Interesting or is it a desperate idea.
The chef has worked in average resorts and a casino - I assume not as a croupier.
Its a typical Egypt impulse media idea. Writing a menu will change little and food is a complex chain.
Retraining scores of chefs and kitchen staff, reviewing the entire supply chain to get better inputs, training people to display/present food on a plate are a small number of the 1-2 year efforts that would be required, but its better to stick to a 2 day visit and 4 press conferences followed by some scribbling that has little to do with the skill base or local food chain.
The Greek idea is odd, as Who2 knows the closer connection with skills and inputs would be Lebanese (a superb cuisine) and Turkish (even better) but I guess the latter is out.
The Greek menu is dominated by fish, hard to cook and serve on a plane, or lamb, very expensive as an input and not to most tastes and a bit filling for a plane meal. Greek deserts are awful but not as bad as Moussaka which would be impossible to eat on a flight and I can't see the dips, as good as they are, working on a flight - again plane movement. To me this Greek choice looks the standard mad idea. God save us from Greek wines although in the last 20 years a few young Greeks have killed their traditional grandfathers and run into the 21st century. In ant event Egypt Air when not killing its customers doesn't serve alcohol but Emirates and, I think, all the other regional/Gulf majors do.
Most Egypt air flights are 4-6 hours so I don't think that food is the biggest issue facing them, let alone major meals, as they move into their 10th year of continuous losses. In a 6 hour flight the first and last 50 minutes are packing/unpacking time for staff as the plane gets to its height/lands on the ground. Training cabin staff to be polite, alert and quick might be a better investment and the Greeks would be no use in these areas.
It would be interesting to know what customer survey got them to this particular 'solution' but I think I know there are no such surbeys and all decisions are management impulse.
More significantly are the thousands of home economics, cooking and related positions at many Egyptian universities and related technical colleges. Its likely that their curriculum, teaching staff and connections with prospective employers are at best poor. I had a look at 1 university in the delta and couldn't believe the size of their teaching facility in this area but as always its a big building and small minds.
My guess is that the bulk of cooking training is either traditional Egyptian or some mad person's view of French cooking - 40 years ago. The near absence of vegan and vegetarian courses in Restaurants, or bad options, and the national obsession with smorgasbords indicates antique thinking. Even though others all know better my guess is that there are no senior women in restaurants and few even in middle jobs but of course I'm prejudiced as I always am. Pompous arrogant blow hard men usually make bad food and always alienate staff and drive the best out - a universal rule in Egypt.
The national inability to make an espresso or cafe doppio and the invariable overcooking of pasta is hard to explain.
This is just about Egypt Air the bulk of whose passengers are Egyptian or from the region but exposes a bigger issue for a country that wants tourism to work on the ground. On the other hand given the base tastes of many coastal tourists a smart position would be to leave unwell alone.
Its odd that in 70 years since Nasser Egypt has produced no chief/book writer with international standing. Lebanon at 4 million people has produced a few, Turkey has produced many but many more western chiefs who love it. Greece many and Italy, France and Spain droves. There seems no single person who takes a traditional recipe and 'updates' it - but to do that would break the cardinal rule of Egypt - change nothing, or if you want change get out. Oddly the Tunisians who have a defined French menu have completely updated it to simple arrangements, no sauces and smaller portions. They do salads very well and use extra virgin olive oil and proper coffee beans. Their use of selective herbs is restrained but their rosemary works well with lamb - but not in Egypt.
An idea a Hawass Pharonic Menu (copyright). 95% bread and a 'complimentary' signed copy of his latest book - cost US$85. The other 5% hot air.
A related matter - Egypt Air marketing in a period of dreadful press.
Last year AirEgypt duded it in celebrating its 85 years of lack of success with an ad with an Arabic song and the following ambiguous and cringe-worthy image:
The city isn’t Egyptian and has no obvious middle east elements. For a second or two you think it’s a crash.
The slogan they used was delusional and incoherent – ‘“From the heart of Egypt, to the heart of the world,” The slogan was also too long and tells you nothing of what the airline is offering.
The internet attacks and jokes were legion and professional advertising magazines thought it one of the worst programs seen. How much it cost is a state secret. Its possible but I can't be certain that this great 'achievement' was the first project of Eagle Capital, an investment firm owned by Military Intelligence based on taxpayers cash. They got the non-competitive contract for all tourism advertising for Egypt. Eagle Capital is headed by the banker wife of the Governor of the Central Bank, Khorshid, who presided over the corrupt Mubarak sales of public assets, was a failed Minister of Investment and has many other skills relevant to tourism and advertising. God save Egypt.
EgyptToday thought the 85th marketing brilliant and quoted a survey (source not disclosed) which said the airline was brilliant. Rot.
http://www.egypttoday.com/Article/1/659 ... g-campaign
