There was a time when talking of international cuisines , culinary showcases , food festivals and almost all the specialty cuisine restaurants existed in city’s much loved 5 star hotels. As much as it was a matter of pride and good life, to eat in a 5 star hotel was a journey for our palate , a journey through the streets of flavours we have heard about for ages and to catch a glimpse of which we waited for good occasions and those days we visit the hotels. For regular dining there were restaurants which existed in the markets and our neighborhood favourites , but almost always , the fine gourmet cuisine , the silver service and new international cuisines were found in the 5 star hotels.
However, much has changed over the past decade or so, standalone restaurants have come to the fore and brought with them the new evolution in dining. With more and more high end restaurants being set up across towns boasting of finest techniques in cooking, never seen before ingredients which is then served in forms never imagined before by the chefs who are now poster boys of the Indian gastronomical scenario.
Yes, in the past decade, the baton has shifted. 5 stars have suffered in terms of popularity and in some cases dented even their legacy, and in due course the battle from becoming neck to neck has now tilted in the favor of the standalone restaurants.
There have been exceptions, and those who survived to keep their legacy intact have continuously ensured they connect with their guests intimately enough to understand this need of new age developments, authenticity, inventions and experiences backed with superlative service. Some couldn’t cope well, and some totally lost the plot and subsequently customers.
While some of these reasons are compellingly basic enough to be improved upon by hotels , there are some learning and executions which plays a big role in strategies of some of the hotels to keep the hope alive and excel on the taste buds and rising expectations of the guests, and if for some it’s not , may be the following analysis can be helpful for the realization.
Let us take an account of what are these learning & executions.
A 7 Point Analysis :-
- F & B Vision & Strategy
Hotels must take an account of the current trends and identify the graph of this development and accordingly develop the vision and the F & B Strategy. At this time, it is considered a nouvelle idea by some hotels to follow the trend of the market and give an option to the guests, which were earlier not considered of greater importance by the hotels.
In numerous interactions with hoteliers, they have been found very curious and eager to know what is happening in the restaurant scene of the city, while it would be the first thing to do to prepare a strategy for the hotel, it would be best suited if the solution which comes out is a trendsetting one and not the one which follows the trend created elsewhere. Thus in the times of changing themes and dining preferences , change must be the only constant, to set up a separate path of invention and innovation will take a few intelligent F&B minds however, that is the only good way for hotels to create their niche in F & B offerings.
While we are all very innovative hospitality people genetically , it would not be a surprise to see a counter revolution among the 5 star hotels to be the trendsetter and introduce us to some exciting gastronomical times ahead , where we see unprecedented levels of hospitality , involvement , research , and finally an execution which will set this debate right.
I am not advising any particular thing to be done to achieve this success , rather only recommending a strategy based development , a vision to be the trendsetters and in short , an aim to be notches above the standalone offerings basis the vision and its execution.
Chef Tanveer Kwatra , The exceptionally talented Executive chef of the Le meridian, Gurgaon, talks about his culinary vision with warm possessiveness and continues to enthrall the guests that walks into his restaurants and get smitten by his innovations and continuous focus on quality and detailing in his recipes.
Tanveer being awarded the TOP chef Awards by the Prestigious Delhi Gourmet Club.
Latest Recipes ( Previously called Senses by Pullman) , continues in the same light which was a successful formula when Tanveer headed the same kitchen being managed by Pullman hotels. Being a favourite of foodies on social media , tanveer is a chef who is aware of the developments happening across the city’s gastronomical scene , and his F & B Vision has stood his offerings at a place which spells the difference between the high end gourmet dining and others. With the Relaunch of La Riviera, The European cuisine specialty restaurant , The Le meridian Gurgaon will do well to write an inspirational story for others to learn from.
- Food Festivals
A for authenticity is how the ABC of culinary art is read in all times. There is a thin line between authenticity and innovation and it’s the balance between these two elements in the cuisine which has remained the hallmark of many new trendsetting restaurants both in and outside the hotels.
Food festivals are a good way to ensure staff is up to date with authentic elements of cuisines and the guests are emphatic towards the soul of the hotel which is caring towards the tastes and delight of its customer.
Food festivals have many positive and lasting impact on the popularity of the restaurants as well as it lends that happy edge to the restaurant, which keeps each stakeholder of the dining place constructively involved in all its processes, be it the chefs , the servers or the guests , food festivals ensures each of them learn about the cuisines and culture of different countries and make them curious enough to learn more and most importantly makes them come back to the restaurant to explore different cuisines time and again.
Currently , you can experience a similar experience at Blooms , The all day dining restaurant at the Eros Hotel , Nehru Place with their Thai Food Promotion called The Thai Sojourn.
Must Experience the Thai Food Festival at Eros Hotel.
Chef Mhee from the Chiang mai region of Thailand is serving an authentic thai menu showcasing the fresh yet complex flavours of thai cuisine in a style which is the most common way of dining in Thailand. It’s a journey of flavours , where you can feel the flying wok of the chefs with chilli spices and sauces , and the rustic homestyle preparations and mixing of different taste of curries and salads with rice and the mouthwatering snacks comprising some known and unknown flavours of the neighboring land.
The festival runs till the 19th april, and this trend of festivals and innovative dining is what going to continue at the Eros , assures Umesh Dalal , The F&B Manager of the hotel.
I fondly remembers various food festivals being organized at the Machan , Taj Mahal Hotel. Apart from being a great Promotional activity, Those food festival ensured we as the staff of the restaurant has quality sessions and interactions with the expat chefs and learn about the cuisine and the culture of the country being celebrated, something we always flaunted in front of the guests during the festival and even after that in our day to day F &B lives, and if you have caught me correctly , I still do it now , see right now.
- Teach to reach
A noble thing to do , to Teach is a win win situation for both the teacher and the students.
With foodies becoming more and more aware has also led them to learn more and more. Now the one who is teaching is always looked upon as the knowledgeable , the respectful and even perceived to be as the successful. The perception here in most probabilities is right and beneficial for the hotels who involve themselves in the task of keeping their guests involved. This method of reaching out to the customers I can say was the trend started by hotels and I am happy to see it being continued in some hotels if not all.
While attending a workshop on Italian cuisine by Chef Stephano at the Prego, at Westin Gurgaon, this sense of respect for the chef and the cuisine he does was apparent in the eyes of all attendees. While we all learnt the fine art of making pizzas and tiramisu, apart from learning about the cuisine and the methods of preparation we also learnt the amount of preciseness and fine skills that goes into our meal for which hotel commands a high price we happily pay.
Chef Stephano conducting a culinary workshop with Hotel Guests. at Prego, Westin Gurgaon.
This initiative creates an impression of supreme authority over the cuisine and like each Guru , The chefs in this case gets raving fans in forms of the students who not only appreciate about the initiative of the hotel and the skills of the chef , but also becomes the promoters of the cuisine learnt.
While the revenue from such initiatives will be negligible, the goodwill and engagement with the guests gets a great boost , and once again cleans the chakras of the hotel’s soul.
- Intent & invent
Culinary art is an ever learning process , to say its vast is an huge understatement as the culinary art has no end , it is continuously reinventing itself with new inventions and innovations in all cuisines , forms of dining and sections of kitchen.
Be it the traditional Indian mughlai cuisine where search for traditional methods & flavous have become a matter of pride , or creating fusions of flavours with methods nouvelle, be it the molecular experiments on the cuisine and present them in much glamorous portion sizes and visual appeal or simply inventing new desserts and patisseries , The hotels must keep up and come with new inventions with an intention to serve the guests through its soul and not merely by the menu and Definitely not the boring age old menus.
Osama Jalali , A renowned food writer with his Mother , Chef Nazish Jalali are doing their best efforts to revive and showcase cuisine of the princely state of Rampur, Their native place.
So while Oberois are focusing on researching on the princely state cuisines of India and delivering the authentic taste in the least adulterated form , Le meridian’s initiative was as focused as inventing new variants of eclairs using local flavours and combinations at the same time they are also working on developing the coffee culture through the introduction of latte art and training inhouse baristas in such niche culinary skills.
With modern Indian cuisine being the keyword on the minds of most new age hotelliers , its hard to believe that even molecular gastronomy is a trend that we are a follower of , and not entirely a trendsetting initiative from the Indian kitchens , so while we may be at a curve on this journey of innovation with Indian cuisines , I would not be surprised to see the traditional kitchens in five star hotels open their arms and dive deep in the traditional methods of Indian cooking and come up with innovations not seen before on the culinary map , that would be trendsetting , whose up for some zamindoz or cooking in bamboo ? Or something else , we may not have heard of….
- Those little Big things , out of nothing.
Hotels are usually blessed with large open areas and beautiful landscapes, bigger and classier hotels always take pride in their beautifully manicured gardens and views , the pristine pools and airy terraces.
It would be an opportunity wasted if such prime views and experiences are not used optimally and with little F & B genius it can write a great turn around story.
I was at the Taj Mansingh the other day , The hotel which has serious restraint inorder to renovate and come up with fresher options for its guest. Prime reason is the fear of loosing out the iconic property in the hands of a competitor in the upcoming auction hanging on its head. So while varq and wasabi are relatively newer restaurants , the hotel in past has been devoured of any new culinary development. With ricks or machan going a bit out of fashion and house of ming the exceptional chinese restaurant holding on to its old strings attached with its loyal guests , the hotel as I perceive must be in a fix on how to innovate wisely.
While efforts to revive ricks to its past glory is on , I was most happily surprised to know how judiciously they started a new pop up restaurant called Birnan at their beautiful terrace garden. As Mohit , the Young & Seemingly knowledgeable Manager at Ricks shares his view on birnan , I learnt how the Lovely view , ambience , live grills , wines and cocktails and dim light setting is making this a perfect place for romantic evenings over amazing food or mere quality conversations with friends and family. While this is just a pop up concept at this moment , it would be seen as permanent feature on the dining options at The Taj Mahal Hotel , New Delhi, provided offcourse , it remains the taj by the time the winters arrive , which I religiously hope it remains.
Poolside parties by hotels to lure the fun loving population of the city and with upcoming summers the sundowners would be the theme of lazy Sundays. I-Kandy at LM Gurgaon is a trendsetter in Gurgaon when it comes to hosting rocking pool parties , we have seen Aqua at the Park , Crown surya hotel , the royal plaza hotel already ensuring they make the best of the aquatic features of the hotel.
At Eros Hotel , The beautiful lawns are used to create a larger than life décor for their thai food festival ,which in a way transports you to the coastal country. I can think of many hotels which such luxury of space, which I believe must be used in a way to make the offerings sparkle in the eyes of its patrons.
- M for Monopoly
Though this may not be entirely a fitting word to use , however , if the product is unique enough it does demand a certain level of exclusivity over its customer base. The luxury of offering a product others do not provide is certainly one of the key endeavors of F&B Planning and product development.
This is usually seen when a new concep enters a market.
There was Spice route at Imperial , a highly successful restaurant which has created its legend in serving Pan Asian cuisine in such elegant setting with utmost authenticity , that it left the lovers of the cuisine no choice than to dine in this beautiful restaurant , prices no bar , the exclusivity of dining in a restaurant with culinary distinction is a matter of pride for the guests and for the hotel , it’s a happy walk to the bank.
When Wasabi opened at Taj Mahal Hotel , it was the number one option of eating the finest Japanese cuisine in Delhi. With the stamp of Morimoto on the menu and ingredients flying everyday from the markets of Tokyo , Wasabi had no parallel. In due course though, the exclusivity dies and all the points mentioned above plays a role to keep the concept as interesting and exclusive for the guests.
Chef Vikramjit Roy has been an inspiration to many on how to standout from the competition , through sheer culinary art , innovation and hardwork.
Chef Vikramjit moved to ITC to rewrite the story of Pan Asian cuisine with the chain which has always been at the helm of affairs of culinary developments in Indian , albeit , it was restricted to Indian cuisine. With The Humble House often being a torture to the diners who otherwise swear by their love for chinese cuisine ( Read Sino-ludhianwi) , the ultra authentic chinese cuisine worked up by a team of chinese chefs didn’t hold much fancy to the city’s diners , thus , A for Authenticity was not entirely successful here , however, with Tian , their new Pan Asian Restaurant’s menu created like a fine art by Chef Vikramjit Roy ( Ex wasabi Chef) , whose presentations with Asian cuisine is like scenery to most diners and the flavours as they say , is one with layers of intensity , class and finesse. So while there may be various chinese or Asian restaurants in the city , when it comes to dining experiences , vikramjit specializes in creating an exclusive affair. Something which wasn’t much seen before and definitely it paid dividends to the reputation of ITC as the culinary school for indian chefs , and now , its not just about the Indian Cuisine.
Thus New concepts will always remain to be the pulling factor of guests coming into five star hotels , the concepts which are usually hard to implement with resources available with standlone restaurants or chain. And thus by being at the top of the hospitality pyramid , the five star hotels must utilize this advantage to remain far above than the competition coming in from the markets and malls of the city.
- Greet & tweet
One aspect which five star hotel can shamelessly copy from the standalone restaurants is their social media strategies. Standalone restaurants works very closely and actively on their digital media strategies and are almost omnipresent on all the platforms across the internet globe , interacting with guests , seeking feedback , appreciations and complaints and creating a connect with their diners which makes them come out as caring and hospitable.
With resources in plenty with five star hotels , their digital media strategy can be developed on these lines , only with more class and substance. It has to be an inclusive effort of various departments of the hotel , to share the knowledge , information , discussions and seek feedback regarding guest experiences , products and overall performance and vision of the hotel.
Hotelliers are very busy people , and its not easy for a hardworking F & B manager to keep a track of dining options in the city , their performances , trends etc. thus on social media at the touch of a finger one can learn about various news and feedbacks from various stratas of f & b businesses in the market.
Not only it is a great platform to promote the hotel , it is also a great platform to learn. How often I see hotel managers oblivious of developments outside the boundary of the hotel. It doesn’t augur well for the future of Hotel’s F & B , and with hoteliers having a reputation to be the know it all people , key emphasis must be given on this front , and ensure The Buffet of Hope is well laid and interesting enough to revive the culinary temples which hotels were once considered to be.