Home / ANALYSIS / Front of House / Frozen versus fresh

Frozen foods are more popular in hotels

Food technology has advanced rapidly and changed the way we eat. Frozen or canned foods, are now less expensive and more readily available than fresh foods in most places. But is this a bad thing? Is fresh always better? Certainly, fresh food tastes better and logically, it seems food in its most natural form would be healthier.

But hectic schedules and urban areas far removed from the agricultural Meccas, have prompted the food industry to provide a solution to the gap in time between a ripened food being picked and the time it is placed on one's table. The answer to this gap is frozen food. Fast and convenient, frozen food can be found in just about any home, and hotels are no exception.

Story continues below

Advertisement

COMMENT Comment on this article

Green asparagus, artichoke, avocado, iceberg lettuce, and arugula, are easily available in India. In a bid to encourage local farmers and producers, worldwide chefs are now stepping out to see what is available at their doorsteps. Nisarg Nirman Agro Foods Pvt Ltd and Trikaya are some well-known suppliers.

Bhaskar Sankhari, Executive Chef, ITC Grand Central supports this. He explains, “As part of ITC Welcomgroup's initiative, we at ITC Hotels, Mumbai, propagate the concept of Locavore; through this initiative we try and support local farmers as much as possible and we in turn receive local produce that is fresh, healthy and organic. Mumbai, being a port city, gives us the advantage of procuring fresh sea food. Before the onset of monsoon when deep sea fishing is prohibited and dangerous, advance planning is done in the kitchen and bulk purchase is done every day to store for the monsoon season. Our poultry products too are sourced every day. Hence, frozen food is avoided to the minimal extent possible, unless unavoidable. But mostly, yes, we try and use fresh products in our cooking extensively. In fact, we pride ourselves on it.”

While it is generally accepted that fresh fruits and vegetables contain the most nutrients, it is important to remember that fresh produce is often transported over long distances and then left to sit on store shelves. The time lapse between picking and purchase can cause fresh fruits and vegetables to lose some of their nutritional value as they are exposed to light and air. Their taste and texture are also diminished. The nutrients in produce remain largely intact regardless of how they are processed. The lycopene in tomatoes, for example, can be found in fresh tomatoes, canned tomatoes, spaghetti sauce, and frozen pizza sauce.

Fresh and healthy may be the mantra but all hotels do have to turn to frozen foods in some form or the other. Pascal Dupuis, General Manager, The Leela Kempinski Goa, is forthright. “We use premium frozen products ranging from freshly frozen imported meats like Wagyu, Angus, and Australian tenderloin, New Zealand Lamb Rack, cold cuts, and Duck Foie Gras Rougie. We use Scottish smoked salmon, fresh frozen baby octopus, tomato Herring Norway, smoked eel, freshly frozen royal basa fillet and scallops. But, most of the seafood that we use is fresh and ordered on a daily basis like lobster, tiger prawns, king crabs, pomfret, kingfish, sea bass, red snapper, grouper, ladyfish, tuna, squids, mackerels, sardines. We use frozen green peas and corn kernels and frozen starch products such as French fries. In pastry, we use frozen morello cherry, berries such as raspberry, black berry, red current, blue berry, chestnuts, rhubarb, dairy products, and Mövenpick ice creams.”

Hyatt Regency Mumbai is no different. Says Ashish Shome, Executive Chef, “Frozen food usage is limited to imported fish and meat products such as tuna fillet, Chilean seabass fish, Vietnamese basa fish, and lamb products from New Zealand as sourcing these fresh has its challenges.”

Sudhir Pai, Executive Chef, Holiday Inn Mumbai International Airport, informs, “We stock frozen imported fruit purees, French fries, potato wedges, Ham, Smoked salmon, Cold cuts, green peas, Corn niblets, Imported raw meat, Imported fish.”

At Grand Sarovar Mumbai, chicken, meats, fish, purees and ice creams are primarily used, according to Dhanji Maru, Purchase Manager.

Glenn Eastman, Executive Chef, The Leela Palace Delhi explains, “I would love to say that we use no frozen processed foods, but the fact is that some of these items are more accepted, more consistent and better yielding when they come frozen to one’s operation. French fries for example are just very labour-intensive and have a high waste factor to do them ourselves in the operation. So it is better to let the processor absorb those expenses and we just get to use the product. I only trust Mc Cains.”

For Rishi Kapoor, Executive Chef, Hotel Marine Plaza, the list is short. “Smoked salmon, frozen corn, whipped cream, sausages, pork bacon, berries, cold cuts,” he states.

“We do not use frozen vegetables or fruits to substitute the fresh, and therefore our chefs design special menus to suit the ingredients available during the season. The primary frozen ingredients we order are meats and seafood, which is as per the international certification and when defrosted, as good as fresh, owing to the latest technology for which we pay a premium price,” reveals Deepak Bhatia, Executive Chef, Leela Mumbai.

Salil Fadnis, Executive Chef, Sahara Star too is choosy. “I only try and use imported frozen fish, like salmon, Chilean sea bass, scallops and a few exotic mushrooms, berries etc. One has to, in order to be able to offer our guests stuff that is not available here. I am particular that these are frozen and maintained at the right temperatures and in the correct manner, so that the taste is not affected. Otherwise we rely on local fresh produce.”

“Care during the thawing and reheating steps are the most important thing one can do to make frozen food taste as good as fresh. No matter how well meat/seafood is frozen, reheating at too high a temperature can ruin it. Cooking to the correct temperature is the key. If not followed correctly the flavour and texture may slightly vary,” explains Pascal, of Leela Goa. Shome, Hyatt Regency concurs, “Freezing foods properly is very important as the same needs to undergo a lot of processes. If not done properly, it does affect the quality of a dish. Fresh food always has an advantage when it comes to imparting flavour. It also has a better texture and feel. Sometimes because of logistic issues one cannot get fresh commodities and only then does one resort to using frozen products.”

Rishi Kapoor of Hotel Marine Plaza agrees. “Freshness and quality at the time of freezing affect the condition of frozen foods. If frozen at peak quality, thawed foods emerge tasting better than foods frozen near the end of their useful life. So freeze items you won't use quickly sooner rather than later. Store all foods at 0° F or lower to retain vitamin content, colour, flavour and texture.”

Sudhir Pai feels, “Frozen foods are better sometimes, because fresh product is not available, supply is inconsistent and need to import (fresh is not possible). As long as the freezing process is good like IQF, plate freezing, vacuum freezing, the flavours are maintained, the cold chain is maintained and there is no problem with frozen food. Frozen vegetables have been picked at the peak of their ripeness, and immediately flash frozen. As a result, all of the minerals and vitamins are locked in, ready for your benefit. This means that in some cases, frozen vegetables might be more nutritious than vegetables purchased locally. Frozen vegetables may also have the outer cellulose layer already broken as a result of the freezing, making it easier for your body to digest the vegetables.”

He continues, “Modern freezing techniques make many of the fish in the freezer section superior to those on the shelf nearby. Why? Because lots of fish are now frozen on the boat, just minutes after being caught, with flash-freezing units that maintain a temperature.”

Ajay Chopra, Executive Chef, The Westin Mumbai Garden City states, “We provide our guests with a wide selection of international cuisine such as Japanese, Thai, Malaysian, Italian, French and Indian. Procuring exotic ingredients and meats is an interesting process and helps enhance the gourmet experience.”

He adds, “With greater emphasis on correct storage and hygiene, we completely depend on our freezers. We pay special attention to the functioning of our freezers. If they ever play up, our stocks could deteriorate. We pay attention to packaging too. If left open or not sealed properly the meat or fish could get what we call ‘Freezer Burns’ which completely destroys the taste and texture of the meat. At times, our suppliers may not be able to provide the right produce at the right time. Looking for alternative suppliers can also be quite a challenge.”

Every hotel is quality conscious and serves only the best and suppliers are carefully chosen. Says Chopra, Executive Chef, Westin Mumbai, “Locally we deal with meat suppliers such as Venky’s, Hybro foods and Zorabian and processed meats from abroad. It is important for us as a global brand to scrutinize our food suppliers on grounds of food, Hygiene and safety due to which we prefer working with certified vendors. Goat meat is easily available in India but the challenge is procuring meats such as duck meat, goose liver pate, sausages, lyonners and imported meats such as Australian lamb shanks, New Zealand/Australian lamb racks, ostrich meat, etc. We mostly use fresh fish available in the local market. Only if the required fish is not available in the market or in India, we import from the finest suppliers. Cambay Tiger, Raga foods are certain examples. Salmon, basa, shrimps, wild sea bass, black cod, hamachi are some we import.”

Sudhir Pai, Executive Chef, Holiday Inn, Mumbai International Airport informs, “We have a whole range of suppliers specialised in a particular type of product for e.g. Mc Cain for potato products, Delta for frozen berries, Philo pastry frozen –Antoniou, and Frozen American corn.”

Says Pascal Dupuis, Leela Goa, “Some of the well-known and certified local suppliers include Fortune, Lamb Western, Alliance Foods Pvt Ltd, Global Trading and international supplier includes Deli, Holland. We decide on a supplier after checking the quality and freshness of the samples send by them, if they adhere to ISO standards and lastly on the competitive rates and the delivery time frame offered by the suppliers.”

“Majority of our products are fresh and chilled and frozen is avoided as far as possible. However, certain imported perishable items like cold cuts, prawns, frozen fruits for bakery, tuna fillet, Chilean sea bass fish, Vietnamese basa fish, lamb products from New Zealand etc are bought in frozen condition wherever necessary. These are bought from suppliers in Mumbai and Delhi. Fortune Gourmet, Gateway Fine Food Services, Delta Nutritives, IFB Agro and Caspian Caviar are some,” reveals Biswajeet Mitra, Materials Manager, Hyatt Regency.

Sunil Babu, Commercial Manager, Leela Kempinski, Bangalore, says, “Since we are quality conscious, we take the advice from our chefs on the brands to be procured. We prefer to buy from certified vendors. We also look into their credibility in the market and have stringent quality control measures and we have our own lab to check the quality of the materials.” Mitra, Hyatt Regency, adds, “We do sampling of products, based on quality, price and consistency in delivery. Availability is a very important criterion due too.”

So, clearly suppliers are striving to meet the high quality demand of hotels. Fortune Gourmet is known for its Italian meats, Chilean Sea Bass and French cheese. Equally popular are JK Trading, Gormetix, Alliance Trading. Says Sapna of Fortune Gourmet, “Temperature controlled food is very important for the hospitality Industry. If the temperature is correctly maintained, there is no spoilage and goods can be always available in the correct quantity so that there is no wastage. Properly used frozen food does not affect quality. We have over 400 customers. Deliveries are made every alternate day accordingly to a pre-planned route.”

“Frozen foods is not a new trend, it was always there and is to an extent, a must for hotels,” sums up Salil Fadnis of Sahara Star.