Chicken off hotels' menu

The bird flu impact on Calicut is loud and clear. So quick is the reaction of hotels and restaurants here immediately after the outbreak of bird flu was reported in Maharashtra that they stopped serving chicken fare.

With customers flinching from the sight of chicken curries, other dishes such as mutton, fish, prawns and crabs have taken the pride of place on hotel menus.

"We keep ready at least two dressed chicken just to meet the possible demand. But nobody wants it." These words from Amir of Zam Zam Ice Fruits, a restaurant near Tagore Hall, exemplifies the real dilemma the hotel industry is facing now after the outbreak of avian flu. It badly affected those hotels whose chef d'oeuvre was chicken items.

"Our Business has fallen by 60 percent," rues Amir, "Earlier, we used to do a business of around Rs 50,000 a day".

The fate of a multinational restaurant located at the Medical College Road is no different. Chicken items being its speciality, its business has fallen by 50 per cent as customers stay away from chicken.

Bombay Hotel, famous for its chicken biriyani, is one of the main losers in the hospitality industry. In order to sustain their business, the hotel has switched over to mutton and fish biriyani (which is rather costly).

The price of mutton has shot up to Rs 170 a kg, while fish costs Rs 180 a kg. The skyrocketing prices of the other items is a direct fallout of 90 per cent fall in chicken demand.

Zanis, a homely food joint near the Beach Road, just achieves a break even after chicken has gone off its menu.