Chef’s Plans For New Hotel

Press, Volume CIV, Issue 30803, 15 July 1965, Page 1

Chef’s Plans For New Hotel

New Zealand’s im. port restrictions would make it “pretty hard” to prepare authentic dishes at the White Heron Lodge when it opened in midSeptember, said its executive chef, Mr L. Doebele, in Christchurch yesterday. ,

He. has come from the Ports o’Call Restaurant, on the 37th floor of the Sheraton Hotel Dalias. Texas, tn head the new hotel’s catering staff Mr Doebele is a German-born American citizen, of Swiss parents.

Many New Zealand grocers he said, had advised him strongly against attempting to introduce many recipes to the hotel that overseas visit ors were both used to and liked.

The grocers said they were unable to get regular supplies of many foods, such as goose liver, caviare, smoked salmon snails and frog legs in New Zealand.

Mr Doebele said he believed this also applied to prawns, known as shrimps in America, but there was some possibility of supplies from Australia. Bom in Baden-Baden, in the Black Forest of southern Germany, Mr Doebele is a Swiss trained chef with wide international experience Hotels he has worked for include the Waldorf-Astoria. New York, the Ritz-Carlton.; Montreal, and The Sheraton.’ Dallas Mr Doebele's first assistant . (Mi W. Spath), who is a Gers man citizen, will arrive in i Christchurch, from Dallas. Texas, on August 15. to take ? up his duties. r In the hotel. Mr Doebele ’ plans to introduce many buf--5 fet-type meals with smorgasbord and hot dishes as well. j "We will be catering for , the jet-age at Harewood, with , jet-age cooks for looking after jet-age people," he said.

Mr Doebele said he was aware that tipping was not popular in some circles. His iown point of view was that it had the effect of inducing the initiative for good service from waiters, waitresses and stewards.

The shortage of labour In New Zealand, he said, would probably force the hotel to use frozen foods, such as vegetables that were already prepared and ready to cook. “1 personally like fresh vegetables.” he said. “It is a question of whether you have enough help to clean and prepare them "