Chef fires opening shots in price war

Press, 24 September 1988, Page 1

Chef fires opening shots in price war

Bv

DAVE WILSON

When an international chef promises some surprises from his kitchen, he’s not talking about baked beans on toast. Charles Noville, classically trained and experienced in the hotels of the global Hilton chain, has surprises of a more sophisticated culinary nature. As executive chef of the soon-to-open Parkroyal Hotel in Christchurch, he says quality does not necessarily need to carry an exorbitant price tag. A main course of filet mignon for $12.50 or a full business lunch for $25 are among the

opening shots in a strategy to encourage locals to patronise the newest hotel in New Zealand. “There is no point in having high prices and few customers. When the turnover of customers is high the staff are motivated and busy. They feel they are doing what they were trained to do,” Mr Neville said. He comes to the Parkroyal with a culinary career that owes its origins to a 200-year-old hotel school in Liege, in his native Belgium. As a 14-year-old he attended the school, working in hotels and restaurants at week-ends

to pay the tutorial fees. “Some young people spend their youth in a disco. My disco was a kitchen,” he said. Even a year’s national service in the Belgian Army saw him working in army kitchens. After emigrating to Canada he worked in 1100-room hotels as one of 110 chefs in the kitchens. A career with the Hilton chain offered invaluable experience. In kitchens where tempers could flare and chefs sometimes had to be restrained from trading blows, he absorbed the nuances of Japan-

ese, Mexican, South African and other international cuisine. He has come to the Parkroyal from a 400-room hotelcasino in Perth, where the kitchens catered for 1000 people a day. “I set up the kitchens when that hotel opened. It was hectic. I was given only 17 days to hire staff and organise everything for the opening,” he said. An executive chef can have a stressful career. He recalled a period in Perth where he had only five days off in 10 months. In Christchurch, he is happy.

“I started at the Parkroyal on June 1 and have had four months to learn about New Zealand eating habits, and plenty of time to hire and organise staff.” His intention is to provide classical cuisine with a special emphasis on local produce. “Nelson scallops and fresh snapper for the Japanese res-* taurant and local meat and vegetables. And there will be special dishes. Everybody cooks iamb so we are planning something different — a warm sheep-tongue salad. It is delicious,” Mr Noville said.