CHENNAI: From restaurant menus, mukbangs on YouTube to reels, the global image of Indian food experience is confined to butter chicken, naan, and mango lassi. Yet beyond this, from Kashmir to Kanniyakumari, the country boasts multiple dishes, recipes, and ingredients, with countless culinary traditions. Often overlooked on the food map of India, Chennai offers several now-global delicacies including chicken 65, mulligatawny soup, sumptuous biryanis, and more.
The city was in the spotlight on Thursday and Friday as The Indian Restaurant Summit, 2024 drew 1,200-odd established chefs, investors, influencers, and chefs. Organised by The National Restaurant Association of India (NRAI), the platform aimed to initiate thought leadership and knowledge exchange with a focus on brand strategies, investor interest in the F&B sector, and creating and sustaining legacy brands.
The Leela Palace Chennai – Seaside Modern Palace Hotel hummed with excitement, bustling with those who make up the backbone of the restaurant industry, crowds were ushered through stalls. Big brands, budding entrepreneurs, and members from NRAI’s 22 chapters attended.
The Indian restaurant sector contributes to 2% of the GDP, 1.8% of GST collection, and employs eight million people, points out NRAI. With the third edition of the summit, the NRAI aims to bring together investors, and restaurateurs, and generate bonding and new visions. “The idea is to provide a platform where people from different cities come together for the annual convention for learning exchange, networking, trends, and discussions on how the industry is going to shape up.
It also provides an opportunity for budding restaurateurs,” explains Gandharv Dhingra, NRAI Chennai chapter head and co-founder and CEO of Roll Baby Roll. He adds that the event also highlights challenges, and how to deal with them and focuses on showcasing the soul of Chennai and its 400-year-old history contributing to the food and beverage space.
According to Japtej Singh Ahluwalia, co-founder and director, Pricol Gourmet Private Limited, “This is the largest food and beverage event in the country happening in Chennai.”
With 60+ speakers, the third edition of the summit had seven panels touching on topics including the approaches for Indian brands to expand globally, increasing investor interest in the F&B sector, and how influencers shape dining trends. It also had breakaway sessions, ‘Ask Me Anything’, led by industry leaders.
Highlighting the role of such summits for budding entrepreneurs hoping to build the next big thing, Balachandar R, director of Junior Kuppanna, says such platforms allow the sharing of “our learnings, networking, create experiences and have a bit of fun to build better businesses.” As the event saw the honouring of 20 brands, he notes, Chennai has been at the forefront of retail and food and contains legacy brands of 100 and 120 years.
Chief guest J Radhakrishnan, secretary of Cooperation, Food and Consumer Protection Department, lauded the restaurant sector for their resilience during the pandemic. “Globe is the stage for India and there is opportunity for growth, and moving to tier two and three cities,” he says. R Sakkarapani, Food and Civil Supplies Minister was also present.
While there is no way to ascertain the future, all the NRAI members point out the immense potential of the sector and a bright future for the food and beverage industry.
