Food & Hospitality World July 16-31, 2014

I N D I A’ S F O R E M O S T H O S P I TA L I T Y P U B L I C AT I O N ER ST W H I L E E X PR E S S H O S P I TA L I T Y •

CMYK

F O R T N I G H T LY I N S I G H T F O R T H E F O O D A N D H O S P I T A L I T Y T R A D E

July 16-31, 2014 Vol 2 | No. 21 | Pages 52 | `50

EDITOR’S NOTE

Budget Bonanza

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t was truly hard to believe what unfolded on the 10th of July morning as Arun Jaitley graciously announced some outstanding decisions directly related to the tourism industry. In a never before seen and heard Union Budget (here we are specifically talking only about the tourism sector) this year's Budget sounds like music to the ear. Industry leaders and the media who have constantly and diligently pushed the cause of tourism in the country, will remember this day as historic, spelling progress and power for tourism.

Since years the industry has been putting forth a wish list to get its due but the petition fell on deaf ears and finally patience and perseverance has paid off. The neglected sector arguably for the first time got its place in the sun and a list of benefits should trickle down effectively. However, it also calls for greater responsibility on the part of the industry to utilise these incentives in a successful manner. Implementation of E-Visa in a phased manner over the next six months available at nine Indian airports, will re-energise the inbound business. However, we have to get our house in order to receive the inbound inflow.

More hotel rooms in the mid-market, budget segment is the need of the hour especially at pilgrim

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FOOD & HOSPITALITY WORLD

July 16-31, 2014

“ Since years the industry has been putting forth a wish list to get its due but the petition fell on deaf ears and finally patience and perseverance has paid off”

places, as the development of the pilgrim routes are high on the government’s agenda. Skill development programme has taken precedence in the 2014 Budget, which will be of advantage to the services sector. Empowering the youth through education as skilled professionals will lead to nation building.

The Union Budget also clearly emphasised on the need for developing infrastructure, across transport systems, air, road, rail and sea.

Development of airports, sea ports and harbours, introduction of new high speed trains and building rod to connect rural India and also improving connections to the north east will simultaneously encourage investments in the region. The PPP model format is proposed to be implemented in aviation and also in building India’s MICE venue. To develop Goa as a major convention centre with world class facilities based on the PPP model is a welcome decision.

Finally a plan to create five new tourist circuits across the country, will give the hospitality and tourism sector opportunities for investment and growth.

REEMA LOKESH Editor

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

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Mobile : 09930050499 Email :sachin.shenoy@fhwexpo.in

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CONTENTS Vol 2 No.21 JULY 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 Mumbai Kahini Chakraborty Rituparna Chatterjee New Delhi Archana Sharma Kolkata Joy Roy Choudhury DESIGN National Art Director Bivash Barua Deputy Art Director Surajit Patro Chief Designer Pravin Temble Senior Graphic Designer Rushikesh Konka Senior Artist Ratilal Ladani Kiran Parker Scheduling & Coordination Rohan Thakkar Photo Editor Sandeep Patil MARKETING General Manager Sachin Shenoy Marketing Team Dattaram Kandalkar Rajan Nair Ashwani Kumar Shukla Sreejith Radhakrishnan Pranshu Puri Yoginder Singh Ajanta Sengupta NATIONAL FOOD & BEVERAGE SALES Chandra Shekhar Sasi Kumar G Keshav Barnwal INTERNATIONAL FOOD & HOSPITALITY SALES Soumodip Ghosh Rahul Bisht PRODUCTION General Manager B R Tipnis Manager Bhadresh Valia

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GETTING AN

A TASTE OF JAPAN MIYUKI, PUNE'S FIRST JAPANESE RESTAURANT AT THE DOUBLETREE BY HILTON PUNE, HAS A TWO-FOLD OBJECTIVE

EDGE

'EDGE'DUCATION

(26-29)

MARKETS P17: NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK ART Rotana, Bahrain

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KERALA B2B MEET 2015 TO PROMOTE SEVEN INDUSTRIAL SECTORS

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MAHINDRA HOLIDAYS ACQUIRES 18.8% IN HOLIDAY CLUB RESORT OY, FINLAND

P16: PRODUCT TRACKER Combi steam deluxe oven

P35: LIFE A bastion of male chefs!

P47: WEEKEND Scene and heard

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IBEACON(ING) GUESTS WITH HOSPITALITY APPLE'S IBEACON TECHNOLOGY IS AN EFFECTIVE LOWCOST SOLUTION FOR THE HOSPITALITY SECTOR WITH MULTIPLE USAGE

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

Indian Railways increases hospitality budget by 40 % FHW Staff Mumbai THE RAILWAY BUDGET 2014 has majorly focused on hospitality in Indian Railways. Food, hospitality and cleanliness were among the major issues with the railways in the past, and this year the fund allocation for these segments have been increased by 40 per cent. The Indian Railways plans to introduce a new hospitality wing. In the food segment, railways will introduce 'Ready to Eat' food of major brands and if the taste and quality is still not up to the mark their contracts can be terminated. Also, food courts will be introduced at all major stations.

These decisions may play a major role in generating employment in the hospitality and food industry.

The Indian Railways is set to introduce six new tourism circuits throughout the country to boost tourism. These circuits will majorly focus on spiritual tourism. The six identified circuits are - Devi Circuit, Sufi Circuit, Sikh Circuit, Christian Circuit, Buddhist Circuit and Jyotirling Circuit. While announcing the Annual Railway Budget, Sadanand Gowda, minister of Railways, Government of India said, “We will launch trains for special circuits which we have identified. We will also introduce special ecotourism and

educational tourism projects to the North East. Also a special train will be introduced featuring the life and teachings of Swami Vivekananda.”

The Indian Railways will accomplish all their new projects through Public Private Partnerships (PPP). Also, there are plans to propose the introduction of FDI in railways, except for railway operations. The Railway Budget majorly focuses on safety, cleanliness and passenger amenities.

Meanwhile the budget for cleanliness has been increased by 40 per cent. There will also be introduction of a separate Housekeeping Wing. The initiatives will include installation of

KEY INITIATIVES ■ Better hygiene and quality of food onboard ■ 'Ready to Eat' food by major brands ■ Food courts at major stations ■ RO drinking water units in all stations ■ Hospitality segment outsourced to private partners

CCTVs to monitor cleanliness in all major stations. There will also be onboard housekeeping services. Mechanised laundries will be installed for trains to increase cleanliness. Corporates will be encouraged to adopt stations.

The Union Budget 2014 highlighted the importance of Goa

emerging as a major international convention centre, the finance minister said that there is a need to develop world class convention facilities in the state.

Government of India will fully support this initiative to develop the facilities in PPP mode through the VGF scheme.

Ginger to expand footprint in pilgrimage towns, key metros Looks at establishing 108 Ginger hotels by 2018 Sudipta Dev Mumbai ROOTS CORPORATION has chalked out an aggressive growth strategy for the next four years. The company which currently has 30 properties, is looking at rapid expansion, primarily in major metro cities. “From 2014 to 2018 we are looking at 108 hotels. Out of that there will be 15 hotels in Delhi and 20 in Mumbai, 10 in Bengaluru, 15 in Chennai. These will come up in business hubs so within a radius of six km a Ginger will always have a catchment area. The inventory will be in a range of 100 rooms, however in metro cities

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we are developing a model wherein we can also manage a 50 room hotel,” said PK Mohankumar, managing director & CEO, Roots Corporation. The company is also expanding its footprint in key pilgrimage centres across the country – from a 100 room Ginger in Katra, near Vaishnodevi and 125 keys property in Tirupati to Shirdi, Udipi, Ajmer and Haridwar.

Pointing out that there is perennial business and perennial demand in places like Mumbai and Delhi, Mohankumar added, “We are aiming at all unbranded family hotels and are looking at management contracts and franchisees.” The recent turnaround

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July 16-31, 2014

PK Mohankumar

of the hotel group, for the very first time since it was established in 2004, was enabled by 'Mission 365 Operation Excellence'. Rea-

sons for the turnaround, according to Mohankumar, was yearround demand that drives growth and occupancies. “The huge learning lesson for us was the fact that the demand is not happening in the Tier I, Tier II and Tier III cities, it is happening in Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad and Kolkata. India is all about Mumbai and Delhi, even today and will remain for the next 20 years.

They are becoming mega cities.

For a budget hotel 80 per cent occupancy throughout the week, can only happen in Mumbai and Delhi. So the challenge is how to manage the 52 weekends. We now understand that it is Mum-

bai and Delhi that we have to populate with lots of Ginger hotels,” mentioned Mohankumar.

Acknowledging that the mid market and budget segment is insulated from the downturn, Mohankumar asserted that there is a huge demand for value proposition hotels that are stylish, have an affordable price point, smart basics and are also in the branded category.

“Branded economy segment is a product of post liberalisation catering to SMEs, student groups. Ginger has a pioneering position of discovering and creating the budget segment. It has a critical mass and huge head start,” he stated.

MARKETS

NHRA to approach TN tourism to promote Nilgiri region Steena Joy Udhagamandalam THE NILGIRI HOTEL and Restaurant Association (NHRA) plans to approach the Tamil Nadu Tourism Department to help promote the Nilgiri region as a tourist destination. Speaking exclusively to Food & Hospitality World, N Chandra Shekar, secretary, NHRA, informed, "Ooty or Udhagamandalam as it is known today and Coonoor which fall in the region continue to attract tourists but the infrastructure is inadequate to service these numbers. The roads are bad and the garbage management is poor. We also

want the government to improve bus services especially from Coimbatore and Mysore which are the gateways for tourists coming to this region. We are discussing to start an annual Carnival which will help hoteliers to tide over the off season.

The Carnival will be planned around end of August - early September."

He added that the association also urges the tourism department to revamp the Nilgiri famed mountain railway which is a UNESCO World Heritage attraction. "The tracks need to be redone and we also urge the government to increase frequency of the train services from the

present two to at least five or six as many tourists have to go back disappointed either due to overcrowding or less trips."

Shekar also spoke on the mushrooming of unlicensed cottages and small hotels in the region. "They are not only eating

into the business but also harming tourism as these accommodations are neither safe nor do they offer good quality services."

MARKETS

Kerala B2B Meet 2015 to promote seven industrial sectors Kerala to become furniture capital of India Rituparna Chatterjee Bengaluru WITH AN AIM to facilitate beneficial interaction between the small and medium enterprises (SMEs) sector in the state of Kerala and the trade and business communities in international markets, the department of industries & commerce, Government of Kerala will be organising the ‘Kerala Business to Business Meet 2015’ from February 26-28, 2015 at Galfar Convention Centre, Le Meridien Kochi.

The meet would focus on promoting the products of seven key sectors of the state namely food processing; handloom, textiles and garments; rubber; wood based industries; Ayurveda and herbal; electrical and electronics; and traditional

sectors like handicrafts, bamboo to name few.

Speaking about the meet, V Rajagopal, chief executive officer, Kerala Bureau of Industrial Promotion (K-bip), the nodal agency of the department of industries & commerce, Government of Kerala stated, “For the B2B meet, we are selecting 150 core SMEs from these seven sectors across 14 districts of the state. The SMEs will be provided with a platform to showcase their products at the meet. Buyers consisting of hotels, export houses, retail shops, etc would be present.”

Presently, the Kerala government is taking active steps to promote the food processing and wood furniture industries of the state. Kerala has three food parks in the districts of

The SMEs will be provided with a platform to showcase their products at the meet. Buyers consisting of hotels, export houses, retail shops, etc would be present V Rajagopal

Malappuram, Pathanamthitta and Ernakulam and one spice park in Idukki district. A second spice park is coming up in the Wayanad district of Kerala and is expected to open by mid 2014. Plan to have a third spice park is also in the pipeline but it is still at a nascent stage.

Moreover, the department of industrial policy and promotion under the ministry of commerce & industry, Government of India has sanctioned a cluster project to transform Kerala into the furniture capital of India. The project will be coming up in Ernakulam, Thrissur and

Air India offers improved onboard food service to passengers Rituparna Chatterjee Mumbai AS PART OF the strategy to enhance its image after joining Star Alliance, Air India has partnered with TajSATS Air Catering for offering improved onboard food service to its first and business class passengers. This improved food service called the 'table set-up' has been launched on July 11 and is available across select domestic and international flights. The passengers can now view and taste the food before ordering. Speak-

ing about this, Chef Satish Arora, director – food production, TajSATS Air Catering stated, “Initially food at Air India was served in a casserole but now it is being put in a kit format and subsequently heated and plated to give a three dimensional look to the food.” The catering company has also organised workshops to train the onboard staff in plating the food accurately.

For onboard assistance for plating, pictures of the plated dishes have been put up in the galley. “We have also suggested Air India to have a chef

10 FOOD & HOSPITALITY WORLD July 16-31, 2014

Chef Satish Arora

onboard for the first 10 to 15 international flights to assist the staff in plating the dishes

and also interact with the passengers,” added Chef Arora.

Under this improvised menu, the airline is offering both international and Indian dishes - one vegetarian and one non-vegetarian appetiser, three vegetarian and three non-vegetarian snacks, one vegetarian and one non-vegetarian soup, two vegetarian and two non-vegetarian main course and two desserts. “We have designed the menu after taking into consideration the route, profile of passengers, colour, combination, different flavours,” opined Chef Arora.

other districts of Kerala. “An investment of `98 crore will be made for the project. 50 per cent of the project will be funded by the ministry, 25 per cent by the state government, and the remaining 25 per cent by different stakeholders,” revealed Rajagopal.

MICAto organise MDPin August FHW Staff Mumbai MUDRA INSTITUTE of Communications Ahmedabad (MICA) is organising a three-day residential management development programme (MDP) on ‘Building High-Performing Service Businesses’ from August 20- 22, 2014 at its Ahmedabad campus. The programme will be conducted by Dr Kallol Das, associate professor in the marketing department and chairperson of the research committee at MICA. The programme is meant for participants from marketing, operations and human resource departments in companies dealing with consumer services such as hotels, travel and hospitality, airlines, health and wellness, etc.

MARKETS

Jackson Industries to foray into retail in India Rituparna Chatterjee Bengaluru JACKSON INDUSTRIES (INDIA), a Delhi-based manufacturer and exporter of bathroom essentials for the hospitality sector, will be foraying into the retail segment by 2015. Presently, the company caters to luxury and mid-segment hotels in India. To cater to the retail segment, the company is setting up a plant in Noida. This foray is part of their strategy to establish their presence in the retail segment and create visibility for the brand.

Speaking about this, Namrata Nayyar, co-director, Jackson Industries (India) stated, “The hotels that we supply our products to have been receiving enquiries from their guests on our products. Plus, we want to enter the

Presently, the company caters to luxury and midsegment hotels in India retail segment to compete with our competitors like Kama Ayurveda, Power Essentials who are already present in this segment. Since we already have a retail presence in countries outside India like South Africa, this foray would be a significant step for us.” The company has plans to collaborate with retail giants like METRO Cash & Carry, Walmart, Carrefour to enter into the retail segment. “We have approached Carrefour and have plans to approach Walmart. It’s a long process, let us see what happens,” she added.

Initially, the company will be producing only toiletries like tubes and soaps. Depending upon the response, it will be diversifying into other products for this segment. Presently, the company has five plants – one in Jaipur and the rest four in Delhi.

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July 16-31, 2014

With the addition of the new plant their overall production will increase to 30-35 per cent initially. When asked about the

investment made for the same, Nayyar declined to comment adding, “We have partly set up the unit. 10 months down the

Corian Buffet riser & elevations

line, we should be able to acquire the machinery. The kind of infrastructure and certification you need for retailing is a long

process. We have just started doing it and the unit is expected to become operational by mid 2015.”

Carving Station

casserole & induction

display stand

ANUPAM INDUSTRIES A-26,Naraina Industrial Area,Phase-I New Delhi-110028. +91-11 47181818, +91-1141412180 anupamhotelwarez@gm ail.com, www.anupamhotelwares.com

MARKETS

Costa Coffee India shifts focus to food innovations

Ski-in,ski-out Nira Alpina

Kahini Chakraborty Mumbai BESIDES OFFERING a unique coffee experience, Costa Coffee India is now shifting its focus to food innovations, with an aim to make its cafes the preferred hangout space. The company is also going to add 30 outlets every year over the next few years in metro and Tier I cities at an investment of `20-30 crore per year. Speaking exclusively to Food & Hospitality World, Vikram Varma, general manager- marketing, Costa Coffee India said, “We understand that there is a significant relevance of food as an important element in the Indian café business and this is an area where we have and will continue to innovate as a brand. We are extremely conscious about the localisation of the food and drink range specific to the region. That is the reason why our food strategy, based on diligent research and consumer feedback is built around providing a menu that clearly resonates with local communities.”

The company launched -'Hunger Wraps' across stores in Delhi NCR and last year introduced a beverage called ‘Mocha Berry’ created by the winner of their ‘Barista of the Year’ competition for a limited period. The latest addition has been the Coffee Coolers with a dash of Mocha Italia Crème. “We sell in the ratio of 2:1 in terms of beverage to food. Many of our F&B launches have been based on feedback from our customers,” added Varma.

The company’s revenues have shown a growth of upto 25 per cent every year.

Speaking about competition from Starbucks and Cafe Coffee Day, he said, “Costa has a distinct brand image.

Our handcrafted coffee, the reason for our large loyal customer base across the world, will always continue to set us apart from competition. There are today around 2,000 outlets across 40 cities and these cities alone can accommodate another 2,000 cafes in the next few years. This gives a good idea of the potential for coffee chains in the country and the fact that there is space for multiple brands if they have a core proposition and connect with customers.

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Sudipta Dev Mumbai NIRA ALPINA, the stylishly designed modern hotel in the winter sports capital of St Moritz, has been attracting guests from primarily Europe, along with few high-end leisure travellers from India. “Our main markets are Switzerland and Germany, especially for shorter and ski holidays. Furthermore, we welcome a lot of British, Italian and Russian guests. We have also had quite a few Indian guests already, especially in winter,” said Lilian Schmidt, spokesperson for the property.

A member of Design Hotels, the property is significantly different from most of the traditional hospitality establishments in St Moritz. The USP of the property, among the many hotels in St Moritz, is the ski-in, skiout location. “Our USP is definitely the direct access to the cable car and ski slopes of Mount Corvatsch. Nira Alpina is the only hotel in Engadin which offers true ski-in / ski-out as we have a private walk-way to the cable car, which takes you up to the peak of the mountain (3303 m) in only 15 minutes,” stated Schmidt, pointing out that while in winter the property offers the fastest access to the ski slopes, in summer months it is the best starting point for any hiking and mountain biking excursions.

Nira Alpina is the only hotel in Engadin which offers a private walk-way to the cable car, which takes you up to the peak of the mountain in only 15 mins “Whether you're seeking fun and action, a romantic getaway or relaxed holiday with the family – Nira Alpina gives you a true Alpine experience with the chic and comfort you need,” she added.

The fact that the property has only 70 rooms but five restaurants (Bistro, Bar, Pichalain, Stars and Trattoria) and a bakery, is indicative of the owner and management's strong focus on F&B. Talking about what distinguishes their culinary offerings, Schmidt

elaborated, “The culinary offerings at Nira Alpina are very wide and diverse. Our panoramic restaurant, Stars, takes you on a tour of the world’s culinary hotspots, our Trattoria offers you the best of neighboring Italy and the Après-ski hut, Pichalain, serves traditional Swiss food such as cheese fondue and Raclette.

Furthermore, we have our own in-house bakery, producing fresh bread for our breakfast buffet and sweets for your afternoon delight.”

MARKETS

Mahindra Holidays acquires 18.8% in Holiday Club Resort Oy, Finland Akshay Kumar Mumbai MAHINDRA HOLIDAYS & Resorts India has signed an acquisition agreement with Holiday Club Resort Oy, Finland. Mahindra Holidays will initially acquire 18.8 per cent with an initial investment of EU 13 million and the total acquisition will be completed by September 2016.

Speaking about the investment, Arun Nanda, chairman, Mahindra Holidays, said, "This acquisition is an opportunity to widen our international footprint in Europe.

This will be a progressive acquisition and as of now we are completing 18.8 per cent of the deal. We are excited at the prospect of expanding in Europe and the Middle East along with Holiday Club. With the completion of this deal, Mahindra Holidays will have a total of 73 resorts."

The initial acquisition will be completed in a month's time. Holiday Club Resorts Oy is a vacation ownership company in Europe with 32 resorts out of which 24 are located in Finland, two in Sweden and six in Spain.

Mahindra Holidays at pres-

ent has a total of 41 resorts.

Through this acquisition Mahindra Holidays will now, also have three golf courses, five indoor theme parks and seven indoor waterparks which is a first for the vacation ownership company.

Vesa Tengman, chief executive officer, Holiday Club, said, "We are extremely excited to have a new shareholder with such a good reputation in the vacation ownership industry.

We are excited about the various development opportunities and synergies that the collaboration of two market leaders will bring about."

CLEAN & HYGIENE SOLUTIONS

A MARKETING INITIATIVE

A LEAN CLEAN Operational efficiency in an institutional laundry can help hotels cut costs

O

Operational efficiency means optimal results at minimum overall cost. Let us understand, what constitutes the total cost in an institutional laundry. The total cost in laundry operations is a combination of utility cost (steam/water/electricity), labour (time), chemical, linen replacement/textile, depreciation, maintenance and transportation (applicable in case of commercial laundry). Let us understand in detail the various parameters, their impact on the overall cost and how to keep the same under control.

Water Impact of water to the overall cost is approximately four per cent. To control water usage: ● Water supplied to the

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laundry should be below 50ppm water hardness, as this would not consume excess detergent. If the hardness is more than 50 ppm, it is recommended to use softener. ● Many machines have the facility to re-use rinse water, which can be reused in prewash/main wash/first rinse. Check that the washer extractor has two drains otherwise the reuse of water is not possible. Reusing of rinse water can lead to almost 60 per cent in the water saving.

(10 litres/kg versus 25 litres/kg in case of bedsheets). ● Measure and optimise the water level at the various stages of the wash process. If required do the re-calibration.

Ideal way to monitor water consumption is to use water meter to check water consumption per process step. ● Optimise the total number of rinses. Maximum three rinses are required. Many a

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times it is seen that four-five rinses are used to remove the excess alkali or the chlorine from the fabric which can be done by using good quality neutralizer, thus saving water, time and energy. Use the recommended wash process from the chemical supplier.

Energy Impact of energy on the

overall cost is approximately eight per cent. To control energy cost: ● Optimise wash times.

Main wash after reaching the desired temperature should not exceed beyond 12 minutes.

● Energy (heat) used in the washing machine is 1/3 of the energy (heat) used in the dryer/calendar. Optimise tumble-drying time and temperature. Also to achieve energy efficiency, optimise vacuum and speed of the calendar. ● Clean lint from the dryer at the regular intervals to provide clear airflow. Excess lint deposition is also a fire

hazard.

Labour Impact of labour (time) on the overall cost is approximately 37 per cent. To control labour (time) cost:

● Check the wash process of the different linen categories in the laundry. One process for all is waste of time, energy, chemicals, and leads to high maintenance cost of the machine. ● How much time is required to filling machine with water and heating up to required temperature. A narrow fill line and poor water /steam pressure can lead to unnecessary waste of time. ● Check if the mixed/hot water fill line is used when high temperature is required. This will cut down the time required to raise the temperature of the water to the desired level. ● Check if the optimum time/temperature combination is used in the dryer and the calendar. ● Do we load the machine optimally? Under loading of the machine will lead to excess mechanical action and overloading will lead to poor soil removal and mechanical damage. ● How the people in the various shifts are used? How are they trained to do various jobs? Are they trained to handle different jobs at the work place? How are they being monitored?

Textile Impact of textile on the overall cost is approximately 32 per cent. To control textile cost ask: ● Is the laundry buying right type of textil? ● Does laundry analyse textile before purchase? Does laundry have COA (certificate of analysis) of tensile strength/lifetime of textile?

Get specification of the linen being purchased. ● Is the right wash process being used especially the bleaching process? Ensure that bleach is being used at the right pH, temperature, con-

centration and for the right time. Any of the above parameters going wrong will lead to irreversible fabric damage. ● Is the water and steam being used is free from iron?

High iron content (> 0.1ppm) will cause yellowing of linen and iron particle deposition (from the steam lines) in the presence of chlorine bleach will lead to pin holes. ● Linen replacement cost: Maintain current accurate records and conduct physical inventory of the linen at least twice a year. Management knows exactly what linen is needed to maintain service par, when the new linen should be inserted into service, and above all where critical losses are being incurred. Accurate linen replacement cost is calculated in following manner: Linen at last inventory + new linen inserted into service = Total linen Total linen – present inventory = Linen replacement cost.

soil, helps in faster removal of the soil (swelling of the fibre).

Surfactants: Surfactants acts as wetting agent and also help in the removal of fatty soil.

Sequestrants: Builders or sequestrants helps in binding heavy metal and hard water ions in the wash bath and do not allow their precipitation

onto the fabric.

Optical brighteners: Make the linen appear brighter than it 'actually' is.

It absorbs the UV ray and retransmits it into the visible spectrum.

Anti redepositing agents: They give overall negative charge to the fibre

and thus prevent deposition of the negatively charged soil onto the fabric.

Use of a good neutraliser will help in saving water and will give the desired 5.5 to 6.5 pH. It will also control minerals in the final rinse preventing encrustation and controlling iron.

So, we have seen how following the correct procedures at each step of the linen flow can control various cost parameters in the laundry operations. This not only ensures a long linen lifetime but also optimum utilisation of resources at disposal.

Depreciation Impact of depreciation on the overall laundry cost is approximately 13 per cent. To improve machine life: ● Maintain the machine in the top running conditions at all times. Machine should not be having any leaking problems or soil deposition. ● Keep stock of critical machine spares to prevent high downtime. ● Maintain the proper preventive maintenance schedule of the machine. Staff should be trained to report any machine failure.

Innovative modular design l Six basic configurations - meet all your requirements l Increased productivity l High end user acceptance l Supports infection control l

Chemical Impact of chemical on the overall laundry cost is approximately six per cent. To control chemical cost: ● Always use formulated detergents in the laundry.

Good quality formulated detergents along with right wash program play the most important role in reducing the overall laundry operational cost. ● Good formulated detergent should consist of the following: Alkali: It helps in maintaining the pH of the wash bath, neutralises the acidic

FOOD & HOSPITALITY WORLD

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July 16-31, 2014

Diversey provides a complete range of cleaning solutions for: • Fabric Care • Kitchen Hygiene • Rest Room Care • Facility Hygiene • Carpet & Floor Care • Infection Control • Personal Care • Pest Management • Tissue Papers & Dispensers and a variety of Cleaning Machines.

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PRODUCT TRACKER

Combi steam deluxe oven ELECTROLUX has launched a combi steam deluxe oven which comes with three levels of steam. This oven is 20 per cent more energy-efficient and keeps the heat inside. It includes help functions and 100 pre-set cooking programmes. Plus you can save up to 20 of your own favourite programmes. Other features include – FoodProbe to give a virtual look inside the food and switch off the oven when the dish is ready; and VelvetClosing to close the door smoothly and silently. The product is priced at `1,51,600.

Gilpro GUNNEBO has launched a fire-fighting solutions brand – Gilpro. Under the new brand, the company will offer a range of fire extinguishers, hoses and couplings, sprinkler hoses (UL & FM approved), kitchen hood protection system and automatic fire suppression system. The range of fire extinguishers under Gilpro is made under quality norms allowing it to perform under all conditions.

Cheese knife RENA GERMANY AND RENA KUTZ KITCHENWARES INDIA have launched a product called cheese knife. The blade of the knife is made from AISI 420J2 surgical stainless steel. The blades are hardened and tempered and have been given a hardness of approximately 50 HRC to give longer edge retention. The handles have been made from virgin polypropylene. The holes in the blade prevents the soft cheese from sticking to the blade and the spokes on the blade are helpful to lift the cheese.

Two-Headed Bird MYRA VINEYARDS will be introducing its entry-level wine brand under the name TwoHeaded Bird. This portfolio will be available in both Shiraz (red) and Sauvignon Blanc (white) varietals and will be priced at `330 per 750 ml bottle.

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FOOD & HOSPITALITY WORLD

July 16-31, 2014

Kitchen collectables LE CREUSET'S COLOURFUL KITCHEN collectables is a collection of traditional kettles, cast iron casseroles, oil and vinegar dispensers, frying pan to name a few. The collection comes with a lifetime guarantee.

NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK

ART Rotana, Bahrain ROTANA HAS ANNOUNCED the signing of a new agreement with Ossis Property Developers to manage a 311 room luxury property in Bahrain. ART Rotana offers luxurious rooms and suites, including presidential and vice presidential suites, that are all sea facing and feature a modern design. The property also offers extensive banqueting and conference facilities including a ballroom and eight fully-equipped meeting rooms with the latest audio-visual equipment. It has eight F&B venues, which include an allday dining restaurant, a steakhouse, a beach restaurant, a bar, an Italian restaurant, a lobby lounge and a patisserie.

DoubleTree by Hilton Johor Bahru HILTON has opened its second Double Tree by Hilton hotel in Malaysia.

DoubleTree by Hilton Johor Bahru offers 335 guest rooms, including 52 suites, a dedicated events and meetings floor spanning more than 2,140 square metres offering 10 function rooms. The hotel has four dining and entertainment options: Makan Kitchen, an all-day dining restaurant; Tosca, an Italian trattoria and bar; The Food Store which offers gourmet takeout; and Axis Lounge, an ideal spot to relax and unwind over a refreshing drink menu. Other features include an outdoor pool and a 24-hour fitness centre offering steam rooms and jacuzzis.

Holiday Inn Express & Suites Calgary INTERCONTINENTAL HOTELS GROUP has opened a Holiday Inn Express & Suites Calgary in Alberta, Canada. The six-story, 113-room hotel includes 49 suites, a business centre, indoor swimming pool with waterslide, and a large meeting space for up to 160 people appropriate for both weddings and corporate meetings. The hotel also boasts of mountain and downtown views, and a heated underground parking facility. The new hotel offers guests a 24-hour fitness centre, complimentary high-speed internet access and a business centre.

Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide STARWOOD HOTELS & RESORTS Worldwide has signed an agreement with IOI Properties Group to manage two hotels – Four Points by Sheraton Puchong and Le Méridien Putrajaya, slated to open in the fall of 2014 and 2015 respectively. Four Points by Sheraton Puchong will feature 249 stylish and contemporary guestrooms, including 12 executive suites and a 1,110 square metre of meeting space, including an 800 square metre grand ballroom. Additionally, the hotel will have a swimming pool, two F&B venues including the brand’s signature restaurant, The Eatery, a fitness centre, and a variety of other amenities. Le Méridien Putrajaya will offer 350 contemporary guestrooms, all outfitted with the signature Le Méridien BedÒ, two innovative restaurants concepts, fitness centre, spa facilities, and a swimming pool.

The hotel will have more than 1,630 square metres of state-of-the-art meeting and event space, including a grand ballroom.

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July 16-31, 2014

HIGH SPIRITS

FINE VINTAGE

Seeing a huge potential in the super premium wine segment in the India market, entrepreneurs Krishna Prasad and Uma Chigurupati have followed their dream and passion for wine-making by introducing KRSMA Estates. In a tete-a-tete they reveal about the brand's inception and future plans

By Kahini Chakraborty

S

tarted out of sheer passion, KRSMA has created a niche for itself in the super-premium wine segment. Brainchild of Hyderabad-based entrepreneurs Krishna Prasad and Uma Chigurupati, owners of `1200 crore pharma company Granules India, ‘KRSMA Estates’ was set up way back in 2007. Being boutique and producing estate bottled wines, the company's core focus is on quality of produce and not quantity. “Our vision is to offer world class wines to the global palate and place India on the global wine map. Hence we have positioned our brand as a super-premium wine, a segment that is still not explored in India,” says Prasad. Travelling extensively, their knowledge about the finer nuances in wines from different regions grew which intrigued them to follow their passion for wines and wine-making. Like their wines, which is a confluence of rich heritage and fine vintage, the name too, is a union. Thus from the first names - Krishna and Uma - was born KRSMA Estates. Its Indianness is reflected even in the logo and label. Created by a specialist design house in Australia, the art on the label captures the rich heritage of the Vijaynagar Empire.

Having their 170 acres vineyards and a high-end boutique winery in the pristine hills of Hampi, about 70 kms from the world heritage site, the com-

20 FOOD & HOSPITALITY WORLD July 16-31, 2014

pany produces four grape varietals- two reds-Sangiovese and Cabernet Sauvignon,- two whites- Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc. Chigurupati opines, “Patience, vision and passion will head results in the long run is what we believe strongly. At KRSMA we have given a holistic focus to our wines right from wine making to defining wine style to thestate-of-art product aesthetics.

We make wine from the grapes grown in our own vineyards.

This gives us ample opportunity and scope to experiment and improvise not only in the winery but also at the vineyards. It has helped us to offer wine of international quality and style, discerning Indian and global wine palate.”

The making of a brand Elaborating on her tryst to wine-making, Chigurupati reminisces, “I was introduced to wines by my husband Prasad.

He first tasted wine at the age of 17 when the local Bishop allowed him to taste the wines that he was importing from Italy. While the wines were nothing excellent, it heralded the beginning of his love affair with wines and by the age of 21, he was making wine himself from Bangalore Purple Grapes.

At this time wine became a passion and he was trying different techniques with varied results. Business pressures kept us away from winemaking for a long time, but as we travelled on business to various

countries and tasted proper wines, we realised how inferior was the wine we used to make.”

Adding to the same, Prasad says, “Every place we travelled to, we savoured the wine. And with every sip we began noticing the finer nuances. The colour, aromas, tastes, all took on new meaning and we began understanding the delicate differences in wines from different regions.

On our travels we also began visiting wineries, where we met leading oenologists and viticulturists and gained invaluable nuggets on both winemaking and viticulture. We also managed to amass an enviable collection of wines. All of this led to us developing our own unique palate, which helped us in our oenophilic venture.”

Although their first thought was to buy a vineyard or winery in France or Spain, their quest for choosing the least trodden path had them travel length and breadth of the country in search of a region where they could make wines that would not only suit

the global wine palate but also put India on the global wine map as a producer of premium wines. “Also, being Indians we are proud of our lineage,” chuckles Chigurupati. As a brand, KRSMA Estates’ unique identity is to produce 100 per cent single varietal wines from grapes grown in their vineyards. “Although our flagship varietal is Cabernet Sauvignon, we grow Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay in the whites and also a Sangiovese in the red. Although we have tried and have wines of other varieties, we do not graft them in bulk without understanding the nature of its evolution, vigour and fruit quality,” points out Prasad, adding that, “We are pioneers in the region of Hampi and also pioneers in the segment.”

KRSMA wines are hand crafted from vineyard to winery. “We have no particular recipe or technology; the fruit guides us and we let it speak for itself. The grapes are hand harvested during the coolest hour of the day before sunrise.

They are then developed in tank or oak barrels according

to their needs. We use oak wood barrels, as a good quality oak can enhance the complexity of wine. Barrels sourced for KRSMA wines are from the finest cooperages in the world

and made of staves from 180 year old trees. We work closely with best wine yeast producers and use highest grade and quality yeast for our wines,” informs Chigurupati.

In the business

The grapes are hand harvested during the coolest hour of the day before sunrise. Barrels sourced for KRSMA wines are from the finest cooperages in the world and made of staves from 180 year old trees

KRSMA Estates wines were officially launched in Bengaluru on February 1, 2014.

The company has already achieved a prominent position in premium retail outlets like Madhuloka, Drops Total Spirit, Classic Wines – Not just wine and cheese, Deewars Wines, Cyber Wines, etc. “We

are now present in hotels and restaurants like JW Marriott, Shiro, Sunny’s, Smoke House Deli, etc. Being boutique, we do not wish to have the wines available at every outlet. Instead we wish to channelise sales through select outlets and partners who understand and appreciate the quality of the product,” clarifies Prasad.

Over a period of time, the company intends to take KRSMA to international markets. Presently about close to 2000 cases of wines are produced, of which limited stocks are available in the market.

“Based on the market demand more stocks will be moved from the winery,” mentions Prasad, adding, “Being estate bottled wines, we will increase production with an increase in vineyard area in a phased out manner over a period of time.”

When asked about the market trends, Prasad opines that the market study shows that there are more wine aficionados in other Asian countries compared to India. “Over the past five years, the Indian wine market has been showing a steady growth. The demand for Indian wines has been growing day-by-day. There is enough room for each and every wine brand in the Indian market as the market has registered a significant percentage of growth in both volume and value terms in recent years,” he says, adding that the premium wine segment is dominated by imported wine which is heavily priced due to high custom duties and import tariffs.

However, domestic wine still holds the majority share in the total consumption as it is affordable. With a view to catering to the growing demand for foreign wines and attracting new customers, local players are including affordable imported wines in their portfolios.

“With the demand of types of wines across different countries, we will bring to them improvised and enriched tastes of wine moving out of the stereotype-like tastes,” Prasad sums up.

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CHEF’S PLATTER Miyuki, Pune's first Japanese restaurant at the recently opened DoubleTree By Hilton Pune, has a two-fold objective – to introduce Japanese cuisine to local diners and to cater to Japanese corporates working in the city. Chef Shintaro Fujisaki, masterchef – Japanese, Miyuki, talks about the uniqueness of this restaurant

By Rituparna Chatterjee

A TASTE OF JAPAN T

HE JOURNEY STARTED in January 2014, when Chef Shintaro Fujisaki, masterchef – Japanese, Miyuki, DoubleTree By Hilton Pune, was flown in from the US to head the pre-opening of Pune's first Japanese restaurant at DoubleTree By Hilton Pune.

Miyuki, the Japanese word for 'royal seating' offers authentic Japanese dishes and the Teppanyaki style of the cuisine.

The objective behind opening the restaurant was two-fold – to introduce this east Asian cui-

sine to Punekars and to cater to the Japanese corporates in the city. “Before opening the restaurant, we had to conduct a research to assess the demand for Japanese cuisine in Pune. During the research, we found that the booming IT sector in Pune, especially engineering companies, has led to an increasing influx of Japanese and Korean corporates.

These corporates are usually there for a long period say, two to three years. In addition, Pune also has the largest number of students studying Japan-

ese,” mentions Chef Fujisaki adding that these groups are the main target clientele for Miyuki.

Following the research, the hotel decided to open the restaurant, however keeping the number of covers to a modest seven. “We restricted the covers as we wanted to host guests who have made prior reservations with us. In case there are more than seven guests, we serve them at the hotel's other F&B outlet – 3 Spices,” points out Chef Fujisaki. Though the restaurant

We conducted research to assess the demand for Japanese cuisine in Pune. We found that the booming IT sector, has led to an influx of Japanese and Korean corporates

22 FOOD & HOSPITALITY WORLD July 16-31, 2014

Chef Shintaro Fujisaki

does get few Punekars who come to try the cuisine every now and then, the numbers still aren't that encouraging.

The reason he states is the lack of awareness about the cuisine in the city. “The guests I have served from Mumbai don't have inhibitions about eating pork, beef, raw fish. People in Mumbai, Delhi and other big metropolitan cities are open to Japanese cuisine. But the people in Pune only have a vague idea about it. Also since they are away from the city, they aren’t used to sea food,” rues Chef Fujisaki adding that, educating them will be a time-consuming affair.

Before the restaurant became operational in May, the chef was faced with a challenge – sourcing the right ingredients and creating the perfect ambience. “To execute this, I along with my two team members

travelled across Thailand from where we bought 60 kilograms of fish. Also, since our restaurant is small and the demand is also minimal in Pune, most vendors are reluctant to supply fish to us. Hence, we purchase the fish in bulk and deep-freeze them,” mentions the chef.

Apart from Thailand, the chef also sources fish used for preparing Sashimi from a village in Kagoshima, Japan.

Even sake and shochu, distilled liquor a specialty of Southern Japan, is also imported from Kagoshima.

“We have also brought the cutlery from Japan since we wanted the experience to be authentic and value-for-money.

The vegetables are sourced from local farmers,” adds Chef Fujisaki.

Customising for guests After having pampered his guests' taste-buds for nearly two decades in Japan and the US respectively, Chef Fujisaki came to India to offer a unique dining experience to the discerning traveller. But before his stint in India, his first professional culinary experience was as a sushi chef with a restaurant named Hama Sushi in Kagoshima, Japan. Advancing further, he became the executive chef at Restaurant Noma, Santa Monica in the US, after which he went on to Kyushu Ramen, Van Nuys in US before joining DoubleTree By Hilton Pune early this year. “After working for nearly three years in Japan, I moved to the US to pursue my career further, where I worked for sixteen years before finally moving to India,” reveals Chef Fujisaki.

However, during his stay in India, he noticed several similarities between India and the US. “In both the countries, there is little access to authentic Japanese ingredients,” he points out adding that, the challenge in India is to make separate preparations for vegetarian and nonvegetarian guests. However, to cater to the Indian guests in Pune, the chef offers customised menus. “I do customise but without compromising on the authenticity of the

As Indian cuisine is spicier and Japanese cuisine more subtle in its flavours, the chef serves the sauces as an accompaniment dishes. As Indian cuisine is spicier and Japanese cuisine more subtle in its flavours, I serve the sauces as an accompaniment with the dishes so that guests can add the sauces according to their taste,” chuckles Chef Fujisaki. Miyuki serves both an a la carte and a fixed course menu. It also offers take-aways in bento boxes to give customers a taste of Japanese cuisine in the comfort of their homes.

When asked about the demand for Indian cuisine in Japan, he opines, “Like Japanese cuisine is luxury food in India, Indian food also holds the same status in Japan. In Tokyo, an Indian dish is priced at `3000.” As for the future of

Japanese cuisine in India, the chef opines, “At the management level, chefs need to know when and where a dish was invented. They need to be aware of the different styles of preparing a dish. India will become the second biggest economy in 50 years. In time, Indians will appreciate Japanese cuisine, since they will move towards more healthier options. In addition, with rising disposable incomes, they will also have a wider choice.” Chef Fujisaki's dream is to have his own Japanese restaurant. “I always wanted to own a restaurant where I can combine my cooking technique and my business acumen on a single platform,” he says.

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CHEF’S PLATTER

An Arabian affair

With the growing popularity of the Middle-Eastern cuisine, many local hotels have already included Arabian delicacies in their regular menu. To tantalise the taste buds of its members, The Club in Mumbai recently organised a Middle-Eastern food festival. Chef Krishna Kumar, executive chef, The Club reveals about the authenticity, which has to be maintained while preparing Arabian dishes

By Akshay Kumar

M

IDDLE Eastern cuisine has been adopted from various countries and peoples of the Middle East, it includes countries like Dubai, Oman, Turkey, Bahrain, etc.

The cuisine of the region is diverse while having a degree of homogeneity. The cuisine recently gained popularity in the Indian market. The Club in Mumbai, a Taj property had hosted a 10 day Middle East food festival for its members to satiate their palates. Speaking about this growing popularity amongst his clients, Bernard D’Souza, EAM- food and beverage, The Club, explained, “Middle Eastern food is very popular with our members, almost all our members have visited the Middle East especially Dubai.

So by talking to our members we came to know that this cuisine is quite popular with them.

Our clients are very familiar

with the cuisine; in fact it is so popular that we have included it in our regular menu as well.

We serve the Mezzes and the kebabs all round the year. We do keep organising such food festivals, which is quite successful amongst our client base.”

The authentic Arabic dishes which were prepared during the food festival included Samak Hara, Dajaj Baladi, Khodra Turli, Afelia Batata,Dolmadas, Maqaali, Sheikh Al Mashi, Kushari, Umali and the Basbusa.

Authentic approach “The key to preparing delicious Arabian cuisine is to maintain the authenticity of the dish,” says chef Krishna Kumar, executive chef, The Club. Some commonly used ingredients in the Middle Eastern cuisine include olives and olive oil, pitas, honey, sesame seeds, dates, sumac, chickpeas, mint and

24 FOOD & HOSPITALITY WORLD July16-31, 2014

Middle Eastern food is not very much popular for its vegetarian dishes. We had to tweak a little bit and make vegetarian dishes as well. We made use of the authentic Arabic ingredients and created all these vegetarian dishes

CHEF’S PLATTER

When we think about preparing an authentic cuisine, the first challenge in front of us is the ingredients. In our restaurant, we do import many of the ingredients from the Middle East.

The best part about this cuisine is that, it gives out all the natural flavours very well parsley. Speaking about the flavours, Kumar informed, “Everybody likes to have a rich Arabian food and people do love their food when it is prepared authentically. The best part about this cuisine is that, it gives out all the natural flavours very well like for example if you are having a mint item then the natural flavour of mint will be quite strong in the dish apart from the other spices which will be pretty mild.”

Sourcing of the ingredients is not so easy as the dish has to be 100 per cent authentic, Kumar stated, “When we think about preparing an authentic cuisine, the first challenge in front of us is the ingredients. In

our restaurant, we do import many of the ingredients from the Middle East. We have a supplier in the Middle East who supplies authentic ingredients regularly. Some ingredients like the Sumac, Pine Nuts or Tahina have to be imported.”

Vision veggies The Club, Mumbai has a large network of clients with different taste buds. To organise a Middle East food festival had its own challenges. Speaking about the challenges, Kumar explained, “Middle Eastern food is not very much popular for its vegetarian dishes. We had to tweak a little bit and make vegetarian dishes

as well. We made use of the authentic Arabic ingredients and created all these vegetarian dishes. For example chicken shawarma is quite popular almost throughout the world. But we had to create a paneer shawarma for our vegetarian customers. It might not be an authentic Arabic dish, but then to give the vegetarians something, paneer is the best alternative and it is also quite popular amongst our clients. To satisfy a vegetarian is very difficult, and talking about Arabic cuisine which is meat oriented it is still more challenging. So we found paneer to be a good alternative as it is quite flavoursome as well.”

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cover )

GETTING AN 'EDGE'DUCATION With a view to bridge the gap between supply of hotel rooms and demand for quality manpower in the Indian hospitality industry, an increasing number of international institutes are establishing strategic partnerships with Indian hospitality institutes or setting up campuses in the country

BY RITUPARNA CHATTERJEE

26 FOOD & HOSPITALITY WORLD July 16-31, 2014

(

THE MAIN FOCUS

GL OB AL

LO CA L

A

TITHI DEVO BHAVA' (the guest is like a god), an ancient adage reflecting Indian tradition and culture, has been the core essence of the hospitality industry.

Since hospitality is a service industry, its efficient administration and successful operation is largely dependent on the quality of manpower.

A critical question that arises - do we have enough qualified and skilled

people? According to the 2011 HVS Indian Hotel Industry Manpower Survey, the additional rooms required in India by 2021 is 1,80,133 – 21,187 under luxury; 37,834 under first class; 70,761 under mid-market; 45,810 under budget; and 4,540 under extended stay. And the additional manpower requirement in India by 2021 is 2,84,386 – 57,206 under luxury; 79,831 under first class; 1,07,556 under mid-market; 32,983 under budget; and 6,810 under extended stay. To meet this manpower requirement by 2021, around 21,200 students are needed to be absorbed by hotels every year. According to the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), India has around 140 approved hotel management institutes and there are about

10,000 students graduating every year, out of which a significant number are unemployable, hence failing to meet the annual demand for hotel manpower per year. With a view to bridge this gap between demand and supply and make students more employable by giving them a global exposure, there has been an increasing influx of foreign universities in India and a growing number of Indian hospitality institutes are also establishing strategic partnerships with various international universities to facilitate student transfers, faculty exchange and student exchange programmes, credit sharing among many.

Global experience In an age of globalisation when Indians are exposed to international standards, the hospitality education industry in India is faced with the challenge of providing a comprehensive learning experience with global exposure. Fulfilling this need has been international institutes with an established repute setting their shops in India and Indian institutes

opting for foreign university affiliations/partnerships. “With India on the world map as far as tourism is concerned and proactive promotion being conducted by the government in many countries abroad, these foreign academic collaborations in hospitality and tourism lead the way in endorsing the country as well as elevating and enriching the manpower educationally and vocationally,” states Dr Suborno Bose, chairman and chief mentor, Indismart Group Worldwide and owner of International Institute of Hotel Management (IIHM) & IAM. IIHM, which has seven national and one international campuses, has affiliations with Edinburgh Napier University and University of West London for its bachelor courses. “The syllabus and activities offer real-time professional experiences to the students from the first day. Along with hands-on vocational training which starts from the first year, students become aware of the standards of international hospitality and look forward to participating in international internships in the second year itself,” points out Dr Bose. The courses are structured beyond conventional classroom teaching. Through international collaborations, the most modern methods of teaching and learning are used to deliver knowledge to the students, from operational inputs initially to management. “Students are benefited right from day one - 'attitude mentoring' creates in them the desire to graduate as professionally

FOOD & HOSPITALITY WORLD

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July 16-31, 2014

cover ) “The students graduating from these colleges are better equipped and exposed to modern infrastructure” Ritu Singh Verma, Regional director,HR, South Asia, Starwood Hotels and Resorts

“Attitude mentoring creates the desire to graduate with the aptitude to excel as leaders” Dr Suborno Bose, Chairman and chief mentor, Indismart Group Worldwide and owner of International Institute of Hotel Management (IIHM) & IAM

“It is a hands-on, interactive and technology enabled learning experience” Rony Kurien, Chief operating officer, Ecole Hoteliere Lavasa

trained hospitality managers with the aptitude to excel as leaders. Seminars and workshops are organised for industry experts to share their knowledge with students. Everything combined, gives students an exclusive holistic education,” he adds.

State-of-the-art practical laboratories with current software, a fully functional corporate kitchen catering up to 5000 diners give students the opportunity to work with real time guests in authentic surroundings.

Ecole Hoteliere Lavasa, which was set up in 2009 as an extension of the global vision of Ecole Hôtelière de Lausanne, the oldest hotel school in the world, has been positioned as a hospitality management college of excellence. The four-year Undergraduate Programme in Hospitality Management offered by the college, has a unique curriculum - there are eight semesters of six months each including two business internships with leading hotel brands. This is unlike institutes which are AICTE approved, wherein there are just six semesters with one business internship of either three or six months. “It is a hands-on, interactive and technology enabled learning experience. From the blackboard online learning environment to our interactive virtual classrooms, we infuse technology into every course,” says Rony Kurien, chief operating officer, Ecole Hoteliere Lavasa. The 67,000 sq ft campus has four large restaurants, an amphitheatre, cyber hotel, wine tasting lab, training and display kitchen, mock guest room, and an IT lab.

In addition to traditional courses in F&B, the institute is also teaching management, HR, grooming, cross culture training, etc. The institute also has plans to introduce two new courses by end of this year - a one year certificate programme on culinary and a six months cruise line management course. It is also exploring the opportunity of introducing post graduation in hotel management and are looking at tying up with Indira Gandhi National Open University for its

28 FOOD & HOSPITALITY WORLD July 16-31, 2014

to keep them abreast of the latest bachelor course.

Aiming to provide a compre- developments in the industry. hensive education, V M Salgao- The faculty members of Ecole car Group recently opened V M Hoteliere Lavasa are trained and Salgaocar Institute of Interna- certified in Switzerland and autional Hospitality Education dits are conducted every six (VMSIIHE) in Goa. Affiliated to months. The course content is Goa University and with an aca- vetted in Switzerland. "The Ecole system of learning is demic collaboration such that it places the with Dublin Instionus of learning on tute of Technolthe students," ogy, Ireland, states Kurien. the institute Though most of offers a the full-time Bachelor of faculty memScience in Additional manpower bers are former Internarequirement in the industry people, tional Hoshospitality sector in the institute also pitality ManIndia by 2021 has 27 visiting facagement. The ulty members from institute has also various national and inforged a strategic tieup with the international hospi- ternational colleges. There is also tality chain, the Marriott Group an external faculty for subjects for knowledge sharing and train- like finance, marketing, branding, ing purposes. “Course curricu- etc. Likewise, for training of its lum includes academic learning, faculty members, IIHM sends practical sessions and profes- them for regular refresher sional internships in top hotels in courses to five star luxury properIndia and abroad,” states profes- ties to keep them aware of new sor Irfan Mirza, director, VMSI- and current trends and innovaIHE. The campus has a fully tions within the industry. “Once functional five star training ho- back into the teaching mode, tel, complete with a grand lobby their experiences are then area and reception, well ap- shared with students so that pointed guestrooms, restaurant, teaching and learning become kitchen area and banqueting fa- more relevant,” opines Dr Bose. cilities to give students a practi- The faculty members are also encal experience of working in a couraged to read and research journals and publications as well hotel. as enhance their qualifications Faculty training through higher studies.

Training the full-time faculty is significant in enhancing their Better placed Do these international instiknowledge and skills as it helps

2,84,386

tutes and foreign affiliations make a significant difference in opening better and more job avenues to students and in turn whether the students are betterperformers on-the-job? “Affiliation or partnership with foreign academic colleges is helping in a way to widen the perspective and to enhance the education provided to students. Education provided at these colleges provides hospitality formats that are at par with international standards. These institutes have definitely raised the bar in the field of hospitality education and learning. The students graduating from these colleges are better equipped and are exposed to modern infrastructure and formats, which help them, evolve into thorough professionals with an in depth understanding of the nuances of the business,” states Ritu Singh Verma, regional director, human resources, South Asia, Starwood Hotels and Resorts. Reiterating the same is Prakash Jayadevan, general manager, Courtyard by Marriott Chennai who opines, “Having a foreign affiliation ideally helps in knowledge transfer from what is happening around the world.”

For instance, one of the recent developments, according to Kurien, is that Ecole Hoteliere Lavasa has been approached by two large hotel groups for recruiting students and grooming them for leadership positions. A large percentage of students at the institute come from families who own hotels. Kurien is proud of the fact that a few of the students are keen to set up diverse ventures – for instance a chocolate factory in India and a cheese factory. The same is reiterated

by Dr Bose who states, “In the current academic year almost 150 students are working in USA, Malaysia, the Middle East, Germany, China, Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh. IIHM alumni are to be found working in the above countries as well as in Maldives, Mauritius, Australia, New Zealand to name a few.

Continuing education In the fast-paced and everchanging hospitality industry,

21,200

(

students are needed to be absorbed by hotels every year to meet this additional manpower requirement by 2021

continuing education is required for employees to stay updated with the latest developments, skills and new technologies in the market. Continuing education is as an asset to one's profession and hence should be thoughtfully considered. As part of improvement strategy of the hotel business and also to engage employees, a trend which has gained considerable popularity is tie-ups of hotel companies with leading international hospitality management institutes.

These tie-ups enable employees to enroll for online and offline courses and even be eligible for scholarships. These proactive measures helps in enhancing employee engagement and acts as an effective tool for talent development, which benefits both the hotel and its employees. To cater to this demand for continuing education, the American Hotel & Lodging Educational Institute (AH&LEI), which has worked with hospitality institutes in India to train young future leaders, is also focused on providing their courses to the industry as well. AH&LEI, the Indian arm of the 105-year old association - American Hotel and Lodging Association (AH&LA), offers its Global Academic Programme (GAP) to more than 60 countries across the world. The AH&LEI office in India has been operational for the past 19 years and has been working with 70 different schools and all major international and Indian hotel companies.

“The institute offers a range of professional certifications to industry professionals. For instance, we have a world class certification programme for general managers called 'Certified Hotel Administrator'. It covers all operational as well as modules on finance and human resource,” states Dennie Matthews, chief managing officer, AH&LEI. The institute has about 22 certifications available at varying levels and functions for HODs, managers, supervisors and line level staff. These certifications are available and accepted globally by the industry and is recognised by

THE MAIN FOCUS

“The certification culture is still in a developing status in India” Dennie Matthews, Chief managing officer, AH&LEI

“Having a foreign affiliation ideally helps in knowledge transfer from what is happening around the world” Prakash Jayadevan,

In the fast-paced and everchanging hospitality industry, continuing education is required for employees to stay updated with the latest developments AH&LA. “AH&LEI’s programmes for professionals have been designed keeping the requirements of the busy executive in mind. Hence most of our programmes are designed to be self-learned requiring minimal tutoring or facilitation and with the flexibility of doing them at your own pace. With AH&LEI’s continuing education programmes, you are always learning the contemporary practices of the industry from a global perspective,” states Matthews.

But how do international in-

stitutions localise their courses to suit the requirement of Indian hospitality professionals?

“There was a point of time when our programmes were heavily American practices centric. However, in the past few years we have seen a growing number of our programmes having global practices included. We really do not have programmes specifically localised for the India market, as we believe having our programmes and resources in the global context would be much

more valuable and relevant, in a world where job mobility is increasingly the trend,” specifies Matthews. Presently, the institute's three most popular training videos have been shot in India and they are a bit contextualised, with Indian settings, actors and voice. Despite hospitality professionals opting for continuing education to enhance their skills, the demand for the same is still at a nascent stage in India. “The certification culture is still in a developing status in India. But its not very long before we will see more individuals, opting for these programmes. It definitely serves as an excellent bridge programme. We see a growing demand from hoteliers now interested in investing in and training their line employees at the grass root level, to arrest attrition and also ensure they have skilled hands at the same time,” assures Matthews.

General manager, Courtyard by Marriott Chennai

“Course curriculum includes academic learning, practical sessions and professional internships in top hotels in India and abroad” Irfan Mirza, Director, VMSIIHE

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EVENT ROUNDUP

A platform for young turks The Association of Hospitality Professionals recently brought together young and fresh talent from the hospitality industry to display their skills and creativity on a competitive platform

By Archana Sharma

T

HE ASSOCIATION of Hospitality Professionals (AHP) organised a three-day competition for young professionals of Delhi and NCR. It kickstarted with the 'War of Spirits', a cocktail and mocktail making competition held at Tonic Bar & Lounge, Asian Games Village. The second day witnessed the 'Biryani making Competition' at the Institute of Hotel Management & Catering Technology, and the third day had the housekeeping competition, 'The Art of Bed making', at the Imperial Hotel in Delhi.

According to Devipshita Gautam, general secretary, AHP, “This competition will help the young professionals of our industry to showcase their creative edge. This will encourage them to come forward as they are probably the most underappreciated lot even though they are the ones who usually work the hardest.”

The competition had general managers, directors, chefs and housekeeping heads as judges. Sireesh Saxena, joint secretary, AHP, stated, “We wanted to involve as many people as possible from theindustry and not make it just another event like the many competitions that happen in the hospitality industry.”

War of Spirits 35 bartenders from 19 hotels participated in this competition, all with just under five years of experience. Everyone was limited to a total of six ingredients and had to make one classic cocktail, one mocktail and an in-

novative cocktail, from a recipe created of their own. The alcohol content was fixed to a maximum of 60 ml and with Gin, Rum, Whisky, Vodka, Tequila, Kahlua, Cointreau and vermouth being provided to them.

“A lot of competitions regarding cocktails and mocktails do happen but we are trying to bring out the novice and new talents, with a maximum of five year experience and provide them a platform where they can display their aptitude and ability to the fullest,” stated Gautam.

They all were given 15 minutes for making the drinks in front of the judges, with space provided for Mise en place at the venue.

Andrew J. Ryder, general manager, training, Hotel Siddharth, one of the jury members for this competition, said, “It is heartening to see people coming out of their shells to learn and display their talent like this. The pressure of creating something is intense in such a competition but they enter into their familiar zone, ending up creating something quite wonderful, despite the pressure.”

When talking about the skills and aptitude of the participants, Rahul Vasudev, general manager, China Doll, another

Biryani making competition A total of 30 chefs from 16 restaurants and hotels participated in the second day of the hospitality competition, all with a minimum of three years of experience in the industry.

Vivek Saggar, director, Food Art F&B Consultancy, also a jury panelist for the Biryani competition, stated, “In other countries, hospitality competitions especially related to the food and beverage industry promote their traditional dishes to international levels. Our primary focus in arranging this Biryani making competition is to promote Biryani as our national dish, since everyone enjoys it, no matter what kind of variety or region.” All the participants were given an hour to create the dish and present it to the judges. “We were marking not on the creativity of the chefs but rather on the authenticity of the Biryani cre-

A total of 30 chefs from 16 restaurants and hotels participated in the second day of the hospitality competition, all with a minimum of three years of experience

30 FOOD & HOSPITALITY WORLD July 16-31, 2014

jury member, pointed out, “It is an excellent platform for the new and uninitiated. We saw a lot of innovative ideas, though some needed a little more practise, they all were able to create good drinks with nice presentations, showing just how hard they all have worked towards this.”

ated by them. And we saw quite a variety, even though the classic Hyderabadi and Lucknowi Biryani were repeated, there were originals like Kashmiri Biryani, regional ones containing Soya etc and more from the coastal side,” added Saggar.

Art of bed making This event witnessed participation from 33 non – management employees from 20 hotels. A total of four minutes was given to them all to make a faultless bed. According to Saxena, “This is the first time that a competition of such a kind is being organised in India. We are not just about the food and beverage part of the hospitality industry and by organising this

competition, but want to focus on all the aspects of this industry.” Garima Nagpal, executive housekeeper, The Imperial, one of the jury members, stated that, “Indian hoteliers hold competitions but it’s usually for the general managers and chefs, however, in this case, the recognition was given to the lower level, behind the scene, housekeeping staff.”

With regards to the future plans of AHP, Gautam conveyed, “AHP will be organising more competitions like rangoli making and flower arrangements and decorations. We are also planning to organise a competition about front desk operations sometime in February next year.”

SPOTLIGHT

An aspirational MICE venue Thornbury Castle in Gloucestershire is the only Tudor castle in England that is operating as a hotel. It is today an exclusive venue for high-end MICE events and attracts a select clientele of leisure travellers from across the world

By Sudipta Dev

J

ust north of Bristol, in the provincial town of Thornbury, is the Thornbury Castle that has in its 500-year-old history hosted many well known guests – from Cardinal Wolsey and Thomas Cromwell in the 14th century to Lakshmi Mittal and Barbra Streisand in the present times. The most famous is of course King Henry VIII who twice visited the castle, and even today five centuries later the property continues to draw guests who are fascinated by the fact that he had stayed in the castle.

Currently owned by Luxury Family Hotels, Thornbury Castle is the only Tudor castle in England that is a hotel.

Thornbury Castle has positioned itself as a MICE venue of distinction. “We are such an individual and unique property. Our clientele are companies that are looking for aspirational venues. We hold lot of high level meetings of major companies, who come here to plan their marketing strategies, sales and budget strategies, mergers and acquisition deals. They want to go somewhere which takes them out of corporate hotel space and puts them into an inspirational and aspirational property. This reflects on their conversation, their ideas,” says Faye Kelly,

King Henry VIII twice visited the castle, and even today five centuries later the property continues to draw guests who are fascinated by this fact general manager, Thornbury Castle. The client organisation can use all of the grounds

and assets of the castle. “We want people to feel very relaxed in this environment.

Our property is different from the normal hotel environment, like your home and we cater to every need. During weekends we do lot of weddings and family events, but mid week it is all about the high-end MICE business and that's what we do well. We work with some agents and unique venue finders,” adds Kelly.

With close proximity to Bath and Bristol, London is

only two hours drive from the castle, which attracts a lot of international business.

Equally important is however local business enterprises, who want to entertain their clients at this historical property. “We are open to all markets. About 50 per cent of our business comes from those who are within two hours drive time, but equally 50 per cent would be American, Australian, Canadian, Asian,

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SPOTLIGHT Historical provenance

French and German operators and Middle East families as well. You can have a shopping experience in London and stay in this very prestigious historical castle,” states Kelly.

The property has hosted many guests from India, who have mostly been leisure travellers. “Indian clientele are generally wealthy people, they like nice things, they understand what they want and enjoy high-end hospitality. We had an Indian family last

Christmas who had seven rooms, all paying in excess of GBP 3000 per room. On Christmas night they actually ended up cooking for us and made such amazing curries.

We had great fun,” mentions Kelly, adding that, they are working at the moment with American agents, German agents, leisure agents, but have not interacted with the Indian market. “But we know that it is such a huge market, who travel internationally frequently,” she avers.

A SLICE OF HISTORY Thornbury Castle was built by Edward Stafford, the third Duke of Buckingham who was the most premier duke of England in his time he was the second wealthiest man in the country after King Henry VIII. It is a Grade 1 Star building. According to local amateur historian Valerie Quinn, it was a big manor house, but the duke wanted to build a palace within the castle. So he applied to Henry VIII in 1510. The license was granted and the work was started. There were 600 masons to start with. Most of the doorways and fireplaces are original, but the castle did fall into disrepair and in ruins. The Stafford knot is the main emblem of the Stafford family and it can be found at many places.“A single wing was rebuilt in 1824 to 1830. It was a fortified castle. One side of the castle is the church. The restoration is redone with the same material with which it was built. The chimneys are the finest examples of Tudor chimneys in the world,” she informs.

King Henry VIII visited the castle the first time in 1535 with Anne Boleyn. He stayed here for 10 days hunting, playing tennis and jousting. The second time he came here in 1541.“Every summer the king left London and travelled to different parts of the country showing themselves to the lords, the aristocracy and the people.

There were no photographs so it was important that the king be known and seen. By that time Boleyn was beheaded and the king was married to her cousin Catherine Howard. It is not known whether she came with him during his second visit. People come to the castle from Japan, Russia, Indonesia. All these people come here because he stayed here,” adds Quinn.

32 FOOD & HOSPITALITY WORLD July 16-31, 2014

The historical provenance is the greatest USP of Thornbury Castle, which is often taken by corporates for exclusive use. “Some of the heritage properties do not have so many venues and big meeting rooms that we have.

They are perhaps too small to do meetings or too big to take exclusively. Our castle sits in a real great position - there meeting spaces for 60 odd people with beautiful dining spaces. Our proximity to Bath, Bristol and London is a great advantage. Although we are very rural from the location point of view it is very easy and accessible,” states Kelly. The castle is just seven minutes drive from major motorway network in a small provincial town with a beautiful church and surroundings. It also has a helipad.

The management of the castle has good relationship with training companies due to the focus on MICE and incentives market. They can organise bogey racing in fields, archery, clay pigeon shooting, and other activities.

“We bring in a different company and they design these experiential training programmes as per the requirement of the client organisation. We tie up with experts and professionals who provide these services. We have had the castle lit up and branded across for certain companies who had exclusively booked it for three nights,” informs Kelly.

The Tudor Hall and Baron's Sitting Room are the main conference venues. The property has 26 rooms, the decor takes one back to another era of royal luxury with four poster beds, ornate fire places, tapestries. The castle also boasts of the largest four poster bed in the country, in its Tower Suite. One of the highlights of the property is its F&B. The Tower Restaurant and Oriel Restaurant are the main dining rooms.

The castle is also a unique location for the celebrated British afternoon tea.

TECH TALK

iBeacon(ing) guests with hospitality Apple's iBeacon Technology is an effective low-cost solution for the hospitality sector with multiple usage in hotels and restaurants, that can offer superior guest experience and enhance employee efficiency. By Sudipta Dev

B

eacon-In is a technology startup based in Singapore that offers iBeacon based solutions, a ready-made platform for services and merchants to deliver the iBeacon interactions. iBeacon Technology has a lot of potential in the travel and tourism industry with the technology being adopted in museums, theme parks, hotels, airports and airline lounges. For hotels and restaurants the technology has multifarious usages that can go a long way in enhancing customer service. iBeacon technology is the name of the Apple patented technology that would be installed in the premises of hotels. It is a brand new technology introduced

by Apple last year and it works with both Android and iOS. The instrument is installed at the destination and it communicates to the guest's smartphone. No data, no Wi-Fi is required, just the Bluetooth function has to be on. “Our product and service allow businesses to send contextual based information to its users, thereby providing a unique user engagement model. How the technology works is that a small beacon device communicates with your smartphone application and works on Bluetooth. The beauty of this is that the user has the choice of whether he wants to receive these messages. The beacon will get smaller with the advancement of technology. It is not visible to the user and sends out the alerts,” says Aditya Haripurkar, founder and CEO, The Socialmill. He adds that in hotels the technology can be used as a concierge service where a notification can be pushed to the user's smartphones which can give suggestions on restaurants, bars and nearby

attractions. The other usages include check- in or check-out features; directions and navigational information in a hotel; ordering room service or booking a spa appointment. “Some beacons are embedded with temperature sensors, so the temperature of your room can be adjusted as soon as you enter a room. It also enables keyless entry into your hotel room when you come close to your room,” mentions Haripurkar.

This technology has also been used in many bars in New York and food chains in USA. According to Haripurkar for restaurants, the technology can be used in the following manner – giving alerts about restaurant specials and offers when the customer is near the restaurant; receiving menus on smartphones when the cus-

tomer is seated inside the restaurant; customer can order and pay for dishes straight from his smartphone; the restaurant can integrate a rewards / loyalty system; it can also tailor offers according to a customer's buying/eating habits.

There have been many interesting installations of this technology - The James Hotels, with locations in New York, Chicago and Miami have also introduced the James Pocket Assistant based on this technology. iBeacon is being installed in Regent Street, London which is one of the most famous shopping streets in the world, while Dutch theme park Fluwel’s Tulpenland is the first in Europe to install the technology to attract more visitors. An iBeacon prototype was recently created in the Antwerp museum - The Rubens House. While Virgin Atlantic has installed this technology at Heathrow Airport, American Airlines has launched a six-month pilot at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport.

There are two requirements for the technology to work - the application should be downloaded and the Bluetooth should be switched on. The content is uploaded on the backend.

“We can push images, videos, maps, texts, contents, locations, whatever the establishment using this technology to push. While newsletters, promotional emails and SMSes annoy us, with this device you have the option of what you want to access,” points out Harsh Sharma, strategy and design head, The Socialmill. It is a unique user engagement model wherein both the user and businesses benefits.

Betting on Bluetooth The name of the technology is BLE 4.0 that is Bluetooth Low Energy 4.0. It

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TECH BYTES will be in all the latest smartphones. “One of the reasons why we are betting on Bluetooth is that a whole wave of smart devices are going to come, and everything can be communicated over Bluetooth - from home automations to smart wearables. We believe that Bluetooth is going to make a comeback and all interactions will happen over Bluetooth. It will be the natural thing for users to switch on to Bluetooth,” says Haripurkar.

The company provides its clients the technology, the backend, however they can provide the front-end as well.

“We can also provide them creative services, the content.

However we have seen that most of the clients want to have control over the content.

It can be completely customised how the business wants it and it is as easy as updating a Facebook profile,” states Sharma. Another important aspect is that a

business can change the messages that it wants every minute and can tailor the messages. For example, the proximity of the beacon is 50 metres so when a visitor or customer enters the region he gets an alert and when he exits the region he gets a separate alert.

India market Beacon-In is among the first few players not only in India but Asia as well, provid-

ing end-to-end iBeacon solutions. “It is a niche concept in India, we would play a consultancy role in telling travel and tourism partners how to adopt this technology - from travel agencies to hotels, if they want to install the beacons,” says Haripurkar.

Currently there is awareness of this among the tech community but nobody has developed something concrete. “The number of people using smartphones in India is

humongous. Our next challenge is to get them using this technology. That will happen trough demonstration effect, that is why we are using case studies in Singapore and showing them here. That's what we are building upon and aiming at,” explains Sharma.

Beacon-In's strategy is that the brand they tie up with should proactively promote it through its social media channels and provide incentives to users to use it.

REFLECTING TECHNOLOGY Today, the hospitality industry is on the look out for pioneering technologies in the inroom space. Every hotel chain is in the race to edge-off their competitors by offering guests the best in the comfort of their rooms. Mirror and Waterproof televisions are the latest buzzwords.

By Akshay Kumar

T

echnological innovation has become a core differentiator in the hospitality industry. Today, every traveller- MICE or leisure- is looking for newer and innovative in-room technologies.

At the same time the hospitality industry faces a challenge i.e of introducing new technologies which are also energy efficient. One such product in the hospitality space which is trending today is the mirror and waterproof television concept. “India has a fancy for cutting edge technologies and in the fast growing hospitality space, we definitely see a rise in our install and enquiry base,” informs Adrian Goldwyn, managing director, Wyntronix Innovations.

Wyntronix Innovations, a company which was formed to address the growing needs of the hospitality industry and a master distributor for multiple international companies has

introduced 'Raysgem'. A combination of waterproof and display technology on a mirror panel, Raysgem can also be customised to hotel requirements.

Speaking about the popularity of the product, Goldwyn, states, “Raysgem Mirror TVs are sold across the globe, both for hospitality and commercial establishments. Leading hospitality chains like Hilton, St.Regis, Ritz Carlton, Banyan Tree Hotels & Resorts, Hyatt, W Hotel, Shangri-La Hotel, Kempinski, Oberoi, have installed Raysgem Mirror and Waterproof TVs in their luxury properties.”

34 FOOD & HOSPITALITY WORLD July 16-31, 2014

Energy efficient Raysgem’s MPS display technology is based on the cutting-edge LED display technology collaborating with its light control technology which automatically adjust light and colour temperature on different panels, so when the TV is turned off, the display area will be 100 per cent invisible and when turned on, there will be a perfect HD display.

Speaking about the new technology, Goldwyn, informs, “Raysgem’s core team are the pioneers of the waterproof idea for TV. The technology has evolved over the years due to strong R&D investments and

now the latest waterproof technology is used in the Raysgem waterproof series, mirror TV series, outdoor TV series and customised products.”

Light control technology uses crystal white glass as base material, through special surface mirror treatment to control the reflectivity and transmittance. The latest innovation is the super transparent mirror panel with high reflectivity resolution. Also, core parts inside the TV can process high temperature environments so Raysgem TVs can even work in harsh environments. Speaking about the energy efficiency of the product, Goldwyn states, “Raysgem uses LED for this technology which makes it energy efficient and there is an internal setup in the product for quick heat dissipation. Our mirror TVs and waterproof TVs consume less than 42w and standby uses less than one w. Today’s hoteliers are looking for more green products consuming less power and our product fits the bill, enhancing the guest experience.”

Adrian Goldwyn

Tech savvy India has evolved as one of the most important markets for global suppliers. Speaking about the response from the India market, Goldwin,explains, “India has always been an adoptive market when it comes to luxury products. Technology is receiving good response and we can proudly say that we have established a good connect with Indian luxury hotel chains who are always ready to offer something more to their guests and to make their brands industry benchmarks. Every luxury hotel is looking for such solutions.” He adds, “Apart from hotels, high-end residences, salons and corporates are potential markets and we are getting good response om these segments as well.”

CAMPUS NOTES

A bastion of male chefs!

If one has a knack for cooking, loves to experiment with food and is aspiring to pursue a career that is devoid of monotony or mindless drudgery, then professional kitchen is the place to be for both men and women alike. By Vivek Pathak

M

en dominating the kitchen? Is this a myth or a fact? This is one myth many homemakers and working women in India and abroad would love to change it into a fact. Men dominating the kitchen at home for a day or even for a couple of hours is a long cherished dream that probably remains unfulfilled for many women in India.

There is no denying the fact that kitchen has and will remain a female bastion. So why exactly are the men dominating hotel and restaurant kitchens? They certainly may have miniscule role in your kitchen but they reign supreme in professional kitchens. Most of the top chefs in India and across the world are men. Some of them have achieved celebrity status with a huge fan following largely comprising of women.

Historically too, professional kitchens have been male dominated. According to military history, during times of war in the 14th and 15th century, men in the army were expected to cook. Over the years, this trend culminated into a military style hierarchical structure in professional kitchens.

Culinary schools and hotel management institutions in India see almost an equal amount of male and female students enrolling into their courses. Once they graduate and step into the real world, it’s invariably the boys who enter the professional kitchens and carve a niche for themselves. However, women are choosing to work in other areas of the culinary field,

eling hours in a restaurant kitchen is probably not worth the effort. So instead of workplaces rejecting women over men for the top position, women are rejecting the workplace.

As a career choice

Vivek Pathak

such as writing, catering or baking. Till the time there is no equal representation of women in higher restaurant kitchen positions, men will continue to dominate the kitchen.

The reasons behind this strange trend Men are considered to be great cooks so they are believed to scale the career ladder more quickly compared to women. We dare not say that this statement is completely

true however male domination in professional kitchen is a reality. So why so many male chefs but a few women chef ?

The reasons for this could be varied and debatable to a little extent: Cooking is an art – Men who are passionate about cooking take it very seriously and consider it as nothing less than an art form. Kitchen is their vista where they unleash their creative energy by whipping up culinary delicacies that is appealing to the eyes

and the taste buds. On the other hand, women who cook everyday at home prioritise providing food for the family over dabbling in the art of creation.

Boy’s club - Professional kitchens are male dominated is a well known fact. Stepping into this terrain just to prove a point that women can work in a boy’s club atmosphere is considered to be a wasted effort. To improve the perceived status of their gender, women may not feel it necessary to work in a professional kitchen.

High pressure – Working in a professional kitchen involves long grueling hours sometimes late into the night.

Work-life balance may become an impossibility for a woman as compared to a man. Moreover women feel the long gru-

Most of the top chefs in India and across the world are men. Some of them have achieved celebrity status with a huge fan following largely comprising of women. Historically too, professional kitchens have been male dominated

Cooking food for an army contingent or hundreds of people in a restaurant can be grueling. Despite the toll it takes on the physical and emotional well-being of a person, a chef ’s job is highly rewarding and respected. This may still not be the case in our country but in other parts of the globe it ranks amongst the top career options.

People have now started to realise the artistic nature of a chef ’s job and some of the chefs have gained the status of celebrities. This trend is picking up fast in India too which always had looked down upon a chef's job. However, when you ask a student about their career choice, you will seldom come across a youngster saying that he wants to be a chef.

Traditional career choices like a doctor or an engineer is still thought to be the best option largely because it may earn some brownie points for them from their parents and peers alike. Mindset has to change and students should willingly or rather fearlessly choose this profession.

Possibly in few years down the line male dominating the kitchen may become a thing of past/obsolete.

The author is the director of NIPS School of Hotel Management

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MOVEMENTS The Gateway Hotel Pasumalai Madurai

JW Marriott New Delhi Aerocity

Indranil Ray has been appointed as general manager of The Gateway Hotel Pasumalai Madurai.

Prior to his current role, Ray served as general manager of The Gateway Hotel in Jodhpur from 2012 to 2014. He has also served as executive assistant manager of Vivanta by Taj Holiday Village in Goa from 2010 to 2012 and F&B manager of The Taj Coromandel in Chennai from 2006 to 2010. Ray has more than 21 years of hospitality experience.

ANANYA SINHA has been appointed as sales and marketing director of JW Marriott New Delhi Aerocity.

Sinha has 15 years of experience in the luxury service industry. Her expertise lies in business development, strategic planning, customer relationship engagement and brand management with a complete understanding

TGB Banquets and Hotels SURIL UDESHI has been appointed as head – franchise of TGB Banquets and Hotels. He will be responsible for manag-

Sujata Gowda

Sahara and Kingfisher Airlines and four hotel brands - Taj Group of Hotels, Intercontinental Grand Mumbai, Holiday Inn Mumbai and Sofitel Mumbai BKC, Gowda comes with the experience of having worked across different verticals like room sales, PR, events and marketing.

Kempinski Ambience Hotel Delhi

Suril Udeshi

ing the franchise restaurants and bakery division of the group and identifying and evaluating new acquisitions and development opportunities while assisting in delivering the brand’s short and long term expansion goals. Udeshi, who brings with him over 12 years of experience from the hospitality sector, will be based at the corporate office in Ahmedabad, Gujarat.

Ananya Sinha

SHALABH VERMA has been appointed as director of sales and marketing at Kempinski Ambience Hotel Delhi. In his current role,. he will be responsible for all aspects of short and long-term planning and preparation of sales plans, programmes, annual budget and marketing for the hotel.

Verma has been in the hospitality industry of over 15 years during which he was involved in developing, directing and implementing the sales objectives, marketing strategies and internal communication programmes for brands he has been associated with.

of the luxury hospitality market across Mumbai, Delhi and Goa. Sinha has been leading and driving the overall sales strategy team at a number of luxury five star properties including Taj Palace New Delhi, Vivanta by Taj President Mumbai, Taj Exotica Goa among others.

CHEF NARENDRA LENDAVE has been appointed as executive pastry chef at Delhi Baking Company of JW Marriott New Delhi Aerocity. Chef Lendave specialises in French pastry, bakery and chocolates and has 18 years of experience including three years of working at a three star Michelin restaurant at Seychelles. He brings wide

Shalabh Verma

Narendra Lendave

Hyatt Regency Chennai BHARAT TRIVEDI has been appointed as assistant director of F&B at Hyatt Regency Chennai.

Trivedi has been associated with Hyatt in India for more than a decade.

Trivedi joined Grand Hyatt Mumbai after completing his hotel management. In his present role, Trivedi will be supervising the overall operations of the event spaces, signature restaurants, room services and other F&B service related functions of the hotel.

national and international exposure with his association at various five star hotels and resorts like Hilton Seychelles Northolme Resort & Spa, Oberoi Mumbai, The Leela Kempinski, The Ritz-Carlton, Almaty, Grand Hyatt Doha among many luxury properties.

36 FOOD & HOSPITALITY WORLD July 16-31, 2014

Renaissance and Lakeside Chalet, Mumbai

StayWell Hospitality Group, India NITIN KUMAR has been appointed as regional sales manager of StayWell Hospitality Group, India.

Kumar has been in the travel industry for seven years and has made his mark by introducing international/domestic hotel chains to the Indian market. His career started with Ginger Hotels in 2007 and progressed with

Intercontinental Marine Drive SUJATA GOWDA has been appointed as associate director of marketing and communication at Intercontinental Marine Drive. With over 12 years of experience across two airlines - Air

brands like Clarks Inn Group, Peppermint Hotels and Premier Inn India.

Nitin Kumar

Rex Nijhof

Rex Nijhof has been appointed as general manager of Renaissance Mumbai Convention Centre Hotel and Lakeside Chalet, Mumbai - Marriott Executive Apartments. With over 26 years of experience, Nijhof has worked with Marriott across various countries like Germany, Turkey and the Netherlands. Nijhof joins Renaissance Mumbai from Amsterdam Marriott Hotel, Netherlands where he had been the general manager for three years.

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FOOD & HOSPITALITY WORLD

July 16-31, 2014 41

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42 July 16-31, 2014

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` 3995/`2995/-* Onwards

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ABOVE IMAGES ARE FOR REPRESENTATION ONLY. VAT EXTRA ON ABOVE PRICES FOOD & HOSPITALITY WORLD

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July 16-31, 2014 45

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46 July 16-31, 2014

FOOD & HOSPITALITY WORLD

weekend

Scene and heard

With Marcellus Baptista

High spirits

Irfan Pathan and Huma Qureshi at the Malaysian palm oil promo at ITC Maratha

AN INFORMATIVE and intoxicating session awaited the many guests at Taj Lands End as Distilled Spirits Council of the United States (DISCUS) conducted its latest edition of American whiskey tasting.

American whiskey ambassador Shatbhi Basu was the one who happily took the guests on a spirited trail. Beam Suntory was there to showcase some of the exquisite brands from their American whiskey portfolio including Jim Beam White, Jim Beam Black and Maker’s Mark.

Other whiskies that were tasted were Woodford Reserve, Jack Daniel’s, Gentleman Jack and Jack Daniel’s Silver Select.

Guests also had a chance to enjoy whiskey cocktails like Twisted Whiskey Sour and Choco Nut Madness.

Lakme Fashion Week judges and models at Palladium Hotel

Oil’s well

Fashion shift

ON THE FOOD FRONT, cricketer Irfan Pathan and actor Huma Qureshi took part in a cooking competition presented

by Malaysian Palm Oil Council (MPOC), part of the Malaysian government’s initiative to promote Malaysian palm oil. The event titled ‘Fun, Food, Lifestyle’ at ITC Maratha also witnessed a Zumba performance. The cook-off between the two celebrities ended in a tie. Chef Vijay Malhotra then demonstrated the use of Malaysian palm oil in different dishes. The talk was that having been actively involved in creating awareness about Malaysian palm oil and its various attributes including nutrition, cooking properties and affordability, MPOC helps promote the market expansion of Malaysian palm oil and its products by enhancing the image of palm oil.

JUST WHEN YOU thought that Grand Hyatt would be a permanent fixture as a venue for Lakmé Fashion Week comes the news that this time they have shifted to Palladium Hotel.

The prestigious fashion week will take place on the eighth and ninth floor and the popular food and beverage outlets higher up may serve as after-party venues. The action kicked off with the LFW female model auditions with 120 aspiring female models taking part. The jury comprising fashion designer Rocky S, top model Carol Gracias, ace photographer Colston Julian, Anaita Shroff Adajania, fashion director, Vogue India, fashion choreographer Rashmi Virmani, Saket Dhankar, fashion head, IMG Reliance and Purnima Lamba, head of innovation, Lakmé chose nine winners for Lakmé Fashion Week Winter/Festive 2014.

Shatbhi Basu at the American whiskey tasting at Taj Lands End

Room full THE TASTING ROOM at Good Earth was the happy venue for the second event of Fashionably Connected, India’s first networking and knowledge sharing platform for people professionally linked with the fashion industry. It turned out to be an engaging panel discussion on ‘Affordable Designer Wear in India’ with Radhika Dhawan, founder, Fashionably Connected, along with the panel of fashion designers Priyadarshini Rao, Anjana Sharma, COO and fashion director at Stylista.com and Pearl Shah of The Juice and fashion consultant at Jabong.com. Emerging designers Shubika Sharma of Papa Don’t Preach, Rixi Bhatia of Quirkbox, Sabbah Sharma, Ritika Bharwani and Tanya Sharma of Lady Gaga were also there.

Radhika Dhawan, Priyadarshini Rao, Anjana Sharma and Pearl Shah at the Fashionably Connected event at The Tasting Room

FOOD & HOSPITALITY WORLD

47

July 16-31, 2014

weekend

E V E N T S

THANKING CEREMONY InterContinental Hotels Group celebrated its annual 'Celebrate Service' week across the group's owned and managed hotels in Asia, the Middle East and Africa to acknowledge the quality of service delivered by its front-line teams

NEWEST ADDITION L-R: Rajeev Samant, founder and CEO, Sula Vineyards and Cecilia Oldne, global brand ambassador, Sula Vineyards at the opening of SOLEIL

by La Plage at Sula vineyards in Nasik

ENGAGING THROUGH WINES Renaissance

YOUTH EMPOWERMENT The Westin Mumbai Garden City along with several other leading hotels in the city launched the ‘Youth Career Initiative’, a hospitality employment training programme for the underprivileged youth

Mumbai Convention Center Hotel hosted its third Global Day of Discovery through exclusive wine events, which was organised in partnership with Sula Vineyards, Fratelli Wines, Grover Zampa Vineyards and Trinity Vintners

THE WINE EXPERIENCE Former Indian tennis star Vijay Amritraj launched a collection of wines named the Grover Vijay Amritraj Reserve Collection - with Grover Zampa Vineyards during Wimbledon Fortnight at St James’ Court, a Taj Hotel, London

ROYAL RECEPTION Taljinder Singh (second from left), general manager, Taj Palace New Delhi and Queen Maxima of Netherlands (centre) at the welcoming ceremony

48 FOOD & HOSPITALITY WORLD July 16-31, 2014

REGD.WITH RNI NO.MAHENG/2012/42381, REGD.NO.MH/MR/SOUTH-383/2013-15,PUBLISHED ON 2ND & 17TH EVERY FORTNIGHT, POSTED ON 2, 3, 4 & 17,18,19 OF EVERY FORTNIGHT POSTED AT MUMBAI PATRIKA CHANNEL SORTING OFFICE.

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