Kasim Ali Khan, born and brought up in the Nizam family of Hyderabad, is a prominent entrepreneur. Kasim was in the core team of Concu, a patisserie cum cafe in Hyderabad. He always had the desire to do something in the business line. While working at Concu, Kasim got a deep understanding regarding everything from the origin to the architecture and interiors to the menu decisions to the branding of the cafe. Farine started as a sister concern of Concu, started in August 2019. With a range of bread, coffee, choicest of desserts, Farine is located in Film Nagar, beside Churrolto. It is pleasantly designed with live colours on the wall. It is a must-recommended place for all the dessert lovers out there!
In Conversation With Kasim Ali of Farine
In an exclusive conversation with The Restaurant Times, Kasim Ali talks of his journey in the industry, the concept behind Farine, dessert market in Hyderabad and a lot more.
The Concept
Farine means ‘flour’ in French. Concu’s sub-brand Farine is not exactly like Conçu but it does breathe a little bit of the same air. At Farine, they have the same dessert menu as Conçu, and everything is carefully brought in daily from the central kitchen. Farine has a compact but distinct menu for many palates, it is divided into ‘Small Plates’ and ‘Big Plates’. Kasim mentions that their coffee is a premium product at Farine, it is a blend of 80% of arabica, 10% of peaberry and 10% robusta.
The speciality of this coffee is that their vendor just supplies it to them in the entire country. They also have artisan popcorn on the table
Farine is well known for its artisan, authentic French pastries and tarts. The Forest Berry Donut, White Chocolate Exotic Mousse, Black Forest, Opera, Chocolate Francoise, Nutella Brownie Tart are some of the few popular items. One interesting thing about Farine is that they bake their own bread. The focaccia bread at Farine says, tastes divine with mutton curry!
Dessert Market In Hyderabad
According to Ali, the Hyderabad market is not a loyal market. Patrons tend to switch places frequently. As soon as a new place pops up in the market, patrons try out those places.
Film Nagar in Hyderabad is definitely the most uptown places in Hyderabad and the latest destination for standalone restaurants. Film Nagar is the locality turning into the plush corner of the city like Jubilee Hills with sophistication dessert bars and cafes. With a complete line of 3-4 cafes and restaurants, new restaurants and cafes keep popping up.
“Few outlets near our place got shut down within six to seven months of their operation. The business became stagnant, because of the customer base,” says Ali.
Operations Strategy At Farine and Standing Out Of Competiton
At Farine, Ali tells that they follow the concept of FIFO. All the products are stocked in the counter for 36 hours. After 36 hours, those products are unloaded from the counter and fresh items are stocked. All products are marked every day on the basis of the existing records. This helps them in managing their stock effectively and efficiently. It saves money and time in calculating the exact cost of the stock being sold because the cost will depend upon the most former cash flows of purchases to be used first.
In order to stand out from the crowded marketplace, Ali suggests that it is imperative to have a strong PR team to stand out of the competition. Even if you have impeccable service, great staff, and delicious food, you cannot guarantee that it will be able to get your restaurant the publicity it needs. Thus restaurant publicity is dependent upon media. They are very active on Instagram and post content regularly, showcasing their yummylicious range of desserts and bread.
Apart from this, Ali never fails to welcome his guests wholeheartedly and make them feel super comfortable at Farine!
Technology Bedding
The restaurant experience back in the 90s was completely different from what it is today. From finding a restaurant to dining, everything took more time, more patience, and more effort. Diners nowadays couldn’t fathom going back to those times, simply because we’ve all gotten too used to the convenience and efficiency of depending on technology.
Technology isn’t the budget-sucking monster that is only about meeting diners’ needs. It makes life far easier for restaurant owners. With POS coming into play, it allows diners to use a tablet to order and pay, helping the restaurant owner to cut labor costs since they won’t be needing as many servers. POS technology, simply put, is a super-advanced cash register. It helps in the collection and interpretation of data as well. Ali has been using Posist at his outlet.
“With Posist, manual labor has been cut to a huge extent. The interface is very smooth and user-friendly. It helps in managing all the cash flow statements and giving accurate real-time reports. It has surely helped in streamlining the operations,” says Ali.
Ali concludes by saying that at the end of the day, his goal is to treat his patrons with the utmost care and respect and serve them with the best quality products. It is essential to sustain the business, not just by working hard but by working smart!
