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| A mini Thalluvandi at The KNK Project |
There's more news: everybody in this world dreams of opening a restaurant. Some realize their dream. And it quickly vanishes. Because, for every 10 new outlets opening, five are closing their doors. Sadly, January, February and March 2019 were the worst months for restaurants, with over 65% winding up.
Having said that, there are few factors I’ve observed.
Change
This whole food business is very dynamic. It sees a change a day. When I first started working as a food critic, Molecular gastronomy (established in 1988) was new. Nitrogen was being introduced to flash freeze ice creams. Sous vide (invented in 1971) was new to Chennai. Today, a lot of these cooking techniques have become mainstream.
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| Sous Vide pool at The Flying Elephant, Park Hyatt Chennai |
I even see dehydrated food making a big statement in stand-alone pubs and restaurants.
With all these techniques, food has peaked into a combination of techniques and what works with what.
'Fusion', another buzz word in the culinary world, has to be done well. Of course, you can marry two food styles. Just make them compatible. Maggie noodle burger patties? Go for it if that’s what your guests want… add some nutrition in the form of a healthy salad, though.
Everybody is constantly looking for change. And that is perhaps where 5 star restaurants need to up their act.
I find many chains rely on the corporate office to make decisions. And my question is, how does someone sitting in Zurich or even Gurgaon know what is the need in Chennai?
Hotels need to empower local heads to make their decisions. Not prescribe one menu for all coffee shops across the country, just because it is convenient to train the staff.
Add a little charm, introduce your guests to the lovely local fare…
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| Typical local fare, Chicken 65 from Dakshin at Crowne Plaza Chennai Adyar Park |
When we go abroad, do we get Indian food on the room service menu? No. what we get are burgers, chips and sandwiches. And eggs. Was a time when hotels turned up their noses at vegetarians… Not anymore. Why? Because a sizable population in the West is turning vegetarian, or vegan, if you must. But Indian food? Nah.
How has Chennai’s eating changed? Our city residents are eating out (or ordering in) more than they did. A few restaurateurs have told me they are thinking of scaling down the size of their outlets as walk-ins have dwindled. However, online ordering has increased. Today, one restaurant that earlier had 70% walk-in customers, has only 35%. The rest are ordering online. Naturally, then, he will cut costs by scaling down and going the cloud kitchen way. As a stand-alone, he has far more flexibility. The customer ordering online is not really bothered whether their food is being made in a cloud kitchen or a kitchen on the restaurant’s premises.
Speaking of cloud kitchens, Ciclo Café, for example, has Ciclo Life, which delivers healthy salads, keto meals and juices. They even have a section for North Indian food, which is really good.
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| No caption needed. Eco-friendly home delivery packaging from ENVY |
SPI Diners, which owns ID and a host of other restaurants has a cloud kitchen called ENVY, which supplies South Indian food from their cloud kitchen. It is doing so well, that they are looking out for a physical space to open a proper restaurant. Opposites attract, don't they?
A whole new spectrum of cuisine has come into town. We now have Parsi, Bengali, Arabic, Gujarati, Rajasthani, Pan Asian and North East Indian food sharing palates with Chinese, Continental, Mexican, Mediterranean and Italian food.
In Chennai, I find global food trends making little difference. Here, it is all about the food. Plain and simple. Probably why we have so many 'multi-cuisine' restaurants poised to attract the entire family.
 At ITC Grand Chola, designer lighting is energy efficient with filament LEDs and are dimmer controlled. Even the air-conditioning is controlled by Building Management System for optimum efficiency and comfort. This is the PDR at Avartana. |
Interiors and accessories
First of all, for a stand-alone to be successful, they need to be in the right location. They need to pay higher rents for that. The footfalls have to tally with the restaurateur’s target ROI. Naturally, then, stand-alones end up paying more rent. Can they afford the fancy interiors that 5 stars can? Not all.
Another point: nobody really cares if you have Hussains hanging on the wall or use Noritake crockery if the food is passe.
In truth, once the decor (or lack of it) has sunk in, all diners care about is clean, decent, aesthetic surroundings, and good food. So, spending heavily on décor is not even advisable. Leave that to the museums, unless you have a surplus budget after budgeting in for the best ingredients you can find.
Research
Once you’ve cut down on a 'decor' pressure, and have a surplus, it can be used for research. I know of restaurants that have spent months, if not years on researching their chosen cuisine, fine tuning it, sourcing ingredients and getting the right people to cook it, and oversee fresh, customized masala production. Not compromising on food quality is a huge plus. It shows in the end result, in the food you put on the table.
Plating: now that is another subject of contention. I agree, you first eat with your eyes and all that. Still, let the plating be simple, let it be attractive and let the food remain at the temperature you intend for it to be eaten at. Many times, as I take my notes, I notice the chef getting quietly worked up next to me… because, his food will get cold, and the whole dish will become different.
Ingredients
There was a time when I was all for sourcing locally, encouraging the local farmers, etc. I still am. But I have matured. For example, you cannot make good Italian food if you use local cheese and atta. That is meant for rotis, puris, parathas. Nor will the Naatu Thakali match the Italian San Marzano. Imagine substituting Nalla ennai for extra virgin olive oil… the taste and the texture will become total confusion.
For that matter, Pan Asian street food too needs imported sauces to give the exact flavour.
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| Pan Asian food at Pan Asian ITC Grand Chola |
Lamb, chicken, sea food and fresh veggies, though, need be bought locally to ensure freshness for the taste and quality. Balancing out the local with the imported in specialty restaurants would make sense.
Short story: a seafood restaurant chain came to Chennai. Lovely interiors, great location, welcoming service staff… till I took one bite of the food. This restaurant, located on prime property, close to the ocean and Chennai's sea food market, actually prided itself on importing frozen seafood. I was incredulous. Of course, it closed down.
Cuisine
Yes. I have a secret to reveal. And this secret is really not a secret. South Indian and North Indian food works. Biryani flies. 'Regional’ food restaurants rake in 30 to 35 lakhs per month, a figure given to me by restaurateurs. Even those who serve Indian Molecular Gastronomy. Take for example, SpiceKlub. I’d gone there for a tasting, and I ate my way through some vegetarian food that had unexpected twists and turns. There, the Vada Pav has no vada. Instead, I was presented with a thick yellow foam, boondi, dry chutney wrapped in potato starch, and the like. So, while the flavours are similar, and the name is the same, the way it works is different. Chennai is lapping it up. This franchise, with its roots in Bombay, expected to cater to a predominantly North Indian crowd when it first started. But, to their pleasant surprise, all market research went down the drain. They found that 75% of their guests are Chennai folk, looking for a change from their regular fare.
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| SpiceKlub's Vada P |
Superstition
Sometimes they work, sometimes they don’t. It all depends on belief and what makes yousucceed.
A few beliefs:
- · Basement restaurants don’t work
- · Using a particular alphabet to start the name
- · A particular launch date
- · If the kitchen is Vaastu compliant, all is good
- · Lucky colours
- · Direction of the main door
- · Signature elements, like square plates, etc.
Evolution goes on. Change, innovation are the only constant. The way to humanity’s heart is… through the flavours, colours and textures on the platter, in the bowl, on the table.
Food loyalty is in short supply. It has to be earned.
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