Interactive Kitchens

Up until the mid 90s the expectations from a restaurant were limited to good food, ambience and at the most a live musician for entertainment.

Eating out, particularly in star hotels and expensive restaurants, was an occasional affair treated with much fanfare by the average middle and upper-middle-class consumers in urban India.

Kitchen Only as Utility

Even for those spending on a company account or accustomed to a more lavish lifestyle, the reasons for going to a restaurant in a hotel were usually restricted to celebrations or business meetings with a focus on interactions with the rest of the dining party and consumption of quality food and beverage. Succinctly, then restaurants were treated as the venue of, and not necessarily the source of, an evening of entertainment.

Consequently, restaurant operators did not need to focus on the aesthetics of the kitchens. The restaurant kitchens were designed to be purely utilitarian and were expected to provide the tools to complete the sole function of food production.

Of course, at premium restaurants adequate care was taken to ensure cleanliness and hygiene standards acceptable at the time were being maintained, while in others this depended on the level of supervision and inherent qualities of the line staff. Guests did not see the restaurant’s kitchen or displayed any care to know what was happening within. Their concern was with the taste, presentation and appeal of the food set before them. If at all the guests desired, the Head Chef would be called to come to their table and interact with them.

The Interactive Edge