Power of A Pen vs Power of A Pan

Long ago, as a 20-year-old fresher in the hospitality and management industry, I joined the Taj Mahal Palace, a reputed hotel that doesn’t really require an intro. I can still recall that during that time, food and beverages businesses were mostly dominated by the big fishes in the sea; the 5-star hotels. 

Also, unlike now, there wasn’t a food critic and reviewing culture back then. With that being said, the guests, themselves, were the critics and had to turn towards the staff in case of expressing their feedbacks regarding the food, cuisine, hygiene and hospitality.  

Formerly, without the availability of social media marketing and influencers at their disposal, the sole option that a restaurant or franchise had was to run an advertisement in the newspapers, in case they wanted people to know about their new offers or maybe an inauguration of a new franchise in the town. 

During the late 1980s, the food and beverages industry experienced the onset of a revolution in the food culture, wherein, people like Vir Sanghvi, Asit Chandmal, Behram Contractor, Rashmi Uday Singh started visiting different restaurants, reviewing their food and services. They understood the subject well and had a clear vision about how the F&B industry should evolve. The above-mentioned critics understood the chefs well and tried to interact with them on a personal level. Also, they respected the ethos of the industry and weren’t too impulsive to bad-mouth a restaurant. In fact, they made sure that they visited the same place twice as they understood that anyone can have a bad day at the office. 

In came the late 1990s, food journalism became a known profession. In the early 2000s, there were ample of food journalists working with popular news channels running TV shows regarding the food and beverages industry. Big hotels, restaurants, franchises, all started to rope in the influencers to amplify their voices and to increase their businesses. Bloggers, influencers and journalists became subject to appeasement as a critical article or review would result in the downfall of sales. 

Some of them were taking undue advantages too of being freeloaders and inviting their friends too over free meals. The industry came under or at their mercy and no one wanted to displease them. Maybe, the pen was becoming mightier than the pan. 

However, in the current age, with the emergence of social media platforms like Twitter, Instagram and Facebook, our notions of eating and travelling have changed immensely. Social media influencers are the people to side with if you wish to see a gradual growth of your establishment. Many restaurants, these days, are welcoming food bloggers with the open arm while the ones with a large fan base, are being paid hefty sums for their services. Everyone is a food connoisseur today. Most of the bloggers know a whole lot about the prepared dishes, mocktails and cocktails served at retro bars. 

Now, at the drop of the hat, the guests threaten the hoteliers and restauranteurs about writing on social media. Hence, to build the reputation or at least maintain it, hotels and restaurants tend to apply customer satisfaction with a jackhammer; making it a priority. 

The preferences of tastes differ from person to person and it’s an arduous task to please all the diners. Hence, chefs need to know where to draw the line and bloggers need to realise that ultimately, it’s the pan that speaks volume, not the pen.

Hemant Oberoi

Guest Author A legend in his lifetime, Hemant Oberoi became an independent restaurateur after retiring as a celebrated corporate chef from the Taj Group of Hotels. He was played by Anupam Kher in the 26/11 movie, Hotel Mumbai. He is the Chef & Owner of Hemant Oberoi Restaurant, BKC