Last month, I was tasked with collating a list of 30 catering schools and culinary programmes from across the world for HotelierMiddleEast.com, and it was definitely a mammoth task. Not only were there many to choose from, the kind of places I found were extremely different. From classes and certificates at farms, to degrees handed out by educational institutions, and more.
But education doesn’t stop with a certificate - it’s something that continues through to the kitchens these chefs start working in.
Fümé head chef Grant Brunsden said that he definitely follows this ethos as it was the way he was trained. Chefs in his kitchen are encouraged to tweak recipes, submit ideas for improvement, and if all goes well, the dish makes the final menu.
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Acknowledging their efforts is important, he said. It’s something the magazine has constantly championed as well — empowerment. It’s not just front-of-house that needs to be motivated this way, it’s the back-of-house too.
Education is also about keeping abreast of the local market. Brunsden also told us that when he first came to Dubai, he wasn’t aware of the issues surrounding hammour, but after learning about it, he was convinced he would not offer that species on the menu. In this regard, answers which are flooding through for the Caterer Middle East Head Chef Survey are interesting.
While the full results will be revealed in the September issue, we have seen chefs saying they were not aware that hammour is overfished, while some said they were continuing sales in spite of the controversy around it because it sells well. Others revealed they removed it from menus once they realised what the problem was.
But it’s all about the basics as well. Some head chefs have told us they are aghast when their juniors don’t know how to cook without using a water bath or a sous vide cooking appliance. It’s here where old school clashes with the modern era.
We wondered whether the internet was a factor; where information is available at a click of a button, is it no wonder that impatience runs high? Jumeirah at Etihad Towers chef de cuisine Benjamin Whatt said the world wide web was actually a wonderful thing. He remembered having to learn things the hard and long way, and said techniques, methods, and news are all out there, and it was the passionate ones who looked out for these, and honed them into skills.
So even if you attend any one of these fine culinary institutions around the world, don’t rest on those laurels. The F&B industry is a fluid one, and it would not do to get stuck in a rut. Adapt and observe, and you will go far.
Devina Divecha, Editor.
Email: devina.divecha@itp.com
Twitter/Instagram: CatererME
Facebook: CatererMiddleEast
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