The ripple effects of the global energy crisis and the ongoing US-Israel vs Iran war have begun to reach large kitchens in Kolkata, forcing caterers and institutional food suppliers to rethink operations as LPG supplies turn uncertain.
Caterers, hospital kitchens and institutional meal providers say the shortage of cooking gas cylinders is beginning to strain daily operations that feed thousands of people across the city.
Sudipto Karmakar of LaFiesta Catering said the impact was visible during a recent day of back-to-back events.
“The problem we are facing as a food and beverage operator is that our work is heavily dependent on fuel, especially LPG for large-scale kitchen operations. The ongoing global energy crisis triggered by the war has begun to affect supply chains, and we recently faced a shortage of gas cylinders.” While they maintain reserves to handle large-scale operations, a particularly busy day with six simultaneous events exposed the strain on supply.
“With support from three vendor partners, we managed to secure 10 cylinders and ensure that all our events continued without disruption,” he added.
Hospitals are also trying to conserve fuel and prepare for possible shortages.
“We are trying our best to conserve cooking gas as much as possible. We have tried to switch to electric cooking wherever possible, and usage time has been restricted. So far, we have managed to cope with the situation, but the situation could worsen at any time. This could be due to panic hoarding or hoarding by corrupt traders,” said Dr MS Purkait, medical superintendent of Techno India DAMA Hospital.
Institutional kitchens that serve large numbers daily are adjusting their menus and cooking methods to reduce gas consumption.
“At Eastern Staple, we run an institutional kitchen preparing close to 2,000 meals daily for offices, corporate cafeterias, hospitals, schools and student housing,” said founder Susmita Chakravarty.
“With the ongoing LPG supply uncertainty, we have temporarily scaled down our usually extensive menu to about five to seven core dishes to keep the kitchen running consistently while ensuring meal continuity.”
She said gas-intensive dishes like rotis have been paused for now.
“We are relying more on pressure cooking and non-bhuna methods, so food cooks faster while using less fuel. Rice-based meals and one-pot dishes have become central to our menu planning.”
The shortage is also having a trickle-down effect on food suppliers.
Susmita Ray, owner of SD Kamala Enterprise, which supplies kitchen raw materials to several private hospitals in the city, said the shift in cooking patterns has changed demand for ingredients. “Most hospitals have reduced their orders for fish because it requires more cooking gas to prepare. Instead, they are ordering more chicken as it consumes less fuel.”
While the demand for chicken has doubled, they are struggling to meet it.
“Earlier, we supplied about 20 to 25kg a day to one unit. The demand has now risen to around 50kg per unit. Our suppliers do not have enough stock, and prices have also increased. However, we cannot raise our rates because the price is fixed in the annual contract. Unfortunately, we have had to temporarily suspend the supply of chicken,” Ray concluded.