By Sourish Bhattacharyya AFTER HIS successful debut at the JW Marriott, New Delhi Aerocity, Korean-born American celebrity restaurateur Akira Back-(see photo)-is planning his next foray in India, this time in Mumbai, at the MGM Grand’s Bellagio Hotel coming up at upscale Maker Maxity in the Bandra Kurla Complex. Akira’s signature contemporary Japanese restaurant, Yellowtail, is one of the star attractions at the Bellagio Las Vegas, that hotel famous for its dancing fountains and cameo appearances in innumerable Hollywood films. The chef-entrepreneur, who’s famous for his tuna pizza on a tortilla base drizzled with truffle oil, now owns and operates five restaurants, including his newest in Jakarta, and he says his next destinations are definitely Dubai and Bangkok. ’When I first came here, I had one restaurant; now, I have five. We are underdogs no more,’ he says. Akira is back on a whistlestop visit, which will culminate in an evening of cocktails and snacks on February 7 (after Delhi has voted and it’s no longer dry). A new order, meanwhile, is taking charge of the JW Marriott Akira Back. Jason Oh, the ever-smiling Korean American who seemed to have settled down very well in his Vasant Kunj digs, has gone back home and been replaced by Dae Hyeon (’Danny’) Kim, who, apart from being a master of sushi and sashimi, is Delhi-NCR’s first chef certified to handle the potentially poisonous fugu. Kim was a chef at Akira Back’s Kumiat the Mandalay Bay Las Vegas and then returned to his mother country, South Korea, to work at top-notch restaurants. ’His resume is really, really impressive,’ Akira assured me. Next to leave will be the very competent Kurt Nyren, who will join his wife, who’s due to deliver their child in May, back home in America. Nyren will be replaced by Corey Asato, a chef from Waipahu, Hawaii, who also has a Las Vegas connection ’ he’s a hotel management graduate of the University of Nevada ’ and Back insists that he ’really wanted’ Asato to stay back because he’s so good at his job. ’The next time I come, my pastry chef will be with me,’ Akira says, clearly indicating what his next big priority is. Well, if the new dessert on the Akira Back menu, Coconut Panna Cotta on a thick pool of berry compote, is anything to go by, then we are in for good times. ’Our food is getting better, our service is getting better,’ Akira adds with a touch of well-deserved pride. His mini chicken tacos drizzled with a finger-licking good tomato ponzu sauce make you want to keep digging them. The tuna pizza drizzled with truffle oil definitely tastes better each time I have it. You can make a meal out of the Red Dragon Rolls, which come packed with crispy shrimp tempura, kanikama (crab stick) and spicy tuna, drizzled with kabayaki (sweet soy) sauce and tempura crispies. And the miso-marinated black cod with pickled parikko (cucumber) providing a sort of a textural counterpoint? What can one say about it except exclaim, ’I bow to you, master!’ Is Akira planning to roll out a new menu? ’You can expect tweaks, but I won’t do crazy things. Now that we are known, people are copying us, so we have keep going up a little notch,’ he says. My next two questions make him break into a smile. Has seen India beyond the perimeter of the hotel? Does he propose to include Indian spices in his culinary repertoire? ’The next time I plan I come and visit India, I plan to stay here for 14 days ’ seven days to work, seven days to explore India,’ he says, and then: ’Indian spices? We are working on them!’ His hopeful smile makes one make a mental note of what to look out for. I can see that Akira loves his association with India. ’The energy here is great,’ he says, as we look around to see a restaurant buzzing with activity on a dry day. Ankur Chawla, the hotel’s bright-eyed beverage manager, informs me that the Congress chief ministerial hopeful, Ajay Maken, was at the restaurant with his friends on the previous night (he may not win the election, and I feel bad for that, but he certainly has good taste!). As I turn back to Akira, he completes his train of thought. ’We haven’t had much of a turnover,’ he says pointing to the busy kitchen. ’I haven’t lost any staff because they believe in our concept.’ That’s good for them, I thought. It won’t be long before they shine in kitchens around the world. Sourish Bhattacharyya is Consulting Editor, BW Hotelier
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By BW Hotelier NEW Delhi begins the new year by tasting two entirely new menus at two of the city’s most iconic Italian restaurants. Le Cirque, at The Leela Palace, Chanakyapuri, New Delhi and The Travertino at The Oberoi, New Delhi both have new men at the helm of affairs. At Le Cirque, Chef Diego Martinelli, takes charge as Chef de Cuisine. His new menu, which will be introduced in a couple of weeks, according to hotel sources draws from Diego’s 16 years of culinary expertise in Europe, Middle East and Asia. ’The menu has undergone a complete makeover with absolutely fresh line of creativity straight from the kitchen. The objective is to bring our guests the best and freshest produce farmed locally and flown in especially with the colours of the season. For now, the soon to be launched menu relives the nostalgia of winters and with an emphasis of locally farmed fresh herbs,’ Diego told BW Hotelier. Diego has worked with Bulgari Hotels and Resorts and The Fullerton Hotel, Singapore before coming to Le Cirque. He is an alumnus of IAL Institute of Culinary Arts in Modena, Italy. Chef Vincenzo Di Tuoro whose arrival as Head Chef, Travertino, The Oberoi, New Delhi was announced, has launched his new menu as well. ’I feel that a plate must be colourful, and it must evoke a sense of amazement when guests see their dish in front of them. Pleasing the eyes, is half the job done, and the other half is done by, well, using the best ingredients. My new menu at Travertino shows commitment to authentic recipes and ingredients. I invite you to come and experience Travertino with me’, he told BW Hotelier. In the last two decades, Vincenzo has worked in kitchens around the world. His previous assignments include Chef de cuisine at Il Palazzetto at the Hassler Hotel in Rome, Italy and Tintoretto Italian restaurant at the Buergenstock Hotel in Luzern, Switzerland. Vincenzo studies at the Culinary College in Naples and trained under the likes of Gordon Ramsay and Maurizio Morelli. Madaan leaves Kempinski Madhur Madaan, Marketing and Communications Manager, Kempinski Ambience Hotel, Delhi is moving out of the hospitality industry, for a job in the corporate world, according to herself. Madaan had worked in Crowne Plaza Delhi and Old World Hospitality before joining the Kempinski in 2012. Madaan has 11 years of experience in marketing hospitality brands. Her replacement is yet to be announced.
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By Sourish Bhattacharyya THE Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), under attack from many quarters for messing up the implementation of the already flawed Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, has given an additional six months to Food Business Operators (FBOs), an umbrella term covering 24 disparate categories, from hotels and restaurants to dairy units and slaughter houses, to apply for and obtain the mandatory licence without which they cannot operate. FBOs now have time till August 4, 2015, to complete their licensing formalities even as the government mulls over an overhaul of the Act. Section 31(1) of the 2006 Act lays down that no person can commence or carry on any food business except under a valid licence. The licence, issued under the Food Safety and Standards (Licensing and Registration of Food Business) Regulations, 2011, is a requirement even for operators who were in the food business before the notification of the 2006 Act. This is the third extension of the deadline in the past one year ’ the previous extensions were announced on February 4 and August 4, 2014, whereas the original FBO licensing and registration deadline was August 4, 2012. The latest extension is mainly the result of the efforts of the National Restaurant Association of India (NRAI), which had pointed out to the under-staffed and over-stretched authority that the FBOs were not getting their licences within a stipulated time frame, leading to a panic in the industry. Vendors were concerned that even if they applied before the deadline, without an FBO license, they may be forced to shut shop. Others noted that the process was too confusing and there were no clear instructions for filing applications. The FSSAI had plans to streamline the process, but it moved to an online application process only in January 2014, approximately 18 months after the original FBO licensing and registration deadline of August 4, 2012. The Himalayan enormity of the task is evident from figures uploaded by the FSSAI in 2014. As of February 4, 2014, the authority had issued 481,964 FBO licenses and recorded 1,910,160 FBO registrations. The FSSAI, which has been functioning without a chairman since January 23, 2015 (the day the previous incumbent, K. Chandramouli, retired), seems to have reconciled to the reality that it will take a long time for it to clear the lakhs of licence applications that have piled up in its Inbox. The Union Health and Family Welfare Secretary at present also holds the FSSAI chairmanship as an additional charge. Ironically, even as the government is in the thick of consultations over the Food Safety and Standards Act of 2006, the ministry has seen a secretary-level reshuffle. Lov Verma, who was spearheading the review of the Act, has just been replaced by Bhanu Pratap Sharma, who was the Special Secretary, Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT). Verma has been moved to the Ministry of Social Justice. An order issued by the DoPT on January 31, 2015, noted that the Cabinet Committee on Appointments had approved the elevation of Sharma, an IAS officer of the Bihar cadre, 1981 batch, as Secretary, Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. Sourish Bhattacharyya is the Consulting Editor, BW Hotelier
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By Sourish Bhattacharyya THE WORLD 1,000th Courtyard by Marriott has opened in Agra, just five minutes away from the Taj Mahal, and to kick-off the global celebration of this milestone, the businessman’s hotel is throwing a bash presided over by Rajeev Menon, Area Vice President (South Asia), Mariott International, on February 19. Located at Taj Nagri, Phase-II, Fatehabad Road, the minimally designed four-storey hotel has 189 rooms, including 18 suites. The newbie hotel’s website, www.courtyardagra.com, positions it as a property with facilities for both corporate and leisure travellers. It offers complimentary high-speed internet connections (wired and wireless) in every room and public areas and a well-equipped business centre for travelling executives and entrepreneurs. For the leisure traveller, the hotel has a spa and it offers access to the Agra Golf Club greens, 24-hour room service and a coffee-maker in each room. It also has 9,000 square feet of indoor banqueting space plus lawns stretching up to 25,000 square feet as well as dedicated support teams for weddings and corporate events. Its food and beverage offerings include its international restaurant brand, MoMo Caf- (MoMo stands for ’modern living, modern dining’), and MoMo To Go; Anise, the barbecue restaurant; and the Onyx Bar. To hook potential guests, especially domestic weekend travellers, in a city where competition is intense and where international tourists are loath to stay overnight, the hotel has announced a slew of deals, including one where children get to have three meals a day in the hotel for free. Courtyard by Marriott is one of seven brands of the US-based Marriott International present in India. Last year, in an interview with the Economic Times, Marriott International’s Menon had said: ’We see opportunity for our two brands ’ Courtyard by Marriott and Fairfield ’ to grow aggressively in the country. They have locational advantage as they can be opened in Tier II and III cities.’ He has also added that the country will have 60-70 operating hotels under the Marriott banner by 2017-18.
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THE MID-MARKET Sarovar Hotels & Resorts has become the first chain in the country to launch a website entirely in Hindi to connect better with its Hindi-speaking clientele, who contribute 35 per cent of its business.
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-By Shantanu Jain MORE than a million Indian tourists will arrive in Sentosa Island, Singapore this year, predicts Steven Chung, Senior Assistant Director, Sales at Sentosa Leisure Management Pvt Ltd, a subsidiary of the Sentosa Leisure Group. In an exclusive conversation with BW Hotelier, Chung, who was in India recently, told us that Sentosa -- with a hybrid of attractions and features and world-class family-oriented facilities, had an edge over other destinations in the world, especially when it came to the Indian tourist. ’The attractions in particular are always designed keeping in mind the needs of the Indian traveler. Often we create packages that cater to the Indian arrivals, meaning we factor in flight arrival times, dietary requirements and meal times ’ as we are aware dinner time for Indians is quite different from the rest of the world,’ he added. Because of the connection between Sentosa and the Indian traveler, the new Madame Tussauds in Sentosa has brought Indian personalities, including Sachin Tendulkar, Amitabh Bachchan and Mahatma Gandhi. ’This is an example of the level of attention we dedicate to our number one international market,’ he told us. Chung who in a previous interview in February last year; said that he was expecting more than a million guests from India; did not have an accurate picture of the collective figure of revenue generated from India and the number of tourists since Sentosa is made up of independent tenants in hospitality, entertainment and retail. He said that despite a drop in last year's peak due to the Indian elections and the continued weakening of the rupee against Singapore dollars, a healthy influx of Indian tourists all year round was witnessed. In an earlier interview with the Financial Express in New Delhi, Chung had been quoted saying 2013 saw 900,000 Indian tourists visiting Sentosa. 2014 also saw a rebranding and revamping of the Sentosa Merlion, with new family centric entertainment like Kidzania, Chung said. Shantanu Jain is a Junior Correspondent with BW Hotelier.
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-By Zia Shiekh OVER the last decade we have seen various industries merge together, with a classic example being the smart phone that has been the result of the coming together of telecom, IT and entertainment sectors, with these devices serving as much more than phones and having capabilities for Internet browsing, social media, camera, playing movies, gaming and increasingly ability to transact with 3G and 4G. We are now seeing the merger of a fresh set of industries with art, music, fashion, movies, food & beverage and hospitality coming together to form a new breed of chic and stylish lifestyle hotels that stand for much more than simply places to stay at or dine at. Much like an Armani watch that is a status symbol, though it’s utility or technology might not be any better than a Titan watch available at a small fraction of the price; these lifestyle hotels are increasingly about the power of positioning and branding rather than their actual utility. The trend actually started in global cities like New York, London, Paris, San Francisco, Rome and Los Angeles, which saw the mushrooming of such lifestyle hotels that made a statement, typically through their architectural or interior design elements; small sizes that enable highly personalised services; and celebrity restaurants with exotic cuisines. While these unique concepts initially primarily appealed to the creative folks (artists, designers, musicians, etc.), it soon became fashionable with top professionals, bankers, consultants, movie stars, fashion models, socialites and other celebrities. Suddenly, it was cool to stay and hang out at these boutique/ design hotels rather than the typical large-format 5-star deluxe properties that till then used to be the accommodation, dining and entertainment location for the cr-me-de-la-cr-me of society. While the boutique hotels might not have the huge spaces or plethora of facilities like huge lobbies, pools, spas, shopping plazas, etc. that larger 5-star hotels have as their standard offering, but these smaller hotels definitely offer experiences that the larger hotels can’t. Let’s start with design. Any frequent traveler knows that though there are various 5-star hotel brands, but there is little to distinguish one from another as far as their public areas or rooms are concerned. Most of them almost look the same. However, these new breeds of design hotels actually take pride in creating unique and distinctive design elements. Sometimes they can be over-the-top with extravagant designs while at other times, they can be bare and minimalist in their approach. Whatever the look might be, it is very difficult to ignore or overlook their designs. This obviously helps boutique hotels deliver experiences that are distinctive and memorable as no two hotels are the same. And then of course, there is the opportunity to create a level of personalisation that simply cannot be achieved in larger hotels. Whether it is private butler services or every staff member knowing the guests by their names (and often having intricate knowledge about their tastes and preferences), these tailored experiences win over the toughest of guests as they feel comfortable (like a home away from home) at these boutique hotels that treat them as individuals and respect each guests’ unique requirements. It was only a matter of time before boutique/ design hotels expanded beyond their initial design and personalisation USPs. They started becoming places where the rich and famous like to hang out at. Beginning with swanky lounge bars and celebrity restaurants with eclectic cuisines, they then also started evolving into art galleries, private member clubs, fashion destinations with ramp walks and much more, limited only by the imagination of their owners/ operators. So while the chain hotels stuck to their routine and spent their time perfecting their SOPs, these new breed of hotels used innovation and experimentation has their main tools to differentiate and win over customers. And the market lapped them up, excited about new hospitality experiences that were increasingly becoming lifestyle statements. Thus were born ’lifestyle hotels’; if you stayed in one, you have truly ’arrived’. India is now finally catching on the concept of lifestyle hotels with the launch of chains such as Svenska Design Hotels from Sweden based on straight-line minimalist Scandinavian design concepts (currently two properties are operational in Mumbai and Bangalore, with another eight in various stages of development) and Soho House (highly exclusive private member clubs with various properties across the world and now launching in Mumbai in 2015). Surely, the future of hospitality is here and the big boys beware because once you have stayed at a lifestyle hotel, you are going to be pampered so much and spoilt silly that it will become difficult, if not impossible, to accept anything less elsewhere. Zia Shiekh, Chief Executive Officer, Svenska Design Hotels
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[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="130"] Nitesh Gandhi, General Manager, Trident Gurgaon[/caption] By Sourish Bhattacharyya THE food and beverage revenue of the Trident Gurgaon had been growing at Rs 1.5 crore to Rs 2 crore year on year. This fiscal, it’s a steeper line out there on the growth graph ’ the jump has been of Rs 3 crore, and there are still three months left of FY2014-15. The reason? A smart move by the 11-year-old hotel’s general manager, Nitesh Gandhi, who has worked his way up since his green years at Cilantro, the 24-hour restaurant, when the luxury hotel had just opened its doors in 2004. It all started with an inquiry from a major international client a year ago for an al fresco upper crust party for 700 people. Till then, the hotel, which celebrated its tenth anniversary with a big bash last year, wasn’t able to entertain such inquiries because it had limited banqueting space to offer. But the client was too important for the Trident to be asked to look for another venue. Gandhi therefore undertook a recce of the property and discovered that it had a vast under-utilised parking lot that could, on occasions, be turned into an al fresco banqueting venue. The parking lot, in fact, has two little tree-shaded green islands ’ one ideal for a bar and the other, for a marriage mandap. Significantly, the approach to this parking lot is past the water body at the hotel’s main square, which presents a spectacular sight in the evening when it is lit up by flaming torches. The corporate party was a huge success and it paved the way for the hotel to sell the space for what Gandhi calls ’uber luxury weddings’. Typically, a wedding reception in this league is for 500 to 700 people and the hotel charges Rs 7,000 per guest. Unsurprisingly, F&B revenues today contribute 55-60 per cent of the hotel’s earnings. The hotel’s two restaurants ’ Cilantro and the Indian fine-dining destination, Saffron ’ have also given Gandhi an additional reason to look happier. Their earnings, year to date, are up by 20 per cent, which means they have bucked what is known locally as the Cyber Hub effect. In other words, unlike other Gurgaon and South-West Delhi restaurants, they’ve shown a revenue growth despite the phenomenal success of the Cyber City ’restaurant mall’. ’Food is one of the top three reasons why corporate travelers choose to stay at a particular hotel,’ says Gandhi, offering a rationale for his F&B focus. The hotel, he says, has earned Rs 850 crore in the past 11 years and earned a gross operating profit of Rs 450 crore. ’Each room at the Trident has been sold 3,300 times in these 11 years,’ Gandhi adds with an air of self-satisfaction. Food therefore is the new goal post for the Trident. Few people understand food as well as Gandhi, who’s been primarily an F&B ops person, and his target, set by The Oberoi Group’s President, Kapil Chopra, is to ’bring luxury back to Indian cuisine’. As a first move, Gandhi got Izzat Hussain, a brilliant chef, unani doctor and descendant of Awadh’s last royal family, to showcase his cuisine at Saffron. Throughout 2015, Hussain will be coming back to the Trident to share his secrets with Saffron’s chefs. With such inputs, Saffron will definitely find a place at the top of the must-visit restaurants of Delhi-NCR. For Gandhi, it means the cash registers ringing a bit louder than usual. Sourish Bhattacharyya is the Consulting Editor of BW.
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