He says: “The story grew and I was getting involved in creating the food for them. It’s not about doing cookery lessons for them, we don’t do that at present; we may do it long-term. We have Kings School now, and there are other schools we are hoping to link up with, which looks very promising.”
He asserts it’s not about dieting, but giving children the essential nutrients they need in their daily meals. “It depends on what you mean by dietary food. The only diet we’re looking to do is give children what they need, and that is protein. They need some fat content, they need all of that protein, and at the same time we want to make sure there are lots of fruits and vegetables included. We make sure there are no additives in any of our food at all.”
In addition, Rhodes also is one of the supporters and a guest lecturer of the ICCA Dubai Continuing Education Award, an annual 100% scholarship programme for 30 young industry chefs. The initiative will train and certify talented but financially underprivileged young chefs in the UAE hospitality industry.
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The reason behind this, he reveals, was the education he received at Thanet Technical College. “Education for me, back in the 70s, was so important. They were some of the very best years of my career in some respects.”
He cites his tutors as being some of the best in the industry, and here breaks off to pay respects to Peter Barratt, one of his tutors who passed away recently.
He continues: “Many young people come directly into the industry which is not a bad thing, because I still feel like if somebody has got drive in them we would still be able to tutor him or her. But they would just be learning what I want to show them. The great thing about going to college in that era was that I was very lucky to have fantastic tutors. The reason I believe in education is because of what Peter Barratt provided for me.”
With a newly refurbished restaurant, are there more venues on the horizon for the inimitable chef? He says honestly: “There are many chefs out there — and I’m certainly not going to mention them — whom you are reading about every six months opening a new restaurant, and they’ve got endless [venues] across the world. Which is great, good luck to them. I don’t think like that, I don’t work like that. If I take on a project, I will not start moving on to another until I think I’ve got that one right.”
And so, while he believes Rhodes W1 has had a great start, the chef is already looking at ways in which to tweak a few things. He scoffs at those who say there are no seasons in this region, and is thinking about how he will change the menu on a seasonal basis.
He says: “I want to start introducing something a little bit lighter, I want to maybe even change our style of service slightly. I’m not being set in my ways with this restaurant, I’m willing to look and change to see how we can please the customer.
“Again it’s about entertainment, it’s not just about the waiters — we need to entertain with what we’re putting on a plate. The show begins when the food arrives.”
Rhodes continues: “That keeps me very lively. Hence, not taking anything else on. However, there are a couple of other projects on the horizon which I cannot disclose at the moment because until I’ve signed a contract I can’t. They are in Dubai — not restaurants, but all within the industry. So keep watching!”
In addition, Rhodes is looking to confirm details of a new TV series based in the Middle East around the regional cuisine (see pg 6).
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