Student chefs serve up an evening to remember

Dubai temporarily had a hot new dining destination last week, when the Emirates Academy of Hospitality Management launched its inaugural food fair and dinner initiative.

The event saw three groups of final-year students take it in turns to ‘host’ a dinner for the public, overseeing everything from devising the menu to cooking and serving it.

EAHM head chef and senior lecturer Michael Kitts introduced the three-day challenge to provide students with first-hand experience of every element of a meal.

“The elective ran for 20 days, during which time the students studied how to pair beverages with food, global food trends, various master-classes, plating and displaying dishes — and finally, organising a six-course gastronomic meal for thirty covers,” explained Kitts.

The food fair element of the event saw dinner guests welcomed into a ‘market place’ at the start of the evening, where they were served drinks and could enjoy a stroll round the attractive courtyard set-up, where a handful of Dubai’s top suppliers had stalls showcasing their wares.

“Gastronomy all starts from the ‘basic’ ingredient, so I felt the ‘market place’ set-up would be a great way to see what really is available here in Dubai,” Kitts explained.

“And secondly, it was a great way to showcase some fantastic suppliers.”

RAW Coffee Company owner and managing director Kim Thompson was just one of the suppliers taking part, with a stand providing the dinner guests with free coffee.

“We have had a lot of support from the Emirates Academy; they gave us advice prior to our competing in the UAE Barista Championship from a chef's point of view regarding the taste of our signature coffee drinks,” explained Thompson.

“We also visit the academy and give presentations to the students on coffee — fresh premium Arabica coffee — and basics in barista training.”

Thompson said the company was enjoying a successful start to 2010, seeing business from a lot of new outlets.

“We have some great new customers, mostly new start-ups — Kozi African Café in the Dubai Mall, where we have designed a special African blend unique to them; The Coffee House in Ibn Battuta Mall, which has just opened; Greebana in Fly Dubai and numerous new start-up locations; Baker & Spice are just changing over to Raw Coffee; plus we are attending all the school fairs as marketing options to reach our target clients — so we are very happy,” she said.

Established seafood supplier Wet Fish also took part.

“Mick Kitts is a personal friend of mine dating back over 20 years. I had the pleasure of supplying him back in our ‘youth’ in London,” explained the company’s managing director Mark Allan.

“I have the utmost respect for his passion and dedication to the industry and I believe that he’s driving the Academy to higher and higher standards with every intake. It’s a unique and somewhat unsung institution here in Dubai, and one that deserves the praise of people in all spheres of the food and hospitality sector.”

Allan added that he had been extremely impressed with the students’ efforts.

“To balance a gastronomic meal with wines is a task which even the hardened professional will tell you is not easy. I applaud the students both in the kitchen and front-of-house who made the evening an absolute pleasure to be a part of,” he said.

For Wet Fish, 2009 was “a decent year”, Allan added.

“We’re looking forward to the new challenges which the present climate throws up — good and bad.

“Abu Dhabi is very much on the radar with trade very buoyant there just now for us,” he noted.

“Most importantly, we want to stay focused and meet whatever’s out there head on!”

Baqer Mohebi Est (BME) was another supplier exhibiting, showcasing its Habanos Cuban cigars.

“It is important for the students to know about this product, as it is one of the finest in the hospitality business,” explained Eliza Oquendo from BME.

“We were so pleased that they included us for this first-time event; we didn’t hesitate to support it,” she added.

EAHM’s Kitts said he was delighted with the overall response to the initiative, and hoped the student-organised dinner and food fair would become an annual event.