The Middle East’s consumers are known for having a sweet tooth and an insatiable appetite for desserts. A staggering 39 percent eat desserts on a daily basis, with a further 40 percent eating desserts up to three times a week, according to a recent survey by Nestlé Middle East.
Consequently, dessert menus have become an important part of F&B in the region and operators are careful to offer a diverse selection that includes those most popular with consumers – namely cakes and Arabic sweets, according to Nestlé’s survey.
Desserts, by their very nature, are the most memorable part of a dining experience. They provide a crescendo to the meal and deliver the taste that will linger with the diner when they leave.
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In many cases, a restaurant’s success can rest on the creativity of its pastry chef and the quality of its dessert ingredients. But it’s a situation that can place a great many pressures on suppliers and chefs to continually innovate in order to stay on the cutting edge of a fast-expanding sector.
“The F&B experience at the moment in the Middle East is one of the most impressive in the world,” explains Boiron Freres area sales manager, Nael Berry. “In Dubai for instance, there is a must-visit restaurant on every corner!
“This competition in excellence creates an energy that encourages chefs to continually be on the lookout for new ideas, concepts and products. I think that chefs need to take risks because desserts are in the last part of the menu – they form the guest’s final impression of the experience.
“Therefore, our responsibility as a supplier to the region’s dessert market is to guarantee a constant high quality in all of our products they use.”
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