Category Archives: Food

Food Truck Emerging Concept in Hospitality

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The quote of very famous chef says “The greatest dishes are very simple. –Auguste Escoffier” Food & Beverage industry is one of the widest sectors of hospitality where Simplicity is defined by various prospects. “FOOD TRUCK” is the simplest example of street food served by moving vehicles. With a rise in disposable income of middle-class; expenditure on fast food, awareness of nutritional aspect, mobile lifestyle and requirement of food on the go has made this model a popular choice among the Indian population, both as customers and investors. According to a study, this industry shall achieve revenue growth at the rate of 3.7% in the next five years, which is a significant growth for a newly introduced industry.

It is becoming a selective choice over a regular restaurant for new entrepreneurship activity with low investments and minimal risks involved. Few of its benefits are listed below.

It is considered to be low investment with high-profit food business ideas, mainly because it involves least economical investment as against a sit-down restaurant. This is one of the main competitive advantages of running a food truck instead of a regular restaurant. Moreover, to lessen the capital investment buying a truck can be replaced with renting. Next, selection of equipments & machinery required can be managed according the span of menu, like kitchen equipment, including exhausts, grillers, heat lamps, and any other specialty equipment your particular food needs.

Another advantage is it does not require the investment in expensive utilities, hiring a wide range of staff and taxes applicable on regular restaurants. This cuts down the most of capital & operational investment, providing disposable income from the capital to spend on menu engineering & marketing. On the other hand, its operational costs are month-to-month and limited as per the need & scope of operations or can be paid flexibly to manage the cost factor, as well as it does not require to disturb the routine operation maintenance & repair are easily manageable & even replaceable without major capital investment.

They are more eye appealing & hygienic with better quality food value for money as described by most customers, so they have become the latest fad in food & beverage world.

It offers pocket friendly deals for all verity of consumers. Price range starts from Rs 10 to Rs 200 to Rs 500 varying in all possible aspects- veg or non-veg, starters to complete meal. In country like India, where there is no end for the street food items, menu changes at every 5 km providing infinity varieties to please the customer with budget friendly meals.

In comparison to street food, Food truck foods & services are observed more hygienic & better option because of many reasons like use of disposable cutlery, moveable structure which makes it easier to maintain & clean, set up is similar to restaurant so it can offer better nutritional quality in food as compared to street food, etc.

When it comes to take risk in business, this model is superior than regular startup restaurant with low risk factor. Restaurants are bounded with location, whereas, the food trucks are flexible. Location plays a major role in success of food & beverage outlet as it generates major footfall. This concept works on low price quality food so quantity sale is required to generate maximum revenue where location plays a major role.

Its mobility feature also works as marketing tool to create brand of own product & provides flexibility in operation like shifting from regular sale to being part of larger event as secondary source or certain part of menu & many more where the imagination of person takes.

They are also flexible in terms of modification of structures (menu engineering, service management, product designing & exploration of new products) as well as expansion of concept (product or business). As compared to regular restaurant, its dynamics are more versatile & adaptable to changes over time because of small set up, limited equipments & staff.

This has become the best platform for the new entrant in food & beverage industry, it allows having better control and more flexibility. This is seemingly the best avenue for first-time entrepreneurs since they can research, and experiment with their model before they venture into establishing a sit-down restaurant with high investments and risks. After gaining a comprehensive knowledge, one can then dive into a conclusion about what would work the best for their sit-down restaurant. The future of food trucks seems to move high on the profit graph in developing India.

Getting the Most Nutrition in the Food You Eat

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One of the simplest and best ways to get good nutrition from fruits and vegetables is to cook them less. Fresh vegetables tend to have more of their nutrients still intact. But the distance they have traveled since they were picked can cause the nutrients to diminish. According to my local Agricultural County Extension Office just 6 hours after a fruit or vegetable is picked ½ the vitamins are gone.

Something similar happens to plant enzymes. In fact people are so unlikely to come in contact with actual plant enzymes in food they might experience temporary stomach upset if they actually encounter something fresh enough to have them. It is unlikely any plant enzymes would actually be in food you buy from a grocer.

You would probably only get the full compliment of vitamins and plant enzymes if you grow and pick and prepare the foods yourself. So a fresh fruit or vegetable that has traveled a long way is losing nutrients in every mile traveled. But there are other issues that diminish the amount of vitamins and other nutrients that are available to consumers.

Cooking also diminishes available nutrients in food. For example foods that are canned are often cooked at least twice, once in the canning process and again when you heat it for your table. And each time you lose a few nutrients. Generally only tomatoes and beans retain significant nutrients in cans.

Freezing may preserve nutrients better than some fresh foods that have traveled a long way. Frozen vegetables are usually processed quickly after picking. They are not cooked as long as canned vegetables and fruits and their flavor is superior to canned things. The way you prepare foods at home matters, too. Shorter cooking times can preserve vitamins and other nutrients.

Broccoli can be really disgusting when it’s overcooked. Chopped broccoli cooked 2 minutes in the microwave is cooked enough and really good. It is also good raw, far better than the overcooked stuff that often appears on plates. Best of all you get better nutrition.

And most fruits and vegetables are the same, especially the ones that get a strong taste with overcooking. Turnips, carrots, rutabagas and beets are lovely, sweet treats shredded and served raw on the side with lean fish, crab or shrimp. But overcooking makes them totally different and unappetizing.

Many fast foods and convenience foods are less nutritious than other fresher options. They have a lot of refined flour, very little fruits and vegetables, a lot of salt and sugar to extend shelf life and help preserve the food. They are very bad for people with diabetes, heart disease and high blood pressure.

Many pregnant women are told by their obstetricians not to eat this kind of food because of high blood pressure. For example, chicken that is prepared and fried or roasted in fast food restaurants is usually soaked in salty water, increasing the salt content in the food to dangerous levels.

These preserved foods are common in school lunches, too.

Foods that have been irradiated have no vitamins or plant enzymes that survive the process, again according to my local Agricultural County Extension Service. We need to insist on knowing whether this has been done to foods, because a product that is supposed to be food is also supposed to be nutritious.

Good vegetables and fruits served raw or lightly cooked taste great and have more nutrients. They actually qualify as real food. Finding food that has nutrients intact can be a real challenge. But it is worth the trouble if you and yours are getting the nutrients you need to be healthy and perform optimally.

A little garden can also make your total food intake more nourishing. Herbs can be grown on a sunny windowsill and make your food much healthy and yummy. Do everything you can to make the food you eat better quality. If you are overweight and constantly craving things to eat you need to take a close look at the quality of the food you are buying. Food, by definition is supposed to nourish the body, not make it fat and sick.