F&B

Meal on the run

Suman Tarafdar

At first glance, cricket and lunches have little to do with each other. But in this age of maximising one's time, if the former has introduced power play, the latter has been as prompt in power lunches, designed to keep you raring to go for the rest of the day.

"The Power Lunch at Chef & I is based on the same concept, says chef Wang Li of Uppal's Orchid in Delhi. "As soon as you have been seated at your Power table in our Power section, you are served with Power beverages, - a Red Bull, a fresh juice, green tea or a macho shake. Power crackers, our fat-free organic munchies, get you cracking to an excellent opening spell. Power starters get your business talks going. A Power soup follows, while Power grub is power packed to top up your nutrients. Power dessert comes in a Power trolley, leaving room for our fresh roasted Power coffee; a tall café late or a quick espresso."

This may have already tired some, but the corporate world seems to be lapping up specially-designed lunches for them. Food and beverage establishments across the metros report a spike in sales when it comes to 'business' or 'executive' or 'corporate' lunches.

What exactly makes for a business lunch varies, but the sector agrees to the last F&B manager that it is needed. Whether it is chains like Nirula's or Rajdhani or top-end hotels, most put speed at the top of the crucial factors chart, followed by quality, health and value. "The faster you can serve them the better it is, says Dinaz Madhukar, GM, Taj Connemara. "They have the right balance of proteins, carbs and also taste," says Arindam Chakraborty, assistant F&B manager, Shangri-La. "In today's world, even lunches have become working lunches," says Abhijit Mukherjee, director F&B, Hyatt. "All our conference rooms come with options of working lunch packages, which the clients can have in their meeting rooms. Typically, the cost for 10 people would come to about Rs 20,000 to 25,000. Health reigns. "Our hip lunch has a pre-selection of four dishes, soup and dessert and forms 80% of our orders," says Madhukar. Indian is passé, while oriental, with its conception of being light, is very popular, goes conventional wisdom.

Oriental or continental. The choice is generally between these two. World cuisine too has many proponents. "The flavour is international as traditional salads can combine with pizzas or rumali rotis or tartlets," says Mukherjee. However there are those who offer Indian as well. So dimsums, feta, kimchi, even the humble kulcha make their presence felt as dishes from Thai, Japanese, Chinese, Vietnamese and Malaysian cuisines co-exist with Italian, Spanish, Indian, Lebanese, Greek and a host of other cuisines. "A lot of Indians still prefer Indian food, including rotis, so we do them in smaller sizes and a greater range, says Aubrey Mullerworth, GM, Metropolitan.

For a hotel catering almost entirely to a corporate clientele, like Gurgaon's Galaxy, the entire menu is designed to serve them best. "Most lunches are had in formal company or in peer groups, and excellent food and service in a package is the most crucial factor in attracting a regular clientele," says Saurabh Kaushik F&B manager.

Location plays a role too. Radisson Hotel, at the edge of Gurgaon, rotates its continental and Indian menus very fast, says Paras Sharma, F&B manager, as those coming from offices need to have their meals, and often in semi-privacy. Ivy, located in a corporate office building, gets almost its entire clientele from the corporate sector, according to its director Saurabh Khanijo. Taj Palace's F&B manager Mohit Sharma would not see even half that proportion opting for business lunches, where of the 15 per cent who do are largely diplomats and lawyers. The boutique Ambassador draws in the embassy crowd, says Rajiv Mahajan, F&B manager at the hotel. "Travertino, at The Oberoi, being in the heart of the business and commercial centre, attracts a lot of corporate clientele who come over for a smooth, uninterrupted, fancy-free business lunch that assures quality of food and service, says Silki Sehgal Nanda, manager, marketing and communications at the hotel.

There are other factors as well. A business lunch can often be part meal, part meeting. "A restaurant offers a less intimidating atmosphere for a meeting, says Sudipta Sengupa, senior VP, marketing and sales, Nirula's. Anticipation is crucial, as the client does not want to be disturbed repeatedly, says Sohrab Sitaram, CEO, Tabula Rasa, which specialises in bentou boxes, in two-three variations, for its large Japanese and Korean clientele. A business should not be a la carte, he suggests, for speed is paramount. Consistency in quality is another factor favoured by the corporate word, points out Sandeep Joshi, F&B manager, Park Plaza, not just with the food, but service and ambience as well, a view echoed by almost all. So even if your lunch is snappy, the F&B sector is putting in a lot of thought and time to make it perfect for you.

- Inputs by Priya Kanungo