Food & Hospitality World March 16-31, 2014

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EDITOR’S NOTE

What Women Want

T

he hand that rocks the cradle rules the world. She is truly a work force to be reckoned with and history has enough proof that stands testimonial to what she has achieved by sheer grit and determination. Women, both in urban and more so in the rural and tribal areas, are the ones who also bring in the bread without compromising on her core responsibility, which is towards her family welfare. Hence when it comes to multitasking she is the undisputed hero. India is going through its share of metamorphosis on the socio-cultural scene and at times contradicts its own premise of women liberalisation. It is now time to give her 'real' strength and her place in the sun.

Corporate India too has its own story to share when it comes to the women work force. Our cover story this issue aims to highlight what women professionals in the corporate world really want, especially when it comes to their travel needs and requirements.

She is not asking for special treatments but few facilities to make work life a nourishing experience in turn giving further impetus to-

HEAD OFFICE Food & Hospitality World MUMBAI: Rajan Nair, Dattaram Kandalkar, Manish S. Global Fairs & Media Pvt. Ltd 2nd Floor, Express Towers Nariman Point, Mumbai-400021. India Tel: 6744 0000 / 22022627 Fax: 022-22885831 E-mail: rajan.nair@fhwexpo.in; datta.kandalkar@fhwexpo.in manish.shringarpure@fhwexpo.in Branch Offices : NEW DELHI: Pranshu Puri, The Indian Express Ltd, Express Building (Basement) 9 & 10, Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg, New Delhi - 110 002 Tel : 011- 23465670 Fax : 011 - 23702141 E-mail: pranshu.puri@fhwexpo.in Our Associate: Dinesh Sharma Mobile: 09810264368 E-mail: 4pdesigno@gmail.com

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CHENNAI: A K Shukla, The Indian Express Ltd, New No.37/C (Old No.16/C), 2nd Floor,Whites Road, Royapettah, Chennai - 600 014 Tel: Board: 28543031/28543032/ 28543033/28543034 Fax: 28543035 Mobile : 09849297724 E-mail: ashwanikumar.shukla@fhwexpo.in BENGALURU: Sreejith Radhakrishnan, The Indian Express Ltd, 502 Devatha Plaza, 5th Floor, 131 Residency Road Bengaluru - 560025 Ph 080-22231923/24 Fax: 22231925.

E-mail: sreejith.radhakrishnan@fhwexpo.in HYDERABAD: A K Shukla, The Indian Express Ltd, 6-3-885/7/B, Ground floor V.V. Mansion, Somaji Guda, Hyderabad - 500 082

FOOD & HOSPITALITY WORLD

March 16-31, 2014

“The hospitality industry has impressively addressed the need of the single woman traveller and has made the necessary amendments to make her feel comfortable and safe”

wards her contribution to her organisation.

The hospitality industry has impressively addressed the need of the single woman traveller and has made the necessary amendments to make her feel comfortable and safe.

Safety and security is of primary concern and small thoughtful gestures like providing a room that is logistically safe, giving her the needed privacy and also giving her a subtle but sure sense of comfort.

Today’s women travellers are also health conscious and would like to have a well defined health menu especially with the breakfast. Hence hotels have started catering to this very need. Hotels are also training a few of their staff to cater to her demands and needs and address her sensitive needs with concern and care. The number of single women travellers has been on the rise and hotels have seen a steady increase in business from this segment. She is here to stay and the service industry be it airlines, hotels, car companies and others are ready to meet her requirements.

REEMA LOKESH Editor

Tel: 040-23418673/23418674/ 23418675 (Tele-fax)/66631457 Fax: 040-23418678 E-mail: ashwanikumar.shukla@fhwexpo.in

JAIPUR: The Indian Express Ltd. C-7, Dwarika Puri,Jamna Lal Bajaj Marg, C-Scheme,Jaipur - 302001 Tel: 0141-370002/371272 Telefax: 91-141-376606

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AHMEDABAD: Sachin Shenoy, The Indian Express Ltd. 3rd Floor, Sambhav House, Nr.Judges Bunglow Bodakdev,Ahmedabad - 380 015.

Tel: (91-79) 26872481 / 82 / 83 Fax: (91-79) 26873950 Mobile : 09930050499 Email :sachin.shenoy@fhwexpo.in

Important: Whilst care is taken prior to acceptance of advertising copy,it is not possible to verify its contents.The Indian Express Ltd cannot be held responsible for such contents, nor for any loss or damages incurred as a result of transactions with companies, associations or individuals advertising in its newspapers or publications.We therefore recommend that readers make necessary inquiries before sending any monies or entering into any agreements with advertisers or otherwise acting on an advertisement in any manner whatsoever.

CONTENTS Vol 2 No.13 MARCH 16-31-2014

CHEF’S PLATTER

Chairman of the Board

Viveck Goenka Editor

Reema Lokesh* Assistant Editor

Steena Joy Associate Editor

Sudipta Dev CONTENT TEAM

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Mumbai

Kahini Chakraborty Rituparna Chatterjee Kolkata

Joy Roy Choudhury DESIGN National Art Director

Bivash Barua Deputy Art Director

SOURCING IT RIGHT CHEFS ARE CHOOSING LOCALLYGROWN INGREDIENTS AS SUBSTITUTES TO IMPORTED INGREDIENTS FOR INTERNATIONAL CUISINES

Surajit Patro Chief Designer

Pravin Temble Senior Graphic Designer

Rushikesh Konka Layout

Ratilal Ladani Kiran Parker Scheduling & Coordination

Rohan Thakkar Photo Editor

Sandeep Patil MARKETING General Manager

Sachin Shenoy Marketing Team

Dattaram Kandalkar Rajan Nair Manish Shringarpure Ashwani Kumar Shukla Sreejith Radhakrishnan Pranshu Puri Yoginder Singh Ajanta Sengupta Marketing Coordination

HERS The single woman traveller is not looking for 'fancy services' but facilities that are focused on her prioritiessafetyand security.Though it has become fashionable for hotels to saythat theyfocus on this segment's needs,we lookat howsuccessful theyhave been in catering to this growing tribe (18)

Chandra Shekhar Sasi Kumar G Keshav Barnwal INTERNATIONAL FOOD & HOSPITALITY SALES

Soumodip Ghosh Rahul Bisht PRODUCTION

HHI Kolkata

P13: PRODUCT TRACKER AXIS P5415-E PTZ dome network camera

Pairing wine with learning

08

IGPB AWAITS APPROVAL ON INDIAN WINE STANDARDS DRAFT

09

LALIT SURI HOSPITALITY GROUP PLANS TO EXPAND F&B OUTLETS

10

LITE BITE FOODS AWARDED F&B CONCESSIONS FOR MUMBAI METRO 1

P30: MOVEMENTS Courtyard by Marriott Pune City Centre

B R Tipnis Bhadresh Valia

MARKETS

P29: LIFE

General Manager Manager

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A SMOOTH BLEND ROMAN TALLIS, PRESIDENT, RUSSIAN SPIRIT TALKS ABOUT HIS TWO BRANDS, WHY THE INDIAN MARKET IS IMPORTANT, AND TREND OF PREMIUM SPIRITS AND IMPORTED BRAND GROWTH

P12: NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK

Darshana Chauhan NATIONAL FOOD & BEVERAGE SALES

HIGH SPIRITS

P39: WEEKEND Scene and heard by Marcellus Baptista

EDGE

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INTEGRATING GUEST DEVICES THE SHEER NUMBERS OF SMARTPHONES AND TABLETS OUT THERE ARE REALLY ASTOUNDING AND STILL GROWING STRONG

Food & Hospitality World Published for the proprietors, Global Fairs & Media Private Limited, by Vaidehi Thakar at Express Towers, Nariman Point, Mumbai 400 021, and printed by her at Indian Express Press, Plot EL-208, TTC Industrial Area, Mahape, Navi Mumbai. Editor : Reema Lokesh* (*responsible for selection of news under PRB Act). @ 2012 Global Fairs & Media Private Limited. All rights reserved throughout the world. Reproduction in whole or part without the Publisher's permission is prohibited.

MARKETS

IGPB awaits approval on Indian wine standards draft Rituparna Chatterjee Mumbai INDIAN GRAPE Processing Board (IGPB), a board setup under the Ministry of Food Processing Industries (MOFPI), Governement of India, which had submitted the first draft on Indian wine standards is awaiting approval from MOFPI. If passed by MOFPI and other concerned governmental bodies, it will take a year and a half for the Indian wine standard to be released in the country. The draft lays down the various viticulture, marketing practices to be followed by Indian winemakers. This draft has been submitted to help create an indigenous

Jagdish Holkar

identity for Indian wines to compete on a global platform.

Speaking about this, Jagdish Holkar, chairman, IGPB stated, “We want India to be integrated/uniform for wine. There is no national policy presently.

We are thinking of making a na-

tional policy for Indian wines since having different policies in different states is a big market barrier and we need to eliminate all the barriers. The challenge for us is to create our own indigenous identity. Australian, French wines have created their own indigenious identities and we are at the threshold of creating our own indigenious identity for which we need to adopt latest technology, different practices, which will take time.”

The board has also defined the term 'wine' for the India market as per global definition in the draft. “The second chapter is to identify the grape growing zones in the country, assess which conditions are suited for

the grapes, practices that can be adopted. We need to study all these, which is a part of our R&D. National Research Centre for Grapes and IGPB are working towards it,” added Holkar, stating that once the draft is ap-

proved, Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) will take it over and it will take another one and a half years for it release. Once released everyone will have to follow the specified practices.

Green tea market in India growing 50 per cent year-on-year Kahini Chakraborty Mumbai AS LIFESTYLE preferences of Indian consumers are seen to be changing rapidly, the demand for premium products in the market has increased. The green tea market in India, is one such product segment, which is estimated as an approximately `150 crore market and has been growing upwards 50 per cent year-on-year. Indians are majorly black tea drinkers. Green tea has been an acquired cultural habit that has come along with the urban India's urge to stay fit. Seeing potential in the segment, big FMCG giants like Hindustan Unilever, Tata Global Beverages, Twinings and other

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brands have either launched new variants or re-launched their green tea product range.

The recent being - Tata Global Beverages, for instance has upped the ante in the green tea segment by appointing Bollywood actress Kareena Kapoor to endorse its Tetley range and take the product to Tier II and Tier III markets. On the other hand, Hindustan Unilever (HUL) has used both Lipton and Taj Mahal to take on rivals Tetley and Twinings, especially in green tea. Bollywood actress Anushka Sharma endorses Lipton Green Tea. Tetley Tea, sold across 40 countries, comes in six flavours in its green tea portfolio including ginger, mint, lemon, honey and lemon, citrus and spice and aloe vera. The company enjoys

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a market share of 35-40 per cent. Talking exclusively to Food & Hospitality World on the market trends, Vikram Grover, head marketing South Asia, Tata Global Beverages

Green tea is new and emerging. We see consumers adding green tea to their hot beverage repertoire

said, “The Indian tea market is approximately `15000 crore, and only the green tea market is about `100-150 crore. It is an attractive market which is growing at 40-50 per cent.

Even though out of our total tea revenues, green tea currently has a very small share and is dominated by black tea, we expect the green tea segment also to contribute significantly and this is a move towards it.”

Opining the same, a HUL spokesperson added, “With the increasing emphasis that consumers put on health and wellness, the potential for categories like tea and within those, of segments like green tea is immense. Green tea is relatively new and emerging. We see consumers adding green tea to their hot beverage reper-

toire. People are leading busy lives and need to be light and active to stay on top of things.

Younger urban consumers who are conscious of their health and well-being are driving the switch towards healthier food and refreshments.”

The main task of these FMCG companies is to build appreciation of the benefits of green tea category and drive penetration amongst consumers. Hence for many, even though the market potential is high their key activities are centred around making consumers aware of the category, clearly communicating the benefits and driving trials through sampling.

“The challenge is not the market share but the growth,” opined Grover.

MARKETS

LaLit Suri Hospitality Group plans to expand F&B outlets Sudipta Dev Mumbai THE LALIT Suri Hospitality Group is focusing on expanding its F&B outlets in key hotels across various cities. “As a group we have our F&B, we do not outsource to any international chain although we have hired expat chefs. We are trying to establish all F&B on our own,” said Keshav Suri, executive director, The LaLit Suri Hospitality Group. 24/7 is the multi-cuisine all day dining; Baluchi is the pan Indian restaurant; OKO in Bengaluru is the pan Asian restaurant with chefs from Vietnam and China. There are plans to open OKO in Chandigarh and Delhi also.

Kitty Su – the nightclub in Delhi, is also being opened in

Keshav Suri

Chandigarh, Kolkata and Mumbai. Then there is the signature cafe Le Petit. “In every city we have retained the importance of F&B in our hotels. In some hotels F&B contributes almost 50 per cent of the revenue,” stated Suri.

The first Baluchi outside India will be opened at the hotel group's London property, which will be coming up in

2015. The new Ahmedabad property will have both Baluchi and 24/7. The food at LaLit Hotel and Spa Bekal is all organic and grown on the property.

Talking about the F&B potential in different cities, Suri pointed out that Chandigarh is an F&B centric city, apart from being a convention city.

“We have a huge space for banqueting at our property in

Chandigarh. We will promote Baluchi there and hopefully it will do well. We will be opening Baluchi in Kolkata.

Kolkata also has a very important F&B culture. Our property is more than 165 years old, it is older than Raffles Hotel in Singapore,” he mentioned, adding that an exclusive Tea Lounge has already been started in The LaLiT Great Eastern Kolkata. The

property will also see the opening of 'Maxim' this year, which will be a restaurant marked by old world charm, offering live entertainment.

The LaLit Suri Hospitality Group also offers regional cuisines at its properties.

They also organise a food festival called the 'Unified Flavours of India'.

Barbeque Nation to go international Akshay Kumar Pune SAYAJI GROUP which owns the restaurant chain Barbeque Nation, has plans to go international. Sayaji plans to expand its Barbeque Nation chain into Dubai, Australia and New Zealand this year.

The restaurant which will be launched in Dubai will be owned by Sayaji Group, while they are looking for partners in Australia and New Zealand.

The brand already owns 38 outlets in India, and will increase it by 10 to 12 in 2014.

Speaking exclusively to Food & Hospitality World, Hitesh Varma, chief executive officer - business hotels,

We are also planning to take our other signature restaurants like Mediterra and Chopstick City outside Indore to Mumbai and Pune Sayaji Hotels, said, “We will be starting our first Barbeque

Nation in the Middle East, Australia and New Zealand.

Also we have plans to increase the number of Barbeque Nations in India by around 10 to 12 outlets. We are also planning to take our other signature restaurants like Mediterra and Chopstick City outside Indore and open outlets in Mumbai and Pune as these two cities have good potential.”

Amit Kumar Sharma, food and beverage manager, Pune, Sayaji Hotels and Barbeque Nation said, “We have got an overwhelming response for our signature restaurant Barbeque Nation. In Barbeque Nation Pune, the customers have to book a table one or

two days in advance, this is the scenario in most of our outlets. This year we will launch our first international outlet and increase our out-

lets in India as well.”

When asked about the investment, both refrained from commenting as the plans are still under discussion.

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MARKETS

Lite Bite Foods awarded F&B concessions for Mumbai Metro 1 FHW Staff Mumbai LITE BITE FOODS (LBF) is all set to expand into travel retail with Mumbai Metro 1 - the first metro line of the city. The company has been awarded the food and beverage concessions at Mumbai Metro 1, across all 12 metro stations from Versova to Ghatkopar.

The corridor criss-crosses above the suburban railway tracks spanning across six lines. Each of the stations will be equipped with two food

outlets, one each of Street Foods of India and Baker’s Street.

Baker’s Street will serve a wide array of coffees, smoothies, shakes, cakes and confectioneries baked at the premises. Street Foods of India will offer roadside Indian snacks in a hygienic environment.

LBF will support these outlets from their commissary near the airport with world class equipment spanning over approx 6400 sq ft, and with a manpower of approx 120 to begin with. LBF has

The international expansion of Punjab Grill, Zambar & Asia Seven will include the USA, Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Bangkok conceived a unique model which will cater to passengers on the move with low price points and a huge array of products to choose from.

Amit Burman and Rohit Aggarwal, promoters of LBF said, “We are proud to an-

nounce our second big venture in Mumbai and will do our best to well establish ourselves in the City of Dreams. ” Headquartered in Delhi – NCR, LBF is a leading F&B retail company in India with

over eight core brands under its umbrella and presently operates over 55 locations. LBF aims to become a ` 500 crore organisation in the next three years, with 250 operational locations under its existing three verticals – quick service, casual dining and fine dining restaurant concepts, both within India as well as overseas. The international expansion of Punjab Grill, Zambar and Asia Seven will include the world markets of the USA, Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Bangkok.

HokeyPokeyto venture into FMCG market Akshay Kumar Mumbai HOKEY POKEY, a premium ice cream brand, which marked its presence in South Mumbai with the launch of its outlet there will soon hit the Fast-Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) segment. The first range of FMCG products will be launched in April 2014.

Speaking exclusively to Food & Hospitality World, Rohan Mirchandani, cofounder, DRUMS Food International, said, “The plans for the current year is to grow with our products, and get into the FMCG segment. We are the first Indian ice cream brand to be approved by Nature's Basket and Food Hall and we will be launching these products in April.”

On upcoming FMCG products Mirchandani said, “The products which we will launch are party packs; our bestseller - frozen cold stone cre-

We are the first Indian ice cream brand to be approved by Nature's Basket and Food Hall and we will be launching these in April ations that we mix in our parlours - will now be created in the packs.

These ice creams won't be the plain flavours, but will be funky creations which we are known for.”

Meanwhile, Hokey Pokey has launched its first South Mumbai outlet in association

10 FOOD & HOSPITALITY WORLD March 16-31, 2014

with 210° Bakery at Churchgate. The new outlet is Hokey Pokey's 24th. Presently, the brand has outlets in six cities - Mumbai, Nashik, Aurangabad, Indore, Pune

and Delhi.

Mirchandani added, “We have started to launch our outlets in prime locations now.

In the past, budget was a real concern, as real estate pricing

in India is quite expensive, especially in Mumbai. Now we have established ourselves with our first South Mumbai outlet which is a premium location.”

MARKETS

Hospitality summit on transforming guest experience Rituparna Chatterjee Mumbai WITH A VIEW To discuss real-time distribution, RevPar, KPIs and use of technology to enhance guest experience, some of the leading hospitality industry professionals came together to deliberate on industry challenges and technology automation benefits during the recently held hospitality industry empowerment summit titled, 'Transforming Guest Experience and Improving Revenues' held in Mumbai. Organised by IDS Next and RezNext, the summit witnessed an engaging panel discussion on the hotel distribution business wherein the panelists highlighted the need for establishing an efficient rate strategy and not allowing competitor pressures to dilute the rates, offering value added services, using opaque channels and real-time seamless connectivity in the distribution system, to name a few.

The summit also hosted sessions wherein hoteliers spoke on various topics including demystifying revenue management, adopting technology for enhancing guest experience, and leveraging technology for gaining competitive edge. The session on demystifying revenue management was addressed by Don Wilson, senior vice president, Maxim Revenue Management Solutions, who gave a detailed insight into Revenue Management System (RMS) a software application hotels use to control the supply and price of their inventory to achieve maximum revenue or profit, by managing availability, room types, stay patterns (future and historical), etc. “RMS helps in selling the right room to the right customer at the right time and through the right channel to maximise the revenues and profits of the hotel,” opined Wilson who went on to

add the many advantages of RMS which includes simplifying the complex processes of pricing and controlling rooms; eliminating countless hours of work; increasing RevPar from the first night with a six to 18 per cent increase in revenue; understanding and predicting guest behaviour; disseminating

critical information throughout the organisation and providing access to the same information, etc.

Wilson spoke at length on the various usages of RMS in simplifying work and maximising the hotel's revenue. “RMS takes reservations and other data automatically through

data interfaces and can take series of rate shopping data and can display a review,” he explained. RMS also helps in calculating detailed and accurate forecasts of demand by room type, rate category and accounts for customer-price response to changes in the hotel's rate or its competitiors. It optimises rates and availability controls to maximise total revenue and profits, etc. “With RMS, revenue managers can increase their span of control and enhance their business intelligence capabilities by managing five to 20 plus properties.

It automatically sends the optimal rates, controls and optimal booking limits to all electronic distribution channels, provides instant access to past results and current performance as well,” stated Wilson.

The other session was also an interesting discourse, wherein Jacob K I, vice president – hospitality business solutions, IDS Next informed the audience about three new products introduced by the company - Envy Check-in, Envy Dine and Business Intelligence.

“Through Envy Check-in, guests can view the terms and conditions before signing, the available rooms in the hotel, can check-in at the airport before going for a meeting, etc.

While, the hotel can view the tweets of the arriving guests to help assess their moods and serve them better. As for Envy Dine, the application suggests the guests what to have with what, and the Business Intelligence software, displays the KPI in dashboard format and shows actual results and there are no data leakages,” explained Jacob K I. The summit concluded with Manoj Kumar Mohanty, vice president – sales, South and Central Asia, IDS Next speaking on leveraging technology for gaining competitive edge and the key trends impacting the industry like labour turnover. During the session, he reiterated the importance of technology in transforming consumer experience, the need for practising focused and personalised marketing, adopting environmental-friendly practices to name a few.

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NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK

HHI Kolkata

Made in Punjab

HHI KOLKATA recently unveiled 'The Colony Premium', a new designer floor on its fifth level.

The rooms on the floor are equipped with tech-amenities like printer, ipod doc, DVD player, Wi- Fi connectivity to name a few. The floor also has two grand presidential suites that come with amenities like a large living room with plush upholstery, a dining table with a well-stocked bar and a separate lounge. The Colony Premium Suites consist of a 42” LED television in both the living room and bedroom along with a king-sized bed with orthopedically designed mattress.

MASSIVE RESTAURANTS has opened Made in Punjab in Mumbai where the menu comprises of food from the Sikh Kingdom under Maharaja Ranjit Singh. Made in Punjab imbibes the use of all essential barbecuing techniques – Tandoor, Sighri, Tawa and Kadhai. The menu, with its emphasis on barbecue, offers a plethora of kebabs for both vegetarians and nonvegetarians.

TGB Express

Regenta Ahmedabad

THE GRAND BHAGWATI (TGB) has launched TGB Express, its first budget hotel in Maninagar, Ahmedabad and second in Gujarat. The 33 room budget hotel has centralised air-conditioned rooms equipped with electronic locks, a 32-inch LCD television with satellite channels, direct-dial telephone including STD facility, tea/coffee maker and mattresses. Other guest facilities include a World Cuisine Restaurant offering global vegetarian cuisines, conference and banquet halls with a capacity ranging from 25 to 400 people, a gymnasium, in room dining round the clock, digital safe deposit boxes, and Wi-Fi connectivity in the public areas and individual rooms.

Johnny Rockets PRIME GOURMET has opened their second Johnny Rockets outlet in India at Ambience Mall on the NH-8 highway at the Delhi-Gurgaon border. Prime Gourmet will be managing the Johnny Rockets franchise in India. Chef Bakshish Dean, a professional chef with 23 years of culinary expertise in hotels and restaurants, is the CEO of Johnny Rockets, India. As the latest addition to the mall’s retail and food offering, Johnny Rockets joins the ranks of Chili’s, Delhi Heights, Pizza Hut among others.

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ROYAL ORCHID HOTELS has launched its upscale business hotel Regenta Ahmedabad. The hotel has 129 designed and furnished rooms with facilities like Wi-Fi access, express check in, multi party video conferencing and more. Regenta Ahmedabad also has three banquet halls which together can accommodate up to 700 guests.

The hotel is equipped with six break-out meeting rooms and can accommodate up to 20 persons.

PRODUCT TRACKER

AXIS P5415-E PTZ dome network camera

Catch Miniz CATCH has launched - Catch Miniz, an assorted pack of nine seasonings with a recipe booklet. The assortment includes seasonings of different flavours like - Italian treat, Malabar black pepper, tangy snacky, xtra spicy, meal magic, salad surprize, paprika punch, salt-lite (low sodium salt) and silver flakes (complementary). The packet is priced at `200.

Kajaria Ceramics

AXIS P5415-E PTZ dome network camera is an outdoorready, wall-mounted pan/tilt/zoom camera. The HDTV 1080p PTZ dome with 18x optical zoom has a direct drive pan/tilt system for mechanical endurance. AXIS P5415-E is directly attached to the drive shaft of two motors - one for panning and another for tilting the camera. Other features include - an integrated sunshield for easy removal, a hidden junction box to support two-way audio, four configurable inputs/outputs to external devices, a memory card slot to name a few.

KAJARIA CERAMICS presents the Eternity Wood collection, which consists of durable, zero maintenance wooden finish tiles. This range features real life imaging and finish, the natural random variation of real wood, protective diamond shield coating in satin and real wood, nano tech high gloss finish, stain proofing, high scratch and abrasion resistant surfaces and almost zero per cent water absorption. The collection is available in three finishes – satin, polished and real wood. Eternity Wood collection is available in sizes 20 x 120 cms and 60 x 120 cms and its price starts from `150 per sq ft.

Pharox

Tang

NTL LEMNIS has launched a wide range of LED lighting products Retrofit LED lamps, down lights, LED strip lights and spot lights under the Pharox brand. The Pharox Retrofit LED lamps are energy efficient, lasts more than 25,000 hours, contains no Mercury or Lead and its price begins from `750. The Pharox LED down lights features system efficacy, is glarefree, ensures uniform light distribution, offers wide operating voltage range, wide beam angle.

List price of the range begins from `2,075. Pharox LED strips are flexible in installation and deliver high performance, seamless lighting and its price ranges from `4,250 to `9,350. The Pharox spot lights are glare-free and ensures uniform distribution of light and its list price begins from `2,700.

CADBURY INDIA has introduced Tang in a one litre pack (125 g).

Available in orange, lemon and mango flavours, Tang’s one litre pack is priced at `30 per pack. Tang is also available in 750 g, 500 g and 19 g pack sizes.

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CHEF’S PLATTER

Sourcing it right With the fluctuating rupee and the rising costs of imports, more and more chefs are tapping the option of using locally-grown ingredients as substitutes to imported ingredients while preparing international cuisines. However, the trick is to strike the right balance between the two to maintain authenticity, say chefs

By Rituparna Chatterjee

A

CCORDING TO a report published by the ministry of commerce and industry, India, the country imported goods worth US$ 36665.90 million in January, 2014 whereas February, 2014 is expected to record US$ 30984.59 million. Adding to this forecast is a report of Goldman Sachs, a US-based global investment bank, that has predicted a further rupee depreciation for the period 2014-15 wherein the value of an US dollar will hover around `65. With fluctuating imports, predicted rupee fall, and stricter labelling requirements arising from the Food Safety and Standards Act of 2006 that came into force in 2011, its impact on the fine dining and hos-

pitality industry in India is increasing. “Well the imports have been affected with the falling rupee, the prices have increased almost 25-35 per cent. The vendors are directly passing the hit to the end user. Also the government rules and regulations are uncertain, which discourages the importers in a big way as clearing the goods from the customs becomes a tedious, lengthy process and takes a long time to reach the market shelves,” says Chef Ajay Chopra, executive chef, The Westin Mumbai Garden City.

With this prevailing economic scenario, the question that arises is - how does a chef then maintain the authenticity of an international cuisine, which re-

quires imported ingredients, without passing on the cost to the customer? There is a solution to this, says Chef Shubhendu Kadam, executive chef, Courtyard by Marriott Pune City Centre. “I think it’s important as a chef to always use locally sourced ingredients as substitutes because it is cost effective and offers huge economic opportunities. Using substitutes is also a sound alternative to increasing the rates on the menu cards and passing the increase to the customer,” he opines, adding that

there are a lot of safety and contamination issues that come with using imported ingredients and that chefs should also work closely with their local suppliers to make the best of what is available.

Today India has become the most preferred retail destination for foreign players. There are gourmet stores in many cities offering a wide stock of imported ingredients such as olive oil, olives, pasta, pasta sauces, noodles, organic products, etc making it easy and convenient to

Chef Ajay Chopra

Chef Vicky Ratnani

Chef Shubhendu Kadam

Chef Bill Marchetti

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source ingredients that go into preparing international cuisines.

“However, though these foreign ingredients are easily available, they do sometimes prove too expensive to be used on a daily basis. In such a case it is better to use local substitutes,” states Chef Kadam.

Going local The challenge comes in sourcing the right ingredient from the right location and exploring new locations as well.

For instance, Pune, Nashik, Shimla, Kasauli, Bengaluru, Ooty are some of the places where substitute ingredients are being grown in India. “We have got the Himalayan honey, new world wines made in the western region of India, soft shell crabs are found in Kerala and a less known fact is that the origins of the aromatic herb popularly used in Thai cuisine - lemon grass – is traced to India,” explains Chef Kadam adding that India has excellent produce of vanilla beans in Chikmagalur and Coorg and high quality

handmade cheeses in Puducherry. “The need of the hour is to constantly explore the options as far as local sourcing for ingredients is concerned,” he opines.

Apart from sourcing substitutes from different regions, chefs are also actively engaging themselves with the local farmers to grow the produce they require for preparing their cuisines. “At the moment I am down to 15 per cent of my repertoire in India either because I am not able to get the raw materials or people are not ready to grow them. That is why I got into farming and am involved in growing new vegetables and herbs that are not being grown in the country. Farmers in general grow what they know so I work with them to grow ingredients like the Swiss chard, Tuscan kale, etc. I have planted a lot of asparagus, artichokes on the hills,” elaborates Chef Bill Marchetti, Italian chef, Spaghetti Kitchen, who is engaged in contract farming and was recently offered land in Kashmir for growing asparagus. “This sort of evolution needs to happen where chefs can actually be involved in the whole process as we are the end users and we are also the people who will bring something new onto the table,” opines Chef Marchetti.

Apart from sourcing locallygrown ingredients, chefs are also engaging with farmers as part of their CSR initiatives. “I like to choose vegetables which are close to me, support the local farmers, create local employment opportunities, have less carbon footprint,” points out Chef Vicky Ratnani, corporate chef at Aurus and Nido, cookbook author and TV show host.

Keeping it authentic Using substitute ingredients might be a sound alternative to exporting all ingredients from international markets but is not a sustainable option since a balance needs to be maintained between imported and locally grown ingredients to retain the authenticity of an international dish opine chefs. “If you start using too many substitutes, you move away from the original dish so you have to keep that in

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mind,” reasons Chef Ratnani adding, “Using substitutes depends upon what you are making. There are lot of vegetables that are used in Thai and Japanese cuisine, which are being grown in India, but there will be a 20 to 80 difference in quality.”

But the extent to which the sourcing of ingredients from local and international markets should be done is entirely based on the dish being prepared. For instance, a tomato and mozzarella salad can be prepared by substituting the roma toma-

toes with locally-grown good quality tomatoes, however, the other two ingredients cannot be substituted, says Chef Chopra. “If a dish calls for a certain ingredient then it has to be sourced whether locally or internationally. But as a cre-

ative chef you always have to come up with sustainable and creative options which aren’t very heavy on the pocket. So it really depends on where you are, the price you are selling at and the consumer who is demanding it,” he concludes.

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HIGH SPIRITS

ASMOOTH BLEND With emerging markets becoming increasingly important for the vodka industry, Roman Tallis, president, Russian Spirit talks about his two brands, why the Indian market is important, and the trend of premium spirits and imported brand growth

By Kahini Chakraborty

S

eeing a 25 per cent growth in the imported vodka segment in India, Roman Tallis, president, Russian Spirit launched Russian Spirit in 2011. He along with his business partner, Neha Kapadia, launched the two finest vodkas from their stable, Russian Spirit and Kruto in India.

Russian Spirit is listed in the USA and crafts the two vodkas in a 100 year old distillery in Ukraine using a 300-year-old recipe. Established in 2012, MIR Spirits is an India based import company specialising in the import of quality Russian vodkas.

The portfolio offering includes Russian Spirit Vodka and Kruto Vodka. Tallis says, “The mission of MIR Spirits is to change the way the world sees, drinks and experiences vodkas. The vodkas are manufactured in a distillery which is over 100 years old by a master blender who has been crafting the vodkas using 300year-old heritage Russian recipes.”

The vodkas are created from the finest wheat grains from the ecologically pure Ukraine region - considered the best in the world. Elaborating on the making of the vodkas, Tallis

16

highlights, “These grains create rectified ethyl alcohol that is meticulously distilled before being combined with untouched water sourced from an aquifer 800 meters underground. The spirit undergoes further filtration through activated Birch charcoal, Ural mountain quartz and Polypropylene filter that's one micron wide.” This process is repeated six times before going through a gold membrane filter. This crucial step enriches the vodka with gold ions that contribute to the uniquely smooth finish of Russian Spirit vodkas.

Terming the Russian Spirit as 'The God of Vodkas', Tallis highlights that this brand is for

The mission of MIR Spirits is to change the way the world sees, drinks and experiences vodkas.

Our vodkas are created from the finest wheat grains from the ecologically pure Ukraine region

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the connoisseur who respects purity in the highest form. “It is 15 times distilled with pure gold filtration, and enshrines a flavour that invokes complete and utter devotion. So smooth and pure is the spirit, it retains its desirable taste even at room temperature. The 2013 International Review of Spirits, USA, recently recognised Russian Spirit vodka with 'Gold Medal 95' Exceptional. Kruto is a classic vodka with a contemporary twist - Kruto is made from the finest Ukrainian wheat and is nine times distilled for a smooth finish. It is the best in its league.

Catering to the self-indulgent era of the millennial youth, Kruto doesn’t judge or condemn,” he

opines. Chasing what it believes in and celebrating its being, is the Kruto mantra. The Beverage Testing Institute recently awarded Kruto with a Gold Medal at the 2013 International Review of Spirits.

Reasoning why India is an important market for his company, Tallis points out by stating that emerging markets are becoming increasingly important for the vodka industry as consumers of premium spirits and imported brands are growing rapidly. “In India, the consumers are continuously evolving in terms of taste and their spirit choices, so where the traditional vodka segment consisting of local and standard vodkas may have seen an overall negative growth, the imported premium and superpremium vodkas have been growing close to 25 per cent,” says Tallis, adding, “The other trend noticed worldwide is the consumer’s inclination towards flavoured vodkas, making them the fastest growing segment in the vodka category for local and imported vodkas.”

Since the global launch of

the two brands in India, the company has been studying the market closely. “The vodka market in India is around nine million cases a year. In which, the lion’s share is that of the local vodkas. But when it comes to the growth figures, where the local vodka segment shows a decline, the imported vodka segment is growing at about 25 per cent,” he points out.

Unique sellers According to Tallis, the vodka category is vain as most brands are built around imaginary aspects - packaging, fashion, celebrity endorsements, etc. “It seems as if the product doesn't matter. Our objective would be to change the way the world sees, drinks and experiences vodka. Both the brands boast of a legacy of unmatched purity, clarity and quality that it offers and the products are the heroes here,” he states.

Russian Spirit, is placed at the top of the pyramid when it comes to vodkas in India. It will be a part of the super premium imported vodka cluster and it will be marketed and adver-

tised as the 'The God of Vodkas', which he believe it is. He says, “The marketing plan was to introduce to the country the finest vodkas and change the way India experiences this spirit.” Institutional sales are as important as retail if not more, he mentions, adding that, with the unavailability of the mass medium for liquor advertising, institutions become a critical platform to create awareness, educate and engage with consumers. “So we are looking at an integrated approach of on-premise events and activations, tastings and sampling, displays and promotions, strategic tie-ups and a strong retail presence. The attempt will be to optimise the institutional activities and retail availability to reach out to maximum number of consumers for creating awareness and gaining traction,” he stresses upon. Going forward the business objective for the company will be to look at a five per cent market share in the imported premium and super premium vodka segment by the end of FY 2014.

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cover )

HERS The single woman traveller is not looking for 'fancy services' but facilities that are focused on her priorities- safety and security. Though it has become fashionable for hotels to say that they focus on this segment's needs, we look at how successful they have been in catering to this growing tribe

BY KAHINI CHAKRABORTY

18

FOOD & HOSPITALITY WORLD

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(

THE MAIN FOCUS

S

HE is intelligent, ambitious, curious, assertive, beautiful, loving, energetic, loyal, affectionate, artistic, creative, dependable, a WOMAN who strives to juggle and balance her career and domestic front all at the same time with a perfect finesse. With travel becoming an intrinsic part of her life, travel preferences are no exception. A recent survey by a metasearch engine iXiGo on 'what women want' shows that Indian women travel as frequently as once in two months (50 per cent) with 44 per cent stating spending quality time with family as their common reason for travel. The survey also confirmed that women today have become tech-savvy, with 43 per cent booking their hotels online and 76 per cent agreeing they only read reviews to make their final choice. The survey also confirms that women prefer hotels that incorporates features that are women centric. And with the growing concerns on safety of single women travellers, the hospitality industry in India is seen to be doing their bit to cater to the 'ladies' demand and ensure their security. On the occasion of International Women's Day, Food & Hospitality World takes a look at how successful has the facilities provided by hotels been so far and what has been the response.

As per industry experts, 1018 per cent of their guest comprise of single women travellers.

Indian hotels have begun understanding that the single women traveller is a fast growing, niche market and has tremendous potential in India. Today, women

are as big spenders as men have been and are willing to pay the money as long as they can see the value. Reaching out to them and satisfying their needs will be an important factor in translating marketing into sales for hotels. Hotels that often perceive their customers as only men could be losing a lot of clientele if their practices or facilities are not tailored to suit the female customers. “With the change in trends, where more and more women are now travelling for official work trips outside the comfort zone of their home and cities, safety and security is of utmost priority. Hotels have now started becoming more considerate towards this aspect and are adopting various methods to ensure good service to the guest. Hence specially designed Single Lady Programmes help hotels to assure their lady guests a safe and sound environment,” says Ajoy Balkrishna, general manager, Grand Sarovar Premiere, Mumbai. The good news is that these measures undertaken by hotels have been very well received by single women travellers so far.

“Single women travellers are happy that we have allocated a room close to the elevator, and

that a lady associate has escorted her to the room. Regular guests and extended stay guests have come to expect these services from Vivanta by Taj Whitefield, Bangalore. Their needs are evolving and we need to keep raising the bar,” expresses Sunil Taneja, general manager, Vivanta by Taj Whitefield.

P K Mohankumar, MD and CEO, Roots Corporation adds, “The single lady corporate traveller is the new segment who want general neutral facilities and not special things since they want to be independent, share the same space as men. Their main requirements are safety and security. It is fashionable for hotel brands to say they are focused on women travellers, but we as a brand are focused on her priorities – which is her safety and security requirements. For instance, when a lady traveller calls for room service, it is better to have a female stewardess attend to her.”

Well taken care of After location, cost and security being the prime criterias for selecting a hotel, for 41 per cent of women surveyed in the report, facilities and services are also the top considerations. On

the amenities front, 24x7 room service was named the most important one (24 per cent), while Free Wi-Fi (18 per cent), gym, swimming pool, spa and restaurants are some others that made their stay memorable.

While 34 per cent women would prefer to have female hostesses for room service, offering call screening facility (20 per cent), women driven cabs (19 per cent) and separate floors for women (18 per cent) were some of the other suggestions given by women to make their stay comfortable and safer.

So how are our hotels making women's stay safer and more comfortable? Starting off with, JW Marriott has a separate/ quite section on a particular floor in the hotel dedicated to single women travellers. “Single women amenities/gifts are also given to single women staying with us. The list of the single women travellers is shared with our Loss Prevention team on a regular basis to ensure there is better patrolling and security.

Also, we screen the calls which are made or received by all single lady travellers to ensure more safety. Additionally, we also have the facility of a lady doctor on call,” says Pavithran

“With more and more women travelling for official trips outside the comfort zone of their homes and cities, safety and security is of utmost priority” Ajoy Balkrishna GM, Grand Sarovar Premiere, Mumbai

“We screen the calls to all single lady travellers to ensure more safety.

Additionally, we also have the facility of a lady doctor on call.”

Pavithran Nambiar, GM, JW Marriott Mumbai

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cover ) “Single women travellers are happy that we have allocated a room close to the elevator, and that a lady associate escorts them to their rooms. ” Sunil Taneja GM, Vivanta by Taj Whitefield

“Room numbers are not shared with anyone for safety reasons and calls are traced before transferring.

Rooms are allocated near brightly lit parts of the corridor covered by CCTV

“It is fashionable for hotel brands to say they are focused on the woman traveller, but we as a brand are focused on her priorities – safety & security ” P K Mohankumar MD and CEO, Roots Corporation

Nambiar, general manager, JW Marriott Mumbai. Facilities like in-room check in and call before servicing in the room in cases where a 'Do Not Disturb' button is activated in the room. All services including in room dining and housekeeping are carried out by lady associates, are also an added bonus to JW Marriott Mumbai.

“It is extremely important that our women guests feel safe with us and it is our constant endeavour to ensure that they feel secure in our hotel. In case of group bookings, we can allocate one floor of the hotel only to female guests. We ensure that there is a good mix of women travellers in the hotel and that there are no interconnecting rooms. Our corridors are well lit and equipped with emergency lights. We ensure that our staff discusses the name, number and other credentials of our female guests in a soft voice. The concierge recommends only those places that are safe for women to travel in the city. We never pass on details of any of our guests without seeking prior permission,” mentions Taneja.

DoubleTree Suites by Hilton Bangalore provides two tiered security checks at the entrance to enhance safety and security.

Raghu Sapra, general manager, DoubleTree suites by Hilton Bangalore points out, “Single lady travellers are allocated rooms closer to the elevator and in one specific wing of the hotel.

These floors have additional security patrolling on all floors, and are covered by CCTV cameras. A lady security personal is available on all shifts and on request a lady cleaning attendant is provided. The hotel also assists lady guest with necessary purchases from local marts or stores, upon request.” “We keep one month's data with us of the single women traveller who has stayed in the hotel. To ensure safety of women travellers, most of the places in our hotels like the elevator require a entry key card. The two important aspects that Keys Hotel has focussed on is to provide con-

20 FOOD & HOSPITALITY WORLD March 16-31, 2014

Some hotels keep more female housekeeping attendants who service the rooms, making the guests comfortable. Apart from choosing rooms closer to the elevators, single women travellers also prefer to opt for lower floors vienent and customer friendly services along with providing transparency in rates,” informs Partha Chatterjee, chief of sales and marketing, Keys Hotels.

Adding to the same, Rohan

Sable, general manager, ibis Mumbai Airport states, “Room numbers are not shared with anyone for safety reasons and calls are traced before transferring. Rooms are allocated near

brightly lit parts of the corridor covered by CCTV camera.”

Apart from these quintessential measures, express check-in and check out, staff access to the room has to be with a team leader / manager, female guest relationship executive etc are also seen to be followed by hotels chains in India.

“While taking a check-in the information of a female traveller is kept discreet. The information is however shared with hotel staff so that they are aware of the guest. Upon check - in, they are escorted by the guest relation executive or a female associate during late hours. The hotel makes arrangements for single woman guest such as special confidentiality on allotment or change of rooms and personal details; security keeps a special eye on the area during floor patrolling – manually and through CCTV; keep them near elevators – so they are secluded in a corner and are not inconvenienced by having to walk through a long corridor alone; avoid giving adjacent rooms to single male guests,” highlights Balkrishna.

In some of the other well known hotels, details of single lady travellers are highlighted by the hotel team in all briefings.

The emergency board would also have the name and room number mentioned; in case of fire emergency these rooms are given first preference to evacuate. The board helps in identifying such guests. Hotels do not give them interconnecting rooms at all. Rooms numbers and names are not disclosed to outside callers and the calls are screened. To maintain privacy of a women guest's room number and identity, Pullman Gurgaon Central Park has introduced in-room check in for all single lady travellers. Another special service that the hotel offers to single lady travellers is screening of telephone calls for their room on request.

With these services being widely appreciated by women at large, are there any additional request which have been made by single women travellers? As

( per some hoteliers on occasions hotels are requested by lady travellers for special personal items or dietary requests.

An outsourced taxi service is also selected after clearance of stringent safety and security standards laid down by us.

Some hotels keep more female housekeeping attendants who service the rooms, making the guests comfortable. Also either the female guests relations manager or housekeeping female staff will make it a point to meet their guests once during their stay and give them their contact number. Apart from choosing rooms closer to the elevators, single women travellers also prefer to opt for lower floors. Taneja adds, “Apart from the single lady inroom amenities that are being upgraded on an ongoing basis provided in room, we have incorporated the following services on request in 2014-lady valet to provide laundry and security associate to accompany to airport.”

Highlighting some trends, Mohankumar says, “Firstly, lady travellers are sensitive when it comes to food. There is a huge movement towards the breakfast menu as they are health conscious. Secondly, they look for affordable price points and style quotient in a hotel. We as a budget hotel are working with our own designers as well as international ones to enhance our design.”

dress guests by their last name and salutation’ , empathetic concierge and prompt service to women guests. Sable mentions, “All the employees undergo module of handling single lady travellers which is a part of both rooms and food and beverage training mandated by Accor hotels.” While for JW Marriott Mumbai, Nambiar adds, “We train the staff to be more cautious and particular about the guests, ensuring that they are made to feel very comfortable. Daily

Handling with care

briefing sessions are held where the in house single women traveler list is discussed.” DoubleTree Suites by Hilton Bangalore constantly imparts training on security measures to handle special requests. “For Keys Hotels, we operate with low manpower and hence everyone goes through serious training to be sensitive towards the needs of women travellers. There is a mix of people working across all departments for smooth functioning,” replies Chatterjee. As per Mohankumar, city hotels have 25-35 rooms per floor and if less rooms are filled

Hotels are also making an extra effort to sensitise their staff when it comes to dealing with single female guests, some also conduct special training to cater to this segment. The staff is sensitised through training to the needs of all guests, particularly single lady travellers. This training involves making the staff aware of all the facilities offered and all procedures to be followed in case of a single female guest.

The staff is trained in terms of eye contact maintaining ‘business gaze’, ‘2 feet distance’, ‘positive body language’, ‘ to ad-

in a floor that is reserved for women travellers then there would be a sense of insecurity among them because of insufficient number of female travellers. “We as a brand give sensitive training in tangible levels to the guest service associates.

For instance, when a guest service associate is speaking to a woman guest in front of other guests, then he/she should be careful as not to be audible to the guests surrounding the lady traveller. Plus, reserving a particular section in the restau-

Hotels are also making an extra effort to sensitise their staff when it comes to dealing with single female guests rant for single travellers for their convenience is a good option,” he feels.

Current innings Hotels in India have now begun taking the Single Lady Traveller concept seriously and have introduced amenities to make their stay safe and comfortable like offering them rooms next to or near the elevator or stairway. “Indian hotels have upgraded their safety measures to ensure the comfort of their female guests.

They ensure the availability of women staff to cater to requirements of women guests

THE MAIN FOCUS

while at the hotel. At Vivanta

by Taj, apart from the above mentioned amenities, we maintain high standards of cleanliness in the hotels. We also offer city and airport transfers to our guests to help them travel within the city,” Taneja.

With all the requisites in place for ensuring safety of women, have Indian hotels progressed in providing better women safety measures compared to hotels abroad? The general consensus among the industry is that as all hotels are getting increasingly aware of this fact, and in the future there will be a positive stride in this direction. “Lift access control, CCTV surveillance on each floors such technology has made women feel very safe at hotels in India,” states Sable.

Many hotels now have defined procedures in place to handle their specific travel needs.

So is the Indian hospitality industry bullish on developing a brand only for women travellers? Maybe not immediately, as according to industry experts the idea, though it is a farfetched concept as of now and not commercially viable, maybe it could see the light of the day in the future. “I don't see that kind of segregation taking place in the hotel business since the percentage of single women travellers is about 10 per cent only. Hence this kind of demand could take sometime to materialise,” strongly opines Chatterjee.

Agreeing to the same, Mohankumar says,”It would be an interesting marketing concept in certain contexts like during international woman’s conference, the entire hotel can be reserved for lady travellers for a week. However having a hotel brand solely for women may not be a commercially viable idea.” While Sable is optimistic about the concept as there has been a significant growth in the number of women in the corporate world who travel for work often.

“We keep one month's data with us of the single women traveller who has stayed in the hotel. To ensure safety of women travellers, most of the places in our hotels like the elevator require a entry key card” Partha Chatterjee Chief of sales and marketing, Keys Hotels

“DoubleTree Suites

by Hilton Bangalore constantly imparts training on security measures to handle special requests” Raghu Sapra GM, DoubleTree Suites by Hilton Bangalore

With inputs from Steena Joy

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SPOTLIGHT

Hindustan ke dil se Madhya Pradesh, a food aficionado's dream land has a varied cuisine, but unfortunately due to lack of popularity many of the authentic food from this region is dying. By organising the Madhya Pradesh food festival for the second time, Sayaji Hotel Pune is attempting to revive the tradition, culture and most importantly the cuisine of this central state

By Akshay Kumar

M

adhya Pradesh known for its distinct cuisine has lot to offer to the foodies. From delicious street food to sumptuous royal Sailana cuisine, every region in Madhya Pradesh has a different cuisine on offering. The street food of Indore comprising of pani poori, chole tikkiya, chilla, bhutte ka kiss, garadu, pyaz ka kachori, mewa ki biryani, bafla and gajak are completely adopted by its neighbouring states with an Indori touch.

Sailana cuisine is a collection of recipes of the bygone era from the Nizam of Hyderabad, Kashmir and Begum of Bhopal from where emanated the most exotic culinary recipes.

Speaking about the varied cuisine of the state, Amit Kumar Sharma, manager, food and beverage, Sayaji Hotel Pune, says, “Every region in Madhya Pradesh has a different story to tell, even the cuisine of each region is different.

We have the Malwa region, Bundelkhand region and the Baghelkhand region which are well known for its mouthwater-

ing delicacies. Apart from these cuisines we also have the famous Bhopali cuisine. Sailana cuisine is something which the royal families of MP have crafted from Kashmir, Hyderabad and Bhopal.”

Highlighting the need for a food festival, Hitesh Varma, chief executive officer - business hotels, Sayaji Hotels, states, “The Malwa food festival is organised in association with the Madhya Pradesh Tourism. We have selected Malwa cuisine as we ourselves are based out of this region and we want to promote this cuisine. Indore’s street food is a connoisseur’s delight. The market outside don’t know much about our cuisine. This is a good opportunity for Madhya Pradesh Tourism to promote the culture and tradition along with the cuisine of the state.”

Touch of authenticity To maintain the authenticity of each dish, the Madhya Pradesh Tourism Board has taken a special step. The corporate chef of the tourism board along with the executive chef of

22 FOOD & HOSPITALITY WORLD March 16-31, 2014

SPOTLIGHT

Authenticity is very important when it comes to a food festival.

We have specially brought a team of chefs from Madhya Pradesh to prepare the dishes Sayaji Hotel Pune carefully decides each dish which is served to the customers.

Kishan Gunjal, executive chef, Sayaji Hotel Pune, explains, “Authenticity is very important when it comes to a food festival.

We have specially brought a team of chefs from Madhya Pradesh to prepare their dish of expertise. The corporate chef of Madhya Pradesh Tourism and I monitor the taste and quality of the final product before it is relished by the customers.”

“Some of the dishes like the galenchi, nimona or the garadu can be only found on the streets of Indore. We have specially imported all the ingredients and spices from Indore to give these dishes an authentic touch,” he opines.

Taste of Madhya Pradesh The hotel not only promotes the cuisine of Madhya Pradesh but also its tradition and culture. The entrance of the food festival was a fort-like struc-

ture depicting a typical fort of a maharajah from Madhya Pradesh. A stall located near the entrance with beautiful Chanderi sarees on sale promoted the tradition of the state.

Even the staffs serving food were all decked up in traditional attire to give a feel of the central region of India. Another interesting aspect of the festival was the live entertainment; artists from Orchha, a town in Tikamgarh district of Madhya Pradesh state were specially brought to entertain the customers with some folklore.

Sharma concludes, “To give life to the food festival we have displayed a lot of portraits and photographs of the royals, which is specially brought from Ujjain. We have artists who have come from Orchha, just to give a local feel and live entertainment while the customers relish the food.”

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SPOTLIGHT

Smell the oranges (and the coffee!)

They say the taste of the Coorg Orange lingers, long after it is consumed. The famous loose-jacketed mandarin orange was as much a part of the fabric of Coorg as the coffee alongside which it was planted. The Ramapurams chose the name ‘Orange County’ for their unique brand of resorts after this wonderful fruit which was, not long ago, part of the spirit of this land

By Steena Joy

O

wned and managed by the Ramapuram family of Kerala, Orange County Resorts and Hotels is based on the ‘Spirit of the land’ philosophy that showcases the nature and culture of the regions where it is operational. The first Orange County Resort that opened at Coorg in 1994 was built on the theme of coffee, spice and plantation life to reflect the true spirit of Coorg, and is situated amidst 300 acres of coffee and spice plantations. It is flanked on one side by the Dubare Reserve Forest and the river Cauvery on the other.

Link to the land Reminiscing on the days of old, Cherian Ramapuram, director, Orange County Resorts and Hotels says, “The Orange County – Coorg resort was built on the plantation owned by our family from 1926. In the 90s, Coorg was not known outside Karnataka. The location was extremely beautiful, packed with history and culture. Orange trees are usually inter-planted along with shade trees for cultivating coffee. So like coffee, Coorg produced the best or-

anges in the country, till a virus attacked them about 18 years ago. The huge, sweet, loose jacket oranges turned into small tight skinned sour ones. The resort was christened when the oranges were good.”

The brand opened its second resort at Kabini in 2007. Inspired

24 FOOD & HOSPITALITY WORLD March 16-31, 2014

by the local ‘Kadukuruba Hadis’, the architecture of this tribal themed resort was crafted to transport its guests into a tribal setting from which they can enjoy the spectacle of Asia’s largest biosphere.

Cherian Ramapuram adds, “With location and luxury com-

ing together in such a happy union, Orange County Resorts offers guests a true ‘Spirit of the land’ experience. Plantation stays are unique because they are a combination of an exclusive lifestyle, while touching the soul of the land. It also gives one an opportunity to see how the

precious commodities that they buy or use in the day-to-day life are cultivated. We give the guest a very unique experience of living like a 'Planter' for the stay.

They get to go for a signature tour of the plantation, plantation trail, nature walk, etc., which are unique to this part of Coorg.”

SPOTLIGHT

The Ramapurams

The resort's main target is the discerning traveller. Cherian Ramapuram feels that the guest profile shows a continuous evolution. Today’s guest is more educated tastes become more refined as they travel around the world. While there is no specific special interest groups in this segment, the discerning traveller looks for experiences like this. He says, “We do not promote stays or even holidays. We promote Exclusive Local Experiences.”

Community is core Orange County's Kabini property has been selected by National Geographic Traveller among the top 25 Eco Lodges in the world. The company takes guest feedback and suggestions very seriously. “This is evident from the feedback that you can see on sites like Tripadvisor. All these comes wrapped in the highest standards of responsibility in tourism,” says the proud hotelier.

His brother Thomas Ramapuram, joint director, Orange County Resorts and Hotels elucidates on the sustainable hospitality measures the company has initiated. “The concept of responsible tourism comes naturally to Orange County Resorts.

It is, after all, an extension of the vision and philosophy of the House of Ramapuram whose values are broad, contemporary and inclusive,” he says.

Some of the brand’s responsible tourism initiatives are: ● Reverse Osmosis plant in each suite which reduces us-

age of bottled drinking water.

With this initiative they are able to save about 100,000 plastic bottles in a year. ● Designated areas within the resort, which was previously purely farm land, being restored to a naturally wild condition as a sanctuary for local fauna. ● Orange County only uses cloth bags and bags made out of newspapers, thereby eliminating the need for plastic bags.

The government has now made CSR mandatory part of a company's revenues. But Orange County has long supported community development. “Over 60 per cent of our staff at both resorts are from the surrounding local areas. We constantly strive to engage with local village heads in community development programmes. We also conduct Structured Community Development Programmes on an annual basis like for example, scholarships, toilets in villages, road work, etc,” says Thomas Ramapuram. He adds, “We believe that education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world. So we have formally adopted the local school at Coorg in Karadigod Village. We are also in the process of adopting the school in Kabini (H.D.Kote Village), however we have not received a formal government approval for the same. Through adoption we have implemented various initiatives like computer facilities, better play grounds, hiring quality teachers etc. This is an ongoing continuous process and our vi-

sion is to develop these schools into world class institutions of learning.”

The brand has also adopted technological innovations to make the guest experience a seamless one. “Our indigenously developed central reservation systems compares with the best in the industry. It allows for easy storage, access and transmission of information. Our systems allow us to have an intimate knowledge of each of our guests even before they step into our properties.” It is rare to find a two resort brand in the world today that has 60 per cent of its clients booking directly (as opposed to booking through OTAs or a tour operator). We are able to achieve this through our powerful database management systems and processes,” informs Thomas Ramapuram. Being a traditional brand with a strong focus on ethics, values and other old fashioned ideas, has not stopped the brand from embracing technology and leveraging its tremendous power to deliver a superior guest experience.

“Technological innovation is a core value at Orange County Resorts,” he reiterates .

As for the brand's foray outside Karanataka, Cherian Ramapuram says that it has not been easy to build and run resorts in the state itself. “While we have not yet looked seriously outside, we are keeping our eyes open for opportunities. We have two more locations where we have land in Karnataka. We are looking out for options outside the state and the country too,” he optimistically sums up.

FOOD & HOSPITALITY WORLD

25

March 16-31, 2014

EVENT TRACKER DATE

EVENT

VENUE

March 23 - 25, 2014

Food & Drink Expo

Birmingham (UK)

March 25 - 27, 2014

International Pizza Expo

Las Vegas, NV (USA)

March 31 – April 4, 2014

Expo Coffee and Tea

Shangai

March 31 - April 3, 2014

Expo Finefood Shanghai

Shanghai (China)

April 2 – 4, 2014

Vinaria

Plovdiv (Bulgaria)

April 2 - 8, 2014

Wine & Gourmet Japan

Tokyo (Japan)

April 4 - 6, 2014

Salon du Chocolat- Zurich

Zurich

April 4 - 6, 2014

Sugar Paris

Paris

April 8 - 11, 2014

FHA Singapore

Singapore

April 8 - 10, 2014

China International Green Food & Organic Food Exhibition

Beijing (China)

April 11 – 13, 2014

Tea and Coffee World Cup Europe

Warsaw (Poland)

April 13 – 14, 2014

Natural Products Europe

London

April 6 - 9, 2014

Enolitech

Verona (Italy)

April 10 – 13, 2014

Ibatech

Istanbul

April 11 – 13, 2014

Tampere Wine Fair

Tampere (Finland)

April 22 – 24, 2014

Expovinis Brasil

Sao Paulo

April 22 – 24, 2014

Pivovar (Brewer)

Moscow

May 6 - 8, 2014

Coffee Fest- St Louis

St Louis, Mo (USA)

May 22 - 24, 2014

BIOFACH China

Shanghai (China)

May 30 – June 1, 2014

Seafood Processing Europe

Brussel

June 1 – 30, 2014

Semana Verde de Galicia

Silleda (Spain)

June 12 - 14, 2014

Food Hospitality World

Bengaluru

June 24 – 27, 2014

Fispal cafe

Sao Paulo

August 14 - 16, 2014

Hong Kong International Tea Fair

Hong Kong

September 4 - 6, 2014

Expo Chocolate

Mexico City

September 7 - 9, 2014

Speciality Chocolate Fair

London

September 24 - 26, 2014

COTECA

Hamburg (Germany)

Sept 28- Oct 26, 2014

BIBAC Expo

Antwerp (Belgium)

October 23 - 25, 2014

Triestespresso Expo

Trieste (Italy)

November 1, 2014

Seoul International Cafe Show

Seoul

November 14 - 17, 2014

Gluten Free Expo

Brescia (Italy)

January 8 - 11, 2015

Expo Natura

Istanbul (Turkey)

May 3 - 6, 2015

TuttoFood

Milan

October 2015

Organic Trade Forum

Cologne (Germany)

26 FOOD & HOSPITALITY WORLD March 16-31, 2014

TECH TALK

Integrating guest devices The sheer numbers of smartphones and tablets out there are really astounding and still growing strong. Facing our guests using smart mobile devices is a real trend that is here to stay

S

O OUR GUESTS are bringing their own technology. You have invested in technology. Is there a way to combine them? Sure there is, and it is very straightforward. First, let them move the content they bring along or have access to via the Internet to your tech (bigger screen, better sound). And second let them access your content and functionality (hotel info, order room service) on their tech. The goals maybe straightforward, unfortunately the realisation is not. Let’s stay with

the first part. Generally speaking there are two ways to let your guests put their content on your systems: wired and wireless. I’d say today we live in a kind of transition period between those worlds.

The increasing number of electronic devices brought to the hotel room has born a new category of in-room tech within the last years: the connectivity panel. Is it really necessary? The two most common arguments against them are: First: The majority of the guests don’t use them. Second: They won’t be used in a few months from now because

then everybody streams wireless. Both are valid points. First, to be clear, a big HD TV set and very good wireless connectivity are certainly more important in-room features, those are the must haves. But as for today I would say a connectivity panel is at least a nice to have. With the constantly rising number of guests equipped with something to connect and the equally rising number of stored content (both, on devices and in the cloud) we guess the usage rate will also increase. Especially the rising numbers of tablets may play a certain role here. Compared with a tablet which is a kind of 'media hub', the phone is more

FOOD & HOSPITALITY WORLD

27

March 16-31, 2014

TECH TALK the always nearby 'communication hub' and therefore less likely to be connected (= captured) somewhere near the TV while you’re watching in the bed.

Second – as we will see later – to provide wireless connectivity for at least most kind of devices is still quite a challenge.

And third don’t forget all those devices need power – even more so when streaming wireless. On the other hand the hotel room is a favourite place to recharge them. So unless they aren’t charged by some induction technology – which by the way would also need them to be placed on a fixed place – they are not completely 'wireless' anyway. Having this in mind a quite broadly established but so far rarely known and used technology like MHL may be found more often in the future. This connects via micro USB to HDMI while charging the device at the same time.

Wireless challenges Certainly, to connect one's device to the in-room tech wireless has its appeal. To be honest, this is quite an understatement.

So why not use DLNA, Airplay, Wifi direct or similar technology to realise this amenity? Part of the answer is already in the question – no real established and broadly used standard here either. Quite a few ways to choose from and none of them covers the whole variety of your guests. To move on, let’s suppose we get some kind of tech working which provides at least Apple and Android users a way to connect. That is exactly where the next challenge starts. Connect to what? At home you are in your private surrounding connecting your device with your content to your device (since there is no other). In a hotel you are in a more public surrounding with a device not only in your room but in the rooms left and right from you too. And even if you don’t care to make your whole content available for some part of the hotel, some of your guests may not like the idea very much. To bypass this hurdle we would need to establish some kind of pairing systematic (number code, QR code, NFC?) to make sure your content stays in your room. Or more exactly on your TV because since it is

Very high on this list we would rate all those smart devices our guests are so kind to bring along with them. Sure, they are not 42” big. But they are more personal, accompany our guest already pre arrival and stay with them afterwards transmitted wireless it virtually is not bounded by the walls of your room. The problem is, most of the available standards out there (DLNA, Airplay) were build to connect as seamless and easy as possible and are therefore lacking any kind of pairing systematic. Easy to follow, because why should they complicate an experience made to be used in a private setting?

So even if there are some trials out there to add some pairing systematic to one or more connecting standards the more comprehensive way would be to add some virtual walls to your hotel room. That is to bound the virtual content with virtual walls by the creation of virtual lans (Vlan) per room. At least today one more challenge remains. It is more and more common not to store content locally but to stream it from the cloud. That’s why one would need internet connectivity and the preferred way is wireless. Maybe that connectivity is provided by some third party network or your own

28 FOOD & HOSPITALITY WORLD March 16-31, 2014

separated 'guest internet network'. Let’s assume to connect the guest devices to your inroom tech you use none of those separated networks but another - without internet. Most devices have one wifi adapter – already see the problem? To stream from the internet (network one) you need one, to stream to the big screen (network two) you need one too. So until our devices don’t get a second wifi adapter there is a problem in this use case. Facing those challenges, should you avoid to offer your guests to connect to your in-room tech wireless? No, on the contrary, we guess this is a very nice feature. But you should be aware of the challenges and have a close look how - if at all your solution provider is able to handle those hurdles. Deliver your content to mobile (guests?) devices As described previously there is a lot to gain by using the screen already installed in each room for more than just TV. Essentially, all of a sudden you have a POS in every room. But in

these days it is by far not the only screen, there are more opportunities. Very high on this list we would rate all those smart devices our guests are so kind to bring along with them. Sure, they are not 42” big. But they are more personal, accompany our guest already pre arrival, throughout our property and stay with them afterwards – all of which enlarges the possibilities to communicate with our guests. And they provide really nice touch interfaces which is no disadvantage too. So if you already create digital content and functionality to be delivered through the in-room TV it should be quite self-evident to use every channel available.

Content is already there, business logic already there, processes already there – let's go for it.

Next step: an app, we need an app. Really? Not sure about that.

First of all, an app for what? iOS devices? Androids? Which version? Windows phone? And don’t forget, still lots of Blackber-

rys out there. To take care of all those different versions would be quite an effort. Do you really need a native app? In most cases an app running in a browser is the better solution.

It is not just to build them but to get them through the different app stores (with some of them having an evaluation process) and to keep them up to date. And last but not least, to really make use of them, your guests would have to download them to their device – a hurdle not be neglected. Fortunately there is some common ground out there: a browser. Almost every device offers a browser based on standard technology like HTML. Building your 'app' to run in a browser not only makes it accessible by all of those different devices, it doesn’t enforce your guests to search for, download and install it either. And new evolving technologies like HTML5 will even further expand what is possible to do within a browser. Especially tablets offer some really nice options. They can be used to flick through your hotel services (instead of the printed compendium), make them bookable instantly and even to control the room settings. Given all those advantages, wouldn’t it be desirable to just provide tablets for all of your guests? Well that’s worth discussing. The pros are quite clear: you can potentially reach all of your guests, not only those who already bring along their own device. A tablet placed prominently in each room also eliminates the need to make your guests aware of your 'app'.

And as for today it still has some 'fancy factor' for a majority of your guests. Unfortunately the cons are quite clear too: a pretty big investment for a 'gadget' with foreseeable short replacement cycles. Add to this some operational struggles and you are facing real cost. But one is for sure: the TCO of a tablet/room is only a tiny percentage of overall room costs – if every decision during planning, building and refurbishing would be made that cost conscious, there would be money for lot of tablets per room.

Courtesy: at-visions Informationstechnologie GmbH

CERTIFICATION COURSES

Pairing wine with learning India market has a huge potential to emerge as one of the biggest wine consuming markets, but due to lack of knowledge the wine-sellers are not able to sell the products confidently. Steve Meckiff, brand ambassador of Jacob's Creek, is on a mission to enlighten his staff around the globe

By Akshay Kumar

J

ACOB'S CREEK, one of Australia's biggest wine company, is focusing more on the education part of wine. Steve Meckiff, the brand ambassador of Jacob's Creek recently visited India and hosted a series of wine pairing events. Meckiff's main motto to visit India was to conduct a Wine & Spirit Education Society (WSET)1 Level certification course for employees and specific associates. “India is a market where there are potential buyers for every product, but the sellers lack the knowledge about these products. This is one of the threat for the market to develop,” states Meckiff.

Speaking about the Indian market, Meckiff says, “India is a fascinating and an emerging market, so there is a incredible thirst for knowledge, understanding and also to know how food and wine pairs together. This week I travelled to four cities in India training our staffs with WSET1 Level certification .

WSET1 Level certification is based out of london. We started with Bengaluru, Kolkata, Delhi and finally ended our journey in Mumbai. We have trained over 100 of our own employees. The WSET 1 Level is the introductory level to study wine.

It is a globally recognised course.”

WSET1 Level certification is an international certification for wine. This will allow

Steve Meckiff

the front line field force to sell wine. Education about the category is a critical way to de-mystify wine among Indian consumers who are continually receiving exposure to western lifestyles but are still culturally Indian in nature.

This course was initially created for the front-of-house staff within the on-trade sector. It has grown into a course with global appeal, providing basic product knowledge to first time employees in the wine industry and interested consumers alike. The aim of the course is to give a basic introduction to wine followed by some basic food and wine pairing.

The programme outlines the main styles of wine; the WSET Level 1 systematic approach to tasting wine; the characteristics of the common grape varieties used to produce wine; service of wine; health, safety and legal issues; pairing of food and wine. To gain the certification

the students need to successfully pass a multiple-choice paper of 30 questions “The staff will get a globally recognised certificate. It is certainly a very interesting course as the staff will get to learn more about the wine language. Just looking at a wine, you can see what probably a winemaker sees. They can engage more in wine language, wine knowledge and wine communication. The staff will be lot more confident when talking about wine from now on,” states Meckiff.

Speaking about WSET, Meckiff explaines, “The WSET has provided a wonderful framework and we will support them internationally.

Not just in India but all around the world we will conduct the certification programme to upgrade our staff.

Next we are off to Sydney, Australia where we will be delivering the second level of this course.”

FOOD & HOSPITALITY WORLD

29

March 16-31, 2014

DESTINATION WATCH Courtyard by Marriott Pune City Centre GAGAN DEEP SINGH has been appointed as general manager of Courtyard by Marriott Pune City Centre. Priot to his current appointment, Singh was director of operations at JW

Marriott Gurgaon, Soin was associated with The Leela Ambience Gurgaon Hotel & Residences and Rambagh Palace, Jaipur.

manager of the marketing team at The Westin Mumbai Garden City.

Sofitel Mumbai BKC

Starwood Hotels and Resorts

CHEF INDRAJIT SAHA has been appointed as executive chef of Sofitel Mumbai BKC and will

Sudeep Jain has been appointed as vice president, acquisitions and development

Gagan Deep Singh

Chef Indrajit Saha

Sudeep Jain

Marriott Mumbai.. He comes with about 15 years of experience in the hospitality industry and in his current role Singh will be responsible for the smooth functioning of the property.

Courtyard by Marriott Gurgaon

join the hotel with immediate effect. Responsible in overseeing the gastronomic vertical of the hotel, Chef Saha joins Sofitel Mumbai BKC with over 16 years of experience in the hospitality sector. Chef Saha has worked with international hospitality brands in Maldives, Thailand, Djibouti, Seychelles.

ANUJ SOIN has been appointed as events manager – F&B of Courtyard by Marriott Gurgaon. In his current appointment, Soin will work closely with the sales department to ensure

POOJA VASWANEY has been appointed as public relations manager of Sofitel Mumbai BKC. Vaswaney brings to the hotel, eight years of experience in the hospitality industry, and will be

for the South Asia region of Starwood Hotels and Resorts.

Jain brings with him over 13 years of experience in the hospitality industry. Prior to his new role with Starwood, Jain was the managing director at Jones Lang LaSalle's Hotels and Hospitality Group for India. In his new role he will spearhead Starwood’s expansion strategy in the region in order to achieve its growth goals.

Anuj Soin

Pooja Vaswaney

maximum profitability and oversee F&B operations to maintain high service standards. He will ensure consistent quality in terms of food services in restaurants, bar, rooms and banquets.

Before joining Courtyard by

responsible for overseeing the external communications of the hotel, and contributing to the growth of the sales and marketing functions of the brand. Priot to her current appointment, Vaswaney was the e-commerce

30 FOOD & HOSPITALITY WORLD March 16-31, 2014

Design Hotel AG CLAUS SENDLINGER, ARNO SCHWALIE AND SASCHA WOLFF have been appointed members of the executive management team of Design Hotel AG. Schwalie in his new position as chief operating officer, has taken over responsibility for operations of business development, global sales and brand, marketing and communications.

As chief financial officer, Wolff is responsible for finance, administration, legal affairs, and investor relations.

The executive management team will be supported by the heads of the operational business units. SERDAR KUTUCU is vice president brand, marketing and communications, FELIX RADAVERO is vice

Pullman Gurgaon Central Park RAMANA PRASAD has been appointed as director of human resources at Pullman Gurgaon Central Park.

Prasad’s experience in the hospitality industry spans almost two decades. In his current appointment, Prasad will conceptualise and implement human resource strategies that support business and financial objectives to further strengthen the hotel’s position.

president - business development EMEA and CHRISTIAN MALCHER will remain as global director of sales.

FRHI Hotels & Resorts ANDREW GIBSON has been appointed as vice president, spas and wellness of FRHI Hotels & Resorts (FRHI). Based out of FRHI's regional office in Dubai, Gibson will be responsible for the development and execution of the company's spa strategy, including defining and implementing spa standards globally across all of FRHI’s hotel and spa brands. He joins FRHI from his most recent position as group director of spa, Mandarin Oriental The Hotel Group.

Movenpick Heritage Hotel Sentosa PHILIP JONES has been appointed as general manager of Movenpick Heritage Hotel Sentosa. Jones steps into his new role with over two decades of experience in the hospitality arena and has worked with international hospitality brands in North America, Europe, the Middle East and Asia.

The Pacific Sutera Hotel SIGRID STELLING has been

appointed as general manager of The Pacific Sutera Hotel. Prior to joining Sutera Harbour Resort, Stelling moved to Sri Lanka to open the first AVANI Hotels & Resorts in Bentota and Kalutara.

Her first debut in South East Asia was with Chateau de Bangkok, a Sofitel associated serviced apartment in Thailand as the general manager before moving to Shanghai, China as the resident manager of the Sofitel Shanghai Hyland.

Hilton Alexandria Corniche ROLF JAN VAN ZEYL has been appointed as general manager of the Hilton Alexandria Corniche. He brings 15 years of hospitality experience to Alexandria and, in this, his first general manager position for Hilton Worldwide, he will manage all hotel operations with a focus on enhancing the presence and profile of Hilton Alexandria Corniche.

Preferred Hotel Group ANTHONY ROSS has been appointed as executive vice president for Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa (APMEA) of Preferred Hotel Group. In his new capacity, Ross will drive the company’s existing development efforts in key cities throughout the region. He is also committed to identifying unique, innovative solutions to help the group generate greater revenue.

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weekend

Scene and heard

With Marcellus Baptista

Spirited soiree THE SPIRITS were soaring at Mehboob Studio at the Jack Daniels’ Annual Rock Awards in association with Rolling Stone. Actor and singer Farhan Akhtar was present to give away the best band of the year award to Sky Rabbit. And he was the lucky one to be gifted a bottle of the exclusive and prized Jack Daniels’ Sinatra Select from Amrit Kiran Singh of Brown Forman India. It was a night of rocking music and JD cocktails among the likes of Gul Panag, Shruti Hassan, Hasleen Kaur, Shibani Kashyap, Ramona Arena and Nandu Bhende.

Bhagyashree Dengle, Amitabh Bachchan & Govind Nihalani at the 'Meri Beti Meri Shakti' release at Palladium Hotel

Maria Goretti, Kunika Singh, Shital Nahar and Sunil Agarwal at the launch of Inch by Inch - The Body Temple

Healthy start

In the picture STRIKING PHOTOGRAPHS of mothers and their daughters were all around the Imperial Hall of Palladium Hotel at Plan India’s ‘Meri Beti Meri Shakti’ coffee-table book launch with Amitabh Bachchan doing the inaugural honours. Filmmaker Govind Nihalani, Plan India Board chairperson and Bhagyashri Dengle, executive director, Plan India were present along with Palladium Hotel’s Atul and Gayatri Ruia who hosted this grand affair. Kalpana Shah and daughter Sanjana, Prasoon Joshi, Sangita Jindal, Shobhaa De with daughters Avantikka and Anandita, Sulajja Firodia Motwani, Uday Shankar, Vandana Malik, Brinda Miller, Meghna Ghai and mother Rehana, who all feature in the book, were there.

Shruti Hassan at the Jack Daniels’ Annual Rock Awards at Mehboob Studio

WHILE FIVE-STAR hotels house spas and wellness centres, it is the standalone ones that take it a notch further since they can afford to house their facilities and services in bigger and better spaces. The latest was Shital Nahar’s Inch By Inch – The Body Temple, a world-class experience in good health, weight management, beauty and wellness spread over 20,000 sq feet. The opening party, hosted by Shital Nahar along with Maria Goretti and Kunika Singh, saw guests meandering through the spacious place and gleaning that the place houses a conventional gym, stateof-the-art spinning, zumba, aerobics and yoga, swimming pool, children’s activity centre, salon and also the city’s first Thai Privilege Spa, the famed spa chain by the Centara Group.

Top of the world GUESTS FELT on top of the world at Asilo, the highest bar and restaurant in Mumbai, located two flights above the 38th floor of Palladium Hotel. It was a party to introduce Absolut Elyx, the smooth and silky vodka made from single estate wheat and refined in a 1921 copper still, a culmination of hundreds of years of fine Swedish vodka-making tradition. This party, hosted by actor and singer Suchitra Pillai began just after sundown and then went on late with the steady stream of guests like Ali Zafar, Pooja Bedi, Dalip Tahil, Fahad Samar, Simone Singh, Madhoo Shah, Narayani Shastri, Shveta Salve, Manasi Scott, Eijaz Khan, Vikas Bhalla, Neha and Siddharth Kannan. And everyone thoroughly enjoyed the Absolut Elyx cocktails.

Shveta Salve, Suchitra Pillai, Manasi Scott, Narayani Shastri and Ekta Rajani at the Absolut Elyx party at Asilo

FOOD & HOSPITALITY WORLD

39

March 16-31, 2014

weekend

E V E N T S

GRAND HERITAGE HRH Group

EXPANDING WINGS L-R: Ricky Lam, general manager, Shanghai Marriott Hotel Parkview; Michael Malik, vice president - market, Eastern China, Marriott International; Jokob Helgen, vice president - operations, Greater China, Marriott International; Ronald Ng, vice president - finance, hotel opening, China, Marriott International; Fu Ping, president, Shanghai Bao Hua Group; Yang Jian, vice president, Shanghai Bao Hua Group; Zhu Jun, vice president, Shanghai Bao Hua Group; and Wu Jun Min, general manager, Shanghai CapitaLand Xin Chuang Real Estate Development at the opening ceremony of Shanghai Marriott Hotel Parkview

of Hotels team - Adityaveer Singh Ranawat (left), general manager, group operations; and Vrinda Raje Singh (right), CEO, joint custodianship initiative, received the National Tourism Award 201213 under the category of Best Heritage Grand Hotels for Shiv Niwas Palace, Gajner Palace and Fateh Prakash Palace from Shashi Tharoor (centre), union minister for human resoruce development, Government of India during a function held at Vigyan Bhawan

ARTISTIC CELEBRATION The Taj Group of Hotels celebrated the 175th birth CULINARY FEAT Two teams from Hotel Sahara Star placed first in the Pan Asian and Indian categories at the second edition of Great Taste War 2014

anniversary of Jamsetji Tata with an art exhibition which showcased 36 works of art of one of Taj’s oldest employees - Newton Thomas D’Souza

AWARDING EXCELLENCE Ranjit Chaudhury (third from right), principal, Institute of Hotel Management, Kolkata received the National Award for Excellence, instituted by the ministry of tourism, Government of India for 'Best Performance in Placement 2011-12' from Dr K Chiranjeevi (second from left), union minister of tourism, Government of India. Also present on the dais are Usha Sharma, ADG - tourism, Government of India ; Parvez Dewan, secretary tourism, Government of India; and Girish Shankar, additional secretary – tourism, Government of India

40 FOOD & HOSPITALITY WORLD March 16-31, 2014

PHILANTHROPIC GESTURE Hyatt Regency Delhi awarded a financial grant to Salaam Balaak Trust as part of the Hyatt Community Grants, a philanthropic programme to select local nonprofit recipients for charitable donations

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