Middle East conflict: Kolkata restaurants scramble as commercial LPG supply dries up

KOLKATA: A city eatery chain has shut one of its popular restaurants and a café in south Kolkata after its LPG supply ran dry. Bread major Modern Foods and confectioner Mio Amore have switched to diesel, which has hiked their production cost by 25%.

Biryani biggie Arsalan is considering switching to coal-fired ovens in the suburbs, and Wow! Momo is planning to shift production to its base in Delhi, which is powered by LNG.Eateries in Kolkata were scrambling to put together a survival strategy on Tuesday after LPG dealers expressed their inability to supply commercial cylinders from Wednesday. Most curtailed menus or restricted hours and were contemplating a shutdown once their LPG stocks ran out.

Top sources in oil marketing companies told TOI they have stopped production of commercial LPG for non-regulated sector. “Whatever stock is left with dealers can be given to restaurants and hotels,” an official said. Distributors said they are left with only about a day’s stock of 19.5kg cylinders.While popular restaurants like Peter Cat, Mocambo, Bar B Q and Arslan require about 250 LPG cylinders of 19.5kg a month, even smaller eateries require at least 30 cylinders every month.Both National Restaurant Association of India (NRAI) and Hotel and Restaurant Association of Eastern India (HRAEI) have written to petroleum minister Hardeep Singh Puri urging the ministry to reconsider the decision to suspend commercial supply.

Sudesh Poddar, president of HRAEI, said the hospitality and food service industry will collapse if LPG supply to it is cut off. “The industry relies heavily on commercial LPG for day-to-day operations. Any disruption or curtailment in supply will have severe operational impact,” he said. NRAI president (national) Sagar Daryani echoed the sentiment. “We understand the need to rationalise supply, but if it is completely stopped, that will mean closures,” he warned.Rajib Paul, owner of Bawarchi group, said he was forced to shut Posto Rajbari restaurant in Patuli, Nest Café in Jadavpur and Sundir Raja kitchen. “The situation is extremely bleak. Although induction cookers are being used to prepare a curtailed menu, we had to send some employees on leave,” he said. Other eateries are either curtailing menu or restricting hours or contemplating a shutdown.Restaurateurs says a total switch to electric is impossible.

“We are boiling water in electric kettle and doing smaller portions during off-peak hours on electric cookers. But bulk cooking will not be possible on electric. We will have to redo the kitchen, order commercial electric cooking equipment and apply for additional electricity load. That could take weeks,” said Pratap Daryanani of Oasis.Mughlai joints are urging govt to temporarily allow the use of coal-fired tandoors and ovens, which are not allowed within city limits, to tide over the crisis.

Arsalan, which serves nearly 10,000 plates of biryani daily from its 12 outlets, is considering preparing dishes in Barrackpore, Sodepur and Barasat and then transporting it to outlets in Kolkata. “We require 60-70 commercial LPG cylinders per day.The bulk distributor told us it will not be able to make any supply from Wednesday. We are currently looking at alternatives,” said Syed Mozammal Haque of Arsalan.Nitin Kothari, owner of Peter Cat and Mocambo, said the shift to coal tandoors may be an option, but coal ovens are not suitable for all dishes.

“The situation is grim. If LPG supply stops completely, we will have to restrict timing and menu and operate on electricity,” he said.Poddar, who owns Song Hay, Manthan and MS Bar and Lounge, said he has already asked chefs to use electric cookers during lean hours. “Switching to electric in a commercial kitchen is not easy as we require heavy-duty, high-intensity induction cooktops,” he said.Sushanta Sengupta, founder director, Savourites (6 Ballygunge Place), added that this LPG crisis is going to affect the restaurant business very badly. “We already started feeling its impact over the past 2 days. Whatever orders we place with our vendors, we are receiving barely 50% of the quantity requested. Not only restaurants, bakeries and confectioneries will also take a hit.While local bread units use diesel ovens, confectionery chain Mio Amore too plans to shift to diesel to continue operations, its official Abhijit Chakraborty said.