Our Bureau

Hyderabad , Sept. 1

WHAT'S cooking? You ask this question and Mr Gandra Praveen Rao would say his 100 culinary staff are busy preparing 10,000 meals - everyday!

Seventy-five per cent of these go to corporate clients scattered around the city.

Of an estimated catering industry size of Rs 500 crore in the twin cities, the company has a share of Rs 8 crore.

Mr Praveen Rao, Chairman and Managing Director of Ultimate Hospitality Services (UHS), said his company served food to Dr Reddy's, GE Capital International Services, Mentor Graphics, Dell, Nuclear Fuel Complex and many other corporates.

He was addressing a press conference here on Thursday to announce the certification received from Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP), the Australia based International Standards Certification Pty Ltd.

He claimed that his was the only catering company in the country to get the certificate. "Only a handful of companies have got this," he said.

They followed a stringent set of parameters to assess the safety and hygiene of the food prepared and delivered by the companies' facilities.

UHS hoped that the certification would attract more MNCs and other high-end clients were strict about the safety of the food they got for their employees.

"We are planning to become a Rs 100-crore company in the next five years," he said and added that the overall catering business was growing at 40 per cent, while corporate catering witnessed a growth of 300 per cent in the twin cities.

The growing importance for the city as a MICE (meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions) destination would further boost the industry.

"We are going to expand our services to Bangalore and New Delhi, keeping in mind the queries from our existing clients," he Mr Rao said.

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