Evolution of dining out concept!!!

Sarai- a place to rest during old days

In India and across the globe anywhere food, clothing and shelter are identified as basic needs for human civilization. I wonder how the first time ever the relationship between food and human get established. It gave birth to the idea that you had to earn your bread. Thus, people started adopting various occupations along with farming. It was an intense relationship that only evolved over ages and ages. What amuses me the most is human never got bored with the same partner, food. Maybe because this partner has progressed as man did. True, be it ingredients, styles, techniques, appearance and even the place which served food had evolved just like the man who eats it. A place developed its staple diet depending upon the crops that were grown and the cattle or poultry raised. This ideally was directly related to the terrain, soil, rainfall, sunlight, proximity to sea and such natural factors.  A simple example of this is in northern part of India, there is lot of emphasis on cooking food with ghee and butter, however southern Indian cookery relies a lot on coconut oil. This is because of abundance of cattle in the northern part of India and similarly of coconut trees due to the proximity of sea in southern India. In the early times, people travelled on their feet or animal carriers and carriages. They would either carry their food along with them if it was a small journey or ate at the nearest place to stay like a sarai or an inn. That was probably the only time that eating out was required at all. The food would vary depending on the location they were travelling to and the availability of crops and animals there. If one travelled towards Karnataka at that time, rice, sambar and fish curry would be common meals as it was abundant and fresh. Freshness, a factor which is largely ignored in today’s life. I would come back to that topic a little later. Trends have changed today from that time. Nowadays, we don’t carry much time in our pocket to sit and have our breakfast. Forget about a prayer before having it.



Bhaji and Batata wada: the best take away

Today eating out has become very common for several reasons. These reasons have somehow developed eating out from need to a habit. There are several reasons that people want to eat out for.  A few of them are below; look down you may find yours too.

Roadside sandwich- a quick bite

 

 

 

 

 

 

I am hungry and tired: Timeliness of food is long forgotten. Every one of us has a busy schedule, a time to punch in, a deadline to achieve and then in the evening a movie or a sit com to watch. “Hurry, curry and worry” is the tagline to describe this hustle and bustle. In Mumbai or any city, life is like running on a treadmill constantly. This makes fatigue and hunger really common. And then when walking back home or while being in transit you watch someone eating a burger...even a bhel puri, you want it too. Why not, its basic instinct of a human. So we tend to eat a small snack at either a small quick snack place or pick up a takeaway to have with the evening chai or coffee.

 

Whose wants to buy utensils, vegetables.. I am here for just 6 months

I don’t have much time and utility to cook: Usually in cases where it is about a small trip somewhere or a visit for few months. Even though we have an apartment, we hardly want to invest into the utensils and equipments used for making and storing food. Then there is also a headache of buying vegetables, egg meat, lentils and grains.  So, why not just have food at different eateries in the locality.

Restaurants are so much better a place to socialize

 

 

 

I want to socialize: A trend that is like a built in program in us. I have a get together, it’s my birthday or anniversary ...Let us celebrate and such many. Meeting at a restaurant and pub is better to avoid the mess at home that probably you will have to clear all alone later.

 

I want to try something new: This one’s the decision making statement when the discussion arises to decide a place to eat. This is independent of being  group of friends, office colleagues or a family. Enough of the kebabs, I want to try a pasta with seafood or pizza today. All of us want to visit a restaurant, bar, pub and lounge to experience not only the food but the luxury of prompt service with attention.

Let's try something new..How about mediterranean

Guess, you must have found yours also. So how did this culture built in. Well I have a story to tell you. In the early 1990s India was hit by globalisation. Internet, email, Wi fi and mobile phones sneaked out on the globe’s playground. Thomas Friedman says, “These players made the world flatter.” I say, “It brought the global cuisines on a single platter.” Let’s go back twelve years from now we had some few places which catered to international cuisines. You could have counted this places like Kamling and Golden Dragon for Chinese, Tanjore and Khyber for Indian, Zodiac grill and later Indigo for European food. It had to be Insomnia for the dance floor. Now, there are places in every locality which dish out Chinese, Italian, Thai and their basterised versions. The qualities are although questionable. Nevertheless, are the various socio-economic classes of the human civilization that they cater to.  Indian economy had opened its doors to foreign investment and multinational companies. So, a five or six digit salary was a very common package offered.  Through the same doors sneaked in food from these foreign places. Our taste buds sprung to life and evolved the luxury of weekend dinners in a good restaurant. We were young then and we adopted this luxury and made it an everyday habit. So, today almost 80% of us will at least buy a snack, a chocolate bar or a beverage (soft drink, milkshake or even tea and coffee) from outside. Mr. Chidambaram was not completely wrong, never mind I have the least to say over it. Thus we built a very strong food business market in India. It’s almost one of the lucrative businesses in India. Lucrative, you want to know how??



Indian wedding banquest

India is a country of varied religions, regions, cultures, colors, celebrations and festivals. I am proud of its rich and varied heritage; I have pledged so in school for years. A country where there is music and food for every occasion. The very time a baby is born, we distribute pedas and barfis for a boy and girl respectively to complement with the sweet lullaby that is sung along. Then, in the following years in the child’s life the birth date is celebrated with “Happy Birthday to you” and along with it the cake is imperative followed with a sumptuous meal. Then, the wedding..Oh!! well there are songs from every state for this occasion including the famous Punjabi “ mehfil da sajdi jab nache kudi di...” then even death is mourned with mantras and shlokas and there is food again, specially the favourite dishes of the person who has passed away. Thus, I wanted to sum it up saying that decent and bedazzled banquets accompany every occasion and celebration of the circle of life.  I haven’t yet mentioned the festivals. Its Holi then we have the Puran poli with a lentil curry called katachi amti in Maharashtra. Malpoa and sheer kurma with biryani is the standard for Ramzan. The Ganpati festival has modaks made with different ingredients. Then the biggest festiva Diwali that marks Maryada Purushottam (a man who is the epitome of morals and principles) Ram’s return to Ayodhya and the locals  lit lamps all over the place to welcome him... thus it always follows Dusshera, the fall of Ravan. Diwali brings home ladoos made from Bengal gram flour, wheat flour and coconut, chaklis, gujiyas, bhujiyas and shakarpara.  Then is the Easter with the marzipan, Easter eggs, crusty savory and dessert pies and Thanksgiving with the juicy ham leg and roasted turkey.

The stuffed turkey for thanksgiving

The Christmas made christmasy with the plum cake soaked in rum. My mouth is watering mentioning only these few and famous ones. There are so many more, the list is endless. So many opportunities to make money in the food industry leaving behind the everyday clientele. What makes it lucrative is

• Low rates of commodities offered by suppliers: Since the restaurateurs order raw material like vegetable, herbs, meat, eggs, milk and fish in bulk quantities. They always manage to get an affordable deal than what we (common man) buy it for. There are one or two and sometimes even more eateries on every street. Imagine the kind of bulk orders going there.  Imagine the quantities stocked in huge hotels which have a fleet of restaurants operating within. This also increases the price of commodities for the local people. The demand for the raw material increases and the supply is limited. This also gives a chance to capitalise on the same by hiking their prices even though much of the commodities are at slashed rates for them.



Gujrati Thali

•  Concepts and cuisine which were native and quite mediocre are subjected to over exaggeration making them sound as rare. Let me give you some example, regional cuisines like Malvani, Goan, Gujrati, Northwestern frontier are turned around into high end and sophisticated ones. Ingredients like the famous fubu fish, mushrooms and such many which were eaten out of absence of other foods are rare delicacies now. Techniques like charcoal cooking and using earthen ware developed in absence of fuel and unaffordability of metallic vessels are the unique selling proposition lately. Some places create a garage kind of look, some like an English pub with the crimson brick wall. That’s not enough then there are some which have developed an open air dhaba like one on the Marwar platau. These were basic concepts and techniques, staple diets but their facade has been changed.

Cheese, meat and sausage at Delicatessen counters

•  Restaurants are becoming a showcase to various processed foods, like aged or smoked cheese, cured meats, foreign vegetables and fruits, packaged processed foods. Most of them get such products on free of cost deal to be utilized in their dishes and advertised in the market. It’s the similar way how Bollywood actors make appearances on several television shows when they near the release of their movie. Sole intention is publicity and then they build a better audience. Similarly, these products do this small investment to grab large scale publicity and profits. Thus, the consumer buys the product to get the taste and feel of the restaurant food which is not achievable, to be honest. You cannot build a Taj Mahal just because you own a marble quarry.

This marks clearly the commercialization of food and we have chosen to buy it with both our hands. The prices charged are exorbitant and unjustified. Many a time, what food we taste as international cuisines is not even close to the actual cuisine. They are modified as per Indian taste buds. But having pasta, a hand rolled pizza or red Thai curry has become a status symbol. How many of us take care of the quality of the food that we eat? I am not here to preach or criticize but my motive is to spread awareness. I am also from the same industry and respect the creative part of it. Cooking is not only an art but also involves science. The science of temperatures, personal hygiene, storage conditions,  food handling practices, chemical and chemical reactions is very important.  What I am mentioning below is true about almost about a huge quantum of restaurants practices.

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  Kaju katri

  The ingredients used in the food, sometimes have passed their prime (expiry date or best before). But still such products get used knowingly and unknowingly.  The oil used for frying is hardly cared for. In most situations it’s highly over oxidised. Oil is thrown out when it gets black. Oxidised oil’s intake is carcinogenic.
• The chemicals like Mono Sodium Glutamate, used majorly in Chinese cookery are not really nutritious for your body, sarcasm intended. Also the other chemicals like food additives, artificial flavours (fruit salts and syrups) and the deadly food colours that make your tandoori chicken and paneer red. Ideal this all are chemical compounds and their traces never flush out of your body.
• In many cases food is precooked and stored. When you order the dish, it is cooked again and finished elegantly. Freshness of food is lost; I guess we have become immune towards it. The ingredients used are itself not fresh and stocked from a long time. Remember I have mentioned the practice of bulk order. So the vegetable that you are eating was delivered a week back, chopped a day and half back and cooked now. Let’s forget when it was harvested. The pork or the fish you are eating is dead almost 2 weeks back. What you are chewing is well marinated dead flesh. It’s improved for your palette using various techniques and ingredients.
• Some places are so desperate to make a cheap replica of sophisticated foods that they use cheap and harmful ingredients. The silver warak that most of us see on mithai is not silver always. Some places use aluminium sheets, and aluminium is not a mineral helpful to your system and that too in such good quantity.
• What about food handler’s personal hygiene, and hygiene of the place where food is cooked. Some kitchens have such horrible ventilation that sweating profusely is the most obvious thing. Make sure you have a look next time. The kind of hygiene you observe when you cook for yourself is a rare sight in commercial kitchens.
• If the food is not stored at right temperatures, there can be bacterial growth into the same.  Especially true for meats and dairy products. Also the fish smells fishy because of this. Inaccurate temperature and prolonged storage screws it up.

Pani puri..all time favorite street food item

I feel this is enough for you to realize what is eating out all about. But believe me there are some places, not all expensive ones but mediocre ones who are concerned about hygiene. It is very important as a consumer we pay attention to such details. It is very important that people running the restaurants are professionals educated with such hygiene protocols. It goes without saying that they should apply them too. But humans are lazy animals. Eating out is good for recreation and an experience or unforgettable memories. Let’s not make it a status symbol and a daily habit. Home cooked food is the best. It’s made with fresh ingredients, love and passion and is definitely healthy.

Cheers!!!!

Anaddict