www.womanthismonth.com 55 May 2014 Rediscovering the Middle East Woman This Month (WTM): You’ve been the general manager of Bahrain Family Leisure Company (BFLC) for a year now. What changes have you brought to Cucina Italiana? Pete Lyons (PL): Cucina Italiana is a really strong restaurant to begin with. But then the service experience was very similar what you find in many other restaurants in Bahrain. What I’ve tried to do is structure it to focus on hospitality than on service. You find in a lot of the restaurants in the Middle East that the service is very robotic and scripted. As soon as things go off script, the service struggles. We’ve created a hospitable environment by getting the team to bring out their own personality. WTM: The Cucina Italiana Master Chef Challenge was the talk of the town. Tell us about the experience. PL: The location of the restaurant is quite hidden. To get us out there, we hosted the Master Chef Challenge which was an evolution of the cooking classes that we held. It just turned from this small idea to this huge event that was televised by three TV shows. It was so much fun for all of us. We were amazed by how good the contestants were. We set different challenges for each stage. The quality and presentation were unbelievable; they looked and tasted fantastic. So obviously, we’re thinking of doing a Season Two. WTM: We hear BLFC has a new restaurant in the pipeline. Could you give us a few details about the venue? PL: Bayti will feature a mix of Jordanian, Egyptian, Lebanese and Bahraini dishes. One of the main things setting it apart from other restaurants is the menu, which will describe the dishes. This is a feature you don’t usually get in a lot of Arabic dining venues. Bayti is located near the Bahrain Financial Harbour. So in the daytime, we’re going to Following the success of Cucina Italiana and Bennigan’s, Bahrain Family Leisure Company is set to launch a whole new dining concept to Bahrain’s foodies. We speak to the general manager. be quite busy with the office crowd. We have decided to run a buffet operation for breakfast and lunch. After sunset, when everybody in the area goes home, Bayti turns into a destination restaurant. It moves to an à la carte menu in the evening, boasting contemporary Middle Eastern cuisine. We’ve taken traditional dishes from around the region and given it a modern twist. WTM: Describe the dining experience guests can expect from Bayti. PL: It’s a chef-driven restaurant and we’ve a display kitchen. So there’s going to be a lot of show going on. The same way you’ve got burgers turning into gourmet meals these days we’ve got the gourmet shawarma, bringing the dish to a new level. You’ll have a selection of breads and different fillers. It’ll be displayed with a wow factor; when it passes someone’s table they’ll want to know what it is. Bayti means ‘my home’, which is exactly the vibe we want people to feel. We’ve essentially taken something familiar and evolved it to a contemporary setting. WTM: Name one thing that every guest should try at Bayti. PL: We’re doing a chocolate shawarma! Mind you this isn’t a combination of chocolate and beef. It is a vertical slab of chocolate that we shave off. The shavings are served onto a chocolate pita bread, with chocolate sauce and various other ingredients, making it a full dessert. It’s very visual! Call 17 001-317.
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