Sebastian Nohse cooks up executive chef award

Madinat Jumeirah’s executive chef Sebastian Nohse was crowned Executive Chef of the Year at the Hotelier Middle East Awards.

Nohse, who oversees more than 25 restaurants under his remit at the resort, was responsible for relaunching Segreto after introducing new staff members including a chef, a restaurant manager and a sommelier and changing the style to make it more informal.

Nohse spearheaded the creation of a three-month fully paid intensive apprentice programme for chefs. He also oversees back to basics training for 37 chefs at the complex – who then deliver this to another 600 chefs reporting to them – and he himself mentors the top 5% of high-performing chefs in order to line-up future leaders.

"I'm very excited, I didn’t really expect to win. But the most important thing for me... getting an award like this is never a one-man show. I've got an amazing team that lets me take the glory for all the hard work they actually invest in putting so it’s been a pleasure working in Madinat Jumeirah and thank you to all my boys and girls working every day," the thrilled winner enthused.

Next on the agenda for Nohse is a raft of renovations and new openings at the resort. "In December we are opening Tortuga. The former Wharf has just been shut down and we are now going through an extensive refurbishment. Next year we are renovating MJ’s, we are renovating Pierchic and we are renovating Al Muna in Madinat Jumeirah so it’s a very hectic time but very exciting to see so much reinvestment into our premier restaurants and resorts – so that’s great," he said.

One of the most hotly contested awards of the evening, Nohse managed to grab the title over Atlantis The Palm’s vice president culinary Sacha Triemer, who was highly commended by the judges.

The nominee list also included heavyweights such as Frank Noack, cluster executive chef at Hilton Dubai Jumeirah Resort & Hilton Dubai Jumeirah Residences; Paul Hage, executive chef at Habtoor Grand Beach Resort & Spa; and Hassan Massood, executive chef at Radisson Blu Hotel, Dubai Media City