Business on a platter by Anoothi Vishal is all about What Makes Restaurants Sizzle or Fizzle Out

Anoothi Vishal brings together past experiences, statistics and future projections to come to fairly dependable dos and donts of restaurant business in her new book

Restaurant come and go, but the good ones stay – is what we usually hear. But, seriously, the business of running restaurants is surely not that easy. What else would be the reason that a restaurant with a good ambience, a fancy and well thought out menu, and amazing opening reviews fails to make in through the first year even, and some with simple menu and a few coffees is thronging with guests day after day and continues to do so. Where did the first one go wrong and what did the coffee place do right. Despite the tough market and uncertainty, we see the business of food is booming all around, with newer cuisines making inroads and Indian food evolving beyond traditional recipes.

Anoothi Vishal, a restaurant columnist and author of Mrs LCs Table: Stories about Kayasth Food and Culture, looks into the complex business of restaurants by building on her observations of the sector for over two decades, analyses success stories, failures and turnarounds. And, she begins her story in the history going back to the Mughals, with some interesting stories like the one where Jehangir meets Noorjehan at Meena Bazar when she was feasting on batashas. And she compares these bazaars to the new age pop-up bazaars. From the accounts of travelers, one hears tales of food sold inth bazaars of Shahjahanabad, and there were the likes of coffee houses where poets would congregate, the Qahwakhanas. There were these people selling snacks and treats, sweets, kebabs, naans like the modern bakers. She says Tandoori chicken was India's original fast food.

Restaurants today, are plagued by new age challenges like how to appeal to the Gen X who according to reports spend less on eating out that the millennials, and then there are the thin profit margins thanks to the indiscriminate discounts on the aggregator sites, and additional burden of equity funding if opted for and alongside there are the age-old issues of being in the right location, branding in the right segment, getting the pricing right, and above all the food right. Anoothi does a fairly good job of bringing together past experiences, statistics and future projections to come to a fairly dependable dos and donts in restaurant business.

In the following chapters she delves into the modern-day restaurant moguls. She says 'of all the factors behind a successful brand, one that is crucial, yet perhaps least understood, is the restaurateur's personality. She showcases the likes of AD Singh, Ritu Dalmia, the MTR family – chefs, foodies, businessmen, who have made it in this world of restaurant business. 'Business on a Platter' published by Hachette India is all about 'What Makes Restaurants Sizzle or Fizzle Out'. It may not be bible for restaurant business, but it is surely 'Restaurant Business for Dummies' bringing together all the aspects that matter when you are venturing into the big bad world.