Tuesday 28 June 2016

Fast Food is the soul of hospitality sector —Funmi Odubela, CEO, Blossoms Delight fast Food   Written by: 

wale Ojo Lanre
 June 29, 2016
Written by: 
wale Ojo Lanre

Fast Food Restaurant operation and service has been described as the soul of the hospitality sector which must not only be regulated but monitored for the growth of tourism in the country 
The Chief Executive Officer , Blossom Delight Fast Food,  Mrs Funmi Odubela  made this point while responding to posers on the import  of restaurant  in development of tourism sector 
She pointed out “Fast Food and Restaurant is the nerve centre of hospitality service. A tourism economy or sector without a qualitative restaurant sub- sector is just like a house with a family without the kitchen and a chef. You will agree with me that house can never enjoy any stability or development. Hence, our parents particularly our mothers lay more emphasis on building the culinary instinct of the girls”
Mrs Odubela, who has been in the fast food business in the past 10 years said that “ Any country wishing to be a tourists destination must have, apart from a well nurtured security system, good transportation scheme, then a well developed and thorough honed  fast food and restaurant  sub-sector capable of sustaining the quest of the visitors and tourists”.
She pointed out “The first item uppermost in the mind of a typical tourist and traveller is whether the country to be visited has good fast food restaurant culture.  It does not matter whether they are operated by locals or foreign franchisee. And this depends on the type of tourists. And that is why in any travel magazine, information, bulletin, fast food and restaurant matters top the contents.”
  Mrs Odubela said “To bring the point home, do you know that some people fly a particular airline just because of the service onboard? This is to tell you how important restaurant is to tourism. As every traveller will seek to know where to get what to eat”.
   She called on the Federal Government to recognise the import of fast food and restaurant to its drive at enhancing the tourism sector and ensure that the sub sector is properly monitored and regulated. 
“Our stride at luring tourists and investors may not be accelerated as we wish if quality attention is not paid to the fast food and  restaurant sub – sector of the tourism sector.”
Mrs Odubela called on the operators of fast food and restaurants in Nigeria to ensure quality service by dispensing   internationally acceptable standards and ethics at their selling point. 
She tasked indigenous fast food operators to engage trained personnel who are adept in the art of fast food operation. 
“We must not shy away from the fact that our services need upgrading and our staff need training. Fast food business is not a monopoly of an assumed super race as there is nothing there than recipe and handling.” 
Mrs Odubela who has trained over 200 in the art of dispensing fast food said “Most of my school graduates are found all over Nigeria who have been engaged by both franchise and local fast food companies.”

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