Today’s celebrity chef culture may have changed the way consumers view food for the better, but how has the glamorisation of life in the kitchen impacted the F&B industry itself?
Thanks to numerous TV cookery shows, foodie magazines and books, the last decade has seen the role of chef glamorised hugely, particularly in the west.
Indeed, some of the world’s top chefs are also top celebrities (or is it the other way round?) Gordon Ramsay, Jamie Oliver and Marco Pierre White are all household names, as are many others.
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This new culture of culinary celebrity has undoubtedly had a positive impact on the consumer market, with the public becoming far more willing to try new things, both when dining out and in their own kitchens.
But how has this phenomenon affected the world’s chefs?
At Atlantis, The Palm — where celeb chef-backed outlets include Nobu, Ronda Locatelli, Rostang and Ossiano — vice president, culinary Mark Patten noted: “The effects [of celebrity chefs] in general are an increase in the quality of restaurants and dining experiences, and through media coverage of these celebrity chefs, more people are drawn to work in the industry.”
Mike Nalborczyk, general manager at Hilton Dubai Creek, home to Gordon Ramsay’s Dubai outlet Verre, added that restaurants had been forced to raise their game in the wake of celeb chef fever.
“People come in having higher expectations and want to be delighted,” he said. “They are also more adventurous with their dining options.
“It has also helped open young minds to the industry,” continued Patten. “We now have a new generation who are ever more enthusiastic about developing themselves in the culinary world.”
According to Vineet Bhatia, the first Indian chef to receive a Michelin star and the patron-chef of Indego at Grosvenor House Dubai, the more exposure the industry gets, the better it becomes.
“As more people come into the field, the industry grows, more jobs are created and more hotels open up,” he reasons.
“What happens as part of the bargain is that more staff are coming in and getting trained better, the competition increases and there’s more choice for the consumer.”
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