest involvement with options for customisation,” elaborated Suresh Thampy.

Yes, one can say that the popularity of healthy food is here to stay in India, and also in abroad, at least for some decades to come.

Emphasis on Hygiene Besides healthy food, another important aspect that is being given its due emphasis in the present day Indian food service industry is the hygienic conditions observed during the preparation of meals.

The concept of cleanliness and hygiene in eating out places has also gained more importance among guests in the Indian food service industry, during the recent years.

Regardless of how tasty your food maybe, or how creative your dishes are, or how excellent your service is, consumers will not want to flock to your establishment if it is not clean.

One of the most unpleasant scenarios for restaurant guests can be the experience of food poisoning after eating in a restaurant.

It can have huge adverse repercussions on the business of the restaurant concerned.

This is the price a restaurateur should pay for not taking care of hygiene and cleanliness in his/her hospitality facility. In order to avoid such incidents, it is essential to maintain impeccable cleanliness and hygiene in the restaurants.

Fo o d p o i s o n i n g ca n ta ke p l a ce i f proper hygienic precautions are not taken during food preparation. “Improper food preparation can cause food poisoning,” pointed out Chef Suresh Thampy, Executive Chef, Sheraton Grand Bangalore Hotel at Brigade Gateway.

Rao averred that food safety actually starts even before you get it in the kitchen.

“It starts at the grocery store,” he said.

Succinctly, we can say that without a proper hygiene and cleanliness policy in place, a restaurant runs the risk of failing

Hammer Food & Beverage Business Review

health and safety inspections, contravening compliance laws and falling out of favour with its patrons.

“Hygiene is possibly the second most i m p o rta nt fa cto r towa rd s r u n n i n g a restaurant, coming second to only food quality; so keeping your restaurant’s dining and kitchen areas clean and hygienic is a big part of the success of the restaurant business. Restaurants with bad hygiene are sure to fail because even if you try to hide the dirty secrets, they will eventually be found out and through word of mouth, and the news will spread thereby affecting your reputation. There are many dangers that unhygienic food preparation can bring. It could bring about disease or food poisoning to the valued customers. Proper hygiene in the restaurant would help you gain trust from customers, thereby boosting your chances for success,” observed Rao. “Obviously the restaurant’s cleanliness does not stop at simply sweeping of the floor. Deep cleaning is occasionally required to avoid bacterial growth. For effective cleaning, it is best to find the best cleaning chemicals for all your cleaning needs. The cleaning solutions must be effective in killing harmful germs in the utensils, cookware as well as in storage areas and freezers.

Utensils used for cooking and serving food should be sterilised every once in a while, in addition to the usual cleaning process.

Furthermore, keeping the restaurant clean entails training the restaurant’s personnel in cleaning,” Rao pointed out.

Successful restaurants have strict food hygiene rules in place. This involves eve ryt h i n g ra n g i n g f ro m re g i m e nte d

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BUSINESS

Krishna Rao cleaning regimes to pest management procedures and proper food preparation policies.

Hygiene Rules So what are the most essential hygiene rules to be observed in commercial kitchens?

According to F&B Managers and Chefs of several eating out places, they could be summed up thus: Identify Kitchen Risks: It is necessary to draw up a list of all critical operations that go on in your kitchen and what could go wrong with them if you are not careful so as to ensure or at least facilitate that that there is no lack of hygiene or health hazard in kitchens.

Store and Prepare Food Separately: You cannot apply a blanket rule to all of the perishables in your fridge, as all of them have different ‘best before’ dates and they perish at different rates. Be vigilant of what ingredients you have in your commercial fridge and how long those foodstuffs have been there. Avoid cross-contamination of food.

The Staff’s Personal Hygiene: Personal cleanliness of kitchen staff like regular washing of hands and ensuring that there is no hair fall are essential.

Clean Crockery and Cutlery: Impeccably clean cutlery and crockery is not only a must for patrons, but for the preparation of meals too.

Having a Pest Management Check List: The check list must contain instructions to report sightings of pests in kitchen immediately to the pest management company. You should not store pesticide products in the kitchen or food preparation areas. Don’t neglect areas that are out of sight. Your stove canopy needs to be deep cleaned regularly.

“Avoid purchase of any food that is past the expiry date. In fact, ensure that the

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expiry date is such that you could store it for a few days without it getting stale. Shop for perishable goods last, refrigerate food within one to two hours, and wrap meat securely so as to prevent its juices to leak on other food,” advised Rao. “Meat, fish, and poultry are more susceptible to certain food-borne pathogens; so it is important to keep these food products segregated from vegetables and other food items,” averred Satej Saigaonkar, Executive Chef, Holiday Inn Chennai OMR IT Expressway. “Use separate, clean cutting boards for each type of food, sanitise food surfaces after cutting up meat or fish, wash your hands thoroughly after cutting meat, and never return cooked food to the same plate you used for raw food, also take care of spills,” Saigaonkar advised.

Maintaining Impeccable Standards With consumers demanding healthy eating options, the cooking has evidently become healthier.

“It is very evident that cooking concepts have changed over the past few years, and so has awareness towards hygiene and sanitation in kitchens. The reach of social media, television shows and live kitchens in restaurants have contributed significantly towards this awareness, and we act as guardians to facilitate, maintain and promote it even further. We ensure that the basic hygiene trainings for our associates have been conducted. Cleaning, dating, hygiene checklists, etc. are all monitored and updated very closely for flawless execution and implementation. Apart from this, we ensure the temperature control for food is in safe zone. Associates are also given trainings on personal hygiene and grooming standards, and half yearly medical checkups for all food handlers is also an essential part of this,” explained

Satej Saigaonkar

Hammer Food & Beverage Business Review

Suresh Thampy Chef Suresh Thampy.

“These days the focus on eating out is on the entire experience and food safety.

People are worried about the food joints as they hear a lot about hygiene lapses everyday in news. Due to this reason many hotels have started with open kitchen concepts. As an IHG branded hotel, we are focused on kitchen hygiene and food safety. We follow HACCP principle and are aiming for ISO 22000 certification, which is the highest in food safety. We have critical control points on each stage from delivery from supplier to the service on a guest’s plate. Each container we use in our kitchen is SS or food safe material.

Weekly fumigation and daily pest control audits are part of our everyday operations.

Some of the best practices we follow are chopping board policy, gloves policy, garbage segregation policy, temperature checks, personal grooming, etc.,” declared Saigaonkar.

“There is impressive health consciousness among the diners these days. At Sheraton Grand Bangalore Hotel at Brigade Gateway, we strive to provide healthy, nutritious and balanced meals to our diners, depending upon preferences, awareness and medical conditions. We have high demand for low carb and high protein food and high fiber food. Salads and low fat food have always been the favourites for our health conscious diners. We have also observed a surge in guests asking for organic food; especially people on dietary menus. We have guests demanding allergen-free, gluten-free food too,” averred Suresh Thampy.

“When we plan the menu at Holiday Inn Chennai OMR IT Expressway, the focus is on the nutritional values each person will intake during different meal periods. Over breakfast, we have nutritional values of food and weighing scale on display,” added Sai gaonkar. n

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f e a ture

Trends in Indian Food Retail Business Many of the leading food and beverage brands operating in India have realised that health and wellness has emerged as a mega trend which is shaping consumer preferences and shopping habits

I

ndia’s food and grocery market is quite huge. It is currently sixth largest in the world and retail contributes about 70 percent of the sales of this market.

And with the Indian economy growing impressively and Indian consumers spending a large portion of their money on food, it is only obvious that Indian food retail business is at the cusp of a major expansion. But underlining the potential of the food retail business also calls for a brief introduction to the mammoth food business in India.

According to an official estimate, food consumption in India is currently valued at 370 billion and in less than a decade, i.e by 2025, it is expected to reach 1 trillion USD.

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By Jyotismita Sharma The food processing industry is considered small in India, compared to its population, but it still accounts for nearly a third of the country’s total food market.

Talking about the food processing industry at the World Food Forum on 3rd November in New Delhi, Prime Minister N a re n d ra M o d i h i g h l i g h te d t h at t h e government had undertaken a range of transformational initiatives to boost this segment. The growth of the food processing industry in India in turn could give a fillip to the country’s food retail business.

The Big Picture Food and grocery retail is part of India’s

Hammer Food & Beverage Business Review

gigantic overall retail market, which, according to a joint study by the industry body Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) and MRRSIndia.com, is likely to reach 1.1 trillion USD by 2020 from the current level of 680 billion USD. According to the study released on 15th November, retail and FMCG (fast moving consumer goods which include packaged food and beverages) markets in India are expected to grow at 20 percent and 21 percent respectively per annum. The FMCG market is expected to reach from the current level of 49 billion USD to 103.7 billion USD by 2020.

Oct-Nov ’17

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Though much of the growth of the FMCG market is driven by sales in metros in the country, state capitals and larger towns, there is a strong and growing market in the next tier of towns with population of less than 1 million. These towns, numbered more than 600, are spread across the country.

The rural FMCG market in India is expected to grow at a CAGR of 14.6 percent, and reach 220 billion USD by 2025 from 29.4 billion USD in 2016, according to the study.

E-commerce and digital connectivity are not limited to the urban localities, with rural population using these services with high penetration of smart phones, credit cards/ debit cards and online banking services. The study observed that Indian consumers have adopted new technologies and thus fundamentally modified the structure of demand.

This demand is shaped by factors such as noticeable shift in demographics with rising income of the middle class, rise in the number of smaller towns entering consumption bandwagon, emergence of new channels like e-commerce, proliferation of Internet connectivity and influence of the digital media. Given this to be state of things in the future, decoding these consumption patterns would be critical for companies to stay ahead of the competition.

Health and wellness is a mega trend shaping consumer preferences and shopping habits. Leading global and Indian food and beverage brands have embraced this trend and are focused on creating new market demands, the study pointed out.

It noted that it is important for the companies to identify high growth categories, most optimal type of transport needed to ensure efficient last mile delivery, growth of warehouses, multi-location manufacturing facilities, quality of products and packaging options.

The ASSOCHAM said the large FMCG companies have made significant improvements to manufacturing, service and maintenance operations through lean techniques - for example by eliminating waste, removing inflexibilities, introducing modular and variability in their systems, reducing costs, improving efficiencies and building shareholders value.

However, there is not much focus on similar stringent strategies for warehouse operations and transportations. To enhance availability and improve cost efficiencies, the need of the hour is to focus on the logistics and transportation sector, the study added.

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f e a ture into the Indian market.

Key Challenges in Food Retailing

the study found, retailers are expecting the FMCG companies to cut down on the prices of their products as the new regime brings new GST rates that could impact the consumers when buying a product.

“The retailers believe if the companies do not revise their prices, they will lose around 2-3 percent margins as per the new rule,” ASSOCHAM said, adding that the retailers have to display the new GST rates for each item.

In order to achieve better market growth, the retailers and the FMCG companies will have to work in synergy, noted the study.

Evolving Trends So what exactly is happening in the Indian food retail business? Like most of India’s retail business, the unorganised sector rules the roost in food retail business too.

What, however, is important to note is that the big players within the organised sector of the Indian food retail business are getting bigger. So a lot of consolidation is happening.

The recent acquisition of the HyperCity brand by Kishore Biyani’s Future Group is one such example. With this acquisition at 107 million USD, the Future Group effectively added around 1.4 million square feet of retail space to their existing 13.8 million square feet. This trend is actually global in the retail space. Earlier this year, online retail giant Alibaba picked up stakes in Chinese supermarket chains Hema and Bailan. In June, Amazon announced that it agreed to buy upscale grocery chain Whole Foods for a whopping 13.7 billion USD. Last year, supermarket chain Walmart bought out US-based e-commerce company Jet.com for 3.3 billion USD.

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Another trend that is likely to impact the food retail business in India is increasing importance of organic and healthy food products. With lifestyle diseases becoming a greater threat than ever in the absence of adequate physical activities, especially in the cities, more and more people of post-modern India are likely to focus on healthy food.

But along with healthy food, demands for processed and packaged food products are also likely to soar because of the convenience that they provide to citydwelling families especially in which both the husband and the wife do jobs.

Moreover, along with higher penetration of refrigerators, more people in India will start using these packaged food products as they would be less worried about their spoilage.

And as the government opened up foreign direct investments up to 100 percent in processing, marketing and retailing of food made in India, more global retail and food brands are expected to make entry

Hammer Food & Beverage Business Review

A paper by the Tata Strategic Management Group (TSMG) has highlighted the supply side challenges that the food retailing businesses face in India.

Procuring quality produce at competitive costs directly from farmers is a major problem for retailers and food processors due to the fragmented agri supply base.

The rising real estate cost is another major issue for the retailers; affecting their ability to provide a suitable ambience to the consumers.

“Rentals account for 7-7.5 percent of the total costs for organised retail in India against global benchmarks of less than 3 percent,” the paper noted.

Availability of qualified manpower to meet the demands and expectations of an increasing customer base is also emerging as a major challenge for the retailers.

“The lack of institutions and courses for different aspects of retail management will have an impact on the overall supply of quality manpower,” it said.

Another major challenge for the food retailers in the country has been capitalising on the potential of e-commerce. Despite industry estimates of India's e-commerce revenue jumping from 30 billion USD in 2016 to 120 billion USD in 2020, e-tailing, or electronic-retailing of food, does not appear to have caught on yet. And when it does, the logistics might become another challenge because delivering goods to a large population would also need the support of a big staff.

But despite these challenges, the opportunities for the food retail business in India are immense. And their potential for growth is even bigger. n

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P ro f i l e

This Kitchen Exudes Healthy Taste

T

he organic food market in India may be a nascent one, but in the backdrop of the wave of growing health consciousness in urban India, it is brimming with huge potential. This trend towards healthy eating leaves room for players in the organic food segment to enter India’s fast evolving food service and food retail industry.

No wonder Amy’s Kitchen, a Californiabased multinational enterprise in the realm of organic food, has recently entered India with ambitious plans. The company was founded in 1987, by Andy and Rachel Berliner, and is named after their daughter Amy. The genesis of the company is interesting. While Rachel was pregnant with Amy and was on bed rest, Andy went looking for ready-made meals at their local natural grocery store. When he couldn’t find anything organic and vegetarian that satisfied their taste buds, they decided to make their own… the rest as they say is history and also her story!

Here it deserves a mention that Amy’s Kitchen has an international range of over 250 products, including gluten-free and vegan options. The products are teeming with organic ingredients.

The company participated at the recently held World Food India 2017, which was held in Delhi during 3rd-5th November.

There this writer got to interact with Paul Schiefer, the Senior Director of Business Development at Amy’s Kitchen. Schiefer told me that Amy’s Kitchen, which has

Oct-Nov ’17

By Swarnendu Biswas found presence in 30 countries within three decades, entered the Indian market in 2016 and at present their presence in India was limited to Delhi-NCR only. “We are expected to enter the Mumbai market in 2018, and to start our own production unit in India in 2019,” informed Schiefer.

However, at present they are sourcing organic ingredients from India; both from the farmers as well as from the industry.

“We are into ready-to-eat frozen food made with organic ingredients,” stated Schiefer.

The family-owned brand launched in India in the last quarter of 2016 with a range of 14 products, including canned soups, frozen pizzas, and an array of other ready-to-eat meals and snacks. “We are catering to the retail chains like Le Marche, Foodhall, Modern Bazaar, 24Seven, HyperCity among others,” informed Schiefer.

“Amy’s ready-to-eat meals are made with carefully sourced ingredients and with exceptional care. To ensure the right flavour and quality we make all our products in our production kitchens,” informed Rachel Berliner — one of the founders of Amy’s Kitchen. The company also develops its own recipes. “We have an amazing team of Chefs with us, who ensure the impeccable culinary quality of our offerings,” pointed out Schiefer.

Some of the products of Amy’s Kitchen for the Indian market include Cheese Enchilada, Vegetable Lasagna, Bean & Cheese Burrito Snacks, Cheddar Japapeno Swirls, Cheese Pizza Snacks, Pesto Swirls among others.

In one of its products for the Indian market, namely the Cheese Ravioli Bowl,

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Paul Schiefer according to Schiefer, “Ravioli are filled with delicately seasoned cheese and served with authentic Italian tomato sauce.” Amy’s Kitchen has an attractive range of healthy snacking options for the Indian market, where a great many people from nuclear families are having very less time to cook elaborate meals at home.

“The light, tender crust of our Cheese Pizza is made from organic wheat flour and olive oil. It is pre-baked and then covered with savoury tomato pizza sauce and grated mozzarella cheese,” he added further.

According to Schiefer, Amy’s Kitchen doesn’t use any additive and preservative.

Though Amy’s Kitchen is a US-based company, it deals with only vegetarian products, which can enhance its products’ appeal among India’s vast swathes of vegetarian population. Both he and Rachel Berliner — one of the founders of Amy’s Kitchen—sounded extremely confident of making an impact in India’s nascent organic food market with their range of healthy products, which according to them are “attractively priced.”

“In the long-term, given the growing health consciousness in India, the country would have a huge market for organic food products, and even in the short-term, the future of organic food market in India looks promising,” expressed Schiefer. "We perceive our Indian market to eventually become one of our largest markets in the world," affirmed Rachel confidently. n

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AGRI

Nutritious Seeds

By Swarnendu Biswas

P

ulses are integral part of Indian diets. In fact, without them our dinner tables do not have a ring of completeness. They taste good, if prepared well, and they are nutritious. They should feature in a healthy balanced diet.

But what are pulses? Pulses are the dried seeds of plants in the legume family.

There are about hundreds of varieties of pulses grown across the planet. Dry beans, lentils, chickpeas, faba beans, bambara beans, lupins, pigeon peas are only some of them. Pulses are grown almost all over the world; in more than 170 countries. Growing pulses is also eco-friendly as pulses take less water to grow as compared to many other crops. Pulse crops also promote soil health.

Background If the geographical spread of pulses is abundant, their history is no less rich. The origin of pulses could be traced to pre civilisation days, to almost 11,000 years ago, in Fertile Crescent, located in the Middle-East! Evidence of cultivation of lentil, a type of pulses, can be traced to the days of ancient Egyptian civilisation.

Pulses can be a good source of protein, especially for people with modest incomes.

About 10 percent of dietary protein

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consumed in the world is accounted by pulses. The pulses are endowed with twice the protein content of most cereal grains.

The Indian Scenario In India, pulses provide the much needed protein to the carbohydrate rich diet. Their nutritive role is especially crucial for the huge numbers of vegetarian population of the country. There are over 60 varieties of pulses found in India. No wonder, India is the largest producer and as well as importer of pulses in the world. The production of pulses in India reached an impressive 22.95 million tonnes in the 2016-17 crop year.

According to APEDA, the regions within India having high productivity of pulses are Punjab, Haryana, western Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal delta region, coastal Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, coastal and eastern Karnataka and some parts of Maharashtra.

The pulses have a plethora of culinary applications, which make them rampantly used items in the Indian food services industry. “With the rising young population along with fast paced restaurant industry of India we can see an abundance of growth opportunity for pulses’ market in the country,” affirmed Amit Goyal, the Director, Agro Pure Capital Foods Private Limited.

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Amit Goyal The company is the part of Agro Pure Group, which is counted among the leading manufacturers of besan (desi chickpeas flour) and pulses in India. Here it deserves a mention that Agro Pure offers a comprehensive range of pulses which includes arhar dal, chana dal, kabuli chana, kabuli Mexico, green peas, white peas, lobia red, lobia white, urad dhuli, urad sabut, Rajma Kashmiri, moong dhuli, moong sabut among others.

“We source our raw materials throughout t h e co u nt ry, i n c l u d i n g M a h a ras h t ra , Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh and also from distinct parts of the foreign shores including Canada and Australia. Then we process them in our mills,” explained Amit.

Agro Pure Group caters to both institutional and retail sectors. With the lifting of the ban on the export of pulses in the recent past there is every likelihood that the group would soon enter the international market.

“Within a span of 25-30 years, the number of pulse processing units in India has increased significantly. Pulses market is ever growing in India also because it is the essential commodity in average Indian household,” Amit observed.

“India has a large vegetarian population, which depends on pulses as a source of protein. This makes the Indian branded pulses business a viable proposition,” elaborated Anoop Goyal, another Director

Oct-Nov ’17

AGRI polished dal would decrease in the future.

As a result, availability of unpolished dal would increase, and this in turn would lower their cost,” elaborated Amit through simple demand-supply economics.

of Agro Pure Capital Foods Private Limited.

Branded Pulses “In the present day, consumer is well educated and informed about the safety and importance of quality product. So the focus in the Indian pulses market is being shifted to branded pulses from the unbranded pulses,” asserted Amit.

While putting forward the case of branded pulses, he said that “Branding is very important in India’s current retailing format. Brand name gives satisfaction to our discerning consumers; assuring them of the quality and impurity free product.”

Polished Loses Value There are polished as well as unpolished pulses in the market, but what is the essential difference between them? “There is certain difference between polished and unpolished pulses as having lost its outer surface, polished pulses become inferior to unpolished pulses in terms of their taste.

For the same reason polished dal also takes longer to cook, thus adding to fuel consumption in the long-run. The polishing agents used in polished pulses can be harmful to our health too. The oil coating

Quality is the Key adds additional fat to the food, the water used comes from unreliable sources and thus can contain any kind of impurities, and marble and soapstone powder are undoubtedly harmful to the intestines,” pointed out Amit.

Moreover, according to he and Anoop, through the polishing process, pulses lose a lot of nutrients and fibre. This compromises on the polished pulses’ nutritive quotient.

“Presently unpolished dal might be costlier than polished dal but that is only because the former’s availability is relatively rare,” reasoned Amit.

But he didn’t seem to be content with the reason; instead he strived to find a solution to this lacuna. “Presently people unaware about pulses prefer polished dal.

However if enough awareness is spread among people, the demand for unpolished dal would increase in the future and that of

The pulses market in India seems to be poised for impressive growth, but amidst this growth, stringent quality control measures are must for the players to stay afloat. Or else they are likely to be get drowned by the deluge of competition, in this age of discerning quality conscious consumers.

“We have strict quality check parameters wherein we are using the Buhler’s colour sorting machines of different grades which lead to accurate detection of defect and foreign matter, thereby facilitating the production of better quality products. All our products go through vigorous quality testing to the international specifications, in our in-house laboratory. Further, for assuring zero impurity, we stringently check the entire range on various parameters. We have multiple units installed with several machines, tools and technology that help us to hygienically process our products,” elaborated Amit. n

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.

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Oct-Nov ’17

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BAKERY

Tiered for Celebrations Inspired by the spire of a church and triggered by a baker’s urgent need to express love, tiered cakes have gained currency over the years as they add extravaganza to an occasion

By Jyotismita Sharma

L

ate in September this year, a bakery in the US faced the wrath of the country’s food regulator for including ‘love’ as an ingredient in the label of its products. Love, according to the US Food & Drug Administration (FDA), is not an ingredient and, therefore, should not be included in the label. Yes, they were serious! The argument goes that adding extra information in the label has the potential to distract consumers from the actual ingredients listed and deter their ability to realise what they are actually eating.

“Your Nashoba Granola label lists

52

ingredient ‘Love’. Ingredients required to be declared on the label or labeling of food must be listed by their common or usual name,” the FDA said in its “warning letter” to Nashoba Brook Bakery in Concord, Massachusetts. “’Love’ is not a common or usual name of an ingredient, and is considered to be intervening material because it is not part of the common or usual name of the ingredient,” it added.

While, using ‘love’ into a food ingredient appears to be too far-fetched an idea, cakes, if not most bakery items, are many a time synonymous with celebration,

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festivities, and camaraderie. For, hardly a n yo n e c u ts a ca ke to m a r k a s a d event. But cutting a cake is a ritual in birthday celebrations, weddings, marriage anniversaries, or in every occasion you want to remember fondly.

In fact, it is believed that it was love that triggered the imagination of the tiered cake by a baker in Britain, in the late 18th century.

“The story goes that William Rich set up as an apprentice in Ludgate hill and fell in love with his boss’s daughter. When he asked her to marry him he wanted to impress her with a large, beautiful cake and

Oct-Nov ’17

BAKERY

Vanilla Tiered Cake Recipe from Chef Paul Besra Ingredients • • • • • • • •

Whole eggs: 24 numbers Butter: 1000 gm Sugar:1000gm Flour: 900 gm Baking powder:20 gm Corn syrup: 50 ml Strawberry and other fruits of choice: 2000 gm Vanilla essence:10 ml

Method • Cream butter and sugar • Add eggs one by one • Add half of the flour with the baking powder to the mixture • Mix the remaining flour with the fruits • Add it to the mixture and mix properly • Bake at 180 degree Celsius for 45 minutes or till well done • Cool it before having

his inspiration came from the spire of St Bride’s church. However, there are no surviving records of this cake,” Catherine Gee wrote in The Telegraph.

The popularity of the tiered cake shot after the marriage of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert in 1840. They became less common during the wars that followed in the next century, but after the Second World War ended and when economies of most countries returned to normal, the tiered cake came into vogue once again. And ever since, it has not seen much of a slide in popularity.

“Every individual wishes to feel special and treated in an exclusive way on her/his special day. Thus, to communicate this special feeling, cakes are designed in a tiered fashion to add extravaganza to the event,” said Pastry Chef, Paul Besra of JW Marriott Hotel Bengaluru.

“The cakes were given an additional dimension to boost their aesthetic appearance and add value to the celebrations like marriage anniversaries, birthdays, etc.,” Chef Paul added.

In India, the tiered cake began catching the imagination of the well-to-do class after the increased integration of the global economies and also of cultures from the 1990s. The penetration of Hollywood movies and other foreign language films into India’s cinema landscape also contributed to the growing popularity of the tiered cakes. Cutting a tiered cake has now become a common sight even in Indian weddings and the ritual is becoming increasingly common to mark other big celebrations. And with significant numbers among the Indian population (though their percentage in the total Indian population is much less) experiencing prosperity with the growth of the economy driven by the service sector, it can only be expected that the celebrations

Oct-Nov ’17

Hammer Food & Beverage Business Review

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BAKERY with tiered cakes would only grow bigger.

Chef Paul agreed with this evaluation when he said, “Demand for these types of cakes are really high and in the coming years, celebrations of special occasions will be incomplete without such tiered cakes.”

Challenges in Making While the sheer size and the layers facilitate Chefs to introduce mixed flavours in one cake, they do not face any particular challenge in creating a tiered cake. At least, Paul thinks so.

“There is no challenge in their making as such. It is just the transportation of such large cakes which is bit of a concern,” Chef Paul said.

However, for the uninitiated, preventing the top layers from crumbling down could itself be a challenge. Amanda Rettke, the creator of the ‘I Am Baker’ website, and the author of the book ‘Surprise Inside Cakes: Amazing Cakes for Every Occasion – With a Little Something Extra Inside’ suggests that working with a chilled or a partially frozen cake could help in the assembly of the layers. Sometimes, the layers may also appear lopsided. To align the layers perfectly, one can make use of crumb coating; a thin layer of frosting applied to a cake. Doing a crumb coat is a great opportunity to fill in any problem areas, according to Rettke.

What Makes a Great Tiered Cake Answers to this question would obviously vary depending on taste preferences.

However, a great deal of what makes a great tiered cake also depends a lot on the visual appeal. Apart from making perfectly aligned layers, one should also make sure that the layers are of equal heights.

When the frosting spills out a bit from the sides of the layers, the cake looks a lot more sumptuous. Another opportunity to make the cake look irresistible arises

English Fruit Cake Recipe from Pastry Chef Yogesh Deshpande of Novotel Goa Resort and Spa Mixed Fruit. . ..................................................3000 gm Sherry..............................................................250 ml Green apples...............................................2 Honey.. .............................................................60 gm Brown sugar.. ...............................................500 gm Eggs..................................................................8 Butter.. .............................................................500 gm Flour.................................................................600 gm Baking powder...........................................10 gm Mixed spice . . .................................................20 gm

Method • Soak the fruit; the peeled and diced apple, overnight in the sherry.

• Combine the fruit, sherry, the peeled and diced apple, honey, sugar and eggs.

• Add the cooled melted butter.

• Add the sifted flour and baking powder and mixed spice.

• Deposit at 600 gm of silicon lined baking rings and bake at 160 degrees Celsius for 90 minutes.

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Hammer Food & Beverage Business Review

with the topping, the options for which are almost limitless.

But how about the taste? Experts feel that the key to making a great tiered cake is maintaining a fine balance between the cake and the fillings. All the flavours you want to introduce should also come ideally in equal proportions. One should also be careful not to indulge too much in the sweet quotient.

Traditional Tiered Cakes The combinations of fillings that one can choose while making a fluffy towering tiered cake are almost infinite. But some combinations have stood the test of the time. Some of these traditional tiered cakes are – German Chocolate: Chocolate cake filled with coconut-pecan.

Black Forest: Chocolate cake with cherries, kirsch and whipped cream.

Brooklyn Blackout: Chocolate cake filled with chocolate custard and cake crumbs, and frosted with chocolate icing.

Red Velvet: Red-coloured cake layered with cream cheese icing or ermine (cooked butter cream).

Hummingbird: Banana-pineapple cake with cream cheese icing.

Princess Torte: Sponge cake with fruit preserves, pastry cream, and whipped cream blanketed in a layer of marzipan.

Lane Cake: Butter cake filled with a bourbon-raisin-coconut-pecan filling and layered with meringue icing.

Boston Cream Pie: Yellow butter cake filled with custard or cream and topped with chocolate glaze. n

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Pic Courtesy: Tea Trails India

bEVERAGE

Tea Lounges and Coffee Cafes T

ea and coffee are not only two of the widely popular beverages in India, but they are often integral part of our friendly, social and business interactions. India’s association with tea is a long one. The consumption of tea in India was first documented in the Ramayana, though the country began experiencing commercial tea cultivation only during the British colonial rule, in the first half of the nineteenth century.

During early 1820s, the British East India Company commenced large scale tea cultivation in the state of Assam.

However, in the colonial era, tea drinking didn’t assume to be a nationwide habit. In India, tea garnered widespread nationwide popularity as a recreational drink during 1950s, in which the advertising campaign by the India Tea Board played an important role. Assam accounts for more than 50

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By Swarnendu Biswas percent of the country’s tea production.

Brewing a Success Story Tea is not only the most popular beverage in India but its production in India has been showing steady increase over the years.

India recorded total tea production of 1233.14 million kg during the financial year 2015-16. As compared to 2014-15 figures, the total tea production in the country registered an increase of 35.96 million kg during 2015-16.

According to Tea Board India, teas in India achieved another milestone during the financial year 2015-16 when it registered export figures of 232.92 million kg valued at Rs. 4493.10 crore, breaching the 230 million kg mark after 35 years.

According to the statistics of Tea Board India, we can find that the tea production in India increased from 1095 million kg in

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2011-12 to 1233.14 million kg in 2015-16.

Today India is the world’s second largest producer and second largest consumer of tea, which is consumed by 85 percent of the Indian households.

According to Tea Board India, during 2016-17, the production of tea in India was 1250.49 million kg, which is the highest production of tea during a fiscal, in the Indian tea industry.

The per capita tea consumption in the country is approximately 650 gm and the tea consumption in India is increasing at an annual rate of 3 percent. Thus we can see that the popularity of tea is not only high in India, but it is also increasing.

Coffee Gaining Ground Coffee growing was introduced in the country by an Indian Muslim saint named Baba Budan, who, while returning from a

Oct-Nov ’17

bEVERAGE pilgrimage to Mecca, smuggled seven coffee beans from Yemen to Mysore by tying them around his waist. It was illegal to take out green coffee seed out of Arabia and thus the precaution. The saint planted them on the Chandragiri Hills which is now renamed as Baba Budan Giri, which is located in the Chikkamagaluru district of Karnataka.

India has been experiencing systematic coffee cultivation since the latter half of the 17th century, that is soon after Baba Budan’s planting of the coffee beans, but till about two decades ago, the popularity of coffee in the country was largely confined to South India.

Coffee production in India is mostly concentrated in the states of Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu. These states account for almost 97 percent of India’s annual coffee production.

Though commercial cultivation of coffee in India began earlier than that of tea, and though coffee’s popularity in India has increased significantly across north India over the recent years, and per capita coffee consumption in India has increased by 40 percent over the last decade, but still coffee’s penetration among the psyche of Indians is nowhere as prevalent as that

of tea.

India still exports close to 70 percent of its coffee production and nearly two-thirds of people in India still do not drink coffee.

This needs to change and café coffees mushrooming across the country can usher in that change. Compared to that, 80 percent of the tea produced in India is consumed within the country itself .

Tea with Style We can see that a lot has evolved over the last two decades, as far as middle class urban India’s tea and coffee drinking habits go. We have graduated from teas at familiar roadside kiosks in kulhads to sleek

tea lounges and cha bars, and from filter coffees at homes to coffee houses infused with intellectual atmosphere to cosy café cafes infused with the ambience of casual chatter of the young and the young at heart.

The sleek tea lounges and coffee cafes in urban India are also contributing towards the trend of making drinking tea and coffee a lifestyle statement. These trends have also increased the potential of experimentation and innovation in ready-to-drink coffees and teas in India, for the retail consumer. One can also infer that the growth of coffee café culture in urban India has a huge potential to raise per capita coffee consumption in the country.

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E-mail: anubhav_005@yahoo.com Website: www.shamsonsfoods.com

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One of the reasons for the popularity of tea lounges and coffee cafes in postmodern urban India could be attributed to the significant rise in disposable incomes, in select but sizeable pockets of urban Indian society, during the last two decades. The other reasons are the growing influences of globalisation on Indians’ F&B habits, and also the hugely lopsided demographics of India; in favour of the young population.

As far as tea lounges and cha bars go, Chaayos, Cha Bar and Tea Trails are some of the important players in this direction.

Cha Bar can be credited with ushering the concept of tea lounge or tea bar in India.

Chayyos was born in November 2012.

The chain presently has presence in Mumbai, Delhi, Noida and Gurgaon. They serve a wonderful variety of teas which include Gur Wali Chai, Shahi Chai, Pahadi Chai, Kulhad Chai , Peach Iced Tea, Honey G i n g e r Le m o n Te a , Le m o n I ce d Te a , Pineapple Strawberry Iced Tea, Aaam Panna Iced Tea among others, along with a tempting repertoire of snacks and shakes.

But probably the credit of making tea a lifestyle drink in the Indian context goes to Cha Bar of Appejay Surrendra Group. The maiden outlet of Cha Bar created a rage in Kolkata, in the year 2000. Cha Bar is the brainchild of the enterprising entrepreneur Priti Paul. Backed by generations of Apeejay Surrendra group’s experience in tea plantation business, Cha Bar was created as an integral part of the more than 90 year-old iconic Oxford Bookstore in Park Street, Kolkata.

At Cha Bar the customers simply love the experience of being able to browse books at leisure, over a cup of tea. The experience can be enhanced with a wide selection of appetising snacks.

Today, Cha Bar offers the amalgamation of tea drinking and book browsing experience at Oxford Bookstores in Bhubaneswar, Kolkata, Mumbai and New Delhi. Cha Bar has an amazingly wide range of teas.

The teas on offer at Cha Bar include the flowering teas, organic teas, herbal teas, diet teas, fruit teas… the experience flows to an exclusive range of Darjeeling, Nilgiri, Sikkim teas, complimented by the best in Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, Moroccan, Russian, Sri Lankan, South African and Thai teas.

Tea Trails, a venture of Zone8 Tea World Pvt. Ltd. was founded in 2012. The chain now has company-owned outlets and a robust franchise network of 30 stores, in 10

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Pic Courtesy: Tea Trails India

bEVERAGE

cities in India. According to the company’s website, it serves gourmet teas from around the world and has teas ranging from hot to cold and everyday to extravagant, paired with great food.

Tea Trails has a wide variety of teas on offer which include black teas, white tea, green teas, specialty teas, oolong teas, bubble teas, iced teas, iced green teas among others. Strawberry Chai, Cranberry Iced Tea, Mango Bubble Tea, Argentinian Mate, Seasonal Fruit Pearl Tea are only some of the uncommon varieties of teas on offer at Tea Trails.

The Coffee Café Culture If tea consumption in India is fast getting the hues of fashionable and exotic, can our coffee café culture be far behind?

A c c o rd i n g t o Te c h S c i R e s e a rc h report titled India Coffee Shops / Cafés Market Forecast, Consumer Survey and Opportunities, 2021, coffee shops / cafés market in India was projected to grow at a CAGR of over 11 percent during 2016-2021, on account of the growing coffee culture a m o n g yo u n g p o p u l at i o n , i n c re as i n g urbanisation, rising disposable income levels and changing eating and drinking preferences of consumers. Changing work patterns of business executives is also driving demand for such coffee shops / cafés, as these outlets offer services such as free Wi-Fi, entertainment zones, etc., the report noted. The report was published in January 2016.

The reflection of impressive growth in coffee culture in India is amply manifested

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through the ongoing growth story of Tata Starbucks. Tata Starbucks, the 50/50 joint venture between Starbucks Coffee Company (Nasdaq: SBUX) and Tata Global Beverages (TGB), celebrated the opening of its 100th store, which is located in Mumbai.

Starbucks entered India’s promising coffee café market only in 2012. Tata Starbucks has plans to open three more stores in Kolkata, in early 2018.

The Bengaluru-based Café Coffee Day also has an impressive growth story to share. The chain opened its first café in 1996 at Brigade Road in Bangalore and

by Feb 2017 it had 1654outlets within the ambit of its brand.

According to a joint report by NRAI and Technopak, the size of the café chain market in India was estimated to be Rs. 1,805 crore in 2016, and it was expected to grow at a CAGR of 10 percent, to reach Rs. 2905 crore by 2021.

There are many other prominent players like Costa Coffee and Dunkin’ Donuts crowding the coffee café or bakery café segment in India. However, though the market for coffee cafes and bakery cafes has huge untapped potential, especially in tier-II and tier-III cities of India, there are not uncommon incidents of loss making outlets too. The coffee café chain market in India not only has impressive growth potential but also is plagued with the threat of losses.

Dunkin Donuts had closed 22 outlets during January-June 2017 and added only four. Till 26th October 2017, there were 50 restaurants in India within the brand of

Oct-Nov ’17

Dunkin’ Donuts , whereas in June 2016, the number of such outlets were 77. In fact, Café Coffee Day, Barista and Costa Coffee had all shut some of their stores during 2016- March 2017. All there chains were saddled with loss making stores during this period.

So coffee café and bakery café chain players operating in India should be poised for profits but at the same time beware of the pitfalls of operating this business in the country, which can lead to their outlets’ eventual closure.

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Need to Reposition In order to earn sustained profitability, the café chains also need to re-position themselves slightly. Presently, there is a general perception among many Indian people that cafes are primarily places for socialising and/or for holding business meetings, and not as places to have great food and beverages to satiate one’s hunger.

This perception is an impediment to the profitability of the cafes, for this perception can (and most probably does) lead to smaller billings for coffee cafes and bakery cafes, in comparison to quick-service restaurants, on an average. This consumer perception needs to be changed by the coffee café and bakery café chains operating in India, and in this context, both media and advertising can play crucial roles.

Steep rental is another serious problem for coffee café chains operating in India as there is an underlying assumption here that coffee cafes and bakery cafes need to operate in prime locations. Coffee café chains struggling with high rentals had been common features of our food service industry in the recent past, and most probably things have not changed substantially in this direction. Rentals account for 15-25 percent cost of running a coffee café chain in India.

It is because in India, despite their mushrooming across urban India during the recent years, the coffee cafes and bakery cafes still have a sophisticated and up market connotation associated with them. Rentals comprise a major chunk of operating costs for coffee chains in the country, which challenges their profitability.

This can be countered to a greater extent if the coffee cafe and bakery café chains operating in India channelise their expansion more towards the tier-II and tier-III cities and less on the metros than they are doing at present, as rentals can often be and usually is prohibitive in the prime locations across metro cities of India.

At the same time, these chains should open more cafes in the middle class commercial localities of the Indian cities, where the rent is comparatively affordable. Succinctly, the coffee café and bakery café chains operating in the country should also focus beyond the premium locations of the cities/towns to keep their operating costs in check. Making their coffees and snacks more affordable is also a viable option to stay afloat.

Succinctly, the market for tea lounges and coffee cafes seem promising but in order to keep up the momentum these players would not only have to offer an amalgamation of Indian and exotic dishes, which they are already doing now, but should also focus more on the local flavours. For example, a cha bar operating in Kolkata should have focus on Bengali snacks on its menu, and similarly a coffee café outlet operating in Chennai should have focus of snacks pertaining to Tamil Nadu cuisine on its menu. n

Oct-Nov ’17

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THEME CUISINE

Oriental Delights

By Sharmila Chand

T

he rising popularity of oriental flavours from China, Hong Kong, Japan, Thailand, Vietnam, Korea, Burma et al has been a prominent food trend in India for the last three-four years.

Oriental food is a beautiful blend of several tastes together — sweet, sour, salty, spicy, and bitter. It emphasises a combination of flavours and textures, often within a single dish. The key is to balance a fusion of ingredients that highlight the essence of oriental cuisine.

In oriental cuisine, vegetables in usage range from greens such as morning glory to white water lily stems.

Here noodles are made from a variety of ingredients and are prepared in dozens of different ways. Noodles are most commonly made from rice, wheat, egg, mung bean, or a combination of ingredients.

sauces. Chinese cuisine has become the most prominent and popular of all Asian styles of cooking. Among the Chinese cuisine also there are various schools of cooking, the most basic difference being between northern and southern styles of Chinese cuisine.

Southern China dishes emphasise freshness and tenderness while north China dishes are relatively oily where the use of vinegar and garlic tends to be more popular.

I n c o n t ra s t , J a p a n e s e c o o k i n g emphasises the frequent use of deepfrying (i.e., tempura, etc.) and the use of vegetable oil or conversely, raw food (i.e., sushi and sashimi). In Korea, much of the

Two Culinary Traditions Broadly speaking, there are two distinct dietary traditions in oriental cuisine. One of them is the north-east tradition that includes the rich and diversified culinary cultures of China, Japan and Korea within its ambit. In China, Korea, and Japan the emphasis on cooking is on fats, oils, and

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traditional cuisine is centered on grilling or sauteing and the use of hot chili spices (i.e. kim chi, etc.).

The south-east dietary style, which includes the cuisines of Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, and Brunei lay emphasis on aromatic and lightly-prepared food, using a delicate balance of quick stir-frying, steaming, and/or boiling, supplemented with spices and seasonings, including citrus juices and herbs such as basil, cilantro, and mint. In this feature, we would focus more on the south-east culinary tradition of oriental cooking.

Also, while north-east culinary tradition emphasise using soy sauce in nearly everything, many south-east countries of Asia use fish sauce, along with galangal, lemon grass, and tamarind for additional flavour.

Rice is the staple food of south-Asian cuisine. It is interesting to note that in Thai language, one often says, ‘Let's go eat rice,’ regardless of what will actually be eaten.

There are many varieties of rice. In Thailand, the red rice cooked in hollowed bamboo is very delicious.

Likewise, the importance of rice in

Oct-Nov ’17

THEME CUISINE Indonesian culture can be realised through the reverence they have for their Rice Goddess, Dewi Sri of ancient Java and Bali.

Traditionally, it is said that the agricultural cycles linked to rice cultivations were celebrated through rituals and festivals, such as ‘Seren Taun’ Rice Harvest Festival.

A number of leafy vegetables have wide applications in Indonesian cuisine, such as kangkung, spinach, genjer, melinjo, papaya and cassava leaves. These are often sauteed with garlic. Spinach and corn are used in simple clear watery vegetable soup named sayur bayam bening, flavoured with temu kunci, garlic and shallot.

Other vegetables like labu air (calabash), labu siam (chayote), kelor, kacang panjang (yardlong bean), terung (eggplant), gambas and belustru, are cut and used in stir fries and also in curries and soups like sayur asem, sayur lodeh or laksa, in Indonesia.

Among the green leafy vegetables that are usually eaten raw in the meal or as a side dish in Thailand, the most important are phak bung (morning-glory), hō rapha (Thai basil), bai bua bok (Asian pennywort), phak kachē t (water mimosa), phak kat khao (Chinese cabbage), kra thin Thai (ipilipil),phak phai (Praew leaves), phak kayang (rice paddy herb), phak chī farang (Eryngium foetidum),phak tiu (Cratoxylum formosum), phak "phaai" (Yellow Burr Head) and kalampī (cabbage).

Thai and Indonesian desserts are also delectable. Thai dessert popularly called ‘Poor Man's Dessert Pancake’ is well-known.

The popular Indonesian desserts include green soya porridge called Bubur Kacang Hijau, and a healthy and delicious sweet dessert made from green soya beans called Kacang Hijau. A dessert with fruits in coconut milk known as kolak is also very popular in Indonesia.

A n ot h e r we l l - k n ow n d ess e rt f ro m Indonesia is the rice ball porridge or the Bubur Candil which is a sweet savoury porridge made from glutinous rice flour.

Spice is known as Rempah in Indonesian, while bumbu is the Indonesian word for spices’ mixture or seasoning. Spices such as pala (nutmeg/mace), cengkeh (clove), and laos (galangal) are native to Indonesia.

In Thai cuisine, commonly used herbs include cilantro, lemongrass, Thai basil and mint. Some other common flavours used in Thai food come from ginger, galangal, tamarind, turmeric, garlic, soy bean, shallot, white and black peppercorn, kaffir lime and, of course, chilies.

Oct-Nov ’17

Chef Meet Malhotra of Ministry of Beer, Gurgaon and Connaught Place

“Pan-Asian cuisine is one of the most favourite, comfort cuisines enjoyed in India. The best part about most of the pan-Asian dishes is that they require very less cooking time; cooking less and on high flame also ensures most of the nutrients and vitamins are intact in the final dish prepared. At the Ministry of Beer, Connaught Place and Gurgaon we have taken various pan-Asian techniques and given them a regional Indian touch. Some of our most popular dishes with pan-Asian twist at the Ministry of Beer are Gunpowder Crispy Lamb, and Butter Chicken Bao Bhel, where the authentic recipe of bao is followed and stuffed with our famous butter chicken and served with bhelpuri on top.”

The Essential Ingredients Essential basic ingredients used for a variety of recipes from China, Japan, Korea, Vietnam, Thailand, and other oriental countries.

Soy Sauce/ Tamari Soy sauce in place of salt is good for seasoning soups, fried rice, or dressings.

Gluten-free tamari is preferred especially for gluten-free dishes.

Rice Vinegar A mild vinegar for making vinaigrettes, marinades or dipping sauces.

Fish Sauce Good for cooking Thai or Vietnamese food, especially in stir-fry sauces, dressings and dipping sauces.

Oyster Sauce This sweet and savoury sauce adds richness to simple vegetable stir-fries.

Vegetarian versions are made with mushrooms instead of oyster extract.

Coconut Milk Creamy and rich, canned coconut milk adds a wonderful flavour and smooth texture to curries, soups and marinades.

Curry Paste It is absolutely essential for Thai curries.

Miso Paste Versatile miso paste can be used in a classic miso soup; used to make a Japanese marinade for fish or meat.

Toasted Sesame Oil With its characteristic toasty flavour, sesame oil is good for dressings, dipping sauces and marinades.

Sake (Rice Wine) This beverage is wonderful to add another dimension of flavour to soups, simmering sauces and marinades. It is indispensable in Japanese cooking.

Fresh Ginger Grate it, mince it, cut it into slices and use it to make Korean marinades, Chinese soups, Thai dipping sauces and much more.

Limes The refreshing lime juice is especially crucial for Thai and Vietnamese cooking.

Cilantro Cilantro provides a key flavour in many Asian cuisines.

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Chef Harangad Singh of Prankster Restaurant, Gurgaon “More Indians now have travelled to the far east than ever before and the market is ripe to cater to their new found tastes. People are open to experience new flavour combinations and cooking techniques, which wasn't the case a few years back. Chefs are no longer restricted or limited to a set of ingredients. Rather making traditional food more fun and quirky is something that attracts a lot of diners. This gives us an opportunity to twist and tweak a particular recipe and come up with our own version of it. For example, a traditional Chinese pork bun is made with a char siu sauce. But let us say a Chef might think let me replace the char siu sauce with a sonth chutney and experiment with it to suit the local palate. We will see this trend rising in the upcoming Pan Asian restaurants in the city.”

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Recipe By Chef Harangad Singh Coriander Miso Marinated Salmon, Caramelised Onions and Sprouts 1. Salmon - 2 portions 2. Shiro miso - 1/2 cup 3. Mirin - 1 cup

Sake - 1 cup Sugar - 4 tbsp Coriander seeds - 1/4th cup Black pepper - 1tsp Dried red chilli - 4 nos Roast the whole spices and crush them.

Heat a saucepan and add sake to it.

Flame it to burn off the alcohol. Add mirin and add the crushed spices tied in a muslin cloth in it. Simmer for 10 minutes and add the miso paste. Cook for another 10 minutes and remove from heat. Let it cool.

Marinate the salmon with this and vacuum pack and leave overnight.

Cook in a sous vide at 54°C for 20 minutes and then sear on a hot pan.

Serve with emulsion made of the sauce, caramelised onions, sprouts, some fresh salad greens and almond flakes.

Menu Planning

By Chef Sunil Joshi – Chef De Cuisine, Baan Tao, Hyatt Pune Appetisers Indonesian Cumin Lamb Lamb sliced, leeks, chilli flakes, cumin, garlic, Sichuan pepper Chong Qing Chicken Sichuan peppers, chilli, sesame seeds, Chinese wine, scallions Fragrant Braised Wine Butter Garlic Prawns Jumbo prawns, celery, butter, kafir lime leaves, garlic Hoisin Lamb Shredded lamb, hoisin sauce, Sichuan pepper oil, and garlic, peppers Hatchew Latchew Tofu Tofu tossed with red chilli, black peppercorns Sambal Goreng Kembang Broccoli tossed with sambal chilli, coriander, scallions Dimsums Minced prawn, chicken sui-mai topped with tobiko Char siu bao pork

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Asian Green dumpling in spinach flour Exotic mushroom, bell pepper crystal Salad Yam woon sen talay Glass noodles, calamari, prawns, fish, celery, preserved garlic, tomato Larb Gai Minced chicken, yard long beans, basil, broken wheat, lemongrass, chilli Som Tam Raw papaya, palm jaggery, lime, chilli, cherry tomatoes, and yard long beans Soup Crab and Asparagus Soup Crab mince, shrimp, shitake, tofu, and white pepper Malaysian Curry Laksa Coconut milk, curry leaves, lemongrass, kafir lime, galangal Main Course Dobanjan Chilli Pork

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Sliced slow cooked pork belly, spicy black bean sauce, pickled mountain chilli Shower Fried Fish Double cooked rapid fried fish, ginger, chilli bean sauce XO Chili Prawns XO sauce, prawns, chives, and peppers Gaeng Khiew Wan Mit Coconut milk, lemongrass, basil, kafir lime leaves, and galangal Stir-fried Asparagus in Garlic Sauce Mapo Tofu Silken tofu, Sichuan pepper, and black bean Staples Nasi Goreng Shrimp, Crab Meat Fried Rice Mie Goreng Steamed Jasmine Rice Desserts Anamitsu Tub Tim Krob

Oct-Nov ’17

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R est a ur a nt

An Unforgettable Pan-Asian Gastronomic Experience

By Sharmila Chand

P

icture yourself sitting amidst lush greens, under the starlit sky, listening to the soothing babble of a water cascade. You can enjoy such a scene at the Baan Tao — the award-winning pan-Asian restaurant which serves authentic Chinese, Thai, Malay, Indonesian and Vietnamese delicacies at Hyatt Pune, located in the posh address of Kalyani Nagar.

Serene and aesthetically designed, Baan Tao offers multiple seating options to suit your mood. The tall 'Asian yokeback chairs' that sit ato p c l assy

wooden decks have the potential to transport you back in time… straight to the Ming and Qing dynasties. The decor adds a dash of elegance, and brings a piece of history to the gorgeous ambience of Baan Tao. Replete with a waterfall in the outdoor area to the cosy Chinese pavilions serving world class dishes, Baan Tao can be the ideal venue for celebrations. The special Chef’s Table is one the most romantic tables at the restaurant, just adjacent to the majestic waterfall.

Th e res ta u ra nt h as wo n m u l t i p l e accolades and continues to excel for its innovative gourmet concepts, under the expertise of Chef Sunil Joshi and his team. The popular Thursday Asian Street Food evenings and buzzing Sunday Brunches with live music, offer the patrons an unforgettable dining experience.

Chef at the Helm

T h e v e r y c re a t i v e C h ef d e C u i s i n e at H yatt P u n e Ka l ya n i Nagar, Chef Sunil Joshi leads the team at Baan Tao. He began his career as a

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Management Trainee with Crown Plaza followed by tenures at various renowned properties and brands, namely Carlton Madagascar, Hilton among others before landing up at Hyatt Pune.

Chef Sunil draws his inspiration while curating new dishes from the local and ethnic food. Chef admits that he realised early on that cooking is not an easy job as you have to match your culinary skills to cater to someone else's taste buds.

And so, he makes it a point to keep up with the current food trends in the market and tracks them via magazines, newspapers and social media, in an effort to stay ahead of the competition. In his opinion, going local by using local ingredients, molecular gastronomy and live cooking concepts are

Oct-Nov ’17

R est a ur a nt

some of the latest trends in the market that he finds very interesting.

According to Chef Sunil, passion for food, patience, punctuality and self control are the traits, which make one a great Chef. He is adept with western, Indian, and oriental cuisine. During his management trainee days, he was given the opportunity to work with various regional Chefs in Madagascar

and this enabled him to acquire skills in Malaysian, Indonesian, Japanese, Chinese and Thai cuisines.

Food for him is something that sets one in the right mood. He firmly believes that Yin and Yang in food are very important for a healthy life.

Signature Dishes at Baan Tao

Non-Vegetarian: Shower Fried Fish in Ginger Chilli Bean Sauce Chonq Qing Chicken Fragrant Braised Wine Butter Garlic Prawns Non Vegetarian Dim-sum Platter Sambal Goreng Ikan (fish tossed with coriander, chillies, and scallions) Vegetarian: Som Tam — Thai Raw Papaya Salad Sichuan Mushrooms Asian Green Dumpling Stir-fried Asparagus with Garlic Sauce Thai Curry

“Baan Tao is like a ‘Celebration Restaurant’ for its patrons. The guests love to celebrate special occasions here because of the soothing and vibrant ambience it provides. The food of Baan Tao adds to the story of this premium restaurant, especially the dim sums and sushis offered at the restaurant. Thai and Cantonese delicacies add to the special charm of the restaurant.

— Chef Sunil Joshi – Chef De Cuisine, Baan Tao

Oct-Nov ’17

Thursday Asian Street Food Evenings Thursday street food festival at the restaurant serves the local street vendor style food that one can find in the streets of South-East Asia, especially in countries like Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam, Malaysia, Hong Kong, etc. The food is prepared at the restaurant in front of the guests, thereby making it more appealing and interactive.

Furthermore, the guest has the liberty to customise the food the way she/he likes.

One can also describe it as a gala Seafood and Dim Sum Buffet as there are ample seafood choices for the grills during this street food festival.

Sunday Brunches

The Baan Tao Sunday Brunch is possibly the one and only pan-Asian brunch served in restaurants across Pune. The food served

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“Baan Tao is one of Pune’s must visit restaurants with its beautiful and serene ambience and delectable food offerings. It is our celebrated venue and winner of Times Food Guide Award for the past five years. The restaurant boasts of finesse and style with a waterfall in the alfresco area and cosy Thai-Salas for the exclusive dinner parties. Baan Tao is the place for all kinds of celebrations and events.

— Sethuram Sundaram, Food & Beverage Manager, Hyatt Pune as a mix from the pan-Asian countries and includes a live interactive sushi station.

Ample choices of Asian grills, signature dim sums, soups, salads, Chinese wok, Thai curries, sushi bar, and desserts make it a hit amongst guests.

At this brunch one can engage at seven live counters — grills, soups, salads, dim sums, sushi, wok and desserts and enjoy the engagement with the three Ms —Mojitos, Martinis and Margaritas.

Innovative Gourmet Concepts of Baan Tao Baan Tao serves special dim sum lunches from Monday to Saturday, which is a unique concept of dim sums and just dim sums for all the courses.

Apart from this, Baan Tao is known for its popular Shabu Shabu (a Hot Pot concept) where one has the liberty to cook for self and make one’s own pot meal. n

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che f voice

The Creative Culinary Expert

By Sharmila Chand

The very creative Head Chef at Hyatt Pune, Chef Suvendu Roy has a Diploma in hotel management and brings with him 10 years of experience in the hospitality industry. He has worked with renowned hotels and restaurants across India.

He began his career with Hotel Sun Village Goa and then moved on to Park Hyatt and Taj Exotica. He also served as the Executive Sous-Chef, leading the team at Club Mahindra Virajpet.

His association with Hyatt has been a long one. It began with Park Hyatt Goa Resort and Spa, as a pre-opening team member. He eventually moved on to Hyatt Pune where he currently directs and oversees the culinary operations.

He is adept in western cuisine and as well as Indian cuisine, with special focus on Tandoor. Chef Roy loves innovation and fusion and often experiments by creating new flavours. In his present role with Hyatt Pune, he is responsible for maintaining the food quality, ensuring guest satisfaction and smooth operations of all restaurants and events.

In his free time, Chef Roy enjoys listening to music and watching cricket. He is a big fan of Bengali & spicy food.

His all-time favourite is what his mother cooks! The excerpts of the interview follow: How do you define yourself?

I am a simple person who is enthusiastic about my food and cooking in general. I am also extremely passionate about the food I bring to the plate.

What is your philosophy of cooking?

Food according to me should be fresh, delicious and something that is made from the heart. I strongly believe that if a Chef does not feel the dish she/he is making, then the dish should not be served.

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

I am an avid and keen seller of my product and love connecting with guests.

I would have loved to be in the sales & marketing department.

What or who is your source of inspiration?

My mother has been my inspiration. I love the way she cooks, it is from her that I have understood the love that goes into creating a dish that would leave a person delighted and content.

What has been the most rewarding moment in your career?

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While in Grand Hyatt Goa, I had a guest who had an event with us and I was heading the banquet kitchen then. I remember the guest calling me later to thank me and my team for the exemplary service and food that was served at the event.

The same guest after almost four years heard about my shift to Hyatt Pune and came in to the hotel to organise an event with us. This truly was a rewarding moment in my career.

Kindly talk about an important challenge that you have been facing in your career The one challenge that is most persistent in our field is retaining skills and training of the existing team members.

These days, amongst the younger human resources, the impetus is to climb the designation ladder quickly, leading to learning taking a backseat.

elements.

I urge my teammates to be more involved in everyday activities and be in charge of their own stations, products and equipments; thus giving a sense of responsibility to each and everyone.

I also believe in the saying that a leader always leads from the front and should be at the disposal of his team anytime and always. Most of our working hours are spent together and they need to feel that I am with them to answer all their queries and in guiding them towards the right direction, when they feel lost.

What prepared you the most for your career?

I think passion is the most basic and most essential skill for any Chef. One also needs to understand food and should be a foodie to enjoy her/his work as a Chef.

What is your definition of success?

How do you train and motivate your team members?

I believe in being involved with my team and giving them ample opportunity to shine and rise on merit of their skill and work. I prefer practical trainings rather than theoretical, coupled with some fun

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Success to me is when my team walks through each day and each challenge together and breaks all barriers in providing first class service to each guest, at every moment and with every bite.

What is your strength/s, professionally?

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che f voice I think team spirit, positive attitude, and willingness to perform and deliver the best are my professional strengths.

What is your favourite holiday destination?

Goa is my favourite holiday destination.

It is where I met my wife and the place will always be special to me.

How do you de-stress yourself?

Soft music and sports are the two things which help me relieve my stress.

Peppercorn is my favourite spice.

What is your favourite equipment?

Sauce-pan with lid. It is my solution to every problem in the kitchen.

Who is your favourite diner that is the kind of guest you would most like to feed?

It can be any diner who understands food, appreciates food and is a genuine critic when the food is not good.

What is your hot selling item?

If you had to describe yourself in one word, what would it have been?

I think passionate is the word to describe me rightly.

What is your favourite cuisine?

Indian and Pan-Asian cuisines are my favourites.

Panch Phoran Murg Tikka is my hot selling item.

What is the best compliment you have received so far, professionally?

Recognition is always important. I was once told that the food cooked by me makes the guest miss his hometown. That was special.

What is/are your favourite dish/es?

Mutton curry prepared by my mother and lentil prepared by wife are my favourites.

What is your favourite spice?

Where could we expect to see you ten years from now?

In another 10 years, I dream of owning a restaurant of my own and be renowned as a

Chef for his honest and good food.

What are your future plans?

I want to excel in my life and serve people with food that leaves them delighted to dine with us.

What is the position of Chefs in India, these days?

I must say that owing to shows like M as te r C h ef g a i n i n g p o p u l a r i ty, o u r profession has become more glamourised.

There is now more scope and opportunity today for Chefs in India.

What are the problems and challenges faced by Chefs, these days in India?

Procuring the right and best quality of raw materials is a major problem these days.

Also acquiring and managing good staff is a real time challenge.

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I would recommend passion, team spirit and patience to all the budding talents in our field.

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O P E R AT I O N S

Renovating

Restaurants

By Sharmila Chand

R

enovating restaurants is essential to spruce up their image and attract more clients, which can benefit both their owner/s and their customers.

However, the entire process often does cost not so insignificant resources, which is why it is recommended to have a strategy in place to guide successfully throughout the whole renovation process.

Even if the restaurants have been doing good business, sometimes it is necessary to give them the right facelift, say experts.

This is also true for restaurants housed

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within hotels and resorts. I talked with some industry experts regarding restaurant renovation. They also gave tips to renovate restaurants successfully and talked about challenges involved towards this endeavour.

Factors to Consider “Having a systematic plan is the first step towards renovation of restaurants.

Remodeling projects always tend to cost more than what they are being expected.

So having a budget for your restaurant renovation requires special attention.

Hammer Food & Beverage Business Review

Professional assistance too is required,” explained Simran Dhingra, Co- Founder of Twist at DLF Cyber Hub, Gurgaon.

“There is no set pattern as such to renovation of restaurants but it has its limitations to it as it is not a bare shell that you are working upon,” proffered Joy Singh, Co-Founder, Raasta, New Delhi.

“The restaurant renovation is an element of basic hygiene. Don’t wait until the place becomes so run down that it is crying for help. Re-evaluate the restaurant’s appearance and ambience every five to

Oct-Nov ’17

seven years and then decide if some light u p d at i n g o r h e avy re n ovat i o n s a re needed,” advised Saurabh Khanijo, MD, Kylin.

“While renovating restaurants, try to avoid changing the kitchen location as it will increase the hassle of changing the gas pipelines. One of the most important Saurabh Khanijo things is to be sure if one wants to change the location of the bar and alcohol storage as changing these in India requires new plans to be made and sent to the concerned government departments,” Joy elaborated.

“If you haven’t renovated for many years, you may require a thorough redo rather than adding just a twist.

When deciding on a final design, you have to know what type of clientele you want to attract,” Simran added further.

“The new interiors play a major role in the renovation.

It is very important that the new interiors look different from the old but at the same time it is very important to have a connect so that people notice and realise the transformation,” pointed out Joy. “For the renovation to be successful, lighting needs to be perfect as lighting plays a major role in the visual appeal, especially at night,” Joy observed while adding, “When renovating it is important to give attention to human resource because if they are happy the outlet will also do well.”

“Restaurant renovation should be done keeping in mind the trends. Moreover, decide on how you want your restaurant to look like. You must be very clear in your mind about the interiors and design of the restaurant beforehand,” Saurabh aired.

“Since renovation needs big investment, get your financing in order before you start your restaurant renovation project,” Saurabh aired. “Find an experienced and good contractor for the renovation of your restaurant.

Choosing a contractor who has worked on other restaurants will make it likely that the project stays on time and within your budget,” he averred.

“Try not to shut the restaurant for renovation, for you would not want your customers to know that your restaurant has been shut for a long time. Also, shutting down the restaurant for renovation can mean a loss of revenue. You can renovate your restaurant/s in part/s/ section/s to avoid this,” conveyed Saurabh.

“In order to bring about restaurant renovation successfully, it is important to understand your restaurant’s DNA very clearly as to why guest come over to your place.

That is the first step,” opined Inderjeet Singh Banga, Director, Biggie Restaurants Pvt. Ltd. “Also be clear about the changing trends in the industry, which includes what is happening at the global platform and

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O P E R AT I O N S

Aroop Chatterjee as well as the changing needs and desires of your immediate guests. Also the restaurateur must know what is the positioning change or experience building he/she wants to bring through the changes. There is need to increase the happiness quotient of guests through the changes the restaurateur aspires to do because we live in a world where dining is just not limited to eating,” he elaborated further.

“Bringing change as per guests’ liking is important in restaurant renovation. Smart designing of key elements which add value to the customers’ dining experience need to be incorporated, while keeping in line with the expense incurred to create it and the return on such investment,” expressed Aroop Chatterjee, F&B Manager, Four Points

By Sheraton Hotel & Serviced Apartments, Pune. According to him, market trends and competition also have to be taken into account while undertaking restaurant’s renovation.

“It should also be taken into account while doing restaurant renovation that never shock the guest through your changes. Also while renovating the restaurant do not over do the things. Overdoing the things may confuse the guests,’ Inderjeet pointed out.

“Also limited budget allocation can pose to be a snag as it limits the scale at which renovation needs to be done,” she added further.

“There are a few challenges when it comes to restaurant renovation. First and foremost is the timeline as most of the real estate owners don’t give a rent free time or compensation for renovation so timelines need to be adhered to and planning needs to be perfect, especially for restaurants on rented space,” explained Joy. “Secondly, the contractor needs to be efficient and ideally all the relevant procurement pertaining to renovation should happen before the restaurant renovation begins. This will save a lot of time. And the most important are the finances. It is important to keep finances handy so that there is no delay and the quality is not compromised. Even during the renovation process, the business of the restaurant often keeps running, so it is important to keep these challenges in mind and deal with them very carefully,” he elaborated further.

“The key challenges towards restaurant renovation include defining the customers’ expectation/s exactly and aligning it/them with the key features of your product to ensure the dining experience is fulfilling,” averred Aroop.

“To bring any kind of change, we need to get out of our comfort zones and this is one challenge towards renovation of restaurants,” Inderjeet stated.

“Then there is the challenge of retaining the old experiences while building on a new one because remember lots of guests come back to a restaurant for various reasons.

Some come for food while others come because they have a favourite corner where they like to sit and relive their memories or

Challenges to Renovate There are challenges involved in restaurant renovation, of course. “Sometimes the majority of the clientele of the restaurant may be used to a certain type of ambience and a major change in that in a rush to remodel can often lead to losing the restaurant’s important client base. A major change in restaurant’s ambience and décor through restaurant renovation can lead to a sense of uncertainty, and can lead to a mixed reception among the guests,” affirmed Simran.

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Inderjeet Singh Banga

Hammer Food & Beverage Business Review

Joy Singh may be because they just like a particular serving style… So while driving in changes retaining as much as possible is also important, which is a challenge towards restaurant renovation,” pragmatically explained Inderjeet.

“Keeping the restaurant operational and minimising guest troubles and bring in the changes along with it is another challenge involved in the renovation of restaurants.

Moreover, the renovation of a restaurant must not take the restaurant away from its value proposition in terms of pricing since new is always welcome but we all have a thought about how we perceive a place in terms of pricing and it shouldn't feel to guests that the newness is coming at a super enhanced price point,” conveyed Inderjeet.

“Enhancing the dining experience while keeping in line with the constant change in customer’s behavioural patterns and expectations is another challenge towards restaurant renovation as is prioritising an avenue which involves least investment but entails higher return on investment,” affirmed Aroop.

“Sometimes we go overboard with money and time, and are not able to finish the project within the allocated budget and time. This can be one of the pitfalls in a restaurant renovation exercise,” disclosed Saurabh.

“Another challenge that the restaurant industry faces while renovating restaurants is that diners want a restaurant’s design to be in line with its cuisine, so restaurant designers and architects are geared to meet diners’ expectations while also satisfying the vision of the restaurant owner. Balancing them at the same time can often be a challenge towards restaurant renovation,” Saurabh pointed out. n

Oct-Nov ’17

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HYGIENE

Kitchen Cleanliness

N

owadays people go out to dine to have a wonderful experience of delicious food prepared in a professional kitchen by a trained Chef and at the same time to enjoy the ambience and surroundings. Restaurant customers expect their food to be cooked in a clean kitchen and to have clean surroundings in service area, regardless of the size or type of the restaurant.

Commercial food production environments such as kitchens, canteens and food preparation areas must adhere to stringent legislation governing their condition and hygiene standards. The comprehensive kitchen cleaning must ensure greater hygiene, higher efficiency and extended life of equipment through

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proper maintenance, and reduced fire risks.

Food hygiene standards and regulations are now becoming more pronounced with FSSAI becoming more active in food sector.

Non-adherence to the regulations can now lead to severe fines that can have a negative effect on profitability, as well as on the reputation of the business.

Daily cleaning routines can help maintain a good level of hygiene. It's important to clean the floors and counters in the restaurant kitchen on a daily basis. But there are some other kitchen cleaning tasks that do not need to be performed as frequently.

However on less accessible surfaces such as walls, ceilings, lights, equipment and kitchen fittings, the gradual accumulation of grease and fat can provide a potential

Hammer Food & Beverage Business Review

breeding ground for bacteria. Burnt on carbon and fat deposits must be removed, ensuring any potentially harmful bacteria are eliminated. Poor cleaning procedures can lead to bacterial contamination, spread of diseases, pest infestations and reduced equipment life.

Since kitchens are hot, messy, busy places it is difficult to keep them clean, especially on a daily basis. For this reason, owning a professional, or adopting a highquality steam/deep cleaning schedule is the ideal solution towards keeping restaurant and other commercial kitchens clean and disinfected. To ensure that equipment does not get too dirty to be used correctly, it is suggested to do a deep cleaning once a month. Keeping a kitchen clean

Oct-Nov ’17

H ygiene

clean a kitchen, including all surfaces, high and low. What is the best and fastest effective solution to keeping a commercial or restaurant kitchen clean, disinfected and chemical free?

work and with no chemicals or detergents.

One can clean those tough stains without exposing oneself and the environment to hazardous chemicals. No more using poison or toxic chemicals, for steam cleans and disinfects using only water and heat.

Steam and very high water temperature systems are likely to provide superior and economic cleaning. Through steam cleaning, dirt, grime and mould get blasted out from dirty areas due to extremely high temperature and pressure. Following the blast, dirt is sucked into a powerful vacuum, in a holding tank.

Steam cleaners can rapidly go over every surface in a kitchen, getting into even the tiny crevices or porous surfaces and swiftly lift and remove dirt, grease, grime, bacteria and more. Even caked on grease and food particles can be gently but effectively lifted and removed from surfaces. Stoves, grills, range hoods, sinks, refrigerators, counters, ovens, prep areas, storage areas, pantries, slicers, scales, racks and more can all be cleaned with a powerful steam cleaner.

This prevents the spread of disease in your commercial kitchen.

A professional portable steam cleaner can also be moved around to not only clean the kitchen but the bar or other areas of a restaurant; providing true cleaning versatility. A steam cleaner is an incredibly useful investment for any commercial or restaurant kitchen because it can literally be used for floor to ceiling cleaning and disinfection.

Steam Cleaning

How Machines Work?

Features of Steam Cleaning Technology • • • • • • • • • •

Eliminates mops and buckets for more convenient cleaning.

Cleans and sanitises without hazardous chemicals and toxic odours.

Leaves no residue like chemical cleaners.

Add tap water, switch on and you can begin cleaning in minutes.

Surfaces dry in seconds. No soaked materials that can contribute to mold and allergen growth.

Kills most bacteria, viruses, mildew and allergens such as E.Coli, Salmonella and Dust Mites.

Helps control allergens in carpet and bedding.

Money saving as no cleaning chemical agents are used, but just plain tap water is used.

Lifts off greasy grime and dried on dirt.

Cleans soap scum and mildew off bathroom tile and shower doors.

Benefits of Steam Cleaning Technology • • • • • • • • • •

Increased Hygiene Reduce the risk of contamination Reduce the risk of transmitting food-borne disease Lower customer complaints Better working conditions for staff Increased efficiency and longer equipment life Lower maintenance cost Reduced risk of fire Improved health and safety environment They have great likelihood of complying with food hygiene and kitchen safety regulation • Lower risk of fines and prosecution and disinfected help reduce the risk of spreading food-borne illnesses and crosscontamination.

Keeping a clean kitchen is incredibly important for many reasons. In fact, every workplace should be clean, regardless of what the type of work it is, to provide healthy work conditions. Restaurant and kitchen staff will work better in a clean kitchen than in a dirty kitchen.

Though it is important that food should be prepared on a clean, disinfected surface, but it does not mean that chemical cleaning products should be used on those surfaces. Chemical cleaning products leave a chemical residue which can be transferred to anything that comes in contact with the surface, like skin or food that can absorb that chemical residue. These chemicals can possibly prove to have a link to various health problems for the people working in the kitchen. Chemical residues can possibly change the taste of prepared food in the kitchen or restaurant, which could affect the business.

In a working kitchen, food splatters and grease get dispersed throughout the kitchen. It can contaminate any to every surface. Thus it is imperative to properly

Oct-Nov ’17

Steam Cleaning allows to easily clean, sanitise and deodorise a variety of surfaces and materials around the premises with less

Hammer Food & Beverage Business Review

Steam cleaning machines operate on the principle where the water in a boiler tank gets heated up and escapes in 'vapour' like

73

HYGIENE fashion through the multi-powerful jets or hoses. Some expensive steam cleaning machines include quality stainless steel boilers, heavy wiring, more insulation; the heating unit mounted inside the boiler, more attachments and more safety features than the low-end ones.

Steam cleaner can be a very handy steam cleaning machine as well. It cleans virtually any area that one can think of: seals on the fridge or oven, the runners on patio doors. Some steam cleaners claim to be able to do odd jobs such as defrosting a fridge, as well. Some of the new models feature special self-cleaning systems, which mean that if one invests in it he won’t have to constantly worry about replacing calcium filters. Also, the newer models heat and reheat in record time, some as fast as within thirty seconds and they do come with different bar pressures that change the speed and efficiency of cleaning performance.

The typical steam cleaning machines’ have the following accessories: window squeegee, bristle ring nozzle, refilling bottle or tank and curved detail nozzle. These features simply ensure that your steam cleaning could be satisfactory. The steam cleaning machine should also have a feature that can

regulate water steam outflow as well as its temperatures. Despite what you may think, some low pressure steam cleaning machines perform better than the high pressure ones.

The steam cleaning machine is easy to maintain and clean and it is light enough

to be carried (when you fill it with water) especially if you’re planning to use it often.

Steam cleaning machines should have some features for special cleaning tasks and should have options on hose outlets for cleaning difficult areas. n

Deep Cleaning in Restaurant Kitchen

R

estaurants and other food service establishments face unique commercial kitchen cleaning challenges. By their very nature, kitchens generate high volumes of greasy soils which are very difficult to remove. Just as bad, these soils are tracked through dining areas, restrooms and throughout the facility. The results can be costly, including loss of business, dangerous slip-and-fall accidents and more.

Deep cleaning process could be very much relevant for these following equipments:

Exhaust Hoods Cleaning the hoods over stoves and ovens is crucial to keep the air quality healthy for everyone who works in the kitchen. You should start by removing the filters from the hoods and washing them thoroughly. Then, scrub down the hoods themselves to remove any bakedon grease or soil. The traditional way to clean this equipment is to soak the filters in a sink full of hot, soapy water, and scrub the hoods with degreaser solution. These

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are both dirty jobs, and they require safety equipment to avoid chemical burns and damage to eyes. After applying cleaning solution to the surface, a powerful jet of water will rinse away all grease and soil, leaving the equipment clean and free of contaminants. Rather than letting filters air dry for hours, you can use the powerful vacuum to remove all the moisture from inside the filters.

Walk-in Refrigerators Walk-in refrigerators are constantly used by most restaurants all day long. Most managers have the floors cleaned every night, the door handles wiped when needed, and the entrance way mopped once or twice a day. This still leaves out the part of the walk-in refrigerator that gets the most use: the shelves. You should pull out all the food from your walk-in refrigerator's shelves once a month and use a spray-and-vac system to apply cleaning solution. Then, you should use the powerful spray to remove soil and foreign objects. You can use the same solution to clean the interior of the walk-in refrigerator from top to bottom, including

Hammer Food & Beverage Business Review

the walls, the inside of the door, and the floor and entrance way.

Hot Boxes Whether you call them proofing boxes, steam boxes, or hot boxes, these large pieces of equipment provide a moist environment in which to hold warm, prepared food. These boxes are notorious for growing slimy interiors within a few weeks; when the unit cools, the interior steam and grease droplets get deposited all over the interior walls. You can also use a spray-and-vac here to clean the walls and remove the layer of grease you find inside. Then you can vacuum away all the moisture from inside the unit, leaving it clean, dry, and bacteria-free.

Besides these equipments, deep cleaning operations must clean ovens, cooking surfaces, cutting boards, exhaust hood filters, defrosting freezers, grills. It should sanitise and degrease equipment, enable odour control, clean bathrooms, floors, walls, furniture, air vents, and mixers, juicers, toasters, coffee machines, etc.

Succinctly, it should facilitate regular maintenance.

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processe d f oo d

Gauging the Indian Snacks Market

By KS Narayanan

P

otato chips and popcorn, nachos and nuts. What do these food products have in common? Not their origin, flavour, palate or cuisine, but the fact that all of these food products are regularly consumed as snacks.

A snack is smaller than a regular meal, generally eaten between meals.

This definition of a snack indicates how broad a category it is. There are no official prescribed snacking meal times and snacks come in vast varieties, in both sweet and savoury options, in terms of both food & beverage; and also as a combination of

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both food & beverage, and as well as a combination of both savoury and sweet.

Snacks come in different forms, to be consumed at home or on the go.

Today, there are over than 1000 types of snacks that are available in the Indian market. India’s thriving snacking culture of present day has a rich legacy, which can be traced to our culinary traditions, which flowed from the ancient ages.

Growing Snacking Culture With the customary meal timings in India being 12 -2 pm for lunch and 8-10 pm for

Hammer Food & Beverage Business Review

dinner, it resulted in a gap of approximately 7-8 hours between the two main meals of the day. The average human body needs to be nourished after around every 3-4 hours and thus the evolution of the 4pm snack time or ‘tiffin time’ came to be.

The way the snacks market has grown in India, significantly differs from its western counterparts.

While no reliable estimate of the snack food market in India exists, the Euromonitor figure of branded packaged snacks market in India is Rs. 22,131 crore. The unorganised snack market in India is much bigger than

Oct-Nov ’17

processe d f oo d the organised Indian snack market. An estimated 20 percent of the overall food market in India happens to be led by snack food that is extremely high when compared to other nations. Namkeens, the traditional Indian snack, has highest share even in the branded packaged snack segment of India.

What works in India’s snacks market? One thing for sure is that the consumers in India demand superior taste from the snacks they consume. If the taste factor is compromised, little are the chances of the snack being a success in the Indian market. What we Indians prefer is the burst of flavours in every bite; a certain robustness and aroma in flavours (not necessarily spicy), multitude of textures and contrasting colours.

What are the reasons behind the growth of the snacking culture in India during the recent years? The increasing urbanisation, increase in the number of double income households, and the rising ‘time poverty’ in urban India during the recent years have resulted in changing consumption patterns in India, especially in the food category.

This has in turn fuelled the demand for convenience food products in urban India.

At the same time, the spurt in disposable incomes during the last two decades has

Oct-Nov ’17

resulted in the increased exploration of the various snack options available in the Indian market, whether they be traditional or western. Consumers are seen moving up from unbranded to branded snacks, given the heightened concerns for quality and the greater availability of branded options in the Indian snacks market. Branded snacks are also fast penetrating the semi-urban and rural India. These markets have been traditionally dominated by unbranded or homemade products.

This has resulted in branded snacks becoming an all-time food for the munching needs of a section of consumers in India.

Today snacking in India is not just for children or youth. Snacking between meals is a habitual occurrence in the dayto-day lives of huge numbers of Indian consumers. Snacks in India no longer cater to a single consumer segment, but instead have a diverse consumer appeal and are increasingly being consumed across different age groups.

In the backdrop of this scenario, the snacks market in India has witnessed a high growth trajectory and various new players are foraying into the market while the existing ones are expanding to cash in

Hammer Food & Beverage Business Review

on the market’s growth potential.

The Opportunity Areas In the Indian snacks market, the biggest opportunity, it seems, lies in converting the local, regional unbranded snacks of the country into branded, packaged form with infusion of some upgraded ingredients, which will facilitate their availability panIndia.

While consumers are upgrading to branded snacks products, the unbranded

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processe d f oo d snacks market in India still remains awesomely huge in size. There are still hundreds of traditional snack categories for which branded options do not exist in India, which present a huge market opportunity for entrepreneurs.

This is especially true in the context of another growing trend in the traditional snacks segment in the country. Though our palates may change every 200 km and regional preferences are strong, there has been an increasing democratisation of snacking preferences in India during the recent years, and many hitherto regional snack items have found nationwide acceptance e.g. banana chips.

Adopting the western flavours to Indian taste buds can also give a fillip to India’s snacks market. This concept can be run across various snacking products like chips, extruded snacks, biscuits, namkeens, etc. with likelihood of garnering impressive results.

Using Indian millets like bajra, jowar, ragi, rajgira in snacking can also be a lucrative avenue to explore in the Indian snacks market. We don’t need to go after the expensive Quinoas of the world but have a treasure-trove back home. The usage of Indian millets into our snacking options can enhance the taste, health quotient and sustainability factor in our snacks.

Rising health consciousness, and the increasing incidence of lifestyle diseases in urban India owing to sedentary lifestyles and the legacy of our faulty eating habits have resulted in increased demand for ‘healthy’ snacks in India. This is one of the mega trends sweeping the world and thanks to the proliferation of Internet and international exposure, India is certainly going to leapfrog in this area.

However, healthy food means different things to different individuals. For some it means low sugar, for some others it means sodium in moderation; for some it

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means low fat and high fibre, for some it is gluten-free. When you get a combination of all the above, it is possibly inedible or is a medicine! So having all the healthy attributes in a snack can often be an unfeasible market proposition.

Essentially what our consumers are looking for is a guilt assuaging snack. For example, it could be a buttery croissant, but when coated with lots of nuts, seeds and multiple grains, it makes one feel healthy.

The trend towards healthy snacking is only expected to increase in the future India and presents lucrative opportunities for both existing as well as new players in the snacking segment. Overall, we can say that marketers in the Indian snacks segment need to brace up for this opportunity. The challenge will however be to achieve the right balance of taste, health, and price in the snacking options.

Nuts and popcorns present another impressive market opportunity in the Indian snacking segment, which needs to be vigorously explored. These two products are sweeping across the supermarket aisles in developed markets as the fastest growing snack food products. The trend has every likelihood to spread to the Indian market. Nuts and popcorns made available with a plethora of Indian flavours could potentially unlock a mega opportunity for branded snack food players operating in India to cash in.

Another impressive market opportunity in the hugely diversified Indian snacks segment lies in baked snacks. Biscuits and its baked counterparts have always had a sweet corner in the Indian shopping basket.

Double-digit growth over the last decade, innovation in packaging formats with a major plank on affordability and the usage

Hammer Food & Beverage Business Review

of healthier ingredients has led to mass proliferation of this category in the postmodern Indian market. Now with intelligent combination of flavours, spice blends and ingredients, marketers can garner lucrative returns in this area.

Snack kits form yet another strong emerging area. Who does not have cherished memories of the roadside chaatwala, street snacks, snack dishes served in marriage functions, events, festivals and so on. Now all of these presented in the form of a kit, hygienically packed with a combination of flavours, dressings and sauces, can bring back a flood of warm memories.

The bhel puri kit, the pani puri kit are just the beginning. Many more traditional snack dishes could be presented through user-friendly kits.

Summing Up Succinctly, over the past few years, the snacks market in the country has witnessed a slew of activities, which include the emergence of new players, the expansion of snacks portfolio through continuous product innovations, aggressive marketing campaigns to establish consumer connect, shift in consumption with increasing demand for convenience, etc.

Going forward, the prospects for the branded snacks market in India remain bright. However, players will need to focus continually on product innovation to combat competition, both from within their category of operations (branded as well as unbranded) as well as from other categories.

The writer is the former MD of McCain India and has worked 25 years in the food & beverage industry in various roles.

Oct-Nov ’17

I ntervie w

Dependable, Adaptable and Innovative

By Sharmila Chand

With more than a decade’s experience in the hospitality industry, Sumit Sharma is currently the F&B Manager at Sheraton Grand Pune Bund Garden Hotel.

“It has been a challenging and fun journey over the years, with brands like Hyatt, Shangri-La, Radisson Blu, Westin, etc. I have been acknowledged by my colleagues for being dependable and adaptable to any situation,” he said. The excerpts of the interview follow: What do you enjoy most about being a Food & Beverage Manager?

I like working with people and enjoy being busy almost all the time. I love the fact that I can interact with various people in the property and also with the guests who visit our hotel. Innovation is also at the heart of what we do, which I enjoy the most!

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

Every job comes with its own set of challenges just like mine. Definitely as an F&B Manager, one of the top challenges is to keep pace with competition and staying ahead of the curve in terms of innovative new offerings.

We also need to be on the roll always and need to create the right atmosphere for the team to thrive and grow professionally.

As Managers, we need to have the right attitude and problem solving skills to keep the team motivated, especially when results are not in your favour.

What kind of pressures have you encountered at work?

There are different kinds of pressures on a day to day basis but the main one I would like to call out are days when we have back to back events. Despite the pressure

Oct-Nov ’17

of back to back events, we have to keep our service and quality consistent and of impeccable levels.

Can you suggest any tips or insights for F&B Managers to strengthen their team?

The atmosphere of where the team is working is quite important. If you like your colleagues, there is high likelihood that you will enjoy your job too. Team building is an important exercise as people need to help each other and also work as one unit. This coupled with a clear vision and rewards system would work well to strengthen the team.

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

It is great working with one of the greatest leaderships available in the industry that offers plenty of scope for professional development. I have been trusted by the senior management to take decisions. Learning from legacy and modern style of operations excites me the most.

Tell us a bit about your F&B outlets / brands

Hammer Food & Beverage Business Review

All our F&B outlets are quite unique in their offerings. Chingari, our North-western Indian specialty restaurant is located at the rooftop beside the poolside. It is recognised as one of the best fine dining restaurants of India and is the recipient of the TripAdvisor Travellers’ Choice Awards 2017. It’s a legacy restaurant serving specialties like Galouti Kebabs, Rann, Dal Chingari, etc. and has a loyal fan following.

Bene serves authentic Italian cuisine including Classic Coffee Tiramisu, risottos, pizzas and more. The Chefs at our F & B venues work their magic and are truly spectacular. Our multi-cuisine restaurant Feast has an elaborate spread; offering local and international dishes with live cooking counters.

Anything else you would like to say?

There are a lot of new things and innovative ideas in the pipeline, which we look forward to implementing soon.

What is your take on the hospitality business in general?

There are a lot of challenges in the recent years as the hospitality business is largely influenced by external reasons. However, there is great scope for the industry to do well with the increase in travel of corporates and leisure tourists as well.

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Serving Excellence

Revolutionising Coffee Marketing

To the delight of HoReCa, India’s leading manufacturer of M e l a m i n e Ta b l ew a re, Decorative and Tray- Servewell brings the most exquisite and largest range-gorgeous shapes and patterns that are sure to enhance dining experience. Admired by homemakers and HoReCa alike, Servewell products are popular across India and as well as have tremendous demand in international markets.

It owes to the imaginative designs and superior quality of products. Servewell is committed to deliver superior products to consumers. The company every year launches over 500-1000 new styles to improve its product portfolio. From fine-looking and durable dinnerware, trays, coordinates to special character merchandise that appeal greatly to the kids, they have wide range to offer. Spanning over two decades, by bringing better products, brand Servewell, has created a large base of loyal clients and has become a name to reckon with. In the future, like always Servewell will continue to fashion innovative shapes and designs and retain the faith of HoReCa business owners.

Servewell sales@servewell.co.in

Ripples™, a powerful new marketing platform for customer engagement, is available for the first time to hospitality businesses in Europe today. Created by Ripples Inc., the unique marketing content platform, the Ripple Maker™ is a revolutionary device that prints beautiful high-resolution images and messages (known as ripples) onto milk foam-topped drinks, Nitro- brewed coffee and cocktails.

The Ripple Maker turns a coffee break into a joyful experience, producing smiles of surprise and delight that keep customers coming back for more - allowing hospitality businesses, hotels and coffee chains to build brand loyalty and drive revenue. Ripples has already been adopted by some of the world’s leading brands, who have discovered the Ripple Effect͟ on customer engagement and social media interaction. For hospitality businesses, hotels, cafés, restaurants, food service and event organizers, Ripples provides unrivalled branding opportunities, ensuring that customers return time and time again to share their experience with friends, or create their own new ripples through the intuitive consumer App. The Ripple Maker is available in European markets, starting with the UK and Germany, followed by France, Italy, The Netherlands and Eastern Europe by the end of 2017.

Creating Ripples with 3D and Ink-Jet Printing Technology The Ripple Maker - a Wi-Fi enabled device that neatly fits onto countertop with a small 8.5 ͟x 10.5 footprint.

Ripples Inc. info@steamcc.com

Buffet System The Buffet Systems which offers entirely in GN format for endless possibilities. No buffet is like another. That is why WMF Quadro has rethought the buffet presentation. The key to individuality lies in consistent implementation of the GN standard: anything is possible, since all modules are functional.

Intuitive or Modular - This opens up new opportunities for your system, beat, exclusive, distinctive, overall buffet composition.

For any format from 5-star hotel to catering chain and restaurant, the modular WMF Quadro Buffet allows selectable configurations that are tailored precisely to individual workflow: food preparation, cooking, set-up, modification, downsizing or cooling. Be it breakfast, lunch or dinner - WMF Quadro adapts to all tasks large or small and even those you would not immediately have thought of. WMF Quadro is deliberately understated. There are three components: frame, bridge and serving stand with a distinct, minimalist design. It is thus easy to set-up ultimate design with simplicity and speed. WMF Quadro offers all needed for a buffet composition that is entirely individual. With each element matching the rest: frames, inserts and top frames. With multiple finishes, surfaces and materials, everything looks good together and works well together too, with the high production quality from WMF. All buffet elements comply with standardized GN formats. This means any configurations you can dream of will slot seamlessly into your workflow. The result is 100 % control over the workflow. .

Soft Sensations shreya@softsensations.net

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Making Tandoors Environment-friendly Munnilal Tandoors Pvt. Ltd. carries a rich legacy of making tandoors for five decades. For over 52 years, Munnilal Tandoors Pvt. Ltd. has been serving a vast number of premium companies in the field of hospitality, particularly hotels, restaurants and catering segments, with its high-end tandoor products.

Renowned for its hand-crafted tandoors, the company’s products are according to the defined standards as under NSF approved listing (the US) and are also as per the Certified Gas Product Listing conforming to CSA standards (Canada). The company is exporting tandoors to over 30 countries.

Munnilal Tandoors Pvt. Ltd. also has the expertise to convert an old charcoal tandoor to a gas tandoor by incurring very limited amount of expense. This can address the crucial issue of environmental pollution in Delhi and beyond to a significant extent.

Here it deserves a mention that keeping up with the pace and growth in market demand for less premium products that can be useful for small enterprises, Munnilal Tandoors has recently launched its new non-premium offering —Pride — which has been positioned to address the remaining market that the company did not cater to earlier.

According to the company, though Pride caters to the economy segment, quality aspects in its production haven’t been compromised.

Munnilal Tandoors Pvt. Ltd. sales@munnilaltandoors.com

Hammer Food & Beverage Business Review

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Seafood Delicacies

Steel of Substance

The foundation of MM Fisheries dates back to 1964 when the then pioneer and now leader of the fishery industry marked a niche for itself.

They take pride in unveiling themselves as a leader of the seafood market that has paved way for their success. The interesting and gripping history of MM Fisheries was initiated by being associated with the Oberoi Hotel in 1964. Inviting more business by being true to the business and services they render, got a chance to proudly associate their company with Hotel Taj Mahal since its inception in 1977. Later, with best-proven services, they entered a permanent contract with Hotel Taj Mahal for the next seven years which continued until the late 80’s. Expansion of business is necessary to the company as blood is to the body. The firm belief in this statement has led to the repercussion of expansion of its operations and services in consideration to the sky-rocketing demand of fish and seafood in India. To complement this, company imports best quality of Norwegian Salmon Fish and its portions in addition to various other varieties of Fish and seafood. The company added another feather to their cap by also dealing in import of Basa Fillet (Pangasius Fillet) from one of the renowned company of Vietnam. To facilitate its customers to enjoy the delicacy of fish and other seafood, they have inaugurated its wholesale outlet and six retail outlets to deliver the extra-ordinary quality of products they deal in high quality fresh, frozen and ready to eat sea food.

MM Fisheries Pvt. Ltd. mmfisheries@hotmail.com

METINOX India is a budding, dynamic company specializing in the manufacture and distribution of kitchenware and tableware.

Headquartered in Delhi and with a state-of-art manufacturing and distribution facility,we are setting new standards in quality and design with our extensive range of kitchenware and tableware.

We are dedicated to providing professional chefs and restaurateurs with quality products and flawless services. All our products are pleasing to the eye, high in utility, practical in maintenance, and manufactured to the highest quality to ensure durability.

From our distribution office in Delhi, we are setting new standards in customer service. We value each order – whether large or small – and e n s u re t h a t our products e x c e e d customer expectations and meet their needs on a timely basis.

W e a r e committed to servicing our clients not only through our comprehensive range of high-quality kitchenware and tableware, but also through competitive edge in costs.

We have surely and steadily added to our nationwide coverage through our exciting range of products, matched by an equally efficient customer service. Our efforts to go the extra mile have earned us an outstanding reputation amongst our clients.

We always keep our customer needs in mind as well as the expectations of the end-users to oprtimize our product range, design and service. A focus on market research is integral to our activities to keep pace with the times and achieve excellence.

Metinox India sales@metinoxindia.com

Crafting Impeccable F&B Equipments Kumar Equipment (India) Pvt. Ltd. is one of the largest manufacturers of commercial k i t c h e n , re f r i g e ra t i o n a n d b a k e r y equipments in India. Its product range includes hot and cold equipments, bakery

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equipments, bar equipments, beverage equipments, dish washing equipments, cake pastry and ice-cream displays, salad display, racks, storage equipments among others. Kumar Equipment (India) is a certified ISO 9001: 2008 and a ‘Trust Passed’ accredited company.

KEI specialises in providing co n s u l ta n cy, d es i g n i n g , layout plans with complete technical details of F&B equipments for commercial kitchens, canteens, bakeries & messes, etc. on turnkey basis as well as on individual product basis.

The company’s services also extend to designing, layout and installation of

Hammer Food & Beverage Business Review

exhaust and fresh air systems as well as LPG pipeline, for facilitating the safety and economy of the projects.

KEI has been associated with kitchen equipment industry for well over two d e ca d es , a n d h as b e e n s u ccessf u l l y providing its expertise to hospitality industry, residential schools, learning institutes, hospitals, messes of Armed Fo rc e s , i n d u s t r i a l c a n t e e n s , c l u b s , cafeterias, etc. Its operations not only spans across India but is also extended abroad. KEI has two manufacturing units in Bhiwadi, Rajasthan well equipped with latest state-of-the-art plant and machinery.

Robust infrastructure, highly skilled and dedicated workforce, and sound R&D are the company’s strengths.

Kumar Equipment (India) Pvt. Ltd. info@kumarquipment.net

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agro pure capital foods pvt. ltd. bic akasa international 39 allied metal works 47 apple bakery machinery pvt. ltd.

10 aries acryware 14 BMS ENTERPRISES 25 cremica food industries ltd. FIC Crossmedia Gmbh Dusserdolf 69 CALIFORNIA WALNUT COMMISSION 55 danfross 17 fha 2018 67 FOOD SOLUTION INDIA LIMITED 07 hindustan refrigeration Stores 77 HOTELEX SHANGHAI 75 INQUVE 01, 45 IMAGES MULTIMEDIA PVT. LTD. 30,31 KING METAL WORKS 13 Kanhaiyalal Tandoor pvt. ltd.

59 metal craft 27 METINOX INDIA 21 MM FISHERIES PVT. LTD. 11 MOD KITCHEN EQUIPMENTS PVT. LTD. 15 munnilal tandoors pvt. ltd.

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Company

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neena enterprises 18 perennial Foods 20 pl & sons 19 plastindia foundation 43 quesobest 51 rans technocrats (india) pvt. ltd.

35 remington steel arts 82 rational international india p. ltd.

16 RVS KITCHEN EQUIPMENT 18 servewell household appliances 23 shamsons foods 57 shapes products pvt. ltd.

84 soft sensations PVT. LTD. 37 solutionz consulting PVT. LTD. 83 STEC hotelware 53 The new india electric & trading co.

83 tropilite foods pvt. ltd.

41 t & s BRASS 29 unitas foods pvt. ltd.

12 VEEBA FOODS bc venus industries 05 winterhalter india pvt. ltd.

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BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY

Meat Mincer

Tomato Strainer

Grater

Cookie Press Restaurant

Ipasta

Slow Juicer

Pasta Presto

Ravioli Moulds

Millegnocchi

Vegetable - Cheese Slicer-Grater-Shredder

Vacuum Sealing Machine

Sausage Filler Machine

The New India Electric and Trading Co., (Est 1946), Hamam House, 38, Ambalal Doshi Marg, Fort, Mumbai – 400 023, Tel : 022- 22651177 / 22651597 Cell : 9833411770 E-mail:nietco@hotmail.com, * www.nietco.in,

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