-Nandini Bansal (cbedit@imaws.org)
Christmas and the New Year come with an abundance of lights, colors, and lots and lots of sweets and bakery goodies, ranging from cinnamon buns to cupcakes and much more. While the masses are enjoying these festivities, the bakery segments in various hotels and restaurants work hard to provide the best services to the customers during this time. Keeping in mind the varied customer demands and delivering according to them can be a mammoth task.
Speaking on the same, Chandan Singh, Pastry Chef, Crown Plaza, Greater Noida, commented, “When we talk about demands around Christmas/ New Year, we have observed customers opting for a variety of Christmas cakes, cookies, and hampers. For this year, we are making different size Christmas goodies ranging from 200 gm, 400 gm, 500gm, and 1 Kg, as per guests’ demand. Along with that, we are preparing customized goodies for our hampers.”
Ms. Ruby Islam, Senior Sous Chef, Bakery & Pastry Specialist, ITC Narmada, also added to the same, “Gift hampers along with sharing desserts (i.e. desserts/ sweet bread in the form of sharing portions) are in high demand during the Christmas-New Year festive season. Couples and families on the other hand, often seek out personalized dining experiences with fixed menus and buffet spreads. The menu is specially curated to suit the customers’ requirements but also to bring in traditional favorites such as plum cakes, roasties, cold cuts, plum puddings, chocolate trees, and more.”
This time of the year can be rather hectic for the Bakery segment as they have to keep up with multiple varieties of demands. They need innovative bakery practices and at the same need to give the customers what they already prefer.
Chef Vikram Khatri, Culinary Director, The Westin Pune Koregaon Park, talked about the same, “Christmas time is the cusp of the year ending and also welcoming the New Year. The best practice is to stick to classic old recipes with the choicest ingredients and with proper planning if baking or chocolates are the main ingredients.”
Mr. Anil Sharma COO of Franchise & Retail Ferns N Petals (FNP) also commented, “Few best practices which brands can adopt to keep the bakery business sustainable are shelf life management, allergy control, proper labeling, and supply chain distributions with varying consumer preferences. Relying on precise measurements and the principles of chemistry to produce delicious bread, muffins, pastries, and cakes, one has to maintain stringent hygiene protocols, properly getting rid of all food bits and leftovers from the equipment. Needless to say, Customer satisfaction and safety norms carry special implications in the vertical.”
Every industry has its classics and the bakery industry certainly does so. However, while the customers appreciate sticking to the old and classic, no industry can survive without being subjected to change and innovations. Restaurants and hotels have to continually work towards experimenting and finding out new ways to serve customers.
Ms. Islam contributed to this statement, “Every year, our culinary experts curate an innovative dish for customers to indulge in. This is not just unique but also brings along a lot of nostalgia for our patrons. Strawberries are versatile and yet seasonal favorites around the Christmas-New year period. We come up with several strawberry-based preparations that are made using Christmas motifs such as Santa, Reindeer, Christmas Tree, and more. Besides these, Hot Chocolate with homemade Nougat, and Plum Cakes infused with Single-Origin Chocolate Nibs will be some of the highlights worth indulging in for our customers.”
There is a growing fad around the food industry of going sustainable and trying out alternatives that ensure both taste and health. The Bakery segment is subject to the same but is also at the same notoriously “unhealthy”.
To this, Mr. Sharma added, “In recent times the terms “organic” and “natural” have emerged as major drivers for the decisions being taken by consumers. In such a scenario, it’s a matter of vital importance that how food looks and what practices have been adopted to prepare it. And when it comes to colors, people would like to go with natural ones. The level of cleanliness will be a statement that the natural colors and flavors are used while preparing food. Such foods guarantee myriad health benefits. Thus, there is a palpable shift from synthetic to natural products. Apart from that, the inclusion of floral flavors in food items has increased owing to the consumers’ constant search for such items.”
Chef Khatri also commented on the same, “One should source Locally and plan the way we use the packaging of the product, try to use seasonal fruit-based recipes, alternatives to sugar like Honey, Jaggery, Dates Or stevia should be adopted.”
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