Consultant Abbas

Consultant Abbas is one of the most renowned food consultants who have devoted his 27 years of career in the hospitality industry since 1992. He is 41 years of age now. His maternal grandfather was a chef whose life inspired him to join this hospitality industry as a Chef. He did a hotel management course from IIHM, Calcutta and also worked in close guidance of Mrs. Bharat Singh Duggal who was also a Food consultant. He then worked in many restaurants in Mumbai and was also a Sous Chef. Later he moved to Noida to work in Shipra Hotel and was incharge of all branches of Shipra Hotel. Since 2005, he is a Consultant in Food business and has worked on several projects. He came to Goa in 2001 and the first project he took over was “On the Rocks” for a renowned beverage company. He was also a part of the opening of few restaurants such as Little Italy. He is himself an Italian Chef. In 2005 he was a
consultant for Maple Hotel in North Goa.

The marketing strategy that is recommended by him to increase the business revenue is to give quality product which should be cost effective. He added that everyone now wants value for their money. The paying capacity has
increased for the people, so is their choice. They want the best returns for their money paid.
The biggest challenges the hoteliers face in set up as well as in operations in a hotel are man power and quality of resources which are required by a chef. Especially in Goa people are more inclined towards being budget friendly, so at times they miss over the standards and quality required. Consultant Abbas also threw light on the need of encouraging the bakery products as still in Goa for the manufacturing of bakery products on large scale hotels have to rely on neighbouring cities.

To enhance the guest experience, the most important factor that should be kept in mind is the Food. The hotels and restaurant go for being multi-cuisine as that brings more of footfall for their restaurant. But special cuisines such as
Mexican, Lebanese are still unheard and neglected in Goa. There are no specialised chefs as the budget for paying to a chef is low in Goa. He thinks that now is the time when Goa should have their respective specialised hotels and
restaurants where people can hop for their Mexican or Lebanese cravings. He believes that there is no strategy to market a hotel or restaurant. It is only the Food that can market a hotel or a restaurant.