Crest TOI :Joeanna Rebello Fernandes | March 31, 2012
What would you do if you were in the market for a new cuisine?
Something Norwegian or Nigerian?
Egusi and Jollof rice?
Local restaurants not serving it up?
Try the neighbourhood hospital instead.
At the Madras Medical Mission (MMC), you can have your pick of Nigerian, Tanzanian and Kenyan food, no doubt minus restaurant taxes, but at the rather troublesome cost of checking in.
The availability of sub-Saharan food at a South Indian medical mission is not without reason. This super-specialty institution receives a marked turnout of patients from Southern Africa every year, accounting for 10 to 12 percent of the total, and it is to meet their dietary preferences that the hospital serves food that's familiar to them, in addition, of course, to its regular Indian fare.
"Serving patients food they are familiar with and enjoy (within permissible limits) keeps them happy and comfortable, and could even accelerate their recovery, " explains Brigadier George Kurien, top brass at MMC, who has employed service provider Sodexo to rewrite the hospital's old menu, and drill local chefs in foreign kitchen culture. MMC is not the only obliging institution gunning for customer satisfaction, though.
The availability of sub-Saharan food at a South Indian medical mission is not without reason. This super-specialty institution receives a marked turnout of patients from Southern Africa every year, accounting for 10 to 12 percent of the total, and it is to meet their dietary preferences that the hospital serves food that's familiar to them, in addition, of course, to its regular Indian fare.
"Serving patients food they are familiar with and enjoy (within permissible limits) keeps them happy and comfortable, and could even accelerate their recovery, " explains Brigadier George Kurien, top brass at MMC, who has employed service provider Sodexo to rewrite the hospital's old menu, and drill local chefs in foreign kitchen culture. MMC is not the only obliging institution gunning for customer satisfaction, though.
Chennai also has the Apollo Hospital that feeds its lot with manna from the Middle East, Northern Africa, Greece and Italy, should they ask for it. Medical tourism, it appears, has read the vital sign that the quality of 'bed and breakfast' is as important to a patient's recovery as a hospital's facilities and calibre of staff.
This is why Apollo, which is officially allied with the governments of Oman, Yemen and Nigeria to treat patients of the state, lays out a fancy table with herbal pilaf, tabbouleh (an Arab salad), moutabal (Lebanese grilled egg plant), and even sushi. "Their governments demand comprehensive feedback on their hospital stay, including feedback on food, " says Sant Kumar Singh, corporate chef of Apollo Hospitals, Chennai.
It's not only the healthcare industry that's dishing out super-specialised food. Across the country, corporate companies, foreign banks, even international schools are turning their lunchrooms into multi-cuisine chow houses to keep their multi-cultural clientele well-fed.
It helps that India has several food and facilities management experts to help cafeterias transition smoothly from repetitive regional and, at best, vague impressions of Continental, Chinese and American cuisines, to authentic multi-ethnic foods.
Vikram Srinivas, Director, M&A, Compass Group, a UK-based food facilities company, says the Indian operations benefit from best practices followed by Compass in other parts of the world. "We have acess to recipes, chefs, and operating best practices from all over, " he says. Incidentally, the company has an innovation centre in the UK where a team of chefs experiment on various menus.
Jeff Brades, Vice President of Marketing and Communications, Sodexo India, points out that India, as a growing economy, is witnessing a steady influx of international workers, who come from organisations setting up outposts in the country, or from companies who bring in international specialists to help in certain roles.
It's not only the healthcare industry that's dishing out super-specialised food. Across the country, corporate companies, foreign banks, even international schools are turning their lunchrooms into multi-cuisine chow houses to keep their multi-cultural clientele well-fed.
It helps that India has several food and facilities management experts to help cafeterias transition smoothly from repetitive regional and, at best, vague impressions of Continental, Chinese and American cuisines, to authentic multi-ethnic foods.
Vikram Srinivas, Director, M&A, Compass Group, a UK-based food facilities company, says the Indian operations benefit from best practices followed by Compass in other parts of the world. "We have acess to recipes, chefs, and operating best practices from all over, " he says. Incidentally, the company has an innovation centre in the UK where a team of chefs experiment on various menus.
Jeff Brades, Vice President of Marketing and Communications, Sodexo India, points out that India, as a growing economy, is witnessing a steady influx of international workers, who come from organisations setting up outposts in the country, or from companies who bring in international specialists to help in certain roles.
"This includes organisations like oil and gas companies, where international relocation is part of the daily working life. For these people, the hard working environment benefits from every opportunity to soften the experience and workers brought in from places like the United States, Norway or South America truly appreciate the chance to sample their home fare when working on a rig in the middle of the Arabian Sea. Back on land, companies setting up in India, such as the Korean and Japanese car manufacturers, send over senior management to help establish facilities;they really value the chance to have some local cuisine in the middle of their working week, " he says.
For the employees at the Hyundai factory in Sriperumbudur, about 45 km from Chennai, a weekly visitation of kimchi is not good enough, which is why there's a full-fledged Korean restaurant on the premises. "Korean food has been served here from the time the factory was set up in the late 1990s, " says V Ramesh, General Manager, General Affairs, Hyundai Motor India Limited. "It makes the Korean employees feel at home. " The factory has four canteens serving Indian food, and one Korean restaurant for its senior management, though Indian staff is encouraged to eat there too. The place also serves Korean coffee and tea. Food for the restaurant is cooked in a separate kitchen, and the management is outsourced to a local Korean restaurant.
Institutions have learnt not to undermine the impact of a satisfying meal on site. Some, like the American School of Bombay, conduct satisfaction surveys annually, to tell if the students are healthy and happy with the goods. It's undoubtedly an onerous task to come up with cafeteria food tempting enough to make over 50 different nationalities (and adolescents no less) want to dig in. "We serve up several cuisines, from Indian (including Jain food), European and North American, " says Craig Johnson, school superintendent. "The cafeteria has five counters, and each serves a different meal at lunch, " he says.
For the employees at the Hyundai factory in Sriperumbudur, about 45 km from Chennai, a weekly visitation of kimchi is not good enough, which is why there's a full-fledged Korean restaurant on the premises. "Korean food has been served here from the time the factory was set up in the late 1990s, " says V Ramesh, General Manager, General Affairs, Hyundai Motor India Limited. "It makes the Korean employees feel at home. " The factory has four canteens serving Indian food, and one Korean restaurant for its senior management, though Indian staff is encouraged to eat there too. The place also serves Korean coffee and tea. Food for the restaurant is cooked in a separate kitchen, and the management is outsourced to a local Korean restaurant.
Institutions have learnt not to undermine the impact of a satisfying meal on site. Some, like the American School of Bombay, conduct satisfaction surveys annually, to tell if the students are healthy and happy with the goods. It's undoubtedly an onerous task to come up with cafeteria food tempting enough to make over 50 different nationalities (and adolescents no less) want to dig in. "We serve up several cuisines, from Indian (including Jain food), European and North American, " says Craig Johnson, school superintendent. "The cafeteria has five counters, and each serves a different meal at lunch, " he says.
The counter that puts out Western meals includes options like chicken schnitzel, macaroni and cheese, mashed peas and country potato wedges. If it was the long-standing, and costcutting tradition of doling out inedible grub that created the parallel gastronomy (and economy) of the streets (where a savoury, if unsanitary pav bhaji was better than in-house slop); it is now the specialised caterer who profits from the growing internationalism of organisations.
Bhakti Mehta, proprietor of a gourmet catering business called Little Food Company, started life as a party provider, but now finds herself setting up occasional Italian, Mexican, Asian or Mediterranean luncheons and dinners for the high-flyers of companies like Marico, RPG, Kyazoonga and Tata Sky. "I don't do Indian (meals) at all, " she clarifies, adding that she imports most of her ingredients and cooks only in olive oil. "Ingredient sourcing is often the biggest issue in speciality cuisines;for example finding vendors in Chennai who can provide udon noodles or seaweed roll is not without its challenges, " Brades points out. Niche cuisines could prove to be money-sapping corporate 'body' building exercises, with a high risk of being abandoned if costs escalate.
To keep the enterprise sustainable, some companies like Hyundai cultivate their own resources. The car manufacturer keeps a vegetable garden that grows items such as Chinese cabbage, Korean grass, lettuces and radish - a Korean oasis in the middle of the arid landscape along the Chennai-Bangalore highway.
As for other, leafless ingredients, Ramesh, the General Affairs GM says, "Chennai has a 3, 500-strong Korean community with exclusive grocery stores catering to them, so sourcing other ingredients is not a problem. " The expats are relieved. They can now work, study and be hospitalised in India without worrying if they can stomach the curry.
With inputs by Shalini Umachandran
With inputs by Shalini Umachandran
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