Deliciousness from the streets on a plate, Amritsari kulchas area a delight for our cravings. “क se kulcha”, located in DLF Mall of India is undoubtedly the best place to be when desiring a plate of scrumptious, buttery kulcha. Their tandoor, herbs, and spices, including their unique chole masala which is used in the making, are specially prepared to provide foodies a soulful taste. Startup Reporter recently conducted an interaction with Manas Wadhwa, owner of Desi Vibes Restaurant, the most famous and sought-after place for north Indian and Mughlai food in Sector 18 Noida.
Give a brief history of the restaurants (when did it all start, how did the idea come about, how were you able to execute it, etc). Also, tell us about your background and education.
Absolute Determination’ and a ‘Will to Achieve’ is what characterizes Manas Wadhwa, owner of Desi Vibes Restaurant, the most famous and sought-after place for north Indian and Mughlai food in Sector 18 Noida. A ‘Go-Getter’ by nature, he has traveled a rough road to reach where he is today. From working in an event management company to a stint in a Call center, working in an MNC thereafter n Getting into Jet Airways as Cabin Crew, he never lost sight of his Goal and finally quit his secure well-paid job in Jet and opened Desi Vibes in 2005. His expertise was his passion and dedication for his restaurant which saw Desi Vibes win several Awards such as “Best Indian Restaurant In Noida’, ‘Best Butter Chicken Award’, ‘Best Family Restaurant Award’, getting covered by several News Channels and being rated first on Online Websites such as Trip Advisor, etc.
Today besides Desi Vibes, Manas and his partner Varun Khera (his jet-mateJ ), most unassumingly own three other restaurants; Kaffiiaa- Italian Café & Lounge and The Imperial Spice – Connaught Place and क se Kulcha – DLF Mall of India.
How many chefs do you have? What is the training given to the staff? How are you dealing with attrition?
Every outlet has one chef to run the kitchen, who is further supported by Chef de party (CDP). Every kitchen has three to four CDPs taking care of the different sections of the kitchen. Further in the team, there are commis and helpers in the kitchen.
Anybody who joins the team goes through the training program, which covers basic hygiene and safety training, many orientations, and standardized recipes. There are refresher courses to sharpen team skills. We organize periodic workshops in coordination with the best trainers of the industries like chefs from the star properties.
Attrition, like any industry, is a matter of concern here as well. However, we keep a very close relationship with the entire team as a family. Good training, market competitive packages, in-house promotions, and overall skills development of the staff help us to keep staff attrition low.
Why did you choose Noida as your location?
Noida, in these years, has become a potpourri of different cultures and food habits. People from all over the country today populate Noida town. As a result, sector 18, Noida market, and Specially DLF Mall of India has become one of the biggest hubs for all the different cuisines. A food patron can relish from a simple eggroll to gastronomic Haute cuisines right here in the Noida market.
Some key challenges in opening a new restaurant?
Opening a new restaurant faces lots of challenges in different spheres. Choosing a good location, deciding upon the theme and ambiance. Deciding the positioning in the mind of customers are some of the Planning aspects. Then there are financial aspects, the capital required, etc., and the manpower aspects of hiring and training the staff. All these and many more are some of the key challenges while opening a restaurant.
What according to you, are the trickiest issues to tackle these days in the hospitality/food business?
The trickiest issue to tackle these days in the Food business is the Costing part. Whether it’s the rising Food cost or the manpower cost or the rental which is growing steeply. It all adds up to the cost.
What would you like to say about the current restaurant business scenario in Delhi?
The current Business scenario in Delhi is very Competitive. With a new restaurant opening almost every month it keeps the competition fierce and intense.
What has helped you the most in the image building of your brand?
I think Word of mouth and good customer reviews has helped most with the brand building.
How do you manage wastage and shrinkage?
It all starts with the order. Ensure that all purchases are entered into our Point of Sale system’s purchase order module before goods are ordered. We don’t allow staff to ring up ad hoc and order what they want. Ordering should be done in a managed and controlled manner a couple of times a week.
We know how drinks are made up. Our Point of Sale system has a Stock Control module with recipes. All items we sell have a recipe recorded in the system and are reducing the correct items in the correct portions.
We implement weekly or fortnight stock takes. Only by measuring, fixing, reviewing, and measuring again will wastage and shrinkage start to reduce. If we don’t have time to implement our own stock management program then we talk to our point of sale provider and use our Hospitality Performance Program.
We have already programmed many regular cocktails into the Point of Sale with recipes. We have to give a feeling to our staff that stock management is taken seriously. When they know it is important then they will work to ensure variances are minimized. We record everything, like management drinks, staff drinks, and free drinks on your Point of Sale system so that stock is reduced. When stock is dropped or miss poured then we use the Point of Sale system to record wastage. Record the stock going to the kitchen. We have stock under control and we implement minimum and maximum stock levels for all beverage items. We don’t hold more stock than is required it is just tying up valuable cash. Getting stock under control is not easy. It is time-consuming.
Lastly, tell us what are the top skills required to be a successful restaurateur?
- Time Management Skills: If you think that your time management skills are good, try working as a manager in a busy restaurant for one day and you will be tested to the max. If you survive, we think that you are cut out to be a restaurateur. Do we like to wait for food when we go out? Of course not! That’s exactly why you’ll need to be A-grade in your time management skills.
- Delegation of Responsibility: Holding the reins to a successful restaurant is more about delegating the right work to the right person than you trying to do a little bit of everything. From the chef to the maître’s, the waiter to the kitchen hand, you will have to delegate work. And believe us, these are not an easy bunch to get work done from. You will need to be strong, direct, and sometimes even rude. If you can’t see yourself doing all this, we suggest that you re-think your wish to be a restaurateur.
- Great negotiation on skills: What’s the main ingredient in your restaurant business? Food! That’s right. Did you know that most successful restaurateurs build extremely good relations with the local butchers and sellers at the local vegetable and fruit markets? They do that to avail of great trade discounts. Forget food. Everything from the furniture, decor, kitchen, utensils, and much more will require a lot of negotiations. You will need to be pushy, and edgy and work your way through to a fantastic discount on the nitty gritty things. Can you negotiate to kill?
- Tasting skills: Do you know what all great and successful restaurateurs have in common? They are all passionate about food! Yes, that is step one in your journey to become a great restaurateur. You can hire the best chef in the world, but if you don’t have a good palette, you’re probably no good. You can hire staff, not taste buds and aesthetics.
To be a great restaurateur, you will need these skills over and above the technical knowledge about how a successful restaurant operates.
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