Even after eateries reopen, expect compact menus, takeaways and healthier dishes, say experts

According to restaurateur Japtej Ahluwalia, the food and beverage industry will witness a lot of trends in the future. “Contact-light dining will be implemented in most of the hotels in the city. The interaction between the staff and diners will be less. Because of limited diners at a time, there won’t be any waiting system. Once you visit the hotel, you will be directed to the table and can place the order from your mobile itself. These are some shortterm trends that we can expect,” says Japtej, co-founder of Soy Soi.

Most of the restaurants are known for their elaborate multi-cuisine menu with 150 dishes or more. But with the current situation, the number of dishes served will reduce drastically. “From a restaurant’s point of view, many are trying to cut down the expenses. And the first step would be reducing the menu size. So, the 150-dish menu will be reduced to 70-80 dishes or even less. A balanced, compact menu will become a common trend in most of the hotels. The new menu will be curated in a way that customers will get the best of all cuisines,” he points out.

The home delivery business will continue to grow as a segment with restaurants giving more importance to packaging. “At-home experiences will be another trend. Since a large number of people are not allowed in restaurants at a time, we can give people a restaurant experience at home. This service will be for a group of 20 or more who prefer to have a gourmet experience at home,” Japtej opines.

Chennai-based vegan chef Neelima Sriram observes that the pandemic made people switch to healthier eating practices. “During the lockdown period, many have started seriously focussing on cooking at home. Since people are not 100 per cent confident about the hygiene measures followed in restaurants, they will prefer home-cooked food. Also, I have noticed a strong shift toward vegan and organic food; especially, youngsters. If there is a huge demand, we can see a rise in vegan brands in the market. The current trend is online cooking classes by masterchefs. You will get to learn new recipes and cooking skills with this,” Neelima remarks.