Chef & Ingredients Forum 2014 preview

The Caterer Middle East Chef & Ingredients Forum is all set to take place on October 8, 2014, at Grosvenor House Dubai and will bring together executive chefs, head chefs, chef de cuisines, pastry chefs, sous chefs, and F&B and culinary directors across the region.

The event’s advisory panel consisted of Jumeirah Hotels & Resorts group culinary director Christian Gradnitzer; The Act Dubai head chef Roberto Segura; Atlantis, The Palm VP — culinary Sascha Triemer; Fairmont Bab Al Bahr executive chef Cladys Magagna; Capital Club Dubai general manager Emma Cullen; Rang Mahal by Atul Kochhar head chef Amrish Sood; and Radisson Blu Dubai Deira Creek director of kitchens and Emirates Culinary Guild president Uwe Micheel.

These industry stalwarts met at Capital Club Dubai to set the agenda, and discussed which issues were needed to keep the conversation going at the conference.

FARM TO FORK

One of the topics that dominated a lot of the conversation at the meeting was the issue of farmers and local ingredients. Opinions flew around the room about how this should be tackled.

Gradnitzer said he had made it one of his objectives for this year and the next to think about sustainability in produce, and not just talk about it. He added: “Let’s all sit together and put our quantities together and ask the farmers, can you grow this? I’ve met a lot of companies over the last few years and they try to do it, but have not followed through. But we also haven’t given them the right support.”

Cullen said it would be great for the chefs to interact with “the people on the ground, who will give us a different perspective… the real farmers who can talk about the technical things.”

Sood said this initiative shouldn’t stop at the conference in October. He said: “Chefs also have to go to the farm and try to build a relationship with the farmers.” Micheel pitched in to concur. He said: “Yes I agree 100%; this is step two. We must know what’s available and who is there.” Gradnitzer again stressed the need to understand what the farmers needed as support from the F&B industry, while Triemer said the only concern he has had so far with getting local ingredients is consistency throughout the year.

However, prices were definitely a factor for the chefs to consider. Micheel revealed that a problem most restaurants faced was that when a good supplier is found and many five-star hotels started visiting them, the prices double. He said: “Just because we have local vegetables, we pay double? They also use too much water to grow here, it’s inefficient. We have perfect conditions to make energy, and shouldn’t be wasting water by growing a sub-standard product. How much does it make sense to grow these fruits and vegetables here? Where is the line… how much do we have to push local vegetables?”

Magagna pointed out that an issue was that the hospitality business in the region is growing much faster than local farms. “We are growing at the speed of light. There is not enough supply to go around.”

A suggestion was made by Micheel, whereby suppliers should be informed that when good quality local produce is available, to bring those instead of imported goods. Triemer added that due to the supply issue, all outlets in a hotel may not be able to use the ingredients. He said: “But one or two outlets should focus on it, and be a champion of local ingredients.”

Sood highlighted that the word ‘local’ needs to encompass regional produce, from across the Middle East and Levant. He said chefs need to highlight in their menus and to consumers when they use Omani vegetables for example. Sood explained: “It has to be part of the culture of the chef to respect the local products. Using local supplies shouldn’t be a trend or fashion, but has to be ingrained in the culture of the kitchen.”

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TECHNOLOGY & TRAINING

This topic has been a constant — training, and more recently, technology also plays a part. Micheel said: “Any equipment is good if it helps us develop more. It also helps reduce waste.”

Sood added that the use of good equipment is important because of the volume restaurants in the region cater to, and Triemer agreed that technology helps create consistency in the kitchen.

However, Micheel warned that the issue was not technology, but the people using it. He said: “The key is not equipment; it’s the people. There is a lack of people entering the business because of the demanding nature of the work. Here you get quantity, not quality.”

Segura admitted that perhaps this was a time concern. He said: “We bring them over but we never really train them properly. They move from place to place, knowing how to do one or two dishes.”

Micheel added: “People move from place to place being promoted each time without learning anything.” Gradnitzer agreed and said: “Let’s be honest, how much time do we have to train commis 3 chefs? We need a proper apprentice system. We all talk about it but never do it; we don’t take time out to train anyone. Basics are needed to develop strong, consistent, long-term restaurants properly.”

Segura suggested the industry coming together to develop a training document “so everyone has the same programme”.

Cullen said support from the authorities was imperative, and said there needs to be a proper infrastructure to stop the practice of chefs moving on to higher positions without the requisite training.

Segura added: “If Dubai wants to be on the map for gastronomy, like London, New York, or Lima, we are going in the wrong direction. The government needs to do something now to get better staff, better opportunities for companies to hire more knowledge.”

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SUPPORT SYSTEM

Chefs don’t just have to deal with matters in the kitchen, rather they are increasingly getting involved in the business elements of the F&B operations they work for.

Magagna said it was important for chefs to learn more about financial issues especially if they have problems with the management, so it will be easier to plead their case. He explained: “The financial part is essential to understand for a chef. They need to understand the business reasons before speaking to their boss about anything.”

Understanding more about the business does lead to steps up the career ladder, but then eventually leads to less time in the kitchen.

Micheel said: “Does an executive chef actually spend time in the kitchen? They mostly deal with PR, HR or marketing & sales.” Gradnitzer pointed out that the problem with the new breed of chefs is that they try to climb up the ladder faster, and that “the higher they get, the more they think they don’t need to cook anymore”. Triemer added: “People like to delegate tasks but at the end they don’t even know how to do it themselves.”

This brought the advisory panel back to the issue of training, and how there need to be better standards in the industry. In addition, a governing body to oversee chefs’ training was called for, as this was a gap in the market.

Sood said empowerment was also related. “There is a problem with missing ownership in the industry. If you don’t give ownership to the person taking care of the operation, then that’s a problem. The owners aren’t properly involved. If chefs own the restaurants, they care for it from top to bottom.”

Segura said through previous experiences in hotels, not many chefs can choose their ingredients without other departments getting involved. Sood agreed and said that as a chef, when he creates a menu, “why does the sales department have to decide the price of that menu? That is my food and I know what’s going in it. They need the recipe for the cost control but when the sales department price it, they don’t see the costing”.

Gradnitzer said relationships between different departments was of utmost importance, and pointed out there is a difference between standalone and hotel outlets. He said: “Independent outlets work more as a team than hotel ones; it’s like a family operation.”