Gourmet food - Taste the difference

Chef Puneet Jain began his career from working in the kitchen team of Mc Donalds, The Oberoi hotels and now as co-founder of Buenos. Puneet decided to start Buenos when he moved back to Delhi and got an opportunity to meet Rohan and Vipul, who fortunately had same vision and shared similar interests. He wanted to utilise his culinary skills along with being part of the administration. His experience of working with five star hotels paid off really well and they together decided to start Bueno in the year 2012. He is of the view that being the co-founder at Buenos is like having a child and seeing it grow day by day, taking wrong and right decisions together and learning each day. Chef Puneet, believes that authenticity is the key ingredient to fine food. Born and brought up in New Delhi, Puneet is a Diploma holder in Hospitality & Tourism Management (Certified from AHLA - American Hotel & Lodging Association) from Rai University.

As you have worked for the Kitchen at Mc Donalds’s, how difficult it was it for you to work for a food tech player?

Yes, I have worked for many kitchens and it was same working for online too. But the only difficulty was that people in food tech were non educated, the training was a bit challenging and it was tough to make people understand what food tech is all about. And, it is a pack food, there is no dine in like restaurants only eat out. 

How gourmet food is shaping the growth of Indian food industry?

It is shaping in a good way as now people understand what this food is and how it is served. Now, people have started travelling, so they know the difference between a gourmet food and a normal food and what people are consuming these days.

How difficult is it to design a menu online?

The main challenge is to deliver the food to the customer in 30-45 minutes. So, the shelf line, presentation and quality of food have to be taken into consideration. For instance, while travelling, the food has to be warm. We have to make the menu according to it and that is the reason everything is not included in the menu. We also make the customer understand why everything is not included in the menu.

How do you maintain the authenticity of food and the ingredients?

The supply chain from the backend is managed by us (chefs) only. We also try to go outside to get the best of ingredients to add in the supply chain. We ensure to have everything in the supply chain before preparing the food.  

What is your method of working, at the time when you get numerous orders?

Every day we are prepared for 500 orders. Even after that we get some more orders, we are ready for it.

According to you what are the top trends that will drive the industry in 2016?

Gourmet food is something different that people has not tasted, but can be one of the top trends in 2016. New presentation of food, experimenting with new kinds of dishes and way of serving will also change.

What is the format of the food prepared at a base kitchen?

The base kitchen is made everything in a semi cook way and it is proportionate from our end. Whenever the order comes in the kitchen, it is delivered after assembling and re-garnishing.

What are the reasons that restaurants today are revamping their menu and design?

Because the online market has hit them very badly, the real estate cost is five times more than the online. So restaurateurs keep changing the menu and redesign the elements after every six months to get more customers.