The Year of Concept Restaurants
The food and beverage industry is always in a state of evolution and is constantly bringing out new things, new menus, new concepts and new ambience. The industry has evolved from the more traditional concept to more international concepts. Thanks to the much-evolved customers, people like to experiment new things and this gives a way to come up with new and exciting restaurants. Also, this is the age of social media, where international trends are available and have massively hit the domestic market.
2016 will belong to concept restaurants. Apart from the quality of food, the concept and interiors will play a pivotal role in a restaurant’s success. The furnishings, music, lights, décor – whatever you choose should make a customer comfortable in his surroundings. This is the world of showing off. Restaurants these days are concept driven and the target audience is people who want to eat and drink in style, it’s for the people who look out for ingredients to post on their social media pages. Thus, it needs beautiful décor and vibes which results in customers coming back for more.
The upcoming restaurants and lounges bring to customers variety from different parts of the world. Even the customer has become more experimental and wants to try new things.
Restaurants are definitely going to experiment more in 2016. Food is the fundamental reason to dine out, and experimentation becomes important so that your food outing should always be enjoyed and should not be monotonous.
2015 totally belonged to International flavours, and 2016 will belong to a wider audience as the exposure to international cuisines has further increased. It is always important to have the right balance of both the classic and experimental flavours. The Indian palate is about having dishes which are accepted by the masses and yet are international at the same time. 2016 will also see the trend of plating and presentation. Presentation is very important and in today’s times one just can’t do without the art of presentation – it is just as important as the food itself. It enhances your appetite and surely adds to the dining experience. It adds value as it increases the visual taste of the place. Balancing variety and contrast is the key factor to be kept in mind while plating. It is good to have a variety of textures on the plate, but how these textures are combined is just as important. Using the finest cutlery, with the right portion of serving on the plate are very important elements while plating.
2016 will bring concepts and fusion but no confusion.
This will also be the year that food will merge with the tech world. Restaurants are now launching apps to simplify the customer’s needs – right from table reservations to discounts to all information regarding the restaurants themselves, as well as loyalty programmes where customers can earn points and redeem them for exciting offers.
The current food service industry is the most dynamic one. It has the room for all and offerings from all parts of the world. Food, drinks, ambience and events are the four major elements which contribute to success.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Umang Tewari is one of the most popular restaurateurs in Delhi and is the owner of The Vault, Junkyard Café, GaramDharam, Café Public connection & 3 Pegs Down. Coming from a real estate background, he ventured into hospitality in 2002 with the nightclub Oxygen. Since he hailed from a non-hospitality background, it was purely the food and music scene that inspired him to foray into this field. Umang completed his MBA from the UK and while there also worked in cafes for experience and exposure.
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