Feeding 5,000 at the races

AS an army of fans geared up for the sixth Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix, a team of individuals was dashing around the kitchen tent at the BIC to prepare the perfect meal for 'A' list visitors, reports Shilpa Chandran.

Executive head chefs Stefan Berger and Lucas Englert, of German-based KŠfer Party Service GmbH, and their team of six head chefs and around 250 chefs were kept on their toes for a busy weekend preparing a feast for nearly 5,000 people daily.

Chef Stefan, 27, said: "On each day, for every meal, we have around 1,500 guests that we cater to."

The production kitchen is a huge tent with a total area of 10,000sq/m including the freezers and catering area.

Chef Stefan said: "The first year we were here we panicked a lot. We were all new to the Middle East and nobody had a clue about anything regarding guests, suppliers, how to build a tent, everything. With time and practice things have worked fine.

"Most of the visitors are very much from the Middle East and they like their own food very much. So the best thing is to mix the Arabic and European styles."

The KŠfer team catered to all the teams of the support races, GP2, Lumina, Speed Car and Porche, the 34 lounges on the grand stand, the Gulf Air tent catering facility, race control room, where big shots such as Bernie Ecclestone and other important decision makers of the FIA are stationed, the media and also the official welcome party with 300 guests.

This year's special dishes included antipasti platters with zucchini, eggplants, cocktail tomatoes, mushrooms and artichoke hearts, vitello tonnato - tender poached strip loin of veal topped with a light tuna-sauce, garnished with apple-capers, medallions of Australian beef wrapped in smoked beef served with creamy cajun potato au gratin and corn fed chicken breast filled with halloumi cheese and masala onion confit served on a bed of masboush rice.

Desserts include panna cotta with lychee ragu, sticky almond and semolina cake with rosewater glaze, banana and dates marinated in cream and pistachios and marbled white and dark chocolate mousse.

Chef Stefan said: "The first time we came here was November 2005 and that year we made our normal, high quality German food.

"But we realised we couldn't make this because there were too many who didn't seem to like it. Arabs like their food with a lot of flavour so we changed it. We do the same presentation but with a different taste."

Chef Stefan comes from Germany and has a long history of working with the KŠfer group.

He said: "I did my apprenticeship in Germany from 1998 to 2001 with KŠfer and then for the next two years I was in the catering section where we went all over Europe.

"After this I joined the military in 2002, then I went back to KŠfer where I joined a restaurant under the same brand. I worked there for six months before getting back into catering service.

"Then there was the Gran Turismo race in Bahrain and KŠfer sent me here. So from November 2004 until December 2006 I lived here. I am in charge of the sauces and soups for the whole of KŠfer catering.

"Every time since then when there is a big race here, I come back to Bahrain.

Australian Chef Lucas, who was born to German parents, currently lives in Bahrain and works with the company's branch here.

He said: "I did my apprenticeship in Australia in 2002. From then until now I have worked in Australia, Germany and Spain aside from Bahrain and have kept moving around.

The chefs are also good friends but neither is a great fan of F1.

Chef Stefan said: "We don't actually get to see the race. We are stressed, running around. All we hear is the sound which is not very comfortable and it is also hard to communicate with your colleagues.

"When the cars are racing we don't like it but when it stops we feel like there's something missing."

In the five years that they have been preparing the feast to feed to the racers, a few moments stand out in their minds.

Chef Stefan said: "We played football with Michael Schumacher at the Bahrain National Stadium, Isa Town.

"The Bahrain National team was playing against team Ferrari. Everyone was in awe seeing him and then Lucas said something to him in German and he was surprised.

"He asked us what we were doing here and we said we cook for you!

"That was really fun and he is a nice guy."

One not so great memory was when they were taking items back to the kitchen after the meals had been served and 150 litres of soup fell off the back of the truck. It took quite some cleaning up!

Another unique memory for Chef Stefan was when he proposed to his girlfriend, Lydia Muenzner, 29, last year on their anniversary at the main Grand Stand at the Bahrain International Circuit with music blaring from the circuit speakers.

He had arranged for a waiter to bring her a Bahraini pearl in a Big Mac box so she could have a ring of her design made, then the coupled dined on a six-course meal prepared by friend and colleague, Chef Lucas.