Putting his cards on the dining table

Raza Abbas on venturing into the food industry and myopic view of running restaurants in Pakistan

ISLAMABAD:

Food and hospitality consultant Raza Abbas is unsurprisingly a foodie. When talking about food, the glint in his eyes reflects the big dreams he has for the food industry in Pakistan. A leading light for many, who wish to pursue their dream of becoming a food-service consultant in the country, the chef, food blogger and soon-to-be restaurant owner, shares his journey of how he stumbled upon pursuing this field and the myopic view of running restaurants prevailing in the country.

Having extensive experience with restaurateurs in Islamabad and Lahore, Raza is now opening an eatery that will serve Pakistani cuisine in Dubai. The consultant recently took part in and bagged the second prize at a cooking competition there, where semi-professional and professional chefs from different countries participated. He’s currently writing a cook book and working on launching his food blog.

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Born and raised in Lahore, the now 26-year-old Raza recalls pointing out directions to his favourite restaurant, which was located at a 30-minute distance from his home, when he was only three. By the age of 12, he had tried and tested almost all kinds of cuisines.

Raza grew up like most children in Pakistan. He attended school and college in Lahore, but things took a rough turn when he lost his father to a tragic accident when he was 18. He knew he had no choice but to find a job to finance his education. He started working at his aunt’s restaurant in Lahore. “I spent my initial days washing dishes in a 110-degree kitchen,” he says laughing.

He worked at the restaurant for about four years, quickly learning the ropes of the business, and was soon appointed as the head chef. “I paid for my undergraduate education in Accounting and Finance during this time, but soon realised that I didn’t want to spend my life working as an accountant,” he shares.

What Raza accidentally stumbled upon became his passion and led him to pursue a degree in Thai cuisine at Blue Elephant in Thailand. “Once I moved back to Pakistan, I got in touch with local restaurateurs and businessmen to raise awareness about food and hospitality consultants, and their role in making a food business successful,” explains Raza.

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They say that a food consultant is to a restaurant what an architect is to a building. “We deal with the budgeting, menu design, tabletop design, décor and chef training,” he shares. Speaking about setting up a successful business venture, Raza states, “The reason why most restaurants fail, despite heavy investments, is that they overlook the importance of an expert, who is needed to develop faster and easier workflows with the staff, train the chefs, and make the space different from other food joints operating in the country.”



Raza laments the loopholes in the local food industry, urging the need to address them. “The main issue is that businessmen in Pakistan invest in restaurants, which have a great ambience, and hire a competitor’s chef, but still fail to provide quality food with consistency,” he points out.

Restaurant owners have just recently begun to realise the importance of having a customised menu that offers dishes, designed exclusively for them by a food consultant. It’s otherwise common for food businesses to duplicate items off the menus of successful restaurants in the hopes of receiving the same response from customers. Raza feels it’s better for businesses to carve their unique identity and recognise that, by providing good food and service, customers will respond positively to their offerings.

“The only piece of advice I’d like to give to aspiring food consultants is that they shouldn’t hesitate to start from scratch. Washing dishes and mopping floors will help you understand how a restaurant business works,” he suggests. “It’s critical to take into consideration the market you’re operating in, adapt yourself to changing industry trends, while maintaining a unique element in your work.”

Published in The Express Tribune, August 1^st,  2015.

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