The government is working to regulate and reduce the portion of food offered in star hotels and restaurants to reduce wastage of food. Is that a good idea?

It seems the portion of food that you have been having in restaurants aren’t keeping the government happy. Following a concern about food wastage that Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed in his popular radio programme, Mann Ki Baat, the NDA government seems to be preparing to fix portion sizes of dishes served by star hotels and restaurants. Ministers of consumer affairs, food and public distribution, Ram Vilas Paswan reportedly said, “If a person can eat only two prawns, why should he or she be served six? If a person eats two idlis, why serve four! It’s wastage of food and also money people pay for something that they don’t eat.” However, it seems not many are happy about the developments, especially the business insiders. City-based restaurateurs give us a lowdown on the reasonability of the ideas and its consequences.

Ansh Seth, Co-Founder, Brewbot eatery & pub brewery
Firstly, it is very unfortunate that the govt feels it needs to interfere with eating habits of people, be it eating beef, consuming liquor or now “portion control”.

Indian diners have always been used to the “sharing concept” when it comes to food (think butter chicken or Palak paneer).

But for the sake of argument, let’s consider the option of portion control.

By doing this, restaurants might be able to price the dish cheaper but the customer might find the portion too small.

Secondly, the number of dishes ordered would be more, thus making the meal more expensive than the previous model.

Lastly, for the consequences of the move, as mentioned above, establishments as well as people might not be thrilled about the idea of portion control simply because it would start to feel as too much of an imposition by the govt regarding food/eating habits.

Nishant Joshi, Founder, Zoobar:
All dishes have different specifications and are prepared in different ways. Most people are looking for a bigger portion size as the smaller portions don’t really fulfill one’s appetite. Often, restaurants serve tiny portions and charge a huge amount for the same. This not only leaves the guest unsatisfied but also burns a hole in the pocket as one needs to order more dishes. As far as the idea of being reasonable, the restaurateur would know how much to serve according to the dish and what the pricing is like.

The move will definitely affect the pricing. If the restaurant is serving larger portions and has to reduce the size, they will also have to reduce the price even if they are reasonably priced, as no guest will be ready to pay the same amount for smaller portions.

There are chances of food wastage being controlled. However, a lot of the patrons pack their leftovers and take it back. Reducing the portion’s size does not indicate the stopping of food wastage.

Dhanraj Shinde, Partner, Kaitlyn’s Beer Garden:
The portion size of the dishes completely depends on two things — the concept of the place and on the restaurant’s discretion. The servings depend upon the kind of audience that a restaurant caters to, be it a resto-bar or a family dining space. As far as reasonability of the idea is considered, food wastage occurs regardless, as a lot of food prepared in the kitchen does not sell and hence is wasted. The idea thus may not serve the purpose.

Restaurant overheads and other such factors come into play when deciding on the price of the dish. The prices of the dishes will have to increase as the quantities in which we will be purchasing the ingredients will decrease thus turning out to be more expensive for us.

The idea would be a responsible move only if the govt is thinking of increasing the prices of food being served at restaurants. The move will not make the required difference as maximum food wastage occurs in the kitchen.

Dilip Datwani, President, Hotel and Restaurant Association (Western India):
This idea is not all reasonable. Today  when everything is so expensive, nobody wastes food. This move would affect the pricing and make food more expensive for the consumer. In making small portions, the element of wastage of energy and fuel would be incurred. In fact, restaurants and hotels nowadays have a tie up with NGOs who pickup the excess food and distribute them among the poor and needy — this is to prevent wastage in a positive way.

Niranjan Shetty, Chairman, Ahaar: The government cannot regulate food portions served by hotels and restaurants. We already mention portions and every restaurant has its own design when it comes to serving food. Government cannot decide whether I want to put one carrot or half a carrot in a dish.