Fewer 'egotistical maniacs' in kitchens

[L-R] Christian Gradnitzer and Lionel Boyce.

Today’s chefs have put aside the traditional creative egos and become more business-minded

Chefs claim the tourism-driven Middle East market has spawned a “new generation” of culinary professionals who appreciate the importance of accommodating requests.

Desert Palm Dubai executive chef Lionel Boyce said the industry had realised there was a more productive approach than “just being an egotistical maniac and saying ‘my food’s good and that’s it’, because that won’t get you very far nowadays”.

“I started a long time ago and the chef used to rule the roost to a degree of stupidity...however today’s chefs tend to try to accommodate everyone’s tastes,” he said.

Jumeirah Emirates Towers executive chef Christian Gradnitzer added: “The new generation of chefs in this region is far more open-mind; my team of chefs would accommodate pretty much any off-menu requests because…this is how you get repeat custom. If you say ‘this is on the menu, this is what you take’, then you won’t see them again.”

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Desert Palm’s Boyce added that the change was due in part to chefs becoming more “business-minded”.

“Ultimately we have targets to hit, so that flexibility has to be installed otherwise we start to alienate our customer,” he explained. “I work in a small property so we have the time to do that. We  want everyone to feel at home, so we have to deal with requests.”

However Michelin-starred chef Giorgio Locatelli said this was not a system he practised. “I wouldn’t cater for off-menu requests, although if I’m not [in the restaurant] then sometimes it happens,” he said.

“All too often, staff here will face a situation where some idiot is complaining about not being able to have something that’s not on the menu. So why does he not go to one of the other 250 restaurants nearby?”

Jumeirah’s Gradnitzer insisted there was “pride behind such attitudes rather than stubbornness or an ego trip”, but said nevertheless “an open mind” was increasingly important for business.