Catering to Success

The fast evolving Indian F&B industry offers opportunities galore for aspiring entrepreneurs. From farm to fork, it provides you various business options to suit your tastes and desires. You could become the supplier of raw materials or ingredients or venture into the field of satiating the appetites of folks by becoming a restaurateur, or a caterer for private parties. Events like weddings, birthdays, anniversaries or festive occasions like Durga Puja and Navratri all offer ample scope for caterers. Here Ashok Malkani suggests on how one can successfully enter the catering business in India and also run it successfully.

The festive season is upon us and this is the time when events galore take place. Whether it is party or pooja, one of their essential requirements can be catering to the relatives and friends that one invites.

Most of the Indian families prefer to celebrate occasions like birthdays, marriages, anniversaries, pooja (at the time of Janmashtami, Ganesh Chaturthi, Durga Pooja and other festive occasions) or get together in a great fashion. In India, no event is considered as complete without proper arrangement of food and beverages. However, cooking for a large gathering is an onerous task and the easiest way out is to assign this task to a professional caterer.

“People prefer to outsource their catering needs when hosting both small and large events in an open area. More often than not, people prefer to host events in open areas or private halls,” affirmed Krishna Rao, F&B Manager at the Corianthans Resort & Club Pune.

“Customers now prefer outdoor venues due to the price factor and also because open air venues provide more space to hold larger events without the venue looking cramped or too full. Moreover, it allows the aroma of the food to spread around and not get caught within four walls,” he elaborated.

“However, the movement of trend from indoor to outdoor catering was a whole new ball game for caterers. They now have to arrange events on a larger scale without the amenities of a fully functional hotel kitchen to fall back on,” Rao observed. According to him, the idea of outdoor catering has gained popularity in today’s urban India, especially in Indian weddings.

Indoor & Outdoor Catering