Kitchen of India - Exotic Spices

One thing which is common among us Indians is: Our Love for Food!

Each and every state has its own set of cuisines and flavors. And as we all know: Best way to understand a place is through its culinary culture.

Be it spicy Biryani from Hyderabad, Daal-Baati Churma from Rajasthan, Macher Jhol from West-Bengal or amazing Kashmiri Pulao, each and every cuisine is unique in its aroma and taste. Each of our states has a unique culinary story to tell.

But if we dig deeper, there is one thing which makes these cuisines delectable – its Ingredients. 

“The Kitchen of India” has ample number of rare ingredients which are cherished by Chefs, all over the world.

Let’s take a step further and get on a journey to explore different varieties of ingredients commonly found in India.

In our quest of better understanding a typical Indian Kitchen, the first and most important set of ingredients which comes to my mind is – Exotic Spices of India.

Let’s learn where to find and how to use them in detail:

Saffron

• Saffron is the most expensive spice in the world.
• Fortunately, only a small amount of it is required to impart its beautiful color and flavor to food.
• It is used in many Spanish and Indian cuisines, mainly Seafood Paella, Biryani etc.
    Black Cardamom or Badi Elaichi
  

• Also known as Queen of Spices.
• Its seed pods have a strong camphor-like flavour.
• It is commonly used in many Indian, Nepalese, Bhutanese and Chinese dishes.

Red Chilli Powder

• Also known as King of Spices.
• It is used to add pungency and flavour to dishes.
• It is used in many different cuisines, including Tex-Mex, Indian, Chinese, and Korean.

Amchoor

• It is a fruity spice-powder made from dried, unripe green mangoes.
• Commonly used as a souring agent in Indian cuisines.

Carom seeds or Ajwain

• Mainly produced in Rajasthan in India, Ajwain has many health benefits as well.
• Primarily, it helps in digestion and cough & asthma.
• Commonly used in cuisines in India and Afghanistan.

Long Pepper

• It is mainly used in European, Indian, Nepalese, Indonesian, Malaysian and North African cuisines.
• It has similar, but stronger taste than black, green or white varieties of pepper.

Nigella seeds or Kalonji

• It has a pungent - bitter taste and smell.
• It is used primarily in confectioneries and liquors. Peshawari naan is topped with kalonji seeds.

Cumin seeds or Jeera

• Cumin can be used ground or as a whole seeds.
• It helps to add an earthy and warming feeling to food.
• Mainly used in South Asian, Brazillian and Latin American cuisines.

Asafoetida or Hing

• It typically works as a flavour enhancer.
• This spice is a digestive aid and is used in food and pickle as a condiment.

Cinnamon or Dalachini

• Mainly is used in preparation of Chocolate and dessert recipes.
• Cinnamon flavored tea, is consumed as a hot beverage in Bangladesh, India and Pakistan.

Being an Hotelier in India, it’s our duty to learn about these ingredients, experiment with them and add them to our recipes.

Let’s take our guests to a culinary journey and let them rediscover the meaning of Indian food. Let’s make them fall in love with Indian Kitchen all over again.

Stay tuned for next article in this series – Exotic Fruits and Vegetables in India.

Till then – Bon Appetite!!!

What Supplies Guests are actually looking forward to in a Hotel Room?

Being a passionate traveler, I have been lucky to experience hospitality from many hotels across India. In hotels, apart from well-mannered staff and good hygiene levels, one thing that I look forward to is ‘Guest Supplies’. Generally, these amenities are crucial to give guests 'home away from home' feeling.

Liking and preferences of different guests vary. And these can vary for things as minute as degree of softness of pillows to fragrance of flowers!!

In hospitality industry, the aim of the service provider is to delight and pamper its customers. I personally believe that standard of a hotel is defined by the kind of services and facilities it offers to its customers.

For a procurement manager, satisfying its guests is like doing a rope walk between managing budget and fulfilling guests’ wimps.

So, it would really help if someone can decode the mystery of ‘What Supplies Guests are actually Looking Forward to’ in priority order.

But before answering this question, it’s important to segment consumers. For simplicity, let’s segment them into: Budget Guests and Premium Guests.

Expectations of these two kind of guests can be poles apart.

Let’s try to look at these expectations in finer detail:

• Budget Guests
• These are your value-centric guests. They expect you to provide good quality services at an affordable price.
• In this case, hoteliers are advised to focus on their basic needs. This group of guests might get satisfied with things like timely room service, water bottles in the room, clean bed-sheets and so on.
• Premium Guests
• These guests are quality-centric. They expect you to take care of all there comforts, irrespective of costs involved.
• In such a case, hotels need to add a “wow factor” in their services. For example, a bottle of wine or a basket of exotic fruits can seal the deal.

Now that we have gathered a basic understanding of expectations of different guests, let’s generalize it into a holistic concept and answer our key question ‘What Supplies Guests are actually looking forward to in a Room?’

To answer this, I will take reference from the best theory available on needs and wants, i.e. Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs.

• Physiological Needs:
• These are basic needs which any guest (be it budget or premium guests) will expect from any hotel room.
• Example: Water bottles, bed, bed sheets & pillow cases etc.

• Need for Security:
• As for this need, guests look forward to personal security in their rooms.
• Example: Door locks, Hygienic toiletries, Privacy in room etc.

• Needs for Belonging:
• As per this need, hoteliers should be able to convince guests that they are being taken care of.
• Example: Well-mannered & friendly 24X7 Room service, Doctor-On-Call & other on call services etc.

• Esteem Needs:
• After all who doesn't like being respected? To showcase their gratitude & respect, hoteliers can give a personal touch to rooms.
• Example: Exotic Fruits & flowers basket, Bottle of wine etc.

• Self-Actualization Needs:
• This is the most difficult stage to fulfill. To attain self-actualization, hotels will need to comfort guests in all possible manner- rooms, events – everything should be designed according to guests’ choice.
• Example: Artistically designed rooms, specially designed itineraries & events.

While budget guests might get happy by merely first three steps, a premium guest will need to be taken through complete ‘Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs’ to be satisfied.

To summarize, I would like to say:

First step starts with understanding your hotel’s target segment and consumer mind set (Budget or Premium). 

Second step will be to classify various services based on Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs.

These two steps will help you in devising a sound strategy. After all this, final step is to procure items at the best possible rate and full-fill your guests' desires.

Hoteliers, now that you know the answer to one of the most difficult question in Hospitality, I wish you all the very best for procurement.

Keep your Guests Happy!

5 Avenues to find best Hospitality Professionals

Hospitality Industry is largely service centric. The quality of services a hotel provides to its guests can make or break its reputation.

If we talk about numbers, Hospitality contributes 12.4% to the country’s employment chart. As per the Ministry of External Affairs, Indian hospitality sector is growing at the rate of 14% aggregated annually. As the industry grows, so does the need for talent.

And when one talks about best Hospitality talent – first country that comes to my mind is - INDIA.

Hospitality is imbibed in us Indians since our childhood. Even our culture says “atithi devo bhav” (guest is god).

Still, finding the best talent, fitting ones exact needs can be a tricky affair.

Hotels across the world are making use of state of the art technologies to attract right talent.

Let’s look at some of the avenues you can use to attract best talent:

• Social Networks
• Be it attracting customers or attracting employees, you can’t overlook the power of social media.
• Many HR managers across the world have made LinkedIn a permanent tool in their arsenals. Even Facebook is often used to find good talent on a short notice.
•  As for employees, they can benefit from portals like Glass-Door to get a good idea of work culture in company of their choice.
• Campus Interviews
• When ‘Catch them early” is the call.
• Advantage with this is that you can get some really bright students full of vigor and determination at fairly decent salaries.
• Training of the resources is a huge responsibility in such cases. Not to forget time and money involved in visiting campuses.
• Career Expo
• Career expo or job fair is yet another hunting place for recruiters.
• This is an age old, tried and tested avenue. Job seekers from every nook and cranny come to such expos. Easily, career expos are the best place to gather primary data on job market and to personally meet potential recruits.
• Human Resource Management Systems
• These include some of the most hi-tech and widely used systems and software.
• Taleo, Oracle, Kenexa from IBM, Lumesse include some of these. They take care of most of your recruitment needs and make data available at one spot. 
• Well-known firms like eQuest, Broadbean etc. sell high-quality data-analytic tools to boost the recruitment process.
• Online Portals
• Portals like naukri, monster etc. have become an inclusive part of almost every company.
• This is a common step almost every recruiter takes while selecting candidates.

A good HR personnel makes use of a mix of above mentioned alternatives to come up with an effective recruitment strategy.

I wish everyone a good and successful recruitment process.

Happy Talent Search!

7 Commandments to Successful Hotel–Supplier Relation

Hospitality industry is probably the most customer centric industry possible. Whatever an hotelier does is keeping the guests in mind.

But we don't live in an ideal world. Do we?

Tastes and preferences of guests can be as distinguished as day from night!

As such, an hotelier needs to be always running around to ensure every wimp and fancy of guests is taken care of.

In such a scenario a trusted and efficient set of suppliers can be a boon. If an hotelier is able to select good set of suppliers, half the battle is won! Isn't it.

Hotel and supplier’s relation is one of trust and mutual respect. They are like two sides of same coin, with common purpose of serving the end consumer.

A supplier taking care of a few simple attributes can help hotels a great deal. Let’s try to understand some of these attributes:

1.     For a supplier, Respecting quality and time frame of demand is most important. Nothing can hamper a relation the way last minute cancellation can.
2.     A supplier, who is ahead of industry curve and can provide new and innovative products continuously is ensuring that he leaves a permanent stamp in a hotelier’s mind.
3.     A supplier who is well connected in the industry can ensure even the trickiest demands of hotels are met. Such a suppliers is an asset that no hotel will want to part with.
4.     A supplier needs to ensure that he/ she complies with all the necessary certifications and quality control checks as stated by the government.
5.     A supplier willing to be flexible as per hotel’s requirements earns added respect and gratitude in hotel’s eyes. Hotels generally ensure that such a supplier grows with them.
6.     Framing an object-oriented policy and using latest technology in business always proves to be beneficial for both Hotels and Suppliers.
7. An ideal supplier is one that sees itself as a business partner rather than just provider of goods. Suppliers are a very important part of hospitality value chain, it’s important that they consider themselves that way too.

In totality, Hospitality Industry is like a giant cob-wheel, with hoteliers and suppliers different instruments in it. A cob-wheel can’t function if either part breaks loose, so is true for Hospitality Industry too.

As far as maintaining relation is concerned, it’s simple, respect each other and deliver your best to the end consumers.

Hotels, maintain an healthy relationship with your Suppliers and work towards the best!