NEWS
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27 /05/ 10 - Balti House launches recession busting meal solution
Balti House has announced that it is expanding its range of delicious ethnic meals and sauces to include a great value for money complete meal in a combination meal pack with meat and sauce in one compartment and rice in the other.
Balti House has announced that it is expanding its range of delicious ethnic meals and sauces to include a great value for money complete meal in a combination meal pack with meat and sauce in one compartment and rice in the other.
The new range of 6 recipes include Ireland’s favourite Indian Ready Meal: Chicken Tikka Masala with Pilau Rice the mild and creamy Chicken Korma with Pilau Rice, the medium spicy Beef Rogan Josh packed full of flavour, a traditional Chicken Curry with Pilau Rice, a Vegetable Curry with a good variety of seasonal vegetables served with Pilau Rice and a new ethnic meal from another part of the world, Sweet and Sour Chicken with steam basmati rice. The new meals range retails at a very economical €3.99 offering great value for money for a generous 450g complete meal.
The new range will be available in local supermarkets and convenience stores nationwide from 1st July.
Ireland’s favourite Indian meals and sauces are still available in the original single pack format.
Made in Ireland, by Kohinoor Foods, Hyat Syed MD and his team of renowned restaurant-trained chefs, all Balti House meals are prepared using high quality herbs and spices ground in-house, with all sauces made from scratch using only the finest ingredients. Balti House does not use any curry powders, pre-mix powders or sauces in any of its meals. All meals are produced to the highest standards for taste, texture and quality, adhering to strict Halal requirements.
Kohinoor Foods currently employs 22 people in Ireland and will be growing this number to 30 by year end.
Balti House will be sampling the new range of Balti House meals in supermarkets around the country from 1st July for you to try!
For further information or image request, please contact:
Claire Moran / Sarah Gallagher
O'Leary PR & Marketing
Tel: 00353 1 6789888 -
07 /07/ 09 - Artisans
The Post
By Emma KennedyKOHINOOR FOODS, South City Business Park, Tallaght, Dublin 24 An American citizen of Indian descent, Hyat Syed moved to Ireland in the late 1990s to work in the food sector.
Initially he worked for Kraft Foods and then branched into the restaurant trade, opening Indian restaurants in the Dublin suburbs of Ranelagh and Dun Laoghaire.
As he came to understand the Irish market and Irish consumers' approach to food, Syed sawan opening in the market for a company that produced quality ethnic meals and sauces, and in 2004 he launched Kohinoor Foods.
The company, which produces the Balti House range of authentic Punjabi meals and sauces, was a means of expanding his business interests while diversifying away from the restaurant business.
"Manufacturing food in this way is totally different to making food to order in a restaurant setting," he says.
However, Syed was adamant that the meals and sauces would not skimp on quality, and insisted that sauces were made from scratch.
Instead, he favours genuine flavours created by fresh herbs and spices. His love of food comes from his mother, whom he describes as a tremendous cook.
While he feels he didn’t necessarily inherit her skill in the kitchen, his palate was honed by many years of eating quality meals. "I know good food when I taste it," he says.
The business is divided into two branches - a wholesale and a retail unit. The Balti House retail range consists of seven meals and sauces, with three new meals set to launch in the near future, while the wholesale division supplies Indian food to airlines, hospital, canteens and delis.
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07 /07/07 - ‘Managing is like being the conductor of an orchestra'
In the latest instalment of Metro Eireann’s Meet The Boss, SANDY HAZEL speaks to Hyat Syed, MD of Tallaght-based Kohinoor Premium Quality Meals
Born and reared in New York, Hyat Syed is of Pakistani descent. Now living in Ireland, his American accent is slight, but the attitude is still there.Syed studied for his MBA in New York and then worked for years in multi-nationals such as Kraft Foods and Hallmark Cards as a brand manager in marketing. Meanwhile, his father-in-law Mohammad Latif was running the successful Punjab Balti House and Grill restaurant in Ranelagh.
"I mentioned to my father-in-law that I was considering moving from the corporate world and he suggested I try the restaurant business," he says. "It was only ever going to be for a year, a sabbatical, to help my family. But fate and events took over and here I am still.”
Syed moved to Dublin, and a formal shareholding in his father-in-law's company made him the managing director. The restaurant was doing well, but Syed wanted to use his skills to take the business onto a new level.
"We had tried opening another restaurant in Dun Laoghaire, but the location was not right and we moved on, looking at other ways to expand."
Syed looked around at the market and realised that very few supermarkets were selling Pakistani/Indian style cuisine. "Marks and Spencer's were doing a range, but I felt there was room for a real authentic, premium quality product in other outlets," he says.
Pre-packed individual meals and sauces became the plan. But this involved a big change of practice for the business. "Preparing food for immediate consumption by clients in a restaurant is a totally different business to preparing catering packs for hospitals, for flights with Gate Gourmet, for multiples like SuperValu," explains Syed. "We went on a huge learning curve."
Food testing, two years of planning, complying with the many directives around food safety, acquiring dedicated premises for production and hustling for contracts all became part of the new business – Kohinoor.
“While the regulations and permits seem daunting," he says, "it takes very little extra energy to do something right. It takes nearly the same amount of energy to do things the wrong way."
An initial approach to Enterprise Ireland for start-up assistance did not get a positive response, but once Kohinoor became a reality, Enterprise Ireland came to Syed. He did not need investment, but he did ask John Magill of Enterprise Ireland for help.
"When you run a business it can be lonely," explains Syed, "you have no-one to ask for advice or help with decisions. I asked Enterprise Ireland to give us some real worthwhile mentoring. I needed honest feedback and critical analysis."
The counselling and advice from consultants he received helped Syed in his strategic planning and approaches to the retail multiples."It was very practical," he says. "I particularly appreciated the help from Dr Catherine Halbert on food safety and procedures. John Hickey also supported me in an incredible way. He helped facilitate so much. Enterprise Ireland is also investing by way of a grant to hire some much needed staff."
The process resulted in strong contacts and links within the industry. "I must credit Musgrave’s for giving new producers a chance; they are helping small companies in Ireland,” he notes. “Getting product onto shelves is what it's all about."
So what are the most important criteria to running a successful business? Syed admits that running a family business can be tricky: "There can be a blurring of roles, you must be careful to keep boundaries to prevent trouble."
Communicating with staff is high on Syed's list of priorities. "Managing a restaurant, or any business, is like being the conductor of an orchestra," he says. "It is my job to ensure that we are all playing from the same page. People look for direction."
While both the Punjab Balti House and Kohinoor boast an international staff – from Nepal, Russia, France, Ireland, Argentina, India and Pakistan – Syed is clear about what he looks for in people:
"I need a team who have energy, a good attitude and team players," he says. "I don’t care if they are purple, red green or orange." -
07/ 07 / 07 - EI hopes for 1,260 jobs from new firms
State agency Enterprise Ireland is hosting an event at which it is backing 76 companies which plan to create 1,260 jobs.
The companies, which have been identified as having significant potential for growth, are taking part in a showcase event at Leopardstown in Dublin.
The Government, through Enterprise Ireland, has bought shares in the firms to give them cash to grow. They are expected to generate exports of €110m and create 1,260 jobs.
AdvertisementMore than half of the firms are located outside Dublin. Despite the view that manufacturing is in steep decline, many of the jobs planned are in that sector.
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07/ 07 / 07 - Community News
In 2009, Kohinoor Foods made a substantial food donation to the Capuchin Day Centre for Homeless People.
We were delighted to offer our assistance to this wonderful charitable organization. For almost 40 years the Capuchin Day Centre has been providing hot meals, food parcels, and clothing for the homeless and needy people of Dublin city. For more information visit www.homeless.ie/Capuchin_Day_Centre/Welcome.html