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Paradise Sun Hotel Chef imparts newly acquired culinary skills & knowledge |25 May 2018

 

 

Dave Fostel, a Seychellois Chef de Partie at Paradise Sun hotel on Praslin, who according to his organisation shows great potential and promise, was given the opportunity to expand his culinary skills and knowledge during the course of 2017.

 

Paradise Sun sponsored an 8-month diploma course at the Christina Martin School of Culinary Arts in South Africa for Dave. His course ran from March until December 2017, and in this time he completed 11 modules to successfully graduate with a Diploma in Food Production and Culinary Arts, as well as a Certificate for Health and Safety.

 

Dave is applying his new skills and talent in the hotel kitchen and at the same time, he has been teaching his fellow chefs some new culinary skills, and inspiring them to advance their own culinary careers.

It was Dave’s elder brother who inspired him to take an interest in cooking when he was younger. The joy and fulfilment that being in the kitchen brought Dave eventually led him to the Seychelles Tourism Academy in 2006 where he trained in Food Production for two years.

Dave has since worked in various hotel kitchens and has been a part of the Paradise Sun hotel team for the last four years. His role as Chef de Partie is to take charge of production in the hot food section of the kitchen.

Dave’s journey to South Africa brought him to a private culinary arts school based on a farm with ten other students from various countries, including South Africa, Nigeria, Zambia, Mozambique and Tanzania.

 

The course exposed the students to more than just cooking however, with the content varying from farming through to plating food. For example, Dave had the opportunity to enhance his knowledge about the different types of cows, the various cuts of beef and how the cows’ diet affects the quality of the meat; kitchen hygiene & safety; stewarding; different types of food and cooking methods.

His exposure to various farms made him realise how little emphasis is placed on growing organic produce in Seychelles, compared to the farms in South Africa. Since his return from the course, Dave has been sharing his knowledge with locals outside of the hotel, especially with regard to the positive and negative impacts that our diet can have on our health.

For instance, Dave feels that as a population, we need to be more careful with the methods we incorporate to grow our crops, and in what we choose to eat, noting that even fruits which we easily assume are healthy, can actually be filled with harmful chemicals. 

He adds that a significant portion of our population eats unhealthily and reminds us to make better choices by choosing organic produce instead of imported foods which are filled with chemicals. For example, instead of buying imported fruits like oranges, it is much healthier for us to pick and eat a local orange off a tree.

Dave also shares his newly acquired knowledge and skills with fellow chefs on his shifts on a daily basis and also through monthly trainings. One area that he is particularly keen on training them in is ensuring very high standards of cleanliness and safety in the kitchen.

Additionally, he dedicates time for on-the-job trainings which provide each staff member with the opportunity to gain culinary knowledge and skills in anything that they personally choose to learn about.

“I am not holding back anything from my training, and I am trying to share the most that I can with all my colleagues so that we can be on the same page. I also try to give back to the organisation, to help the Paradise Sun kitchen to be the best on the island,” says Dave.

Dave extends his quest to share his knowledge with tourists that dine at the hotel restaurant. He explains that tourists are very interested to learn more about the food that they are served, and feel more comfortable when given specific details, even something as simple as the type of apple used, e.g. gala, fuji or granny smith apples. He adds that they are happier when they feel that the kitchen staff are well-versed in the work that they do.

To make a career out of being a chef, Dave explains that one needs to be very serious and devoted to one’s work, and also sacrifice a lot of one’s personal time. He notes however, that if you concentrate hard in the job, and remember that it is your career, while letting yourself be inspired by all the creative culinary ideas out there, you will surmount the challenges and achieve your vision.

He admits however, that it is not an easy job as the nature of the work requires you to spend a lot of time in a hot kitchen, with various personalities and nationalities to adapt to.

With over ten years in the profession, Dave says that he still very much enjoys his work to this day and that there are always new things to learn as a chef, which in turn helps him to advance in his career. He particularly enjoys the versatile nature of his job which allows him to be creative and to express himself – this is what gives Dave the greatest satisfaction as a chef.

To conclude, Dave shares with us his simple but well-loved battered fish recipe:

-           Marinade the fish according to your taste, e.g. with salt, pepper, garlic & lime (the key here is to keep the marinade simple so as to ensure that the fresh taste of fish remains once cooked)

-           Coat the fish in some flour

-           Place some butter in a hot pan and cook the fish thoroughly for a few minutes on each side

-           Serve with a Creole sauce and a variety of local vegetables and root crops

 

Photo sources: Dave Fostel

 

 

 

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