School of Business and Law

Tuesday, 26 May 2020

The hospitality industry has suffered as a result of COVID-19, this has resulted in large reductions in casual hospitality jobs. Many of our School of Business and Law hospitality students are employed in this industry while they study.

Dr Edmund Goh, Senior Lecturer specialising in Hospitality Management at the School of Business and Law, came up with the idea to speak to his industry contacts and do something for the hospitality students who lost their casual jobs.

“I approached the restaurant 2 Fat Indians and together with Kash, the Restaurant Manager, we really wanted to support and help the ECU hospitality students during this difficult period”, says Dr Goh.

Kashish (Kash) Gambhir, who graduated from ECU and School of Business and Law in 2019 from a Master of International Hospitality Management, has seen COVID-19 getting its grip on the hospitality industry, and it has affected everyone’s daily life.

“As soon as I heard about this event, I was excited because I felt it was the right thing to do. I have been an international student and I could relate to the hardship. Our dine in was shut during the time but 2 Fat Indians will always be there to serve the community. We sincerely wish all the students and their loved ones the best health and as much happiness they can muster for the times ahead”, says Kashish.

“It was a great event. We gave out a total of 61 lunch boxes. This was made possible with 2 Fat Indians restaurant sponsoring the lunch boxes”, says Dr Goh.

“It was a great opportunity to catch up with ECU hospitality students and see how they are coping and remind them that we, ECU and the hospitality industry, are still thinking about them and supporting them through this difficult period”, said Dr Goh.

2 Fat Indians has three locations throughout the Perth Region, with branches in Highgate Beaufort Street, Westfield Carousel Cannington and Joondalup Lake Side Shopping Mall. As of Monday the 18^th of May, 2 Fat Indians were very excited to open for service for dine-ins. But of course, with some restrictions and by carefully following the government guidelines.

“The first day of dine in opening was great which were limited to 20 people. People were excited and all measures of Covid -19 safety has been strictly taken according to the government guidelines and policies”, says Kash.

Kash says it was a very busy first week, but also a very successful one and he’s beyond happy to be back.

“The reviews are KPI’s for us and we have got some positive reviews on the very first day and till date. Customers are happy and I am glad they are supporting and dining with us. We will be at the service because the show must go on”, Kash continues.

Kashish Gambhir came to Australia from India on an international student visa to pursue a master’s in international hospitality from ECU and joined 2 Fat Indians in December 2017, as a trainee bartender. Today, he is the restaurant manger for the Joondalup branch and oversee the entire restaurant operations there. We took the opportunity to ask him about a few of his best tips for a successful career in hospitality.

“A few tips and tricks I’d like to share to the students who are getting world ready are to undertake an industry specific training (such as work-integrated-learning), networking is key, and find your niche specialisation and master it”, he says.

“With the opportunity to travel and work worldwide, it’s no wonder the travel and tourism industry is an attractive career path for today’s graduates”, he adds.

We would like to thank 2 Fat Indians and Kashish Gambhir for sponsoring our hospitality students with a free meal, and a thank you to Dr Edmund Goh for starting this wonderful initiative.

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