If you are well-travelled and a lover of fine dining, you will probably have come across some of the best chefs in a few of the hotels you stayed.
Well, one of the striking qualities of such chefs is their simple demanor.
Yet, their creative hands can create any menu, turnaround local ingredients with international flavour and innovate new ones to satiate adventurous taste buds.
The above summarises the passion and work ethics of Ernst Lothar Frank, the executive chef of Lagos Continental Hotel.
Recalling his days of little beginning, Chef Frank, as his is fondly called, started his career in the hospitality industry from a humble begining; a traditional apprenticeship at family run hotel in the Black Forest region in southern Germany in the early 70s.
He brings to bear over 30 years experience in the hospitality industry across several global hotel chains in Europe, Asia, the Gulf States of Kuwait, Qatar and United Arab Emirates and in Africa – Egypt, Sudan and now Nigeria.
For the executive chef, it is not the position on the name tag or big office that matters, but exceptional services, attention to details and team work to deliver value for money offerings to the discerning guests, who are paying for it.
Barely eight months in Nigeria and at Lagos Continental Hotel as the executive chef, he has changed perceptions, built formidable culinary team, opened more dining outlets and most importantly, wooed more guests to dine at the hotel’s many restaurants.
The signature restaurants; from Ekaabo, Soho, Milano, Sugar 52 and even Sports Bar, are now first choices for fine dining for many, amid a growing patronage by in-house and walk-in guests.
At present, the recently relaunched Sugar 52 Restaurant and Soho, an Asian cuisine restaurant, are bearing witness of his innovative approach to recreating and presenting menus to the hotel’s wide range of clientele.
Considering the fact that Lagos Continental Hotel is the tallest hotel and most iconic hotel architectural masterpiece in Lagos, the German-born executive chef is committed to complementing the feats with fine dining experience that will make the hotel a home for the best culinary treats in town.
The above is in addition to his passion for Nigerian food and need to recreate and present them for more international appeal and patronage.
The revolution is on and his is working with his team of culinary experts, from virtually all continents, to put Nigerian cuisines on global food menu list.
“We are experimenting with Nigerian cuisines, with the intention of taking it to another level and making it attract global attention, just the same way other intercontinental cuisines are doing,” Chef Frank said.
But the passion for local menu is amid the hotel’s commitment to delivering diverse culinary offerings from the stable of its Chinese, Lebanese, South African, Italian and Nigerian chefs.
However, the influence by the Nigerian food culture is obvious as Chef Frank admitted that since coming to the country, he has been influenced by Nigerian food culture, especially listening to his Nigerian chefs and working with them.
‘‘I listen to the Nigerian chefs that we have, we try to tap into their experience, like Chef Amaka (Chiamaka Nwakalor-Egemba),’’ he said.
‘‘What we have in the hotel is more of traditional Nigerian food. I try to learn about it and it is very rich, which is what I found out about it”.
Away from the richness of Nigerian food, Chef Frank is not pleased with the undocumented nature of it.
“It is not documented very well. There is a need to document it and recognise it for what it is,” he observed and urged.
“You have to concentrate on what you have as a national food. It is about the culture, and like language and culture it is evolving.
So, if the culture is changing then the food is changing as well”.
His observation emanated from the fact that “everybody can tell you where there is a good Italian restaurant and Chinese restaurant, but if you ask them where is the best Nigerian restaurant for fine dining, it is not that easy to answer. I ask this question but I do not get the answer. The concentration is actually on foreign food”.
But the chef is serious at changing the narrative with emphasis on Nigerian food.
One of such efforts is the hotel’s recent experiment with Chef Amaka, an emerging Nigerian chef, known for her Africa fusion and promotion of Nigerian cuisine. She experiments with authentic indigenous ingredients from the various parts of the country to create amazing recipes that offer great and harmonious flavours to the palate.
“We want to tab into her expertise, she is brilliant for what she does and she is an independent chef. We would have a working relationship with her,” he said on the partnership with Chef Amaka.
With the partnership forged with Chef Amaka, more exchanges between Chef Frank and his fellow Nigerian chefs, the culinary revolution has started.
The immediate result is evident at the Sunday brunch at Ekaabo Restaurant, and exciting offerings at other restaurants in the hotel.
As expected, the chef is excited at the result, especially the enthralling treats, great vibes of fun, entertainment, amid good food and drink at the beck of the guests.
“We want to tap into Nigerian food and also take the food to another level. We don’t want to reinvent the potatoes or something like that, but in the way it is presented and looked at so that it can be at par with any other national food in the world as well.
“I truly believe we can,’’ Chef Frank said with a sense of commitment.
Also, the emphasis on food, according to him, is because the food and beverage department contributes immensely to the revenue of the hotel.
“Food & Beverage contributes to revenue quite a lot and we have a strong banquet department and a huge part of the revenue from food is from the banquet.
“It is the food and beverage that makes the hotel, most of the times when you discuss the hotel, what makes the difference between one luxury hotel and the other is the people and the F&B department, which give it a kind of excitement.
‘‘So, the F&B department is very important to drive the hotel.’’
He also noted that the hotel has the right offerings, right environment and right service, but needs to attract walk-in-guests to sample the offerings.
Of course, bringing people from outside to dine in the hotel used to be a challenge due to their reluctance.
But the executive chef and his team are addressing the challenge by creating different outlets for dining and making it easier for the people to come.
The Soho Restaurant, according to him, is a perfect fit for walk-in-guests, in addition to the Ekaabo Restaurant.
‘‘Most of the guests who eat in Soho Restaurant come from outside,” he disclosed.
Singling out Soho Restaurant, he said that it is now a signature and choice restaurant for people to dine, especially walk-in-guests.
“I want people to say that they are going to Soho Restaurant. I don’t want them to say we are going to Lagos Continental Hotel because they have Soho Restaurant. No, that is wrong.
They have to say we want to go to Soho and it happens to be in Lagos Continental Hotel,” he said.
Call the above a tall order or towering ambition, the executive chef and his team of culinary experts are ready because they have enthralling offerings, right environment and right service culture to realise it.
Looking at the future, he noted, ‘‘We will bring people like Chef Amaka to help us, to do things that we can’t do in order to have improved experience for the guest. The wider the range, the better experience for the guests”.
In conclusion, he noted excitedly that,, “Fine dining experience is what we promise our guests and we are poised at delivering on this promise.’’
