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Feature: Fine dining: A fine experience
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Monday, 12 March, 2012, 08 : 00 AM [IST]
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Anurag More, Mumbai
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Fine dining restaurants are also known as full service restaurants with specific dedicated meal courses. The ambience of such restaurants is better than the others and the staff wears formal attire and is generally well trained for the work.
Further, fine dining restaurants allow the customers to experience the celebration of food that is aesthetically cooked to arouse their taste buds. Fine dining restaurants are almost always small businesses and are generally either single-location operations or have just a few locations. The food portions are visually appealing.
Restaurants in India have become places for social gatherings, therefore independent outlets are dominating the industry in India. Roughly, there are 1.5 million eating outlets in India and the number is expected to grow rapidly in the near future. The Indian restaurant industry is growing at a rate of 5 to 10% per annum. The fine dining segment of the industry is estimated at between Rs 7,000 crore and Rs 8,500 crore.
Amit Parashar, food and beverage manager, The Orchid, feels that fine dining offers customers the finest in food, service and atmosphere. Restaurants nowadays do not serve only diverse local flavours but also a huge variety of international flavours. Hence, stand-alone outlets continue to dominate the industry with total of around 1.65 million eating outlets and more to come with a growth of 8-9% per annum with revenue of approximately Rs 50,000 crore (organised and unorganised). The relatively-new organised segment is estimated to be around Rs 10,000 crore and growing.
Whereas Neeraj Balani, director, food & beverage, Radisson Blu Hotel New Delhi, has this to say: "The infinite variety of both foods and beverages makes it difficult to set any boundaries and define the size of the industry. Be it complex and dynamic ethnic cuisine, varying climates or cooking traditions and practices of regional cuisines or national cuisines has made the fine dining industry ever-growing and everlasting. The social gathering venues in the metro cities have already shifted from "home" to "home away from home," which has further encouraged the investors to invest in this industry. As an estimation, the industry growth rate has been 7 to 10% every year and the total food and beverage industry, according to a survey conducted in 2011, has touched the Rs 90,000 crore mark, with abundant job offers making it a strong emerging mainstay of the economy. Adding to its glamour, the industry future goes in the safe zone as the eating habits of the customer are changing to eat out."
Pradhan Ganapathy, general manager, Hotel Royal Orchid, says, "The Indian economy's best-kept secret is the ever-growing restaurant industry today. It is noted that an estimated 50% of urban Indians regularly eat out at restaurants and what really strengthens that is a survey wherein 25% list dining out as one of their most enjoyed activities. The organised food industry in India is estimated at $2 billion, which has been having an overall growth rate of 20% year-on-year and with the growing popularity of eating out, we expect this to rise substantially going forward."
Dining culture
Due to the increasing Indian economy and middle-class population in cities, dining culture is evolving. The fine dining culture pays utmost attention to the quality of food served as well as the ambience. Because of the change in lifestyle and high standard of living of the people, more and more consumers are going to various restaurants.
While talking about evolving dining culture in India, Satyen Jain, CEO, Pride Hotel, said, "Changing consumer lifestyles and preferences with increasing number of women workforce, increase in double income households, rising disposable income, growth in nuclear families particularly in urban India, increasing urbanisation and higher frequency of eating out, exposure to global media and cuisine, mall and multiplex boom has fuelled the growth of the dining business in India."
According to Balani, the emerging upgraded lifestyle of the customers has adversely affected their dining culture. The rising economy of the country has empowered customers spending power to experiment with dining options. Also the increased trend of social gathering at neutral venue as in The Tea Lounge, which has an elaborate collection of around 50 different tea and more than 15 types of coffee with choices of cakes and savouries, has further opened a new sphere of business for this culture. The media support of the food & beverage industry in the Western countries through print media like news journal or electronic media like TLC, Travel & Living has encouraged customers to look for adventurous dining.
Ganapathy feels that the economic story of India has in itself contributed to the dining culture. With the young population in the urban areas with access to large sums of disposable wealth and the advent of the many cuisines it has moved from the traditional street food to upbeat cuisines of the world, saying that it has become an aspiration for the young and yuppies to go to these top-end restaurants. With the growth of travel overseas for both business and leisure, the exposure to cuisines has grown and people expect some of those experiences in the local market and hence we see the demand growing rapidly.
"The dining culture has evolved with the growth and expansion of the middle-class in the country, helping in making the economy strong. The Indian market has also become a customer base with new policies by the government. As the lifestyles have changed and living standards have become high, people are turning more and more towards restaurants," said Parashar.
Casual dining vs fine dining
Casual dining serves moderately priced food in a casual atmosphere. They provide table service and usually have a full bar with separate bar staff and a limited wine menu, whereas fine dining are full service restaurants with specific dedicated meal courses. Decor of such restaurants features higher quality materials. The staff is usually highly trained and often wears more formal attire.
"The real issue that separates a casual dining restaurant from a fine dining restaurant is the ambience, service and presentation with high-quality crockery and silverware used, an elaborate beverage list with a good number of wines listed and the menu items tend to be more expensive. A fine dining restaurant will only serve an a la carte menu," said Jain.
Balani states, "The exclusive decor, ambience, interiors with unmatched cuisine and unparalleled service style is all what it makes fine dining different from rest of the restaurants and eateries. The customised dish or cook your own way has also given fine dining an edge over the others."
Ganapathy observed that fine itself transcends the feel of the experience in a restaurant which would mean everything fine right from the ambience, menu, service levels, trained and experienced personnel both in production and service. These are the defining factors which differentiate fine dining from other restaurants and eateries. It is also the atmosphere and the overall experience which attracts a lot of people to visit fine dining restaurants.
Parashar says, "Fine dining restaurants allow the patrons to experience the food that has a pleasing appearance, is cooked to arouse their taste and will leave them craving for more."
Jain is of the opinion that with an increasing number of youngsters who prefer quick service restaurants (QSR), it does affect the fine dining business. The footfall in a fine dining restaur
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