Christian Merieau, managing director and partner at MMAC Design Associates, often works with hotels in the region on redesigning kitchen spaces, and says that what many consider to be the challenges of refurbishment are actually, for a designer, an opportunity to work with chefs and to “design outside of the box”.
Speaking about a successful project where he is facing some interesting challenges, he says: “We are currently working on the refurbishment of the Rotana Fujairah Al Aqah Beach Resort, where all the MEP equipment was to remain untouched. We have transformed a large dining hall into an elaborate restaurant with intimate dining areas which are near live show kitchens with ambient counters.”
Merieau sympathises with the constrictive parameters chefs often face when coming into a hotel with a poorly designed kitchen.
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“Once,” he remembers, “we worked on the design of a hotel project in an existing building with a very small floor plate that was never intended by the architects to be a hotel. The BOH was so tight that most of the service flow was passing through the public areas, which created a serious discomfort for the hotel staff and the guests alike.”
With the competitive nature of F&B in the Middle East, particularly in Dubai, design is a consideration that outlets simply can’t emphasise enough. Yet the big question is how to stay financially competitive, but still have the most modern equipment?
Rao suggests that flexible design is the best route, with modular installation always left as an option, which could cut down on time lost when refitting and be a great value-engineered option.
He points out that kitchen design is now moving from something that is seen as a BOH, hidden element, to a work place with an opportunity to inspire creativity and create a sense of pride.
“Kitchens are now being seen as spaces that create energy and can give inspiration,” he enthuses,“Which can then be translated into the food that’s being plated.”
Ultimately, it’s important to remember that the kitchen, after all, is the heart of the operation — the most powerful part of any outlet —the place with the power to bring the childhood delight of first tasting a delicacy rushing back, and the power to keep us returning again for our next taste. And that is worth its weight in fit-out costs.
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