Exclusive: Chef Mayank Tiwari On Changing Culinary Trends In Cinemas, Curating A Healthy Menu & More

New Delhi: It’s often said that good food brings good mood. Religiously following this, the newly revamped PVR Cinemas at DLF Mall of India boasts of an exquisite range of cuisines that simply amp up the movie-goers' experience. As the cinema halls were renovated launching multiplexes like the P[XL], IMAX with Laser and 4DX for the first time, the food menu was also revamped with the introduction of ‘The Luxury Collection’. Several unique concepts were introduced including the 'Masala Trail', a quintessential Indian street food brand; 'Swamy's', the first in house South Indian brand; 'Woks & More', an eclectic selections of dim sums, monastery road style momos, rice and noodle bowls. 

During an exclusive conversation with Zee English Digital, PVR’s Group Executive Chef Mayank Tiwari and Regional Chef Shiva Arora talked about the wide range of their menu, the purpose of bringing world-class culinary experience in theatres and the changes that have come up in the culinary trends in cinema halls. 

Q - What is the difference and challenge of curating a menu for the theatre and a hotel? 

Chef Mayank Tiwari- Our workforce comprises of highly skilled chefs who come from credible backgrounds. We have people from different hotels, restaurants so the challenges are limited. The main challenge is to serve the food within a specific time so we try and make our kitchens modern and equipped. We research the products and the resources behind it which makes the process easier. We are glad that PVR has the bandwidth and vision to understand something like this.  

Q - What is the purpose of having an open kitchen? 

Chef Mayank Tiwari - With live kitchen, the idea is to show the drama of the kitchen in front of the patrons and showcase the kind of hygiene about how the food is being prepared and served. So, our hygienic kitchen is something that we really value. 

Q - What are some of the most popular dishes here? 

Chef Mayank Tiwari - We take pride in our chole chawal and the chaats. They are our bestselling items. Apart from that, our dim sums, chicken burgers and pizzas are also hot favourite among the youngsters. We have also developed the traditional Mac n Cheese into a burger patty and that is also something loved by our patrons. We have worked very hard on our Indian food and our chaats are a must try.

Q - Any specific menu for health-conscious people? 

Chef Mayank Tiwari - We keep a lot of focus on keeping a healthy menu in general rather than making a particular salad station. We make sure that we are getting the healthiest options, for example, if we are using a particular oil then what are its attributions and components. The idea is responsible sourcing, less wastage and making our products eco-friendly. So, we try to keep these things in our overall menu rather than keeping just three or four dishes as the healthy menu.  

Q - Do you have any specific vegan menu because a lot of people these days are moving towards veganism?  

Chef Mayank Tiwari - We don’t have a particular menu but yes, we do have vegan dishes. Our chefs are also adaptable at the cinemas to understand if anyone has any sort of allergies and dietary requirements. They are able to take requests and execute that on a day-to-day basis. 

Q - Have you seen any specific changes in consumer behavior in recent times? 

Chef Shiva Arora - Cinema food is divided into two parts, regular popcorn and Pepsi and the hot cooked meals. In the recent times, we have seen that the customer is more inclined towards hot food because of the variety and the quality it gives them.