The pandemic has seen many things: Failures, job losses, depression on one side, and skill upgradations, entrepreneurship, value of things and self-reflection on the other. With most industries hitting a rock bottom at global level, revival is slow and cautious for many. However, all is not lost.
Chef Sabyasachi Gorai needs no introduction: A celebrity chef behind successful ventures like Lavaash by Saby, Poppins Hotal, Mineority by Saby, and many more, some of which he still does as a consultant. However, with the Covid situation turning ugly, especially for the F&B industry, Saby (as he is popularly known as) played on his strengths and launched Saby’s Deli, which is a cloud kitchen, based out of Delhi.
Not only has he provided employment to hotel management students, he is also planning to have kitchens in different states soon as well. “I have a small menu but whatever we do here is made out of the best quality products. Our chicken, turkey and duck are sourced from US and my salmon and lamb come from Iceland. The chicken is corn fed, frozen and antibiotic free. I source all the vegetables, flour and other ingredients locally,” he says.
Some of the signature dishes at Saby’s Deli are the USA roast chicken with mash and vegetables, Icelandic salmon steak, Nordic lamb neck, Mushroom Manti, Saby’s signature Pochikis and “Mason Jar” liquor cake. Even with most of his meats and fish coming from different parts of the world, he has managed to keep the prices low because as he adds, “I get quality assurance as well as a great price along with easy payment options when I import from Iceland and the USA. They have given a lot of support to entrepreneurs during this time and what makes me happy is that whatever comes out of my kitchen is great in terms of portions with the best in class produce.”
Another professional, Sherry Ann Sudan, has been a teacher, marketing and alchobev professional for almost two decades; her latest stint was as at Lakeforest Wines as the country head. With the alchobev industry having suffered quite a bit as well, she took this opportunity to launch her own company, Cleanex India, which is a product of her learnings in the F&B space over the years. She realised that there are barely any quality players in the realm of utility items like kitchen towels, cling wraps, foils, and facial tissues and so on in large corporate kitchens and hospitals.
“The idea was to have an Indian player which can become part of the hospitality family and a household name because of both – price and quality. They have begun manufacturing premium quality tissue paper products and other institutional commodities including cling film and aluminium rolls as well as consumer products like facial tissues under the brand name, Krapht. “Our tissue paper variants are engineered with the most modern technology to provide strength, softness and absorbency while simultaneously being ultra-lightweight. The product’s strength comprises of pure, fresh and recycled fibre merchandise catering to our quality conscious B2B & B2C clients who appreciate a touch of luxury at a cost-effective range,” adds Sudan.
Home Fed by Amita is what fashion entrepreneur Amita Dev kick-started in her late 50s after a huge career spanning more than 30 years in the fashion industry. Making the best of the Covid-induced lockdown, she had time to delve into her passion — baking — having picked it up while travelling all her life with her father who was in aviation and then her husband, who too worked with a commercial airline. She started Home Fed, which is a range of cakes with global flavours, like the Sicilian Pistachio Almon cake, the Lemon Almond cake that she brought back in her taste buds and memories from Sorrento, the Date Cake with Sticky Toffee Sauce from Lake District in the English countryside, and much more.
Being a purist, her cakes as she says are “using the best quality ingredients sourced from all over the world if need be. I make a lot of sugar free cakes and ones with almond flour for vegans.” Amita does limited portions each day and even though her price is high, she feels that “her customers are ones that truly appreciate the real flavours and taste; all my ingredients are healthy and bought from the best sources. In case I am unable to get even one tiny thing that is needed in a particular cake, I will not bake it”. Her journey and the ability to make the best of her passions and strengths are truly inspirational.