Cooking equipment manufacturers see demand soaring from hospitality sector, industrial caterers

Chennai: India's hospitality sector and industrial caterers are rushing to cooking equipment manufacturers to keep their kitchens running. The manufacturers are flooded with calls demanding a range of induction cooking equipment including fryers, hot plates, and four-burner induction cooktops, besides firewood boilers, in the wake of a shortage of LPG for commercial purposes.C Shiva Chandran, Managing Director of Coimbatore-based Chandran Steels, said a leading chain of malls in India, which also runs kitchens across its outlets, approached the company to purchase all available induction products directly from its factory. "This is required for their bulk kitchens across the country. Other categories such as restaurants and industrial caterers are looking at immediate purchase and installation. The product category ranges from induction hot plates (an alternative to dosa tawas) to Chinese woks. Small restaurants are looking for rice steamers and flat-bottom vessels (used for making sambar)," he told TOI.The manufacturer had launched India's first indigenously developed combi oven (6-, 12- and 20-tray variants) a few years ago. "The demand for induction equipment is higher compared with electric. For instance, a certain quantity of water that takes about 15 minutes to boil on electric equipment will take just a couple of minutes on induction," he added.P Lal Ahamed Khan, MD of Chennai-based PKR Equipments, said bratt pans used to prepare gravy, mixers with a capacity of 100 litres, boiling pans and single induction ranges are in high demand. "We have been getting continuous enquiries for the past three days, including from star-category hotels. Our potential clients, who were earlier contemplating placing orders, are now pushing for supply," he said. The manufacturers' pavilion at the ongoing AAHAR — an international food and hospitality fair — in Delhi has drawn considerable attention for induction products from the industry, he added.According to TRA Research, the broader commercial kitchen equipment market in India, which includes cooking, refrigeration, preparation and holding equipment, is estimated to be around $8.5 billion, roughly Rs 72,000 crore. "The current LPG shortage could act as a crucial trigger for a broader shift towards induction and electric cooking in institutional kitchens, especially for boiling, bulk cooking and holding applications," said its CEO N Chandramouli.M S M Thangavelu, founder and president of Coimbatore Kitchen Equipment Manufacturers Association, who is also the MD of Sabari Kitchen, said the demand for firewood boilers has picked up over the past two days. "It is installed with a chimney in the kitchen," he added.