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WHEN you’ve won an array of accolades the challenge is always to keep up the standard and, hopefully continue to improve on the product. That’s often easier said than done, particularly in the highly-competitive hospitality sector.
Le Méridien Bahrain City Centre’s Baharat has found the solution by continuing to innovate, embrace every opportunity with its ‘Award-winning Brunch’ and at the same time do it with a cheeky smile.
Last Friday the team rallied to ‘The Great British Brunch’ theme as part of the kingdom’s BHUK 200 Food Month being staged to celebrate British-Bahraini relations.
We knew it was going to be fun, the moment marvellous complex director of food & beverage Martin Foltin showed us to our table, started explaining about the great British dishes on display … only to stop on the way to the table via the counter of Indian cuisine. For the uninitiated, nowadays curry (you really can’t beat a chicken tikka masala) is now more popular than fish ’n’ chips back home in Blighty.
He was only joking because Executive Chef Andreas Gober and his team had also conjured up a bounty of British fare (with an added Bahraini twist, of course, to some dishes) to make the heart flutter and what fun they must have had producing it, particularly Pastry Chef Sanjeewa Perera … but all will be revealed later.
I started the session with superb English seafood chowder, a simply divine soup, whilst the good lady wife, Kathryn, devoured a plate of sushi.
I toured the live cooking stations and the fabulous food on display before settling on a course of action. Having spotted the stunning array of sweets, I decided on a salad as an accompaniment to any main course I chose, so I could indulge in the dessert delights with a clear conscience (damn, I hate having to watch my weight).
All my homely favourites were up for grabs such as cottage pie and lamb hotpot, to name just two. The pan-fried hammour with English pea sauce (love it!) and the Scotch eggs near the Hummus were tempting too.
But, in the end, traditional tastes won the day and I went for the roast beef and Yorkshire pudding. Wow, Chef Andreas carved off a succulent slice of slow-cooked beef sirloin which tasted as good as it looked and melted in the mouth.
I’d heard from a South African friend who had attended a similarly themed brunch at the City Centre Bahrain restaurant celebrating his home country’s cuisine proclaiming the braai was brilliant, which is no surprise judging by the venue’s impressive sizzling grilled station, set up on the outside terrace close to the live pasta station.
But the team surpassed all expectations with this British event, in my opinion, when it came to the desserts. Just what do you do when you want a bit of everything? Answer: pile the plate high!
Victoria sponge cake, apple pie, roly-poly pudding, trifle, treacle tart, rhubarb crumble, mixed berry cobbler, bread and butter pudding … I thank you.
As I stumbled across the floor it was a delight to witness the guests had got into the theme of the event too. Heather Hopper, head of UK Trade & Investment at the British Embassy Bahrain was wearing a stunning pair of Union Jack shoes for the occasion (and I thought Bahrain’s No I Brit supporter Betsy Mathieson was the only woman on the island to own a pair).
Deputy British Ambassador Mockbul Ali smiled and was spotted pouring a cuppa, English Breakfast, of course. Cheers Baharat! You didn’t let us down.
* Discover The Award Winning Brunch at Le Méridien Bahrain City Centre every Friday from 12.30pm-4pm. It’s BD30++ or for the Soft Brunch BD18++. For reservations call 17171441. Current promotions include a special rate for a party of 10- plus and an exclusive offer in collaboration with UBER offering guests rides from and to the brunch. Terms & Conditions apply.
