The advisory panel for the Caterer Middle East Food & Business Conference met at Jumeirah Al Qasr, Dubai in early January 2016.
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.
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