The celebrity chef was moderating a mega roundtable on the Face of Hospitality in the Post-COVID world at the India Food Forum 2022
Mumbai: Celebrity chefs representing different factions of the hospitality industry at the India Food Forum 2022 conceded that running a successful food business today was more about understanding and adopting technology and innovation and less about recipes. They were part of a mega roundtable on ‘Face of Hospitality in the Post-COVID world’ on Day 2 of the India Food Forum 2022 held at Westin Mumbai Powai Lake.
“Today, the hospitality business is about adapting. It’s about innovation. It’s a lot of things put together,” said Celebrity Chef Harpal Singh Sokhi who was moderating the mega session that saw more than 10 chefs exchanging their opinions on the subject. “We should understand Metaverse and Etherium and other new-age concepts. Butter chicken, we already know. We need to understand where we can invest and how it can grow. That’s what we need to learn,” he added.
Supplementing Chef Sokhi, co-moderator Varun Inamdar said, “We need to reinvent the consumer rather than the recipes.”
“Our idea of essentials has changed from food and travel. Today, it’s become the Internet and other new-age processes,” he added.
Speaking about the current trend of cloud kitchens Chef Shantanu Gupte said, “cloud kitchens are not sustainable, eventually you will have to come to retail and open restaurants.”
Predicting the future of hospitality, Gupte said hospitality might split into a value sector which is a scalable and skilled sector which involves fine dining. “It will be about value provision or about specialization,” he said.
The other topics the panel addressed were contactless hospitality which includes virtual menus, contactless ordering, and contactless payments. The panel agreed that concise menus and personalistion are the need of the hour.
Training and motivating people to get into the hospitality business was important, the panel deliberated.
Specialty or niche food is also an emerging area. “Healthy food has become more popular. In terms of food consumption 1 in 4 people have some condition that restricts their food options. Over the years, there is a more understanding about different kinds of specialized foods or food niches such as plant-based food or vegan, sugar-free foods,” said Chef Harsh Kedia, Founder & CEO, A Diabetic Chef.
Other panellists in the session included: Chef Sudhir, Chef Anees Khan, Chef & Founder, Star Anise Fine Foods & Leisure; Chef Nilesh Limaye, Trendsetter, Chef Extraordinaire; Chef Gresham Fernandes, Culinary; Chef Kshitiz Shekhar, Director of Culinary, Hotel Marine Plaza; Chef Martin Fernandes, Professional Bakery Consultant, CMF; Chef Vasant Khot, Director – F& B, Radisson Hotel Mumbai; Chef Vijayendra Pawaskar, Founder, Chef De Coded Hospitality; Chef Rakhee Vaswani, Celebrity Chef, Culinary Expert, Food Consultant, Cooking Show Host.
The panel concluded on the note that technology is one of the most important ingredients for success of a hospitality business today.
The panel was one of key highlights of the Day 2 of the 15th edition of India Food Forum 2022, the mega congregation of India’s emeriti of the Food Retail establishment at The Westin Mumbai, Powai Lake on December 7-8.
Started in 2008, the annual India Food Forum is the platform du jour for those looking to get a ring-side view of India’s food retail industry and those wanting to ride the action on the Emerging Innovations and Trends and Developments in the Business of Food in India.
While the first day of the conference focused on Food & Grocery, the second day focused on Food Service and was chaired by Anurag Katriar, Founder Indigo Hospitality; Trustee NRAI.
Powered by Smart Bazaar and MessageBird, India Food Forum 2022 is set to host 150+ speakers, 100+ exhibitors, top hats belonging to the C-Suite of 400+ brands and organisations in the food business.
