Interview with Chef Anoob Ashraf
In Egypt’s bustling hospitality industry, the hotel breakfast buffet has grown into something far more elaborate than a morning meal. It’s a first impression, a culinary showpiece, and often, a strategic battleground where hotels compete not just in flavor but in scale, presentation, and innovation
The Egyptian Chefs Association spoke to Chef Anoob Ashraf, Executive Chef of The Nile Ritz-Carlton Cairo, to find out what really goes into planning and executing these grand buffets. The numbers may surprise you — and so will the creativity behind the curtain.
“To create an exceptional breakfast experience at The Nile Ritz-Carlton Cairo, I would focus on showcasing traditional Egyptian cuisine alongside international favorites. Our Egyptian corner would feature iconic dishes like Foul Medammes, Falafel, Fatteer varieties, and Shakshouka, highlighting the rich flavors of our heritage. Alongside, we’d offer a range of international options to cater to diverse tastes.
To elevate the luxury experience, I’d prioritize seasonal, high-quality local ingredients, artisanal products crafted à la minute, and visually appealing displays. Ensuring options for various dietary requirements would be a top priority.
With attention to detail and a commitment to quality, I’m confident we’d offer an unparalleled breakfast buffet experience in Egypt, exceeding our guests’ expectations and setting our hotel apart.”
We follow a 5-day cyclic rotation menu, carefully crafted to showcase the beauty of Egypt’s seasonal produce. This approach allows us to highlight the freshest local fruits and vegetables, ensuring our dishes are not only delicious but also visually appealing. By incorporating seasonal ingredients, we support local farmers and reduce our carbon footprint. Our menu is designed to offer variety, creativity, and authenticity, catering to diverse tastes and dietary preferences while showcasing the best of Egyptian cuisine.”
Our breakfast buffet features an impressive selection of 10 premium cold cuts, including Smoked Turkey Ham, Beef Salami, Beef Bresaola, Chicken Mortadella, Smoked Turkey Breast, and Smoked Chicken Breast. This diverse array caters to various tastes and preferences, ensuring our guests enjoy a satisfying and delightful breakfast experience.
We prioritize locally made deli meats, supporting local artisans. By partnering with local suppliers, we ensure the highest quality products while contributing to the local community.
We offer a minimum of 12 types of cheeses in our Breakfast buffet
At our live station, our skilled chefs handcraft a variety of egg preparations to order, featuring dishes like Egyptian-style Shakshouka, Egg Benedict, Spanish Omelette, and more. Notably, we’re committed to using cage-free eggs in our breakfast buffet, ensuring a high-quality and humane approach to our culinary offerings.
Our breakfast buffet features an impressive selection of baked goods, with a minimum of 20 types of breads and pastries. This includes 5 varieties of croissants, 4 types of Danish, 3 types of muffins, 3 types of cakes, cinnamon rolls, bagels, and 8 types of bread loaves and breads. This extensive offering ensures our guests can indulge in a wide range of freshly baked treats.
Our breakfast service is supported by a team of 32 staff members. This includes 15 F&B staff for front-of-house service, 12 skilled chefs in the kitchen preparing our extensive offerings, and 5 stewarding team members who ensure seamless setup and thorough cleaning of equipment and tables. This dedicated team works together to deliver an exceptional breakfast experience for our guests.
One of the biggest challenges is maintaining the perfect balance between variety and freshness. With a vast array of dishes, from cold cuts to hot preparations, ensuring timely replenishment and presentation is key. Additionally, managing inventory, monitoring food quality, and adhering to high standards of food safety and hygiene are crucial to delivering an exceptional breakfast experience.
Our signature stations tend to be the most popular and quickest to replenish. Specifically, our Egg Station, Fatteer Station, and Balady Bread Station are in high demand due to their freshness and exceptional quality. Guests particularly love our made-to-order egg dishes, freshly baked Fatteer, and warm Balady bread, which often leads to these stations being replenished frequently to meet guest demand.
Absolutely, local and international guests often have different preferences. Locals tend to stick to familiar dishes, while international travelers are more adventurous, often eager to experience local breakfast specialties. In fact, most international guests appreciate and enjoy trying our local offerings, which adds a unique cultural dimension to their stay. Offering a diverse range of options caters to both preferences, enhancing the overall guest experience.