Food & Hospitality World (Vol.3, No.13) March 16 - 31, 2015

EDITOR’S NOTE

Budget buzz

T

he Union Budget 2015 came by and as expected it created a post Budget stream of debates, discussions and dialogues across sectors and industries, media houses and financial centres. Like other industries, hospitality was no exception to the rule. Though experts have termed the Budget as growth oriented and progressive and some industries have gained from the same, the hospitality industry expressed mixed reactions on what was offered by the finance minister. The industry expressed its disappointment, especially with respect to the increase in Service Tax (ST). The hospitality sector was expecting a growth based Budget with specific announcements including rationalisation of the tax structure to easening of business through single window clearance. With the rise in service tax to 16 per cent (including two per cent Swachh Bharat tax), the already bleeding hospitality industry is once again at the suffering end. Hospitality associations such as HRAWI, have clearly expressed their dissatisfaction and have termed the rise in ST as rather irrational. They felt let down after being rather hopeful. Unless the government recognises the issues of the hospitality industry and becomes sensitive to its needs and pleas, they feel the future will be rather tough for those in business.

On an optimistic note, there are leaders who felt

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“Though experts have termed the Budget as growth oriented and progressive and some industries have gained from the same,the hospitality industry expressed mixed reactions”

that the visa on arrival announcement will bring in the desired movement in tourism and in turn will lead to a growth in business.

This move will also lead to an increase in number of global travellers coming into the country.

With such kind of global exposure, India will also need to be prepared to cater to the clientele with improved skill sets and knowledge. It is time for us to be in touch with tomorrow, and here it is critical for schools of learning and training to be imparting the skills and education that fits in well with the future. Effective and futuristic teaching and training is the need of the hour. Constant knowledge upgradation, education exchange programmes, training, research and development are crucial for the future of the industry. Technology and social media have changed the dynamics of the business and education hubs need to keep pace with the same. There are forward thinking institutions who are investing in the right curriculum and culture to give the hospitality industry the desired leaders of the future.

REEMA LOKESH Editor

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March 16-31, 2015

CONTENTS Vol 3 No13 MARCH 16-31, 2015

CHEF’S PLATTER

Chairman of the Board Viveck Goenka Editor Reema Lokesh* Assistant Editor Steena Joy Senior 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 Prateek Sahay Yoginder Singh Ajanta Sengupta NATIONAL FOOD & BEVERAGE SALES Sasi Kumar G Keshav Barnwal INTERNATIONAL FOOD & HOSPITALITY SALES Soumodip Ghosh Dhananjay Makharia PRODUCTION General Manager B R Tipnis Manager Bhadresh Valia

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ACROSS CULINARY BORDERS CELEBRITY CHEF CYRUS TODIWALA, RELATES HIS CULINARY JOURNEY ACROSS COUNTRIES

HIGH SPIRITS

EMPOWERING EDUCATION Hospitalityeducation in India has opened a newchapter with national and international schools vying to set benchmarks and equip students for a focused hospitalitycareer

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(18-32) P12: NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK Kona, Taj 51 Buckingham Gate Suites and Residences in London

MARKETS

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FILLIP TO CONVERSION OF HERITAGE PROPERTIES IN UP

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INDUSTRY SHOWS MIXED REACTIONS, GIVES HIKE IN ST A THUMBS DOWN

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GITS FOOD PRODUCTS TO EXPAND REACH IN HORECA SEGMENT

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SIAL AIMS TO BUILD 'FOOD ONLY' MARKET PLACES

P13: PRODUCT TRACKER Suguna Foods

P35: LIFE Training in Ayurveda

P36: MOVEMENTS ITC Grand Chola

P45: WEEKEND

A PAUSE FOR GOOD HEALTH RAJESH PATIL, FOUNDER, PAUSE WINES WANTS TO PROMOTE WINE AS A HEALTH DRINK

EDGE

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INNOVATIVE BREWING COFFEE MACHINE SUPPLIERS ARE CONSTANTLY ON THE DRIVE TO OFFER NEW AND INNOVATIVE PRODUCTS THAT WILL DELIVER BOTH QUALITY AND QUANTITY

Scene and heard by Marcellus Baptista

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

Fillip to conversion of heritage properties into hotels in UP Sudipta Dev Lucknow HERITAGE HOSPITALITY Association of Uttar Pradesh was formed two years back with the aim of promoting heritage tourism in the state of UP. The association comprises of those people who own palaces, forts and havelis in the state and are keen to convert their properties into hotels. “Through the association the first step that we took was to push the government to give us some incentives on the restoration and promotion of these old buildings for tourism purposes,” said Pradiyumn Narain Dutta Singh, secretary, Heritage Hospitality Association of UP. The new heritage policy in the state has been welcomed by the association with the government providing a capital subsidy of about `1.5 crore to heritage property owners. “This will be a big help as 25 per cent of the capital invested in the restoration

the government will give as a subsidy. A lot of heritage properties can take advantage of this,” added Singh.

The state government, acknowledged Singh, has been cooperative in meeting the association's demands and requests and have given a positive heritage tourism policy. There are a few teething problems of course.

“Most of these properties are inherited through generations so we do not have registered documents to prove the ownership.

We have approached the government to come out with a clause in the policy which can cover the problem so that banks can give us loans. The government is coming out with an additional order on that,” mentioned Singh.

Currently the association has 18 members, with many more joining in. Seven properties are running as hotels or homestays while others are being readied.

Most of them will be functional

by October 2015. Singh is confi-

Mahesh Vilas Palace, Shivgarh

dent that by October 2016, 25 heritage hotels will be operational.

These properties are located in the entire state of Uttar Pradesh - in Buddhist circuit, religious circuit, wildlife circuit, etc. “Most of the properties are owned by former landlords and zamindars and they've all had

something typical about their family, either the food or culture or dress. We would promote all these aspects though tourism in these properties. There are local handicrafts of those areas, which we also want to promote,” he said. Many of the properties are located around three hours drive from Lucknow. Singh believes

that the promotion of Heritage Arc by the state government is the best thing that could have happened as the entire concentration of tourism will be around Agra, Lucknow and Varanasi.

People can go to the interiors and visit these heritage properties from these cities as landing and exit base.

HICSA2015 aims for wider audience in Delhi Archana Sharma New Delhi AFTER A DECADE of being hosted in Mumbai, the Hotel Investment Conference – South Asia (HICSA) 2015 has relocated to New Delhi with a focus to target a different and wider audience. Elaborating on the same, Manav Thadani, chairman, HVS - Asia Pacific stated, “After a decade people need new challenges and in order to provide a better platform, we have also reintroduced our old operations conference this year

along with a golf tournament which we have never done before. Through these two back to back events, we are aiming to bring in a wider audience ranging from hotel owners and developers to general managers.”

The golf tournament will be held on April 5, Hotel Operations Summit India (HOSI) on April 6 and HICSA 2015 from April 7-8 at JW Marriott, Aerocity, New Delhi. HVS will also be organising two educational seminars on professional skill development and finance during HICSA 2015.

Around 700-750 registrations

Manav Thadani

are expected for both the seminars. Discussing the Indian hospitality scenario, Thadani opined, “Though the market will close at a higher occupancy, the rates will take another 12-18 months before increasing and matching up to the market demand.”

He also stated that the last quarter of this fiscal year will be better than 2014 and will show positive results. However, the food and beverage segment will continue to be challenging for hotels. “The F&B revenue in hotels is decreasing and with banquet-

ing becoming a larger part, hotels are increasing their developmental costs by adding more space to banqueting, which not only increases the operating costs but also aren't that feasible most of the time,” he added.

Talking about the international outlook towards India as an investment opportunity, Thadani believes that more international players will be looking towards India as a major investment hub and more interest will be observed in the coming years.

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MARKETS

Industry shows mixed reactions, gives hike in ST a thumbs down FHW Staff Mumbai THE HOSPITALITY sector was expecting a growth based budget with specific announcements including rationalisation of the tax structure to easening of business through single window clearance. With the rise in service tax to 16 per cent (including two per cent Swachh Bharat tax), the already bleeding hospitality industry is once again at the suffering end. Some of the mixed reactions from the industry.

Bharat Malkani, president, Hotel And Restaurant Association (Western India) said, “After raising extremely high hopes and optimism the ministry has failed to match up to the expec-

tations. In the budget 2015-16, the government has proposed increase in Service Tax (ST). According to us, ST is an irrational inclusion in the ever increasing tax list and additional burden on the industry. This is directly going to impact the customers. We had expected that this ‘ProTourism' Ministry would concentrate on some critical areas keeping in mind the hospitality point of view. But this is a major disappointment. Unless the government recognises the pain that this industry is experiencing and takes rapid effective measures to counter such problems, we see a further erosion of the sustainability of Indian hospitality industry.”

Krish Iyer, chairman, FICCI Retail Committee and CEO Wal-

mart India said, “Holistically looking, this Budget is reformist and growth oriented. The measures outlined in the budget for giving boost to investment in infrastructure will surely benefit the economy and retail sector in the medium to long term. In addition, moving towards making India a ‘cashless society’ will help facilitate retail trade too. FM’s proposed roadmap to reduction in Corporate Tax from 30 per cent to 25 per cent over four years while at the same time removing plethora of exemptions, which led to complexity and litigation, is a welcome step towards simplification and will also be received well by all investors. Implementation of GST from next year will not only bring relief to the end consumer,

but also help retail sector in a big way. Government’s continued focus on ‘Ease of Doing Business’ will help the industry tremendously.”

Y Rajeev Reddy, CMD, Country Club Hospitality & Holidays said, “With a new visa on arrival policy we have made the world a global playground and this will be a great impetus to travel and tourism industry.

With this move, we are confident that the tourism industry will make a quantum leap in growth.

This will have a direct impact on aviation, infrastructure like airports, hotels, resorts and will also attract global skill sets which will make India a strong global visible player.”

Jaideep Ghosh, head of tourism and hospitality sector,

KPMG- India said, “The proposed increase in the number of countries under the Visa on Arrival scheme, should catapult the inbound foreign visits to exceed eight million in the current calendar year. Announcements on conservation and promotion of World Heritage Sites are welcome, however this needs to be done as per international standards. Other initiatives such as Swacch Bharat, Clean Ganga, smart city, women safety, and tax benefits to Yoga need to be widely communicated to create a positive tourism environment.

Overall the sector would benefit by investment in infrastructure, ease of doing business, Make in India related impetus and a more predictable tax environment assured by the FM.”

Varanasi hoteliers upbeat about new focus on city Sudipta Dev Lucknow BEING the constituency of the Indian prime minister, Varanasi has been in the spotlight for sometime now. The promotion of the Heritage Arc

by Uttar Pradesh government, which includes the region of Varanasi, has further led to a lot of optimism among the hospitality sector in the city. “We are very optimistic about Varanasi as both the prime minister of the country and state chief minister have a focus on our city,” said Indu Bhushan Pandey, managing director, Hotel Banaras

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Indu Bhushan Pandey (left) and Ashutosh Pandey

Haveli, which is a new 20 keys boutique hotel in Assi Ghat.

Agreeing to the view is Ashutosh Pandey, managing

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director of Hotel Temple on Ganges, who added, “We are hopeful that the tourism initiatives taken by the chief

minister of UP, will go a long way in developing the hospitality sector here, including Varanasi. We expect more tourists to come to our ancient city in the near future.”

Hotel Temple on Ganges is a two decades old property in Varanasi. From each of the 18 rooms in the property guests can view the Ganga. The expansive terrace is where the owner makes arrangement for free yoga classes for hotel guests. All the rooms have a balcony. The property is at a walking distance from Banaras Hindu University, Kashi Vishwnath Temple, Dashaswamedh Ghat (main

ghat), Manikarnika Ghat (cremation ghat), Monkey Temple and Tulsi Manas Temple.

Guests in Hotel Temple on Ganges and Hotel Banaras Haveli are both inbound as well as domestic tourists. According to Ashutosh Pandey, a lot of interesting developments have taken place in Varanasi lately. "After the prime minister visited Assi Ghat in Varanasi there is a lot of activity. There is aarti in the morning, along with classical music programmes and yoga classes. In the evenings of course the famous aarti happens,” he added.

MARKETS

Ocean Secrets to promote vegetarian caviar in India Sudipta Dev Mumbai

Gits Food Products to expand reach in HORECA segment Kahini Chakraborty Mumbai GITS FOOD PRODUCTS, one of the first companies in India to introduce convenience packaged foods, is looking at expanding its presence in the HORECA segment. With the company's primary focus being on the B2C segment, it has a strong portfolio of over 80 products in the ready-to-cook and ready-to-eat meals in India and abroad.

Speaking exclusively to Food & Hospitality World, Sahil Gilani, director marketing and sales, Gits Food Products said, “We constantly keep introducing new products year-on-year and our latest offering of 'No Onion No Garlic Ready Meals' is a part of the niche segment of products in demand in the market. We started offering one kg packs of our ready-to-eat meals to cater to the HORECA segment as we strongly feel that QSRs can ben-

Sahil Gilani

efit from ready-to-eat meals. The trend for the use of read-to-eat meals by small restaurants is still at a nascent stage but is expected to grow in the future.”

Even though the company caters to restauranteurs, caterers, inflight kitchen companies, there is still a segment that could be tapped, feels Gilani, adding ,

“If volumes can be justifiable, then we could look at customising our products as well. The company exports its products to over 40 countries across the world contributing 50 per cent of its sales, and in India it is 60 per cent. With the company's huge distribution network, the HORECA segment can benefit immensely.”

Going forward, the company is also looking at increasing its distribution channel network and enter new markets. “We will look at further increasing our distribution in metros, Tier II and Tier III cities. We will opt for direct distribution and marketing approach and will keep innovating to maintain our market share. We have seen a 25 per cent sales growth year-on-year, and we are confident that we will be able to further grow ourselves in the `150 crore ready meals segment in India, which is still at a nascent stage.”

OCEAN SECRETS is an Israel headquartered company that is setting up a factory in Bengaluru to produce vegetarian caviar. Caviar is made of fish, while Ocean Secrets' caviar is made of sea weeds from the Sea of Japan. “It is pure, healthy, has Omega-3, Omega-6, low in calorie - in 100 gm there is 18 calories,” said Bella Zehavi, VP legal and marketing, Ocean Secrets India. Pointing out that their product is healthier than original caviar and also cheaper, Zehavi informed that it can be mixed in cold or warm dish, and can be even cooked for a few minutes.

The sea weeds are dried, grinded and then the caviar is made. The difference between orange caviar and black caviar is in the flavour.

The orange is a bit more saltier than the black. Both

are made of the same sea weed. The vegetarian caviar can be used in salads, pasta, toppings for pizza, etc.

The reason why Ocean Secrets decided to set up a factory in India is not just because of the country's large vegetarian population but also because people here are open to new products, mentioned Zack Shauli, sales director, Ocean Secrets India.

“It is a big market for vegetarian caviar,” he asserted.

Acknowledging that the Indian population is not much aware of vegetarian caviar, Shauli informed that the company is now associating with chefs here and developing recipes specially for Indian cuisine. He believes that the five star hotels and chefs will adopt it first and then it will be popularised with the general public. “Chefs in India love the concept of vegetarian caviar,” he said.

Bella Zehavi and Zack Shauli

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MARKETS

SIAL aims to build 'food only' market places Steena Joy Mumbai SIAL CHINA, Asia's food only tradeshow, will be held from May 6-8, 2015 in Shanghai.

The show is organised by Exposium and Comexpo who have merged together to create COMEXPOSIUM. Speaking exclusively to Food & Hospitality World, Bjoern Kempe, general manager, COMEXPOSIUM, informed, “SIAL's USP is that it a pure 'food only' show. No machines, no equipment unlike other food tradeshows. We will be introducing a hosted buyer programme next year onwards. We already have a business matching programme

called Socialwalk in which we arranged 1000 meetings last year in SIAL China. This year we are expecting 1,400 meetings. We also have a culinary challenge called La Cuisine and SIAL Innovation which showcases innovative products from Asia.”

Commenting on the Asia market, he said, “Asia has many food processing and machinery tradeshows. But our aim is to build 'food only' market places. Last year in SIAL China we had around 270,000 only food exhibitors. Asia is the place to be in right now.

The consumption markets of the future will be Asia and Africa. We have four SIALs in Asia as each market is differ-

The consumption markets of the future will be Asia and Africa. We have four SIALs in Asia as each market is different and the demands are different. All Asian countries have a growing middle class so opportunities are great Bjoern Kempe

ent and the demands are different. All Asian countries have a growing middle class so opportunities are great in the future. Nearly 500 new hotels are coming up in India and

these will drive food demand.

India is also growing in terms of food exhibitions.”

According to Kempe, China is a huge ready-to-eat consumer but not the rest of Asia.

“In India it is still a fresh food mentality though frozen and microwave products are becoming popular due to changing urban lifestyles and work pressures, “ he said.

ONYX Hospitality Group to manage 81 properties by 2018 Archana Sharma New Delhi ONYX HOSPITALITY GROUP, a Thailand-based hospitality asset management company, is looking at expanding its portfolio with a strategic plan to manage 81 hotels, resorts and serviced apartments by 2018. Elaborating on the same, Debrah Pascoe, senior VP, sales and marketing, ONYX Hospitality Group, stated, “At present, we have 14 properties in the pipeline across Asia-pacific.

ONYX Hospitality Group owns brands like Amari, Ozo,

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Shama, and Saffron and we manage the Mosaic Collection with nine properties under it.”

Elaborating on their portfolio, Pascoe stated, “Ozo is a popular mid-market brand with all the elements of an upscale hotel and after opening the first Ozo in Hong Kong in 2013, we are opening the fifth property by May 2015, in Kandy, Sri Lanka. The flagship brand, Amari, is present in Thailand and Doha, and Dhaka was the latest addition to this brand.” From the 37 operational properties of ONYX Hospitality Group, 13 are under the Amari brand, which will foray

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March 16-31, 2015

into Maldives in early 2016, and Bali in 2017. The serviced apartments brand, Shama, is present in Hong Kong, Shang-

hai and Bangkok. “There are 10 properties under the Shama brand and more properties are scheduled to open in major fi-

nancial cities across AsiaPacific.”

Talking about the importance of the India market, Pascoe opined, “Globally, Indians contribute to eight percent of our total share of visitors, and in Asia, India is our third largest source market with about 16 per cent share.” She went onto inform that for ONYX properties in Colombo and Dhaka, India is a major source market. “We are now planning to focus more on the Indian corporate market and are also hopeful of establishing our brand presence in the India market soon.”

MARKETS

Edible olive oil market shows continuous growth in India Archana Sharma New Delhi THE OLIVE MARKET has shown significant growth in recent years in both Tier I and II cities in India. The domestic market has grown from 1,000 tonnes in 2003 to 12,000 tonnes in 2013, according to estimates by the Indian Olive Association.

“For a market that consumes about 12 million tonnes of edible oils, olive oil’s share works out to just 0.1 per cent. The edible olive oil market has been growing at 45-50 per cent over the last five years, with significant growth in Tier II markets. We’re seeing a

lot of traction in Tier-II cities with growth doubling year-onyear,” stated Rajneesh Bhasin, president, Indian Olive Association and managing director, Borges India.

Borges India commands a 3550 per cent market share at present. “Our innovations like the ‘extra light’ olive oil sub-category, a refined variant, introduced in 2010, has helped us win a considerable consumer share.

Initially, the product category was around 3,000 tonnes in India predominantly driven by the massage oil, but over the years, the category has grown to 11,000

We are aiming to increase the consumption by at least one per cent in the next decade tonnes, with a major shift, almost 70 per cent, being edible olive oil,” he said. Believing Borges India to be a market

leader in the edible olive oil space in the country today, Bhasin is confident to take it to 40 to 50,000 tonnes in the next five years. “The product category has been growing at a CAGR of 30-40 per cent so far.

Even if the market maintains a minimum 25 per cent CAGR growth, we will be able to achieve the targeted growth. We are aiming to increase the consumption by at least one per cent in the next decade,” he replied. He also informed that Borges India is set for a `100 crore turnover by 2015.

Commenting on the initiatives taken by the Indian Olive

Association, Bhasin stated, “Due to the persistent lobbying efforts of the Indian Olive Association, the duty on extra virgin olive oil has come down from 450 per cent few years back to 0-two per cent and of refined olive oils to seven-eight per cent. Presently, table olives are at a disadvantage because of higher duty, and the association is working on it as well.” Established in 1896, Borges Mediterranean Group is into all the key Mediterranean food categories with subsidiaries in eight countries. Borges India, established in 2009, is a fully owned subsidiary of Borges Mediterranean Group.

MARKETS

Marriott Hotels enters Agra, to add to Fairfield portfolio in India soon Steena Joy Agra Marriott Hotels will soon add another Fairfield to the brand’s portfolio in India.

Speaking on the sidelines of the launch of Courtyard by Marriott Agra, Rajeev Menon, chief operations officer (COO) for Marriott International in South-East Asia & Pacific, informed, “The location for the next Fairfield to open is either Bengaluru or Lucknow. Work at both sites is in full swing and if the Bengaluru property opens first, it will be the second in that city.”

The Agra hotel is the 12th property of Courtyard by

Marriott in India and will spearhead the 1000 milestone celebrations of the brand worldwide. Courtyard Walla Walla in Washington will be

designated as the 1000th hotel. With this launch, Marriott is now present in the Golden Triangle with hotels in Delhi, Jaipur and Agra.

Strategically located five minutes away from the iconic Taj Mahal on the Fatehabad Road, Courtyard by Marriott Agra is a 189 rooms hotel.

Vishal Bharti, general manager of the property said, “We want to position this hotel among the top three hotels in the city. We have the right combination of people and service and the Marriott standards to attract weekend travellers from nearby cities.”

The property offers more than 30,000 sq. ft. of indoor and outdoor banquet space.

The hotel has multiple dining facility with MoMo Cafe, the all-day dining restaurant; MoMo 2 Go is the coffee shop with bakery; and the Onyx Bar. An open air Indian barbeque restaurant, Anise is expected to open soon.

Protea Hotels looks to expand footprint in and beyond Africa Rituparna Chatterjee Johannesburg ONE OF AFRICA'S largest and leading hotel groups, Protea Hotels, post its acquisition

by Marriott International last year, is exploring the opportunity to expand its footprint in Africa and other international markets under any of its three brands namely – Protea Hotels, Protea Hotel Fire & Ice! and African Pride Hotels.

Presently, Protea Hotels has 116 hotels under its umbrella with a significant presence in Kenya, Malawi, Namibia, Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia. “Though

Protea Hotels is an African brand, we are exploring the opportunity to introduce Protea Hotel Fire & Ice! brand outside the continent in the future,” opined Dorcas Dlamini, group sales director, Protea Hotels adding, “Marriott International has 17 brands within its group and it would like to introduce more hotels in South Africa and throughout the continent either under the Protea Hotels brand or any of the other Marriott brands. We recently opened a hotel in Cape Town under the Protea Hotels brand and will soon be opening a hotel, in Pretoria under Protea Hotel Fire & Ice! brand.” When

10 FOOD & HOSPITALITY WORLD March 16-31, 2015

We are strategically located in every city in South Africa, which is a long haul destination for some international markets asked about the specific markets for expansion, Dlamini declined to elaborate.

Marriott International acquired Protea Hotels last year as part of its strategy to strengthen its presence in the

African continent especially South Africa where the latter has a strong presence. Protea Hotels will reestablish and adapt itself to the best practices of Marriott International post the completion of the inte-

gration process by April 2016.

Speaking about the brand, Dlamini mentioned, “Our USP is our service culture and truly African hospitality offered across all our brands. The Marriott component gives us a great opportunity to play in a global scale like other international hotel brands such as Hilton, Radisson, Starwood.”

A major segment of travellers to Protea Hotels is local and international corporate travellers, followed by MICE and leisure. “We are strategically located in every city in South Africa, which is a long haul destination for some international markets,” she said.

MARKETS

Hector Beverages aims to Indulge tap `4,000 crore fruit Beverages to juice industry in India launch 10-12 Kahini Chakraborty Mumbai PAPER BOAT, one of the fastest growing brands from Hector Beverages, has extensively mapped traditional beverages across different parts of India. The company has aggressive expansion plans to tap the `4,000 crore fruit juice industry in India, primarily dominated by international players in the market. Their current product range consists of various flavours such as Aamras, Jaljeera, Aam Panna, Kokum, Jamun ka Kala Khatta, Golgappe ka Pani. After experiencing healthy sales growth in markets like Delhi and Bengaluru, the company is planning to launch a manufacturing facility in Mysore to strengthen its position in other key markets including Mumbai, Pune, Hyderabad and Chennai by setting up depots and distribution centres.

Speaking exclusively to Food & Hospitality World,

on the company's expansion plans, Neeraj Kakkar, chief executive officer and founder, Hector Beverages said, “We are coming up with a manufacturing facility at Mysore, which is our second plant after the Manesar plant in Gurgaon. We have acquired five acres of land in the Kadakolla industrial area. The plant will employ around 80 people and is expected to be up and running by the second week of March 2015. We are investing over `20 crore into this project which is a part of the `60 crore that were raised in 2012 from Sequoia Capital, Catamaran Ventures and Footprint Ventures.”

The company recently launched an array of new traditional variants including Chilled Rasam, ice tea in two flavours: Ginger Lemon and Tulsi. With the launch of its new manufacturing unit in Mysore, the company is planning to launch new variants including: Thandai, Kanji,

blends by end of 2015 Archana Sharma New Delhi

Neeraj Kakkar

Neermore (Buttermilk) and many more. Presently the company sells around 1.5 million pieces of its products every month in key cities including Delhi and Bengaluru.

Aamras is one of the top selling variant. Talking about their footprint in the market, Kakkar added, “We have already tapped the Indian consumer base in the US, UK, Canada, Australia and Dubai.

Going forward, we aim at expanding our reach to other countries as well.”

Expressing his views on the growth of the functional beverage market, he opined, “The overall juice market in India retails around 2.25 billion packs in a year. We as a brand have taken an initiative to introduce ethnic flavours that have strong connect with childhood memories. Traditional beverages is a niche segment and as a pioneer here, we look forward to develop and nurture it.”

DELHI-BASED Indulge Beverages, a manufacturer of Bonhomia tea and coffee single serving capsules, is now focusing on launching more variants and blends to offer a diverse product range to its clientele. Elaborating on the same, Tuhin Jain, co-founder and director, sales and marketing, Indulge Beverages stated, “We are the pioneers in the India market for tea capsules and have carefully curated coffee capsules. We are looking at adding 10-12 more blends to our product portfolio by the end of 2015, and are soon launching two more coffee capsule variants with dessert flavours having overtones of chocolate and vanilla.” Presently, Bonhomia is available in four variants, Free Love with Espresso Coffee Intensity 4 , Dark Deeds of Intensity 7, Green Peace, Mild Green Tea and Dark Pot, and Classic Breakfast Tea, all compatible with the Nespresso machines available in India. Talking about this endeavour, Jain believes that in India, coffee capsules are more of an evolving concept.

“This concept is just about a decade old but has gradually moved from being a high-end luxury product to affordable

luxury in most European and other countries. However, in India, only the urban rich and well travelled are aware of these products. Globally, the Nespresso machine and the market for single serve coffee capsule is huge, but now, we are observing a rising demand among consumers in India for Nespresso machines and thereby of coffee capsules,” he added.

With around one year into operations, Indulge Beverages has its presence across major cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, etc through partnerships with major retailers like Godrej Group's Nature's Basket, Future Group’s Food Bazaar, Modern Bazaar Department Store and other gourmet food shops. Bonhomia capsules are also available at the Oberoi Group's villa properties, Starwood and Pullman Hotel's executive rooms and suites to name a few. Bonhomia is also available across the country, including Tier II and Tier III cities through the company's online portal and at various e-commerce portals like Snapdeal, eBay, Fabmart etc. Indulge Beverages is looking at going international and has done various product tasting sessions in Singapore, Middle-East, France, etc.

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March 16-31, 2015

NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK

Kona,Taj 51 Buckingham Gate Suites and Residences in London KONA, A 46-COVER restaurant serving Southern European cuisine, was launched at the five star Taj 51 Buckingham Gate Suites and Residences in London. The restaurant's signature dishes include Lobster Bisque starring Dorset crab and radish, Foie Gras brioche with Damson plum and Marcona almonds, Gloucestershire old spot pork belly served with spelt and rosemary crumb. The menu also offers vegetarian and gluten-free cuisine. The restaurant is open for breakfast, afternoon tea and dinner. In the afternoon, Kona also serves the hotel’s signature 24 Karat Gold Afternoon Tea. A bar menu is also available.

212 All Day, Mumbai

Plaza Premium Lounge,Vancouver International Airport PLAZA PREMIUM LOUNGE has officially opened its upgraded lounge at Vancouver International Airport (YVR).

The lounge, one of four Plaza Premium Lounge spaces at YVR, is located in the airport’s new A-B Connector on Level 3 Departures of the Domestic Terminal. The opening of the 6,390-square foot space follows the 2014 facelift of the Plaza Premium Lounge in YVR’s International Terminal. The company will also open a lounge in Winnipeg International Airport later in 2015. The lounge has seating for 135, including lounge, dining and bar areas, and a business centre.

There are also private spaces where travellers can freshen up with a shower or unwind in one of three semi-private resting areas outfitted with recliners.

BELLONA HOSPITALITY SERVICES, the new venture of Phoenix Mills, has launched 212 All Day, a deli, café and bar at Phoenix Marketcity Kurla, Mumbai. 212 All day is a chic, upscale, all day dining space offering a mix of tables for twos and fours, booths and even elevated community style tables. One can walk through the well appointed ‘Deli’ zone which houses a cheese bar and dessert displays to order in or take away. The menu is a mix of salads and small plates, hand crafted burgers and sandwiches, made to order stone-hearth flat breads and a selection of gourmet entrees. The restaurant has a full well stocked bar that boasts of a selection of premium spirits, wines, beers and cocktails.

Centara Beach Resort & Spa Phu Quoc CENTARA HOTELS & RESORTS has expanded its portfolio of hotels on Phu Quoc Island in Vietnam. Centara has signed a contract to manage its second hotel on the island - the Centara Beach Resort & Spa Phu Quoc. Centara Beach Resort & Spa Phu Quoc will have 143 rooms in total, and guests will have access to a full range of facilities including technology-serviced meeting facilities, an all-day restaurant, a swimming pool complete with a pool bar, a fitness centre and full wireless connectivity throughout the property. The resort will also contain Kid’s Club facilities, and will contain a new Spa Cenvaree, a branch of Centara’s spa providers. Centara Beach Resort & Spa Phu Quoc is scheduled to open in Q3 2015.

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FOOD & HOSPITALITY WORLD

March 16-31, 2015

PRODUCT TRACKER

Suguna Foods SUGUNA FOODS HAS introduced a new range of premium quality Suguna Value Added Eggs, enriched with special nutrients like DHA, Omega 3, Selenium, vitamins and minerals that not only provide nutritional value but also specific functional benefits to the consumer. Each egg is fortified with specific vitamins, and nutrients to help maintain a balanced diet and healthy lifestyle for people of all age groups and health conditions. The speciality range of eggs come with three specifications, 'ACTIVE- with DHA', 'PRO- with Carotenoids' and 'HEART- with Omega3'.

VitrA

Paramount Surgimed PARAMOUNT SURGIMED HAS introduced Orthopedic Cervical Support Pillow. The pillow takes the shape of your head and neck, and helps keep the spine in a neutral position, reduces snoring, prevents cervical pain and low moisture absorption through the night. This pillow is recommended for those who need a more therapeutic sleep posture. The Orthopedic Cervical Support Pillow is an open cell viscouselastic, temperature sensitive material that conforms to the exact contours of the body, providing optimum support and comfort. The Orthopedic Cervical Support Pillow is available in small size: 50 x 30 x 8.5-4.5-5.5 cm, medium size: 60 x 36 x 10-6.5-8 cm, large size: 61 x 36 x 12.7-9-10.5 cm and extra large size: 61 x 40 x 118.6-9.6 cm. The price range is `1,900 to `5,900.

VITRA, THE BATHROOM solutions brand of Eczacibasi Building Products Division in Turkey is strengthening its presence in the India market with its wide product range of sanitaryware, bathroom furniture, bathtubs and faucets. The premium bathroom brand now brings its latest offerings of bathroom solutions like Istanbul, Metropole, Water Jewels, Nest, T4 and Memoria collections. As part of its design excellence, VitrA develops products with a portfolio of leading designers. For instance, the Istanbul series is inspired by Istanbul’s culture and traditions and yet belongs to the future. On the other hand the T4 series is a hygienic, functional, and innovative design that transforms bathrooms into integral living spaces.

The Water Jewel series transport natures spirit to bathrooms.

Pergo PERGO has introduced its latest productWood Parquet. The company uses most part of recycled materials in its manufacturing of Wood Parquet flooring, built for both living areas and commercial areas with normal wear. The product is available in 14 designs with new manufacturing technologies like Brushed Surface, Sawcut and Dutch Pattern designer look. Pergo Wood Parquet is easy to install and durable, which means it can withstand years of use. The designs in this range are divided into six groups i.e. two decors in Svalbard, two decors in Gotland, four decors in Bornholm, three decors in Varmdo, two decors in Jomfruland and one decor in Dutch pattern. The product is available in formats- 2200 x 220 x 14 mm, 1820 x 190 x 14 mm, 1820 x 145 x 14 mm and 2200 x 190 x 14 mm.

Sunshine Tea Sticks SUNSHINE TEA HAS introduced its new product, tea sticks. It is a new concept in instant tea making which is clean , convenient, hassle free, elegant. It is made of food grade aluminium foil. Inside the tea sticks there are tea leaves, and as water flows through the sticks, the tea leaves unfold to release the full aroma and essence of the tea. Tea sticks are superior alternative to the tea bags and loose tea leaf , and the company has introduced a range of 16 flavours to choose from.

FOOD & HOSPITALITY WORLD

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March 16-31, 2015

CHEF’S PLATTER

Across culinaryborders From holding several titles to authoring five culinary books and opening restaurants in both London and Mumbai, Celebrity Chef Cyrus Todiwala, master chef at Acron Waterfront Resort Baga, Goa, brings with him an extraordinary story of his culinary journey across countries and shares the changing trends of this industry

By Rituparna Chatterjee

A

RECIPIENT of the prestigious Craft Guild of Chefs Award, a fellow of the Royal Academy of Culinary Arts and the Master Chefs of Great Britain, Mumbai-born celebrity Chef Cyrus Todiwala has been awarded with many recognitions. But this chef patron of Cafe Spice Namaste in London, Mr Todiwala's Kitchen at Hilton London Heathrow Airport Terminal 5 in Colnbrook, England, and The Park Café at Victoria Park East in London, still remains grounded in life. So when asked about what inspired him to join this industry, he quickly quips that it is rather a mystery.

“Unlike the present day, when students are exposed enough to realise and nurture their talent and exploit it as a career, in my time when I decided to join the hospitality industry I did not have any television or at least not any of the sort we have today to help me realise my talent and goal. Either I was too confused and took the first thing I could think of, or I thought I was not competent at anything else or perhaps I had a combination of desires stemming from my love to cook and be practical. So in short my journey into this field was driven by a combination of many things,” mentions Celebrity Chef Cyrus Todiwala, master chef at Acron Waterfront Resort Baga, Goa.

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Once decided upon his course of action, he went on to study at Sophia Shree Basant Kumar Somani Memorial Polytechnic in Mumbai and thereafter joined the Taj Group of Hotels in India. However, the turning point of his career came when he decided to quit his secure job as an executive chef at a Taj property in Goa 21 years ago to start his own restaurant business in the UK. The result was for the world to see.

He opened three restaurants in London and Colnbrook and went onto add a fourth, Assado (a Goan canteen) in 2014 at London’s Waterloo and thereafter came to India, to open his fifth restaurant, The River Restaurant at Acron Waterfront Resort Baga, Goa. But would he recreate these restaurant concepts in India? Chef Todiwala opines, “Cafe Spice Namaste would be an ideal companion for Mumbai and so would a Mr Todiwala's Kitchen. But who knows?”

Apart from these restaurants, he also has to his credit five culinary books which he authored namely - International Cuisine: India; Cafe Spice Namaste; New Wave Indian Cuisine, Indian Summer; The Incredible Spicemen with Tony Singh, which was nominated for 2013 Specsavers National Book Awards; and Mr Todiwala’s Bombay: Recipes and Memories from India, which was nominated for the Best World Cookbook of the Year 2013.

FOOD & HOSPITALITY WORLD

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Chef Cyrus Todiwala

Signature style Being a Parsee, Chef Todiwala's signature style of cooking stems from his Parsee roots fused together with a constant focus to combine flavours, spices and ingredients in innovative ways. “Perhaps my great fortune of getting training in multiple culinary styles during my formative years has played a major part in bringing many different elements to play on my menus and recipes.” Innovation is an ongoing process – ranging from sourcing new ingredients and working with them to reworking on known time tested recipes to work a combined magic on a plate.

“Everyone plays a vital part in how they hope to attract their diners and retain them. In Britain, we sit in the centre of the world with influences from all over the globe and get very discerning widely travelled visitors to our establishments whereby we are challenged all

QUICK BYTES ■ Favourite cuisine: Parsee ■ Favourite restaurants: Jai Hind Lunch Home, Mumbai and Green Papaya, London ■ Favourite destinations: Mumbai, London, Istanbul and Kuala Lumpur ■ Favourite books: The National Geographic and Bhicoo J Manekshaw's Chaalo Jumwa.....come let's eat!

CHEF’S PLATTER

the time to innovate. Though I don't wander in the domains of too much modernisation but I will gladly embrace new techniques, equipments that will deliver me better output as these lead to innovating new formulas and better product on plate,” opines Chef Todiwala.

As for more innovation and experimentation in cuisine, molecular gastronomy is seen to be growing globally as discerning travellers continue to show a keen interest in this food chemistry. “I think this has a place in modern dining for the seeker of new experiences.

Molecular gastronomy tests one’s mind and the palate tests one’s ability to visualise what the chef wants to bring forward and will remain so for the fore-

seeable future as the rest of the global culinary world comes to embrace it. The masters in Europe have advanced into another plenum and soon chefs the world over will follow suit as gradually more equipments and techniques become available,” he mentions.

Cuisine culture In Britain today Indian food is on yet another move from the basic and much maligned techniques to great flavours, designs, tastes and regions coming to the fore. This is destined to grow further and the word contemporary might actually now come to be applied in its true sense. The scene is also similar in India with restaurants exploring different and

unique cuisines from lesserknown regions of the country.

“In the past few years in India I have seen a major spurt of new restaurants. As a Mumbaiker, I look at Mumbai alone and see that whilst we do have a large number of good dining places now, they are still growing and tapping into people's minds and exploring new regions of our sub-continent. That exploration alone will and can be called innovation as several untapped regions of our multi complicated, multi tiered, multi faceted, multi influenced cuisines yet remain unknown and hidden,” states Chef Todiwala adding, “I think today unlike at our time Indian cuisine is just waiting to explode onto the world's stage. It is popular no

In Britain today Indian food is on the move from the basic and much maligned techniques to great flavours, designs, tastes and regions coming to the fore doubt, but not yet regarded as a foe nor as an equal to some of the other great cuisines and my ultimate aim is to see it enjoy the pride and glory that other cuisines enjoy.” As for his message to aspiring chefs, Chef Todiwala proudly advises, “Get on with your task, observe and listen but speak less. Be hungry,

ask questions and keep asking.

Ask your family and delve into its secrets. Do not be afraid to seek knowledge and do not hunger for glory. That will come, just make sure you grow your own tree well like the everlasting Pipal. And lastly dream but remember the part you play in that dream.”

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March 16-31, 2015

HIGH SPIRITS

A pause for good health With a motto of promoting wine as a health drink, Rajesh Patil, founder, Pause Wines claims to be the only winemaker to print the nutrition value of the wine on the bottle. To spread the message, Pause recently organised its first ever wine festival

By Akshay Kumar

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AUNCHED IN 2005 with a tagline 'Life can wait', Pause Wines, one of the latest players in the alcobeverage industry, is taking wine to the next level by promoting it as healthy drink. Produced within their 100 acre vineyard at Dindori, Nashik, Pause Wines offers eight varietals which includes Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Zinfandel, Sauvignon Blanc,

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Chenin, Chardonnay and Tempranillo, the root stocks are all imported from France and Spain.

Speaking about the unique selling point of the wine, Rajesh Patil, founder, Pause Wines, highlighted, “The USP of our brand is that we are the only brand who print the wine content and nutritional value on the bottle. This gives our consumers a fair idea on the amount of sugar and fat in-

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volved which is especially useful for those on a diet or suffering from diabetes. I am promoting wine as a health drink, if consumed in appropriate quantity, it is certainly healthy, especially for the heart. Also the wine which we produce is purely vegetarian, as in one of the process of stabilising requires egg. We avoid egg and use a vegetarian stabiliser which is much more expensive, but still we are proud to

HIGH SPIRITS

produce a 100 per cent pure vegetarian wine.”

Chapter one Pause Wines recently organised their first wine festival ‘A Tryst with Pause Wines’, on February 27, 2015 in their vineyard in Dindori, Nashik. Considering the growing culture of wines in India and the good response from visitors, the company aims to make the festival an annual event. Patil says that he wants to change the perception of drinking in India and wishes to convert hard liquor consumers into wine consumers, which according to him is a healthier alternative.

The festival also included a wine tour where the company's wine maker explained to the visitors about the wine making process and took them through the step by step procedure of wine testing in the in-house testing lab. The entire setup of equipments is imported from ‘Italy’. The experts also threw light on the production figures stating that the total volume of Classic Varietals, the premium wines is around one lakh litres, semi premium around 50,000 litres, medium range around two lakh litres and premium port is 2.5 lakh litres.

Speaking about the festival, Patil mentioned, “This wine festival initiated by us aims to bring together the wine aficionados for a leisure time while getting to know the wine making process.

Growing demand for premium wines due to urbanisation has changed the lifestyle and we have also seen a rise in demand from women opting for wines which encourages us to host more such events for wine lovers to come together, to understand, enjoy and relax over wines.”

Futuristic vision Currently the brand is present in Maharashta, Goa and Karnataka, and going ahead the company plans to further take it to all the popular tourist destinations.

Talking about the future developments Patil revealed, “We have a vision to introduce our wines in all popular tourist destinations. Next we will be launch-

We have plans to build cottages in our Dindori vineyard.The plan is still at a very nascent stage but we will also provide camping facilities. Guests can even bring their own tents ing our wines in Agra and Rajasthan, which is flocked by tourists and later on our target will be New Delhi. India is still a nascent market for wine, which widens our scope to grow over the years to newer destinations.”

Speaking about the company's plan to export their wines, Patil said, “From March 2015, we will be exporting our wines to China. We are also at a final stage of approval to export to Libya which is a big market.”

With the growing number of wine aficionados, wine tourism is one segment which is growing rapidly in India. Pause Wines

also has major plans to introduce wine trails to increase the beverage's awareness.

On the wine trails, Patil disclosed, “We have a concept of taste before you purchase, which gives the consumers a confidence while purchasing. We have plans to build cottages in our Dindori vineyard. The plan is still at a very nascent stage but we will also provide camping facilities. There has been a trend amongst the youth for camping as well as wine tourism, guests can even bring their own tents and we will provide them with space.”

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EMPOWERING EDUCATION Hospitality education in India has opened a new chapter with national and international schools vying to set benchmarks and equip students for a focused hospitality career

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THE MAIN FOCUS

SETTING BENCHMARKS Completing over 50 years of experience in the hospitality education segment, the Institute of Hotel Management, Catering & Nutrition (IHM) Pusa still continues to be recognised as one of the top hotel management institutes in the country for its excellent teaching skills.

Dr Raj Kumar Gupta, dean, IHM Pusa, talks about what sets the institute apart

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ith almost 52 years of experience, the Institute of Hotel Management, Catering & Nutrition (IHM) Pusa, New Delhi, is renowned for its teaching skills. Set up by the Central Government in 1962, it is the first and only hotel management institute in India to be Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) approved. According to Dr Raj Kumar Gupta, dean, IHM Pusa, “We are the only institute which has the most modern facilities and technology available as well as traditional equipments like the combi – ovens, with the most modern facilities of its kind.”

IHM Pusa offers a wide range of courses including B Sc in Hospitality & Hotel Administration, M Sc Hospitality Administration, Post Graduate Diploma in Dietetics & Hospital Food Service, Post Graduate Diploma in Accommodation Operation & Management, Diploma in Food & Beverage Service, Diploma in Bakery & Confectionery, Craftsmanship Course in Food Production & Patisserie and a Craftsmanship Course in Food & Beverage Service.

Affiliated to the National Council for Hotel Management & Catering Technology (NCHMCT), Noida, all the degrees are awarded by Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU), New Delhi, under the purview of the ministry of tourism (MoT), Government of India. The admission process is looked after by NCHMCT. “The flagship course is a three year Bachelor’s degree programme wherein we take 259 students.

We are also the only institute

Dr Raj Kumar Gupta

which has been running this Masters Programme since its inception in 2003 aiming for people who are interested in becoming professors or lecturers or those who want to join the industry in sales or HR,” states Dr Gupta.

Talking about the Post Graduate Diploma in Dietetics & Hospital Food Service course, Dr Anshu Singh, lecturer, IHM Pusa, opines, “The course helps in training students who want to become dieticians or who want to study nutrition. The students also undergo a three month training at renowned hospitals and look after how the food is prepared and packaged. IHM Pusa is also looking at enhancing this course further as presently this course is opted mostly by girls.”

Elaborating on the infrastructure, Dr Gupta mentions, “Of the many things thatsets us apart are the microbiology, food analysis and the biochemistry

labs. With the help of these labs, students are able to analyse raw food materials as well as finished products. We also offer these expertise to different kinds of organisations as consultancy.”

They have undertaken research projects for Indigo airlines and Best Foods and hotels like Shangri-La in the recent past and developed recipes for Nestle, GSK's Horlicks, etc.

In addition to these labs, the institute has separate kitchens and restaurants, front and housekeeping labs for students.

While their restaurants are being commercialised. “We have started to invite students and their parents to enjoy lunch and see their children at work, with prior bookings and a reasonable fee,” he adds. At present this is being carried on a small scale only with maximum 20 guests at one time, so as to increase the exposure of students.

Believing in not just teaching but facilitating learning, Dr

Gupta, says, “Students get good exposure as they get to plan and organise events which are run throughout the year, like the freshers welcome party, independence day celebrations, etc.

Through this participation and direct involvement, it becomes easier for them to learn these things very quickly.”

Ministerial participation Recently, NCHMCT signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Ecole Hoteliere Lausanne, Switzerland to upgrade the quality of hospitality education in the country to global standards. One of the major parts of the agreement is the curriculum review and based on their suggestions the courses will be upgraded by this year. “Under the same agreement, faculty members of IHM Pusa went to Switzerland to be trained on international standards, under the Qualified Facilitator Learning Programme (QLF). This two

week programme focuses on the paradigm shift from teaching to facilitating learning, aiming at student centric teaching methods. We have been given the task to further these learning to our faculty here at IHM Pusa,” elaborated Dr Gupta.

On the request of the MoT, IHM Pusa had undertaken a survey of more than 1,000 hotels in Delhi and NCR region during the Commonwealth Games.

They had also trained owners, general managers and their staff, more than 5,000 people after the same. They also arranged conferences for the MoT related to the hospitality industry.

IHM Pusa has also undertaken research on six wildlife reserves and national parks across the country, surveying almost 100 hotels, resorts, lodges, camps. IHM Pusa will soon be publishing an international journal, containing all its research work, written by the faculty and students.

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CELEBRATING TWO DECADES IN INDIA 20 years ago, when the American Hotel & Lodging Educational Institute (AHLEI) was invited to India by the ministry of tourism, hospitality education was still in its youth.

Dennie Mathews, chief managing officer, AHLEI talks about the institute's contribution to Indian hospitality and the way ahead

How has AHLEI evolved in its journey since 1994?

AHLEI came into India at a time and moment when India needed it the most. We are proud to have been the first international hospitality education provider to set up an office in India and it has been a long journey of contributing, learning and rewarding experience.

While I would not say it has been a smooth sail but we are happy to have contributed to the career and professional development of several Indian hospitality professionals. We are today associated with a number of private hospitality institutes which deliver our various levels of programmes and it is encouraging to see many of our graduates placed well in the industry. In recent years we have been working very closely with top hotel chains including Indian Hotels, Royal Orchid, Sarovar, Mahindra Resorts, etc by providing them with our online as well as skill programmes for their employees’ continuing education and training.

How has AHLEI contributed to Indian hospitality sector?

If you were to step into any hospitality conclave or conference today, you will not come back without hearing the common refrain from hoteliers and owners of the challenges of employee attrition and secondly unskilled labour force! This is exactly the space we have worked with in the hospitality

industry. Students do our management programmes and are groomed to be hoteliers in demand and at the same time we offer professional certifications and continuing education/training programmes so that hoteliers can use these as tools to retain good talent and get them skilled. Our programmes are global in nature and standardised for all the 55+ countries where we have a presence, yet recognising the specific needs for the India market we have modified some of our products so that Indian hoteliers find our offerings even more attractive and befitting the local expectations.

programme availability also lead to the decline of the diploma market. While most of these long term programmes groom students to become managers, the industry has been short staffed at the line level, non-supervisory staff and this is where quality education or a proper skilling programme need is deeply felt. AHLEI is privileged to assist hotel chains with a skill certification programme, which is of globally benchmarked standard. There are not many quality education/ skill providers in this level but this is the next boom sector – vocational skill training and certification.

How has hospitality education changed in the past decade?

The Indian hospitality education map I would say has been dynamic with rapid changes coming in at policy level, student expectations and industry expectations. When we began our journey, there was no university in India which offered a degree programme and the highest qualification available was only a diploma. Today, you would see that there are almost 50 universities in India which offer hospitality degree programmes. This has opened up a lot more choice for the student community, which has become demanding from both, quality and prospective job opportunities perspective of the programmes they enroll into. These trends of degree

How do Indian hospitality education institutes compare with international ones?

Indian hospitality education institutes have come a long way and are transitioning into world class institutes. Today, there are only a handful which fall in this category but the transition has begun. Private hospitality education institutes are changing the face of hospitality education in India. Most quality institutes today are networked/affiliated with foreign institutions to be either their content and qualification partners or have twinning programme arrangements, faculty exchange arrangement, etc.

While it is true that Swiss schools continue to hold a sway and name for themselves, yet we are seeing Indian schools able to retain talented students

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Dennie Mathews

with themselves by providing world class infrastructure, curriculums and faculty. We still are a long way to reach high quality programme delivery providers but the current state shows that education providers are serious in providing quality yet affordable education vis a vis international institutions.

What is the way forward for AHLEI in India?

While we are continuing to work with hospitality institutes, our current focus is on vocational skill certification programmes and professional certifications for the hospitality professionals. Continuing education is not a very popular concept in India yet, but we believe educating people on the need of continuing education and the value of being certified at one’s area of work is important to keep oneself at the cutting edge of knowledge and skill relevance in today’s changing in-

dustry dynamics. We at AHLEI continue to strive to be the first in introducing programmes in areas which may today not have the demand but we believe would eventually be of importance and demand. We partner with the right partners to develop all our content and qualification. For eg in this year 2014, we have come up with three major and very relevant programmes for the industry – first is partnered with TripAdvisor – a certificate programme in ensuring one’s guests gives good reviews for the property ; second is a programme in partnership with ECPAT on controlling human trafficking in situations where hotels are used as conduits and the third programme is developed partnering with STR Global – called Certification in Hotel Industry Analytics, a programme aimed to learn the math in the industry. These are examples of our commitment to the industry and the programmes we release worldwide are at the same time being made available to the Indian professional at affordable pricing!

What is your advice to aspiring hospitality students?

One line of advice: “This is the best time to be a hospitality student, over the next three to four decades we are bound to see a boom in the industry and this will in turn need quality professionals and you could be one of the success stories of tomorrow.”

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DYNAMIC LEARNING ENVIRONMENT Committed to grooming global professionals for the hospitality industry, the Apeejay Institute of Hospitality in Navi Mumbai is focused on the all-round development and training of its students

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he Apeejay Institute of Hospitality (AIH) in Navi Mumbai is not just a hospitality education institution offering a bachelor’s degree in hotel management to young aspirants who want to enter the industry, but also a centre of learning for Apeejay Surrendra The Park Hotels. The academic programmes offered by the institute includes three years BSc (Hospitality Studies) affiliated to the University of Mumbai; BSc in Hospitality Studies & Catering Services affiliated to Yashwantrao Chavan Maharashtra Open University; for hospitality graduates and diploma holders there is the two year General Management Training programme and Kitchen Management Training programme. Besides these, the institute also offers Professional Development Programmes to working professionals,.

The institute is located in the same premises as The Park Navi Mumbai in CBD Belapur.

According to Bhuvan GM, principal, Apeejay Institute of Hospitality, Navi Mumbai, the greatest strengths of the institute is the fact that they believe the most effective way of imparting knowledge is to enable a coherent partnership between its two chief facets learning and application. “This is why we have ensured that the institute shares its premises with The Park in Navi Mumbai.

Its proximity to the hotel becomes its biggest advantage, as it gives students the opportunity to get hands-on experience during their course of

study, in terms of training facilities of the hotel for front office, housekeeping, F&B service and production, and back of house support functions,” he adds.

“Our aim of providing the industry the best ensures that we give our students the best as well. This is evident in our highly respected faculty, our cutting-edge resources, and our drive to stay up-to-date with the latest in the world of hospitality. We are focused on developing talent in a dynamic learning environment, based on our expertise in hospitality, to enable them to lead our industry into the future,” asserts Bhuvan. The institute has a dedicated placement cell.

Intensive training is provided to the students to prepare them for placement interviews. It includes modules like corporate etiquette, group discussions, trends in the industry, current affairs, etc. Some of the companies that have recruited AIH students are The Park Hotels, The Taj Group, The Oberoi Group, ITC Hotels, Starwood Hotels, Emirates, and many more. Quality faculty is the greatest asset of any institution. Bhuvan believes that a significant factor that has helped the institute to gain competitive advantage are the faculty who are academicians possessing deep industry insights.

Hunar Se Rozgar Tak initiative The institute also holds classes for Ministry of Tourism’s Hunar Se Rozgar Tak initiative that is transforming the lives of many

young men and women from Panvel, Pen and other Maharashtra villages, who are looking ahead to join the hospitality industry as cooks and in F&B services. HSRT free skill development programme was launched about a year ago at Apeejay Institute of Hospitality in Navi Mumbai, in association with India Tourism Development Corporation (MoT, Govt of India).

The six to eight week programme is offered to youngsters between the age of 18 to 28 years. The six week course in F&B Service (waiter) and housekeeping (housekeeper), and eight weeks course in food production (cook). The participants get free uniform and lunch and a stipend of Rs 1500 (six weeks) and Rs 2000 (eight weeks). Joint certification is awarded by Apeejay Institute of Hospitality and ITDC following

the completion of the course.

Acknowledging that mobilising people for the first batch was a challenge, Bhuvan mentions that once they understand the value of the programme they recommend it to others in the village. “They have come from an unorganised sector to the organised sector, which is a very good thing. The minimum wages have to be paid to them as per the rules of the government, along with PF, ESIC. Medical insurance, accident insurance, duty meals and doctor facilities are provided to them. Women get maternity leave,” informs Bhuvan.

Manoj Patkar, associate professor and HOD (food production), Apeejay Institute of Hospitality, who also happens to be the course coordinator for HSRT programme, says, “Personality development is one key factor which we want to

Bhuvan GM

instill in them though it is not in their syllabus. The second important aspect is English speaking skills as we want them to be employable and crack the interviews.” He points out that most of the participants are clear about employment and are hard working. Attendance is almost 100 per cent.

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WINNING LAURELS GLOBALLY Laureate Hospitality Education, a part of Laureate International Universities, has been training future leaders for the hospitality industry through its wide network of hospitality institutes and a balanced curriculum

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aureate Hospitality Education (LHE), was established under Laureate International Universities to offer several career-focused programmes through its five hospitality education brands – Glion Institute of Higher Education with campuses in Switzerland and London; Les Roches International School of Hotel Management with campuses in Switzerland, Spain, Shanghai and China; Royal Academy of Culinary Arts (RACA) with campus in Amman, Jordan; Blue Mountains International Hotel Management School with campuses in Australia and China; and Kendall College with campus in Chicago, USA. “We have a vast geographical presence today and each institute offers a balanced curriculum of practical training, business management skills and a multicultural experience to prepare students for an international career in the fastgrowing global hospitality industry,” states Johan Stromsater, vice president – global enrollment, Laureate Hospitality & Culinary Education, adding, “We have seen great interest from Indian students for our schools.

However, the Les Roches brand is more popular in India.”

LHE has been witnessing a

growing number of international students to its campuses mainly driven by the numerous opportunities opening up in the global hospitality space.

According to a 2011 report by World Travel & Tourism Council, over the next 10 years approximately 69 million new jobs are expected to be generated. “Globally we see an increase in interest for a career in hospitality and this has been driven by the rapid growth in tourism and hospitality. There is job security in this profession and with the right profile, the hospitality field is a lucrative career option,” opines Stromsater. To cater to specific student and industry requirements, LHE recently introduced several specialised courses. “Before launching a programme, we work with leading industry partners so as to create content that it is relevant in the global scenario. Recently, we have noticed an increasing interest among students for spa and wellness programmes and hence we launched BBA in Spa and Wellness at the Switzerland campus of Les Roches International School of Hotel Management.

Furthermore, we also launched a Master of Science in Leadership since presently the

22 FOOD & HOSPITALITY WORLD March 16-31, 2015

industry has shown a need for managers who are well groomed to take on leadership roles,” he mentions. Plans are also underway to launch luxury goods management programme at the Switzerland campus of Glion Institute of Higher Education this year.

Offering a multicultural atmosphere is what LHE prides itself for, as it equips its students to work with diverse nationalities. “We have more than 100 nationalities altogether. At the Switzerland campus of Les Roches International School of Hotel Management we have around 93 nationalities. The hiring managers are interested in hiring students who have studied at international schools since they learn how to work with others of different cultures. An interesting trend is that apart from hotels other companies from different sectors are also hiring from our schools like luxury retail companies, technology companies, finance companies since our hospitality degree prepares the students for diverse options,” boasts Stromsater, adding that their placement rate is close to 90 per cent and the remaining 10 per cent usually opts for a master’s programme.

“Interestingly, India has a high-

Johan Stromsater

Christopher Koetke

er percentage of students going for the masters programme.

Across all our campuses 10 per cent of the total Indian students opt for further education before joining work,” reveals Stromsater. For placements and internships, LHE has tiedup with around 100 industry partners who offer internships and also recruit final-year students. “We also assist students in writing their CVs and coach them for interviews,” he mentions.

Kendall offers students unprecedented access to studyabroad programmes and internships in Europe, Latin America, Asia, and Australia,” says Christopher Koetke, vice president, Kendall College School of Culinary Arts in Chicago.

In 2013, almost 15 per cent of the institution's total international student population was from India. There are many factors that attract international students to Kendall College School of Culinary Arts. “Some students are here because they’re inspired by food and they love to cook. Some love to travel and dream of an international career in hospitality. The basic strategy to attract any student is to provide them with a road that is destined to a bright future,” says Koetke, adding that the institute offers an immersive, hands-on approach to learning combined with career specific internships that makes its graduates desirable to potential employers.

Kendall College Founded in 1934 by the name Evanston Collegiate Institute in 1950, Kendall College was renamed in honour of Washington National’s founders, Curtis P Kendall and his family. With a strong belief in globalisation, Kendall College School of Culinary Arts fosters multiculturalism and provides access to an international educational experience. “As part of the Laureate International Universities network of accredited colleges and universities,

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ACTIVE APPROACH TO LEARNING Working towards strengthening the link between tourism and hospitality industries for both professionals and students, Carol Pillai, head, School of Tourism and Hospitality, Management Development Institute of Singapore (MDIS), talks about the USP of the institute’s courses and the career prospects

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ne of Singapore's oldest not-for-profit learning institutes, Management Development Institute of Singapore (MDIS), inducted its first batch of diploma students for The School of Tourism and Hospitality in August 2006 and its bachelor degree students two months later. Talking about the school, Carol Pillai, head, School of Tourism and Hospitality, MDIS states, “We have partnered with various universities in Australia and the United Kingdom to train and educate more than 5,000 students from over 20 countries and develop individuals while preparing them to face the various challenges of the tourism and hospitality industry.” The School of Tourism and Hospitality has partnered with Southern Cross University (SCU), Australia and the University of Sunderland, UK for its five Bachelors' and Masters' degree programmes. The MSc in Tourism and Hospitality course awarded by the University of Sunderland facilitates a combination of realworld experiences and critical reflection through fieldwork and classroom-based activities.

Pillai believes that by applying a social scientific approach to both tourism and hospitality studies through a focus on the contexts of globalisation, commercialisation and consumption, they will be able to create better linkages between the

travel, tourism and hospitality industries in relation to organisation and management, as well as provide satisfactory experiences to consumers. Elaborating on the MSc in Tourism and Hospitality course, she states, “The programme is best suited for professionals and students who are willing to notch up their career in order to switch to international hotel chains, including those who plan to switch over to teaching.” The other master's programme, Master of International Tourism and Hotel Management awarded through SCU, is designed for students with no previous industry work experience but who wish to gain a higher qualification in the field of tourism and hospitality studies.

Encouraging an active approach to learning, Pillai believes the curriculum will inspire and enhance the capacity of students to be effective leaders of future. “Our curriculum is a fine blend of both theoretical and practical knowledge. All of our programmes combine academic rigour with practical, vocational, and transferable skills while focusing on professional study, identity and employability of our graduates.” she adds. The Bachelor of Business in International Hospitality Management by SCU, provides students business and hospitality management skills to enable them to pursue a ca-

of travel, tourism and hospitality management or any one of the ancillary service industries.

The Advanced Diploma in Tourism, Hospitality and Events Management provides a sound knowledge base of concepts and skills in tourism and hospitality with a special focus on creative and flexible work environment.

World-class infrastructure

Carol Pillai

reer as an industry leader at a national or an international level, while the BSc (Honours) in International Tourism and Hospitality Management (TopUp) awarded by the University of Sunderland and the Bachelor of Business in Convention and Event Management by SCU positions graduates at the centre of the fast growing business events industry, ensuring that they acquire the skills and knowledge required to pursue a career in management, planning and marketing of corporate events, conventions and meetings, festivals and special events.

MDIS also offers its own diplomas as direct entry to the bachelors' programmes. For instance, the Diploma in Travel, Tourism and Hospitality Management is for individuals aspiring to begin a career in the field

MDIS is one of the few institutes in Singapore with its own campus and hostel. “The campus offers well-equipped classrooms, science, engineering and computer laboratories, a hospitality training centre, TV and radio studios, a fashion studio and sports facilities such as a gymnasium and badminton courts, while the hostel can accommodate some 1,700 students and has eco-friendly features and integrated facilities, so that students can live, learn and play in an interactive and conducive environment,” mentions Pillai.

The MDIS Career Assistance Unit hosts job placement services exclusively for MDIS members and students from its partner organisations. “We also collaborate with employers to offer internship programmes and organise industry recruitment talks, providing students with opportunities in the corporate world whilst studying. A one-stop resume submission service and a career counselling

service, teamed with useful career networks and relevant articles, are also available to students to help them in their career search,” she points out.

Future trend With the increasing role of technology, Pillai believes that guests and clients are becoming increasingly tech-savvy and are demanding exceptional service with speed and precision.

“They expect quicker bookings, express check-ins, speedy WiFi connectivity and quick responses to customer service requests. In order to cater to these requests, the industry needs to be equipped appropriately as these guests are quick to post feedback on social platforms,” she suggests adding that the tourism and hospitality industry also needs to adopt advanced technology and have an innovative approach towards marketing and servicing, including online media.

Talking about the lack of skilled and trained manpower in the tourism and hospitality sector, Pillai states, “Employment forecasts have indicated that these industries are lacking skilled and qualified labour and will continue unless addressed appropriately.” She believes that in order to overcome this gap, the industry must come together to promote and train professionals by collaborating with established educational institutes like MDIS.

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MOULDING TO PERFECTION Started in the year 2008 with just 12 students, Don Bosco College-Hospitality Studies today has established itself among the top ranking management colleges in India. Annabelle Rodrigues, head of department, hospitality studies, clears certain misnomers about the institute and elaborates on the courses offered by the institute

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or Annabelle Rodrigues, head of department, hospitality studies, Don Bosco College - Hospitality Studies, the one advice that she always gives to her students is, “Wherever you have come from and whichever station of life you are at, this is where mediocrity ends. You have to aim higher in life as there is no halfway strategy to survive in the competitive world.” Started in the year 2008, with 12 students in the first batch to now in 2014 having a full batch of 120 students, Don Bosco CollegeHospitality Studies has seen a steady growth in student numbers. The college chooses to take in students from tough backgrounds, who are ambitious and hardworking, and the staff puts in extra effort into perfecting the students’ skills, moulding them into potential employees as per the hospitality industry expectations. Reminiscing on the inception of the course, “In 2009, the college received about 90 students which increased to 110 students in 2010 and about 90 and 97 students in the following years. I had started the school of empowerment, which was meant for students who cannot complete their 10th standard education but can read and write and give them skills so that they can enter into the industry,” says Rodrigues.

Initially the infrastructure to handle these growing number of students was less but now the college has two kitchens - ATK, which is for the degree students,

Annabelle Rodrigues

and the studio kitchen for the empowerment school students, a library and housekeeping and front office lab. The kitchens are being revamped presently to provide better facilities.

On course The college does the Trinity English language exam and this year they are planning to introduce public speaking courses as well. The college offers two courses - a three years BSC degree in hospitality studies, which is affiliated to Mumbai University, which comprises of six semesters; and the second is the Culinary Skill course, which is a one year course and is done by the college and not affiliated to any university. The latter second course begins in August until March. But the college gives students training from April to October and on completion of the

24 FOOD & HOSPITALITY WORLD March 16-31, 2015

one year course, students are given the certifications. “During the three year degree course, students have four months of industry training wherein after students return back to college they are expected to present their log book wherein they are expected to keep note of their daily activities in the hotel, submit project reports and do presentations as they have exams based on this. The third year, I make them do an entrepreneurship workshop so that in case students do not want to pursue a career in the hotel industry, after their training period, they still have the skill set to help them in their future endeavours,” she mentions. For all the subjects, if there is four hours of training, then it is followed by three hours of practical training.

And this rule has been mandated from the University of

Mumbai, she highlights, which is expected to be followed by all colleges.

In the pipeline, the college is going to introduce one year courses soon on bartending, housekeeping and front office programmes. As the Culinary Skill course is priced at `43,000 for a year, the bartending course will also be priced on the same lines. While the housekeeping and front office programmes will be kept at `23,000. “Our bartending course will not focus on the flaring techniques and glamour, but it will focus on the basic knowledge needed to run a bar.

We will be taking up to 20 students for these new courses next year,” informs Rodrigues.

Interestingly, in order to entice students into learning more about their chosen subjects, the college conducts an induction course wherein students are di-

vided into two groups- advanced English and basic English. So for two weeks students are groomed in English speaking.

After the two weeks, the college focuses on four core subjectscommunication skills, F&B, food production and housekeeping and front office alternating with each other. Through this, we provide a chance to students to have a general idea of their course so that they look forward to studying more and keep them hocked on.” She points out, “Our degree students have two things in mind-they aim to become general managers or executive chefs in 15-20 years. Also our students are hungry to learn more about their industry and are hardworking.”

Broadening perspectives When asked about the need for an international exposure among students, Rodrigues says, “No international hotel chain will take in students for four months and give them the mandate to handle four departments. We are grateful that our hotels in Mumbai understand our system and help our students as they know at the end these are the potential employees whom they would need for their hotel operations. ” Clearing the air about the industry's view on the need for a change in syllabus, she says, “The present syllabus has been done with hotels but to expect students to be moulded as per industry material right away from college is not justified.”

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VALUABLE LEARNINGS A fairly new kid in the block, the Sheila Raheja Institute of Hotel Management in Mumbai has already carved a niche for itself by imparting quality education.

B P Sahni, principal of the institute and chairman, Ad-Hoc Board of Studies (hospitality studies), University of Mumbai shares his future plans for the institute

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ith a vision to impart value education in India, the Raheja Group, which runs several premier educational institutes in the country including Sheila Raheja School of Business Management and Research, LS Raheja School of Architecture, LS Raheja School of Art, LS Raheja Technical Institute, opened its hospitality institute, the Sheila Raheja Institute of Hotel Management (SR IHM) in July 2013. Located in Mumbai and nearly two years into operation, the institute has grown significantly in its student strength from 11 in 2013 to 82 in 2014, promising to offer the best of infrastructural facilities, placement opportunities and quality education in the hospitality space. “The Raheja Group believes in imparting value education and they were clear that they wanted to have the best institute and faculty in this domain and hence we started planning for this college five years prior to its opening,” reminisces B P Sahni, principal of the institute and chairman, Ad-Hoc Board of Studies (hospitality studies), University of Mumbai adding that the college boasts of stateof-the-art infrastructure which includes around eight fullyequipped kitchens, two training restaurants, a placement cell, bakery and confectionery rooms, an IT department, guestrooms for student training, gymnasium to name a few.

Affiliated to the University of Mumbai, SR IHM presently

B P Sahni

offers four courses - BSc in Hospitality Studies, BA in Culinary Arts, Associate Degree in Hospitality Studies and Associate Degree in Culinary Arts. There are also plans to introduce several programmes like MSc in Hotel and Hospitality Administration and Post Graduate Diploma in Food Media by 2015 along with Post Graduate Degree in Facility Management and a hospitality management programme in the near future. “We have already put forth a proposal to the University of Mumbai for the MSc in Hotel and Hospitality Administration course. This master's degree will be both a two and a three year programme which we are planning to start in 2015.

Whereas the Post Graduate

Diploma in Food Media will start as an autonomous programme and later on we will get an university affiliation,” elaborates Sahni. With the Raheja Group having their stake in various hotels, graduate students, can either be absorbed in these hotels or can choose to opt for any other hotel visiting the campus.

“There are eight hotels under the management of Sandeep Raheja and there are 35-40 hotels under the Raheja Group which is an added advantage for students,” he adds.

Widening reach With many hospitality colleges in India opting for international tie-ups to keep its students abreast of the latest hospitality

trends globally, SR IHM is looking forward to tying-up with the University of West London. “We are planning to have student and teacher exchange programmes so that professors from both the colleges can learn from their counterparts, while students can be kept abreast of the latest technological developments,” he opines adding that presently they have six full-time faculty members and they are planning to invite a chef from The Culinary Institute of America as a guest lecturer.

Speaking about the current scenario in Indian hospitality education, he states, “Our education system needs to be controlled in terms of quality. There are a lot open universities crop-

ping up which do not provide proper hospitality education.

The government should cancel the licenses of colleges who are conducting distance education through the open university scheme since this is destroying the hospitality education segment in India. Moreover, teachers need to keep themselves updated on the latest technological developments in this segment through research and pass on this information to students,” says Sahni, adding that there is also a need to improve the working conditions and salary structure of hospitality professionals in order to retain the best talent.

“India produces one of the best hospitality professionals in the world. 18 to 19 per cent of students go abroad within one to two years since the motivational levels are low, the salary is pathetic. It is important that a decent salary is paid to students to retain this talent pool,” he suggests.

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(UP)GRADING SKILLS Constantly updating its course structure to match international standards, Amity School of Hospitality aims to offer to its students global exposure. Dr Vaskar Sengupta, deputy director of the institute talks about his college and the changing trends of hospitality education in India

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ith an aim to offer global exposure, a practical learning platform and a diverse range of hospitality courses to Indian students aspiring to enter the hospitality market, the Amity School of Hospitality, started its first course in Bachelors in Hotel Management in 2003 with a strength of 24 students. Only few years into operation, the college now offers a range of courses receiving more than 500 applications per year.

The range of courses include Bachelor of Science in Hotel Management, a three-year programme; Bachelor of Hotel Management, another threeyear programme; MBA in Hospitality Management, a two-year postgraduate programme; and PhD in Hospitality for two years when attending full time or three years when participating part time. “We wanted to offer students the chance to complete their PhD in Hospitality itself as not many institutes provide this facility,” states Dr Vaskar Sengupta, deputy director, Amity School of Hospitality, Uttar Pradesh.

Bridging the gap The college is constantly updating its course structure to match international standards. “We review our programmes every year in order to bridge the gap between Indian and global standards, and implement changes whenever the designated committee feels is necessary,” opines Dr Sengupta adding, “Although our course follows the India market standard, we have set few benchmarks globally. We select two or three international institutes and upgrade the

Dr Vaskar Sengupta

When companies come to our institute, they are already well aware of the quality standards of our students due to our alumni, who are a part of the hospitality sector course accordingly, keeping the Indian scenario in mind.” Apart from its degree programmes, the college also offers various diploma courses in Food & Beverage Services, Food Production and Front Office Management which can be obtained under 18 months. “These courses are mostly skill based programmes with almost 70 per cent focus on practical knowledge, thus making the students extremely desired for recruitment everywhere,” he boasts.

Moreover, the college offers its students flexibility to choose

26 FOOD & HOSPITALITY WORLD March 16-31, 2015

the desired subjects. “Our Choice Based Credits System lets students choose the extra subjects they want apart from the core subjects. There are also Non Teaching Credit Courses which ensure that students are learning even if they are not in the classroom with the help of projects and assignments,” mentions Dr Sengupta. Behavioural skills and communications skills are also an integral part of a student's educational development since the hospitality industry is about customer satisfaction. “To achieve this we have included

specific and compulsory subjects regarding the same,” he adds. The college placement starts from August and September with companies coming from all over the country. “When companies come to our institute, they are already well aware of the quality standards of our students due to our alumni, who are a part of the hospitality sector,” states Dr Sengupta.

Regarding the attributes that employers look for in students during recruitment process, he opines, “Since the results don't come out till later, the

management looks for technical skills, a positive attitude, an outgoing personality or at least the ability to conduct oneself among the candidates, all of which are part of the education process at Amity.”

Having institutes in Dubai and Mauritius, the Amity School of Hospitality also provides an international platform. “We provide internships abroad for anyone who opts for it at no extra cost,” he adds.

Changing trends Speaking on the present hospitality trends in India, Dr Sengupta opines, “The mindset of Indian parents and students is changing. Earlier people would choose the hospitality sector only if they weren't able to clear anything else. But now students with 80 and 90 per cent marks come to us, wanting to become chefs out of choice.” Talking about future plans, he says, “We want to become the best institute for hospitality in India, achieve global recognition and standing and that's why we feel proud to have one of the best infrastructure facilities as well as a developing course present.”

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THE GLOBAL EDGE Ecole Hoteliere Lavasa aims to be the premier hospitality education centre in Asia for future hospitality leaders and entrepreneurs. The mission is to develop hospitality management talent and ensure long-term sustainability of the industry

E

cole Hoteliere Lavasa was set up as an extension of the global vision of Ecole Hôtelière de Lausanne. The institution is focused on being a school of excellence for future hospitality leaders and entrepreneurs. Founded in 1893, Ecole Hôtelière de Lausanne is the oldest hotel school in the world. As an extension of its vision Ecole Hôtelière de Lausanne supports the development of schools in other parts of the world. Ecole Hôtelière de Lausanne is involved in building of academic institutions and have similar schools in different countries like Brazil, Mexico, Lebanon, Dubai, Thailand, South Korea and China.

Ecole Hoteliere Lavasa hopes to reach its full capacity of 450 students in the next five years. Rony Kurien, chief operating officer, Ecole Hoteliere Lavasa states that the institute is positioned as a hospitality management college of excellence. "We nurture hospitality leaders and entrepreneurs," he asserts. The four-year Undergraduate Programme in Hospitality Management has a unique curriculum, there are eight semesters of six months each including two business internships with leading hotel brands. "It is a hands-on interactive and technology enabled learning experience," says Kurien. The sprawling campus has an amphitheatre, cyber hotel, wine tasting lab, training and display kitchen, mock guest room, an IT lab and four large restaurants.

These restaurants are - De France, a French fine dine restaurant, that serves authentic French cuisine; Quick Bites, a fast food restaurant serving

burgers, pizzas and finger snacks; Kitchens of the World, a multi-cuisine restaurant in a buffet arrangement; Coffee Bar, a 24/7 café serving snacks, pastries and coffee.

As the future of hospitality will be led by technology, Ecole Hoteliere Lavasa offers students access to state-of-the-art technological interventions. Students are taught on the latest Property Management Systems and Point-of-Sale Management Systems. The campus is Wi-Fi connected for easy access to communication and information. A

unique new concept, the Cyber Hotel at Lavasa will be a handson learning space equipped with specialised hospitality technology. In addition to traditional courses in F&B, they are also teaching management, HR, grooming, cross culture training, etc. Students are being placed with ITC Hotels, The Oberoi Group, Marriott, Starwood, Hyatt, and others. 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.

All the faculty are trained and certified in Switzerland. Audits are conducted every six months. The course content is vetted in Switzerland. "Ecole system of learning is such that it places the onus of learning on the students," states Kurien.

The faculty is known as the facilitator as they clarify the concepts. Most of the faculty members are former industry people.

There are also external faculty – for subjects like finance, marketing, branding, etc.

Students at Ecole Hoteliere Lavasa have as easy access to

various hospitality formats, from budget hotels to deluxe hotels with the best of brands like Accor, Fortune Select Dasve by ITC, Waterfront Shaw Service Apartments, Dasvino Town & Country Club and Apollo Health & Wellness Centre. There will be an additional 4500 rooms offered by 18 hotels at Lavasa in the future giving them ample opportunities for practical training and employment. Since Lavasa has numerous fine dining restaurants and hotels, the students have better job prospects.

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GLOBALISED VISION With a vision to provide world class education and training in management disciplines in India, Suborno Bose, chief mentor and chairman, International Institute of Hotel Management, talks about the institution and how it has grown to become an important provider of higher and vocational education in India

I

nternational Institute of Hotel Management (IIHM), one of the largest hotel management chains in Asia that comes under Indismart group was founded in 1989 by Dr Suborno Bose, a chartered accountant by profession, and the chief mentor and chairman, IIHM. The Indismart Group was formed in 1989 with the vision of providing world class education and training in management disciplines in India. In course of time the group grew into a important provider of higher and vocational education in India with international collaborations with RGU, UK, QMU - UK and Edinburgh Napier University, UK. The Group believes in the mantra of Dare to Do' and have the vision to substantially contribute to transform India into a knowledge society. Indismart Group, a brand in the hospitality and education sector, has grown by leaps and bounds by setting up seven management institutes and one full fledged engineering college providing a number of professional and vocational courses to over 4000 students spread over India. The Group is one of the first and foremost private education bodies in India.

The institution offers a wide range of courses in the field of hospitality education. It has colleges across South East Asia, has two operational business hotels of four-star category in Kolkata and Goa and two international training firms with its offices in UK and Thailand.

The institution has its presence in Kolkata, Delhi, Bengaluru, Pune, Ahmedabad,

Dr Suborno Bose

28 FOOD & HOSPITALITY WORLD March 16-31, 2015

Jaipur, Hyderabad and Bangkok. It has been providing top class global hospitality education that has been audited

by QAA, UK which is the worlds' most reputed accredited body. IIHM offers students the option to get an international degree in hospitality management through its collaboration with the University of West London ,UK, Edinburgh Napier University, UK and George Brown College, Canada. The institution has also received numerous awards over the years.

IIHM has experienced faculties from across the globe.

Some of the faculties include: Chef Shaun Kenworthy from UK with over 20 years of experience is the director of Culinary Arts, Wine Expert Keith Edgar from Canada, Pauline Gordon from UK teaches subjects like Conference Management, Ross Southerland lectures on Service Management, Gordon Rule again from UK teaches Study of Food and Wine. The institution boasts of over 10,000 alumni, across the

globe who are working in some of the most renowned hotel chains across the world.

IIHM recently organised the world's first International Young Chef Olympiad supported by the ministry of tourism, Government of India with 15 countries participating namely United States of America, United Kingdom, Spain, France, Switzerland, China, Malaysia, Thailand, Myanmar, Kenya, Zimbabwe, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Bhutan and India in Kolkata in last week of January 2015.

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THE MAIN FOCUS

TRAINING FUTURE BAKERS Growing at a rate of 15 per cent year-on-year, the bakery industry in India has evolved considerably over the years. However, there is still a dearth of skilled manpower. Raj Kapoor, managing director, Assocom-India and managing director of Assocom Institute of Bakery Technology & Management (AIBTM) talks about how his institute has been addressing this need

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ithin one year, the Assocom Institute of Bakery Technology & Management (AIBTM), located at Knowledge Park III, Greater Noida, has become one of the most sought after choices for students who are enthusiastic about learning the art and technology of bakery. According to Raj Kapoor, managing director, Assocom-India and managing director, AIBTM, bakery is like food science. “We have been struggling for many years due to lack of facilities. Therefore we decided to open an institute having international standard facilities in India,” he states.

The Indian bakery industry is showing a growth rate of 15 per cent leading to a rise in the demand for bakery schools and institutes. “Sensing such a need, we bought this property in 2008 and finally last year we kick started the project,” mentions Kapoor. With the guidance of their parent company, Assocom, India, AIBTM has been doing training programmes for the last 14 years. “We are partners with the American Institute of Baking (AIB) and keep targeting even the small bakers apart from the established ones. We have been conducting these programmes on portals as well as sometimes in hotel management institutes,” he highlights.

Having most of their board advisors from the industry, AIBTM has designed the various courses keeping in mind the industry requirements. “There

Raj Kapoor

is a huge requirement for skill development, trained and innovative bakers. There are bakeries opening up every now and then but the quality is missing.

Most of the small time bakers are uneducated about the process and don’t even know about the ingredients properly.

Our focus is to change all this,” he emphasis.

Creating content Due to the changing market trends, AIBTM has designed its courses which not only focuses on teaching recipes to students but also providing in-depth knowledge so that new and innovative products are created.

Having around 30 diploma courses, currently AIBTM is fo-

cusing on the post-graduate diploma courses. Talking about few courses, Kapoor says, “We have designed a course on bakery science and management.

Any student, who has a science background, not necessarily in food technology, can learn the intricacies of the job. Also, we have a one year programme in food science and technology where we train students in patisserie and artisan aspects. Until and unless you have the required knowledge about a particular product, one is unable to create something new and innovative.”

He adds, “Training someone new in the industry can take almost two-three years and even then the specialisation isn’t thoroughly achieved. However, after

completing our one year diploma courses, they are ready for different production staff jobs, quality control, R&D, marketing, and even working for the ingredient companies also.”

Another programme is the PG Diploma in Patisserie and Art and Craft. This programme is designed for non-science graduates wherein the basics of science are taught to them with more focus on artisan and patisseries. “In order to develop a product, they can join small bakeries, go to retail shops and join hotels,” feels Kapoor. A two year diploma course for school passouts is also available at AIBTM. It provides students with the content and curriculum to make sure that they are ready

for various jobs at retail level or have the necessary qualification and skill set to become entrepreneurs and start their own small businesses. There is also a programme for people with no qualifications as the bakery industry.

“We have tried to design programmes that cover all aspects of this industry, with multitudes of discussions at large with joint industry representatives, who have been supportive of all our endeavours,” says Kapoor.

Facilities and amenities For AIBTM, to retain focus on providing more practical knowledge rather than theoretical one, they have drafted the curriculum in such a way that more than 50 per cent is based on practical training. Backed by the industry, AIBTM is also able to provide internships to students according to their choice and field of interest. Visits to the industry are also part of the curriculum.

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cover )

EVALUATIVE APPROACH The hospitality industry has been providing services and facilities, resulting in the growth of the industry. Prof Irfan Mirza, director, V M Salgaocar Institute of International Hospitality Education talks about how the institution prepares students for a dynamic career globally

H

ospitality being a key segment of the total travel and tourism industry, and Goa being a sought after tourist destination, there was an urgent need for quality institution in the state which can produce graduates capable of taking mid-level managerial positions having exposure to latest trends and practices in the hospitality industry, states Proffessor Irfan Mirza, director, VM Salgaocar Institute of International Hospitality Education (VMSIIHE). The institution offers a three year degree course - BSc in International Hospitality Management. The curriculum at VMSIIHE is designed to equip students with practical training and necessary skills with special attention to personality development, professional attitude and leadership qualities which are essential to compete globally. The courses offered are food production, food and beverage service, front office operations, accommodation operations and management studies and also includes six months of professional internship in reputed starred hotels. Besides, supporting subjects like communication skills, accounting and budgeting, economics and French is also introduced to complement the education model which aims at preparing students for a dynamic career globally.

“The institution is equipped to deliver knowledge cum practical oriented course structure, enabling students to pursue

Prof Irfan Mirza

their career opportunity in India or abroad, and cater to the job requirements in the hospitality industry,” he adds. Mirza says that the course curriculum provides a challenging learning experience that will help students to develop a critical, analytical and evaluative approach to hospitality management. “The curriculum also includes all elements necessary to become a successful international professional. Our students learn and practice core skills in leadership, time management, teamwork, motivation, customer service, finance, marketing, human resources and cultural awareness,” he adds.

The institution also invites

30 FOOD & HOSPITALITY WORLD March 16-31, 2015

industry leaders and experts to deliver guest lectures and conduct practical oriented demonstrations in culinary services.

As part of the curriculum, students have to undergo professional internship of 22 weeks at operational level in service or in rooms division.

Imparting knowledge When asked about the frequency of syllabus change to match industry standards, Mirza replies, “The entire course curriculum is industry driven. The programme maximises learning experience and offers the skills and confidence needed for future success. For employability, students will have to keep abreast of the

emerging trends in operational areas in the hospitality sector.

The syllabus will be re-visited every three years and appropriate changes will be introduced to ensure that the students have acquired the knowledge and skills required in the hospitality industry.”

With the promoters being associated with Marriott International, students would be trained at Marriott Hotels to acquire skills.

Elaborating on the teaching pattern, he points out that students begin with a solid grounding in fundamentals of hospitality service, followed by courses in managerial competencies for skills, specialisations and advanced manage-

ment skills. “The course is designed to produce graduates with all the necessary technical, operational and management skills to meet the demand of the international hospitality industry. Education is planned to enable students learn and practice the core skills identified by the hospitality industry as essential for career success globally.”

Growth view As per Mirza, the hospitality industry is a dynamic and booming industry, growing at an exponential rate with a huge demand for trained professionals. The organisational chart and volume of job positions and hierarchy varies by hotel size, function, and is often determined by hotel ownership and managing companies. Therefore there are ample of job opportunities for students who wish to graduate from a reputed institute.

(

THE MAIN FOCUS

CROWNING GLORY

More than a decade into operation, Kohinoor College of Hotel and Tourism Management Studies, Mumbai has succeeded in churning out future leaders of the hospitality industry. Chef Kaviraj Khialani, head of academics of the institute talks about what makes his institute unique

S

tarted in 2002, the Kohinoor College of Hotel and Tourism Management Studies in Dadar, Mumbai has a simple objective – to churn out educated and skilled hospitality professionals.

Educated professionals through a comprehensive and rigorous course structure, and skilled manpower through extensive practical based learning. “Our focus is to bring students out of the desk and into a practical environment to enable them to showcase their talent and help them develop their confidence.

This is mainly because chefs have become the front line staff of the hotel, they want to see the guests and the guests want to interact with their chefs. Hence we do many live events,” states Chef Kaviraj Khialani, head of academics, Kohinoor College of Hotel and Tourism Management Studies adding that these live events are theme based cooking competitions held during different seasons in a year and is part of the three-year bachelor degree courses they offer - BSc in Hospitality Studies, affiliated to Mumbai University and BSc in Hospitality Studies and Catering Services, affiliated to Yashvantrao Chavan Maharashtra Open University.

“Every second month we have a competition in the college.

For instance, we have the sweet and chaat competition during Diwali, chai and pakora competition during monsoons, a three course meal competition during Christmas,” opines Chef Khialani. Each competition witnesses a participation of around 80-90 students and is judged by industry professionals, some of whom are alumni members.

Apart from these theme based competitions, the college also has its annual food festival called the 'Theme Dinner' which is part of the event management curriculum in the final semester of the bachelor degree courses.

This festival is held in January every year and is organised and hosted by the final year students.

“This is also theme based wherein every final year batch is made to choose a particular theme – around the world, Malaysian cuisine, etc. The preparation starts three months prior to the actual competition.

The students are involved in marketing, getting sponsorships and menu trails,” mentions Chef Khialani adding that this competition helps in opening several placements opportunities for the students since it is judged by industry professionals.

The competition is judged under different categories like

preparing food for large numbers and also gives them the opportunity to showcase their skills and be judged. This helps them to enhance their resume and gives them an extra edge during placements,” assures Chef Khialani.

Short-term courses

Chef Kaviraj Khialani

Best Food, Best Cultural, Best Decorative Design and the winner is awarded with a rotating trophy called the Annual Theme Dinner Award. “After the completion of this festival, the students are required to prepare a report on it. This event gives them a practical exposure of

The brand Kohinoor had an outset with the inception of the Kohinoor Technical Institute, a vocational training institute operational for around 43 years with 39 branches across the state including Dadar, Andheri, Ghatkopar, Kalyan, Sangli, Ratnagiri, Nagpur, Akola, Amrawati, etc.

The head office is the Kohinoor College of Hotel and Tourism Management Studies.

Apart from its regular three year courses, the college also offers craftsmanship courses like Craft Course in Hotel Manage-

ment & Catering Technology, Craft Course in Cookery and Craft Course in F&B Service, which are affiliated to Maharashtra State Board of Vocational Education.

The vocational courses are of a duration of six months to a year. The college also provides certificate courses in bakery, communication skills, fruit carving and personality development. To give global exposure to its students, the college also has a tie-up with the Swiss Hotel Management School in Switzerland.

With more than a decade into operation, the college has witnessed good growth in terms of student enrollment and placements offered. “In 2014 we admitted around 300 plus students for the first year batch. We have grown exponentially from 45 students in our first batch to 600 students in 2014 in the degree courses. While in the vocational courses we have around 150 students,” boasts Chef Khialani adding that they have also been getting students who are unable to continue their education in expensive hospitality colleges and often enroll with them because of the affordability factor. “Our bachelor courses are affordable - `one lakh per year. Hence, we get many students from smaller cities like Agra, Udaipur, Dehradun, Chandigarh, Uttaranchal, Goa apart from the metros,” he adds.

As for the recent trends in choosing a career, Chef Khialani states, “70 per cent join hotels, 10 per cent opt for the family business, 10 per cent go abroad for further education and the remaining are a mix of students who enter the travel industry and the retail sector.”

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EVENT TRACKER Date

Event

Venue

April 7 - 8, 2015

Hotel Investment Conference South Asia (HICSA)

New Delhi

May 3 - 6, 2015

TuttoFood

Milan

May 13 - 15, 2015

Hospitality Design Expo 2015

Las Vegas

May 31 - June 2, 2015

NYU Hospitality Conference

New York

June 1 - 4, 2015

FIthep Mercosur Argentina

Buenos Aires

June 11 - 13, 2015

Food Hospitality World

White Orchid Convention Centre, Bengaluru

July 17 - 20, 2015

TCFB Taichung

Taichung (Taiwan)

September 6 - 8, 2015

Specialty Chocolate Fair

London

September 6 - 8, 2015

Speciality Chocolate Fair

London (UK)

September 18 - 20, 2015

Inter-Tabac

Dortmund (Germany)

September 24 - 26, 2015

Coffee International Fair

Belo Horizonte (Brazil)

October 2015

Organic Trade Forum

Cologne (Germany)

October 1 - 3, 2015

World Tea & Coffee Expo

Mumbai (India)

October 2 - 4, 2015

Tulburel

Chisinau (Moldova)

October 6 - 8, 2015

Florida Restaurant & Lodging Show

Orlando, FL (USA)

October 6 - 9, 2015

HORECA Ukraine

Kiev (Ukraine)

October 8 - 10, 2015

Herbal Asia

Kuala Lumpur

October 23 - 25, 2015

Coffee Fest

Portland, OR (USA)

October 23 - 27, 2015

Host Milan

Italy

October 1 - 30, 2015

Iran HVAC&R

Tehran (Iran)

November 2015

Coffee Expo

Guangzhou (China)

November 2015

Tea Expo

Macau

November 1 - 3, 2015

GASTE

Leipzig (Germany)

November 3 - 5, 2015

Restaurant. Shop. Hotel

Minsk (Belarus)

November 17 - 20, 2015

SIMEI

Milan (Italy)

November 21 - 25, 2015

IGEHO

Basle (Switzerland)

December 1 - 3, 2015

VS Pack

Cognac (France)

December 7 - 8, 2015

Hospitality Facilities Management Forum – Sarasota

Sarasota, FL (USA)

December 14 - 15, 2015

World Tobacco Middle East

Dubai

February 7 - 10, 2016

SMAHRT

Toulouse (France)

April 12 - 15, 2016

FHA

Singapore

July 25 - 27, 2016

WINETECH

Adelaide (Australia)

September 21 - 23, 2016

Fi Asia

Jakarta

March 19- 22, 2017

Bibac Expo

Antwerp

32 FOOD & HOSPITALITY WORLD March 16-31, 2015

TECH TALK

Innovative brewing Easier usage and faster service have come to define the food and beverage market in India today, and to meet this requirement, coffee machine suppliers are constantly on the drive to offer new and innovative products that will deliver both quality and quantity

By Archana Sharma

W

ith the cafe and coffee market in India poised to become a `one billion industry by 2017, as per the India Coffee Shops & Cafe Market Forecast & Opportunities 2017 report, supplies of vending and beverage machines are increasing their foothold in the India market by offering diverse and innovative products to cater to the various needs of their clients. Originally coffee consumption in India was predominantly restricted to instant and filter coffee especially in the southern parts of the country and vending machines brewing instant coffee dominated this segment. “However with the advent of the Cafe Coffee Day outlets and later Barista, an era of roast and ground coffee and semi automatic and automatic machines capable of brewing Italian coffee was ushered, bringing in a market demand and supply which has been growing ever since,” states Gerson Aranha, CEO, The Coffee Co. The Coffee Co deals in automatic and semi automatic coffee machines as well as brewing equipments, through collaborations with global giants like Schaerer, Gaggia and Hario, etc, with bulk brewers from Coffee Queen producing American style drip coffee, popular among hotels and few automatic espresso machines from Jura. Apart from this it also offers a variety of Indian coffee blends including 100 per cent Arabica blends and gourmet blends like Monsooned Malabar and single origin

Anup Kothiwal

Gerson Aranha

organic coffee.

Acknowledging the difficulty in catering manually to the demands of the clients while maintaining quality as well, Anup Kothiwal, director, Irene’s Coffee Company opines, “Due to high footfalls in cafes, hotels, corporate events, wedding functions, etc, it is difficult to cater to the crowd manually and also with the perfection of flavour and right temperature in every cup of coffee, however, the automatic machines can deliver quick coffee making solutions along with the right and desired flavours,” he adds. The Irene’s Coffee Company offers high-end Italian coffee machines in variants of automatic, semi automatic, one touch cappuccino through campanies like Saeco from Milan-Italy.

Apart from this it also provides Indian and imported coffee beans from different regions of the world having different blends like the imported coffee beans from Italy from the house of Universal Café based out of Rome. It also offers tea bags under the name of Irene’s in differ-

ent flavours of green, black and herbal tea.

Market demand With the entry of multiple global giants, there is an increasing awareness amongst consumers about the different varieties of beverages, and they are becoming specific about their preferences. Keeping the same in mind, The Coffee Co offers automatic coffee machines which can be adjusted to suit different tastes and needs.

“Since consumers are becoming more discerning about their preferences, our automatic machines from Schaerer, Gaggia and Jura allows for customisation of individual drinks wherein parameters like coffee strength and type can be adjusted accordingly,” states Aranha. Adding to this, Kothiwal says, “We have completely programmable coffee machines, wherein one can adjust anything right from the temperature to quantity and flavour for constant and easy use. Also, there are advanced

With the entry of multiple global giants, there is an increasing awareness amongst consumers about the different varieties of beverages and they are becoming specific about their preferences FOOD & HOSPITALITY WORLD

33

March 16-31, 2015

TECH TALK user-friendly features like touch screen in high end machines for both hot and cold beverages which are programmed for quick dispensing.”

Presently the food and beverages market is looking more towards easier usage and faster service and therefore a growth has been observed in the popularity of capsule and single serve coffee systems. “ The dispensing time for our products is about 30 seconds for a cappuccino and about 20 for espresso, and being one touch bean to cup machines they are really easy to use,” adds Kothiwal. But since features vary greatly from machine to machine, The Coffee Co offers machines that can offer 50 cups a day as well as 250 cups an hour.

“Our automatic machines come with user friendly displays and offer intuitive operations. Semi automatic espresso machines require a higher level of skill as compared to the automatic ones,” mentions Aranha.

Industry trends The growing popularity of Ital-

ian coffee, automatic and semiautomatic machines will play a significant role in the India market. Aranha believes that the demand for consumer interactive beverage machines is on the rise, however the market for manual brewing equipment also has a future. “While auto-

matic espresso machines offer the convenience of simple and fast operations and semi automatic espresso machines allow more control over the various parameters that affect the final cup, the manual brewing equipment allows customers in exploring the different brewing

methods and therefore the market for manual brewing equipments like French presses, moka pots, etc may grow as more and more people try to emulate the cafe experience and brew coffee at home.” However, stating the opposite, Kothiwal believes that group

machines or manual ones will soon become obsolete, since the future is to deliver fast, with uniform and quality flavours.

He also adds that the India market is of growing importance in terms of coffee machines sales and the future potential should not be underestimated since there is a substantial growth every year.

“Good quality brewing equipments and espresso machines for commercial use are generally more expensive and require a substantial investment, but if serviced regularly these machines can provide years of efficient brewing. Bulk brewers producing black coffee can also be procured for under `one lakh and they too are quite durable,” points out Aranha.

Talking about the investment factor, Kothiwal believes that with extensive use the cost of automatic machines will have to reduce and with lesser manpower requirement and minimal wastage, the automatic machines provide a much better cost-effective proposition.

CAMPUS NOTES

Training in Ayurveda India, being home to the origination of Ayurveda, has been witnessing increasing demand in health and wellness facilities. This has given a boost to the emergence of various Ayurveda institutions in the country

By Archana Sharma

T

he ancient system of holistic medicine, Ayurveda, meaning the science of life, originated in India over 5,000 years ago and is not just the world's oldest healthcare system but also a philosophy which encourages healthy lifestyle. It is one of the most popular methods of alternative medicine and has even generated a mass appeal after gaining its popularity in the West.

Believing in the potential for the different verticals of Ayurveda, Rajesh R Kurup, senior manager, business delivery, Kerala Ayurveda (KAL) states, “The methods of cure related to Ayurvedic massages, herbal therapy, yoga and traditional surgery are catching everyone’s imagination very fast and are showing promise to be the next big thing in the medical and wellness industry.” Having a unique advantage to be able to offer something to every class, Kurup believes that the opportunity is vast as it spans through all the possible verticals like yoga centres, Ayurvedic spas and herbal medicines. “Yoga centres are growing at a rate never seen before. Combined with the recent trends of increasing acceptance of natural medication, this accounts for a huge potential for Ayurvedic products,” he adds.

KAL, founded in 1945 by late Vaidyan K G K Panicker, a renowned Ayurvedacharya, a doyen in Ayurvedic system, a visionary and a mentor, is presently an integral part of the Katra Group. Backed by advanced technology and highly qualified dedicated staff, the KAL Academy has branches in

the US conducting courses across its various centres like Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, Fremont, Boston, etc.

The modern definition of health according to World Health Organisation (WHO) is 'the state of complete physical, mental and social wellbeing and not necessarily the absence of disease and infirmity. Kurup believes that unlike various other systems of medicine, like allopathy or homeopathy, Ayurveda is not a system of medicine but a science of life and longevity.

“The concept of Ayurveda is based on a combined study of body (sharira), sense organs (indriyas), mind (manas) and soul (atman). Equilibrium of these are related to health and their dysfunction is equated with death. Homeo-stasis of the internal milcu (dhatusamaya), or equilibrium of the various dhatus, is considered essential for absence of disease,” he states.

Different platforms India is home to few of the best Ayurveda training and healthcare institutes and clinics.

“There is a huge demand for Ayurveda training courses in India since the system was developed in India and is more authentic than other parts of the world. KAL Academy receives four-five enquires on a daily basis for various courses from around the globe,” informs Kurup. He also believes that with the new developments and steps which have been announced and will be taken by the ministry of Ayurveda, yoga & naturopathy, unani, siddha and homoeopathy (AYUSH), about the changes in the Ayurveda training curriculum

Rajesh R Kurup

Dr Sandeep Madaan

and better facilitation centres for the same, the demand for such courses and facilities is bound to increase.

KAL Academy provides training programmes on Ayurveda and Panchakarma for doctors and others for the different systems of medicine, awareness programmes on Ayurveda and Ayurvedic lifestyle, practical awareness on Ayurvedic massage and in selected Ayurvedic therapies while also providing tailor made programmes from anywhere between three days to a month and a certificate course in Ayurveda therapist for a year.

The courses are available for people with minimum eligibility from Secondary School to

Bachelor Degree in the Ayurveda Medicine courses.

“The academy has more than 1000 alumni across the globe promoting Ayurveda and also conducts government certified courses for therapists,” mentions Kurup.

But since Ayurveda is one of the most prominent healthcare systems and provides solutions to various needs, even the demand for learning this trade is diverse. There are many clinics and institutions which provide Ayurveda courses based on the merit of the interested person. According to Dr Sandeep Madaan, senior Ayurveda consultant, Aastha Ayurveda, “We provide certificate courses for begin-

ners as well as inquisitives, baby and mothercare courses through Ayurveda and Ayurveda course in prevention and lifestyle disorder management.” Aiming at providing awareness about the human body and mind, the Aastha Ayurvedic clinic has been in business since 2004 and wishes to propagate awareness and training about Ayurveda and yoga and help in managing chronic lifestyle disorders through an integrated and holistic approach.

Apart from the various private institutions and Ayurveda clinics and training facilitation centres, even the Ministry of Health and Welfare, Government of India, had set up a few apex institutes for training and research in Ayurveda like the National Institute of Ayurveda (NIA) affiliated to the Ministry of AYUSH, which offers undergraduate, postgraduate degrees and diplomas in various Ayurvedic sciences.

Future trends “Ayurveda training industry has a brilliant future in India as a business proposition due to the ever increasing demand for natural therapies, driven by various factors like stressful working culture, exhaustive lifestyle, the endless quest for peace, the growing ailments with less healthy environment,” states Kurup. He also believes that, “Today Kerala Ayurveda is a major force in healthcare, growing at a spectacular rate, with new clinics, new market strategies, new products, and new cure. Some of KAL's products are on the verge of being patented.”

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March 16-31, 2015

MOVEMENTS ITC Grand Chola ANIL CHADHA has been appointed as area manager south & general manager for ITC Grand Chola. In his new capacity, he will oversee the hotel’s operations and also provide insight about the nuances of the ITC Grand Chola Dynasty, its Responsible Luxury and to elevate the hotel to a world class luxury hotel. In addition to this he will also oversee operations of other ITC Hotels in Bengaluru, Kerala, Hyderabad and Chennai. With over 22 years of hospitality experience, his previous roles spans successful terms with other ITC Hotels including ITC Maurya, New Delhi, ITC Gardenia, Bengaluru, ITC Windsor, Bengaluru,

meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions (MICE).

Sheraton Bangalore Hotel Sheraton Bangalore Hotel has appointed MOHAMMED KHAN as director of food and beverage. He has been associated with the food and beverage industry for over 12 years starting 2002, serving in various hospitality positions pan India.

From his most recent and successful stint at Marriott as the director of food and beverage, Khan has also been part of preopenings in various capacities in Marriott Chennai, Pune and Renaissance Mumbai Hotel & Con-

vice president, operations - India, Hilton Worldwide. He brings over two decades of experience in the hospitality sector. Most recently, Joshi was general manager for Holiday Inn Pune Hinjewadi. Prior to that, he has held general managerial positions at Radisson Blu Agra Taj East Gate; The Park Turon, Tashkent, Uzbekistan, and Country Inn & Suites By Carlson, Goa. He also has extensive experience in serving as the front office manager at Radisson White Sands Resort, Goa; Cidade de Goa and The Imperial, New Delhi.

The Orchid Mumbai RAJ PANDA has joined as the food and beverage manager of

Marriott International Marriott International has announced that RAJEEV MENON, currently area vice-president - South Asia, will take over as the chief operations officer (COO) for Marriott International in South-East Asia & Pacific. In his new capacity as COO, he will be a key member of the continent’s senior leadership team and will function as the operational business leader for the region. He will also help drive key initiatives and ensure implementation of brand discipline programmes. He will be based in Singapore. For the past 7.5 years, he was area vice president for South Asia, as well as Pakistan, Malaysia and Australia during various periods of his assignment.

He joined Marriott in 2001 as the general manager of Renaissance Mumbai Hotel and Convention Center and Marriott Executive Apartments, Mumbai. In 2004, he moved to Sydney, Australia where he served as the general manager of Sydney Harbour Marriott and country general manager for Australia.

Marriott Hyderabad

Anil Chadha

Mohammed Khan

Raj Panda

ITC Mughal, Agra and ITC Sonar, Kolkata. Prior to this appointment, he spent three years as the general manager of ITC Maurya in New Delhi.

vention Centre, etc. He graduated doing his course in Hotel Management & Catering Technology from Anjuman-I-Islam’s Institute of Hotel Management & Catering Technology.

The Orchid Mumbai. Before joining Orchid he was working in the same capacity at Ramada Gurgaon Central, Gurgaon. His key skills include pre-opening of various restaurants, administration and operations of food and beverage, staff training, troubleshooting and implementing improvement procedures as well as documenting operating procedures and financial management. He started his career at Marriot Welcom, New Delhi. He also worked for Soy, Dubai as an assistant manager. He was also involved with the opening of Feast india, UK. Later he joined The Imperial, New Delhi. He was also a part of the pre-opening team at Radison Blue, Dwarka.

Hyatt Regency Gurgaon ROGER WRIGHT has been appointed as general manager of Hyatt Regency Gurgaon. With over 30 years of international hotel experience, Wright has led 12 five-star and five-star deluxe business and leisure Hyatt and internationally branded hotels across the Asia Pacific region.

Wright’s knowledge of hotel operations, positioning, financial and strategic focus, combined with a deep personal commitment to the Hyatt brand, will play a vital role in further developing Hyatt Regency Gurgaon’s position as the city’s 'logical first choice' for anyone seeking a top quality large five-star hotel for

Hilton Jaipur RAHUL JOSHI has been appointed as general manager for Hilton Jaipur. In this position, Joshi will report to Daniel Welk,

Rahul Joshi

36 FOOD & HOSPITALITY WORLD March 16-31, 2015

CHEF YOGENDER PAL has been appointed as executive chef at Hyderabad Marriott Hotel & Convention Centre and Courtyard by Marriott Hyderabad. He has nearly two decades of culinary experience and has worked with leading Indian and international luxury hospitality brands. He has helmed several pre-opening teams, has been instrumental for commission-

brings with him a wealth of knowledge with over 18 years of experience in the hospitality industry. At Alila Diwa Goa, in the capacity of the executive chef, Chef Kadam will spearhead the kitchen operations across the various food and beverage venues at the property. His area of expertise lies in Teppanyaki, western banquet fare, fine dining and seafood specialties along with a core competency in refurbishing food and beverage and specialty menus.He began his career at Hyatt Regency, Delhi

Chef Yogender Pal

Chef Shubhendu Kadam

ing kitchens and is known to create innovative dining experiences.

in 1996 as a Commis II, going on to play key roles at luxury hotels and cruise liners such as Carnival Cruise Liners Miami Florida (USA), Goa Marriott Resort, Marriott Cebu City (Philippines), Radisson BLU (Goa), Courtyard by Marriott City Centre (Pune).

Hyderabad Marriott Hotel & Alila Diwa Goa Convention Centre Alila Diwa Goa has appointed SHUBHENDU and Courtyard by CHEF KADAM as executive chef. He

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weekend

Scene and heard

With Marcellus Baptista

Smart start THE COURTYARD OF Phoenix Marketcity was abuzz with the launch party of 212 All Day Café & Bar, brought to you

by Bellona Hospitality Services, the newest venture of Pheonix Mills. The cheer was also on with the Vino Fest offering a wide range of wines. Co-hosted

by Romil Ratra, Shamita Singh and Vahbiz Mehta, guests were seen enjoying the fabulous food fare created by Chef Paul Kinny.

Guests discovered that the new space offers a smart dining experience that one would expect to find at any chic bistro in an international city replete with a live pizza theatre kitchen.

Guests were happy to note that 212 All Day is open from noon to midnight and would stay open longer on the weekend.

Jayshree, Karishma and Kapil Grover at the Grover Zampa Vineyards Inter-Club Golf Championships at US Club

Grover groove THE GROVER ZAMPA VINEYARDs Inter-Club Golf Championships gets bigger and better every year. This year it was its 19th edition and instead of the usual Willingdon Golf Club, it was held at the spacious United Services Club, popularly known as the US Club. After teeing on the glorious greens it was time to have a blast at the prize-winning cocktaildinner. Kapil Grover, chairman, Grover Zampa Vineyards was present along with Jayshree and daughter Karishma to warmly welcome the many guests from the Bombay Presidency Golf Club, United Services Club, Willingdon Sports Club and Poona Club – Golf. And, as usual, there was live music, this time by Roshni Baptist and her group.

Shamita Singha and Romil Ratra at the launch party of 212 All Day Cafe & Bar

Fritz Storm, Janice Wong, Soha Ali Khan and Vikas Khanna at the Magnum masterclass at Four Seasons

Blend with the best COFFEE AND CHOCOLATE CAME together in a creative combo at the launch of Magnum Choco Cappuccino, a beautiful blend of aromatic coffee and rich Belgian chocolate.

This pairing came alive at a Magnum masterclass with Janice Wong, Asia’s best pastry chef and Fritz Storm, World Barista Champion. Four Seasons was the happy venue for this treat with guests like Soha Ali Khan, Madhurima Tuli, Parvathy Omanakuttan, Manasi Scott, Sarah Jane Dias, Anjana Sukhani and Tara Sharma. Pleasure seekers were taken on a flavour trail that enticed all senses with the masters helping the enthusiasts discover interesting pairings with coffee and chocolate, while explaining what makes these pairings work. And to top it all the masters came together to co-create their own Magnum inspired desserts created by fusing rich Belgian chocolate and aromatic coffee along with some scrumptious toppings.

Trendy taste of India

Ranveer Brar, Zorawar Kalra, Alyona and Sanjeev Kapoor at Masala Library by Jiggs Kalra

MASALA LIBRARY BY JIGGS KALRA celebrated the man’s 40 years towards reviving, restoring, recording, reinventing and reintroducing Indian cuisine to diners from across the globe. Isha Koppikar, Tanishaa Mukerji, Kunal Vijaykar, Robin Uthappa, Sanjeev Kapoor, Riyaaz Amlani, Vir Sanghvi, Nachiket Barve and Jiggs Kalra’s son Zorawar Kalra were present. Over drinks and tasty bites you heard that the philosophy adapted at Masala Library by Jiggs Kalra revolves around progressive Indian cuisine, reflected through the diversity of traditional Indian fare, combined with contemporary presentation and modern culinary techniques. Elements of molecular gastronomy are used as an integral part of the menu to add an element of surprise into the dining experience, forming the vision of presenting the future of Indian cuisine – Indian Cuisine Version 2.0.

FOOD & HOSPITALITY WORLD

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March 16-31, 2015

weekend

E V E N T S

CREATIVE EXPRESSION Belvedere Vodka recently unveiled its ‘Know the Difference’ advertising campaign photographed and directed by fashion photographer Ellen von Unwerth at 10 Corso Como during Milan Fashion Week

COMMITTED TO SERVE Sarovar Hotels & Resorts, as part of its corporate campaign - 'Happiness @ Sarovar', recently joined hands with a Gurgaonbased NGO, Lotus Petal Foundation

CANCER AWARENESS Aligning initiatives with the theme of International Women’s Day - ‘Make It happen’, The Imperial New Delhi organised an exclusive cancer awareness session in association with Roko Cancer Charitable Trust for its women associates

REWARDING EXCELLENCE (Centre) Jeewan Bakhtawar, vice president,

CELEBRATION OF SUCCESS Alila Diwa Goa recently hosted a gathering at a

AWARDS CEREMONY Association of Hospitality Professionals recently hosted the fifth 'Young Chef’s Challenge 2015' award ceremony at The Hans Hotel, New Delhi

nightclub in Mumbai for the travel trade fraternity to commemorate five years of its success in Goa

46 FOOD & HOSPITALITY WORLD March 16-31, 2015

human resources, Leela Palaces, Hotels and Resorts was honoured as one of the '100 Most Talented Global HR Leaders' by CHRO Asia for his outstanding contribution in the field of Human Resources Management at the 23rd edition of the World HRD Congress held in Mumbai

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.