Shaadi becomes barbadi for parents

Expensive vegetables mean hotels charge more for catering kids' wedding than the amount agreed upon

Expensive vegetables mean hotels charge more for catering kids' wedding than the amount agreed upon

Hema Ahuja had set aside Rs 2.5 lakh for the catering of her son's wedding in a south Mumbai five-star hotel later this month.

The price had been fixed over six months ago. But a few days ago, she got a call saying she'd have to pay around Rs 35,000-Rs 40,000 more due to the sudden spurt in vegetable prices.

In the last two months, food prices have gone up 20 per cent.

And since English vegetables like broccoli and baby corn that are widely used by five star hotels are in short supply due to a bad crop in Bangalore, vendors have been quoting very high prices.

"We have hiked the food prices for banqueting, but not for our restaurants.

Let's Vow To Go Hungry: In the last two months, food prices have gone up 20 per cent

That's because banquets have an exotic menu and exotic vegetables like zucchini are scarce," said Pankaj Sampat, general manager of Taj President, Cuffe Parade.

Help!

Consumers like Ahuja are obviously unhappy. "During a wedding, even a small amount of money is a lot. We can't even change the venue, as there is a scarcity of wedding halls this year," she said.

S P Jain, chairman of the Hotel and Restaurant Association Western India too confirmed that most of their members had increased food prices.

"If the government doesn't take action soon, people will stop visiting hotels," said Jain.

Another hotelier, Koustav Mukherjee, food and beverages manager of Ambassador Hotel, Marine Lines, agreed with Jain.

"So far, we've managed to convince our vendors. But we'll have to renew their contracts," he said.

Vegetable	Prices (per kilo- in Rupees)
Onion	35
Potato	20
Ladies finger	52
Cauliflower	20
Carrot	20
Green Peas	100
Cabbage	12
Tomato	24
Beans	48
Capsicum	70