The Kitchen Queen
Kitchen area cleaning is of utmost importance, especially in 5-star hotels that are expected to be 5-star in food hygiene ratings. These hotels have a conscientious customer base, and so cleanliness tops the priorities list. “This has a lot to do with how hygienically the food is prepared, cooked, cooled stored and if required reheated,” avers Kamini Jha, Chef De Partie-The Oberoi Group, Dubai.
Cooking delicious and appetising food is just a small part of a culinary artist’s goal. The bigger goal is retaining hygiene throughout the process. “When it comes to hygiene, there can be no cutting corners. We as chefs are responsible for ensuring the highest of standards across all of our offerings – right from the point raw ingredients enter the hotel till the time cooked food is served to our guests – all the set standards of hygiene & cleanliness are strictly followed.”
This does not come easy. Perfecting each and every step in kitchen needs enormous training. “The hotel management has to spend a lot of money to train all their chefs and make sure they all get certified on food safety standards by the respective municipalities.” Women, who rule kitchen at their homes are seldom found in the “cooking business”. Why this disparity? “I think there is a difference between the cooking at hotel and cooking at home. Cooking athotels require a lot of physical strength, especially while working in the hot kitchens.”
Tackling Criticism
“In the very beginning of my career, I was assigned to work in Tandoor section with all men around. Couple of my colleagues in my department were not happy, thinking that being a girl I would not be able to survive the heat. They even went to the chef showing their concern for the same. Being a strong believer in action, I wanted to prove them wrong through my work. Thanks to all the criticism made then! Today, I am regarded as tandoor specialist. The criticism helped me emerge stronger while achieving what I wanted.”
Growing Opportunities…
“I think the status of women in India has been subject to great many changes, and for the past few years it has been eventful. In modern India, women have proven themselves and can work in any area without restrictions like previous times.
With changing role of women, another core area that is fast witnessing changes in India is cleanliness. The Prime Minister’s initiative and plan of action, are appreciated but cleanliness should come from the heart and people must think twice before littering in public places.
Dedicated Approach to Community Development
“Cleaning activities at PVR is not just confined to the housekeeping department, but to the PVR Nest establishment. It has become a participative routine for all ranks, ensuring a clean PVR multiplex inside and a clean PVR campus for a healthy India,” says Deepa Menon, Senior Vice President, CSR, PVR Ltd.
Wi
th an earnest attempt to provide the cleanest cinema chain in india, PVR adopted the Swachha PVR Drive/Clean PVR Campaign across all its properties. The 45-day campaign,
kick started from January 20, is a pan India campaign which is conducted across 44 cities with an inclusion of approximately 3000 PVR staff in all 104 multiplexes.
The campaign witnessed the enthusiastic PVR staff taking part in cleaning with brooms and mops to make the surroundings cleaner and healthier. The activity was carried out at Elante mall (Chandigarh), MBD mall (Jalandhar) and Silver Arc mall (Ludhiana) of Punjab.
The campaign stands as one of the strongest forums that brings the PVR staff together to engage, motivate, appreciate and celebrate the spirit of cleanliness. The campaign would also see a special felicitation and award session. Every day, the best performing PVR staff is awarded as “Aajka hero” after a complete analysis of the multiplex campus.
