CHANGING FOOD TRENDS OF THE

PEOPLE IN CHENNAI

INTRODUCTION

The new food trends are numerous in Chennai, & are a very fascinating

research topic. The Chennai people are slowly adapting themselves to the

international food standards. These new food standards have resulted in the

development of a whole new variety of restaurants all over Chennai, each

specializing in its own styles. Each of these restaurants has their own styles

& hence, set new trends. A very detailed study into these restaurants would

hence be very elaborate & time consuming. Hence, I have summarized all

the food trends into specific categories & highlighted elaborated on the

fastest growing trends.

Each of the food trends I have depicted will have an introduction about

itself, why the trend is so popular, how it is growing & some of the

restaurants & food outlets that have adopted the trend. I have gathered

information from different kinds of outlets through questionnaires & hence, I

hope to be accurate in my project conclusion & discussions. Also, the

information’s on Chennai outlets & trends have been gathered from internet

& physical research.

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Hence, the project will provide an insight in Chennai’s food outlets, their

specialties & educate the reader on the trends & in-demand products &

services. The world is moving at a fast pace & Chennai, being a hi-tech

south Indian city, is always busy & bustling. Hence, people do not find time

to dine in luxury. Everything is fast & that is the reason fast foods & food

courts, which I have chosen as my primary trends which are gaining more

importance. Also, people these days do not find time to shop, buy fresh

ingredients, prepare & serve themselves. This is the reason ready-made

ingredients have gained more importance over fresh foods.

Consumers also have started thinking about their health. Hence, they

carefully scrutinize the food composition before ordering the food. This is

the reason why the organic food trend has gained importance in the recent

times. Also, hotels & restaurants conduct food festivals & theme lunches,

which attract a lot of people since the Chennai people get a glimpse of other

cultures & satisfy their taste buds with the delicacies of other places. That is

the reason why food festivals & theme lunches have gained more

importance.

IMPORTANCE OF THE TOPIC

The world of today is ever changing, with major changes in everyday life &

so many twists & turns that cannot be counted. It is imperative hence, for

people to be the best in the field in order to survive since only the fittest in

industry will do so.

By researching on this topic, I hope to find & impart to the best to my

efforts, knowledge of the consumer’s life styles, their trends & the changing

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habits of everyday so that any person in the field can refer & update

him/herself in the present trend. Also, the research on this topic will provide

an insight to the world of consumer behavior towards various hospitality

food practices & help the industry predict the future trends.

This research topic will help any food & beverage outlet plan their menu

better & incase of a new outlet, the theme & décor can also be designed

such. This topic will make aware the people of the food & beverage industry

about the consumer awareness of the various products which are available.

Through this topic, I hope to give an edge to any person interested in

researching the food habits of the Chennai people.

This research topic, on a wider scale, will help supermarkets plan their

products according to the consumer liking & the present trends. Any

consumer reading this project can also become aware about the current

situation & the advantages of it so that they may go for a healthier lifestyle.

Overall, this project aims at providing a thorough overview of the changing

trends of the food habit in Chennai so that anyone interested can vest & gain

knowledge through this project & it helps consumer in developing their

knowledge of food & last but not the least, helps everyone improve their

knowledge on food quality & its effects.

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Aim & Objective

To research on Chennai’s changing food trends & learn the new trends in

food habits of he people.

To provide an insight about Chennai’s recent food trends

To research on the food trends & find out its reasons of gaining

importance.

To give a detailed report on the changing food trends of the people in

Chennai.

Reasons:

The reasons for choosing this topic are that – the food industry in Chennai is

tremendously growing & everyday new changes & trends are happening in

all food outlets.

Chennai had never heard of fast foods ten year back, but now it is one of the

leading food outlets in Chennai.

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Food courts have grown almost at an unimaginable pace & Chennai boasts

many food courts within a span of three years.

Many other factors cause changes & set new trends in Chennai’s food

industry. Through research I hope to find, why food trends are fast growing

& changing frequently.

Scope:

This topic deals with the changing food trends in Chennai food

outlets.

This topic will provide information about the changing food trends,

the reasons for their success & development.

This project merely covers the changing trends in restaurants & other

outlets, but not in non-commercial kitchens or other non-profitable

institutions.

This project will provide thorough knowledge to readers about various

restaurants changing trends & their reasons for adopting the latest

trends.

Methodology:

Recent trends were ascertained through questionnaires from

different outlets.

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The recent were chaptered.

Research was done on each of the trends.

A detailed study was gathered on each trend & they were

summarized for the ease of understanding.

The chapters were further researched on to find reasons for the

success of the food trends.

All the gathered information were combined into a rough copy

& several times discussed with the project guide. The rough

draft was then compiled into a fair copy.

Limitations:

When the research was started on the topic “Changing food

trends of the people in Chennai”, there were a lot of immediate

barriers.

The project work does not involve any financial

implementation.

Time factor was another limitation.

Since the topic dealt with recent food trends, I required latest

information. Therefore only physical research & questionnaires

were the sources of information.

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Sources of data:

Secondary data:

The information for this project was collected through questionnaire

feedbacks form various food outlets & through physical research. Further

information was collected from daily newspapers, magazines, journals,

media & internet.

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Research technique adopted:

This project was done meticulous study & research.

The technique adopted was:

Questionnaires were given to different food outlets & based upon their

feed backs, the trends were decided.

Once the trends were confirmed, internet, newspaper & media were

searched for some quality information on the topic.

These topics were then summarized & edited to suit the project & new

information’s were added from time to time.

These were combined together & the project was compiled.

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Summary of chapters

Chapter 1: Chennai Cuisines & Restaurants

The chapter deals with the traditional cuisines of Chennai & the restaurants

in Chennai, who have their own specialties & act as the trend setter in

Chennai. It is from these restaurants that our food trend categories were

derived & hence, they are the basic source.

Chapter 2: Combo Meal Trend & Central Delivery Unit

This chapter deals with the fast growing combo meal trend in food outlets of

Chennai & the future expected trend of central delivery unit, which

organizes all kinds of food & delivers it to the consumers in package.

Chapter3: Food Courts

The fastest growing trend in Chennai, this chapter does an in depth study

about the food courts in Chennai & their reasons for gaining more

importance. Also discussed are a few food courts in Chennai & the type of

outlets they contain.

Chapter4: Ready Made Foods & Vegetarianism

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This chapter deals with two of the rising food trends, which are yet to gain

importance, but are definite trends in the future food industry.

The ready made foods deal with the Chennai products which are available

on the market & why they have gained importance.

The vegetarianism concept deals with the types of vegetarians, why the

concept has gained more importance & its effects.

Chapter5: Fast Foods

A major trend setter in the Chennai food industry, fast food concept has

grown the fastest & has established itself everywhere in Chennai

This chapter deals with the fast food types in Chennai, their importance,

their significance & why they have gained importance.

Also discussed in this chapter are the fast food effects on health & the

ongoing controversies in the field of fast foods.

Chapter6: Dieting

Many of the IT professionals have the burning fitness problem. The work is

sedentary & the fitness factor is non-existent.

Hence, dieting has become a trend in Chennai & also a burning issue. This

trend has been discussed in detail in this chapter.

Chapter7: Food Festivals, Organic Foods & Online Food Services.

Three trends with bright future prospects in Chennai, the food festivals

which deal with culture & cuisine, the organic foods that deals with natural,

fresh foods & online food services which the consumers find most

comfortable to order food has also been discussed in this chapter.

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Chapter8: Other Trends

This trend with two food trends in Chennai, which have been existing for

some time, but have gained importance in recent times.

Buffet has gained importance since consumers get more cuisines to taste,

while canned foods have gained importance due to their storage periods.

CHENNAI INTRODUCTION

Chennai, formerly known as Madras, ishe capital of the southern state of

Tamil Nadu in India, and is the country's fourth-largest city. It is located on

the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal. With an estimated population

of 7.45 million (2005), the 367 year old city is the 34th largest metropolitan

area in the world.

Madras was founded in 1639 when the company (Represented by Francis

Day and Andrew Cogan and aided by a local Translator (AKA Dubash) Beri

Thimappa) was granted land to build a trading settlement by the local ruler

(Nayak) of the suburb of Vandavasi, Damerla Venkatapathy Nayak. The

document of the land grant is dated Aug 22nd 1639 and hence Madras

celebrates its Birthday on Aug 22nd each year as Madras day. Madras was

one of the first outposts of British East India Company. Colonel William

Lambton, superintendent of the great Trigonometrical Survey of India,

started his journey of triangulating India from St. Thomas Mount. The

British built Fort St. George (today the legislative and administrative seat of

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the state). Fort St George was completed on St George's day in 1640(April

23rd) and hence was named after the Patron Saint. George Town then

developed becoming the modern city of Madras, absorbing several nearby

boroughs. Thomas, one of the twelve apostles is associated with Chennai.

He is said to have come to India as an evangelist and died in what is now

Chennai. Two suburbs, Santhome and St. Thomas Mount, are named in his

memory.

In 1996, the Tamil Nadu government renamed Madras to Chennai providing

the reason that 'Chennai' was the city's traditional name while Madras was

one derived during colonial rule. The reason for this name change is

somewhat ambiguous as by no means clear that "Madras" is of foreign

origin.

Culture

Chennai, being the capital of Tamil Nadu, is home to a host of Tamil culture

art forms including dance, literature, sculpture, music and cinema. The

season for Bharatnatyam and Carnatic Music draws visitors and aficionados

from the world over. Being the capital of Tamil Nadu, the preferred

language of communication amongst the local population is Tamil.

However, English is widely spoken as the language of commerce and hence

visitors should have no problem getting around. The city also has a fair

number of people that speak Telugu, Malayalam and Hindi.

Climate

Chennai has mainly two seasons - summer and monsoon. It does not enjoy

the south-west monsoon, but gets its bountiful rains from the north-east

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monsoon from October through December, thus amounting to about 125-150

cm of rainfall annually. December to February are the mildest months

temperature-wise. Climate is humid pretty much throughout the year

because the city is on the coast. Summers are very hot and humid.

By plane

Chennai International Airport (IATA: MAA) is the forth busiest in India. All

international flights arrive at Anna Terminal, while the domestic flights

arrive at Kamraj Terminal. The two terminals are on the same road and are

150 meters away from each other.

Talk

Tamil is the official language in Chennai, and is very popular. Almost all

people speak Tamil, and picking up some knowledge of the language is

useful to get by in Chennai. English education is widespread in Chennai,

thanks to an excellent network of well-known schools throughout the city.

Most educated people in Chennai can speak English. In most schools, the

medium of instruction and communication is English. All important

signboards are in English.

Do

During summers it becomes too hot and humid to venture out during the

day. So go out for a stroll during the night (7-9pm) on the Marina beach and

Elliots Beach (Besant Nagar). It's a nice idea to pack dinner and have a

picnic on the beach as most locals do. If you happen to drive a car you can

also consider taking along a few foldable chairs. Beyond 10pm, no one is

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permitted to be on the beach. There are policemen on the beach to ensure

people follow this rule, and on some occasions they tend to shoo people out

by 9pm.

Stroll along the over crowded Pondy Bazaar and Ranganathan Street and try

your skills in bargaining for stuff and knick-knacks. Be warned that it is an

intensely crowded place, where you have elbow your way through.

However, if you do enjoy local flavour in all its madness, you must visit

these two places.

Music and Dance

Chennai is famous for its concerts and performances that take place in

various auditoriums and temples throughout the year, which are announced

in the Hindu and other local newspapers. During the Tamil month of

Maargazhi (December - January) there is a series of classical Carnatic

music concerts and classical dance performances in various parts of the city,

but the best are organized in various Sabhas (loosely translates to "concert

house"). You will see mostly older celebrities, although occasionally there

will be some world-class young virtuosos.

Learn

Chennai has literally dozens of different insitutes of higher learning from

arts to engineering. The city also offers plenty of opportunities to learn

Yoga, Bhartanatyam, Carnatic music and The Bhagavad Gita.

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Eat

Tamil Nadu is famous for its hospitality and its deep belief that serving food

to others is a service to humanity, so eating-out in its capital city Chennai, is

a great experience and provides a glimpse of the unique lifestyle of the city.

CHENNAI, INDIAN CUISINE.

A Tiffin or Light meal is served for breakfast or as a snack. The staple diet

for most of the population is rice. These Tiffin items are usually one or more

rice based dishes like idli, dosai, pongal, vadai along with with coconut

chutney, sambar and mulagapodi. Tiffin is usually accompanied by hot filter

coffee, the signature beverage of the city.

A typical Tamil meal (Lunch or Dinner) will be served on a banana leaf. It

consists of steamed rice served with about two to six vegetable dishes like

sambar, dry curry, rasam, kootu along with curd and buttermilk. For a non-

vegetarian meal, curries or dishes cooked with mutton, chicken or fish are

included. Meals are often accompanied by crisp appalams. After a final

round of rice and curds or buttermilk or both, a traditional meal is concluded

with a small banana and a few betel leaves and nuts.

An Indian meal in fast food restaurants is called 'Thali'. It’s usually served

on a round tray made of either stainless steel or Silver, with a selection of

different dishes in small bowls. While North Indian Thali starts with Pooris,

Chappattis(Rotis), South Indian Thali comes with rice. The rest of the items

like different Curries, Sweet and other miscellaneous items (Applams,

Papad, Pickles and Beeda) is similar for both North Indian and South Indian

Talis. Thalis sometimes go even by the regional characteristic of the items

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they have. For example one may encounter Rajasthani thali or Gujarati thali.

In some restaurants, a thali may include "bottom-less" refills on all

components of food; the idea is that one eats until fully satisfied. Such thalis

are referred to as 'unlimited' thalis. In some places the term means that

everything in the plate excepting a few items like the sweet preparation or

dahi wada is open to unlimited helpings.

Restaurants near Music Academy and those on the Beach coast are well

maintained and serve 'Indian Cuisine' with an ambience to match, while

most others cater South Indian Cuisine at very reasonable prices. Usually the

check includes a service charge, written next to 'S.C.' if no service charge is

added; it is customary to leave a moderate tip.

Local Specialities - Soft Drinks

Fruitshop on Greams Road, Chain of fresh fruit juice retailers, outlets in

Greams Road,

Kilpauk, Besant Nagar, Spencers Plaza, Gatsby Village (ECR), BPCL Bunk,

Meenambakkam, BPCL Bunk, Nungambakkam, Shanti Colony (Anna

nagar)

Tender Coconut Definitely tries a tender coconut on a hot summer's day.

Available on roadside stalls at Rs.15 a coconut.

NeerMoar Spicy butter milk, with local seasoning, available at most South

Indian restaurants.

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Get out

Even as recently as about ten years ago, the ECR, which was then known as

the New Mahabalipuram Road, had nothing much to offer by way of

entertainment, except for VGP Golden Beach and Romulus Whittaker's

crocodile bank. Further down, the road led you to Mahabalipuram, and that

was that.

The scenario that meets a traveller today is entirely different. The East Coast

Road could very well be termed the entertainment highway of Chennai. The

road is brand new, flanked by the sea on the left and dotted with amusement

spots through the entire stretch. Driving down ECR is an experience.

EATING OUT IN CHENNAI

For excellent vegetarian meals try, the Saravanaa Bhavan Chain. You can go

for clean inexpensive self-service restaurants to up market swanky outlets.

Vasanta Vihar at Rajaji Salai serves same vegetarian food and good strong

South Indian coffee. Get good dosas from Bhoopathy café located opposite

the station.

Udipi Home Mathsya serves excellent vegetarian home style cooking from a

varied menu. Go for delectable south Indian cuisine at Ceylon restaurant

located inside Hotel Regal.

Ananda Bhavan at Triplicane High Road serves luscious banana-leaf thalis

and excellent dosas.

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Mathura Restaurant at Tarapore Tower Anna Salai is an excellent up market

vegetarian restaurant.

Go for multi cuisine restaurant at Food Plaza with air-conditioned and open-

air seating located at Anna Salai.

Only Veg at 82, Anna Salai does tasty snacks and juices.

The Gallopin'Gooseberry serves American and Italian cuisine and exotic

range of juices.

The restaurant at New Woodlands Hotel is popular with the locals for dosas,

tandoori and milk sweets. Palki across the road offers north Indian

specialities.

Coconut Lagoon has excellent Goan and Kerala fare.

Roomallee at Mylapore provides an outdoor barbecue with Hyderabadi

dishes.

Kabul located at TTK Road specializes in Northwestern frontier food like

biryanis, tandoori items and kebabs. The Pinnacle rooftop restaurant at Hotel

Ranjith is very popular.

Cascade at Khader Nhawaz Khan Road serves huge portions of good-quality

Chinese, Malaysian and Thai food. The sound of water cascading down like

a waterfall creates a pleasant ambience. Chinese vases and plates they use

reflect the Oriental connection. They also serve seafood, favorite with the

regulars.

Sangeetha at MG Road offers one of the biggest menus in town.

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The Red E Food Court located at Harrington Road dishes out Indian,

Chinese, Mexican and Western dishes. There is a buffet special on Sundays

called the 'Brunch' - from 12 noon to 3:30 pm. There are theme parties and

birthday packages. In addition, combo offers specifically for corporates from

11:00 am to 4:00 pm on weekdays. Vegetarian and non-vegetarian fare is

available at all counters.

For coffee-lovers, Barista at Kadar Nawaz Road serves good espresso coffee

with wide range of sandwiches and muffins.

Beach Castle Restaurant at Elliot's Beach has become a food court with

pizza, Chinese and kebabs being served.

Chennai's only revolving restaurant, Carnival Heights is a multicuisine

rooftop restaurant. The capsule lift, that takes you to the restaurant, gives

you a panoramic view of the traffic on Poonamallee High Road.

Kwality Riviera and Aditya are two restaurants offering generic North

Indian/Punjabi fare located at Adyar. For vegetarians and those who like a

taste of the South, Adyar has some good south Indian vegetarian places.

Ramprasad in Kasturba Nagar is a reasonable place for standard South

Indian fare like thalis and idlis and dosas and vadas.

First Main Road, Gandhi Nagar, Adyar, just behind the Bus Terminus a little

way up from Food World is Kumarokam a proper Kerala place with

everything from Puttu, Fish Moilee, Appams, Karimeen Fry and so on.

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Next to, it in the basement below Nuts and Spices is Mr. G's that serves

pastas and burgers, soups and salads. On Lattice Bridge Road are two

restaurants - Usilampatti serving chettinad style food and above it, Jus'

Parathas serving every possible type of stuffed paratha.

Dhaba Express on Cenotaph Road has a good vegetarian lunch buffet that is

great value for money. Opposite Dhaba Express is the new Cornucopia

serving European style food, salads and soups including Cous-Cous and the

like. The largest number of restaurants though, in terms of density, is on

TTK Road.

About half a kilometer from Park Sheraton Hotel, on TTK Road itself is a

new Thai restaurant called Benjarong (Five Colours - Pancharanga). The

food is great and authentic Thai since they fly in most of their ingredients,

the interior decoration is lovely, and the tables have vases with real orchids.

As you go further up Cathedral Road on the right are three restaurants - Don

Pepe, Copper Chimney and China Town. The first serves Mexican &

Spanish food along with some 'Euro-Mex" combos. Its good value for

money & their platters are very nice. Copper Chimney offers again generic

North Indian food. China Town is a reasonably good Chinese restaurant.

Next to these three eating-places is a new 'Spanish Tavern' called Zarra - a

rather classy bar with a wonderful collection of snacks (prawn croquettes,

grilled lamb chops, grilled fish and prawn all made very well) and a lot of

cocktails and beer.

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Facing the famed bookstore of Chennai, Landmark, (on Nungambakkam

High Road) on the other side of the road is the new 3 storeyed snazzy

Ispahani shopping Centre. Here there is Marrybrown, a fast food place

reviewed further down.

The Copper Point serves Indian food including the not-so-common South

Indian dishes like Fish Moilee and the like. The Oriental Pearl serves Thai

and Chinese food in the same price range and has a wide variety of items. A

small sprinkling of other Southeast Asian dishes from Malaysia, Japan etc. is

on the menu.

On Ambujambal Street in Alwarpet is a restaurant in an old style bungalow

with a very pleasant setting called Bay Leaf. It has a combination of Punjabi

and Bengali items on the menu with a pleasant place to sit.

On Kasturi Rangan Estate appropriately next to the Chennai Culinary

Institute is the first exclusive French eatery in Chennai, La Madeleine run by

a French chef.

Finally, one should mention a new Lebanese place called Cedars in

Kotturpuram near the ICICI bank counter. Nice ambience, good food and

lots of different kinds of Kebabs.

For best seafood, try Bay View Point (Taj Fisherman's cove) at Covelong

Beach, Kanchipuram District. It offers unparalleled vicinity to the sea with

Coromandel Coastal specialties, derived from the Chef's tour of homes on

the East Cost of Tamil Nadu.

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Step in at Coconut Lagoon at 1 Cathedral Road for a taste of the coastal

cuisines of Kerala, Mangalore & Goa. Seafood from mussels to squids to

jumbo prawns cooked and served in various forms according to the regions

they represent.

COFFEE BARS IN CHENNAI

Cup N Saucer

No. 49, First Main Road, Gandhi Nagar,

Savor the tantalizing taste and alluring aromas of over 72 varieties of teas

and 20 different kinds of sandwiches in this tea pub. Varieties of tea

available include - Regional, Blends, Oolong, Premium, Vintage, Green,

Herbal, Flavored, Aromatic, Spicy and International teas.

Qwikys – Alwarpet

Lifestyle Store, 81 TTK Road

G7 Gee Gee Emerald, 151 Village Road

93 Tower Victoire, G.N. Chetty Road

This 'cozy' pub offers around 100 varieties of coffee. The most common

varieties are Espresso, Mocha, Cappuccino and Americano. Try syrups in

different flavors to give your coffee that special taste. They also have a

whole range of cold coffee called, Friazzo, which comes in Espresso,

Mocha, Vanilla flavour and Biscayyo (topped with crunchy pieces of

biscuits). Snacks include yummy cheesecakes, pastries, brownies, submarine

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sandwiches, Greek sandwiches made from specially flavoured bread etc.

This pub also sells international magazines, Hallmark greeting cards, and Q-

gear, which is a special clothesline done by a designer from US.

Cafe Coffee Day - Elliots Beach Road

34 Elliots Beach Road

First Floor, Ispahani Centre, 123 & 124, Nungambakkam High Road

Cafe Coffee Day offers more than 10 types of hot coffee, 5 types of cold

coffee and one tea for tea-lovers. International syrups like Hazelnut, Irish

cream and English tonic are also available. The range of syrups on the menu

changes every month. The three international coffees on the menu

(Columbian Juan Valdez, Kenyan Safari and Ethiopian Qawah) are imported

and blended according to Indian taste. Pizzas, Burgers, Sandwiches and

Pastries are also available for those who want something to munch along

with their coffee. There are also snazzy T-shirts, caps, cruise mugs and of

course Coffee Day coffee powder.

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THE COMBO MEAL TREND

Amongst the new trends in Chennai, combo meal has become the most

favourite in fast foods and restaurants.This is a trend where a certain number

of dishes are clubbed together and offered for an economic price, which a

consumer finds most interesting.

The combo meal trend is a derivative of the old traditional ‘Table d’ hote’

trend in French restaurants, but has the advantage of providing different

options to the consumers so that, unlike ‘Table d’ hote’, they can choose a

different combo meal if one doesn’t appeal to them.

The food outlets also find the combo meal trend very useful since the meal

can be based on a few dishes, but offered in different combinations so that

wastage is minimized and the business becomes more efficient.

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KFC, Mc Donalds Adyar Anandha Bhavan, Shree Mithai and Pizza Corner

are a few examples that follow this trend.Some of the famous combo meals

include:

Burger and Fries.

Pizza and Garlic bread with Pepsi.

Assorted Chats.

Sandwich and fried Chicken.

Chicken bucket and pepsi.

The combo meal is fast catching up in Chennai and the hoteliers agree that it

will be a forerunner in the future trends of Chennai as well.

CENTRAL DELIVERY UNIT

On feed back from Mr. Raja Rajan Pillai, GM, Hyson Restaurants pvt. Ltd.,

a new concept which was to come to Chennai was discussed.

The concept was the central delivery unit, where a person can call & order

food. The unit can take in any food order, organize the meal & delivery it to

the consumer.

Unique features:

The consumers need not order different foods from different places. Instead,

one unit can take all orders & organize the meal.

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- It serves as a telephone food court.

- The consumer need not pay different bills. Instead, one bill is

prepared.

‘A consumer who wants to have pizza, as well as biriyani, need not order

from two places, instead the unit will organize meal’ says Mr. Raja Rajan

Pillai.

This concept is indeed very efficient & no doubt, will be an immediate

success, when launched in Chennai.

FOOD COURTS

A food court is a plaza that is contiguous with the counters of multiple food

vendors and provides a common area for self-serve dining. Food courts may

be found in shopping malls and airports, and in various regions.

SETUP

* Food courts consist of a number of food stalls. Meals are ordered at one of

the stalls and then carried to a common dining area. Typical vendors in

Chennai are McDonald's and KFC; many food courts have several shops

which sell prepared meals for shoppers to take home and reheat, making the

food court a daily stop for some shoppers.

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Spencer’s food court:

Planet yumm food court in Chennai Spencer’s is a famous food court, with

lip-smacking aromas. The food court, though spacious, can get pretty

crowded, that also in a way speaks of the popularity of the place. The cakes

and sandwiches on display at the Hot Breads counter look tempting, but you

are seeking something more sumptuous and spicy. Right across, at Pizza

Hut, pizzas are being served with pitchers filled with Pepsi.

Shree Krishna Sweets have their speciality sweets aside from a few lunch

dishes as well. This also includes salad; there are aloo parantha and mango

pickles at Tandoor Express to dig into. Optionally there is the South Indian

Thali at Sangeetha. There is also Marry brown and The Noodle House.

*. Food courts…………The Noodle House, The Hindu dated 4th December

ORIENTAL CUISINES:

Oriental Cuisines Pvt Ltd, the owners of Planet Yumm chain of food courts,

has set up a 12,000 sq ft food court at Tidel Park and plans to open more in

the leading IT parks and commercial buildings in the city.

The Planet Yumm at Tidel Park, with a seating capacity of 240, is to open

from tomorrow with the formal launch on April 14.

It now operates 10 food courts in South India with 8 of them in Chennai

In Chennai itself it plans to set up outlets at the Olympia Tech Park, Ampa,

and the Mahindra World City.

The reason is that there is a ready captive clientele at the IT parks which

make them an attractive option. At the Tidel Park, there are over 14,000

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employees and a visitor base of over 2,000 a day. The advantage to the

patrons is that they get a varied cuisine to suit their palates.

Earlier, even at Tidel, the people had only the traditional cafeteria option.

But Planet Yumm broke that mould at the Ascendas IT Park in Chennai

where it introduced the multi-brand multi-cuisine option with its food courts.

Oriental Cuisines has tied up with international brands such as Yum

International, the owners of KFC and Pizza Hut, and with Domino’s. To this

would be added leading local brands and those that offer the traditional

cuisine.

At the Tidel Park,the participants are Domino's Pizza, Subway, New Yorker

and local leaders such as Ratna Café, Virudhunagar, and brands from

Oriental Cuisines' own stable like Wang's Kitchen, Qwikys, and Kebab

House, and a leading player in the ice cream segment, Arun Ice Creams.

Also, Juice.Net, a new chain of juice shops, is setting up its first outlet at the

Planet Yumm in Tidel Park. Juice.Net is a corporate social responsibility

initiative with a portion of the profits going to educating the needy.

KENTUCKY FRIED CHICKEN, CHENNAI:

After gratifying the taste buds of chicken lovers across different parts of the

country, the world’s largest chicken restaurant chain, KFC has finally

entered the city of Idlys’ and Dosas’, Chennai.

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The first store had been setup in Planet Yumm food court in the Ascendas,

Tech Park in Taramani. KFC has also opened another outlet in City Centre

at Radakrishnan Salai.

KFC brings to Chennai, its mouth watering chicken that is renowned

internationally. It offers a range of signature chicken products like crunchy

hot and crispy chicken. The soft and juicy original recipe of 11 herbs and

spices that is Sander’s secret recipe and the sumptuous Zinger burger.

Chicken lovers can indulge in the international favourite chicken bucket, a

feast of 12 sumptous pieces of chicken in an attractive takeaway reusable

bucket.

KFC has been a big success in the south. The opening of restaurant in

Chennai has extended its popularity. At present, KFC has 21 restaurants in

India, out of which 2 are in Chennai and more are expected to come.

The reason for KFC’s success is the unique taste of KFC’s signature chicken

products like hot and crispy chicken, original recipe chicken and the zinger

burger and there is an entire range of vegetarian products specially for

Chennai like Channa snacker , aromatic veggie pulao, the paneer wrap ‘n’

roll and the veg. thali.

Chennai is a significant growth for KFC and this will be further facilitated

through both franchise and equity development.

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RED E FOOD COURT:

Red E Food Court is a multi cuisine restaurant located at Chetpet, Chennai.

It is Chennai's first food court at Salzburg Square. It offers Continental,

Indian, Mexican, Italian and Oriental cuisines. Theme parties and birthday

packages are also available. Vegetarian and non-vegetarian foods are

provided.

Chennai's first food court, which is probably a first in the country too. It

comprises a complex offering different cuisines through specialist

restaurants, ranging from pizzerias to Chinese food and local cuisines.

Restaurants flourish the number of people eating out and staying out late

keeps growing and there is a wide variety of cuisines to choose from. From

the standard idli vada to the now popular Italian to exotic Tibetan and

Lebanese, there is much to choose from. It is then surprising that such a

concept did not find its way here earlier.

Three years ago, the chaitanya groups setup the Red-e food court in

Chennai. There are different counters for various cuisines but basically, it’s a

single entity that owns the eatery and whom all the employees work for. The

argument had been that such a setup would help maintain standards of

quality and hygiene.

PLANET YUMM:

Set up one year ago at Anna Nagar, a bustling, middle- and upper-middle

class location of Chennai, Planet Yumm took off in no time and set up

another, this time a larger one, near the beach in Besant Nagar. Teeming

with children, many making a beeline for the entertainment offered on the

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site, the Planet Yumms are lively places which house seven restaurants each

- Sangeeta, Domino's of pizza fame, Milky Way (ice-creams), Wang's

(Chinese cuisine), Cafe Spice and Haveli (North Indian food), Gayatri and

Gangotri (chaats and sweets), Cafe Coffee Day and Hot Breads.

Planet Yumm aims to develop the concept of `eatertainment' and family

entertainment centres so these food courts feature stuff which children can

play with, clamber on to, dive into and even travel into space in. The

watchmen at the beach outfit, incidentally, are asked to make sure the kids

don't stray while the parents dine.

There is something to suit everybody's budget, and tastes. An average

billing per day would be around Rs 40-45. The year-old Planet Yumm at

Anna Nagar does about 600-700 billings. However, at the beach site, which

is just a few months old, the billings on weekends are around a 1,000.

While Planet Yumm has been positioned as a treat for children (so that the

parents can eat in peace while the children play, it attracts customers ranging

from MDs to shopkeepers. The mornings and afternoons see college-going

students frequent the place but evenings are family time. There is a late night

crowd which comes just to sample the desserts. The budget for publicity for

both outlets by way of hoardings, print ads and through FM radio is very

expensive. Pepsi is the co-sponsor.

As is the norm with many restaurants today, does Planet Yumm also believe

in promotions and freebies to increase its business. Freebies or no, if there is

no quality or value-for-money perception, nothing can make a customer

patronise a restaurant. Planet Yumm too gives customers incentives such as

combo-meals, free play time, T-shirts and the like. People are used to

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promos and it's a way of rewarding the customers, it is better to advertise the

promotions rather than merely put up a hoarding notifying the existence of

the restaurant.

READY MADE FOODS

Gone are the days when for a simple gravy, the home makers ground the

spices to be added. Nowadays, nobody finds time to sit and prepare foods

from fresh ingredients since even the women go to work. Hence, ready made

foods have become a popular trend since it is easy to cook and store.

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There are many kinds of ready made foods from spices to gravies to rice and

now, even soups and pasta are common in the super markets.

Some of the companies in Chennai are ‘AACHI’, ‘SUNFEAST’ and

‘KNORR’. ‘MAGGI’ has also introduced new products.

SUNFEAST:

The sunfeast product portfolio has been further expanded to include healthy

snack options also. Sunfeast pasta treat, whole wheat based pasta was

introduced as a healthy snacking option for children.

After the tremendous success of 4 initial flavour, the instant pasta range has

been extended with two new exciting flavours- chicken and pizza. The pasta

segment has been further expanded with the launch of ‘Sunfeast benne vita’

in 4 innovative variants.

SUNFEAST PRODUCTS INCLUDE:

Sunfeast cereal bar

Sunfeast dream cream biscuits.

Sunfeast pasta treats:

Masala

Sour cream

Pizza

Chicken

Tomato

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KNORR:

Knorr is a German food and beverage brand owned by the Anglo Dutch

company Unilever that produces ready to eat soups and condiments.

Reduced calorie foods have also been produced with dual branding of both

knorr and slimfast, also owned by Unilever.

Knorr was founded by Carl Heinrich Theodor Knorr in Heilbonn, Germany

in 1838. Knorr headquarters are in Germany. Products previously sold under

Lipton brand are now being absorbed into the Knorr product line.

KNORR SOUPS INCLUDE:

Knorr tomato soup

Knorr vegetable soup

Knorr mushroom soup

Knorr hot ‘n’ sour soup

AACHI: Aachi is a tamilnadu company that produces ready made foods. It

has various numbers of products in difeerent ranges and offers a wide

variety of spices, pickles etc….

SOME OF THE AACHI PRODUCTS INCLUDE:

Garam masala

Channa masala

Chicken masala

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Chilly powder

Fish curry powder

Sambar powder

Appalam (papad).

Rice Paste

READY TO MIX POWDERS:

Masala for biryani

Rava dosa

Rava idly

Rava uppma

Badam milk mix

Payasam mix

Paal ada payasam mix

Gulab jamun mix

SOME OF THE PICKLES FROM THIS FIRM INCLUDE:

o Cut mango pickle

o Mango avakkai pickle

o Grated mango pickle

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o Lime pickle

o Mixed vegetable pickle

o Tomato pickle

o Garlic pickle

o Tomato garlic pickle

o Chicken pickle

o Fish pickle

o Fish thokku

o Prawn pickle

CURRIES INCLUDE:

o Prawn kulambu

o Seer fish kulambu

o Nethili kulambu

Other companies that specialize in ready made foods are MAGGI,

TOPRAMEN etc. that specialize in various varieties of noodles.

MAGGI PRODUCTS:

1. Maggi noodles

2. Maggi cuppa mania

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3. Maggi ‘sambar’ noodles.

4. Maggi chicken noodles.

TOPRAMEN PRODUCTS:

1. Topramen noodles

2. Topramen curry noodles

3. Topramen chicken noodles

In all, the ready made food trend is popularizing in Chennai, thanks to the

ever growing need of ‘easy to cook’ foods and also because people’s lives

have become very hectic to concentrate on cooking.

VEGETARIANISM

Among the recent trends that have struck Chennai is the concept of

vegetarianism. This is the concept that nutritional researchers have been

recommending for years,

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It's about eating a varied diet that's low in saturated fat and high in fiber,

because the emphasis is on produce. It includes daily intake of fruits and

vegetables and the vitamins and minerals.

Studies show that people who follow this approach to eating generally weigh

less and have lower rates of hypertension, heart disease, diabetes, and

prostate and colon cancer.

Vegetarianism is the practice of a diet that excludes meat (including game

and slaughter by-products), fish (including shellfish and other sea animals)

and poultry. There are several variants of the diet, some of which also

exclude eggs and/or some products produced from animal labour such as

dairy products and honey.

A vegan diet is a form of vegetarianism which excludes all animal products

from the diet, such as meat, poultry, fish, dairy products, eggs, and honey.

Those who practice veganism for ethical reasons exclude animal products

from their diet as part of a larger practice of abstaining from the use of

animals for any purpose (e.g. leather, fur, etc.), often out of support for

animal rights

Most vegetarians consume dairy products, and many eat eggs. Lacto-

vegetarianism includes dairy products but excludes eggs - (as practiced by

Vegetarian Hindu people of India ),

Ovo-vegetarianism includes eggs but not dairy Lacto-ovo-vegetarianism

includes both eggs and dairy products. Vegetarianism is considered a

healthy, viable diet. As a properly-planned vegetarian diet to satisfy the

nutritional needs for all stages of life,

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Vegetarianism has significantly lowered risks of cancer, ischaemic heart

disease, and other fatal diseases. Necessary nutrients, proteins, and amino

acids for the body's sustenance can be found in green leafy vegetables,

grains, nuts, and fortified juices or soymilk.

Vegetarian diets can aid in keeping body weight under control and

substantially reduce risks of heart disease and osteoporosis.

A new concept of Flexitarianism has developed in chennai where people

basically consume only vegetarian food but occasionally cinsume meat to

balance the nutritional needs of the body.

This trend is gaining popularity among the chennai people.

FAST FOOD

Fast food is the term given to food that can be prepared and served very

quickly. While any meal with low preparation time can be considered to be

fast food, typically the term refers to food sold in a restaurant or store with

low quality preparation and served to the customer in a packaged form for

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take-out/take-away. The term "fast food" was recognized in a dictionary by

Merriam-Webster in 1951.

Outlets may be stands or kiosks, which may provide no shelter or seating, or

fast food restaurants (also known as quick service restaurants). Franchise

operations which are part of restaurant chains have standardized foodstuffs

shipped to each restaurant from central locations.

The capital requirements involved in opening up a fast food restaurant are

relatively low. Smaller, individually-owned fast food restaurants are

becoming much more common throughout the world.

Restaurants with much higher sit-in ratios, where customers tend to sit and

have their orders brought to them in a seemingly more upscale atmosphere

may be known in some areas as fast casual restaurants.

History

The concept of ready-cooked food for sale is closely connected with urban

development. In Ancient Rome cities had street stands that sold bread and

wine, East Asian featured noodle shops.

Flatbread and falafel are today ubiquitous in the Middle East. Popular Indian

fast food dishes include vada pav, panipuri and dahi vada. In the French-

speaking nations of West Africa, roadside stands in and around the larger

cities continue to sell—as they have done for generations—a range of ready-

to-eat, char-grilled meat sticks known locally as brochettes (not to be

confused with the bread snack of the same name found in Europe).

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MCDONALD'S

McDonald's, the largest fast food chain in the world and the brand most

associated with the term "fast food," was founded as a barbecue drive-in in

1940 by Dick and Mac McDonald.

After discovering that most of their profits came from hamburgers, the

brothers closed their restaurant for three months and reopened it in 1948 as a

walk-up stand offering a simple menu of hamburgers, French fries,

milkshakes, coffee, and Coca-Cola, served in disposable paper wrapping.

As a result, they were able to produce hamburgers and fries constantly,

without waiting for customer orders, and could serve them immediately;

hamburgers cost 15 cents, about half the price at a typical diner.

Their streamlined production method, which they named the "Speedee

Service System”, was influenced by the production line innovations of

Henry Ford.

The McDonalds' stand was the milkshake machine company's biggest

customer and a milkshake salesman named Ray Kroc traveled to California

to discover the secret to their high-volume burger-and-shake operation.

Kroc thought he could expand their concept, eventually buying the

McDonalds' operation outright in 1961 with the goal of making cheap,

ready-to-go hamburgers, french fries and milkshakes a nationwide business.

In chennai, Mc Donalds is situated in Taramain, Ascendas.

On the go:

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Fast food outlets are take-away or take-out providers, often with a "drive-

through" service which allows customers to order and pick up food from

their cars; but most also have a seating area in which customers can eat the

food on the premises.

People eat there more than five times a week and often, one or more of those

five times is at a fast food restaurant.

Nearly from its inception, fast food has been designed to be eaten "on the

go", often does not require traditional cutlery, and is eaten as a finger food.

Common menu items at fast food outlets include fish and chips, sandwiches,

pitas, hamburgers, fried chicken, french fries, chicken nuggets, tacos, pizza,

hot dogs, and ice cream, although many fast food restaurants offer "slower"

foods like chili, mashed potatoes, and salads.

STREET VENDORS AND CONCESSIONS:

Traditional street food is available around Chennai, usually from small

operators and independent vendors operating from a cart, table, or portable

grill.

Common examples include noodle vendors, hot dog carts, street vendors

provide a colorful and varying range of options designed to quickly captivate

passers-by and attract as much attention as possible.

Depending on the locale, multiple street vendors may specialize in specific

types of food characteristic of a given cultural or ethnic tradition.

In some cultures, it is typical for street vendors to call out prices, sing or

chant sales-pitches, play music, or engage in other forms of "street theatrics"

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in order to engage prospective customers. In some cases, this can garner

more attention than the food itself; some vendors represent another form of

tourist attraction

Modern commercial fast food is often highly processed and prepared in an

industrial fashion, i.e., on a large scale with standard ingredients and

standardized cooking and production methods.

It is usually rapidly served in cartons or bags or in a plastic wrapping, in a

fashion which minimizes cost. In most fast food operations, menu items are

generally made from processed ingredients prepared at a central supply

facility and then shipped to individual outlets where they are reheated,

cooked (usually by microwave or deep frying) or assembled in a short

amount of time.

This process ensures a consistent level of product quality, and is key to

being able to deliver the order quickly to the customer and eliminate labor

and equipment costs in the individual stores.

Because of commercial emphasis on speed, uniformity and low cost, fast

food products are often made with ingredients formulated to achieve a

certain flavor or consistency and to preserve freshness.

VARIANTS

Although fast food often brings to mind traditional American fast food such

as hamburgers and fries, there are many other forms of fast food that enjoy

widespread popularity in the West.

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Chinese takeaways/takeout restaurants are particularly popular. They

normally offer a wide variety of Asian food (not always Chinese), which has

normally been fried. Most options are some form of noodles, rice, or meat.

In some cases, the food is presented as a smörgåsbord, sometimes self

service. The customer chooses the size of the container they wish to buy, and

then is free to fill it with their choice of food.

It is common to combine several options in one container, and some outlets

charge by weight rather than by item. Many of these restaurants offer free

delivery for purchases over a minimum amount.

Sushi has seen rapidly rising popularity in recent times. A form of fast food

created in Japan, Sushi is normally cold sticky rice served with raw fish.

The most popular kind is rolls of rice in nori (dried laver), with filling. The

filling often includes fish, chicken or cucumber.

Pizza is a common fast food category in the United States, with chains such

as Domino's Pizza and Pizza Hut. Menus are more limited and standardized

than in traditional pizzerias, and pizza delivery, often with a time

commitment, is offered.

Kebab houses are a form of fast food restaurant .These doner kebabs are

distinct from shish kebabs served on sticks.

FAST FOOD EFFECTS ON HEALTH:

In today’s age of convenience, fast food needs no introduction. Everyone

from a 2-year-old toddler to a 60-year-old grandpa seems to be enjoying it

every chance they get. Because, it’s delicious, it’s filling, is really

44

affordable, and readily available just any time of the day, being only a drive

through phone call away.

For living life in the fast lane we all need is , plenty – fast food all good

tastes, except that it is not nutritionally balanced and, therefore, unhealthy in

the long run if consumed on a regular basis.

 Fast food is loaded with calories from refined sugar and fats (especially, the

artery-clogging saturated and hydrogenated fats, which are repeatedly

reheated to high temperatures for frying purposes).

 It is also very high in sodium, coming from common salt and other

additives. On top of all this, fast food is deficient in dietary fiber and

essential micro-nutrients like vitamins and minerals.

 To make matters worse, heaps of fast food is normally guzzled down with

gallons of sugar-rich colas – which many fast-food restaurants serve free

with food as an incentive.

To make a long story short, all this results in piling up of unused empty

calories in the body, which get stored as body fat – till one day you look in

the mirror and realize that your great figure has been replaced by this

creature in the mirror.

But that’s not the end of the story, it’s just the beginning – consuming too

much fast food not only turns a handsome guy into an unsightly obese man,

 it is a big health hazard too.

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And being physically inactive only adds to the problem of obesity. Not

many people who love fast food are ready to acknowledge that obesity is not

simply an eyesore – it is a major risk factor for a large number of deadly

diseases like hypertension, diabetes, high cholesterol, heart disease, and

even many types of cancers.

Recent scientific studies have shown that high-calorie foods rich in fats,

refined sugar and salt could reconfigure the hormones in the body in such a

way that they make you crave for such foods and always leave you asking

for more.

In other words, fast food is kind of addictive; you get hooked on to it and

continue consuming it in an uncontrolled way in spite of knowing that it is

unhealthy. The more you consume, the more difficult it is for you to opt for

healthy foods.

The situation is worse in case of children who from a very young age get

hooked on fast food. Making them change their food habits from fatty and

sweet foods and develop a taste for health-promoting fruits and vegetables is

a task easier said than done. Such children would grow up to be obese adults

who have never felt the advantages of being a healthy weight.

To sum up, consuming fast food on a regular basis leads to many health

hazards. But bringing about changes in eating habits is not easy.

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DIETING

Dieting is the practice of ingesting food in a regulated fashion to achieve or

maintain a controlled weight. In most cases the goal is weight loss in those

who are overweight or obese, but some athletes aspire to gain weight

(usually in the form of muscle) and diets can also be used to maintain a

stable body weight.

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TYPES OF DIETING

There are several kinds of diets:

Weight-loss diets restrict the intake of specific foods, or food in general, to

reduce body weight. What works to reduce body weight for one person will

not necessarily work for another, due to metabolic differences and lifestyle

factors.

Also, for a variety of reasons, most people find it difficult to maintain

significant weight loss over time — among individuals that have lost 10% or

more of body weight, only 20% are able to maintain that weight loss for a

full year.

Athletes participating in professional sports may sometimes undertake

weight-gain diets to increase their body mass and gain advantage in their

field.

Individuals who are underweight, such as those recovering from anorexia

nervosa or starvation, may adopt weight-gain diets which, unlike those of

athletes, have the goal of restoring normal levels of body fat, muscle, and

stores of essential nutrients.

Actors, and people participating in similar activities, may pursue weight loss

or gain in order to better portray a particular role

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Psychological aspects of weight-loss dieting

Diets affect the "energy in" component of the energy balance by limiting or

altering the distribution of foods. Techniques that affect the appetite can

limit energy intake by affecting the desire to overeat.

Cognitive Behavior Therapy has been effective in producing long term

weight loss. Judith S. Beck has been one of the most prominent practitioners

and writers to bring this method to a popular audience.

Consumption of low-energy, fiber-rich foods, such as non-starchy

vegetables, is effective in obtaining satiation (the feeling of "fullness").

Exercise is also useful in controlling appetite as is drinking water and

sleeping. (Extreme physical fatigue, such as that experienced by soldiers and

mountain climbers, can make eating a difficult chore.)

The use of drugs to control appetite is also common. Stimulants are often

taken as a means to suppress hunger in people who are dieting. Ephedrine

(through facilitating the release of adrenaline and noradrenaline) stimulates

the alpha (1)-adrenoreceptor subtype, which is known to act as an anorectic.

L-Phenylalanine, an amino acid found in whey protein powders also has the

ability to suppress appetite by increasing the hormone cholecystokinin

(CCK) which sends a satiety signal to the brain

FOOD FESTIVAL

A food festival is a festival usually held annually, that uses food; often

produce as its central theme.

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These festivals have always been a mean of uniting communities through

celebration of harvest and giving thanks for a plentiful growing season.

It may also be held by various hotels and institutions for popularity or

business wherein the food and the décor are made according to the theme

chosen.

In Chennai, food festivals are conducted often in high class or star class

hotels to promote their brand.

Some adopt international cuisine while others adopt a particular state or

region and thus reveal the food and culture, the nature of the state or region

etc.

ORGANIC FOODS

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Over the past years, the concept of going green and eating healthy food has

germinated into a small industry that can be seen in the form of eco-stores

that are sprouting up all over the city.

People are now slowly waking up to staying healthy and part of this

awareness about eating right means going on for organic foods.

There is an increase in demand for organically grown food which is grown

without the use of chemical fertilizers or pesticides.

Organic muesli, kokan (a tamarind supplement), and drumstick powder for

making foods has become a recent trend in the Chennai markets. Organic

food has countless health benefits.

Safe food products, free from chemicals, ensure healthy life and children

who grow up eating organic food are proven to be stronger.

The concept of organic food is evolving and demand is growing nowadays.

Many acres of land have been used to grow these organic foods and more

lands with the help of local farmers are being setup to produce organic

foods.

Use of chemical fertilizers in the agricultural field has reached a peak

nowadays and if it has to be stopped, it is only through organic foods.

Customers need not insist in certified organic products because most of the

stores have started networking around Chennai with the local farmers so that

only organically produced food products are made available to the

consumers.

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The certification is necessary only for the foods those have huge holdings

and whose aim is to sell their products oversees.

CENTER FOR INDIAN KNOWLEDGE SYSTEM (CIKS) aided by local

NGOs and groups with large network of farmers, nearby Chennai, are

helping them switch over to the organic method of cultivation, closely

monitoring their progress at various levels and creating markets to produce

them under the brand name ‘Arogyam’, which in ‘Tamil’ means ‘Health’.

Apart these actions some think that organic food is already perceived as

expensive and certification would add to the cost.

So, this stops the cultivation of organic food and thus, people or customers

don’t insist on certification if they buy from reputed health food stores.

Organic food prices are found to be actually reasonable. If customers try out

to eat the organic food, they change over completely after feeling the

difference.

It is found to have a little exclusion as the price is considerably expensive

for an average family in Chennai, but it is willing for the people to spend on

organic food keeps coming back because it is healthier.

Organic food benefits are enormous. It is just as nutritious, safer, animal and

environment friendly and not genetically modified. It is found that stores

that sell organic foods have found a good business out.

This trend seems to be healthy and more youngsters seem to be consciously

switching over to this trend. Organic food trend is the future medicine.

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In Chennai,

The Econut health food shop (www. theeconut.co.nr)

Pro organic foods (www.proorganic.in)

Magic monkey health

High life

Are few places that offer organic foods for the customer, depending on age

and sex this trend is popularizing in Chennai and is a definite future

forerunner in Chennai’s food trends.

ONLINE FOOD ORDERING SERVICES:

*Online food ordering services are websites that feature interactive menus

allowing customers to place orders with local restaurants. Much like

ordering consumer goods online, many of these allow customers to keep

accounts with them in order to make frequent ordering convenient.

A customer will search for a favorite restaurant, choose from available

items, and choose delivery or pick-up. Payment can be by credit card or

cash, with the restaurant returning a percentage to the online food company.

SERVICE TYPES

While e-commerce has been around for over a decade, closing the gap

between food and the Internet has taken longer. The first restaurants to adopt

online food ordering services were corporate franchises such Pizza Hut.

Online food………………. food company, Deccan Chronicle, dated 22nd January

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RESTAURANT-CONTROLLED

The preexisting delivery infrastructure of these franchises was well suited

for an online ordering system; so much so that in 2008 pizza hut announced

that its online sales were growing on average more than 50 percent each year

Local companies have teamed up with e-commerce companies to make

ordering quicker and more precise.

Some restaurants have adopted online ordering despite their lack of delivery

systems, using it to manage pick-up orders or to take reservations.

INDEPENDENT

Independent online food ordering companies offer two solutions. One is a

software service whereby restaurants purchase database and account

management software from the company and manage the online ordering

themselves. The other solution is a Net-based service whereby restaurants

sign contracts with an online food ordering website that may handle orders

from many restaurants in a regional or national area.

One difference between the systems is how the online menu is created and

later updated. Managed services do this via phone or email, while

unmanaged services require the customer to do it.

Websites featuring online restaurant menus have been on the Internet for

nearly a decade. In recent years, however, more and more restaurants outside

of large metropolitan areas have been able to feature their menus online as a

result of this trend.

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Several restaurant-owned and startup online food ordering websites already

included menus on their websites, yet due to the limitations of which

restaurants could handle online orders, many restaurants were left invisible

to the Internet aside from an address listing.

Multiple companies came up with the idea of posting menus online

simultaneously, and it is difficult to ascertain who was first. Menus and

online food ordering have been available online since at least 1997. Since

1997, hundreds of online restaurant menu web sites have appeared on the

Internet. Some sites are city-specific, some list by region, state or province.

They also arrange parties, book tables, provide food reviews, discounts etc…

ONLINE FOOD SERVICES IN CHENNAI:

Many of the consumers return home at odd hours and are reluctant to

wait for their meals.

They find it convenient to order foods online with the time of

delivery.

While convenience is the key ingredient in working up the market,

factors such as

Consumers wanting an informed choice before dining also count.

Consumers demanding value for money count on online food services

to help them make informed choices by providing information on the

cuisine the restaurant offers, the ambience, reviews by previous diners

and pricing also and the overall rating of a restaurant.

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The online food services scored more than the order by phone as the

latter restricted itself to verbal information exchanged between the

consumer and the restaurant employee while the visual displays in the

online food services and reviews are more attractive.

In Chennai, these are a few websites that offer online food ordering services.

Saravana Fast Foods

www.saravanabhavan.com 

Kumaran Fast Foods

  www.kumarans.org 

Other Websites

www.cityfoods.in

www.chennaifoodcourt.com

www.ordermonger.com

www.onlinefeast.com

www.foodpunch.com.

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PRESERVED FOODS

Food preservation is the process of treating and handling food to stop or

greatly slow down spoilage (loss of quality, edibility or nutritive value)

caused or accelerated by micro-organisms. Some methods, however, use

benign bacteria, yeasts or fungi to add specific qualities and to preserve food

(e.g., cheese, wine). While maintaining or creating nutritional value, texture

and flavour is important in preserving its value as food; this is a culturally

dependent. What qualifies as food fit for humans in one culture may not

qualify in another culture.

Preservation usually involves preventing the growth of bacteria, fungi, and

other micro-organisms, as well as retarding the oxidation of fats which cause

rancidity. It also includes processes to inhibit natural ageing and

discolouration that can occur during food preparation such as the enzymatic

browning reaction in apples which causes browning when apples are cut.

Some preservation methods require the food to be sealed after treatment to

prevent recontamination with microbes; others, such as drying, allow food to

be stored without any special containment for long periods.

Common methods of applying these processes include drying, spray drying,

freeze drying, freezing,vacuum-packing, canning, preserving in syrup, sugar

crystallisation, food irradiation, and adding preservatives or inert gases such

as carbon dioxide. Other methods that not only help to preserve food, but

also add flavour, include pickling, salting, smoking, preserving in syrup or

alcohol, sugar crystallisation and curing.

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There are methods by which food is preserved. Some of them are as follows:

Freezing

Vacuum Packing

Salt

Smoking

Sugar

Pickling

Drying

Canning and Bottling

Jellying

Potting

Burial in the Ground

METHODS OF FOOD PRESERVATION:

FREEZING

Freezing is also one of the most commonly used processes commercially

and domestically for preserving a very wide range of food including

prepared food stuffs which would not have required freezing in their

unprepared state. For example, potato waffles are stored in the freezer, but

potatoes themselves require only a cool dark place to ensure many months'

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storage. Cold stores provide large volume, long-term storage for strategic

food stocks held in case of national emergency in many countries.

VACUUM PACKING

Vacuum-packing stores food in a vacuum environment, usually in an air-

tight bag or bottle. The vacuum environment strips bacteria of oxygen

needed for survival, slowing spoiling. Vacuum-packing is commonly used

for storing nuts to reduce loss of flavor from oxidation.

SALT

Salting or curing draws moisture from the meat through a process of

osmosis. Meat is cured with salt or sugar, or a combination of the two.

Nitrates and nitrites are also often used to cure meat and contribute the

characteristic pink color, as well as inhibition of Clostridium botulinum.

SMOKING

Meat, fish and some other foods may be both preserved and flavored through

the use of smoke, typically in a smokehouse. The combination of heat to dry

the food without cooking it, and the addition of the aromatic

(phenolic)hydrocarbons from the smoke preserves the food.

SUGAR

Sugar is used to preserve fruits, either in syrup with fruit such as apples,

pears, peaches, apricots, plums or in crystallized form where the preserved

material is cooked in sugar to the point of crystallisation and the resultant

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product is then stored dry. This method is used for the skins of citrus fruit

(candied peel), angelica and ginger.

A modification of this process produces glacé fruit such as glacé cherries

where the fruit is preserved in sugar but is then extracted from the syrup and

sold, the preservation being maintained by the sugar content of the fruit and

the superficial coating of syrup. The use of sugar is often combined with

alcohol for preservation of luxury products such as fruit in brandy or other

spirits. These should not be confused with fruit flavored spirits such as

cherry brandy or Sloe gin.

PICKLING

Pickling is a method of preserving food in an edible anti-microbial liquid.

Pickling can be broadly categorized as chemical pickling (for example,

brining) and fermentation pickling (for example, making sauerkraut).

In chemical pickling, the food is placed in an edible liquid that inhibits or

kills bacteria and other micro-organisms. Typical pickling agents include

brine (high in salt), vinegar, alcohol, and vegetable oil, especially olive oil

but also many other oils.

Many chemical pickling processes also involve heating or boiling so that the

food being preserved becomes saturated with the pickling agent. Common

chemically pickled foods include cucumbers, peppers, corned beef, herring,

and eggs, as well mixed vegetables such as piccalilli, chow-chow,

giardiniera, and achar.

In fermentation pickling, the food itself produces the preservation agent,

typically by a process that produces lactic acid. Fermented pickles include

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sauerkraut, nukazuke, kimchi, surströmming, and curtido. Some chemically

pickled cucumbers are also fermented. In commercial pickles, a preservative

like sodium benzoate or EDTAmayalso be added to enhance shelf life

Drying

One of the oldest methods of food preservation is by drying, which reduces

water activity sufficiently to prevent or delay bacterial growth.] Drying also

reduces weight, making food more portable. Most types of meat can be

dried; a good example is beef jerky.

Many fruits can also be dried; for example, the process is often applied to

apples, pears, bananas, mangoes, papaya, apricot, and coconut. Zante

currants, sultanas and raisins are all forms of dried grapes. Drying is also the

normal means of preservation for cereal grains such as wheat, maize, oats,

barley, rice, millet and rye.

CANNING AND BOTTLING

Canning involves cooking food, sealing it in sterile cans or jars, and boiling

the containers to kill or weaken any remaining bacteria as a form of

sterilization. Various foods have varying degrees of natural protection

against spoilage and may require that the final step occur in a pressure

cooker.

High-acid fruits like strawberries require no preservatives to can and only a

short boiling cycle, whereas marginal fruits such as tomatoes require longer

boiling and addition of other acidic elements. Low acid foods, such as

vegetables and meats require pressure canning. Food preserved by canning

or bottling is at immediate risk of spoilage once the can or bottle has been

opened.

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Lack of quality control in the canning process may allow ingress of water or

micro-organisms. Most such failures are rapidly detected as decomposition

within the can causes gas production and the can will swell or burst.

However, there have been examples of poor manufacture

(underprocessing)and poor hygiene allowing contamination of canned food

by the obligate anaerobe, Clostridium botulinum which produces an acute

toxin within the food, leading to severe illness or death.

This organism produces no gas or obvious taste and remains undetected by

taste or smell. Its toxin is denatured by cooking, though. Cooked

mushrooms, handled poorly and then canned, can support the growth of

Staphylococcus aureus, which produces a toxin that is not destroyed by

canning or subsequent reheating.

JELLYING

Food may be preserved by cooking in a material that solidifies to form a gel.

Such materials include gelatine, agar, maize flour and arrowroot flour. Some

foods naturally form a protein gel when cooked such as eels and elvers, and

sipunculid worms which are a delicacy in the town of Xiamen in Fujian

province of the People's Republic of China. Jellied eels are a delicacy in the

East End of London where they are eaten with mashed potatoes.

Fruit preserved by jellying is known as jelly, marmalade, or fruit preserves.

In this case, the jellying agent is usually pectin, either added during cooking

or arising naturally from the fruit. Most preserved fruit is also sugared.

Heating, packaging and acid and sugar provide the preservation.

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POTTING

A traditional British way of preserving meat (particularly shrimp) is by

setting it in a pot and sealing it with a layer of fat. Also common is potted

chicken liver; compare pâté.

BURIAL IN THE GROUND

Burial of food can preserve it due to a variety of factors: lack of light, lack of

oxygen, cool temperatures, pH level, or desiccants in the soil. Burial may be

combined with other methods such as salting or fermentation.

Many root vegetables are very resistant to spoilage and require no other

preservation other than storage in cool dark conditions, for example by

burial in the ground, such as in a storage clamp.

Century eggs are created by placing eggs in alkaline mud (or other alkaline

substance) resulting in their "inorganic" fermentation through raised pH

instead of spoiling. The fermentation preserves them and breaks down some

of the complex, less flavorful proteins and fats into simpler more flavorful

ones.

Most foods can be preserved in soil that is very dry and salty (thus a

desiccant), or soil that is frozen.

Cabbage was traditionally buried in the fall in northern farms in the USA for

preservation. Some methods keep it crispy while other methods produce

sauerkraut. A similar process is used in the traditional production of kimchi.

Sometimes meat is buried under conditions which cause preservation. If

buried on hot coals or ashes, the heat can kill pathogens, the dry ash can

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desiccate, and the earth can block oxygen and further contamination. If

buried where the earth is very cold, the earth acts like a refrigerator.

JUGGING

Meat can be preserved through jugging, the process of stewing meat

(commonly fish/game) the animal to be jugged is usually cut into pieces,

placed into a tightly-sealed jug with brine or gravy and stewed.

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OTHER FOOD TRENDS

BUFFET

A buffet is a meal system where patrons generally serve themselves. It is a

popular method for feeding a large number of people with minimal staff.

Buffets are offered at various places including hotels, casinos, cruise ships,

and at church and social events. Sideboards are also known as buffets as

they may be used to offer the dishes of a buffet meal to guests.

TYPES

One form of buffet is to have a line of food serving stalls filled with fixed

portions of food; customers take whatever food items they want as they walk

along and pay at the end for each piece. This form is most commonly seen in

cafeterias.

Another form, known as the all-you-can-eat buffet, is more free-form:

customers pay a fixed fee and can then help themselves to as much food as

they wish to eat in a single meal. This form is found often in restaurants,

especially in hotels; virtually every major casino resort in North America

has one, with some being very elaborate and extensive.

In North America and Australia, restaurants specializing in Chinese and

Indian cuisine commonly offer this type of buffet for lunch.

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A third type of buffet commonly offered in delicatessens and supermarkets

is a bar, in which customers help themselves to lettuce and other salad

ingredients, then pay by weight.

SUPERFOOD

To put it very simply, if we don't eat, we don't live. But aside from serving

that most basic need - that of keeping us alive and our taste buds happy - the

best foods keep us healthy, happy and whole.

These are the super foods, a cross between food and medicine. Ayurveda,

one of the world’s oldest and still most practical health treatises, had always

connected food with medicine.

But over the years, we lost that connection and forgot about the healing

power of food. We've regained that knowledge to an extent now, but we tend

to focus only on the energy component of food - its calorie count.

That's not the only attribute of food however. Food gives us the vitality to

function; builds our bodies; protects us from the environment by creating a

layer of fat; affects our moods; fights disease at a cellular and metabolic

level; improves body rejuvenation and so delays ageing; and cures diseases.

All foods have a medicinal value, but certain plants that may not ordinarily

be part of our daily diets have an immense capacity to affect us positively in

various ways. Here are some of them, easily available in urban India.

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CLEARER FOOD LABELS

Increasingly, consumers don't want ingredients they can't pronounce, nor do

they want artificial colors, flavors, or preservatives, experts say. Look for

more informative and clearer labels, and foods with just a handful of simple

ingredients.

FOOD LABELS:

Research has shown that eating a well-balanced, nutritious diet reduces the

risk of coronary heart disease, stroke, some cancers, and osteoporosis. And

the grocery store shelves are full of foods with packaging promising to help

do that.

But it's important to take a close look — beyond the promises — at the

nutritional values, ingredients, and calorie counts in the food you buy, and to

understand how they factor into your family's healthy eating.

Food labels provide this information and allow you to make smart choices to

help meet your family's nutritional needs

FUNCTIONAL FOODS

Functional foods are enriched with nutrients that may not be inherent to a

given food. Familiar examples include orange juice fortified with calcium or

milk fortified with vitamins A and D. As sales of these foods have soared in

recent years, more functional foods have reached the market, such as eggs

and pastas with omega-3 fatty acids, sterol-fortified chocolates and high-

fiber, high-protein flours.

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CONCLUSION

Through research on the topic, changing food trends on the people in

Chennai, I have come to know about the recent trends in Chennai, their

reasons for success and why they keep changing.

While organic foods and vegetarianism concept have started gaining

importance, people are giving more concentration towards fast foods, but not

enough concentration on nutrition.

The reason behind this is because people give importance to taste over

nutrition.

Also, food festivals, theme lunches and innovative buffets have started to

play a vital role in the changing trends.

Lastly, ready made foods are canned foods are also emerging trends.

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FINDINGS

From the analysis of the data & the questionnaire, I have come to a few

conclusions, which shall reflect the result of the project. They are:

- Food courts are the trends which are fastest growing.

- Fast foods, without which most foods wouldn’t exist, are the second

most fastest growing trend.

- Though organic food trend is gaining importance, most outlets have

not adopted the trend & hence, it will still take some time to

accomplish.

- Still, the majority of outlets do not give much importance to nutrition

as they give to taste.

- Almost all the outlets change their menu & food costs to suit the

present trends on an annual basis.

- Most outlets concentrate on providing quality service with tasty food

as they believe it is he main promoter of their products.

- The consumers have become more demanding & always look for

more variety in foods they consume.

- Restaurants are still catching on with the trend of setting up separate

menu for diabetic, old age and children.

- Chennai faces a major space crisis and big malls are not able to be

built due to space constraint.

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- Only a few restaurants provide the consumers with nutrition

information.

- Only a few restaurants provide the consumers with nutrition

information.

- Although the vegetarianism trend is gaining importance, it has not

affected the sales volume of many restaurants.

- There is a split in the Chennai people’s attitude towards international

food concept, while some have adopted, some still do not have

awareness.

- Most restaurants use fresh foods since consumers concentrate on

nutrition though non-commercial household kitchens are more

equipped with preserved foods.

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SUGGESTIONS

Foods courts with fast foods are the major good trend in Chennai.

Hence investment in these sectors is a sure winner.

Organic and nutritive foods are the growing rends, hence small scale

investment in these sectors can lead to huge profits in the future.

Vegetarianism and flexetarianism concepts have big demands in

Chennai.

Investment in innovative readymade of canned goods is a wise

decision.

Food festivals though are being conducted n Chennai, have not had

enough promotions.

Buffet on new international cuisine like Thai, North-East Indian,

Srilankan and Goan cuisines will attract lots of crowds.

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