FOOD -- 9:

HOME-STYLE BADAGA COOKING, A FAVOURITE WITH TOURISTS

BY P S SUNDAR

We had highlighted the prominence of home-style cooking in Taj group of hotels in different posts in this Blog. 

Here is a treatise on the latest happening as seen on this New Year Day -- January 1, 2017:: 

On New Year day, tourists from different parts of the country and some foreigners were seen crowding R Jayalakshmi at Taj Savoy Hotel, Ooty, watching her prepare Aappam with sweetened coconut milk and engaging in conversation with her on this delicacy.

Jayalakshmi is not like other permanent cooks of Taj but is engaged daily for her home-style cooking.

“She is a housewife belonging to Badaga, the predominant community of Nilgiris, and we are committed, as part of our corporate social reasonability, to support Badaga women with opportunity to popularise their traditional cuisine”, Taj Savoy General Manager P Vibhakar told Express.

Passionate about her assignment, Jayalakshmi travels by two buses daily to reach the hotel from her village Bickole, a small hamlet 20 kilometres away from Ooty.

“Visitors enjoy seeing me cook on stove live in the restaurant, they take photos and collect from me recipes”, a beaming Jayalakshmi said.

“I cook different items daily like kara paniyaram, thithippu paniyaram, Ubbittu, Dhotti, thuppathittu, aappam, rava laddu, Kothumai dosai and thithippu puff.   I cook in the same way it is done in our Badaga community homes”, she said.

“Our Avara Othukka and Badaga Thali cooked homes-style are a favourite even with foreigners”, Executive Chef Nisi Kant Panigrahi added.

(response can also be sent to: pssundar.coonoor@gmail.com)

CELEBRATIONS -- 12:

WELCOMING 2017 AT TAJ SAVOY OOTY

BY P S SUNDAR

Three aspects stood out at the 2017 New Year eve celebrations at Taj Savoy Hotel, Ooty – adaptability to India’s new economy, eco-friendly theme through bread and salad display and employee families’ inclusiveness in celebrations.

Since the demonetisation of some currencies on November 8, 2016, business has not been usual for all sectors including the hospitality and sufferings worsened with cash-crunch followed by excessive monitoring of bank accounts by tax authorities.  Hotels are known to work on less cash (though not totally cashless!) systems but ‘travel less’ attitude of people definitely hits their business.  To that extent, managements passed through uncertainties in deciding on New Year celebrations.

It was, therefore, refreshing that tourists and residents welcomed 2017 with enthusiasm in the Nilgiris on December 31, 2016 night.  Churches were tastefully illuminated and Christians attended midnight mass braving biting cold as temperature nosedived to 5 degrees Celsius in Coonoor and Ooty. Hotels threw up dance and dining facilities to tourists who included foreigners.

“Although our business has always been card-oriented, demonetisation and cash crunch caused lot of uncertainties last one month as people, including foreigners refrained from travelling and cancelled bookings.  However, tourist inflow peaked just before New Year making the celebrations a big hit”, P Vibhakar, General Manager Taj Savoy Ooty told me.

To make the event memorable, Vibhakar’s team put up a well-organised music and dancing get-together under the protected cover of colourful shamiana with DJ and MC.  

The team members ensured the comfort of the guests, mostly tourists from other parts of the country and staying at Savoy.  

There was red-hot raw fire oven-tray to keep the enclosure warm.

The facade and the heritage buildings’ edges were tastefully illuminated to bring cheerful light to all in the New Year.

There were many games and competitions for which prizes were liberally given which included free stay at many Taj hotels.   All – elders, men, women and children – had something to keep themselves engaged while welcoming 2017.

Vibhakar is known to promote employee interests by projecting their contributions and taking a ‘supportive platform’ role.   He exhibited another dimension to this by inviting the families of departmental heads to join the New Year celebrations creating an-inclusive ambience for those who can.   The family members who attended were thrilled to see the happenings themselves resulting in a greater appreciation of the work done by their own kith as employee of Savoy. They joined in wishing other employees and guests ‘a very happy 2017’.

Vibhakar’s another landmark for the occasion came in the form of theme-oriented feast.   “Wilfred is a third-generation baker chef from Ooty.  So, we used him to develop an exhibition of bread verities for this celebration.  We chose eco-friendliness as the theme for our bread salad display”, he told me.

“We prepared the breads with hand-made shapes of sun, moon, earth, river and forms of nature”, Savoy Executive Chef Nisi Kant Panigrahi said.

“There are as many as 20 varieties of bread in display here – rum and resin, regular focassia, panini, ginger bread, garlic, oregano, rosemary and olive, lavash, water melon seeds, white and blue sesame, regular bread sticks, sesame bread sticks, bread rolls, ginger and thyme, cumin, whole wheat, multigrain, sugar-bread, butter-bread and oats”, he detailed.

The salad display also evoked keen interest among visitors.   “We have created a ‘Nilgiri Vegetable market’ for eco-friendly and garden-fresh salad experience”, Chef Nisi Kant told me.

“On display here are 15 varieties of salads and they have been split into 10 vegetarian and 5 non-vegetarian preparations.  We provide a unique experience with 10 varieties of dressings – Spanish, mustard, Mexican , Thousand Islands, Brazilian, Oriental garlic, Indian tamarind, Singapore milk cream, Honey lemon and Honey chilli”, he detailed.

The dinner spread itself was exhaustive.   “Overall, six starters, five varieties of cheese, two soups, 8 vegetarian, 5 non-vegetarian, 6 rice accompaniments and 8 desserts besides the bread and salad displays mark our New Year eve dinner”, Nisi Kant said.

And, when the clock struck 12 .. after the 10 second count-down, “Happy New Year” rent the air all over Savoy.    Everyone was seen wishing every other, creating an overall satisfaction among the guests and concomitantly marking the success for Vibhakar’s team in organising yet another grand show ..

HAPPY AND PROSPEROUS 2017 !! 

     

 (response can also be sent to: pssundar.coonoor@gmail.com)

PROFILE -- 5 ::

VIJAYAN OF TAJ VIVANTA, EXECUTIVE CHEF FOR 22 YEARS!!

BY P S SUNDAR

B C Kumar, General Manager, Vivanta Surya Coimbatore by Taj, is known to support food promotions by building a committed team of kitchen and service professionals.  My treatise on his profile appears in this Blog separately.  

This highlight is on his Executive Chef H N Vijayan who has been with Coimbatore Vivanta since its inception in 2011.

Thirty four years ago, Vijayan graduated from IHMCT and started his career with Vivanta by Taj President, Mumbai.  There has been no looking back since then.  Even by 1994, he has been designated ‘Executive Chef’ by the Taj group – that means, he has been an Executive Chef for 22 years by now.   That itself speaks about his managerial capacity in Food and Beverage department.

He has worked in several Taj properties across the nation which gave him opportunities to showcase his best to cuisine lovers.   And, among the extraordinary opportunities he lists are catering to Prince Charles of the UK and being the official team leader for catering to Indian Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh during SAARC summit in Sri Lanka in 2008.  

Known to be an ardent promoter of theme cuisines, he is remembered for his successful promotion of Chettinad food in Sri Lanka, Mauritius and Singapore.  He had specialised in Chettinad preparations for seven years at Taj Connemara, Chennai.

Chef Vijayan specialised in Ethnic Kerala cuisine in Taj Vivanta, Thiruvananthapuram.  

At Vivanta Coimbatore, he has introduced Ramasseri idli as live presentation during breakfast in the restaurant.   This speciality of Ramasseri village near Elappally near Palakkad has become a favourite among guests from all over to Vivanta Coimbatore.

Chef Vijayan, who himself belong to Badaga community of the Nilgiris, is also hailed for introducing Badaga regional cuisine at Vivanta Coimbatore with Kumar’s guidance.

“We have now introduced Kongunadu cuisine in regional home-style cooking.  This includes many traditional Kongu-style vegetarian and non-vegetarian preparations as done in the homes of Coimbatore and surrounding areas”, Chef Vijayan told me.   

Today Chef Vijayan is hailed to have standardised the South Indian dishes across all Vivanta hotels of the Taj group.

“Among my mentionable contributions is the Intensive Training Kitchen Programme where we have developed young chefs specialising in south Indian cuisine.  It is six-month intensive training programme for less-educated under-privileged rural youngsters for sustainable career in food and beverage.   We have placed early 30 such candidates in various Taj hotels across the country”, noted a very satisfied Chef Vijayan.

“I focus on innovation like developing Chef calendar for gift to all departments.  I update knowledge through various sources and even by direct experience of eating at different restaurants.  I lay necessary accent on hygiene and develop many home-style cooking ingredients.  Equally significant is my obsession with cost and food wastage control as they are required not only for the hotel but the country as a whole”, sums up Chef Vijayan.  

     

(response can also be sent to: pssundar.coonoor@gmail.com) 

         

FOOD 5 :: 

NOW, VISITORS CAN TASTE RAMASSERI IDLI IN GATEWAY HOTEL COONOOR

P S SUNDAR

Visitors to The Nilgiris during the forthcoming second season can enjoy the unique Ramasseri Idli, thanks to the Gateway Hotel Coonoor introducing live counter for it. 

"We have introduced this under our ‘home-style cooking’ category, handled by Indira, a housewife from Badaga, the predominant community of Nilgiris.  She comes daily from her hamlet, cooks Badaga traditional cuisine and entertains visitors with live preparation of Ramasseri Idli”, Gateway General Manager R Muralidharan told me.

Ramasseri Idli is a unique delicacy from Ramasseri, a village near Elappally in Palakkad district.

“These are steam cooked in unglazed clay pots leaving an earthy aroma.  They are larger in size, flatter in shape.  Parboiled rice is used and the idlis are laid on cloth in three tiers”, said Indira who had undergone special training for this from the traditional cooks.

“Visitors enjoy seeing the preparation and taste them with Molaka podi mixed with coconut oil”, she added.

(response can also be sent to : pssundar.coonoor@gmail.com)

AWARD -- 2 ::

THE ‘DOSA KING’ GETS GLOBAL RECOGNITION

P S SUNDAR 

Chef Joseph Jayaraj of Taj Savoy Hotel Ooty has brought credit to Nilgiri hospitality sector by bagging international professional award.

He has returned after receiving the prestigious ‘MD Club Award’ from Rakesh Sarna, Managing Director of Taj group of hotels.

“He is the only one in Nilgiris so far to receive such a global honour.  It recognises his professional excellence and serves as tonic for other employees which collectively mean a new food and beverage experience to tourists visiting Nilgiris this summer and beyond”, Savoy General Manager P Vibhakar told me after complimenting him.

“The ‘MD Club Award’ is the highest professional recognition under the Special Thanks and Recognition System (STARS) which is hailed to be among ‘the best employee engagement programme’ in hospitality industry”, he disclosed.

“Chef Joseph has won this coveted honour excelling in a three-pronged ranking process involving guests’ comments, colleagues’ comments and his own productive suggestions for organisational growth”, Human Resources Manager Antony Gerald said.

“In particular, Chef Joseph, who is hailed as ‘Dosa King’ for his extraordinary Dosas which have captivated visitors including foreigners, has been rewarded for his innovation in kitchen”, he noted.  

“Some of my suggestions had been hailed to be cost-effective and enhancing guest satisfaction”, recalled Chef Joseph.

General Manager P Vibhakar (right) and HR Manager Antony Gerald complimenting Chef Joseph

(response can also be sent to : pssundar.coonoor@gmail.com)

FOOD -- 4 ::

NEW CHINESE CUISINE AT TAJ SAVOY

BY P S SUNDAR

A main addition to tourists’ culinary pleasure in The Nilgiris this summer is the authentic Chinese cuisine at Taj Savoy Hotel, Ooty.

“Our objective is to take the food more towards Chinese taste in preparation without compromising Indian guests’ preference”, Savoy General Manager P Vibhakar said.

“I am presenting many new dishes from the training I had from Master Chef William Tong of Hongkong at ‘Memories of China’ Restaurant.  Our ‘red bean dumplings in ginger syrup’ is a dessert rarely available this side”, said Chef with 25 years experience M Arogyanathan, popularly called ‘Chinese Nathan’. 

“Pickled colour pepper and eggplant salad along with vegetable spring roll and honey chilli potato starters followed by garden fresh vegetables in white garlic sauce and chilli mushroom baby corn to accompany vegetable fried rice and Hunan Noodles are our guests’ favourite Chinese vegetarian dishes”, said Executive Chef Nisi Kant Panigrahi.

“Crispy prawns with golden garlic, Konjee Crispy Chicken, steamed fish in black bean sauce, Kung Pao chicken and honey chilli chicken are our guests’ favourite Chinese non-vegetarian dishes”, Arogyanathan added.

Vibhakar and Food and Beverages Manager Om Prakash led the Executives of the hotel in dedicating the new format of Chinese cuisine to the guests. 

(response can also be sent to: pssundar.coonoor@gmail.com)

VALUE ADDITION -- 2:

TAJ GIFTS TREE SAPLINGS TO TOURISTS

BY P S SUNDAR 

Taj group of Hotels in Nilgiris made environment day special to tourists by gifting to them tree saplings.

“We had specially procured these saplings keeping visitors’ place in mind and motivated them to care for growth of these trees back at home.  We also gave useful horticulture tips for their growth”, R Muralidharan, General Manager, Taj Gateway Hotel, Coonoor, told me. 

“This has made our visit to Nilgiris memorable.   I will grow this sapling with lot of care as it will remind me the litter-free, green lawns and colourful flowers which enhance the hotel’s ambience where we stayed”, Maya Kunnath, corporate lawyer from Bengaluru, said.

Earlier, Muralidharan led his staff for a clean-up drive in Lamb’s Rock, popular picnic spot, as also the Figure-of-eight Road.

HOUSEKEEPING MANAGER R NAGARAJ ARRANGING THE TREEE SAPLINGS

“We enlisted guests’ involvement for over a month now by encouraging their children to draw paintings on environment care and distributed green badges which our employees also wore”, Antony Gerald, Human Resources Manager, Taj group of hotels in Nilgiris, said.

“We took our guests on ‘Green Walk’ and screened Environment awareness movie”, added P Vibhakar, General Manger, Taj Savoy Hotel Ooty.

TAJ SAVOY OOTY  TEAM

(response can also be sent to: pssundar.coonoor@gmail.com)