With 2020 having finally drawn to a close, we talk to some leading restaurateurs and chefs in Delhi about the lessons they learned last year, and those that they plan to carry on into 2021, and how much they had to chew over so that consumers could enjoy their favourite restaurant meals.
Shamsul Wahid, Group Executive Chef, Impresario Handmade Restaurants
A lot of thought had to be given to devise a protocol which was efficient, effective and did not hamper guest experience. Since we ran some of our kitchens for delivery during the lockdown, it was comparatively easier to scale up operations when we opened for dine-in. We did several rounds of menu-engineering to design our final version that had to be tighter as we had to limit the people in the kitchen as well. A lot of menu items based on local produce replaced imported ingredients. A lot of DIYs and ready marinades were introduced and dishes were rethought so that they could travel well.
Priyank Sukhija, CEO, First Fiddle Restaurants
We underwent major changes like introduction of Pods in our Dragonfly to introducing DIY kits at Plum by Bentchair and immunity cocktails at our restaurants. Currently, we are adopting different strategies, right from offering special discounts to women diners to creating a special immunity booster menu to live events.
Zorawar Kalra, Director, Massive Restaurants
Delivery menus and cloud kitchens are now essential to the industry, but we feel by the end of the first quarter, dine-in sales will return to normalcy. Technology is playing a key role with direct ordering, contactless dining and CRM. 2020 was tough, but made us realise the value of incorporating technology we probably would not have used. Also, the efficiencies introduced in the crisis made companies rethink cost structures and retool themselves. The result: a leaner and meaner machine capable of dealing with crisis, head on.
Akshay Anand, Co-Founder, Ophelia
We opened Ophelia with an ‘Autumn’ look, new food and beverage menus, air-conditioned cabanas to maintain distance between two groups, and reduced seating and staffing to 50 per cent to ensure social distancing. Doing this will increase costs and lower capacity to deliver quality food and beverages. Constant check of temperature, hand sanitisers, gloves and masks have also been ensured.
Rahul Khanna, Co-Founder, Azure Hospitality
We started a retail line of products to provide a taste of our brands to patrons at their homes. There is a considerable rise in Zoom classes with chefs and quality cloud kitchens that focus on specific cuisines. In 2021, we expect delivery to be in full force, due to how COVID has made users keener to dine at home. We are already seeing an upswing in dine out.
Indeerjeet Singh Banga, Founder, Pirates of Grill and Prankster
The pandemic has resulted in short term and long term guest behaviour changes and cash flow crunch. 2020 was about the new market sentiments and guest expectations. Salaries are a major cost outgoing in our sector. Cuts between 25 to 50 per cent across different hierarchy levels were required to sustain business as well as keep employee houses in order.
Avantika Sinha Bahl, Owner, Kampai
Getting used to constant checks in restaurants to frequent sanitisations etc., was equally tough for restaurateurs and guests. At Kampai, we utilised our lockdown months working on our DIY kits. We started home deliveries as part of our strategy, which has a large variety of unique DIY kits for Ramens, Katsu Dons, cocktails, etc. We also launched a unique range of sauces and dressings to recreate Kampai flavours at home. We also postponed the launch of our new Singaporean restaurant that will now open in a few weeks.