In a world where catering often means predictable menus and standard service, Banquet 18 is a refreshing change. Founded by Tanya Quadros, who transitioned from a successful career in healthcare management to follow her passion for food, Banquet 18 is all about creating memorable dining experiences. Since 2015, Tanya and her team have been transforming events with their innovative, customer-focused approach. Whether it’s a wedding, corporate event, or private party, Banquet 18 brings together culinary excellence and impeccable service to make each occasion special.
Tanya’s story is one of passion and determination. Without a traditional background in hospitality, she saw opportunities in the fragmented food service industry and decided to make a difference. Her dedication to high standards and personalized service led to the birth of Banquet 18. Known for its curated menus that blend regional and global cuisines, Banquet 18 goes beyond just catering. It’s about crafting experiences that resonate with clients and their guests. This commitment to innovation and excellence has quickly made Banquet 18 a standout choice for those seeking the best in luxury event catering.
What inspired you to start Banquet 18?
I believe that food is a very unifying factor that brings cultures and families together. Back in 2015, I realized there were certain challenges in the food and catering industry that presented significant opportunities for disruption. This inspiration led to the inception of Banquet 18. Some of the challenges I noticed were:
– The food and catering industry was highly fragmented, with little focus on educating customers about innovation, presentation, and culinary excellence.
-Service excellence was limited to branded properties, while most other food services lacked high standards of customer service.
-The industry was traditional in its approach, with very few women making a notable difference.
-Many food service providers operated from a capability-backward standpoint, offering limited menu options. There was minimal effort towards customer-centric curation, innovation, and personalization.
These white spaces inspired me to conceive Banquet 18 as a brand symbolizing customer delight in food and culinary excellence.
Can you share about your background and how it led to the creation of Banquet 18?
I do not come from a traditional hospitality background. I am a Gold Medalist in Healthcare Management from India and hold a B.Sc in Zoology from Mumbai. Prior to this, I worked as the Chief Operating Officer for Primary Healthcare in Qatar. My passion for food and creativity led me to conceptualize Banquet 18 post my return to India. It all started with a simple blog where I launched a direct-to-consumer healthy meals brand. However, we soon realized a significant gap for multi-cuisine offerings in the fast-growing multicultural market. Traditional caterers were content with providing single-specialty cuisine, which did not meet the expectations of well-traveled and discerning customers. This realization led us to pivot and develop Banquet 18. Despite lacking traditional experience as a chef or hotelier, I was fortunate to have the right early team and ecosystem. Coupled with a culture of innovation and operational excellence, Banquet 18 found its way in a crowded market.
What is your vision for Banquet 18?
My vision for Banquet 18 is to become India’s premier luxury F&B provider for events, offering curated menus that feature the best of regional and global cuisines, presented authentically and thematically. I aim to bring culinary and service excellence to tables across the world, catering to global audiences.
How do you ensure Banquet 18 stands out in a competitive market?
I believe in three principles that differentiate us:
- Personalization: We consider each customer and their needs unique. We personalize every aspect of our offerings, from menu curation to trials to on-day execution with our service team.
- Curation: We curate menus by combining the best of what we have in-house and what our partners offer, ensuring our customers get the finest dining experience.
- Innovation: We are unafraid to innovate and create new trends for our customers, whether it’s crafting new dishes, visual themes, or any other elements that make their events memorable.
What values and principles guide Banquet 18?
Our values and principles are:
–Customer Delight: We are obsessed with ensuring customer satisfaction.
–Excellence: We maintain the highest standards of excellence in everything we do and in our partnerships.
–Collaboration: We believe great experiences are built with the right culinary and service partners.
–Attention to Detail: We focus on meticulous details that help us personalize and replicate great experiences at scale.
How do you stay updated with evolving trends in the food industry?
We believe inspiration for food need not be limited to the industry alone. Food, especially in events, is experiencing a surge in storytelling. To stay updated, we follow and draw inspiration from various industries beyond food. Specifically, in food, we focus on global trends as our audience craves international experiences. We collaborate with internal and external menu research teams and micro-vendors to explore local cultures, ingredients, and micro-trends that help create our own signatures. Our biggest feedback loop is our customers, who share their well-traveled experiences with us.
Can you share a memorable event Banquet 18 catered and what made it special?
There have been many special events for Banquet 18, unique in terms of cuisine diversity, client profiles, challenging timelines, and specific requirements. One particularly memorable event was an early multicultural wedding where the couple came from traditional Bengali and Malayali cultures. There were underlying family challenges and sensibilities around vegetarian and non-vegetarian cuisines. Over two and a half days, we gave equal weight to both cultures so that neither family felt left out. On the reception day, we served both cuisines authentically and innovatively fused elements from both cultures. For instance, we created a unique dish using mustard (popular in Bengal but not in Kerala) and coconut (a staple in Kerala but not in Bengal). The fusion represented both cultures perfectly. At the end of the wedding, the fathers of the bride and groom hugged each other and thanked us for bringing their families together. This moment reaffirmed my belief that food brings people, families, and communities together.
How do you handle challenges catering to diverse palates?
Diversity of cuisines is a wonderful challenge and opportunity. We have built strong in-house culinary and research capabilities to cover sought-after cuisines at events. We scout regional specialties, cuisines, and experts to build the right network partners, ensuring authenticity with a mix of global and local flavors. We engage in elaborate client conversations to understand the audience before curating our menu plans, focusing on detail-oriented questions to ensure we meet expectations.
What future plans or expansions do you have for Banquet 18?
Our vision is to be India’s leading luxury F&B provider for events, reaching audiences worldwide. Banquet 18 is a flagship brand in this mission. We have already served weddings and events in nine cities across the country. In the future, we aim to establish a national presence in key cities and globally, including emerging wedding destinations. We plan to collaborate with the right partners to accelerate this vision and may explore cross-category expansions in food to build the right culinary capabilities.
Can you describe the process from the first client meeting to the final event?
Our initial client meetings/calls are detailed information-gathering exercises. We spend time understanding their journeys, cultures, guest lists, and preferences. Based on this, we craft a personalized menu, combining their primary inputs (favorite dishes, cultures) with secondary information. We then organize a food tasting session, serving a subset of the menu. There are typically a couple of iterations around the menu, budgets, and service ancillaries leading to finalization. We work closely with planning and décor teams to ensure synchronization with table décor, theme décor, and cuisine presentation elements. A final run-through is conducted 48 to 72 hours before the event. On the day, we execute with passion and professionalism.
What is the significance of food tastings in your service, and how do they enhance the client’s experience?
Food tastings are crucial in our service. They provide clients with a preview of what to expect at their event, allowing them to fine-tune details like spice, salt, and oil levels. Tastings also give clients a sense of how dishes will look and feel, helping align expectations. It’s essential that both parties understand expectations correctly to ensure a well-executed event.
How does Banquet 18 ensure quality and consistency in its offerings?
Quality and consistency at Banquet 18 stem from both process and people. We invest in constant training on consistency, standard operating procedures (SOPs), and checklists. Despite high attrition in hospitality, our core team has remained with us since our early days, ensuring adherence to our organizational ethos and principles. We are selective with our vendors, using a rigorous evaluation system and consistently working with the best in India.
How does Banquet 18 incorporate client feedback into its services?
We gather pre-event and post-event feedback. Pre-event feedback during trials usually pertains to culinary taste or service aspects, which our chefs incorporate without compromising the dish’s authenticity. For post-event feedback, we conduct a root cause analysis and regular debriefs, making operational changes where necessary. Periodically, we integrate this feedback into our strategic inputs, influencing our investments, purchases, and growth.
What role do you see Banquet 18 playing in the future of event catering?
We aim for Banquet 18 to be an industry leader in luxury catering, not just on commercial metrics but as a thought leader in luxury, food, and innovation. We strive to bring the best culinary and service experiences to our customers, setting new benchmarks in the industry.