Cleanliness is the new amenity: Chef Himanshu Taneja

As going green becomes mainstream, the hotel industry has come a long way in terms of adopting sustainable practices and the hotels are taking mature steps towards socially responsible environmental policies. Most of the hotels have worked on every touchpoint of the premises to benefit the planet as well as community in the longer run.

Marriott International’s ‘Serve 360’ is also committed to create a positive and sustainable impact all over the world. Taking on the world’s most pressing social, environmental, and economic issues, Marriott believes that they have a global responsibility and a unique opportunity to be a force for good.

Chef Himanshu Taneja, Culinary Director - South Asia at Marriott International, said, “Sustainability is a very responsible word which has been used vastly by many people but there is a lot of responsibility attached to it. It lays on the principal towards the community, economy, and the planet. We have been working on various initiatives like cage-free eggs, supporting farmers, hotel farming, reducing gas emissions and hotel wastage.”

Chef Taneja elaborated on sustainable culinary practices and learning from hotels abroad amid the pandemic outbreak. He said, “Initially, the sustainable move is expensive, but it is an investment. If you look at Return of Investment (ROI) in the long term, it works best. Although in culinary space, being sustainable is not awfully expensive, instead you save a lot of money by going local. In India, we have a geographical advantage, we see all the seasons and varied soil types. Our local crops are sensational and the supply chain for the local produce is brilliant.” 

“It is better to work with local and make locally produce. If you create a menu, follow 80:20 rule where 80 per cent is local in the menu. The star dishes are local produce. This is what Marriott’s philosophy is,” he added.

He further informed that Marriott’s food and beverage outlets that are operational abroad are witnessing one major expectation from the guests – cleanliness. He said, “We see ‘cleanliness is the new amenity’. It is the most important amenity that we can give to our guests at this point of time.”

Sharing firsthand learnings with the connected experience of operational restaurants abroad, he informed, “We will phase-wise open our services, depending on occupancy rates and footfalls. Live- stations, where people can see the food being cooked, will gain popularity.  We also need to look for more manpower for the way food will be served now, that’s going to happen for sure once we open and reach 50 or 60 per cent occupancy of our business.”

“Home delivery business in those countries is fading, we all say that it is going to stay but it is not happening there. Homes delivery is dropping, and the restaurant numbers are increasing whereas the in-room dining business is improving,” he added.