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By Kit C. Cauw
"I grew up on the stove," says Peter Hatt, executive
chef of Le Royal Meridien Phuket Yacht Club. "My first pocket
money I earned by brushing out the wine barrels. Everybody [in our
family] grew up with wine and food."
For the past 8 years, Hatt has been overseeing the stoves of the
Phuket Yacht Club's restaurants, having arrived with Mandarin Oriental,
the resort's previous owners and staying on with Le Royal Meridien.
He was born and raised in Switzerland, where his parents ran a small
hotel, together with their own bakery, farm and vineyards. They
grew and cooked their own food, crushed their own grapes and made
their own wine, including Eau de Vie. Hatt's childhood led to an
apprenticeship as a professional chef in Switzerland, then Belvoir
Park Hotel Management School in Zuerich, followed by Wine Making
& Trading School in Waedenswil. Since then, he has worked for
the Peninsula Group, Mandarin Oriental and Le Meridien in Hong Kong,
Beijing, Singapore, Manila, Bangkok, Los Angeles and New York, in
addition to running his own small hotel in Winterthur, Switzerland
for two years. All told, he has spent over 20 years working in Asia
in such high-profile positions as executive chef of Beijing's Peninsula
Jianguo Hotel and fine dining room chef of Gaddis, at the Peninsula
Hong Kong, which, he reports, "is still one of the best addresses
for fine French cuisine today."
On a recent stay at Le Royal Meridien Phuket Yacht Club, I had
the pleasure of visiting with Peter Hatt over a cup of jasmine tea.
The weather was relatively cool, a fresh breeze wafting through
the open-aired lounge; the afternoon sun beaming through partial
cloud cover on the crashing surf of Nai Harn Beach down below. I
could easily understand why he has been working here for 8 years.
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TL: Let's start with the most obvious
question-what's your general philosophy about food?
PH: I don't want to say the green period or the red period or the
blue period (Chuckle). I like food and wine, like growing it, producing
it. You must be passionate about food and wine.
PH: I enjoy the synergy of the team-the kitchen, service, customers.
Understanding each other. It's important for me to listen to the
customer, not only to my professional heart. The feedback of our
guests is like nectar for bees.
PH: Most of all, though, to be happy to be a chef, to enjoy the
cooking and your guests. I like to introduce the actual chef who
prepared the meal to happy customers-both parties feel rewarded.
Even after complaints, this approach can lead to friendships.
TL: What are some of the differences you
have found working here from in city hotels?
PH: The Jianguo [Beijing] was super busy-I've never seen anything
as busy in my life. Gaddis is one of only two French restaurants
left in Hong Kong. There are almost no limits to jobs in Hong Kong
and Singapore and the city hotels have a fast heartbeat. But here
I have something that I never had at city hotels. I have a relationship
with the customers. In the cities, the customers have no time to
talk. Here you get to know them. I didn't have that in Singapore
or Hong Kong. Here the guests come for a holiday, they want to talk
to us, they want us to take care of them. this place is more rewarding
for me even though in city hotels you can do greater things with
the cooking styles.
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TL: What's new for this high season?
PH: I've been ambitious to do something health conscious. Healthy
choices are very much appreciated, mostly by women-they seem to
take better care of themselves than men. Our spa cuisine is available
on our upper level, at the pool spa and Quarterdeck Restaurant.
We have a number of heavy duty juices, some so intense that you
can only have a small amount. You need a little fat in them to bring
the vitamins into the system-otherwise they just go right though.
So we have guides to the juices as well.
PH: Then we have a new chef for the Italian restaurant, Nicola Cohia,
who is back for a second time. Afternoon Tea is popular during high
season-it's traditional with scones and finger sandwiches. Clotted
cream for an extra charge. The in-room bar-be-que is quite popular,
as well. We have specially trained wait staff to do this four you
out there on the balcony. We can also arrange for Thai dancing and
entertainment. The beauty here is that the rooms all have such nice
balconies. I don't think anyone can beat us with that. The bay here
gives us so much.
TL: Do you still get to cook?
PH: As executive chef, I'm coaching. Sometimes as a coach, you get
to kick the ball yourself. In low season, we have trainings. Then
once the Thais learn how to do something, they are proud to do it
and continue to improve.
TL: What kinds of food do you prefer to
cook; what do you see as the major trends on the island?
PH: I specialized in French food-but the time for French food is
not yet. Now everybody has to be casual and fresh. I still look
forward to a clean cooking style where one can feel the heritage
of the food. All the squeezing and breaking of garlic and ginger
is detracting from this.
PH: Here in Phuket almost everyone wants to do the Pacific Rim California
style cooking. GMs all have this fusion in their heads. If you are
in Thailand and must fuse, ok, but fuse Thai. We had a California
restaurant but it did not appeal to the European guests, so we changed
to Italian. Italian is traditional, with good basics and if those
basics are right then your guests are happy. As a chef, I want to
make only the best.
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TL: Can you tell us what has kept you
at this resort for so long?
PH: This is the first time I've ever spent 8 years in one spot.
My whole life has been a journey. But I like Phuket, I like the
place where I work, I have a wife and kids here. All this means
a lot to me and when something means a lot to you, you better take
care of it.
PH: The Phuket Yacht Club was the first luxury hotel on the island.
Many of the staff have been here since we opened. Somehow the staff
and the guests have defined themselves-many guests come back just
to see a particular staff member. Usually the guests will contact
the staff directly, tell them when they are coming back, often before
they even make reservations! A lot of times a guest will come back
knowing all the news that's happened over the past year.
PH: Many guests have gone out and bought houses in the area, to
live here for six months a year; many are retired. They still come
to the restaurants, spa and so on. I am always happy to see a resident
come in. So these are the keys-location, staff and the guests.
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