What are the different types of hospitality jobs in Nepal?

The hospitality industry is growing in Nepal with the introduction of new luxury hotels and restaurants. Investors are eagerly involved in the construction of five-star luxury hotels at various corners of the country.

Nepal is a country with huge scope in the hospitality and tourism industry. With that, the job opportunities in the hospitality industry are also increasing day by day. You must be wondering what kind of jobs are feasible for this industry. 

Well, there are lots of areas to work and build a career in the hospitality field. Let’s explore the different types of hospitality jobs in Nepal with their scopes.

Various Hospitality Jobs in Nepal

Chef

A chef is a professional person who specializes in cooking and is masterful in all aspects of food preparation. The word ‘Chef’ is originated from the term ‘chef de cuisine’ which represents the director or head of a kitchen.

People often confuse a chef and a cook thinking both the jobs are the same. Though both the jobs relate to food preparation, the responsibilities differ.

A chef is a highly-trained professional capable of understanding flavours, producing new recipes from scratch, optimizing cooking techniques and acting as a highly responsible individual within a kitchen. On the other hand, a cook is a person who just follows the recipes to prepare desired food.

Chef is also categorized into various sub-categories that include:

Executive Chef

Sous Chef

Senior Chef

Pastry Chef

Sauce Chef

Pantry Chef

Roast Chef

Fish Chef

Vegetable Chef and much more…

There is a good demand for chefs in Nepal as you can easily find vacancies in various hotels, restaurants, resorts and other hospitality areas.

Hotel/Restaurant Manager

A Hotel/Restaurant Manager is a person whose responsibility is to ensure every service is running smoothly in a hotel or a restaurant. The key role includes managing staff, interacting with valued guests, handling overall operations, overseeing finances and much more.

To become a hotel or a restaurant manager, you need to have ample experience as well as good educational achievement in hotel management courses. The majority of hotels and restaurants require their manager to possess strong business skills, interpersonal skills, communication skills, problem-solving skills and overall management skills.

The Hotel/Restaurant manager is responsible for operating the business in an efficient manner. They need to focus on every aspect including finances, operations, staff handling and so on.

The scope of a hotel or a restaurant manager in Nepal is pretty good however, the vacancies don’t arrive in large numbers. If you are planning to build your career as a manager, you need to first start with a ground-level position and eventually reach the managerial level after gaining ample experience.

Concierge

A concierge is an individual whose role is to interact with guests directly to provide them with various services as per the requirement. This type of job is mainly available in five-star luxury hotels and resorts.

A concierge acts as per the demand of guests, patrons, employees, or tenants with personal services like offering suggestions for events, managing transportation, making dinner and tour reservations, making theatre reservations and so on.

The key requirement for the concierge position is problem-solving capabilities and good communication skills. This job is taken as an entry-level position at some hotels however, five-star luxury hotels require a good amount of hospitality exposure. 

In Nepal, five-star luxury hotels like The Malla Hotel, Hotel Shangri-La and others offer Concierge services to their valued customers. You can join these hotels as a Concierge but make sure you have the required qualities and experience in the hospitality industry.

Event Manager

The majority of hotels and restaurants feature conference rooms, meeting areas, event spaces, halls and other infrastructures to host events, ceremonies, meetings, weddings and so on. Here is where the role of an Event Manager is required.

An event manager or a planner is a person who manages events to make them successful. He or she must ensure everything required for an event is fulfilled. It is like preparing everything precisely in the backend to produce a fruitful result in the frontend.

Key responsibilities of an event manager include:

Planning an event from the initial moment to the conclusion

Generating strategic ideas for an event

Planning target audience and key objectives

Overseeing the financial requirements

Negotiating with the sponsors

Managing logistics and event venues

Managing all the technologies required and much more…

Nepal is slowly moving towards western culture practising various international festivals, occasions and special events. Besides, people are more interested in celebrating their birthdays, anniversaries, weddings and other special moments with expensive programs.

With that, the scope for event managers is increasing. For instance, people in Nepal these days hire event managers for handling their wedding ceremonies.

Receptionist

A receptionist is an office or administrative level job which includes record-keeping, managing appointments, filing information and other office-level tasks. In addition, an individual working as a receptionist answer phone calls, provide information to the guests and welcome visitors.

The receptionists are often called front desk officers who are the first employee to come in contact with the public or guests. That’s why they are highly responsible for maintaining a good first impression of the hotel or the restaurant.

You need to have good written and verbal communication skills, customer service skills, multitasking capabilities, problem-solving skills, computer skills and various other skills to work as a receptionist.

The scope for receptionists in Nepal is good as there are ample hotels, restaurants and resorts operating currently with new ones arriving at a rapid pace.

If you fulfil all the key requirements, you can apply for receptionist jobs in various hotels and restaurants in Nepal.

Waiter/Waitress

Waiter/Waitress is the most demanding and common job in the hospitality industry. This job is inevitable and hotels/restaurants require it for smooth operation and customer satisfaction.

The key role of a waiter or a waitress is to greet and serve customers with quality service. He or she must provide detailed information on menus, offer suggestions for food, serve with care, collect bills and handle overall customer needs.

Waiter and Waitress are required to provide Food and Beverage service to the customers in accordance with the standards of the industry. Besides, they need to prepare tables, greet and escort customers, present the menu, inform customers about the day’s specials or chef’s specials, serve food and drinks with precision and much more.

The Waiter/Waitress job is the most demanding position in Nepal due to a large number of requirements in restaurants and hotels. For instance, a restaurant with 30 to 40 people capacity might require more than five waiters/waitresses for quick and smooth operation.

Housekeeper

Housekeeping is another demanding job in the hospitality industry that includes cleaning hotel rooms, bedding and laundry facilities. Other responsibilities include delivering items to guests’ rooms, carrying cleaning equipment and restocking supplies.

Housekeeping is physically demanding work that requires a housekeeper to clean an average of 10 to 14 rooms a day. Not only that, housekeepers are required to ensure a room is kept organized, clean and tidy.

Talking about the scope in Nepal, the housekeeping jobs are demanding due to the introduction of new hotels and restaurants.

Conclusion

The hospitality jobs in Nepal we discussed above are popular and demanding ones. Besides those areas, there are various other jobs in the industry ranging from low-level to the top-level.

There are lots of hotels, restaurants, resorts and other hospitality businesses operating in Nepal and new ones are also opening rapidly. The Coronavirus pandemic disrupted the hotel and tourism industry for a while but things are getting normal now.

As the businesses are slowly recovering from the pandemic phase, hospitality jobs are also developing. So, you can build your career in this industry for which you need to take some hospitality courses and build some experience.

Interior Decoration Concepts for Restaurants (Best Ideas)

Explore Interior Decoration Concepts for Restaurants

Restaurants today must be visually appealing otherwise customers refuse to visit. The ambience must be delightful, peaceful and must possess attractive decorations.

Due to the impact of social media, people prefer to post photos, videos and various other contents on their social media profiles. And particularly talking about restaurants, they love to click photos of foods and beautiful decorations in the vicinity.

Beautiful interior decorations illustrate the theme of a restaurant and help in attracting more customers. Besides, it ensures the neatness and healthy nature of the restaurant.

There are various interior decoration concepts for restaurants that include architecture, graphics, lightings, paintings, furniture and much more.

Here are the top elements of interior design and decorations for your restaurant.

Interior Decoration Concepts for Restaurants

Make your first-impression best

The interior of your restaurant must be designed in such a way that the first area where customers enter must be visually appealing, inviting and represent your brand.

The decorations must please the customers and lure them to visit time and again. You can use lavish furniture, paintings, wall decorations, lightings and other aesthetics as per the theme of your restaurant.

Define a theme for your restaurant

A beautiful theme is necessary for your restaurant because it provides ideas for interior decorations. A theme can be based upon the type of your restaurant, the specialization and your brand image.

You must have heard about One day 3D Art Restaurant in Kumaripati, Lalitpur. This restaurant is famous for decorating its interior with various 3D Arts. It is a multi-cuisine restaurant where people can enjoy varieties of dishes along with eye-catching 3D paintings on the walls.

This is how a restaurant theme is set up. You can also think of a theme for your restaurant and design and decorate the interior accordingly. 

You need to ensure the decorations are not overdone otherwise it will confuse your customers. Just keep it simple, elegant and natural!

Make use of indoor plants

There is merely anyone not loving the indoor plants. They enhance the beauty and create a peaceful ambience in your restaurant.

As per scientific research, indoor plants are proven mood-boosters known to eliminate stress and provide fresh air by reducing toxins. You can use green indoor plants to beautify the interior and provide your customers with a pleasing natural ambience.

There are various indoor plants available at the nurseries. You can use such plants on the floor, walls and also can hang them from the ceiling. To make the interior more attractive, you can use flowers also.

There is also a popular practice to use artificial grass, flowers and plants inside the restaurant. Such decorations look good and don’t require regular maintenance like that of natural plants. But if you want to offer a realistic experience, you can go for natural indoor plants.

Use your wall wisely

A wall in the interior section of your restaurant is a favourable place to show some illustrations. You can decorate the wall with paintings, wallpapers or keep it simple with normal colours.

A beautifully decorated wall can attract your customers and offer them a delightful experience. In addition, it provides you with the opportunity to represent the brand identity, image and theme of your restaurant.

There is a widespread use of wallpaper arts, textures, patterns and wall paintings in the interior section however, you can come up with unique ideas to stand out from others and provide newer experiences.

You need to always make sure the wall decorations are not messed up. Don’t include too many textures or paintings as it may disappoint or confuse your customers. Try to keep the styling simple and elegant.

Use attractive lightings

Lightings are another key factor influencing the interior decorations of your restaurant. A proper lighting setup on the interior section can make the environment pleasing.

You need to use interior lighting carefully so that, it highlights the brand image and makes important things visible.

There are various interior lighting setups available in the market. You will find hanging lights, wooden lamps, traditional lamps, led lights, halogen light bulbs and much more.

Lightings must be used in a proper manner otherwise they can create bad experiences. For instance, lights with higher brightness can overdo the interior decorations and also disturb the customers. Also, the use of cheap lights can degrade the brand image of your restaurant.

You must ensure the lights are correctly placed in the various sections. 

Make seatings comfortable

Comfortability is another important aspect to be taken care of. People prefer to eat foods by becoming comfortable and for that, the seatings arrangements must be comfy.

Tables, chairs, booths and other interior arrangements can make or break a dining experience. You need to use good quality furniture with restful designs.

Use restaurant technologies

Technologies have become prominent factors for enhancing the performance of a restaurant business. Taking orders, delivering service and paying has become faster than ever.

Modern restaurants use POS software, digital tables, online payment options, self-order kiosk menu, online delivery via mobile applications and various other forms of tech tools.

How technologies can make the interior of restaurants look better?

The digital tables, LED monitors, LED TVs on the wall and digital menu system makes your restaurant look better. Your restaurant can be fully digitalized with the use of technologies.

You need to check out Naulo Restaurant, the first-ever fully digitalized restaurant in South Asia. This is a restaurant located in Durbarmarg, Kathmandu where intelligent robots serve food for customers.

Once people place orders and dishes are ready, the robots developed with artificial intelligence pick up food from the kitchen and deliver it to the customer’s table. 

So, technologies can make the interior interactive and intelligent.

Conclusion

We came to know that designing and decorating the interior of your restaurant is highly important for captivating customers and enhancing the overall performance. For that, you can follow the major tips we discussed in the above section.

It is not that you have to follow the general ideas and practices to decorate the interior. You can come up with new, unique and mind-blowing concepts to outstand your competitors and attract more visitors.

Explore the important Restaurant Design Concepts

Are you searching for restaurant design concepts?

A good restaurant design can be finalized with proper planning, research and especially building unique concepts. There are lots of restaurants across the globe but very few of them stand out from each other. 

Talking about Nepal, we find the majority of restaurants with the same design concepts, food choices, ambience and other similar characteristics. 

Restaurant design concepts play a vital role in making your business unique, attracting more customers and enhancing the overall appearance. In that way, your restaurant stands out from your competitors and becomes more productive.

So, what is the restaurant design concept?

Well, the concept refers to the abstract ideas required to build working principles, thoughts and beliefs.

The restaurant design concept includes designing, structuring, remodelling, planning, execution tactics, strategies and various other aspects mandatory for the development of a restaurant business.

This design concept covers more areas including market research, competitor analysis, latest trends, financial modelling, branding, portfolio management, financial forecast, budget analysis and much more.

The restaurant design concept is important because one cannot just think about the restaurant and directly focus on the interior designs and architects. First of all, a good vision, plan and ideas are required to craft a visually appealing and proper restaurant business.

Here are the important things you need to consider for developing standard and effective restaurant design concepts.

Tips for your Restaurant Design Concepts

Keep an eye on your budget 

A budget is the pivotal aspect of every business. It decides how your restaurant looks, what would be the features, architectural design and overall infrastructure. So, proper allocation of budget is vital for developing restaurant design concepts.

As a restaurateur, you must closely analyze your budget and begin developing concepts wisely. Sometimes, you might also be required to compromise on certain things. In that case, you need to act intelligently to produce fruitful results.

Your budget will be spent on designing, branding, purchasing goods, decorations, marketing, staff hiring and training and so on. If you properly manage the amount on all these requirements, you will never run out of your allocated budget.

Focus on your brand image

If you are planning for long-term business in the restaurant industry, creating and maintaining brand image are necessary. 

You see some people like celebrities known for acting, behaving and having some unique characteristics. They are known to have some good personalities and are loved by audiences.

Likewise, a business can also develop a brand personality and create brand awareness among the public. 

While formulating restaurant design concepts, you can work on how to create the brand image, awareness and personality of your restaurant. In addition, you must also focus on defining and programming the personality of your brand.

Define Brand Promise

Brand promise refers to the value and experiences your company ensures to the valued customers every time they access your services. Such promise strengthens trust and loyalty between your restaurant and your customers.

It is said, “The more a company can deliver on the promise, the stronger the brand value in the mind of customers and employees.” 

For instance, Coca-Cola company has defined its brand promise as ‘to refresh the world in mind, body, and spirit, and inspire moments of optimism; to create value and make a difference.’ The company must ensure this promise is delivered to its customers otherwise negative feedbacks start flooding.

Brand promise encompasses what your customers or clients can expect from your company. Besides, it also captivates the customer’s emotional experiences.

That’s why you can’t neglect to define brand promises while producing restaurant design concepts.

Interior and Exterior Design Concepts

A good ambience is equally important as good food to your restaurant business. 

You might be serving the best quality foods but compromising on design aesthetics. Customers these days prefer to visit restaurants with attractive decorations and peaceful ambience so that they can take photos, videos and upload them on their social media profiles.

Besides, the beautiful interior and exterior designs and decorations of your restaurant please customers by offering delightful experiences. They become your frequent visitors also.

A unique interior and exterior design can make your restaurant stand out from your competitors. It enhances the overall performance and beauty of the restaurant.

So, make sure you research various design concepts and hire professional designers as well as seek help from hospitality consultants.

Prepare an alluring restaurant menu

After finishing the budget plan, personality ideas, brand promise and design concepts, it is now time for focusing on a restaurant menu. It is the most crucial asset for a restaurant business to run smoothly and successfully.

A restaurant menu illustrates what foods your restaurant serves, its prices, description and various other graphical representations. 

You need to ensure the food items listed on the menu are attractive and prices are mentioned clearly. Besides, the graphic design must be attractive as it must blend the characteristics and uniqueness of your restaurant with the fonts, typographies, images, language and so on.

While working on the restaurant design concept, you can develop ideas on what type of restaurant business you are planning. For example, you have options for fast-food restaurants, fine-dining restaurants, family-style restaurants, typical restaurants, specialized cuisine restaurants and much more.

Your menu can depend upon the type of restaurant you are planning to open. That’s why be aware of your choices and then generate ideas for menu design.

Know your staff selection

Staff selection is one of the important processes while initiating restaurant business. Most of the restaurants today fail to operate successfully due to inexperienced and incompetent employees.

That’s why you need to plan in advance to find and recruit the most appropriate employees including chefs, managers, waiters/waitresses, helpers, security personnel and various others.

For example, the main motive of your restaurant might be offering top-quality foods and services to customers. In that case, you require highly experienced and motivated chefs and kitchen staff for fulfilling the customers’ tastebuds.

Likewise, you need to deploy experienced waiters/waitresses to offer delightful serving experiences. 

The overall operation of your restaurant business is highly influenced by the performance of employees. A single disturbance in services can decline the overall performance and hence, degrade the quality of your restaurant.

So, you must know your staff selection while developing restaurant design concepts.

Conclusion

You can generate your own strategies to develop design concepts for your restaurant business. The tips we discussed above are the major ones which you mustn’t compromise.

The majority of restaurant operators fail to succeed due to compromising on design concepts. They directly dive into the business without market research, competitor analysis, financial management, profitability and so on. 

To prevent failure you need to carefully work on producing effective design concepts so that you can utilize your resources wisely.

What is a hospitality consultant service? Is it important?

Are you wondering what a hospitality consultant service is?

A hospitality consultant service is offered to initiate, optimize, renovate and succeed in hospitality-related businesses. These services are specialized for hotels, restaurants, resorts, lodges and various other hospitality products/services.

Such consultant services are provided by a team of highly professional and experienced individuals such as chefs, managers, financial advisors, designers and so on.

Hotels, restaurants and resorts hire professional consultant teams to run their business smoothly and generate ample revenue. This practice is eventually gaining momentum across the globe.

In the context of Nepal, the trend of seeking assistance from hospitality consultants is increasing due to which new companies are initiating their services.

Consultant services may be required for those wanting to enter into the hospitality industry or hotels/restaurants that are already operating. The newcomers might find difficulty in tackling various circumstances to open new hotels/resorts or restaurants so, they require assistance from the consultants.

Likewise, already operating hotels, restaurants and resorts need the help of consultants to optimize performance, handle overall operation and yield generous profit.

So, what are the key services provided by the hospitality consultant? Let’s find out below.

Hospitality consultants provide services as per the need and requirements of the hotel/restaurant/resort owners. The experienced team can assist in handling operations, managing complex tasks, financial operations and much more.

Here are some of the major services provided by the hospitality consultants:

Top Services provided by Hospitality Consultant Service Companies

Construction, Design and Layouting

Hospitality Consultants provide assistance for constructing a new hotel, restaurant or resort along with their layout and design. 

The team of consultants consist of designers who have experience in producing attractive exterior, interior and overall design. Your idea can turn into reality with the help of awesome professionals.

Sometimes you as a newcomer in the hospitality industry might find difficulty in decorating your hotel or restaurant to make it visually appealing. You may have an idea but don’t know how to execute it. In this scenario, hospitality consultants become your companion to fulfil your requirements and make your dream projects become a reality.

Operation Management

If you are running a hotel or a restaurant but are not satisfied with the performance, hospitality consultants can work out to optimize that. 

The degrading performance might result due to poor operational management including staff scarcity, low-quality service, low-quality foods, annoying ambience and much more. It can be a hectic task for you to manage all this chaos and reinstate the operation of your restaurant.

That’s why hospitality consultants can work effectively and smartly to optimize the overall performance and regain the momentum of your business.

You must be wondering how hospitality consultants can quickly recover the degrading performance of your business. Well, the consulting teams are well-educated, trained, and top-level advisors with years of experience in the hospitality industry.

Staff Recruiting and Training

For a hospitality business to run smoothly, it requires a well-trained and professional set of staff and employees. And in today’s time, it is too difficult to find the proper and skilled manpower for every business including the tourism and hospitality sectors.

This might be a concern for your hotel or restaurants too. But don’t worry, you can seek help from hospitality consultants who can hire the appropriate staff required for your business.

Hospitality consultant companies can easily recruit staff as they have good contact with hotel management institutes and other hospitality businesses. The staff chosen by consultants are trusted individuals who can perform exceptionally well in their areas.

Besides staff recruiting, hospitality consultants also provide training to your existing staff to optimize their performance. 

For instance, a highly-professional chef from the team of hospitality consultants can train your restaurant chef or cook to improve the quality and taste of the foods served. This in turn satisfies the customers and helps to grow the business. 

Financial Consulting

Finance is the most crucial factor when running any type of business. It is the deciding force that ensures whether your business is growing or declining. In the context of the hospitality industry, the financial operation is one of the challenging assignments.

As a non-financial person, you can have difficulty optimizing the financial performance of your business. This is where a finance consultant can work to produce a fruitful result.

Financial advisors hold the expertise to build financial models, generate new deals, produce financial reports, create regulatory compliance, create audit reports and much more. This service can boost the financial operation of your hotel, restaurant or resort.

Furthermore, financial consultants can help your business with accounting, bookkeeping, fractional accounting, financial feasibility studies, market analysis and various other finance-related services.

Technology Services

Technology is enhancing every business today with the introduction of artificial intelligence and various technological automation. Hotels, restaurants and resorts benefit from technology as it makes operation robust and quick. 

In addition, the implementation of various technology in hospitality businesses reduces manpower thus, encouraging a cost-cutting model.

Some popular technologies used in the hospitality industry includes reservation system, digital payment system, staff management system, order placement system, digital lock system and much more. 

Hospitality consultants can implement technology in your business by offering authentic software, hardware and other necessary requirements. They also train your staff to use the technology in an efficient manner. Furthermore, regular maintenance and up-gradation facility is also provided.

Marketing Services

Hospitality consultants may also provide marketing services for your hotel or restaurant. They can create various marketing strategies to grow the overall performance.

Consultants focus on physical as well as digital marketing campaigns to optimize revenue management strategies. They can create highly converting digital advertisements, promotions and offers to attract more customers.

Consultants are able to produce good conversion rates through marketing campaigns due to their expertise and years of experience. Plus, they run advertisements for targeted and potential audiences. 

The marketing team prepares all the strategies based on your allocated budget and try to maximize output by testing different marketing campaigns.

Conclusion

Hospitality consultant service covers all the aspects we discussed above. The services are not limited because you will see more customized offers. Consultants can also work as per their client’s needs and requirements. 

In a nutshell, hospitality consultants assist hotels, restaurants and resorts with optimizing operations, enhancing profitability, revenue management and overall health of your business.

Understanding the importance of food quality control in Nepal

Find out why food quality control in Nepal is important.

Foods directly relate to the health of consumers so; their safety and quality standards must be maintained at all times.

Food quality control standards are almost similar throughout the globe and companies must ensure the standards are consistently followed.

In the context of Nepal, food quality control is not strictly maintained and customers are compelled to consume low-quality foods and pay expensive prices. 

So, what actually a food quality control means?

First of all, let’s understand quality control. It is a systematic process to identify and rectify any deficiencies in finished products before they are ready to be delivered. This system ensures the goods are exported with optimum quality.

Food quality control refers to maintaining the optimum quality of food items and ensuring consumers are served safe and healthy foods. This control mechanism prevents consumers from eating contaminated foods and their negative consequences.

Now, let’s explore some importance of food quality control.

A Food Quality Control system can enhance the overall health and performance of your hotel, restaurant, resort or other food-related businesses.

Here are the major aspects of a proper food quality control system that can benefit the industry.

Creates better brand

Consistently following and maintaining the food quality control standards can create a good brand image of a food business. If your company manages to offer high-quality foods and satisfy customers’ tastes and requirements, it will boost the goodwill of your business in the minds of customers.

Wise implementation of a food quality control system can enhance brand reputation as well as compel people for word-of-mouth marketing of your food business. 

In addition, it can assist your business to sustain and run smoothly in today’s competitive market.

Results in Reduced Production Cost

The Food Quality Control system not only focuses on maintaining the quality of food items but also emphasizes optimizing the production processes and operations. 

Wastages, poor product quality, low-quality ingredients and various other low-standard products can escalate the production costs. This is where a standard food quality control system can act smartly to improvise.

Quality control can monitor the low-quality products and can also control the number of food wastages. By doing that, the production cost of your food business can be reduced.

Provides confidence and trust to customers

If your restaurant, hotel or resort is offering high-quality, healthy and safe foods, it is pretty sure your customers will build trust and confidence to come back again. 

People don’t like low-quality foods and poor service. They may try your food items once but will never return back or offer positive reviews if the food quality is not maintained. 

In order to build trust and loyalty with customers, proper food quality control standards must be maintained at your facility at all times.

Enhances Revenue

Implementing a standard food quality control system means enhancing the overall performance of your food business. This system if followed consistently can attract more customers and also compel them to visit your facility time and again.

This, in turn, increases the performance and revenue of your food business. People love to share photos, reviews, stories and various other content on different social media. If your restaurant or hotel manages to make it happen, more people will walk in and hence, boost profitability.

Protects your business from unreliable parties

A standard food quality control system ensures your suppliers, service providers are genuine and offer top-notch assistance. It protects your business from unreliable suppliers and false quality accusations from anyone involved may it be suppliers or customers.

The food quality control system if followed correctly and consistently can prevent your business from being flagged by the food regulatory body. This is because it ensures all the food laws, regulations and standards are followed as per the requirement.

There are various other benefits of implementing a food quality control system but how do we maintain the standards?

Every country has its own department of food technology and quality control that monitors and sets regulations.

Food Quality Control in Nepal

Talking about our country, we have the Department of Food Technology and Quality Control (DFTQC) under the supervision of the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development (MoAD).

This department plays a vital role in maintaining food quality control systems, research and development in the field of food science and technology.

DFTQC was established in 1961 A.D. as Department of Food and in 1966, the name was changed to Food Research Laboratory. Again, the name was converted to Central Food Research Laboratory (CFRL) in 1980 and the current name was finalized in 2000 as per the decision of MoAD.

The DFTQC department works with various divisions and sections mentioned below.

Food and Feed Safety and Quality Control Division

Food Technology Development and Nutrition Division

National Food and Feed Reference Laboratory

Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation Section

SPS Enquiry Point

Codex and Infosan Secretariat

Administration Section

The main vision of DFTQC is to strictly implement a food quality control system and ensure safe and nutritious food is available to all Nepali citizens.

DFTQC works to:

Protect the health of consumers by ensuring the availability of safe and healthy food with the creation of understanding among producers, vendors as well as consumers and facilitating food trade in a cooperative approach based on scientific evidence along with the updated regulatory framework.

Promote food businesses by developing proper food processing technology through R & D and circulating and embracing the result of research for the development of food processing industries.

Promote the nutritional status of people through the development of food-based nutritional approaches.

Conclusion

The importance of food quality control is immense and it can’t be neglected. Every food business operator must ensure all the laws, regulations and food standards are fulfilled at all times.

The health of consumers is vital so, the quality, safety and healthy nature of food items must be maintained always.

In the context of Nepal, the Department of Food Technology and Quality Control is responsible for implementing and monitor standard food quality control systems. Though the department is working well, there are various food safety challenges.

The majority of food businesses including restaurants, hotels and resorts are found neglecting food hygiene and sanitation. 

Besides, lack of compliance with Good Agricultural Practices, Good Hygiene Practices and Good Manufacturing Practices have resulted in increased food safety challenges.

How to write and design a restaurant menu? (8 Awesome Tips)

To run a successful restaurant business, you need to manage various aspects including infrastructures, manpower, food quality, ambience, pricing and much more. And one of the important requirements is writing and designing a restaurant menu.

Preparing a restaurant menu looks simple but it requires some concepts and ideas to make it effective and well-written. A menu is a vital part of a restaurant as it resembles the restaurant’s concept and image.

So, how do you write and design a restaurant menu?

Well, there are some checklists and suggestions you can follow while preparing an attractive menu for your restaurant.

First of all, let’s learn the tips on writing a professional restaurant menu.

Best Tips to Write and Design a Restaurant Menu

Know your target market well

Before jumping into writing a restaurant menu, you need to clarify and analyze your target market. The pricing, food types, location, interior decoration and other things can vary according to the market.

If the market area is lavish, you must focus on providing top-quality services with high-quality foods. The menu must look professional and also must offer a luxurious feeling to the customers. Talking about the pricing, you can keep it expensive considering the top-quality services you are providing.

On the other hand, if you are focusing on a budget restaurant, you can prepare a short restaurant menu with fast food at affordable prices. 

Know your budget 

A budget is an important factor while deciding to write a menu for your restaurant. You must be sure how much budget are you willing to spend.

The print quality, graphics, images and professional photography are required for designing high-quality and attractive menus. In this scenario, the amount of your budget can play a big role.

If you can create graphics and design menus yourself, you can spend your budget for printing only. But in case you require professional photographers, designers or graphic artists, the price goes up.

Make your decision on Menu Concept and Styling

Your concept is the primary source for a professional restaurant menu as it represents the main product line. 

Creating a concept and deciding on its various characteristics allows you to finalize food selection and allocate price ranges.

Some restaurants want to specialize in cuisines like American, Italian, Mediterranean, Desserts, Sushi, Indian, Nepali style and so on. This can become a concept that leads to the service style of your restaurant which may be fine dining, family-style, fast food and much more.

For example, you may have heard about Thakali restaurants in Nepal. These restaurants specialize in Thakali foods meaning the typical Nepali Dal Bhat with various curries, spices and meat products. In that way, the menu concept, styling and pricing can be generated in accordance with the foods you want to serve to the valued customers. 

Decide on your menu offerings

After you finalize the target market, budget and make a decision on the menu concept, you can start creating a list of food items, beverages, desserts and other meals.

You should plan your menu offerings based on the target market and also keep a balance between common food items and new unique items. Some restaurants offer today’s special, chef’s special, festival special and so on. In that case, you should not overdo the menu items.

Also during preparing menu items, you need to ensure the chefs are well-experienced, the ingredients required are easily available and the cost can generate ample profit for your restaurant business.

One useful tip is that you should keep your menu simple without including too many food choices. It may confuse your customers and also create problems for your kitchen operation.

Allocate proper pricing for each food item

Pricing is the most important factor for finalizing your menu because it is the main reason behind the success of your restaurant business. Pricing the food items looks somewhat simple but it requires some calculations to generate profits.

You need to calculate food costs considering the labour costs, ingredients, equipment costs, utilities, rental charge and so on. If you just determine prices without considering these aspects, there is a higher chance for loss than generating profit.

Some key areas you need to focus on are:

Finalize your ideal food cost percentage which means the share of sales spent on food. The standard practice is to keep an average food cost between 25 to 35 per cent. However, it can change as per your restaurant’s requirements and target market.

Determine the raw food cost of every item you offer. You can calculate the price by dividing the Raw Food Cost of Items by the Ideal Food Cost Percentage.

Generate idea for Menu Layout and Design

After you finalize all the above steps, it is now time for menu layout and design. It depends upon your restaurant theme whether the menu needs to be simple, elegant, lavish, or professional.

The menu layout and design will be attractive if you try to blend the font, colours, graphics, images with the restaurant’s ambience, feel and the type of foods you serve.

If you are a graphic designer or can design a menu yourself, you can save your budget. In case you are not confident, it will be worthwhile to hire some professional designers and create visually appealing menus.

An experienced graphic designer can suggest you the best layout and design and also can quickly convert your concept into the design.

Include pricing and description

As per various research and surveys, customers at restaurants are keen to know the prices first. So, you need to clearly mention the prices along with additional VAT and service charges.

Besides prices, you can keep descriptions for each food item but make sure it is short. Otherwise, customers might find the long description annoying. Restaurant experts suggest using words like ‘crispy’, ‘explosion of flavours’, ‘melt-in-your-mouth’ and so on to captivate customers.

You can also include the ingredients used in food items on the description labels.

Finalize your Menu

After completing all the steps discussed above, you now need to finalize your menu with layout, design, list of food items, pricing, and description.

You can use high-quality photos or graphics to lure your customers. Food stylists, professional food photographers and graphic designers can help you to decorate your menu to make it visually appealing.

If you find some spaces left on your menu after including all basic things, you can keep your contact number, location, social media pages and so on.

You must also make sure the print quality of your menu is excellent. Sometimes, a great restaurant menu layout and design might look substandard due to the low-quality print.

Conclusion

The strategies we discussed in the article above are the important factors for creating a professional restaurant menu. You can follow the awesome techniques and produce an effective menu to run your restaurant smoothly.

Explore top five-star hotels in Nepal

Explore the top five star hotels in Nepal with Features & Amenities

Explore amenities in the top five star hotels in Nepal

Nepal is a naturally beautiful country with huge potential in the hotel and tourism industry. Tourists from different countries across the globe come here to Nepal to explore the exquisite nature and hospitality offered by the Nepali people.

Talking about the hospitality sector, Nepal has plenty of services available for domestic and international tourists. Restaurants, hotels and other hospitality services provide quality amenities to their guests.

There are lots of hotels and restaurants ranging from small to large scale offering varieties of facilities.

Hotels and restaurants are categorized according to the size, location, level of service, target market, infrastructures and so on.

In the case of hotels, a star category ranging from 1 to 5 is provided and in this blog, we will be exploring all the five star hotels in Nepal.

Five Star Hotels in Nepal

The Everest Hotel

The Everest Hotel is one of the oldest and popular five star hotels in Nepal located at New Baneshwor, Kathmandu. The hotel is just 3 kilometres away from the Tribhuvan International Airport, the sole international airport in the country.

The Everest Hotel is surrounded by the amazing features of the capital city Kathmandu including various religious places, tourist hotspots, glorious mountain views, Nepali culture and much more.

The five-star hotel features a total of 160 rooms equipped with all modern amenities like a well-decorated interior, high-speed internet, LED television, minibar and spacious wardrobe.

The rooms are classified as Deluxe King Room, Deluxe Twin Room, Club King Room, Club Twin Room and Suite Room.

Key Facilities at the Everest Hotel

24 hour Room Service

Bar/Lounge

Luggage Storage

Lift/Elevator

24 Hour Front Desk

Outdoor Pool (Unheated)

Gym/Fitness Room

Conference/Meeting Facilities

Adequate Parking Space

Family Rooms

Tiger Palace Resort

Tiger Palace Resort is located in Bhairahawa and is accessible from India or Kathmandu. Visitors can experience lavish accommodation, top-class amenities and varieties of quality dining options.

This resort is a perfect location for spending your vacation, quick breaks or celebrating special moments like weddings.

Talking about the accommodation, Tiger Palace Resort features 100 lavish rooms with 2 opulent villas. These luxurious rooms offer next-level comfort with top-quality amenities. You can also enjoy Casino service in the resort that features three distinct gaming zones.

Other features include a luxurious Spa and Wellness centre, special yoga class, Zumba class, Gym/Fitness room, Swimming Pool and much more.

Pokhara Grande

Pokhara Grande is another top-notch five-star hotel featuring high-quality service, luxury and efficiency. The hotel located in Pokhara is listed among the top 10 best hotels of Nepal.

Some major reasons behind the popularity of Pokhara Grande Hotel include:

Best Wedding Destination in Nepal

Annapurna range and Fishtail Mountain Views

Complimentary Airport pick up and drop

Best for Events

Equipped with 140 rooms and suites

Largest Parking Space

Outdoor Swimming Pool

Spa Pavitra and Fitness Centre

Shopping Arcade

Free High-Speed Internet

Free Luggage Storage

Travel Desk

The rooms available at the resort are Suite Room and Deluxe Room. These rooms are equipped with lavish interior decorations, elegance, contemporary artwork, dining areas, spacious bathroom with bathtub and much more.

Visitors can enjoy food at the Thasang Restaurant, Kundali Restaurant, Bagaincha and Trishna Bar located in the vicinity of Pokhara Grande.

Soaltee Hotel

Soaltee Hotel is one of the biggest five-star hotels in Nepal that covers a whopping area of 12-acre. It is a five-star deluxe hotel renowned for its quality service, lavish ambience, rich history and honours achieved over the years.

The five-star Hotel offers 285 hotel rooms featuring Executive Rooms, Classic Heritage Room, Club Room, Executive Suite, Regal Suite, Deluxe Suite and Presidential Suite. These varieties of rooms offer great comfort and a luxurious experience to the valued guests.

The major amenities offered by Soaltee Hotel include an airport shuttle, quality room service, restaurants, free high-speed internet, spacious parking, swimming pool, casino & gambling, bar, breakfast, fitness centre and spa.

The Malla Hotel

The Malla Hotel is a luxurious five-star hotel located between the Narayanhiti Museum and popular tourist hub, Thamel. The hotel has been providing relentless and quality service since its beginning in 1975.

The infrastructure of the Malla hotel has been recently renovated to offer next-level facilities and comfort to its valued guests. One of the newly updated amenities includes Shanti Spa that features five massage rooms and a renovated steam and sauna room. In addition, guests at the hotel can benefit from yoga and meditation services.

The Malla Hotel is equipped with 98 rooms categorized as Standard Room, Deluxe Room and Deluxe Suite Room.

Key Facilities include:

Restaurant

Fitness Zone

Shanti Spa

Event Room

Swimming Pool

Gift Shop

Laundry & Dry Cleaning

Doctor on Call

Safe Deposit

Free Onsite Parking

Fast-speed internet

Meeting Hall

Casino Bally

Barber/Hairstylist

Concierge

Club Floor

Currency Exchange

Smoke Detector

Sprinkler in all rooms

Sauna & Steam Room

Uniformed Security Service

Hotel Shangri-La 

Hotel Shangri-La is a beautiful five-star hotel located at Lazimpat, Kathmandu which is just 7 kilometres away from the Tribhuvan International Airport. This luxurious hotel is known for its exquisite service, traditional touch and quality infrastructure.

The hotel is equipped with 100 rooms featuring daily housekeeping service, 24-hour security, free Wi-Fi in all public areas, 24-hour room service, wheelchair accessibility and various other amenities.

Hotel Shangri-La also owns the Shangri-La Village Resort in Pokhara where visitors can enjoy their stay with a beautiful view of mountains and varieties of international dishes.

Hotel Yak & Yeti

Hotel Yak & Yeti is one of the finest five-star hotels in Nepal situated in Durbarmar (known as the city centre of Kathmandu Valley). The hotel is near to the airport and the popular tourist hub, Thamel.

The luxurious hotel is equipped with 270 rooms with next-level comfort and luxury. Every room at Hotel Yak & Yeti is installed with safe locks, LED TV with satellite reception, high-speed internet/wifi, minibar, and smoke detectors.

The hotel offers its guests a variety of dining options including a full American-style buffet breakfast and continental buffet breakfasts. In addition, there is a convention centre named ‘The Lal Durbar Convention Center’ where events, exhibitions and conferences can be hosted.

Yak & Yeti also offers dry cleaning, customary laundry and beauty services.

Radisson Hotel Kathmandu

Radisson Hotel is located in the heart of the capital city, Kathmandu and is surrounded by corporate offices, embassies and some popular tourist attractions of the city including Thamel.

Radisson Hotel Kathmandu is equipped with 260 rooms categorized as Superior Room, Deluxe Room, Premium Room, Junior Suite, Deluxe Suite, Premium Suite, Business Class and Apartment.

These rooms offer a great level of comfort with various facilities including coffee/tea, LED television, professional hairdryer, free high-speed internet, minibar, work desk, in-room safety, individual room climate control, sofabed and much more.

Some key facilities include:

Concierge Service

Airport Shuttle

Bar

Accessibility

Early Check-in

Express Check-out

Fitness Center

Laundry Service

Meeting Facilities

Room Service

Valet Parking

Spa

Outdoor Pool

On-site Dining

Hyatt Regency Kathmandu

Hyatt Regency Kathmandu is a luxurious five-star hotel and resort covering an area of 37 acres. The hotel located on the way to popular Boudhanath Stupa is constructed in the traditional Newari style.

This lavish hotel offers various amenities to its valued guests including Free Internet Access, Free Parking, Restaurant On-Site, Room Service, Fitness centre, Swimming Pool, Spa, Digital Key, Business Services, Resort Property, Laundry, Concierge and Meeting Facilities.

Talking about the hotel rooms, Hyatt Regency features 280 rooms and suites along with 24-hour room service.

The hotel also offers activities such as Tennis, Jogging Track, Yoga, Casino Pride, Onsite Playground and so on.

The present scenario of Hotel Business in Nepal

Find out the latest situation of Hotel Business in Nepal

Nepal is a country with full potential in the tourism and hospitality industry. Being a naturally beautiful country, numerous tourists from various corners of the globe arrive here to break their monotonous life.

With that, the chances for the growth of tourism and hospitality businesses in Nepal are immense. At the present time, we can see many businessmen investing in hotel businesses in different regions of the country.

Talking about the capital city Kathmandu, there are some huge hotel projects going on including Sheraton Kathmandu Hotel in Kantipath and Hotel Hilton in Naxal. Besides, top hotels like Mariott and Aloft have already begun commercial operations.

The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the tourism and hospitality industry for a while and resulted in huge losses to the investors. Some businesses were even compelled to completely close the operations.

So, what is the present scenario of the hotel business in Nepal?

Well, Nepal is slowly recovering from the post-COVID era and businesses are also eventually getting some momentum. 

The number of international tourists drastically declined following the adverse impact of the pandemic and it directly affected the hotel businesses. At present, the arrival of international tourists is increasing however, it will take some time to completely recover.

The country went through various lockdown phases and the crisis resulted in the complete closure of some hotel and restaurant businesses in Nepal.

After the end of the lockdown, the number of domestic tourists escalated as people began visiting various places in the country due to the frustration created by the pandemic.

The Himalayan regions, trekking routes and various other beautiful locations were covered by the Nepali tourists. The empty hotels and restaurants were delighted to serve customers after a long period of time.

Now, international tourists are also arriving and hotel businesses are acquiring some momentum.

COVID-19 pandemic has changed the way of hospitality operations. Hotels must strictly implement standard health procedures to ensure optimum protection from the deadly virus. Regular sanitation, use of masks, alcohol sanitisers and various other safety measures are mandatory.

Though the pandemic is not over yet following the spread of the new Omicron variant, new hotel projects in Nepal are increasing. If everything gets normal, the scope of hotel businesses in Nepal is remarkable.

Latest Hotel Projects in Nepal

Sheraton Kathmandu Hotel, Kantipath

Hotel Hilton, Naxal

Luxury Villa, Budhanilkantha

Dwarika’s Inn, Jhapa

Hotel Grand Prince, Jhapa

Siddhartha International Hotel, Bhairahawa

Pawan Palace, Bhairahawa

Hotel Le Sherpa, Lazimpat

Soaltee Pokhara

Hyatt Palace, Soalteemode 

Hotel Krishna, Nepalgunj

The pandemic has affected the construction deadline of the various hotel projects in Nepal. The construction of the Kathmandu Sheraton Hotel is anticipated to be slowed by three years and is expected to be completed in 2022. 

The five-star property which will be managed by Sheraton Hotel and Resorts, a brand of Marriott International, has investment from Nepali-Australian tycoon Shesh Ghale.