Tea at the Ritz

Ritz-Carlton Dubai’s new executive chef Stephane Puverel discusses being the new kid on the block and being creative in the kitchen.

How did you begin your career in the catering industry?
My career began as a toddler in my grandmother’s kitchen. Later, I joined a hotel school in France, and worked there as well as in Monaco, Geneva, and London before moving to South Africa where I worked on a safari train for 18 months as a trainee sous chef.

Following my time in South Africa I joined a major international hotel group in New Orleans, holding positions from restaurant chef to executive sous chef.

I joined the Ritz-Carlton in Doha as executive sous chef in November 2007, transferred to the Ritz-Carlton Portman Shanghai in the same position in October 2008 and was promoted to executive chef of that property just one year later.

I was in Shanghai for three years until recently, when I joined our Dubai property.

What are your immediate and long term plans in your new role?
My immediate plans are to put an imprint on our product and create a good environment for our guests and employees. My long term plans are to work through the expansion and renovation of the property to develop a top level product that matches the facilities we will have when the project is completed.

Do you think being in the role of executive chef means you have less time to be creative?
My feeling is that it is actually the opposite because you need to adjust your creativity based on your team’s strength and skill set. When thinking for yourself, you know how far your skills can take you but when you think for others, and if you know your team well enough, the sky is the limit.

What is your personal management style in the kitchen?
I like to involve the key players in my team in whatever we do — and this can mean taking people out of their prime specialty. This usually provides great results as each team member approaches the same thing from different angles. The bottom line for me is to keep the fire burning inside the team members.

Do you envisage any particular challenges in this position?
Nothing particular comes to mind, but challenges are what keep things interesting and they present themselves in every way, shape and form when you least expect them. Dealing with them and learning from the outcome makes us better at our jobs.

What is the most important part of your role as an executive chef?
The most important thing I do is to make sure that we offer the best quality product on a consistent basis and to be a great leader to our talented culinary team.

What is it like joining an already established team?
It is like being the new kid on the block, minus the awkwardness that usually comes with it. Once the introductions are done, it really comes down to fitting in and identifying the key individuals that will be essential in giving the team the shape we’d like it to take, while earning the team’s respect.

What is your favourite dish?
My favourite dish to cook is Seafood Gumbo, which is a traditional dish from Louisiana. I love cooking this dish because it involves a long cooking process, multiple spices and products, and reminds me of one of my favorite cities, New Orleans. My favourite dish to eat is Thai papaya salad (sum tom). Whenever I go back to Thailand, this is inevitably the first dish I order.