In a unanimous decision, Grégoire Berger from Ossiano at Atlantis, The Palm was awarded the coveted title of Head Chef of the Year - Hotel-Managed Outlet at the Caterer Middle East Awards 2017.
Berger was presented his trophy by Aramtec sales and marketing manager Armel Van Erck. Highly commended in this category was The Croft Dubai head chef Darren Velvick.
One of the judges said during the judging ceremony that "his food was out of this world" and all agreed that his skill with culinary creations was very high.
This is something Berger has always worked towards improving, telling Caterer that he dreams about the Michelin guide coming to Dubai. He added: "I want to continue to win things but I want to keep getting better. I will continue to work hard."
He's certainly worked at winning: in October 2016 he was crowned Young Hotelier of the Year at the Hotelier Middle East Awards, and also represented the Middle East & Africa region at the S. Pellegrino Young Chef Awards in 2016.
His restaurant, Ossiano, has the lowest wastage levels of all restaurants in the resort, and the highest profit margin. Berger is also a proponent of all things sustainable, and he says: "We drew up a menu that is very intelligent because we make sure that we use everything. We have different techniques but I work closely with Badr [Benryane, restaurant manager of Ossiano] to make sure that everything is going to be sold."
Berger talks of his restaurant manager with great respect, and he added: "I do believe that the waiters are our eyes and ears, and if we don’t work together, for sure the product delivery will not be good. When Badr joined me, we found we have the same craziness." He credits the management at Atlantis, The Palm for also supporting him throughout his endeavours.
Other finalists were: Brian Voelzing from The Hide, Jumeirah Al Qasr; Ioannis Psalidakis from Accents Restaurant, InterContinental Dubai Marina; Nguyen Thanh from Thiptara, Palace Downtown Dubai; and, Yukitaka Kitade from Umi Restaurant, Waldorf Astoria Ras Al Khaimah.
The Caterer Middle East Awards 2017 was sponsored by Gold sponsor DMK Group, category sponsors GEMCO, TSSC, A. Ronai, Unilever, Meat & Livestock Australia, Bragard, Aramtec, SIAL, Party Social, Newby Teas, water sponsor Acqua Panna and San Pellegrino, and beverage sponsor MMI, and took place on May 24, 2017 at the Waldorf Astoria Dubai Palm Jumeirah.
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