Rodolphe
Medard, the Executive Chef at Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Abuja, tells you with
pride that he enjoys working in the country having worked previously in
two different hotels in Asaba and Port Harcourt.
“So three
different hotels, three different locations and three different
experiences because my private lives have also being affected by
these three different experiences .”
In this
interview with JIMOH BABATUNDE, the French national disclosed why he
chose to be a chef at age 15 when he told his parents he was withdrawing from
school to pursue his dream in the hospitality world.
Here is an
excerpt from the interview.
On the
experience working in different hotels either new or old hotels
I started
working in France as an apprentice with a master chef after that I continued in
an individual managed castle with rooms and restaurant.
Later I left
France for Switzerland, Germany and America where I worked for the Meridian,
from there to Africa and Asia. I have worked in different countries
around the world.
I have
worked in different hotels, some for openings, some for rebranding, some
joining to add values like this.
Opening
hotels, it is different experience . In most cases the hotels are under
construction which is sometimes good as you can change some few things around,
you need to really train the people you work with and so you mould them as you
wish.
Rebranding
hotel is sometimes difficult because if it is a five star hotel and you need to
keep the old hands, it is difficult to infuse new ideas just as
existing ones like Hilton here you still can’t change the standards but try to
improve the system.
So it is
different situation to work and different ways to show your knowledge as you
don’t really do the same job on the three.
On how he
came into the hotel industry
How I came
in is very simple. In my family we love good meal , my parents were good cooks,
but not chefs. When I was around 15 years old and was home for a break
after the school calendar in June, I told my parents I was not going back to
school.
My father
said fine and asked what I wanted to do; I told him I want to be a chef. He
said it is a very demanding job, very hard and that I need to be
passionate to do it.
I told him I
don’t mind, so by July I was sent to a restaurant to get a feel of what it was
like being a chef, they tried to see if I will be able to do it as the period
between July and August is a very busy time in restaurants in my place as that
is usually the tourism period.
I did it and
when it was time to go back to school they asked me to go back but I refused
and told them I had chosen my path and since then I have not looked back.
At times it
is difficult like any other job in the world. I love it and from there I went
to a culinary school. There are different types of culinary schools in France,
we have apprentiship which gives you opportunity to go to school and work in
the restaurant. I chose this and I passed my exams.
If he had
worked in other departments in the hotel
The first
day I cleaned one pallet of five kilo of green beans and one full bucket of ten
litres of lettuces. The next time they asked me to wash all the pots, washed
the floor and the cooking areas.
I also did
some front office service also at one stage, it was quite an interesting
experience but it is not something for me as I don’t like being in front of a guest
and to smile all the time.
It gave me
an opportunity to feel what pressure the waiters get when you delay and don’t
prepare well, I have had to work in pastry where I had to think about pastries
for breakfast and pastries for set menus.
I was taught
how to work chocolate, ice cream and later went for catering which is different
so as to be more knowledgeable, because when you do hotel job, it is different
from working in the restaurants.
In
restaurants you know the number of your seat covers, you have set menus and
more or less easy to do, as for catering you know the number of people to
provide for, but hotel is all mixed together.
So you need
to be flexible and know how to manage things, you need to be able to be
reactive on a short notice, because people think hotel can do everything but
magic. And that is where it is tough sometimes.
On any
regret taking into the profession
If I have a
choice to change the profession, I will not change it, I will leave it. Though
it has not been all easy as I do asked if I had made the wrong choice, because
my friends were in schools enjoying themselves but at the end of the day
looking at what I had experience travelling worldwide in the course of this
profession, I will not change it.
If
travelling has influenced his cooking
Yes, because
as you travel, you discover new flavour, you discover the use of one item you
thought has only one use but you discover different use for it.
You know
avocado for example, we use it as a dressing in salad in France and
most of the countries do that but if you go to South America they use it
as a desert , so it is another way to use it.
You also
discover some spices; you discover different cooking methods like traditional
ways and from all these you tried to do something like fusion.
On rating
Nigeria food culture
The first
time I came I needed my bottle of water near me as the food were really
spicy , I liked it but little bit heavy because of the oil even though the mind
of the people is changing toward healthy meal. I think I like it little bit
oily and spicy, but I like.
On his food
philosophy
It depends
on people, there are people who like food for eating sake, some eat to just be
alive. But to me the food is something you should enjoy.
Many guests
come here saying I am on diet and so should not eat this and that, what can you
do for me, but at the end of the day you need to enjoy the food you
eat.
You need to
appreciate what you eat and if you like eating it does not mean you should over
eat what you like. I love chocolate, the best chocolate you will present to me
I will not take ten of it. I will take one or two, because after that you will
not appreciate it anymore.
Just like
beer, when I want to drink with friends I will take good one and relax to enjoy
it, food is the same as you need the atmosphere to appreciate the food. If you
want to eat the best food, you don’t need a noisy environment; you need a cosy
environment to do so.
On his
favourite menu
I don’t have
favourite menu, I like to try everything. I am very curious, not just by
my job but as a person, I like to know what is happening. I tried lots of funny
dishes. Favourite to do, I love to work fish and pastries. These two, I love.
Why pastries
I don’t
know. I just found myself loving it. In the kitchen I was always avoiding the
meat side. It is not question of doing dirty job; I don’t just like working the
meat. But with time and age I got to do it.
But fish is
my preferred part in the kitchen. So fish and pastries are my preferred parts
to do
On cooking
tips for a novice
First, you
have to make sure that it is not just an idea you have but a deep
passion, because being a chef is like an army especially when you want to work
in an hotel environment like this, you must be very flexible because this
is your first home and your family is the second home.
The tip I
will say is try what you cook, taste what you cook, don’t be scared to
experiment but not in front of the guests. First try it in the kitchen as the
outcome of experimentation can be very funny.
On the
funniest kitchen experience
There are
plenty of them. I think the one I will always remember is this one. I
arrived one morning and got to the kitchen to see flashy yellow mixed dough.
I was
wondering, so I went to see my pastry chef to ask what was happening as he was
the one that roll the dough and it was not close to the recipe, he said he
tried to change it by putting some food colorant.
I said it is
good you did not put blue or green. You don’t do that if you want to try recipe
or experiment fine as it shows creativity but try at the background before you
push it out to guests.
If he eats
at home
Yes, I eat
at home but don’t cook. I only do omelette for my kids and sometimes when I am
on leave, I make some pastries to enjoy with my friends. But for food, I don’t
cook.
Though
cooking is my passion and work, but passion has limits. I really enjoy my
wife’s food or my friends’ food.
Sometimes
people are scared to invite you home for food because you are a chef, but to me
this is wrong as we are not competitors, if you invite me I will enjoy
whatever you give me.
A friend of
mine once invited me and he had a big grill fish and he said help yourselves,
so I took the head but he was surprised. That is the problem that people don’t
like inviting the chef.
People
should know that they are inviting me not because I am a chef but because we
have a relationship.
So when I am
home I don’t cook.
On the food
culture of the Transcorp
Bukka is the
main volume restaurant we have and the signature is Zuma restaurant . If
I should rate our food, I will not do that as I will leave that to our
customers. But I really believe and this is backed up by facts and responses
from our friends we are improving.
Of course
there is room for improvement and that is what we are working on, on how better
we can be every day. I think we are not bad in the market, we can be
better .
We accept
the comment and criticism of our guests as they help us to do better.
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