Especially keeping hygiene and food safety in mind, many new brands have entered the retail segment using food technology to enhance our food choices at home A walk in a gourmet convenience store in any of the major cities as well as in tier two cities across India promises to be a delight for the foodies. Gone are the days of waiting for foreign ingredients shipped in the bag of a friend or relative coming from abroad or waiting for a foreign trip to savour exotic cuisine. Today, packaged food options ranging from Asian foods, Indian food specialties, cookies, cakes, chocolates, frozen parathas, packed kebabs, frozen momos, tasty gravies and marinades are just a walk away or a click away.
Food experiences at home are no longer the ‘desi’ staples and the pandemic has brought out the latent ‘home-chefs’ in all of us. Especially keeping hygiene and food safety in mind, many new brands have entered the retail segment using food technology to enhance our food choices at home as people lap up various tasty food & beverage products that are now mainstay at gourmet marts and stores. While food technology is being used extensively in retail segment, how can it be implemented to drive consistency and operational excellence at restaurants and eateries?
Particularly for a chain of restaurants where patrons expect consistent flavours and taste, every time they come to dine. In simple words food technology means ensuring our food remains safe as we apply food science to select, preserve, process, pack and distribute our food delicacies. There are many ways food technology can help us keep our food safe and at same levels of desirability for long times. Few methods used to preserve food are retort technology, frozen food, air-dried tech, pasteurization, special packaging and processing. Let us do a quick dive into the advantages and benefits of leveraging on food technology can provide in restaurants, chain of eateries and in hotels as well.
Top product quality and taste consistency: guests visiting the eateries expect the same kind of food served to them in terms of quality, taste and be always consistent. Food tech has the power to render the consistency attribute to food offering at the restaurants. For example: Mother sauces like makhini gravy, Mughlai gravy etc., from a good retort plant can ensure that the same and consistent food is served to the patrons at the eatery. Less dependence on skilled labor: many restaurant joints are exploring options and offering frozen parathas, momos, well-kept kebabs etc., which is going to allow these eateries to be free of their heavy dependence on skilled manpower. Even an amateur can toss out a hot and crisp paratha that is made and kept frozen at right quality by usage of food technology.
Operational excellence: Offering the restaurant customers food quickly and swiftly is another characteristic imparted by use of food tech. In today’s world, we all are in hurry and food that is delivered quickly at the right quality is a paramount trait and food tech enables this efficiently by reducing the kitchen preparation time hugely. High levels of hygiene guaranteed: One of the paramount advantages of food technology is that it guarantees an amazing level of hygiene and food safety for all the produce that is to be used at the restaurants thus delivering well-kept and safe food items. Be it in transportation, in storage or in kitchens, food that has been dealt with food tech is certainly safer and cleaner. Even the shelf life is immensely boosted of the food via food tech. Our favorite food available at all times at restaurants around the globe.
A palak paneer in South Africa with a crisp lacha paratha is all thanks to food tech. Enjoy the food of the favorite restaurants at home or while travelling: Well-known restaurants can leverage on food technology and create their delicacies which could be well-packed and transported around the nation and the globe. For example: at Kebabs & Curries Company restaurants, we are in process of creating our well- known popular delicacies to be sold at supermarkets, gourmet marts and could also be made available across the globe. Our dream is that our butter chicken and matka chicken can travel the globe – satiating millions of taste-buds – all thanks to food technology. Over the last two years, during the pandemic, food technology has become an integral part of our plates and palates. The pandemic has only accelerated and multiplied the use of food technology in India. Many restaurants, hotels and cafes are already turning to the promising world of food tech due to the sheer convenience and its benefits. As the demand for packaged and processed food increases, this trend is definitely something to watch out for in the world of food science and business. Varun Behl is a Jaipur based restaurateur operating a chain of restaurants and QSRs (Quick Service Restaurants). Varun is a seasoned food & beverage and hospitality management professional with experience spanning over 17 years; a decade of which is with Marriott International in India and its global operations. Food and beverage and entrepreneurship are his forte – which he lives every day and is keen to share his insights with peers and mentees alike.
