The art of the matter

In a competitive market, F&B must be increasingly daring and creative to impress customers — but Middle East chefs and suppliers are rising to the challenge

The Middle East F&B industry has grown significantly over the past few years, to the point where the market — particularly in the main tourism cities — is crammed with diverse outlet concepts, jostling for business.

As such, chefs know they have to go more than the extra mile to stand out: they must truly dazzle guests.

This is where gastro-art comes in.

From sugar statuettes to ice statues and from vegetable showpieces to carved chocolate creations, art is where it’s at when it comes to edible dining décor.

What was previously a rare specialism is increasingly coming into play in restaurants around the region, as talented young kitchen artists are sourced by operators to add pizzazz to their outlets.

Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC) kitchen artist Lifeng Dong — winner of the Best Kitchen Artist title at Salon Culinaire 2010 — has created a range of carvings during his time with DWTC, from mythical dragons to dolphins, eagles, buildings and people.

This creativity not only impresses guests, but also gives operators an edge in culinary competitions, as Rovart Cagayat, the senior kitchen artist at Radisson Blu Hotel, Dubai Deira Creek, has consistently demonstrated.

“At Salon Culinaire 2010, I achieved one gold, three silver and two bronze medals in the ice, vegetable and fruit showpiece carving categories,” he confirms.

The Radisson Blu creative team is further bolstered by kitchen artist Rodel Acala, who was also responsible for the property’s Salon Culinaire 2010 gold medal in ice carving.

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At Beach Rotana, executive sous chef Raghu Pillai has tried his hand at many aspects of food art during the course of his career, but insists the area of edible art that intrigues him most is “serving tasty food as a work of art on the plate”.

“For me, every plate that you present in a top-end restaurant and in competitions must be a work of art; nowadays its not only what you serve but also how you serve a dish,” he observes.

Renaissance Dubai Hotel pastry chef Achala Weerasinghe agrees: “Food art does not necessarily stop at showpieces; every cake or dessert that I create at the hotel holds a bit of artistic value.”

Of course, this artistic approach to food does not come overnight.

Kitchen artists must build up a solid skill base before they advance to detailed work, as Beach Rotana’s Pillai notes.

“First and foremost was my hotel management degree, which has given me an insight into a vast repertoire of cooking techniques, both modern and traditional.

“Since then I have undergone many training sessions related to jelly work, molecular gastronomy, pastry presentation — and then, of course, hours and hours of practice. No training in the world works without practice,” he emphasises.

Once a chef has mastered the basics of food art, there are a number of areas in which they can specialise — and in these fields, there is training right down to the most minute detail.

DWTC’s Dong agrees: “I recently completed a special sugar artwork training course in France, during which I practiced a range of techniques for personalising modern and realistic sugar subjects, so they appear graceful and lively.

“The topics addressed included furry or feathered animals, and scenes of people and animals in artistic settings.”

According to Four Seasons Doha pastry chef Laurent Allereau, pastry is “one of the areas in the culinary world which gives you a real opportunity to imagine and create”.