Monday, February 16, 2015

RESTAURANT SPECIAL ......................PLAYING WITH FOOD


PLAYING WITH FOOD

Restaurateurs add quirky touches to meals for that
out-of-the-ordinary experience

Funky funnels, toilet paper to wipe your hands, plastic bags and
Pac-Man style servers for your drinks ­ these are the newest ways
in which restaurants are appeasing their consumers and
reinventing their image. Concept eating-out joints like Social,
Mamagoto, Monkey Bar, The Hungry Monkey, Zingo Star and
more have started to use quirky food and beverage-serving
techniques to lure young customers.
Be it a fad or the need of the hour, but this trend is here to stay ,
say young restaurateurs. Sohrab Sitaram, who owns the upscale
 gastro-pub The Hungry Monkey in south Delhi, confers. On his
international travels, Sitaram was deeply inspired by the Albion
in London. Elements of exposed brick walls and others can be seen
throughout the restaurant with dry-ice cocktails in funnels and burgers
served on wooden platters.
And it costs very little to restaurateurs, who are targeting the young,
`trend-hopping consumer'. Mamagoto owners, who are now reinventing
parts of their five-year-old Asian restaurant in some cities, are adding
zing to their service style at affordable costs.
These tactics don't necessarily bring more clientele to restaurants,
but help create an out-of-the-ordinary experience for them.
A company called AlphaQ in Delhi, which had less than five restaurant
clients when it started out in 2012, today supplies quirky designs to some
leading restaurants in the country . Even five star hotels want part of the
 action now.
“There were no takers for such products earlier. But the trend is catching
on fast, because restaurateurs want to reinvent their food and beverages
in a very different ways, using material like acrylic, copper, etc. which
aren't just cheaper, but also breakage free, helping with bottom lines,“
says Anirudh Singhal, founder of AlphaQ, the hotel vending machine.
Singhal, who supplies to restaurants like Playboy bar, Mamagoto Social,
Monkey Bar and more, says restaurants owners are taking inspiration
from the West and are keen to present their food with that drama factor
attached to it.Recently , even hotels like Taj Mahal in Delhi and Zone by
The Park have bought products from them.
Monkey Bar partner and executive chef Manu Chandra says eventually
customers come back for the food and drink, but a little zing on the table
never goes unnoticed. The restaurant serves french fries in baskets and
burgers on thalis. “I think, we, as restaurateurs, are inspired by what is
happening in the West and are delving into the playful forte of the food
and beverage side. The upwardly mobile demographic or young customers
are whom we want to connect with, since they are aspirational,“ he says.
According to the National Restaurant Association of India, the Indian food
services industry has seen a steady growth in the past few years and is
expected to grow at over 11% in the next five years. Currently , the size
of the in dustry in India is approximately `2.5 trillion and is projected
to reach `4.1 trillion by 2018. And one of the key factors propelling
restaurant growth will be experimentation with new formats, themes
and menus by innovative, entrepreneurial ventures, says the association.
Chandra adds that this isn't a value-driven process, but the visual appeal
tends to put restaurant-goers at ease. They serve pickle stakes in a
traditional Indian-style pickle `barni' and Nutella chocolate spread jars
 for some of cocktails.
At Delhi's Raasta lounge, a huge hit with patrons are `Bongtails' or
cocktails severed in glass bongs in flavours like Purple Haze, Hawaiian
Skunk and White Rhino. Zorawar Kalra's Farzi Cafe serves a bacon, lettuce,
tuna (BLT) pav in a wooden dumpling steamer and cocktails in mason jars
with handles.
Mamagoto, for instance, will have new crockery in its Delhi restaurants.
 Kabir Suri, co-owner of the restaurant, calls it a `fad' and a `talking point'
to have such styles in restaurants.
“There is a paradigm shift in the market and that trending shift is happening
 for restaurants in India. Everyone wants to target the younger customer and
 we've seen a shift in metros ­ the younger crowd really wants something that
 both tastes and looks good. Social media plays a big role too. We are
changing things in our older restaurants by innovating our menus and
service styles,“ he explains.
The cost for such styling can range from affordable to somewhat expensive.
“It depends entirely on what kind of material you use, though it can be done
 at affordable prices and costs under 10% of the entire project cost of a
restaurant.And naturally , it isn't as much as setting up a top-notch
restaurant with white linen and fine cutlery and glassware would,“ adds Suri.
varuni khosla

ET7FEB15

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