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Chefs talk about equipment and supply challenges, retention of trained manpower, being held to ransom by suppliers and much more.

In this round table, chefs talk about equipment and supply challenges, retention of trained manpower, being held to ransom by suppliers and much more, with Punam Mohandas.

How difficult is it to get Indian customers to experiment with different cuisines?
SOUMYA GOSWAMI: The Indian customers frequenting five-star deluxe hotels today are well travelled and have high culinary expectations.

It is not difficult at all trying to get them to taste Japanese, Peruvian, Italian, authentic regional Chinese and other varied cuisines.

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SACHIN JOSHI: Customers are ready to experiment and taste world cuisine. Nowadays people travel a lot and they have developed taste for cuisines other than Indian also.

AMIT BHARADWAJ: That is no longer a problem, the Indian clientele is now quite aware and in tune with world global cuisine trends.

KARIM HASSENE: Most of our Indian guests are world travellers and most of the time they want to have Italian food or experiment with our French or Moroccan degustation and of course, some guests will always prefer to stay with the traditional and have a Rajasthani experience.

STEPHEN DOE: Indian customers are very much more open to try new cuisines. They travel more now than in the past therefore, like to try again something they have had overseas or read about in food publications and of course, the internet.

Does your work environment allow you enough freedom to be creative and innovative?
SOUMYA GOSWAMI: Of course it does; our host of innovative restaurants challenges us to stay ahead of our times and push our limits of creativity to attract more and more loyal customers.

SACHIN JOSHI: There is 100% freedom for creativity and innovation. We even have a ‘chefs innovation day’ wherein there is an internal competition which is judged by guests, the GM and HODs.

AMIT BHARADWAJ: Definitely it does, it is one of the reasons one joins a company, based on the individual’s leader and his/ her vision for food and beverage.

KARIM HASSENE: We are always trying new things; chefs must be curious all the time, from tasting the product to experimenting with different flavours and spices. I involve my team in the creativity and innovation and they take it very seriously.

STEPHEN DOE: I can only speak for this property; my team and myself are encouraged daily to be innovative and creative, which is also a hallmark of this F&B driven property.