What Makes Your Food Menu Unique? Know It All From Chef Manish Mehrotra

Influencers are changing the consumer behavior by influencing the consumers in many ways. From promoting a certain product to doing it as one’s hobby, there’s a sudden rise in influencer marketing where brands are leveraging to promote the right product among the right audiences. 

The Indian influencer marketing market is projected to be worth approximately Rs. 1,000 crore (almost $130 million) by 2023 and is anticipated to keep expanding quickly; by 2025, projections suggest it may reach Rs. 2,000 crore ($260 million).

How Influencers Decide on Brands

“We have a checklist of people or brands with whom we want to work with. After everything is clear to us, we confirm the brand, and then the transaction and storyline is finalized. If we feel that the outlet or the shoot location is not matching to what they have shown to us then we tend to say no for it, even if money was already transferred to us. We give the money back saying it does not align to what they have spoken to us. Also, we work for our viewers and if we don’t have enough viewers it won’t work for us,” shared Mister Tikku, Content Creator and Influencer.

Pointing his views, Nikhil Chawla, Indian Food Vlogger explained, “I think if you love food and you like to explore more, you need to travel. Good chefs are who travel a lot. If you see world over, Gordon Ramsay, Jamie Oliver, they have traveled a lot, gone to the source, eaten there, see how it's done and so I always wanted to travel and try new cuisine and we are fortunate to be born in India because India is a very diverse country. In India, we have different cultures and traditions; the food differs a lot in every city and state. The spices and the taste differ too. So for example, if you go to a restaurant, who has invented chicken-65, the taste and flavor you get there will be totally different from other restaurants. When you travel, you discover more food and tastes.”

While, Dhaval Ajmera, Executive Chef, Nestle Professional added, “Chef Industry is a tough industry to work. We have worked with a lot of influencers and with strong governance and we look at how we can come together and co-create something that resonates to the audience, because it may happen at times that influencer’s audience has particular requirement versus my audience. We worked with a lot of influencers to create a product which resonate with the chefs today. The most important aspect is to first connect with the influencer's soul and understand if that really resonates with you and the audience that you're trying to target and then work together and create a content which will work for everyone.”

Chefs: The New Age Influencers 

Influencer marketing helps in increasing awareness, greater engagement, highly cost-effective, profit potential and much more as food bloggers and content creators explore more restaurant and food places and reach out their audiences in unique way.

Shivesh Bhatia, Chef & Influencer said, “Even the digital space has become so vast. For example: In the future, when I feel that I have met my potential in the digital space, I would like to diversify. Until a few years back, even when I started, it wasn't a very acceptable profession. But now I see people, especially boys who are 8 years old and 10 years old and they'd come up to me and they say that they want to become a pastry chef and that they bake at home. And more than that, to see their parents also being supportive that they tell me that, we watch your videos together or we've got your books for them. I invest all my money into my own business because again, as the focus is a lot more on building a bigger team, diversifying and doing more  in terms of the digital aspect of things.”

Gauri Varma, Chef & Founder G Patisserie & Confectionary explained about her journey and how she started, “My family pretty much wanted to disown me for taking this decision of selling cakes after getting an MBA from Oxford and then working with Deloitte in London. When I came back, actually I got into food by accident. Over the years, I worked with PVR Cinemas and other top brands where we used to do desserts for them across all the cinemas in Delhi for a director's cut for over three years. I worked with Big Basket, where we did all their breads. I supplied to multiple restaurants because they were not having their own desserts and today with Confect we are redefining the way a cake is being made and decorated.”

Hailing from Muzaffarpur, Bihar, Chef Rahul Shrivastava's culinary voyage from his roots to the kitchens of Hyatt Centric Juhu, Mumbai, epitomises the transformative power of determination and passion. Armed with zeal and a degree from IHM Hyderabad, Chef Rahul embarked on his culinary expedition by starting his internship at the esteemed 360° at Oberoi Hotels, New Delhi. His journey took him to various destinations, from opening his inaugural restaurant at The Park Chennai’s A2, to ventures like Amami in Malta, Izumi in Mumbai, and eventually returning to his roots with Soy-Soi in Delhi. 

With each experience, Chef Rahul's culinary finesse flourished, culminating in his illustrious role at Hyatt Centric Juhu. Here, he orchestrates a symphony of flavours that tantalise the palate and linger in memory. Beyond mere recipes, Chef Rahul crafts narratives on plates, curating a 'Theatre of Flavours' where every dish narrates a story.

In an exclusive interview with Restaurant India, Chef Rahul discusses about the on-going food trends, role of food plating and presentation, his journey and much more. Excerpts:

What are on-going food trends or in-hotel trends we can look for in 2025?

2023 and 2024 was more about millets. And these days, many are focused on plant based protein and how there can be shift between normal and plant based protein. There will be an increase in the vegetarian dining and zero-waste cooking. In 2025, there will be an alternative protein source like lab-grown meat. We make a dish from vegetable leftovers which are called ‘Mala Xiang Tao’ and it is made of roots and stems of vegetables. We toss it with Chinese flavours. There will be lots of fusions; shift from modern fusion, people will be back to basics. Influence of AI in restaurants will be there in a unique way like AI-based menu, the calculation of nutrition value.

How has been your journey so far from working with various brands?

In Oberoi, I learned a lot as they are known for their food and service. Oberoi had a saying, “Don’t compromise over the quality of the service or the quality of the food.’’ I learned from Oberoi Hotel and The Park a lot and that’s the learning I implemented on my food at Izumi and Soy Soi. So, I handle Hyatt Centric Juhu as a whole where we have Sesame and Sesame Bar, banquets and rooftop. Every restaurant has its own learning with helps in growing further in our career.

How often do you work with kitchen team on menu innovations?

We do innovate the dishes. Junior staff showcases their skills and prepare their specials. First, they do the trial and we check usually, then we serve them to the customers. If the feedback is good, then we do promotional menu or that dish stays in the menu. In this way, we are motivating our staff to showcase the skills as well.

How do you handle conflict in the kitchen or how do you retain your staffs?

Everyone wants growth in their respective fields. We give staffs to go through development programs. Staffs should feel invested and important in every part of the team. When you get to learn you won’t leave as one feel curious to learn more. 

How do you control the quality and consistency of dishes to ensure customer satisfaction?

We make sure the taste and consistency of the dishes are same. The ingredients which we use have top-notch quality.

What’s your approach on food plating and presentation?

We keep it simple and it should not be repetitive. People eat food with their eyes first. Plating has to be simple and attractive. We believe that the plating should be in a way wherein the ingredients we use for plating should be used in the dish as well.

Do you source the ingredients or make in-house spices in the kitchen?

We make the sauces in-house for Sesame. We use to source Miso paste from Japan. These days, there is a vendor who makes Miso paste in Allahabad with same quality, so we started using that one as the taste is same. The Sushi rice we used earlier use to come from US or Japan. There is a rice brand that makes similar sushi rice in India. The brand name is ‘Tanifuji’ and its one of the best quality sushi rice. We get Tuna from Japan. We use so many ingredients which we source internationally.

What are the three kitchen tools you can’t live without?

Kitchen knives, wok and thong.