The fifth annual Caterer Middle East Head Chef Survey was answered by 134 professional chefs based in the Middle East, and dealt with some of the most pressing issues they face today, and the general state of the industry in the region.

The survey was conducted online and was designed to allow chefs to weigh in with their thoughts of the industry, discuss trends, and reveal the opportunities and challenges they will face in the next year. We share the findings of the survey here, which has dished out some surprising results and exposed what chefs really think.

MONEY MATTERS

An interesting trend seen in the survey was that while there seemed to be a dip in the average spend per head through the recession years, it’s now slowly moving up. Last year, 4.5% of chefs surveyed said average spend per head was above US $1000. This year it’s inched up to 5.22%. In addition, the most common average spend per head according to the surveyed chefs was $40-60, moving up from $20-40 last year.

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Has the spending power of customers increased, or has it been the case of prices rising due to food costs or prices of raw ingredients? One chef said a challenge s/he faced was the “hike in price of raw materials, and our guests don’t know that”, while another agreed and said there has been an “increase in produce costs”.

However, quite a few chefs think this change is driven by consumers. Susy Massetti, executive chef at The Palace Boutique Hotel restaurant Masso, for one, said it was down to increased spending power. She explained: “In Bahrain we saw a sensible increase in spending; people seem to go out more and spend more, particularly in restaurants. The customer’s financial mood is more relaxed and positive, hence the increase in revenues. To give an idea, we sold in the range of more than 20kg of Italian truffles recently and it’s not stopping.” This reflects in the survey’s results where 25.7% said reduced consumer spending was a factor affecting their outlet.

Oberoi Dubai executive chef Dirk Haltenhof added his own spin, and attributed it to the kind of ingredients available. He said: “Thanks to the increase of restaurants in the high end segment, especially in five-star hotels and independent outlets, the growing knowledge and support by consumers towards sustainability in organic-grown F&B products and a high level of service knowledge, consumers are spending more on quality. There is a shift of quality in the market which supports the higher average cheques, and I foresee that this trend will continue.”

One chef who contributed to the survey agreed and said that guests are now “recognising quality and consistent product on offering with customer service” which is a great opportunity for restaurants that are looking to increase their popularity in the region.

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