Tracking down suppliers and recruiting the right staff are two of the main problems when faced with a new opening, according to Patrick Boucher, executive chef of the newly opened Four Seasons Golf Club Dubai Festival City.
The first Four Seasons to open in the UAE, chef Patrick said that recruitment was his first challenge, even though around 60% of his kitchen staff are Four Seasons transfers or previous Four Seasons employees.
“Although some staff are company transfers, a lot of applications from the local market were wanting big promotions, this is not something Four Seasons believes in,” said chef Patrick.
“We don’t give promotions before they have proved they can do the job; we have lateral transfers,” he added.
With 10 out of 36 back of house employees coming from restaurants in the region, recruiting staff with knowledge of the Middle East market was vital. Yet offering them a similar package was occasionally a challenge, as was finding suppliers that could deliver.
“To begin with, suppliers said they could get everything we wanted, but as soon as we began to open our outlets their accountability and promises changed, so that was a bit of a let down,” commented chef Patrick.
“It was a learning curve but I think this is a regional problem, there are so many new hotel openings so the suppliers don’t have to fight for customers. It is about knowing which ones to deal with,” he warned.
Located in Dubai Festival City, the Golf Club has a number of outlets, including a members only bar, a tea lounge and several outlets, Blades; Spikes; and Quattro, a fine-dining Italian restaurant.
“Dubai is so diverse you have to satisfy the requests of many different nationalities. But what is great is the ethnic mix of staff and the repertoire they have. To have so many people skilled in all types of cooking is truly unique,” he added.
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