Caterer Conference preview
As the Middle East F&B industry continues to develop, the Caterer Middle East Food & Business Conference grows alongside it.
In 2016, for the first time, the fifth annual food and business conference will be an all-encompassing one-day event dedicated to the F&B arena — the business of food, the kitchen and nightlife. Reflecting the united efforts of the F&B industry in the Middle East to put the region on the culinary map, the conference will bring more than 150 owners, F&B directors, chefs and general managers together to learn from one another.
Prior to finalising the conference agenda, Caterer Middle East met with F&B experts based in the UAE to assess the state of the industry and discuss some hot topics of interest to the industry.
Consumer demands and behaviours
The first trend the panel discussed was the ongoing shift among consumers towards making healthier dining choices. Today’s food landscape looks very different to ten years ago, with a growing interest in knowing what goes into the dishes we all eat. Additionally, with a never-ending stream of diet-related fads gaining attention, the definition of ‘healthy’ can be ambiguous and linked to specific diets, such as gluten free. If restaurants do not respond to specialist health demands, do they risk losing customers?
The panellists agreed that while awareness of health is a huge trend, the idea of ‘healthy’ food is hard to define, and can be subjective.
Sergio Lopez, co-founder of Bull & Roo Hospitality & Investments, commented: “What is healthy? Is it being vegetarian, vegan or paleo? Everyone looks at health in a different way. For me, it’s about balance and nutritiously getting the grain, protein and vegetables that you need. Many people take healthy [eating] to the extreme.”
Dirk Haltenhof, resort executive chef, Madinat Jumeirah, said: “Healthy eating is one of the biggest trends, especially in the UAE. We as F&B people have a responsibility [to provide healthy options] and I have focused on this in this year’s business plans.”
Darren Velvick, chef patron, The Croft, agreed: “It’s up to us educate people. I’d love The Croft to go fully, fully healthy but I’m worried people won’t jump on that bandwagon.”
It’s all about marketing, according to The Cutting Edge Agency founder Duncan Fraser-Smith who said: “The public is never going to have an issue with being given really great quality product but branding it as healthy will cut the market in half because the expectation is, ‘it’s going to have no flavour, it’ll be bland, it’s going to be boring’.”
There is a ‘chicken and egg’ way of looking at the issue — some of the panellists believed restautants should be guiding people towards healthier dishes and some felt they should respond to consumers, predominently. Tom Arnel, co-founder, Bull & Roo, Hospitality & Investments made the point that F&B operators need to ensure their workforces are educated enough to be able to deliver that message,.
On the other hand, Marcus Thelseff, co-founder, Whissle, said: “I don’t like the word ‘educating’ because it’s arrogant and we’re talking down to people. It comes down to if we lead and present products that are good, people will follow.”
Naim Maadad, CEO, Gates Hospitality, gave his take on the topic, remarking: “We shouldn’t confuse education with what we do for living — we provide people with solutions.”
The panellists all commented that interest in provenance and traceability is a growing trend, with consumers questioning sourcing almost as much as chefs. Haltenhof said “part of eating healthily for me is, I want to know where the meat comes from” and several members of the panel brought up the related topic of income having an effect on this trend. Sacha Daniel, operations manager, Solutions Leisure Group, said that the trend is strong in the region because, generally speaking, the people who are regularly eating out at restaurants here can afford more expensive produce. “Nowadays, compared to 10 or 20 years ago, there is more exposure and access to information on what is good or bad for you. Before, it was the dark ages, with people buying junk and thinking fish fingers are great for kids. The root of the problem is healthy, high quality food can be expensive, so people with less disposable income will go to fast food places. In Dubai people have more disposable income, so we see a trend to being more health conscious; people ask us ‘is this organic? Where is this coming from?’,” he shared.
Catering to children
While the panellists had mixed views on the kinds of healthy offerings the F&B scene should be making, everyone felt that there is a market for catering to children — in this region as they felt children here have a more adult palate than the ‘typical child’.
Thesleff commented: “The trend across the world is children having adult food but with toned down flavours. It’s the same ingredients. I’m surprised at the number of children coming in with their families at Okku and eating sushi.”
Mirroring the trend among the adults for demanding healthier options, increasingly there is a trend, worldwide, to offer children more than the age-old chicken nuggets, burger and spaghetti bolognese that has traditionally made up most children’s menus. Moreover, families make up a huge portion of the Middle East eating-out market so there is some pressure on restaurants to focus on this potentially lucrative segment.
Velvick said due to the fact he thinks children should be eating more than the usual kids’ fare, The Croft serves half portions of the normal menu items to children: “Half a sea bass, half a steak, whatever. My kids love nice food and they don’t just want chicken nuggets,” he revealed.
The panel largely agreed that in catering to childrem, outlets should stay faithful to their concept.
“You’ve got to do your kids menu in line with the cuisine you’re doing in your outlet. Unless you’re a burger joint, don’t put a burger on the menu for kids; unless you’re an Italian, don’t put spaghetti bolognaise on the menu for kids. Keep it in line with your concept,” urged Fraser-Smith.
Speaking about one of his Dubai outlets, Lopez said he had “tried to do a healthy kid’s menu” that swapped chicken nuggets for a chicken breast, but parents asked for typical children’s meals, which Evans attributed to parents wanting to placate their children.
Evans posed the question: “Are parents going to move to venues where their kids are most happy or are they going to choose venues where they are most happy that have reasonably healthy options for the kids?”
Fit to burst
No discussion among F&B experts would be complete without talk about how saturdated the F&B market is in certain areas, particularly Dubai. Velvick said: “When I first came to Dubai there were 5,000 restaurants and now, two years later, it’s something like 8,000.”
Thesleff added: “I just read an article that said in the next 18 months there are 6,000 more outlets coming in. if you just look at Dubai Canal, there are 550 outlets along the canal alone.”
While contemplating what will happen once these open, and all the other outlets in different locations, the panel raised several issues relating to retaining staff and decising on a fair pay scale, which will be disussed in depth at March’s conference. Contact sarah.jacotine@itp.com for more details.
Advisory Panel
The Caterer Middle East Food & beverage conference advisory panel comprises experts from the country’s F&b industry.
Tom Arnel, Co-Founder & Managing Director, Bull & Roo Investments
Arnel opened Dubai café Tom&Serg in 2013, followed up by two casual dining concepts, The Sum of Us and Common Grounds. Bull & Roo is set to open its fourth outlet in Dubai February 2006, called Brunswich Sports Club.
Darren Velvick, Chef Patron, The Croft
Darren Velvick is one of the UK’s most successful chefs and has worked alongside some of the world’s biggest names in the restaurant industry. He launched The Croft, a casual British eatery at Dubai Marriott Harbour Hotel & Suites in 2015.
Sergio Lopez, Co-Founder & MD, Bull & Roo Investments
Lopez met his business partner Arnel (see above) when he was operations manager for Jones the Grocer, Dubai, and the duo launched their F&B empire, currently about to add its first licenced venue to a portolio that comprises Tom&Serg, The Sum of Us and Common Grounds.
Dirk Haltenhof, Resort Executive Chef, Madinat Jumeirah
Haltenhof is the new resort executive chef at Madinat Jumeirah, responsible for the resort’s diverse food experiences. He supervises a team of more than 200 chefs and 120 stewards. He has in excess of 15 years’ hospitality experience from working in Europe, Asia and the UAE.
Markus Thesleff, Co-Founder, Whissle
Co-Founder of full service boutique hospitality company, Whissle and multi-award winning Okku Luxury Japanese Restaurant and Lounge, Thesleff has more than 16 years international expertise in the hospitality, F&B, marketing and brand consultancy fields.
Naim Maadad, CEO, Gates Hospitality
Maadad has more than 25 years experience in the hospitality industry, working throughout Australia, South East Asia, Japan and the Middle East with international renowned brands such as Six Senses.
Duncan Fraser-Smith, Founder, The Cutting Edge Agency
Fraser-Smith has held various corporate F&B roles within the hotel industry. The Cutting Edge Agency introduce, integrate and innovate the key pillars for success in F&B operations.
Sacha Daniel, Operations Manager, Solutions Leisure Group
Daniel’s extensive F&B experience includes being AGM at Gaucho Grill and GM of Chancery Lane, both in London, and opening Gaucho Grill in Kuwait for Alshaya. Before he moved to Dubai to join Solutions Leisure, he was GM of Cocoon on Regent Street, London.
Paul Evans, Managing Director, Solutions Leisure Group
In 2013, Evans moved to Dubai and acquired Karma Kafé in Souk al Bahar, and opened Q43 at Media One Hotel six months later. He launched Asia Asia in 2014, at Dubai Marina’s Pier 7 development and is about to open the group’s newest concept, Lock Stock & Barrel, also in Dubai.
Peter Skudutis, General Manager, Zero Gravity
Skudutis was lured to Dubai aged 23, where he assumed the position of operations manager at Barasti Beach Bar. He then took on several other roles before being headhunted for his current position, as general manager at Zero Gravity, a venue he launched in 2013.