Explained: Why restaurants are cutting slow-cooked dishes and switching to ‘crisis menus’

“The ongoing geopolitical developments have led to severe disruption in the supply chain of commercial LPG. If the situation escalates further and availability tightens significantly, the restaurant industry may face serious operational challenges,” the advisory read.

Last week, the government had invoked emergency powers derived from the Essential Commodities Act to direct Indian refiners to maximise LPG production and ensure that all the gas is supplied solely to domestic LPG consumers and not used to produce petrochemicals.

In order to adopt “immediate LPG conservation measures”, the advisory has asked restaurants to “pre-soak ingredients like rice, grains, and legumes to reduce cooking time”, to “use lids while cooking to retain heat and reduce fuel consumption”, and go for “batch cooking wherever possible instead of multiple small cooking cycles”.

In a detailed letter, the association stated that hotels need to communicate transparently with customers if availability of items on the menu is temporarily affected, while limiting operations to only peak hours.

The NRAI has advised monitoring daily LPG consumption and track usage per outlet.

It has also advised evaluation of temporary alternative solutions like electric griddles, fryers, rice cookers and inductions to reduce LPG dependency.