TOP 5: Matters most on a Middle East chef's mind
Caterer Middle East sits down with some culinary whizzes and finds out what are the key issues concerning the region right now:
The Chefs
- Benjamin Orpwood, executive chef, Toko Group
- Colin Clague, executive chef, Qbara Dubai
- Genny Lorenzo, head chef, Marco Pierre White Grill
- Jeffrey Whitfield, head chef, Cravin’ Cajun
- Ryan Waddell, head chef, Reform Social & Grill Dubai
- Edi Pancamala, chef de cuisine, Chinwaggery & Soul
- Francisco Llanos, head chef, Kempinski Mall of the Emirates
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1 Limitations in running restaurants
Do chefs in the region have the ability to direct their restaurants the way they want? According to the experts, it’s the standalone restaurants versus hotel restaurants on this issue, with the latter saying there were more layers of approvals in order to see their vision through to reality.
However, Cravin’ Cajun head chef Jeffrey Whitfield says it’s easy for him to push the restaurant in the direction he wants, even though he’s based in a hotel, because he specialises in a cuisine not many others can do. “Before I got here the old chef had slapped some Creole mustard on the plate and called it a Cajun dish! I have total freedom to do what I want because no one knows about it.”
Reform Social & Grill Dubai head chef Ryan Waddell admits that while there are some authorisation procedures in place, there are “rarely tweaks” as he understands the brand concept well.
Qbara Dubai executive chef Colin Clague says: “When you are a standalone you have a lot more freedom and you can put your own stamp on it. If you’re part of a hotel you always have central office looking over you. They can be very adaptive but you have also got to go through hierarchy; if you’re standalone you can break out of the box.”
Toko Dubai executive chef Benjamin Orpwood agrees and says that as partner in the company, he doesn’t have to worry about anyone else’s input. He explains: “I keep the GM and HR people well out of the kitchen so I think that’s why the kitchen runs so smoothly. I’m lucky because I don’t have to go to anyone for approval.”
Mövenpick Jumeirah Beach Chinwaggery & Soul chef de cuisine Edi Pancamala reveals that sometimes, in the hotel industry, the chef isn’t involved in creating the kitchen, which hampers freedom right from the start.
Newcomer to the region, Table 9 chef patron Darren Velvick, says he is quite lucky heading up Table 9, because he is “almost stand alone within Hilton”. He continues: “It’s my name above the door and I’ve got free rein to put what I want on the menu. I do have to follow procedure and get things signed off, but they are very supportive of me.”
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2 Ordering essentials - why is it difficult?
Whether or not chefs get to set the vision for their restaurants, another issue — perhaps related — crops up. The ability to sign off on orders for essential elements — be it uniforms or produce — for their outlet.
Orpwood says frustrations abound with the procedures in place for chefs to get basic essentials for their restaurant. He says: “You have to sign everything off through about 25 people. We are a standalone restaurant and I ordered a freezer jacket three months ago and I still haven’t got it!”
Marco Pierre White Grill, Conrad Dubai head chef Genny Lorenzo says compared to the US, there’s a lot more people to go through to get basics. “In the US I could just pick up the phone and I’d get what I need in two minutes.”
However, she does explain why this might be the case: “It’s about measuring productivity. I think it’s because it’s such a large brand and once you expand out of your home country there have to be ways to track things. When you’re in a huge company there are so many people involved.”
Whitfield agrees and says: “I have the same issues too. If I was in the US I would just go get my produce.”
Pancamala reveals that an automatic online ordering system also has its limitations. “It’s a big challenge for us — for example if you want to order broccoli there will be five types and when you place the order it automatically goes to the cheapest product and you can’t do anything about it.”
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3 Suppliers - a love-hate relationship
It’s inevitable — chefs and suppliers can have rocky relationships. It’s almost like a series of trials and errors until culinarians find a company that understands what they really need and cater to that.
Clague says that while suppliers in the UAE can perform deliveries every day, chefs have to place orders well in advance so whether or not they need the product at a particular time, it has to be accepted. “Whereas everywhere else in the world you can order every day,” he adds. He also says that if you accept, even once, ingredients of lower quality, the trend continues.
Kempinski Hotel Mall of the Emirates head chef Francisco Llanos agrees and says: “As soon as you send it back they will realise [you mean business] and they will not play with you.”
Lorenzo says the important thing is establishing that relationship with the purchasing manager at the hotel and with the supplier as well.
She explains: “Purchasing managers will automatically find the cheapest thing because they will look at the invoice and they need to look good when they present their numbers. So establish that good relationship and let them know that it’s not acceptable.
“Yes, take some hits on things like carrots and onions but with other things you have to have quality. And receiving is important too — if something falls below standard you have to reject it immediately otherwise they’ll keep sending it.”
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4 Food Costs
Ingredient quality relates to the cost of food as well. Clague says: “You have got to get the best ingredients you can. Let’s face it, people in Dubai can afford to eat. I take a 40% food cost on the top items.”
Lorenza says there are a lot of restaurants out there which rip people off. “I think cost savings is also waste management.” Llanos agrees and adds: “But if you buy good quality the waste will be less, so that will help you to maintain costs.”
Orpwood points out that it’s important to cater to the “regular people — the teachers, the nurses, the engineers”. He explains: “If you want to blow money go for it but we have to give people choices. The guys we are working with are rich guys so we have to tell them to make it accessible to normal people.”
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5 Young Chefs
Young chefs are all the rage, but old-school is the only way to pass on skills. It has reached a point where nearly every chef Caterer Middle East talks to reminisces about the time when youngsters working in the F&B industry actually paid their dues, as compared to taking shortcuts up the ladder.
Orpwood says: “When we started in Dubai, it was quite difficult because we hired all the staff from here and my issue is that people move up the ranks really fast. You have general managers at 25 and they thought Dubai was the be-all-and-end-all — they had never worked anywhere else and they would focus more on the handbag hooks for tables rather than refrigeration of produce.”
Clague and Waddell say it’s not just a Dubai phenomenon; rather it’s a worldwide concern that’s filtering into the Middle East as well. Students graduating from hospitality school assume they will get a high ranking job and then get surprised when they don’t.
Alternatively, our experts say, these young chefs find someone to pay them an exorbitant salary with a job title far beyond their years.
One of the common concerns echoed across the board was the inability of new chefs to carry out basic skills like deboning a chicken or filleting a fish.
Velvick points out that certain new techniques used in the kitchen, such as the water bath, takes the knowledge of cooking meat by yourself away. “There are so many young cooks today who are hot shots — who only know water bath, who do all the froths and foams but if you say, ‘the water bath’s gone wrong, cook it in the pan’, they don’t know what to do.” All chefs agreed that this is a problem.