What will professional hospitality be about in the coming years? Will tradition win out, or will it be all about innovation at all costs? From Dubai, the location par excellence of all that is luxury, the answer is being spelled out loud and clear: “We will need and will go on needing both, because while the secret may well be staying faithful to your roots, the real added value comes through research, passion and experimentation. And you have to be able to plan ahead.” So says Davide Gardini, executive chef of BiCE Ristorante in the capital of the Arab Emirates, who adds: “All this translates into more efficient teamwork, and a fresher, higher quality end product, obtained through a technology that brings out the best in the ingredients, without altering them beyond recognition.” Saying yes to technology but without overdoing it is also the approach taken by another participant in the contest, Enrico Paiola, chef of the Capital Club Dubai: “I love the phrase ‘everything is useful but nothing is indispensable’, which applies perfectly to kitchen equipment. What you must always have is a love of and passion for this wonderful job of ours – if you have those you can cook excellent dishes even without the help of the latest technologies.” That said, though, Mohamad Ali, chef of Shakespeare & Co, a restaurant with an Italian feel in Dubai, is very happy to have them. “In my kitchen I wouldn’t want to be without things like professional slicing machines, combi-ovens, gelato makers and blast chillers. Together with high-quality ingredients, these appliances can make all the difference.” Meanwhile another of the winners in the contest, chef Francesco Dimonte of the Emirates First Class Lounge focuses more on the way the work is organised: “In my opinion, the success of every professional kitchen depends on its staff and the whole way the ‘kitchen brigade’ is structured. You very often find kitchens where there are some quite exceptional talents, but there is no leadership to give wise guidance, so they simply get lost along the way.”