[L-R] Richard Haddon, Julien Coron, Sam Bailey, Jimmy Barrat, Felix Hartmann. [L-R] Richard Haddon, Julien Coron, Sam Bailey, Jimmy Barrat, Felix Hartmann.

Rezayat Catering head chef Douglas Ellis brought across a strong contingent from Jubail in the Eastern Province for the competition. He detailed why the contest was beneficial for his team.

“It’s partly about prestige and it also encourages young chefs to improve their skills and get better,” he said. “When they see they are competing against other hotels, restaurants and catering companies, they see can see how good they are.”

Ellis also spoke about the emergence of more local, Saudi talent. “It’s happening more on the Western Province because you have more hotel business here and tourism is developing a lot,” he added.

Story continues below
Advertisement

“There are young Saudis willing to work in the business and they are being trained. And there are also guys in senior positions. The catering business was always seen as a woman’s job, so it was always looked down upon, but nowadays things are changing.”

Speaking on the sidelines on a rare break from observing the chefs and inspecting and tasting their creations, Saudi Arabian Chefs Association president and Saudi Arabian Airlines catering director Yasser Jad detailed the role of both the association and events like the Salon Culinaire in developing talent.

“We want to push young Saudis and encourage them,” he said.“They need to be really taken care of to be in the market.”

Jad added: “So we try to give them this special care. Because we cannot leave the young guys to do this without support. They will be scared to come here and cook in front of the chefs.”

Also running parallel to the competition was the Saudi Food Forum 2014. Although significantly curtailed by last-minute withdrawals of a number of speakers, it nevertheless provided a platform for some thought-provoking sessions.

Among these was one delivered by chef Thomas Gugler, WACS continental director for Africa & Middle East and executive chef and F&B director at Al Mashfa, on the role chefs have to play in sustainability and encouraging healthy lifestyles.

“The world population is growing too fast, so this means we have to change. We have to take care of our resources.
“We should eat more fruit and vegetables; at the moment we are eating too many meat products. We need to find substitutions for chicken and beef. Chefs can and should play a leading role in this.”

Salon Culinaire gold medal winners

- Arosha Kalinga Heankenda, Rezayat Catering (2)
- P. Shashika Cathayanea Peixis, Rezayat Catering (2)
- Nandika Perera, Rezayat Catering
- PK Nimal Siri, Rezayat Catering
- Indunil, Intercontinental
- Naina Singh, Hilton
- Rizwan Shaffee, Hilton