July 18, 2020
Both corporate catering and hotel industry faces tough times and suffering doubly.
The pandemic has brought every sector on knees. While caterers at all levels not only have to adopt the strictest hygiene measures, even business stands grounded at the moment. Shortage of labours is the last nail in the coffin.
COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the restaurant business but if there’s one industry that’s been doubly impacted, than it’s the corporate food-service market.
While the judgement still waits upon how the virus gets transmitted, findings have suggested it could be airborne. Due to this people have decided to stay away from hotel food as a precaution. Bringing dining fun in restaurants to a grinding halt.
While there’s no substantial proof that the novel coronavirus is transmitted through food, caterers are choosing to be extra cautious. This is perhaps why a visit to Elior India’s centralized kitchen in Chennai looks like a scene from a dystopian sci-fi thriller.
A hospital-like look
The signs of the new normal have entered the market and indications are clear. Working full-time service at one of these kitchens has personnel wrapped in full PPE gear with surgical masks and gloves, as they stir vats of rice and potatoes, sambhar and vegetables. Hand sanitizers are kept handy and hourly sanitization is compulsory. The entry into the kitchen is with temperatures checked, observing safety procedures and the need to stay in line with bio-security protocols.
“More customers want packed food, sanitization during the packing process, sanitization during the washing and cleaning process, and additional safety equipment and gear to be used even during the production process,” says Sanjay Kumar, MD and CEO, Elior India, “Kitchens look more like a hospital than a kitchen. It’s sad but it’s true.”
Separate Safety protocols for workers
The kitchen holds different category of staff. The important point to note is that not all staff is wearing full PPE safety gear. Chefs are in clean, white, sanitized uniforms and others wearing full PPE kit are the one who come in direct contact with food.
Those who are standing near flammable areas follow different safety protocols from someone who is handling post-production dispatches. “The chefs who are usually by flammable areas only wear masks and have protection that ensures they do not contaminate but also stay safe when standing by a flammable area,” explains Kumar.
Business suffers
Though the protocol of social distancing is maintained, and kitchens having a new look, it’s not easy with business. Where corporate food-service providers would cater to lakhs of employees at industrial plants and offices in days before crisis, now the barren look of the mess has fewer mouths to feed. The revenue sunk thanks to social distancing norms at offices and factories
“As India’s third-largest food service provider, we used to produce 224,000 meals per day on an average — between 220,000 to 225,000 meals per day,” says Kumar, “That is down to 40,000 today.”
But it isn’t just COVID-19. Headwinds on the input-tax-credit front dented business even before the pandemic hit. “The industry had already suffered a body blow when input tax credit was removed,” he says. “It took away 3 percent of the EBIDTA margin for most food-service providers.”
Today, a seven-billion-dollar market for corporate food service is seeing several caterers winding down their business. “If the investment environment remains this hostile, and with the removal of ITC, there’s a cloud hanging over most food service providers over how long we can be in this business,” Kumar says. “With every meal that we produce, we’re either breaking even or losing money even as we pay 5 percent GST. The scenario can only be described as dismal and scary.”
Cooking food at certain temperature is one foolproof approach at work to keep food clear of bacterial microbes. The kitchen personnel keeps a close eye on the food temperature, using digital thermometers at every opportunity, ensuring that it’s hot enough to be safe for consumption.
“As a safety precaution in India, it helps to ensure that food is sufficiently cooked because the supply chain is very weak,” says Kumar, “You can never get ready-to-cook raw materials. They need to go through a handling process in order to be safe. With these inconsistencies, it is safer to err on the side of the food being overcooked than undercooked.”
Hence a lot has to be done before restaurants are open and that is winning the confidence of the diners, another major area of reconstruction.