A number of five-star hotels have taken the lesson to heart and are investing in their own kitchen gardens -not only do they get to ensure the optimum farming standards, they also save a lot of money, means saving on the very high prices they need to pay for imports.
And it’s not only exotic varieties –these five-star rated hotels are tilling the land and growing pumpkins and tomatoes in their own farms, in their own backyards.
Four Seasons Hotel in Mumbai has made a purchase of use of a farmland near Mumbai, where it grows vegetables such as heirloom tomatoes.
“We can’t afford to import them anymore,” said Andrew Harrisson, general manager at Four Seasons. He’s awaiting the first crop of heirloom tomatoes in a few months.
Hotels, by growing their own farm products save almost 50% on vegetable costs that include transport, storage, import and the margins of middlemen.
With an increase in the number of people eating out, and despite local restaurants giving hotels a run for their money, almost 50% of revenues for a star hotel come from food and beverage sales. Obviously, margins from F&B could be even higher if hotels can reduce costs.
“By the time the imported produce reaches hotel kitchens, almost 40% is wasted, which is a loss of money,” said Naveen MV, managing director of First Agro.
The company grows exotic vegetables such as Peruvian chilli called Aji Amarillo, a pepper from Trinidad called Bishop’s Crown, Japanese greens such as Mizuna and Mitsuba be side’s Thai greens, all of which are largely sourced by hotel chains.
Although some hotels that do not have space to grow their own veggies are reaching out to people such as Naveen to source their greens, there are others who are either making use of their own land like ITC or are hiring farmlands nearby such as Four Seasons.
The Pondichery Cafe at the Sofitel Hotel in Mumbai’s Bandra Kurla business district has a small kitchen garden adjacent to the all-day dining restaurant growing Italian basil, cherry tomatoes, oregano, eggplant and several varieties of edible flowers such as chrysanthemum and lavender.