Wisdom Diary of Chef Parampreet Singh

HospiBuz:- Being a chef but you started a restaurant consultancy firm. Why?

Chef Parampreet Singh:- Working as a chef gave me an endearing learning experience, however that decade brought cosmo change in the restaurant industry, with the fusion foods and invasion of other cuisines as well. It was an opportunity to explore different cuisines to the farthest horizons.

HospiBuz:-  As the managing director of Hands Hospitality Consultancy services, please give some intuitions about your firm and its services?

Chef Parampreet Singh:- Hands hospitality offers a complete solution for Hotel & Restaurant Consultation. Networking makes venturing into a restaurant business easy and resourcefulness helps in deriving profits, which are the key requisites.

HospiBuz:-  Restaurants are facing breakdowns because of QSRs and home delivery services. Please advise the restaurateurs on how they can save their restaurants?

Chef Parampreet Singh:- Technically, there is no way a restaurant can compete with QSR/ delivery model business as the capital investments & operating costs both are very less compared to the restaurant. Though QSR has gone way too far to compete with restaurants by introducing an interesting menu with very competitive pricing, free WIFI, Lounge sofa etc.

Actually, they have now created a significant culture that cafe is always a third place to be (home, office and cafe).

Apparently, the owners of restaurants are trying to lure their customers by offering very affordable pricing on liquor to attract masses and make drinking outside home affordable, make their restro bar everyday place. Restaurants without bars are trying luck on deliveries through online portals where they don’t have to bother about delivery management.

HospiBuz:-  It’s a common say ‘a restaurant is not a retail business’. What is your take on it? Please share your observation on the food costing in restaurants?

Chef Parampreet Singh:- It is very rightly said that a restaurant is not a retail business because F&B industry sells an experience. A standard product doesn’t always work here. Personal interaction of staff with the guest/customer and many times customization is required to make your guest happy.

Food cost has gone high compared to the last decade. Earlier restaurants use to operate at 20-25% but now maximum restaurants operate at 35-40% especially in metro cities. The reason is growing competition (more supply than demand) and competitive selling prices offered by restaurant to attract maximum footfall.

HospiBuz:-  Give us some insights on the importance of infrastructure of restaurants?

Chef Parampreet Singh:- Firstly, restaurants should rightly invest on latest equipment (technology) to reduce breakdowns and control R&M costs. Investing in infrastructure that has foreseeable return is Technology. It helps in curating customer experience which is weighed more than the taste of food to compete with competition around. It quickens the ordering process, reduces human errors while service, promoting restaurant on social media, taking online feedback and reviews.

HospiBuz:- Many restaurants don’t save data about their guests. Please tell us about the importance of data management in restaurants?

Chef Parampreet Singh:- We say that it is difficult to find loyal customers. rather do we set the foreground experience for them, a welcome back experience? This could only be managed by maintaining guest history or data. Technology gives us a solution to it. Maintaining online data of customers with name DOB etc, their recent visit, how was the experience, any negative feedback etc. All this will enable us to serve them better every time also keep a record of their preferences.

Read also:-        

The Restaurant Tale by Chef Vipul Arora

In Conversation with the Executive Chef of Roseate Hotel

Wisdom Diary of a Responsible Chef