ONE TREND THAT IS NOT NEW BUT IS BECOMING POPULAR AGAIN IS TABLE SIDE DISHES AND COOKING AT CUSTOMER ’ S TABLE . WE HAVE A HIGH-END KOREAN BBQ STEAKHOUSE CALLED ABSTEAK WHICH HAS BEEN DOING THIS FOR YEARS WITH TABLESIDE GRILLING . CUSTOMERS LOVE TO BE A PART OF THE COOKING EXPERIENCE .
– JEFF AKIRA BACK
markets to have temporary structures to bring in this brand and cuisines which are not normally available in a hotel market . The Middle East and somewhere like Mykonos , for example , have had great success bringing in global brands for pop-ups during busy seasons and introducing the market to new cuisines and offerings .
H : Who has inspired you as a chef ? AB : My mother has always inspired me . I have taken a lot of the childhood dishes which she made for me with slight adjustments and served the dishes in my restaurants . For example , on the menu we have the “ Pop Rockin roll .” As a child , I was more into sweets and candy than real food . My mother started mixing a small amount of pop rocks candy in the food , to pique my interest to eat . As a chef , I brought my mother ’ s creativity to this dish – king crab + pop candy . the different cooking areas in the kitchen based on the various cuisines being offered at the hotel , but it is not always easy if a kitchen is shared with two concepts and two chefs . If a kitchen is shared it is like having two tigers in a cage fighting over one piece of meat . The best way is to try and limit sharing by having it only be large expensive pieces of equipment while making the rest of the kitchen individualized .
H : How are you designing hotel kitchens differently today to manage costs , cooking techniques ? AB : We have always made sure to design our hotel kitchens to be as efficient and functional as possible . We don ’ t like to waste any square feet as that is like wasting food . With a hotel kitchen , you need to be even more strategic during planning as it not only needs to serve the needs of the restaurant but also the needs of the entire hotel , including room service . We try to separate
Dining space at Akira Back Toronto
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