Cheese-less toast, cutlets sans chicken on Deccan Queen leaves commuters irate

On Monday morning actor Khurshed J Lawyer popularly known as Swami from Munnabhai MBBS grumbled on Twitter about the cheese and chickenless grub being served in the iconic dining car of the MumbaiPune Deccan QueenHis tweet echoed what other regulars of the train have been complaining about for months a steady dip in the quality of food served in the car since the Indian Railways Catering and Tourism Corporation IRCTC brought on board a new catering contractor last NovemberDeccan Queens famous dining car the only one on a CR train can serve 32 passengers and offers affordable vegetarian and nonvegetarian food And most commuters have not been able to digest this shift The complaints have been persistent since the new contractor appointed by IRCTC took over in November Its not that the food is worse but it seems like they are not able to match the earlier catering standards Lawyer told middayIRCTC brought in a new caterer for the dining car in November 2017Chicken cutlessHed tweeted on Monday about eating cheese toast that barely had any cheese and chicken cutlet from which the chicken appears to have flown The only edible thing he had was the omelette which had an abundant amount of onions Even Merwans patties priced at Rs 12 and Rs 15 offer loads of chicken he jokedLawyer then pointed out another serious problem in the car inadequate wait staff Theres just one waiter serving so many tables and the wait keeps getting longer and longer The tea I ordered came after 45 minutes as coffee Theres surely scope for improvement said LawyerKhurshed J LawyerDifferent ratesLawyer is among many commuters who feel the same way Harsha Shah chairperson of the PuneMumbai passenger association who has been associated with the Deccan Queen for over a decade now said there have been complaints about the quality of food from the time the change came into place with the temporary contractorOne thing Ive seen is that the rates of the items seem to be different in the morning and evening Many have approached me with complaints and I have asked them to lodge formal complaints she saidApart from the quality several items that were on the previous menu seem to be missing too and those that are available dont taste the same Some of the popular items on the earlier menu were baked beans with buttered bread cheese toast sandwich cheese omelette pomfret bread with potato chips and chicken cutlet served in customised crockeryLost its charmAmbernath resident Akash Karnani who has been a regular commuter for several years says the food is causing a dip in the footfall as well Deccan Queen is the most loved train for Mumbais office crowd But since the caterers changed the footfall has dropped The reason behind this is the poor tasting and lowstandard food served by the new contractor There have been instances when travellers are left with fewer food choices than those shown on the menuEven the tea served now feels like it is missing the love that was added by the previous catering staff I recently tried the cheese omelette which was surprisingly low on cheese Even the cheese toasts are full of oil and dont appeal to us anymore It feels like CRs most iconic train has lost its charm with its food he addedIRCTC saysDespite complaints from regular commuters IRCTC vehemently denies their claims Arvind Malkhede IRCTCs group general manager western region said Were trying to streamline the processes and well never allow any compromise on the quality of food Attention is paid to all kinds of complaints on food and cateringPinakin Morawala IRCTC spokesperson said We have taken up the complaints We do not compromise on quality and quantity of food As far as the cheese toast is concerned cheese cant be seen when it is mixed with batter and fried Chicken is finely shredded and mixed with masala while preparing the cutlet However will try to incorporate more of cheese and chicken Omelette can be ordered by passengers without chilli onion etc Regarding service staff in dining car the peak hours have full occupancy in coaches as well as dining car However all efforts will be made to involve more staff as and when requiredWe would like to reiterate that a majority of our passengers have appreciated in writing the services and quality of food served by IRCTC on Deccan QueenAlso readIRCTC orders enquiry into complaint of quality of food served on Duronto ExpressCatch up on all the latest Mumbai news crime news current affairs and also a complete guide on Mumbai from food to things to do and events across the city here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates