Several restaurants had to tighten their belts when the pandemic hit and unfolded. They had to tackle several issues and focus on measures to control costs. One of them was leveraging technology and revisiting the concept of experiential dining.
Hotelier India organised the ‘Future of Food’ webinar on 23rd February 2022, supported by AH International. Himanshu Taneja, Culinary Director- South Asia of Marriott International curated and led the virtual event, which saw the participation of Ashish Bhasin, Director – F&B Service and Culinary Head of The Leela Ambience Gurugram Hotel & Residences, Neeraj Tyagi, Culinary Director of Pullman & Novotel New Delhi Aerocity, Sandeep Pande, Executive Chef of JW Marriott New Delhi Aerocity and Tejinder Singh, Head – F&B Service at ITC Hotels.
Vinita Bhatia, Editor of Hotelier India flagged off the webinar. She underscored the relevance of ‘Future of Food’ in contemporary times when F&B emerged as the bulwark for the beleaguered hospitality industry. Bibhor Srivastava, MD, ITP Media India, spoke about the shift in customers’ decision-making and how F&B professionals are adjusting to these evolved expectations.
Even as it surfaced as the knight in shining armour with knives and skillets in its weaponry, the F&B sector also witnessed increased operational costs and a growing inclination for technology-based initiatives. AH International’s Founder and Director, Himanshu Lodha shared how his organisation offers bespoke and customised solutions to fulfil these ever-changing dynamics.
A DIFFERENT APPROACH
Taneja started the session by highlighting how F&B professionals rethought their approach to the business post-COVID. Experiential dining especially has seen a sea-change.
“Today, experiential dining is no longer limited to food. It is an amalgamation of marrying the concept with the food, reworking the seating arrangement, playing with lights and music to elevate the dining experience and the involvement of technology,” Taneja pointed out.
Bhasin added that it all boils down to experience, and this can even involve storytelling. He shared how he delved into Salma Yusuf Husain’s book ‘The Mughal Feast: Recipes from the kitchen Of Emperor Shah Jahan’ while planning a recent food festival. He tried to recreate the grandeur and enigma of food habits from that era while curating the dishes. “While planning this fest, I was worried because, in the 16th century, Mughlai food was not spicy and was flavoured with black pepper. But it was well-received by guests because of the stories that were weaved within,” he elaborated.
Tyagi agreed that experiential dining is all about making memories. “New technologies are driving this sector, for instance, bio-hacked food. It might not sound appetising, but this food is decomposed and recomposed with the help of artificial intelligence,” he pointed out. ‘There is a lot of sense involved in it, and it is the future as everyone wants to live a healthier life.”
Talking about how technology is increasingly making inroads into restaurants, Tyagi shared that a big challenge that F&B professionals face – that of recalling guest names and their specific culinary preferences. “Every morning, during the team meeting, we try to recall our guests’ names, which might sound easy but isn’t because there are multiple check-in and checkout daily. Hence, Pullman & Novotel New Delhi Aerocity is contemplating implementing RFID card readers at the entrance of its F&B destinations. This will help the culinary and serving team know all about the guest when they enter and service them better.
F&B professionals are relooking their menus, making them shorter and including more immunity-boosting variants. This shift towards a healthier lifestyle has led to a growing acceptance of vegan and plant-based meat.
A SPACE AT THE TABLE
The lockdown and its subsequent restrictions threw up another curveball for F&B professionals. With social distancing norms, they had to rejig the seating arrangement and ensure that they could maximise revenue from each cover.
Pande highlighted that just like RevPAR and ADR are used to determine the room revenue, the F&B sector is moving to Revenue Per Available Seat Hour (RevPASH). “We have software that calculates the seat turnover, how many guests have booked a table, the average time a guest spends at the table and this information is used to calculate ways to optimise the limited seating space available,” he claimed.
He noted that the other major trend in the sector is sustainability. For instance, JW Marriott New Delhi Aerocity informs its guests that their lamb is sourced from Nathu La from Rajasthan’s Alwar district and is free grazing. They even break open eggs to check whether the yolk is 12 or 13 on the Ross Scale.
“Guests want to know where the food produce is sourced from, whether the juice is from a cold press, or if animals are organically and ethically raised. So, whether it is geotagging food to underline its source or using single-origin coffee, these are trends that are gaining ground,” Pande added.
Taneja added that most hotel companies and restaurants are spending a lot of time, effort and investment on plant-based meat. “We will have a section of plant-based food across all sections of the menu at Marriott properties – be it appetisers, soups, mains or desserts,” he revealed.
BACK TO THE ROOTS
Singh felt that experiential dining was shifting towards heritage and emphasised this point by sharing how long-standing brands like ITC Bukhara are growing in the face of competition. “Old standalone restaurants and eateries are becoming full-fledged brands, whether it is Keventers or Kake Da Hotel,” he added. “Hence, legacy and authenticity should be celebrated and included in experiential dining. This could be in the use of utensils, ingredients or service design from that era and make it a selling point for guests.”
Loyalty plays a significant role in the F&B sector, including customer retention and further referrals. This can be best achieved by being transparent with them. While technology can help in this, the onus lies more with the culinary and serving staff who can engage with guests personally and share bits and bytes about the food, the process involved in bringing it to their table, without being too intrusive.
Interestingly, the panellists also spoke about growing competition from an unexpected quarter – home chefs. The recent lockdowns saw many people seek succour in their kitchens, by whipping up the imaginative and healthy fare. This gave rise to a strong tribe of home chefs who provide homely and healthy meals.
Bhasin recalled the reaction he received when he first introduced a home chef at his restaurant – people joked that he had forgotten cooking! “But today, home chefs are the rage, which once again underlines that everything is about experience and experience itself can mean different things to different people.”
With the growing interest in A2 milk, cold-pressed oil, and plant-based meat, a couple of audience members asked the panellists how they could be sure they were getting the real deal. Bhasin summed it up succinctly by saying, “Buy it from trusted and trustworthy sources,” which again reiterated the concept of transparency.
Experience-led dining facilitated by technology is definitely primed for an uprise. In addition to adding a touch of authenticity to what is served to guests, hoteliers are augmenting experiences offered by their team members who ultimately create memories for guests. After all, the little touches go a long way in engaging diners and keeping them back for more.
