Looked after us during kaiwecare, he was the head chef, daddy, mentor we could all look up to. Didn't know he had a mate in the general manager of the Sheraton in Riyadh, who had put a call put a call out if anyone knew any Danish chefs who could help with an event they were having, Grant promptly threw my name into the hat, yep that's right they wanted a Danish chef, I'm a Welsh boy, who cooks in London, being invited to Saudi Arabia, to cook modern Danish food??? Go figure. Ok so the clubs the home to the Danish club of London, I've done a week at Noma, how hard can it be .............?
Part 1, why I went, and how I got there, and oooh! How indeed
For those who already follow me on twitter, you will already know some of the above, for those who don't, please check my profile right here. Over the next couple of weeks I'll be sharing my experience, originally this was going to be a 1 parter just about the event, but with so many things to share, will now be 3 healthy parts (that means you need coffees/teas and a comfy chair), the dinner itself will be left until last, not owed in any small part by the fact I am awaiting the pics from the night.
The flight I had arranged for me, was provided by BMI, which they do occasionally sponsor for travelling chefs into Riyadh for events such as this. I had never flown BMI before so was looking forward to trying a new airline as well as all the other 1st time experiences this trip would bring. I had also been asked by the Sheraton Riyadh's general manager if I would pen a small piece on the blog about the chefs that cater for the business class customers on each flight, which of course I said I would, after all to write about the business class service I would have to travel business, get in!!
So imagine my face if you will, when the booking is emailed to me, Economy. Boo sucks, after checking the price difference between the 2 tickets I thought, ok fair enough. It's not costing me anyway.
So after some fun getting my visa (the joy of 4 bank holidays in quick succession (all the best for the future Kate & William) the day came and off to the airport I went.
Checked in, changed money, did a little shopping. Went to board still in awe at what could possibly lay before me, and also with a little trepidation as most of my research into Saudi Arabia was proper scaremongering (absolute tosh, explained in a later post)
I got my seat, which was pre-allocated, corridor seat so at least I had reasonable leg room, however a minute or two later an attendant asks if I would mind stepping into the galley as there is a small issue with my seat, puzzled I step with her as she guides me through to the front of the plane and shows me my business seat. I settle myself down with a huge smile on my face, messing with all the switches and buttons in and around my seat, true kid in a sweetshop. Now this is the life, and having only ever had a chefs wage, not something I could or would afford myself. The cabin crew introduced themselves to us and Angela the inflight chef spoke with me regarding her role and when I would be able to talk to her (after service)
Now the chef in the air role, is not just a heat and serve, yes most of the food is prepared and cooked in production kitchens on the ground, however this is business class, tickets cost thousands of pounds, guests get what they want if available, sure you can't pop down the local tesco and pick up a few bits, and there is (seriously) only a finite amount of storage space, however chefs do have to think on their feet to offer alternatives if possible, and also offer different cuisson on the meats. Add to this that they are also expected to act as stewards when they are not cooking is definitely one of the more challenging roles I have seen for a chef in a long time.
The menu is quite a simple 3,3,3 affair, for my outbound flight I chose the white bean and thyme soup, monkfish with watercress, samphire, crushed new potatoes and sorrel cream, and to finish took the strawberry & chocolate Eton mess. The soup was nice and hot, flavours were deep and well pronounced and served as a nice simple opener to the meal, the monkfish to be fair, considering my locale was a great dish, the monkfish was perfectly cooked, still a little spring to it, and not dry and crying out for sauce as you might imagine, the potatoes were of good quality and well seasoned, and most surprisingly the samphire was fresh and still retained a nice crunch. The sauce was a little lacking in the sorrel and a little more pre-fab as it would have to be to cook and serve in their tiny kitchens, however was not heavy or cloying and well balanced with the rest of the dish. The dessert was served in a pot, very nice good quality, but I have to say, not very Eton messy, a bit too tidy to be a mess, however pleasant enough.
Now was my time to talk with Angela and get the feel for the job, however far too full, and far too comfortable, I simply fell asleep.
Upon waking a couple of hours later, I went to the front galley and conveyed my apologies, Angela showed me the equipment (or lack of) not to mention bench space you measure in inches rather than feet, and the storage which in itself a miracle of packing. If you are a chef reading this, thinking your kitchen is a bit small, forget it, try cooking 24 covers to order, when the guest requires it with one small hob and a equally small oven, and enough room to put maybe 2 plates down. I take my hat off( if I ever wore one) to these guys, to produce very good quality food in these conditions. If you've ever considered it, don't let my comments above put you off, Angela pointed out that along with the travel aspect of the job, being able to spend days in different countries, the time off is very good with decent recuperation time between each flight on long haul, and with a little resilience the holidays soon mount up, Angela has been with BMI for 10 years and has a 7 week annual entitlement for holidays. She also commented the money was pretty good too, although I felt 'how much' was too rude a question to ask.
The return flight was a red-eye, leaving at 1:10am local time, landing at 6:30 uk time, the surprise upgrade was again very lovely, the service again without fault, the cooking this journey provided by in flight chef, Nicky. The only fault on this flight was my own.
As I had agreed to pen a wee (well not so wee now) piece, I felt compelled to order the take off snacks (read full meal), and also breakfast. My advice is to do what the guy next to me did, refuse everything, and as soon as the pane is up in the air, put the eye mask, provided, on, chuck your chair back and get some kip.
I again had the soup, followed by the chicken breast. Both were again well cooked and perfectly seasoned, it is simply I shouldn't have eaten at 2am when all I could think about was how much sleep I was missing out on. I had a beer and a glass of wine, chucked my mask on and got some sleep.
20 seconds later, or so it felt like, I was awaken to be asked what I would like for breakfast. Bleary eyed I ordered the smoked salmon and scrambled eggs and a bucket of coffee, the breakfast was again well cooked and nicely presented, and the attendant must have got the measure of how I was feeling as he simply whisked away each empty cup of coffee and swiftly replaced it without so much as an ask, genius service!
(please note the cappuccino stencil, Angela made this herself, and is a lovely fun touch, but sales won't let her use it, sorry guys... spoilsports!)
I quite frankly was spoilt, the food will never be truly 'high end' but it's as close as it can get, every now and again you will see a 'top chef' take up the challenge of improving airline food, good luck no restaurant or hotel chef has ANY clue on what it takes to complete a service on one of these things.
To Angela, Nicky & the rest of the cabin crew who's names I did not get, thank you for such great journeys to and from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, it was truly a great experience, and an extra note of thanks to mr Robert Lickley, country manager for BMI, who kindly sponsored the flight, sir you have a team to be proud of, thank you and well done.
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