The great Indian kitchen shake-up: Here's how West Asia war changed Mumbai’s cooking patterns

The true test of resilience rarely comes in times of comfort It reveals itself when disruption strikes mdash sudden unforgiving and indiscriminateMuch has changedover the past months Mumbairsquos hospitality industry has reportedly faced exactly that kind of reckoningWhat seemed like a distant geopolitical conflict soon found its way into the cityrsquos kitchens disrupting gas supplies shrinking menus and forcing an entire industry to rethink how it operatesYet as shutters came down in some places others saw queues grow longer How did that become possible As the supply crisis triggered by the West Asia conflict unfolded a quiet transformation was underway The difference was not luck mdash it was the power of infrastructure and the readiness to adapt quickly middaycom spoke to restaurateurs to understand how they changed their cooking styles to survive the crisis Heres how West Asia war has changed Mumbais cooking patterns and whyA crisis that divided the industryThe liquefied petroleum gas LPG shortage did not affect all restaurants in Mumbai equallyWhile legacy names such as Cream Centre Amar Bhagat Tarachand Sukh Sagar and Nityanand found themselves grappling with supply constraints a different set of players managed to stay steady and in some cases even growRestaurants such as Relish Benne Narayan Dosa Rameshwaram Cafe and Earth Cafe stood out during the crisis Their advantage was not accidental It was built over timeThe power of being preparedFor some survival came down to infrastructure while for others sticking to oldschool methods also paid offEarth Cafe for instance had long relied on electrical appliances instead of LPG ldquoWe have always been dependent on electrical systemsrdquo said Sid Raiyan manager of the food chainrsquos Churchgate branchSimilarly Relish popular among students of HR College and KC College had invested early in piped natural gas PNG infrastructure ldquoWe have PNG systems installedrdquo its manager saidWhen the crisis hit these kitchens continued functioning almost seamlessly ldquoWersquove always used coal in all our branchesrdquo said one of the Narayan dosas branch worker adding ldquoDosas donrsquot get that texture on electrical appliances or LPGrdquoWhat once seemed like a routine operational choice became a defining advantageStrategic minimalismMeanwhile Benne one of Mumbairsquos fastestgrowing South Indian brands serving Bengalurustyle dosas demonstrated another form of resilience strategic minimalismIts owner Akhil Iyer revealed to middaycom that they had to cut nearly 50 per cent of the menu across its Juhu and Delhi outlets during the peak of the crisis while also investing in electrical appliances to keep up with demandWe already have a short menu and we focus on serving it wellrdquo he said underscoring the advantage of operational simplicity in uncertain timesDespite the crisis the brand went ahead with launching a new outlet at Chowpatty drawing massive crowds ldquoThere was a lot of confusion before the launch We didnrsquot want the new branch to open without dosasrdquo he addedThe new outlet proved a huge success within a week as the LPG allowance went up to 70 per cent around the time of the inaugurationAdapting on the goNot everyone had the luxury of preparation but some made up for it with speedRameshwaram Cafe initially faced disruption but quickly adapted by installing PNG systems especially at its newer outlets ldquoThere was some struggle in the beginning but we adapted fastrdquo said manager Sagar Javir This ability to pivot quickly helped certain restaurants recover faster and minimise lossesFor others the situation forced a slower shift to alternate options One such example was Nityanand in Opera House which faced severe supply constraintsOwner Vinay Kherkar shared that while they once received eight gas cylinders a day supply dropped to just one cylinder every two days This forced them to cut down on key menu items including Chinese dishes and dosas while simultaneously preparing to shift to PNG systemsWith restrictions on commercial gas cylinders gradually easing many restaurants are now back to normal operations with both PNG and LPGA gradual return to normalcyNow with nearly 70 per cent of commercial gas supply restored following a temporary ceasefire normalcy is gradually returning Restaurants are reopening full menus and those who invested in infrastructure upgrades are emerging strongerHowever industry experts caution that recovery will take time As noted by energy analyst Sachdev while the reopening of key global supply routes will ease pressure full stabilisation could take one to two months reported PTIThe LPG shortage may have been temporary but its impact is lasting It has reshaped how restaurants think about infrastructure efficiency and risk It has shown that adaptability is no longer optional mdash it is essentialIn the end this was not just a story of disruption It was a story of transformation Because in Mumbairsquos kitchens survival is never just about keeping the flame alive mdash it is about learning how to cook without it