PANAJI
As the cooking gas squeeze tightens across Goa, restaurants and hotels have begun rationing fuel in their kitchens, cutting down menus, limiting cooking hours and switching to electric appliances to keep meals flowing for tourists and residents.
The Goa Hotel & Restaurants Association has urged eateries to ensure that visitors do not go hungry even as establishments adopt emergency measures to conserve commercial LPG.
President Gauish Dhond said restaurants have been advised to drastically trim menus and prioritise dishes that require less gas and shorter cooking cycles.
“We have told members to cut down on the menu and keep only items that require less gas, use lids and pressure cooking to reduce cooking time, and pre-soak grains so they cook faster. Kitchens should avoid using high-pressure gas wherever possible and explore alternatives such as induction cooking, solar energy and other electrical equipment,” he said.
Dhond said the issue is also likely to affect five-star hotels, conventions and corporate meetings if the shortage worsens.
“If restaurants begin shutting down due to lack of commercial LPG, the impact will be felt across the tourism industry,” he warned, adding, “For the hospitality sector, LPG is as essential as fuel and other basic amenities like water, electricity.”
The advisory from the association comes alongside a nationwide alert issued by the National Restaurant Association of India (NRAI), which has asked restaurants to adopt strict fuel-saving practices amid disruptions in the commercial LPG supply chain triggered by geopolitical developments.
In its advisory, the industry body warned that restaurants could face “serious operational challenges” if the supply situation deteriorates further.
The NRAI recommended measures such as batch cooking instead of repeated small cooking cycles, keeping lids on utensils and using pressure cookers to reduce cooking time, pre-soaking grains and legumes, and switching off burners when not in use. Restaurants have also been urged to streamline menus, optimise burner usage and reduce gas consumption during non-peak hours.
The association further encouraged eateries to temporarily shift parts of their kitchens to electric equipment, including induction stoves, electric griddles, convection ovens, rice cookers, and steamers, to ease their dependence on LPG. Restaurants have also been advised to introduce limited “crisis menus” with faster-cooking dishes and, if required, restrict operating hours to conserve fuel.
