Transcript
FREDA UNUSI: Because we have got our own local food and we want to turn those local food into food that can be consumed in the hotels. At the moment the chefs are not confident to turn those local foods into foods that can be consumed in the hotels. So that is one aspect where we needed training. Training so that the chefs can use the locally available food and it can be readily available in the hotels rather than go and find them elsewhere.
Koroi Hawkins: So what can you get in hotels? Is it western and Asian cuisine?
FU: Oh yes. Mongolian, Chinese, Indian all the other stuff, western but we were just talking about like the slippery cabbage it is like one of the cabbages like I am not really sure...
KH: You are making my hungry just talking about it.
FU: (laughs) But that is never used in the hotels. But that is plentiful in here.
KH: And you have got so many like wonderful yams and taros and all of that as well.
FU: Yes. The yams and taros are not consumed in hotels they are just starting now to do those ones but just like cutting them into little cubes and then maybe the locals just do the oven thingy on them. But not really like the presentation like the yams are really colourful. What if they can do the yams and present it in a way that is tastier or looks good. You know.
KH: So you are talking about Chefs that are able to interpret like put their own interpretation their own spin.
FU: Yes, be creative, you know. Yes.
KH: And you almost need Solomon Islanders to be trained to be chefs having that understanding or bringing in someone who goes and investigates food in local communities to be able to do that. Is there anyone like that in the region or in the country that is coming up in the ranks that you guys look at as a role model maybe or as someone who could develop that?
FU: And that is one angle that we talked about because the chefs, I am not sure if the ministry of education has got a plan for training chefs professional chefs. That is where we fall short so maybe they would have to go to the ministry and give them this policy before they would be able to train chefs. But chefs from say APTC (Australia Pacific Technical College) they are around but the hotels or those ones who have chefs are not really using them yet because of confidence they are not having in that area. But some of the chefs...
KH: And they wouldn't have control with the hotel menus anyway would they?
FU: No, no so one of the persons that came and talked to us about that is the chef from Heritage Park [Hotel] he said initially when he came he was looking for like capsicum the red ones, we don't have those ones. Then he looked for other things. Then he came to his senses and said well if these are not available here then I just have to go and find things that are available and you know be creative and do other things.
KH: And again that is almost just a supplement but what you are talking about is developing and celebrating the foods that are available locally and to even a unique Solomon Islands high end fine dining cuisine.
FU: Exactly so what we are talking about is maybe next year in our plans we would have a festival a cuisine festival where you know chefs come in and they you know present their cuisines that they wanted us to do but it must be local it must be things that are readily available here. Like coconut crabs or, you know those are not even in the hotel menus. Whatever it is so that is how we want to term it so that the chefs can use what is available to make menus. And menus that will be available in hotels.
