Ahmedabad-based Bhagwati Banquets and Hotels Ltd is known for the quality of their on-site catering for weddings, conferences and events. Narendra Somani talks about why he is upbeat about the catering business in India.
1. How did you enter the catering business?
Narendra Somani: My father had tea and snacks eatery, and we began to take up orders for tea and coffee for events. At weddings, we found that many families were getting their chaats and North Indian food catered by people in North India. This made us see the potential for chaats and North Indian food in Ahmedabad.
Bhagwati Chaat in 1988-89 in the White House building at Panchwati, as a restaurant with an alfresco sitting area facing live performance stations for chaats, paneer tikka, tikkis, chillas, and other snack items for dinner. As we realized that Ahmedabad needed finer dining options for catered functions so besides offering chaat counters for weddings we started a catering company that became known for providing white-glove service, silver serving dishes, crockery, glassware, brassware, ice containers and dessert bowls, bow-tied stewards, suitably dressed hostesses, with the variety of food to match.
Narendra Somani: We also found that Gujarat has a huge industrial base it lacked quality facilities for conferences and events. Conferences were generally held outdoors, with `mandaps’ and temporary structures put up for a few days on party lawns or open grounds, and our food counters alongside them. This was not a very comfortable arrangement, especially given the warm weather in Gujarat, and certainly not the class required for a conference or event of any magnitude.
As a result, many companies based in Gujarat were having their conferences in other states that had hotels with better banqueting facilities, and Ahmedabad was not even considered for many national conferences, exhibitions and conventions because it just did not have the required facilities.
Seeing the lacunae in Gujarat’s infrastructure for events, we moved quickly to make the most of the opportunity offered by MICE tourism by starting a three-star convention hotel, The Grand Bhagwati in 2002/3. This hotel has five-star column-free banqueting halls, a 1500-seater conference room for large board meetings, 37 rooms, a multi-cuisine restaurant, a specialty rooftop restaurant, a 24-hour coffee shop and a cake shop. This has become an extremely popular address for conferences, product launches, meetings, get-togethers, weddings, parties, exhibitions and other events in Ahmedabad. Besides this property, we also manage the banquets at clubs and many party venues like lawns in Gujarat.
2. What do you see as the main success factors in your catering business?
Narendra Somani: If you come to one of our restaurants or attend an event or marriage, we want you to experience something you will talk about afterward in a positive way. If that happens then we have done our job well.
I think the three keywords are Company, Culture, Flexibility, for, in a service business, your real assets are not machines or buildings but, people. Culture is intangible. It is not like making a salad or frying potatoes, it is the way we treat each other, how we communicate with each other and it takes time to get over the feeling that you rely on each other.
3. What motivates you to maintain your demanding approach to quality?
Narendra Somani: Being number one is not just about revenue. It’s also about being number one on a sustainable level of quality. Once you reach that point you need a lot of time in the market and you need to be able to ensure reliability so that people believe you are the right partner to cater to a specific occasion or to offer that very special meal.
I think this is the big challenge today to sell premium for a premium price, and keep the margins sustainable for a long period. It is all about brand awareness and company culture.
4. You have expanded very rapidly over the past decade. does that bring its own problems?
Narendra Somani: It was a lot easier when I knew everybody personally. Today we have more than 1200 people in our organization. If you don’t visit the hotel, restaurant or office for some time, people don’t know who you are. You need to have a chance to talk to employees so they get an emotional connection with the company and begin to share your vision. The danger of growing too fast is that you can lose the company culture. You need to check regularly what you still stand for and what you want to stand for. The biggest problem of all is human resources. We only succeed if we can raise the best people in the market.
It’s not just a matter of money: you have to be proud of being part of a successful team. There is a very social element in restaurants or catering, when you see your friends you tell them about it. What you are doing something extraordinary that helps create an exceptional experience for your clients.
5. How do stay fresh and ahead of others in the catering space?
Narendra Somani: Usually, after 15-20 years of a company’s activity, you start getting life cycle problems for sure. But as long as you are aware you have them, a good bottom line will help you adapt to market changes.
It is an on-going process and I am never happy with my business because I know that in three years’ time it has to be different again. That can be quite difficult to explain to 1200 employees even if you are very successful today, that does not mean you are going to be successful tomorrow or the day after. Nowadays, such time frames are quite rapid.
6. Have you ever looked at getting into branded products that might be sold in retail, for example?
Narendra Somani: We are going to be a little bit more aggressive over the next three years, now that we have the infrastructure to grow faster. In terms of brand awareness, we will go into markets with our sweet cream roll @RS. 10/- , Soft cake @Rs.5/- , and wafer biscuit @5/- & Rs.10/- in the name of TGB Café “n Bakery.
7. How do you work on innovation in your catering ideas?
Narendra Somani: It is endless. The mind has no limit. We have taken street food to the high street and served gol guppas and tikkis to the yuppies. TGB serves a veg version of cuisines from around the world, Japanese to Lebanese to Tex Mex.
Styles of service include many firsts like. We introduced the concept of hostesses, smartly dressed like the airline stewards, flair mocktail bartending and conveyor belt service on the table. We realized people like the concept of getting food made in front of them, so we launched live stations for ice creams, chaat, live pasta, Chinese, salad counters, roesti, raclettes, fondues and wood fired pizzas with innovative toppings and sauces which become a major attraction for guests at parties and weddings. We have also offer table service, Gueridon-table service, sit-down dinners and sizzling desserts for a long time at our catered functions.
Innovation in décor and sets with themes ranging from Las Vegas to Macau and parties from pajama to toga sheet, are our speciality.
8. On the personal front, what is your favorite food?
Narendra Somani: The family meal is a symbol of pride for its ethnicity and a means of coping with homesickness after long periods that my brothers and I spend in the field arranging caterings and managing our hotels. Usually, I prefer to have simple food that is healthy – my go-to comfort food is Daal and Rice.
During my travels, my favorite cuisine is Pan-Asian.
9. How would you celebrate a romantic meal?
My romantic dinner would be at a harbour cruise or maybe at a rooftop Skydeck with some lovely music.
