It is usually obvious that the most exciting seat in a restaurant will be the one facing the plate. Now, in a growing number of fine-dining kitchens around the world, diners want to see what happens before the plate reaches the table. They want to feel the heat, movement and precision of the kitchen brought into the dining experience.
That is the promise of the chef’s table, a format that gives a small group of diners a front-row seat to a culinary preparation as the chef curates a multi-course meal.
A chef’s table is like getting a VIP seat inside the kitchen. Instead of sitting in the dining area, a small group of guests sits close to the chef and watches as their food is prepared, plated and served, while the chef explains the dishes and interacts with them.
The concept attracts food lovers, tourists, couples celebrating special occasions, corporate guests and diners who are willing to pay more for something intimate and different from the usual restaurant experience.
However, in Kenya, the concept is still a niche proposition.
Archie Athanasius, Executive Chef at Mövenpick Hotel Nairobi, says the concept is naturally more suited to high-end restaurants and hotels because of the space and level of service required.
‘This depends on the level of your hotel or your restaurant. High end restaurants do it more often,’ he says.
Traditionally, the chef’s table is placed inside or alongside a working kitchen which allows diners to interact with the chef.
The concept originated from the old practice of chefs privately entertaining family and friends in their kitchens. Today, chef’s tables range from intimate kitchen tables to counters that overlook open kitchens, with the kitchen itself becoming part of the entertainment.
Chef Athanasius argues that the original format matters.
‘Most of them, hold their chef’s table in the restaurant, which is not correct. It needs to be done in the kitchen.’
However, the chef’s rightful stated concept of putting guests inside the kitchen comes with a business and operational cost. ‘This will also need you to have a kitchen that has good proper equipment,’ Chef Athanasius says.
‘As a chef, you have a curated menu and get the chance to hold conversation with your guests during cooking. You don’t have to be making a new dish, you just have to be creative because people are paying for that experience,’ he adds.
Michelin’s coverage of chef’s tables shows that the concept has evolved into interactive counters and open-kitchen experiences, with restaurants using proximity to chefs as part of the value offered to diners. In Kenya, chefs say diners are often making a different calculation: what will give them the most food for their money?
At Harvest restaurant in Nairobi, Executive Sous Chef Felix Maluni says the economics can be difficult. A chef may design an elaborate seven-course menu, but filling enough seats at the required price is not guaranteed.
‘The problem is, when you have to do a chef’s table, we always have a plan for it, but it often depends with, the spending power of people.’
He gives relatable example.
‘You may have a chef’s table, because I’ll come up with a 7-course menu, but how many people are willing to spend Sh8,000 per person on that menu, especially since you have to take every course of this menu,’ Chef Felix poses.
‘The problem has been that no one wants to spend that kind of money. They think that, ‘I’ll just go for the normal menu, because it has better options’. You may get like only 10 bookings, and then you end up making losses, because you have to produce a lot of food,’ he adds.
Chef Felix also says that chefs have had to adapt since diners favour variety and perceived value.
‘People have moved, the market has changed. You find that when it started dying slowly, chefs decided to come up with sumptuous menus which cut across.’
This, the chef says, has helped make buffets, brunches and the broad à la carte menus more commercially attractive. On major occasions such as Christmas and Valentine’s Day, hotels can package several choices into one offering that gives the diners the perception of greater value.
‘Instead of having set menus, they prefer to have the buffet. They feel like it offers more variety.’
Yet chef Felix believes something is lost in that trade-off.
‘What they don’t know is that the secret of the chef’s table is that these are dishes curated for specific tastes.’
The format also provides creative freedom, something that ordinary service does not. ‘When I started in the industry chef’s table was our mainstay. It is good because it gives the chefs a challenge of coming up, being creative, coming up with new dishes now and then. It’s also a good way to challenge chefs in the kitchen and the team to contribute to this kind of food business. ‘ chef Felix says.
Despite the struggle, Chef Rami Saloum, Executive Chef at Pullman Hotel Nairobi, is among those keeping the concept alive. His approach follows the traditional model with a small table set inside the kitchen.
‘I’m doing it inside the kitchen. I set up a table for 8 to 10 people inside the kitchen and I do everything in front of the guests.’ But even at Pullman, it is not a weekly commercial offering.
Chef Rami says the hotel hosts chefs table roughly every two or three months, although largely as a marketing tool and to generate social media attention.
He adds that the price, ranges between Sh9,000 and Sh12,000, depending on the food selection and drinks. The guests can also influence the menu by sharing allergies, foods they do not eat and their beverage preferences.
‘I create the menu according to the guest some of the guest’s needs after sending and invite and getting confirmation. Of course, keeping in mind the kind of drinks they like to have because every course is supposed to go with a drink or beverage.’
Seeing room for a Kenyan identity within the format, he uses local cuisine with a contemporary interpretation. ‘Sometimes I do the Kenyan cuisine a little bit fusion with twist.’
Still, demand remains slow.
‘Demand is very low.’ His international experience also highlights the difference. In Dubai, where he previously worked, chef’s tables were far more frequent.
‘For example, we used to do it almost every week. My previous hotel, we used to do it at least once or twice a month.’ ‘Chef’s tables make guest have an experience, to see all the action, the shouting, the adrenaline rush and everything cooked in front of you,’ Chef Rami adds.
Globally, the concept is also changing, Michelin’s coverage shows that restaurants are moving toward chef’s counters, open kitchens and interactive formats that allows diners to watch culinary teams without necessarily requiring the formality of a traditional private chef’s table.