Restaurants adapt to LPG shortage as West Asia war turns up the heat

Panaji: The acute shortage of LPG cylinders triggered by the Iran conflict has driven chefs across Goa to dust off their wood-burning hearths, trim their menus to the bone, and pray that the crisis flames out before their gas supply runs out.Refusing to give up, Goa’s food and beverage industry adapted to “over the flames” dining, offering a rustic and smoky version of their delicacies. This meant charcoal-fired barbecues and firewood for traditional stone ‘chuls’.“Everyone had LPG gas stock for 7-8 days. In Assagao, we are cooking prawn curry and xacuti on open wood fires to save on gas,” said Amey Naik, co-founder, Peep Kitchen and Avo’s Kitchen.Restaurateurs said that the curbs on commercial LPG cylinders came as a surprise to them.

Even though chief minister Pramod Sawant intervened with LPG suppliers, there was no clarity on the resumption of commercial gas for hotels and restaurants.Mama Miso put out a message to their patrons saying that, due to the conflict in West Asia and the temporary shortage of LPG across the country, they have decided to trim their culinary offerings.“We are presently operating with a limited menu. Many of our favourites are still available, and we look forward to bringing back our full menu very soon,” said the management.

Peep’s Kitchen said that they learnt to adapt to the LPG shortage in Goa. They curated a temporary menu with a selection of favourite dishes, or the most ordered dishes, until things got back to normal.“In Candolim, a few restaurants adapted their menu to cook over fire or induction. I’ve only heard of one restaurant closing. It closed for breakfast and lunch, so it could open for dinner,” said Carol Thomas, a British woman from Northampton.Menus were trimmed to 16 dishes or fewer, with a heavy tilt towards tandoor, bulk cooking, and dishes that could be rustled up quickly on electric induction cooktops. Many hotels and restaurants turned to induction cooktops, but even there, they got their fingers burnt.The 3.5kW and 5kW commercial electric induction cooktops shot up from Rs 13,000 to 20,000 in just three days for the 3.5kW model. Eateries said that they had no choice but to purchase the induction cooktops at a higher price, even though the use case might be for just a fortnight or less.“The rates of the induction cooktops also increased. With no LPG, it is a problem. Some restaurants shut down. If you use firewood to boil water or cook food, the smoky smell remains,” said Cruz Cardozo, president, shack owners’ welfare society.Naik agreed. “For Indian and Goan dishes, you cannot get the same flavour that you get when you cook on an open flame. You need the open flame to get the right taste,” said Naik. “Right now, we are offering a limited menu.

We are cooking in bulk… dishes like biryani, butter chicken, and xacuti, and then reheating on the induction when a portion is ordered.”Aside from the gas shortage and the spike in electric induction cooktop prices, eateries faced another worrying ingredient to digest: employees. “If you let the staff go home, after spending time and money training them, there is no guarantee that they will return. With that fear, we just have to absorb the losses,” said Naik.