The Astor on Shakespeare Sarani has a new general manager. Akshay Chawla. The Delhi Institute of Hotel Management graduate has substantial work experience in the hospitality industry, having worked with at The Oberoi Hotels, Leela Ambience Gurgaon, SUJAN Rajmahal Palace Jaipur, The Manor New Delhi. He is in fact back in Kolkata having worked here for a brief period. And he is one happy man with plans to make the hospitality den buzzing than ever. A t2 chat.
Welcome to Kolkata! You have worked here before...
I am a Delhiite and I was in hotel management; from there itself I got selected for management training programme. Most of the time I was in Udaivilas, in Udaipur… then I was transferred here to The Oberoi Grand and I worked for more than two years, from 2012 to 2014. I was first the F&B manager and then the front- office manager.
Then 2014 to 2017 I was in Leela, Gurgaon. I got my first opportunity to run a hotel by myself as an unit head, in Jaipur. The next two-and-a-half years I spent at SUJAN Rajmahal Palace, owned by the royal family of Jaipur. I ran that property for over two years, then I moved back home (Delhi) in 2018 where I joined The Manor that had The Indian Accent restaurant. With the hotel we did renovations of the place, we opened galleries, did pop-ups with chefs visiting, opened two new restaurants there. Then we were stuck in 2020 due to the pandemic. But then I got to spend a lot of time at home. My son was born on
June 1, 2020, at the peak of lockdown. It helped me connect with my child, made me realise how lightly we take this role. Yes my wife had maternity leave but it helped that I was home, because normally what’s a paternity leave? Just a few days but I was there for six months looking after them and it made me learn a lot of things.
I have another Calcutta connect, my wife’s mother is from Calcutta and my wife has studied at La Martiniere for Girls School, and even now when I go back to Delhi I tend to carry stuff like muri masalas and attend to weird requests like tal mishri (laughs)!
A glimpse of The Astor The Astor
How did The Astor happen?
The Manor is like 10 houses away from Mr Puri’s (Vikram) house. He had met me there and then I was approached during the second lockdown. We had discussions and I am sure Vikram had many choices but he chose me because I had a bit of a luxury background, was a little young and I can look after the lifestyle connect of the properties here. He has bigger tasks now with new properties launching, so probably he wanted someone who could represent him and connect with the younger lot.
Which was the first outlet you visited at The Astor?
I had been to Plush many times when I was here for two-and-a- half years. My farewell happened at Plush. It used to be the best place and I really liked it and The Oberoi never had a nightclub at the property.
Having spent many months in Calcutta now, what is your take on the city?
So the city is not new to me. I have lived here and that was the easy part. I don’t say just for the sake of it, but, people are generally very welcoming and warm. It is not the case for many others.
Bangalore and Rajasthan are still okay. They are generally welcoming and more so because they are used to having tourists, but other parts of the country are not so welcoming. Calcutta appreciates and they give back so much love. People here are the most civilised, sober and their language is also so sweet. I think I have picked a little bit of it!
Congratulations on The Astor bagging the four-star ranking! Tell us about your long-term and short-term plans?
Most of the concrete things cannot be changed. We have worked on the softer details like we have new people who would stick to the classic way of serving but then at the same time make communication with the guests a bit more fun wherever possible. We’ve got a new chef, so we are trying to bring in new cuisines because over time cuisines have not evolved much here. We do need to retain the old and regal cooking style and food we are known for, but, we have to keep doing something new. The team has to be on board too. You have to make them accept that these changes are necessary.
The chilled out All Frescko Deck 88 The Astor
Most of the outlets here are food driven, and since you have been from the F&B background, what can one expect?
We do not want to touch the soul Kebab-e-Que. It’s a family restaurant doing well and we just have to maintain the standards. We’ll go through some softer changes later this year with regards to the ambience. Phoenix underwent one change a few months back. We went a little bit more pub-ish where you could have good burgers. For Deck 88 we are focusing more on oriental and western than India.
So we are trying to slowly make Kebab-e-Que more Indian, more elaborate and authentic and experiment with fusion progressive cuisine at the other two outlets. At Phoenix, we know we have to work more on drinks than on food because it is a late-night place.
The vibrant Phoenix The Astor
There has been a huge change in the F&B scene in Kolkata with national and local brands making it big. What do you think is working with the party-goers now?
The hardcore party is reducing, it is getting more lounge-y. This is not the best city for open-air events but everybody craves for exactly that. (Which is why) Deck 88 has been here for five years and you don’t need to do anything for it for the next five.
The nightlife concept for people has started changing. People are associating with the acts rather than the places. In the last two years people have not really partied and actually there is a generation which has retired from partying during this time. Then people are partying more on Sundays. That is why we have moved our live nights to Sundays, and that is a vibe I associate with… if I have to go, I will go on a Sunday.
Phoenix has been a star outlet at the hotel....
So this is how the week goes: Wednesdays are hip-hop nights by DJ Rishi, Thursdays we do a salsa night. On Saturdays we do electronic... like techno. Fridays are commercial nights where our in-house DJ, DJ Tabby plays sometimes supported by a bigger or a local act.