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Patronage of catering on the rise
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Catering is a specialised area: it is more than mere serving of food at parties.
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Mineral water supply is part of the caterinig package
"The food is good... excellent... Who are the caterers? We should book them for our next function."
These are the commonly heard comments and queries at wedding receptions, birthday parties and other functions held at kalyana mandapams, function halls and at private places.
Most caterers prefer to make themselves conspicuous in the absence of any banners to suggest who had supplied the food. The caterers who supply quality food need not worry about publicity. As far as catering is concerned, it is the word-of-mouth publicity that plays a pivotal role in earning them more and more business.
While big hotels, too, undertake outdoor catering services, they are not within the reach of the common man. Small time caterers can provide good food at an affordable cost, as their overhead costs are little.
"The mushrooming of caterers has led to fierce competition. However, we need competition to prove that we can deliver the best quality food at reasonable rates," says the proprietor of Ruchi Restaurant and Parcels, Prasad Choudhary, who has been into the catering business for the past one-and-a-half years.
Ruchi caters for the needs of not only the residents of MVP Colony but also those in nearby areas like Lawson's Bay Colony and H.B. Colony. Mr. Prasad disagrees with the contention of some caterers that people in the metro are only worried about the price but are least bothered about the quality. "They look for quality at a reasonable rate. Who will eat tasteless food, even if you offer it to them free?" he asks.
"We are getting business from repeat customers and through their friends and acquaintances, which speaks about our quality. We get catering orders mostly for weddings, birthday parties and functions. Apart from catering, we also undertake door delivery of parcels in and around MVP Colony. There are plans to open a roof top restaurant," he says.
"Catering is a specialised area, which is more than mere supply of food for parties and special occasions. In places like Hyderabad, Vijayawada, Guntur and Nellore, people are not only conscious of the food quality but also particular about the personal hygiene of the servers, the cleanliness of the utensils used and the general ambience of the place. These are essential for a hearty meal but unfortunately people in the metro seem to ignore this fact," says Mr. Prasad.
Loading food onto a van---Photos: C.V. Subrahmanyam
"Over-dependence on cooks lead to problems for caterers. Responsible persons should be deputed to oversee the functioning of the cooks and servers," he says and adds a note of optimism, "The catering business is good in the metro and I am sure that it will develop further."
"The entry of petty caterers who compromise on quality and deliver at low rates has made a mess of the whole business of catering," feels the proprietor of KSR Suppliers, K. Srinivasa Rao.
The cut-throat competition in the last few years has resulted in a drastic reduction in the number of orders," he says.
"Personal supervision of the cooks and servers will go a long way in winning over customers," says the proprietor of SRK Parlour, Ch. Neelakantam, who has been running his parlour at Seethammadhara for the last eight years.
The good demand for catering services has made him enter the fray a year ago. "Initially, I catered for the needs of my relatives and friends. Through them I got more orders and now I get orders regularly," he says.
"The problem with most caterers is that they accept more orders than they can handle. They accept four or five catering orders on a single day and fail to do justice to any of them. Catering is an area, which requires supervision by responsible persons and leaving the job to servers can make the guests feel neglected and have an adverse impact on the firm," feels the proprietor of Venkata Ramana Suppliers and Catering, O. Venkata Ramana.
"At Rs.40 a plate, we arrange everything, including decoration of the place, provision of tables, chairs and vessels. However, for this the minimum order should be 200 plates. There are some customers who wish to buy the vegetables and provisions needed for the party at wholesale rates. In such cases, we can provide a plate at Rs.10. This includes the cost of supply of vessels, tables, chairs, provision of servers and cooks," he says.
"The customers are mostly cost-conscious and tend to place orders with those who promise to deliver at low rates. At the end of the day they realise that the caterer has charged them extra for additional items and the rate works out to more than that charged by established firms," says T. Muralikrishna, the proprietor of Annapurna Catering Services, Madhuranagar.
"We undertake full party orders and do everything including transport of food, provision of tables, chairs and servers. The business is quite encouraging," he says.
"Catering has become a part and parcel of the modern living as most people do not wish to strain themselves in making the arrangements needed for hosting parties. It can be classified into organised and unorganised catering. The organised players include hotels and restaurants while the unorganised ones undertake catering works without any licence," says the proprietor of S.R. Khana Khajana Multicuisine Restaurant, V. Shourie Reddy.
Ready for serving
This restaurant located at the YMCA on Beach Road undertakes outdoor catering as well. "The unorganised players cook the food in unhygienic conditions and use cheap quality stuff, which enables them to deliver at low costs. Their staff don multiple roles as cook, server and washer," he says.
"The entry of petty caterers who have little establishment costs is a setback for the big firms. However, the goodwill of the people keeps us going and we depend on word-of-mouth publicity to get more orders," says Venkateswarlu, the proprietor of Nellorevari Mess, located at Dabagardens.
"Our policy is to be within the reach of the average middle class man while ensuring consistent quality. We sometimes forgo our profits, when it comes to catering for major associations. The guests should not feel any deficiency in food quality, number of items and service as it would affect our standing," he says.
"We have the required infrastructure to cater for the needs of 3,000 persons at a time. We get orders not only from the metro but also from distant places like Bheemunipatnam and Yellamanchili but also from Gajapathinagaram in Vizianagaram district."
The days of grandma's recipes and cooking food for parties are over. Things have come to such a pass where urbanites prefer to go for catering even in hosting family gettogethers.
A caterer expressed his astonishment at the outlook of people in the metro thus: "They come to us even for hosting a small party for 20 or 30 members. Even the best caterers are no substitute for preparing things at home. Catering will no doubt free them from the hassle of preparing the foodstuff and serving them, but at the same time they tend to forget the fact that in family gettogethers, the home-made dishes reflect on the personal care and attention that go into their making and promote better social ties.
B. MADHU GOPAL
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