A menu rejig, doing away with live cooking or switching to induction hobs, refusing big orders, and reducing wastage are some of the alternatives caterers are employing to sail through an indefinite period of uncertainty brought about by the LPG crisis.
Catering for 500 people at an event or wedding requires about 10 to 12 LPG cylinders, several caterers said.
A popular catering company, a name in most Bengali households, is refusing fresh orders for the next week.
Another caterer said he is refusing orders for 500 people or more for the next two weeks.
A third caterer said that if the situation continues like this, it would mean a 50% loss in business.
“The kitchen has collapsed, and we are trying to manage with the existing stock, but that won’t last long. For the next week and a half, we are not taking any fresh orders. For those beyond, we are not confirming but telling customers that we will get back to them once the situation
improves,” said Tarak Mondal, head of operations,
BijoliGrill.
For most caterers, besides weddings, there are housewarming parties, rice ceremonies and corporate events.
The LPG crisis and the uncertainty of it being resolved are putting them in a deeper crisis, caterers- big and small- said.
“Business is going to be affected big time. We are expecting a 50% drop in business, not for a lack of customers, but we being unable to cater. Gas supplies are dwindling day by day,” said S.Ramani, founder-director, Savourites.
As days go by, they are scared of turning down orders, he said.
“We don’t know in the next 10 days whether we will be able to keep up a commitment or not. I am unable to look beyond a week,” said Ramani.
Ramani said the company’s weekly consumption is 200 cylinders.
Some caterers are making modifications to the menu to sail through the crisis for a longer period, they said.
“We have replaced the Chinese menu with other cuisines. Chinese cuisine has to be prepared at high flame, so we are sticking to Italian and Mexican food. We are also continuing with tandoor items like kebabs and chicken butter masala or dal makhani,” said Pradip Rozario, chef cum owner at KK’s Fusion.
Rozario said he is not taking catering orders for 500 people or more.
“For smaller orders of 50 people, we can manage with induction cooking,” he said.
Many caterers said they have procured induction hobs and are trying to switch part of the cooking wherever possible to electric cooking.
“We have to modify the menu in such a way that 60% cooking is on LPG, and the rest is on induction,” said Amit Kumar Kohli of the Kohli Catering Services.
For example, if it’s jalebi for sweets, the other items on the dessert menu will be a sundae, said Kohli.
Live cooking at venues is either being reduced or shifted to induction tops, said caterers.
Kohli has sent a list of dos and don’ts to his staff to avoid the wastage of LPG. “We are connecting one cylinder to two burners to reduce wastage,” he said.
Several hoteliers who also cater for parties are trying to ration the use of LPG in their kitchens.
“We are trying to reduce the consumption wherever possible, like keeping the gas palette switched off instead of the flame burning constantly. We are using lighter utensils instead so that the food gets heated faster and do bulk cooking that would reduce LPG consumption,” said Asif Ahmed of Sanjha Chulha.
If the crisis deepens, more items are likely to disappear from the menu, said caterers.