Fine Dining at Home
The excitement that comes with going to your favourite fine-dine restaurant and browsing through the menu amidst the aroma of freshly prepared food is unmatchable. It is also one of those things we would not be experiencing again soon, thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic. Fortunately, many fine-dine restaurants have now taken the delivery route to ensure you do not miss out on your favourite dishes. Yes, the food experience might feel different, but these restaurants are leaving no stone unturned to make it awesome.
We spoke to some of the leading fine-dine restaurants about how they are popularising the home-delivery trend by bringing healthy immunity-boosting salads, gourmet hampers, artisanal confections and more at your doorstep.
JW Marriott Hotel Kolkata
Prakash Chettiyar, the executive chef at JW Marriott Hotel Kolkata, shares how they have created the concept of ‘Bring JW Marriott Home’. Given their eco-friendly and sustainable food packaging and hygienic preparations, most guests are appreciating their efforts and continuing to order their delectable specialities.
“We began with analysing our menu and sales summary in the first month to understand the demand and popularity of cuisines, customer tastes and popular dishes. Kolkata is a city of robust appetite, in terms of variety and cuisines, so we wanted to evaluate what our customers want,” says Chettiyar.
JW Marriott Hotel Kolkata has been offering guests a simple but scrumptious menu from their in-house restaurants— Vintage Asia and JW Kitchen—comprising comfort foods (low in appeal but great in value) and special dishes (high in appeal and variety). Some of the popular dishes delivered are Tandoori Paneer Tikka, Chicken Tikka Pizza, Chong Qin Style Hot Pot Chicken, Murg Tikka Makhani, Chocolate Truffle Cake and Kolkata Style Biryani.
The hotel follows strict hygiene and sanitisation rules such as body temperature checks every two hours, washing hands for 20 seconds periodically and thorough sanitisation of work tables. Associates are also required to download the Aarogya Setu app which must signal green for them to be able to enter the hotel premises. “Taking into consideration the current situation, home delivery was the best medium to express our ideas, innovations in the menu, menu design and offerings. It has made me put my 18-years’ experience to work out the best matrix of the menu for JW Marriott,” states Chettiyar.
The Leela Palace New Delhi
At The Leela Palace New Delhi, they offer Indian, Asian and Continental cuisines for home delivery and takeaway orders. But what differentiates their service is how they customise each order as per the guest’s requirements and create a unique dish for every patron. They also try to keep the flavours intact and deliver the food in separate, well-packed containers. For example, for continental food, everything— accompaniments, sauces, garnishes, etc—is packed individually and delivered within 30 minutes of preparation so that guests can enjoy the flavours to the fullest.
The Leela Palace New Delhi houses four restaurants: Jamavar (for royal Indian dining), The Qube (for modern global dining), Megu (offers an exclusive Japanese culinary experience) and Le Cirque (for global dining). Their home delivery and takeaway menu consists of specialities from all these kitchens. These include all-time favourites like Rogan-E-Nishat, Nasi Goreng, Mushroom Risotto and Grilled Scottish Salmon.
Given the COVID-19 pandemic, the hotel has launched ‘Suraksha’, a comprehensive safety programme with a holistic approach, to elevate health, safety and hygiene protocols. Precautionary measures include mandatory use of PPE kits by the kitchen team to prevent cross-contamination, washing and sanitisation of vegetables, fruits and groceries and preparation of food in small quantities to ensure that fresh food is served to guests.
“Due to the pandemic, food deliveries have been allowed and have gained momentum. It is vital that we stay connected with our guests and provide them with memorable and delightful dishes,” states Vinod Saini, Master Chef Indian, Jamavar, The Leela Palace New Delhi.
Biryani from The Leela Palace New Delhi
Grand Hyatt Mumbai Hotel & Residences
Grand Hyatt Mumbai Hotel & Residences has developed the concept of ‘Chef’s Table’ for guests at home—or their DIY meal kits of a set menu consisting of all signature dishes. Tried and tested, these menus not only consist of gourmet meals from the Grand Hyatt’s award-winning F&B outlets that the guests now miss, but also the ones that they can prepare on their own and serve to their loved ones at home. The menu offers an option of creating four-course meals spanning Italian, Asian or Indian cuisines. The kit consists of all the ingredients needed to prepare the dishes, along with a recipe card with detailed instructions.
Hyatt, as a brand, is also following global standards of safety and precautions as a top priority. Everything is prepared with fresh, sanitised ingredients and appropriate Grand Hyatt Mumbai Hotel & Residences protective gear. “The demand for home delivery, takeaways and DIY kits only show that the pandemic has not stopped foodies from ordering their favourite dishes, especially in Mumbai. People continue to experiment by adapting to takeaway services, especially from five-star dining or luxury hotels to ensure safety. And this trend keeps us motivated,” says Siddarth Noronha, Executive Sous Chef, Grand Hyatt Mumbai Hotel & Residences.
The hotel’s signature restaurants and bars include Celini (Italian speciality food), Soma (North Indian cuisine), China House (Chinese, Italian and American cuisines) and Gourmet Store (bakery and cafe). Their home-delivery menu too features favourites like pizzas, pastas, butter chicken, biryani, a selection of dim sum and a variety of desserts and cakes.
DIY Pasta Salad from Grand Hyatt Mumbai Hotel & Residences
Trend speak
Hyatt Regency Gurgaon delivers its specialities across the city and has partnered with food aggregators like Zomato and Swiggy to make accessibility easy, as confirmed by their spokesperson.
The Shalimar Hotel in Mumbai, a four-star entity, has sent out complimentary items from their new menu to their loyal patrons to promote their delivery services, as the restaurant’s spokesperson has shared.
Apple Pie Gelato from Nova Artisan Gelato at The Shalimar Hotel
JW Marriott Mumbai Juhu has launched ‘Monsoon Brunch’ under its ‘Marriott On Wheels’ programme that allows clients to customise their favourite Sunday brunch, which is home-delivered. Executive Chef, Abhishek Basu and his team shared how they have added signature recipes and ‘vitality-boosting salads’ to their home-delivery menu that promises to give patrons a luxe experience.
Executive Chef, Anushan Bali, who oversees the ‘Marriott On Wheels’ programme at JW Marriott Mumbai Sahar, says, “There has been a massive shift—and it is justified. This was the need of the hour because for the last few months people have been homebound. Even with all the home cooking, eating a gourmet meal is a different experience. This service has also helped us immensely in gaining revenues in these tough times.”
By the look of it, the home-delivery trend is here to stay, as people still fear moving out and dining at restaurants. So if you are feeling indulgent, we suggest you order your favourite foods or enjoy a gourmet meal, because there is nothing that can elevate your moods like some lip-smacking food.
