A survey conducted ahead of next week’s The Hotel Show Dubai 2017 has unveiled the most unusual requests chefs have received from diners.
Hotel and restaurant chefs admitted that not all guests seek dishes cooked as per their most basic requirements.
For example, one chef reported being asked to cook an omelet with no eggs, another to make tomato soup with no tomatoes, and one was asked to provide a well-done steak tartare.
Another chef recalled a stomach churning demand from one group, explaining: “One day, at our café restaurant, a table of guests were requesting chicken breasts to be cooked medium-rare. Of course, the waiter was the first to explain that as per food safety regulations we were unable to deliver their expectations, but at the end I had to interrupt personally and explain that chicken will only be served well-done.”
Other culinary challenges posed have come from customers seeking somewhat alternative tastes. One chef was tasked with plating-up the interesting combination of grilled Dover sole with sauerkraut and chocolate sauce.
As expected in the GCC, the requests edge into the extravagant too, with one diner requesting a Wagyu steak for their dog and bottled water and a litre of full-fat milk for the dog’s bath.
Another chef revealed he had gone to similar lengths for one customer’s cat. He said: “A guest asked for chicken cubes to be grilled on the fire for her cat. She was insistent that I knew that her cat didn’t like garlic and the chicken had to be nice and brown.”
At The Hotel Show Dubai, taking place on 18-20th September at DWTC, trends in F&B will be on the agenda at The Middle East Hospitality Leadership Forum, sponsored by Sobha Interiors.
Speaking on the panel discussion “Can a hotelier ever create as compelling an F&B proposition as a restaurateur? Calculating the most effective route to attract the right type of guests into your property,” will be Joey Ghazal, founder & managing partner, The Maine Oyster Bar & Grill; Ramzy Abdul-Majeed, co-founder, Whissle/OKKU; Stephen Meredith, general manager, Steigenberger Hotel Business Bay; and Francis Desjardins, general manager, Fairmont Ajman.
The Hotel Show Dubai is taking place as part of Dubai International Hospitality Week (DIHW).
The Dubai Tourism endorsed event, organised by DMG Events and the Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC), is expected to attract more than 50,000 visitors.
It encompasses six hospitality and foodservice trade shows under one roof: The Hotel Show and The Leisure Show, owned and organised by dmg events; GulfHost, The Speciality Food Festival and SEAFEX Middle East owned and organised by DWTC; and yummex ME, jointly organised by DWTC and Kölnmesse.
