As F&B Partners, we understand the importance of collaboration and partnership in bringing your vision to life
ES. Can you tell us about your background and what motivated you to establish your company?
Manvir Singh Anand. I started my Career as a Management Consulting working across multiple geographies and assignments doing Risk Advisory for multiple Fortune 500 Companies. In the process of finding the right purpose and pursuit of being an entrepeneur, I found my calling in founding one of India’s first Midnight Delivery Cloud Kitchen which became an instant success and was acquired by an accredited investor way back in 2013. Soon, I realized that the intersection between the F&B and Events industry was my calling. I enrolled for my Chef School and Trained at the best facilities across India and UK. That led to the inception and founding stone of Knight Gourmet – where we have built a state of the art and cutting edge Integrated Event Hospitality Solutions for Event & Exhibition companies Pan India. We have successfully catered over 2000+ PM-CM Protocol Events, Global Sporting Events and Exhibitions in last 7 years.
ES. What is the unique selling proposition or specialty that sets your catering business apart from others? How do you approach menu customization to meet the specific needs and preferences of your clients?
Manvir Singh Anand. First of all we are not a traditional Catering Company. What differentiates us the most is that – we are Chef and Technology-Led Business and not just another commercial business. There is a differentiation in how we consider “EXPERIENCE” to be at the core of any successful event curation not only for the Exhibition Organizer but also for all stakeholders. It is crucial to the success of any Event/Exhibition IP. Understanding those elements, we take special emphasis in incorporating Regional Elements in menu planning to brand collaborations in Food Court Curation to seamless cashless experience for exhibition guests very seriously.
We have gone a step ahead and incorporate Live Pop up Fine Dine Restaurants besides the “traditional food court”, curate Private Wine & Cheese Tasting along with Culinary Sessions etc. to make the “experience” more immersive, besides adding menus which cater to guests with any dietary restrictions including Gluten Free, Keto, Vegan etc.
ES. Can you describe your process for planning and executing a successful catering for an event, from initial contact with a client to the day of the event?
Manvir Singh Anand. We follow a 7 Step approach as part of our order to execution process which starts of with detailed briefing, consultation followed by menu planning and tasting to understand the pallete and give comfort on expectation setting. This is followed by a detailed logistics and inventory planning – which on event day becomes critical. Especially in an exhibition setup with floating crowd – in unusual circumstances, one can have an exhibitor or visitor lounge exceed its expected number of pax by two or three times, hence pre-event preparation along with logistics planning becomes the very backbone. Followed by Event Day Execution – besides quality food and immaculate service, it’s all about the “TIME” – timely execution is one of the most underrated skill of an F&B Services Company. Lastly, no event is finished without post-event clean-up and sustainable waste disposable followed by credible feedback to explore improvements for future events.
ES. What challenges have you faced in this industry, and how have you overcome them?
Manvir Singh Anand. The most challenging aspect of Events & Exhibitions industry is the timelines given to close projects. We take pride in being able to execute 1500-2000 pax conferences at a notice of less than 36 hours but what we collectively as an industry should work towards is timely closures and set timelines for execution. It will help each stakeholder enhance the experience even more.
ES. How do you go about building and maintaining a strong and talented team in the culinary industry?
Manvir Singh Anand. The irony of being in the hospitality business is that it’s a teamsport never a one man show. Hence, staffing and talent is the very foundation on which our Company thrives. We have staff working with us since inception who are experience continuous progress and holistic growth across all facets. As we are now present in 4 cities and are building further presence across cities pan india, its imperative to have clearly defined job roles and training mechanism on a fortnight basis, so the team is equipped with best practices across the industry.
ES. What future plans or expansions do you have in mind for your catering company? Can you name some of your key clients?
Manvir Singh Anand. In a span of 7 years, we have grown exponentially despite the COVID hitting us – we have been able to build execution capability across 3 continents, 12 States, 36 cities have served over 1.75 million patrons across the country. We have physical presence across Mumbai, Bangalore and Chennai, with headquarters at New Delhi. Some of the major Events we have catered for includes – Indian Premier League, IIFA Awards, Amazon SMBhav, Veer Baal Diwas by MoC, Acetech, Bridal Asia etc. Our clients include agencies like Wizcraft, CS Direkt, Showtime, DNA Networks, Phase 1 etc. Besides, we are most recently, empanelled with Bengaluru International Exhibition Centre and are collaborating with multiple other exhibition venues across the country.
ES. Can you provide insights into some of the trends or innovations in catering that you’ve embraced or are considering for the future?
Manvir Singh Anand. We always say this internally, At Knight Gourmet – Creativity is synonymous with innovation and keeping in mind the demanding and well travelled exhibitors as well as attendees we are curating multiple new initiatives to ensure we cater to every palate – We are incorporating multiple sustainable Practices, such as sourcing locally, reducing food waste, and using compostable or reusable packaging. Sustainability is increasingly important to our clients and aligns with broader environmental concerns. Further, we are collaborating with multiple Master Chefs to incorporate curated Gala Dinners, so we serve are guests Michelin starred experiences from the comfort of their event.
We are heavily integrating technology in our ordering and planning tools to ensure we have a seamless event experience. We have recently started Cashless Food court systems to ensure transactions can happening even in a non-Wi-Fi environment. Lastly, we are leveraging data analytics to gather insights on customer preferences, track inventory, and optimize menu offerings is becoming more common, allowing us to make data-driven decisions.
ES. Any message that you would like to share with the industry?
Manvir Singh Anand. Yes – especially to Exhibitions and Events Industry Colleagues – Your commitment to creating exceptional events and exhibitions is the foundation upon which memorable experiences are built. As F&B Partners, we understand the importance of collaboration and partnership in bringing your vision to life.Your meticulous planning, attention to detail, and dedication to providing a platform for innovation and connection are truly commendable. We value the opportunity to be part of your events, and would always look at COLLABORATION over in terms of being true partners as a binding force between both stakeholders. Effective communication is key to ensuring a seamless collaboration between caterers and event organizers. The more we understand your event’s theme, goals, and logistical needs, the better we can tailor our services to complement your vision. Together, we can create memorable moments that leave a lasting impression on our exhibitors and attendees.
