In Hotelier’s exclusive executive chefs roundtable, seven of the UAE’s top chefs discuss industry issues, from staffing shortages to supplier standards, and suggest how the industry should be overcoming these common gripes in order to succeed in an increasingly competitive marketplace

Meet the experts

Sebastien Castelot
executive chef, Radisson Royal Hotel, Dubai
A chef for the past 27 years, Castelot has been based in Dubai for eight years. He opened Radisson Royal Hotel, Dubai in 2010, originally managed by JAL, and is responsible for three outlets and a small function space.

Story continues below
Advertisement

Marco de Wildt
executive chef, MÖvenpick Hotel Ibn Battuta Gate Dubai
De Wildt has been based in Dubai for five months, having worked with MÖvenpick for six years. He opened MÖvenpick in Amsterdam but before that worked in boutique hotels and Michelin star restaurants. A chef for the past 24 years, he now oversees five outlets in the hotel plus West 14th on Palm Jumeirah. He will soon be opening Ortega, a tasting restaurant with wines and cheeses.

Sudqi Naddaf
executive chef, Kempinski Hotel Mall of the Emirates
Jordanian Naddaf has worked his way up the career ladder with Kempinski over the past 10 years. Prior to joining Kempinski in Dubai, which has three outlets including a new Spanish/Mediterranean tapas bar opening later this year, Naddaf was based at Kempinski Dead Sea. He has been a chef for 22 years in total.

Sebastian Nohse
resort executive chef, Madinat Jumeirah
With two decades in the business, Nohse has worked at both Michelin star restaurants and prestigious hotels such as The Dorchester in London and Mandarin Oriental in Hong Kong. He first moved to Dubai in 2004 as chef de cuisine at Burj Al Arab, then moved back to The Address Downtown in 2009 before rejoining Madinat. As resort executive chef for the complex, Nohse operates 25 restaurants as well as the Souk and CNI complex.

Jean-Luc Morcellet
executive chef, The Palace Downtown Dubai
French national Morcellet, who has 28 years’ experience as a chef, has worked on cruise liners, at London’s Dorchester and Dubai’s Grosvenor House, which he opened. Employed by Emaar Hospitality Group, he’s been the executive chef at The Palace for four years. Outlets include two signature restaurants and the external Palace Cafe and Pavilion Downtown.

Frank Noack
executive chef, Hilton Dubai Jumeirah Resort & Residences
Noack, a chef since his apprenticeship 31 years ago, was based in Germany for the first 22 years of his career. He has also worked in Africa for five years before moving to Dubai, where he is responsible for eight outlets. At Hilton Dubai Jumeirah, Noack is currently developing a rooftop restaurant called Pure.

David Miras
executive chef/F&B manager, Al Maha Dubai
Following his apprenticeship in France, Miras moved to the UK where he worked for 10 years in a variety of places including Clarence House. He then moved to Taiwan and Philippines before joining Starwood at Le Meridien Al Aqah in 2008.

Article continues on next page ...