JW Marriott Kolkata turns six today. The star hotel on EM Bypass has been synonymous with good food, great events, warm hospitality, grand weddings and has been a safe space for travellers. “It’s been six years since Kolkatans have been bestowing love in abundance upon JW Marriott Kolkata. The hotel has undoubtedly established a significant footprint in the city and I would like to take this opportunity to express my heartfelt gratitude to the loyal guests and the dedicated team for their constant support and will to excel. The hospitality industry has several pockets that are underserved due to lack of resources and we create innumerable opportunities that not only helps us to give back to society but also helps create a diverse work force and an inclusive culture,” said Sumeet Suri (picture above), general manager, JW Marriott Kolkata. The Telegraph chatted with Sumeet on the top six things the hotel has been focusing on presently.
Diversity and inclusivity:
We are now focusing on diversity and inclusion.We believe that we need to have diversity and give equal rights to people from different communities. Leadership by women was always on the top and for many years. We have around 20 to 25 per cent of our leadership which comprises women. In fact, I would say almost 35-40 per cent of my senior leadership are women. The other thing is we’ve inducted people from the LGBTQ+ community. And you know when I was interviewing them, the kind of confidence they showed was remarkable. They just need someone to give them the space and opportunity. And they’re doing an incredible job and you know, we’ve got great guest experience, comments from them. We have people who are specially-abled. I recently had lunch with them, and I must say they were so happy because they don’t need sympathy. They need recognition for the hard work and they go all out because their the other senses are so strong that they can make a difference. So we we want to encourage people from this community.
Associates:
The associates are an important part. We lost a lot of our associates and I think this is the time to give them back as much as possible. So one of course, we are hiring people, giving them opportunities, career planning … they’re all part of the bigger team and we are trying to take care of their well-being, their mental and physical well-being. If the associates are happy they will continue to do things for their guests and the latter will come back. My team and I are always working on creating that happy energy for everyone.
Sustainability:
Even though we don’t have so much space, we’ve created a small
JW Garden, where we are growing some bit of herbs and plants. And we encourage our chefs to use them as ingredients. Then we try to source products from vendors who are at close proximity, so one, it helps the livelihood of that local vendor instead. Second, we’ve seen the small suppliers giving great quality products, which people are liking. Third, it’s reducing carbon emission rates, because you’re not getting things imported. So you’re reducing the carbon footprint and thereby helping the environment. One of our future projects has us working actively on installing EV stations (electrical stations), for charging vehicles in our basement because we see the future is electrical. Our hotel and most of the other Marriott hotels are going to have these stations. So that’s some of the bigger things we’re working on for sustainability.
We have also discarded the use of plastic bottles in hotel rooms and the banquet and with our new bottling water plant inside the premise, we are going the sustainable way even more. Glass bottles go through several processes like cleaning and sanitisation before they are capped and are re-checked several times before it reaches the guest.
Going Local:
Honestly, during the Covid-19 period, we realised that we survived because of the local community. So we are always trying to give back to society. We have got a chaiwallah, a person who makes this amazing local chai who used to work outside, we brought him into the hotel and now every morning we have seen the locals and even some foreigners enjoying it. Then, JW has this beautiful logo called Griffin which is a combination of an eagle and lion and we have a
3D sandblasted model by artisans from Kumartuli. They’ve done an incredible job and we’ve had some great comments coming in. From a food point of view, whether it’s plant-based proteins or a separate section for Bengali food, we felt that more and more people are looking for local experiences. All the food we’re doing in our rooms, maximum ingredients we are trying to buy locally.
Events:
I think we have done really well with our big events. We did some big nights with techno DJs coming in. We had hasya kavi, Kumar Vishwas who had come in and I was pleasantly surprised with a full house that day. Then recently we had Lucky Ali who was fabulous and considering his age the way he performed, it was great and the way he kept the crowd hooked was noteworthy. We are now also actively looking at big collaborations and celebrations. So one of the things is the the Masters of Marriott Bonvoy where we actually tie up with celebrity chefs from around the world. We recently did the Manish Mehrotra and The Crossings pop-up. A pop-up with a Thai chef from Ritz Carlton and a parathewali gali pop-up is also in the pipeline.
Wellness:
Wellness is a core part of the brand. We have created Serene Space (picture above), inside the hotel where we allow guests to be by themselves. You could sit there, read your book, listen to music, and just unwind after a busy day.
And of course, Family by JW is another concept where we want to encourage more and more families to get their children because children are the ones who really decide what families want to do today. Then our beautiful spa and yoga adds to the wellness concept. After a long day I think when our guests enter our hotel, they should just feel connected with themselves and we should be able to do things for them.
Birthday bonanza:
The hotel is offering a special anniversary deal in dining which dates back to the opening buffet rates of 2016 — Rs 899-plus for lunch and Rs 999-plus for dinner which is valid only today (November 3). From November 4-6, if you are the sixth person on the table in a group of six, your meal will be on the house! These offers are valid only at JW Kitchen.
The Telegraph staycation snippets
The Telegraph went staycationing at the five-star property and enjoyed the new attractions like the cute JW Garden. Cucumber, cherry tomatoes, chillies, aloe vera, gondhoraj lemon, brinjals... they grow quite a variety. We spotted chef Prakash Chettiyar (left) plucking fresh Thai sweet basil to rustle up a dish for us!
We tried the all-new Tiffin Meal for dinner that caters to the concept of serving meal for one person, so that there is no food wastage. Regular portions are usually a lot for a single guest, hence the idea of the Tiffin or single person meal developed.
To add to the wellness quotient of the in-house guests, the hotel has come up with a 45-minute Ying Yang yoga session that includes meditation that aims at a spiritual journey to connect the body to the soul. The Telegraph breathed and out. #relax
Health bites:
With changing consumer preferences and a conscious move towards a healthy lifestyle, the hotel has curated a wide range of plant-based and gluten-free delicacies, like ‘mock meat’-based dishes amongst others, for its patrons.
“We are trying to prepare dishes which we haven’t done in Vintage Asia before. We are going the sustainable way to procure local ingredients like a pumpkin soup served in a coconut shell. We have sushi with ingredients that are rustic. Then we have mock duck because a lot of people ask for it. We have to work on a lot of innovation in these plant-based items,” said chef Prakash Chettiyar, executive chef, JW Marriott Kolkata.
Sushi-oh is tempura sushi, a plant-based item with white and black fungus besides shiitake mushroom. This has avocado from a local vendor. The sushi is dusted with Togarashi.
Plant Base Big Salt is a must-try. Made with soya, this mock duck dish is made Kung-Pao style with allium porrum and nuts. The smokiness of this dish is irresistible.
Creamy Herb Soup is the star item on the menu. It’s a pumpkin soup but with Thai herbs and served in coconut shell. Yum!
Pictures: B. Halder
