‘How can you control food portions? What if guests go hungry?’

PM Modi has expressed concern over food wastage at social gatherings while Union Minister Ram Vilas Paswan has suggested that restaurants tell the food they serve per portion. Gupta agrees food gets wasted during social events such as weddings, but “the government should find a better way” How long have you been in the business and how many people do you cater to?

About 25 years ago, my grandfather set up a sweets shop here in Sita Ram Bazaar in Chandni Chowk (Old Delhi) and, over the years, we got into the catering business. Since then, we have handled thousands of events, mostly weddings. Our team goes to the wedding venue and cooks — we serve between 300 and 500 people at each of these events. Last December, we got an order to cater to thousand people at a Noida wedding. That was our biggest order.

What is the most popular dish on your menu? We only serve vegetarian. Chaat is what everyone wants — golgappa, aloo tikki, bhelpuri, chana chaat. Besides, malai kofta and kulfi are very popular.

Do you end up with a lot of extra food? Yes, a lot. Mostly, rice and daal makhni. People usually first head to the chaat stalls and then go for paneer and roti. After every event, I am left with food for at least 40 people.

What do you do with all that extra food? We usually give it to our cooks and waiters and they take it back home. Sometimes the clients also ask us to pack the food for them. Sometimes — though very rarely — we have had to throw away food.

What do you think of the minister’s suggestion? I hadn’t heard about it until now. If the government thinks this (specifying food portions) is going to help, then everybody should comply. But I think we might end up with losses because we will not have food to feed our staff and they’ll ask for a salary hike. Also, how can you control food portions? What if the guests go hungry? We can’t let that happen. That will be embarrassing for us and for our clients. This is no solution, the government should find a better way to check wastage.

PALLABI MUNSI

Express ‘Must deal with pressure’.