Hygiene first: Catering services to become costly

KOCHI: Availing  catering service for family functions is going to be a costly affair in Kerala as the firms are going in for massive investment on the hygiene front, which will be passed on to customers. Industry experts feel that though around 15,000 catering firms — both registered and unregistered — operate in the state, only those which invest heavily in ensuring hygiene by adapting to the changing times will be able to take their business forward.

“The pandemic has taught us to focus on health and sanitation. The catering industry is in dire straits and needs to adopt tough hygiene practices for staff while preparing and serving food,” said All Kerala Caterers Association general secretary V Sunukumar. “It will take another four to five months for the catering sector to get on to the revival track. Bulk orders will be a rarity as functions are going to be close family affairs with maximum 50 persons and the catering firms will not be able to deliver the service at cheap rates,” he said, adding that many small-time players will not be able to survive unless they quickly adapt and innovate.

“The pandemic has changed the way people think. Diners or customers will only prefer a place with best hygiene levels. Customers will start choosing caterers only after visiting the kitchen and its premises. If the pandemic fear persists, it will take more time for the revival of the catering business. The cloud kitchen concept will work only if you have the state-ofthe- art infrastructure with best hygiene levels. Caterers will not be able to keep their kitchens a secret,” said Ideal Caterers managing director Hisham Kabeer. “The industry will be forced to go by quality and standardisation norms of FSSAI and HACCP,” he said.