Five-star hotels offer home deliveries for the gourmet diner

If you are dreaming of stir-fried prawns in chilli pepper sauce or garlic herb chicken tossed in smoked butter or a golden lemon meringue pie, why not treat yourself to a five-star lunch this weekend?

Many five-star hotels are offering home deliveries during the COVID-19 lockdown, so if you have a special event coming up at home, or if you want to treat yourself to some luxurious fare for a change, you have a world of options that have opened up for you.

Across the country, five-star hotels have been doing their bit to lend their support during the lockdown. Some hotels like the Taj West End are distributing meals to medical staff in Victoria Hospital in Bengaluru and ITC Gardenia is sending 1000 food packets daily for 15 days to the Municipal Corporation. In New Delhi, ITC Maurya and Sheraton have been providing over 1500 meals daily for distribution to migrant workers while in Mumbai, ITC Grand Central has made arrangements to deliver meals to doctors in various hospitals.

Besides these initiatives, five-star hotels in many cities are also delivering food to homes from their in-house restaurants.

Hampers for a feast

The Taj Group of Hotels is offering a variety of hampers – the Gourmet hamper, Bakery and Confectionery hamper and Wellness hamper. There are also takeaway services from two of Taj West End, Bengaluru’s iconic restaurants – Blue Ginger and Masala Klub.

Keeping in mind the importance of overall health and wellness during these times, customers can also now cook their favorite meals using the finest of gourmet products and binge on freshly baked breads and confectionery from Taj’s popular bakeries through their contactless takeaway options at its hotels.

An Easter menu

The Oberoi, Bengaluru is currently offering a special Easter Week home delivery menu. The Easter menu includes the staples of the festival, like Hot Cross Buns, Mini Babka cakes, Easter Ham, Stuffed Leg of Lamb, Alleppey Fish Curry, Chocolate Easter Eggs and much more. These items can be delivered to your home but only if it meets their minimum order requirements.

Happiness in a box

The Conrad Bengaluru has also launched home delivery services during this period.

“In these trying times, if there’s one thing that brings joy – it is food. We are delivering happiness in a box,” says Srijan Vadhera, General Manager, Conrad Bengaluru.

“A variety of world-cuisine favourites from Caraway Kitchen, our all-day dining restaurant and Indian specialities from Indian Durbar can be ordered. Highlights include Kozhi Varutha curry, Vegetable Makhanwala, Norwegian salmon steak, New Zealand lamb chops, Chapala Vepudu, Semiyan Payasam and the like. This is our first time in the home delivery space and we hope diners will enjoy delights from the Conrad kitchens. We remain positive that this will be well received by the audience.”

Food on wheels

The InterContinental Chennai, Mahabalipuram is also offering home deliveries. Says Anand Nair, General Manager. “With the lockdown in place, most people aren’t able to leave their homes. Our patrons include many ex-pat communities who have been finding it difficult to source ingredients, especially because their maids and chauffeurs have been requested to stay at home, so we felt that home deliveries were the need of the hour. With our programme, ‘Food on Wheels’, our patrons get to choose from selection of freshly baked breads, pizzas, pasta, western and continental mains, Indian curries as well as Asian and Chinese delicacies alongside select desserts.”

The menu at this hotel consists of fresh breads and select items from their restaurant, The Melting Pot. The food which reaches the guests is always healthy, hygienic and safe.

As for the price points, this hotel has reduced their prices by a large extent as they want their guests to savour their dishes from the comfort of their homes. “We will see how this pans out and post taking our guest’s feedback, we will consider adding more cuisines for our patrons,” adds Anand.

Delicious meal plans

The Park, Bengaluru's home delivery menu is on display on its Facebook page. You can choose a weekly vegetarian or non-vegetarian meal package or a daily meal plan.

Each meal includes a salad which is usually a platter of tossed greens, starters like sabzi tikki or onion pakora, a main course with items like paneer masala or aloo bhindi bhaaji and finally, desserts like malpua, firni or gulab jamun. The home deliveries are done upto a 3km radius from the hotel.

Pasta, bakes, burgers, and more

The JW Marriott, Pune has also started home deliveries.

"With residents of the city currently practising social distancing, we are delivering food to our loyal patrons right at their doorstep. It is our endeavour to see our patrons enjoy all varieties of cuisines," says Vimal Verma, Director of Operations at JW Marriott Pune

The menu includes handpicked delectables from JW Marriott Pune’s signature restaurants like Paasha that serves North Indian dishes like Dal Paasha, Mutton Rogan Josh, Biryani, Kathi Roll.

On the other hand, you can also enjoy the best of Italian pizza like Porcini, Toscana and pasta at Alto Vino while Spice Kitchen offers Chinese and Asian cuisine that includes Chilli Chicken, Chilli Paneer, Fried Basil Chicken, along with a wide variety of salads, burgers, and biryani.

Lastly, the hotel also offers a wide selection of bread, baked goods, confectionery, and desserts from the Pune Baking Company.

"Price points are affordable for our guests as we want as many Puneites to relish our delectable cuisine. The response from our patrons has been nothing but phenomenal," adds Vimal.

Looks like, five-star culinary experiences are just a phone call away.