Not many of us would spare a thought about what the chef who just rolled us out the perfect kebab platter eats for a meal. But we must.
“I serve to my guests the food I like,” said Claudio Melis, 40, Chef de cuisine at La Cucina Restaurant at Al-Faisaliah Hotel, Riyadh, when asked how the food he likes influences the food he makes for his customers.
Asked what his specialty is, “Never ask a chef his specialty. Everything we do is a specialty,” he quips.
However, Chef Markus Meusburger, 35, Chef de Cuisine at La Brasserie Restaurant, Al-Faisaliah Hotel, Riyadh, believes the greatest influence for any chef is not necessarily his own eating habits, but rather his previous experiences and the availability of raw ingredients. “You get influenced by everything you see and try; you might walk down a street in the Caribbean and try a local fish for the first time in your life, of course you will try to incorporate that into your own repertoire at some point.”
At their stoves, most of these top chefs are dishing out unique gastronomic marvels. But when it comes to personal choice and eating out, they prefer the casual and the simple, with even frequent trips to the same restaurants again and again and ordering the same thing to eat.
“Honest, unpretentious home cooked meals are great! As a matter of fact, chefs are often not invited to dinner parties or BBQ's because the hosts are intimidated by the prospect of cooking for a chef, whereas I believe that chefs are probably the most grateful and easy to please guests. We appreciate how much work went into preparing and cooking and it’s great to have someone else cook for a change and have a good time with friends,” said Meusburger, who is trained in European continental cuisine.
Among his favorite local eating spots are La Cucina, The Globe, Garden BBQ in Al-Khozama, IL Terrazzo, Noodle House in Olaya Street, Karam – a Lebanese restaurant and Tao Lounge in the Tahlia Street.
“I do enjoy my fair share of ‘fancy’ food, no doubt, however, strolling down a street and encountering street vendors in far flung places that offer something unusual is always a treat,” the chef said.
Meanwhile, some chefs opt for slightly more luxurious destinations. “Wasabi prawns with mango dressing at the Noodle House at Cendria Mall-Riyadh; it is spicy, flavored, colorful, exotic, and is one of my favorite dish and restaurant in Riyadh,” says Claudio, while adding “comfort food is not in my dictionary.”
Many chefs admit to being drawn to plan instead of fancy food due to the hurly-burly of their complex restaurant lives and often the high degree of difficulty represented by their own menus. “I haven’t this kind of problem, my cuisine is simple, but: “The simple things are the most sophisticated,” says Claudio.
For Chef Khaled Moussa, 31, Lebanese, who works as an executive chef at B. concept, Jeddah, a rough day at work equals a craving for homemade slow roasted jigot, which “you find yourself cooking at home for hours!” He says: “It depends more on the mood rather than the tough life chefs have in general especially when you hold high positions.”
As an expat in the Kingdom, Khaled says the word comfort food gets an added meaning and is always linked to mothers’ and grandmothers’ cooking.
“Comfort food has a stretchy definition; it can be applied to simple dishes such as salads as well as to difficult dishes such as Paella. It is the food that gives you the feel of comfort. Being an expatriate makes me constantly in need for that sort of food to link me to my roots and remind me of those special moments that made me love food and ultimately choose this profession,” he said.
Khaled says he craves for his homeland gastronomy “Lebanese,” especially dishes that are hard to find or prepare in Jeddah such as “kibbeh naye.” “I love Byblos because luckily I can find kibbeh naye there and the quality of food is high, and it is near to where I live. The only thing that I wish they had is an outdoor patio with lush greens and a small waterfall to imitate the environment in which Lebanese cuisine is best served in,” said the chef, who has 16 years of accumulated experiences in international cuisines, mainly European cuisine.
It isn’t that these chefs don’t crave their own food. “What's the point of being a chef if you don't like your own food?” asks Meusburger. Seconding that is Claudio. “I eat when I can, just because I love my food and my restaurant!”
For some, it is more of a practical matter. “It is a must do in this business to taste the food being produced in your kitchen(s) otherwise you will lose the track of sustaining food quality and standards. It can be a meal or a snack or just a small tasting,” said Khaled, who said he especially likes those dishes that he “can never find elsewhere such as my family recipes.”
Sometimes, chefs also end up making things that they don’t like or would never eat. Meusburger says he is not a big fan of fennel, and yet makes it for his customers.
“The only satisfaction chefs are eager to have is the happy customer’s reaction to their food. Happy customers mean a happy chef as well as a happy business,” said Khaled.
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