2023
This year is important for Indian hospitality and therefore us. Two big programmes, Ladies In Hospitality and International Chefs Day (India) take national centre stage while Hospitality Quiz continues to grow with variations of online and in-person quiz formats.
We’re launching at least three more programmes which we expect will take a few years before achieving their fullest potential.
Think big, do bigger, better.
Ladies In Hospitality
This is the year that defines this most important of our programmes. For India, this is the G20 year as president, for the world, it’s the first full post-pandemic year. Tourism revival and empowerment of the female workforce are two high profile goals for India’s G20 presidency.
Therefore, not to let this superb opportunity pass, our main initiative this year is Equality at Work. True gender/workplace equality in Indian hospitality needs to leave the domain of conferences/seminars and be practiced across all strata. Hence the name Equality at Work. The programme focus is on the private sector; employers and education institutes as results are immediate and the matter affects us more than the govt. bodies.
A full year of workshops, research and activities are scheduled that encompass everyone from hospitality students and campuses to the largest owners, brands and trade associations. More details coming very soon including a dedicated website. Till then, stay connected to us online.
Int'l Chefs Day (India)
Our stated goal is that by 2030, Int’l Chefs Day should be default across Indian hospitality. That’s eight years to go, so not much time. This means we’ll be undertaking a series of highly visible publicity-oriented activities that draw attention to the cause from all levels of F&B and the general public..
Our first step on this path is the ‘Chefs Ride’, a publicity roadshow. A group of us will ride motorcycles starting in Kanyakumari on 15th August all the way to Srinagar by 30th September, covering at least 3500 kms. Following the NH-44 route that travels unbroken between these two cities, the group will halt at towns and hospitality campuses along the way to host community events with chefs and the local media.
You can join the riding group too, as long as you are a chef or at least a hospitality student. The riding group will change regularly along the route, similar to a relay race and will include high profile culinary names. Click here to apply to join the riding group.
Visit the Chefs Ride website for regular updates. Stay connected to us online and join us for the ride. #chefstogether #chefsride
Hospitality Quiz
The engagement and recall values for our activities in 2022 were very high. Building on that success, we are exploring two routes for Hospitality Quiz in 2023: individual online competitions and team offline competitions.
The online competition may be similar to the weekly quick quiz format we tested in 2021. This time, we are revamping the rewards towards industry experiences, products and even high cash values that are guaranteed to get everyone buzzing and quizzing.
The offline mode involves inter-college team competitions in a live-show format, perhaps in a city-regional-national championship.
Also under consideration are themes that are topical to that time as well as those that can become annual competitions. Options are being evaluated and we expect to make a public announcement soon. What is assured that the fun quotient in all Hospitality Quiz events will be high.
Till then, stay connected to us online.
India Heritage Week
This is an experimental programme which we hope will become an industry tradition within a decade. India Heritage Week (IHW) is scheduled around the winter harvest time (Sep-Nov), though no dates have been fixed as yet.
During the week, hundreds of hospitality campuses will host food festivals and workshops celebrating the culinary and cultural heritage of their respective locations. Our goal as organisers is to provide the framework on which students and campuses can build their own research and activities and celebrate them with the general public and local hospitality sector.
Our thinking is that we as professional chefs ought to learn and celebrate our own specific heritage rather than focus almost exclusively on those of other countries. Heritage and traditions need our constant support else they fade into oblivion. If we do not tell our own stories, no one else will. The future belongs to those who protect and celebrate their own cuisines.
The Welcome Series
A short series of online interactions based on the American education tradition of the 'Commencement Speech' where a successful person speaks to the graduating class about their future and challenges ahead.
Scheduled for July, this is a short series where acclaimed leaders of Indian hospitality will welcome this year’s graduating batch with their personal vision of the challenges and opportunities ahead. All hospitality faculty, students and their parents are welcome to join the sessions and interact with the speakers.
Student Hospitality
An experimental activity, we hope to nurture strategic thinking and research among hospitality students by paying them a substantial cash reward to present high quality white papers and reports on a range of trade topics.
The goal is to have a quarterly publication, accessible to all, that showcases the best young minds challenging the status quo, supported by research. The editorial rigour in selection will be on level with the world’s best business schools. This approach is expected to shine a spotlight of prestige on the student authors and their campuses thereby accelerating their careers.
The Briefing
In September 2021, in response to the immense doubt and fear amongst hospitality educators, we hosted the Faculty Briefing. In a single session, the presidents of all of India’s main travel and hospitality associations shared their exclusive information on govt. policy on COVID, our industry’s coping ability and most importantly, the roadmap out of COVID-19.
This proved a good success and therefore, we are making it an annual tradition to be held at the start of each academic year. Leaders of trade associations and marquee brands will brief India’s hospitality educators on how the industry is progressing and what’s needed from their newest batch of students.
