INDUSTRIAL CATERING IN CHENNAI TODAY

There is not much of a difference between industrial and domestic catering. Basically, both have almost the same modus operandi. In industrial catering, one needs to run a 24-hour service, the manpower and investment is huge and also, industrial catering means 'a contract' for a minimum of one year. Domestic catering involves less manpower and investment and is also usually restricted to just a special occasion or two.

Industrial Catering in Chennai seems to have a bright future with room for expansion if one is to go by C Sivagnanam's view on the subject. Sivagnanam is the Managing Director of Shivas Industrial Caterers India P Ltd - a leading industrial caterer in the city.

The field is only getting bigger with the entry of more and more players in Chennai and the reason is pretty straightforward. The IT sector is booming in Chennai and because of this, a lot ofsoftware companies are pitching their tents in Chennai. The State Government's efforts to woo foreign investments have borne fruit and car majors like Ford and Hyundai have also come into the state. These are also the reasons for the increased number of players entering the industrial catering scene.

Manpower, quality, interaction with the clients, recruitment, assessment and training of employees, refresher training programmes for employees, safety and hygiene, transport facilities, courteous service or hospitality and financial backup are the major requirements in industrial catering.

Manpower is a major requirement in industrial catering because there is a a heavy volume of work, which in turn requires not only a large work force on duty at all times, but also a standby team in case of contingencies. Again, this team need not be just exclusively for contingencies, but can be employed for another purpose and used only in case of contingencies. Also, a key area where many caterers fail, is the need to have trained professionals. It is just not enough to have huge manpower, but quality manpower. "When we speak of quality with regard to industrial catering it is the need to maintain consistent quality and also have it monitored by outside agencies. Though there are no quality norms for this industry, like the ISI or Quality Control Act, we do have quality norms for ingredients. We have a Nutrition specialist, and also have our food tested by a leading private lab in the city, the Sundaram Medical Foundation and by the Voluntary Health Services. In terms of the quality norms of ingredients, we procure good quality Ponni Rice and for atta (flour) we get leading brands like Pillsbury or Annapoorna", says Sivagnanam.

The proof of the pudding lies in the cake, they say. When it comes to the menu, Sivagnanam says, "Yes, we do take the preference of clients into account while deciding the menu. Apart from whatever they say, we have over six cuisines like Chettinad, Andhra, South Indian, North Indian, Chinese and Continental. We also have customised menus".

Shivas Caterers is a leading player among industrial caterers in the city, Sivaganam attributes this to his infrastructure "Our centralised kitchens are our major strength, because we reduce the Human Resources load on our client. There is a law, which says that the employer is responsible for all those working on his site. Because we cook the food outside the site, the client does not have any additional Human Resources related problems or get worried, because he would have to take care of the people who are cooking the food, if the cooking were done at the site. Our centralised kitchens get rid of this problem".

But in a field which is ridden with deadlines such as this, there are bound to be risks and problems, "The demand for liquefied petroleum gas. We are placed in a quandary, since this is one commodity that is out of our hands. Hike in the price of vegetables, milk getting curdled.... these are things which happen suddenly and can catch us by surprise" says D Girija, General Manager Operations - Key Accounts, "But we also have contingency measures in case of any change in orders. We have restaurants spread throughout the city, and in case a client wants more food, all we need to do is to source it from the restaurant". When it comes to stocking, the provisions are stocked at various storage points located strategically all across the city. They are sent to the centralised kitchens once every 15 days. Fresh vegetables and other perishable items are bought daily and distributed among the centralised kitchens. We have cold storages in every centralised kitchen for milk, meat and other perishable goods.

Many people are benefitted in terms of employment directly and indirectly from this industry. Sivagnanam puts the figure at more than 10,000 people who benefit indirectly. Each catering unit employs a few hundred people depending on the size of their operations.

Success in this industry according to Sivagnanam hinges on punctuality, cleanliness, hygiene, safety and quality.