Young talent
More than a team event, the salon was a chance for young chefs — often in reality friends working in competing hotels — to prove themselves as individuals, to add a significant ‘gong’ to their CVs, and to reach for a personal benchmark of excellence for the sake of pure self-satisfaction.
Preparations at Le Meridien Al Aqah Beach Resort, for example, started long before the event, as GM Patrick Antaki explains: “We started practising for it well over a month ago. Some of the boys and girls, a month and a half ago. We even had a mock competition a few weeks ago for them to start improving and taking the criticism and to be able to cope with all the stress that the competition brings. It was good fun!”
The competition also represents the gathering of a ‘brotherhood’, as George Iacob, F&B manager at the Hilton Fujairah comments: “It is very nice for networking – and one of the reasons we get together is that all these hotels in Al Aqah and Fujairah, when we need help, they will pitch up.”
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Chef Prasad and Miramar Resort GM, Ashraf Helmy started the event after early successes by their chefs’ team at salons in Dubai.
“Me and the chef, we’re talking about how we can make our boys more enthusiastic and to give it more effort,” explains Helmy. “On the East Coast, there is not much happening, so we decided to start our first competition.
Our dream was not that big. We were talking about something very small. It was like a social thing, like competing against each other in football. In our wildest dreams, we did not think that it was going to become this big. In two years, I think to reach this size is a great success.
“We are planning next year to make it much bigger, to include Ras Al Khaimah, Ajman – all the Northern Emirates. It started and I don’t think anybody can stop it now.”
About the Author: Guy Wilkinson is a director of Viability, a hospitality and property consulting firm in Dubai. For more information, email: guy@viability.ae
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