The state government has declared night curfew till April 30th. This means restaurants will be affected. Even though they will be allowed to operate at 50% business will take a hit. The industry took a hit last year when the first lockdown was announced. A large number of people lost their jobs and restaurants had to innovate, they had to rejig their operations. Deliveries and customers picking up orders became their largest revenue generators. It was also the time a large number of home cooks or home chefs emerged to cater to a growing market. This virus will be around for a while and one can safely predict the business will have a different face when everyone comes out to a covid free world.
For some like Chef Gaurav of Pink Loon this was an opportunity to serve the community. The times he admitted were challenging but it was he felt a good time to think of creative solutions. He said” Procurement of the raw materials can be difficult in these times; hence I am working as much as possible with locally grown produce. Many people are ordering a lot more when in lockdown so I have been creating new recipes to keep up the variety and excitement for my customers. I suggest coming up with creative packaging techniques so that the food still stays fresh when it reaches the customer”.
Then there was Avinash Martins from Cavatina felt it was doing everything to ensure that the trust of his customers remained. He said “Everything has changed and we have to re-imagine the food. We will have to extend our creativity to give that vow factor. A lot of factors have to be considered. For example we have a Burmese soup. We will support a local potter and send it to our customer with the soup on the side. Our customer can have the soup in that bowl. It will be nothing short of a gourmet experience. We have killed three birds with one stone. We have supported a local potter, guests had a Burmese soup and it was sent in a way that does not compromise the food. We have to innovate. It will be very important to maintain standards. There will not be competition from home chefs, people who want to eat from outside will choose their experience. People will survive.”
Lawrence Fernandes the owner of 49 ers a restaurant in Colva had a very blunt assessment of the situation. He said “I am in Colva, the tourist belt, I am hit very hard. It’s been bad for a year now. I foresee a poor situation for us till the end of the year. I have removed staff. The chef has to just cook the food but if there are no orders what will he do. We don’t do deliveries, so you can imagine the situation we are in.”
Joe Pereira from Martins Corner said they had not yet started home deliveries but they would have to go with the flow. He said “We will have to set up a team to deliver. As far as my chef is concerned, nothing changes. The only problem they will face will be less business. We get sixty percent of our business from tourists and the rest from the locals. Now with no tourists it will be a problem. How long will this continue remains to be seen?”
Some restaurateurs had made plans for these strange times last year itself. Sachin Pai Bhir of Copperleaf Restaurant said this reduction in operating hours would make no difference to them. He said “We have witnessed a decline in dining in clientele and we are focused on deliveries and that has helped us stay in business. As far as our chef is concerned his work load may reduce but the system of operations will still be the same.”
Vasquito who operates a cloud kitchen however pointed out something that could become reality or perhaps is already becoming one. He said “People are seriously talking about cloud kitchens. Restaurateurs are considering shutting down their dining in space and focusing on takeaways. They will not need waiters. The delivery can be managed by some of the delivery platforms already in the market. For me, I don’t foresee any dip or increase due to the presence of a large number of home chefs in the market. Of Course chefs will have to be more agile in the sense come out with really interesting dishes. The chefs who are good will survive and those who are not will fade away.”
Another seasoned professional who became a home chef but has now moved to a space in Panjim, Chef Elvis Victor said people who want to eat will go out and eat. He agreed that some restaurateurs might focus only on deliveries and takeaways but as a chef he was willing to wait and watch. He said “We will see how it evolves. We will follow the protocols. Chefs will have to continue to do what they do perhaps faster and with even more imagination. But that has always been the mantra of the business. ”
These are undoubtedly strange times and it will be interesting to see how this industry emerges from it.
