At a glittering reception in November, the Novotel Kolkata Hotel and Residences unveiled its newest banquet space, Le Jardin. At the 18,000 sq ft open air venue, the food was the biggest draw, for the way in which it combined traditional dishes, found on banquet menus around the country, with today’s need for hotels and restaurants to take into account today’s well-travelled, globally relevant consumer.
During the launch, Executive Chef Neelabh Sahay said, “With the evolving consumer palate, guests are constantly looking to experiment with something new and exclusive. Our menu consists of dishes from all over the world to cater to this demand.” So guests could indulge in togarashi spiced murgh malai tikka, broccoli 65 tacos with gari and daikon salsa (served in either a traditional corn taco or a methi thepla), millet paella and a kadhi-suey station (that put a twist on the traditional khao suey) — all of which will find their way on the menu for those looking to rent out any of the spaces within the hotel.
This kind of focus on MICE and wedding guests is not new in a market like India, where spending, especially on multi-day celebrations is lavish. However, around the country, hotels are increasingly working to set their menus apart.
Customisation is a trend that is growing as chef Dominic Gerard, Executive Sous Chef of The Leela Palace Bengaluru says, “Our clientele is a lot more aware about food and about cuisines and everything.” As a result, the hotel is one of many that now tailor makes the menu they present to guests, which are then worked on together to finalise. Gerard elaborates, “Guests are looking for things which have not been done before,” and as a result, the kitchen team at the restaurant is constantly innovating and staying in touch with food trends. At the extreme, Gerard admits to sitting with a world map in front of a demanding guest to find food that is not very well known.
Tanveer Kwatra, the Executive Assistant Manager – Beverage and Food at W Goa agrees, “The hottest selling trend today in banqueting for me is non-banquet food.” He elaborates that people no longer want to queue up to eat, “It’s boring from a guest point of view and it’s boring for me as a chef.” Instead, the market is moving towards individualised stations that are focussing on each cuisine. What that means is that there’s a push towards individual stations, which often focus on particular cuisines or techniques. So Kwatra says, “We do things like a carpaccio counter, avocado bars, Lahore ka khanna,” and more.
David Ansted, Executive Chef of the Grand Hyatt Goa echoes that when he says, “We try to separate [and create distinct experiences], because we tend to do events for several days here sometimes.” As Ansted explains, the hotel works with both weddings and conferences to conceptualise themed events that make use of the property’s sprawling lawns, and more. He elaborates, “We might do a farmer’s market type event, or we’ll do something more seafood-related or we might have a barbecue event, a Chandni Chowk kind of event — where’s there’s more market stalls.” This trend means that hotels have the chance to showcase a variety of cuisines as guests and event planners want to have little to no overlap when it comes to planning the multiple meals for an event.
The changing demands, and growth of Instagram-fuelled documentation means that hotels have had to up not just the food being served, but also their flatwear and serving platters, creating all-encompassing settings that complement the dishes being served. As Gerrard explains, “Another important of the discussion with the client is the set up or layout of the buffet,” as well.
Thapar builds on the need to create visual moments by also pinpointing the rise of celebration cakes, which are a focal point of any celebration. He elaborates, “They are prompted to click photographs and post on their social media accounts.” As a result, both for the memory and their ‘wow’ factor, the cake has become a big part of celebrations and events.
Kwatra though mentions another interesting point, which is that dishes created for banqueting can sometimes find their way to the menu at restaurants on the property. Thapar supports his view and says, “earlier people picked up dishes from their favourite restaurant in the hotel and then ask for it be replicated,” but now, its flipped, with guests coming to eat dishes served at a function at one of the hotel restaurants.
Paul Kinney, Director of Culinary at The St. Regis Mumbai gives his opinion and says, “We’re moving to offer more speciality cuisine, and a lot of regional cuisine is getting focused on – suppose the bride and groom are from two different regions or two different religions, then they want to showcase their cuisines.” The rise of regional cuisines shouldn’t surprise anyone, especially with the current trend in Indian restaurants to spotlight the country’s varied bounty and cooking styles. Gerard admits that working within traditional dietary restrictions is challenging, especially in the case of Marwari functions, which don’t allow for the use of onion and garlic. However for all that the chefs admit that these factors are what keep things interesting in the kitchen.
To summarise, chef Kinney says, “All guests have to be catered to and the number one thing you remember is food,” so the bar is being raised across hotels all over the country.
Aatish Nath
