From peeling potatoes to cooking for the world
I like being in the kitchen. I started cooking for my friends at camping sites when I was young. Everyone liked my food.” Saud Al Matrooshi, chief executive chef, Emirates Flight Catering
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In pursuit of a career in the kitchen, Saud Mohammed Al Matrooshi had to peel potatoes, mop floors and serve diners. Today, he is a fullfledged chef whose dishes are travelling the world on Emirates flights.
He is the first Emirati to have been named chief executive chef of Emirates Flight Catering (EKFC).
“I like being in the kitchen. I started cooking for my friends at camping sites while I was still young. Everyone liked my food,” Al Matrooshi told Khaleej Times.
The 35-year-old Dubai resident has always loved cooking since he was a child, mainly because good food has always brought his family together. He grew up watching his dad lovingly whip up meals for the family.
Al Matrooshi, however, didn’t take up culinary art in college. Instead, he earned a degree in communication technology. He started his career as a marketing
manager at Dubai Creek Golf and Yacht Club.
Though he was in marketing, he would spend a lot of his free time in the club’s kitchen. Noticing his passion for cooking, his boss decided to put him on a chef training course — a surprise that Al Matrooshi was extremely grateful for.
Hard work, determination
Becoming a chef was no walk in the park, he recalled. “During my
training, I worked as a cleaner, steward and storekeeper. I worked in the inventory, butchery and all other sections.” His mentor, a French chef, made him go through all the kitchen tasks so he could learn the basics.
“Being a chef was such a highly respected profession especially in the West. However, it was not the case here. My friends and relatives would always ask me what I do whenever they I tell them I work in the kitchen. But it didn’t deter me from pursuing my dream career.”
He took a catering course at a culinary institute in London and another course at a school in Thailand to become a certified chef. Then off he went into the food industry. The Emirati father of two boys and one girl worked as chef for a restaurant before starting his own food concepts.
Largest flight catering kitchen
Then, he got a job at Emirates. After working for years at EKFC, Al Matrooshi rose through the ranks.
“I am happy and honoured to be the chief executive chef at the world’s largest flight catering kitchen which produces about 255,000 meals a day,” he said. “My major job now is more operational than cooking. I handle all orders, menu development, logistics.”
Al Matrooshi is now on a mission to inspire young Emiratis into joining the catering profession and bring all UAE national chefs together.