Emirates Academy of Hospitality Management’s final-year students face the ultimate culinary challenge of their course
THE FACTS
Who? Final-year hospitality students.
Where? The Emirates Academy of Hospitality Management in Dubai.
What? The Academy’s first ever student food fair and dinner.
Why? A final test of the trainees’ culinary creativity prior to graduation.
Final-year student Komal Gidwani shares his views on the success and benefits of the event:
“To start with, our whole year group was divided into three teams; each group was told they had to create a six-course gourmet dinner for 30 guests.
“We as a team had to create our own menu. The focus was on variety and quality of ingredients, as well as the creativity and originality of dishes on our menu.
“The most enjoyable part of this experience was definitely when we all practiced our dishes in the kitchen. Some of us got a bit confused with all the equipment and ingredients, but it was a lot of fun! Also, I really enjoyed the event itself, when we finally executed the menu we had put so much thought into.
“There were a few challenging moments too, of course; plating up perfect dishes for 30 guests wasn’t easy, and making sure the food stayed hot until it reached the guest was tricky.
“F&B is an important part of any hospitality training, and this experience has been extremely enjoyable and beneficial.
“It has not only increased my culinary knowledge, but also helped me understand how to adapt to different situations when working in high-pressure situations.”
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Lecturer’s notes
The Academy’s head chef and senior lecturer Michael Kitts shares his feedback on the inaugural student challenge
We introduced this initiative as a way to provide students with first-hand experience of every element of a meal.
The elective ran for 20 days, during which time the students — divided into three teams — studied various elements of a meal, with each group finally hosting a six-course meal for thirty covers across three days.
The food fair element meant that on each of the three dinner dates, guests were welcomed into a ‘market place’ at the start of the evening, to enjoy a stroll round a handful of stalls from Dubai’s top suppliers.
The sheer support of the suppliers was great — several have already asked to be included next year!
Overall, we were extremely impressed; the meals were outstanding, and the enthusiasm from all involved is exactly what makes my job so satisfying.
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