ABSTRACT
The Indian Food and Beverage (F&B) sector is going through massive turmoil in the face of COVID-19. With speculations of huge revenue losses and manpower layoffs, the stakeholders of the industry are relying on innovative and adaptable solutions to mitigate the current crisis. Since the emergence of the pandemic, very few academic works have highlighted the chefs’ perspectives on the changing realities in the F&B sector, especially in developing countries. Thereby, this chapter is an attempt to understand chefs’ perspectives on the changing realities of the Indian F&B sector. Data for this study was collected through unstructured telephone and online interviews with 15 chefs from nine popular five-star establishments serving in India. The interviews were transcribed and coded, following which thematic content analysis was employed to identify the major constructs. Apart from its academic contribution, the findings of the current study are expected to be of significant value to chefs, managers and other stakeholders in the food industry.
