F&B Speak

‘Change is the only constant’

Abhimanyu Kayastha, executive assistant manager (F&B) at The Grand Ashok, Bangalore talks about the transition the F&B departments in Indian hotels have gone through over the last decade

Abhimanyu Kayastha

Hotels with restaurants continue to improve their F&B operations - from expanding menus to creating unique offerings for guests. On the other end of the spectrum, hotels without restaurants primarily focus on maximising profit through rooms.

However, F&B operators are not merely revenue generators but increasingly gaining importance as far as bottom lines are concerned. Restaurants are less chain-mandated and more attentive to the dining interests of the local community. As hotels have improved their F&B outlets, local residents have taken notice. Increasingly, hotel restaurants and bars have become popular hangouts among in-house guests and locals. Improved restaurant outlets and better quality dishes also justify higher charges. While banqueting is the primary challenge faced by F&B, it is also an avenue to exhibit their creative skills and talents. It is in banqueting where we are given an empty room that is entirely left to our discretion to develop and furnish. The ambience along with the catering is a huge challenge.

There was a time when the kitchen was treated as a room at the back of the house. Today, it is the welcoming lounge where guests interact with chefs, asking them to custom-make specialty dishes. Chefs in turn are turning more corporate in profile and are constantly on the lookout for skills to cater to current expectations. Open and interactive kitchens are becoming popular. Customers today are well read and knowledgeable about the food they eat and the restaurants they want to try. Being in F&B has become challenging and prone to more opportunities for improvement. When a guest visits you regularly, he wants to see change. Every visit needs to be an experience. Only then would they even consider to re-visit.

While it is true that people today are creating 'restaurant food' at home, restaurants are doing their best to serve homely food. When guests come to a restaurant, they look for simple and hygienic food. It is not the complexity of the dish that would bring them back to the restaurant, but the simplicity behind it.

Lifestyles have changed, where physical movements are limited and exercise has become the norm. It is due to the change in the living conditions today that people are thinking and eating healthy. And as custodians of food, it is our responsibility to ensure that we offer fresh and healthy food.

(As told to Priya Krishnaswamy)