Today’s pastry consumer is seeking out simple, clean pastry offerings according to Madinat Jumeirah’s exec pastry chef Paul Hayward.
Operations
Pastry outlets battle soaring ingredient costs
While the Middle East is a pastry haven for consumers, this does present something of a challenge for pastry chefs who constantly need to up their game in order to stay ahead of the curve and secure custom from the regional pastry connoisseur.
“Everybody wants to try the new place on the block and with new restaurants and hotels opening weekly, someone’s favourite place can last just a few weeks,” says Madinat Jumeirah resort executive pastry chef Paul Hayward.
With significant expat populations, there is a much greater awareness of the latest pastry trends among Middle East consumers, another factor that means chefs need to be one step ahead.
“Pastry trends evolve very quickly — there is a new sensation every six months,” asserts Laurent Damiens, director of communication of Centre National Interprofessionnel de l’Economie Laitière (CNIEL). “These new trends appear first in Paris before spreading all over France, to Europe and then the rest of the world”.
But competition doesn’t necessarily have to be viewed as a negative. Arnaud Souchet, executive pastry chef at Fairmont The Palm, says: “The trick is to serve what guests want and like. With that said, it is always good to stay ahead of the competition, predicting trends and ensuring that we deliver consistent quality.”
It is not easy to fend off competition without the right tools, and, being based in the Middle East, sourcing of some particular ingredients does have its challenges.
“Sourcing of ingredients can be quite difficult within Dubai. A lot of our ingredients have to be delivered from international locations due to the shortage of supply in Dubai, which can cause issues in terms or pricing or if there are fluctuations in availability,” explains Souchet.
Some chefs try to work round availability challenges through creativity. Damiens, while acknowledging creativity is important, says care must be taken when working around getting hold of original ingredients as the end result can sometimes be skewed.
“Over the past few years, a vegetable cream has emerged in Dubai as a competitor to French dairy cream. While it has some qualities, it is totally different. French cream is slightly more expensive, but the quality, taste and flavour is a lot better.”
It is not just French cream which Middle East chefs find pricey, the cost of pastry ingredients in general seems to be on the up.
“Fluctuation in ingredient prices has been a constant battle for us as a supplier,” asserts EMF’s Pierre Feghali. “We are determined to provide consistent quality product to our clients, which makes ingredient sourcing very challenging.
For chefs, the battle is convincing your consumer to choose you over another outlet offering the same product at a cheaper price.
But Olga Cassidy, marketing manager for La Marquise concedes in an environment where consumers are “spoiled for choice” and outlets under pressure due to the “bargaining power of the consumer,” the key to survival is offering “more than just a product”.
The same goes for suppliers, she adds. Winning the hearts — and no doubt contracts — of chefs comes down to offering a one-stop shop to all their pastry needs.
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