As the first five-star hotel in Dubai, the Radisson Blu in Deira Creek is a respected name in the hotelier world. Responsible for feeding the venue’s 800 guests is Director of Kitchens, Uwe Micheel. With over forty years in the industry, Chef Uwe Micheel has worked all over the globe including Germany, London, Bahrain and Japan, and for the last two decades has been President of the Emirates Culinary Guild (ECG).
“I’ve spent 26 years at the Radisson and as Director of Kitchens I am responsible for the hotel’s entire catering offering which includes ten restaurants, three bars, a pool bar, pastry shop and of course room service. Like every hotel, budget and efficiency is everything. It’s not just about cutting back we also look at how we can improve and work smarter.”
Chef Uwe Micheel first came across Wrapmaster while in Europe and was impressed with the professional dispensing system.
“Wrapmaster wasn’t available in the Emirates at the time. I could see the efficiency of it in the kitchen, so I asked Cofresco for some samples. We’d always used cardboard cutter boxes for our cling film and hung the cling film over the workstation. We found Wrapmaster very, very helpful. The feedback from the team was just how comfortable the dispenser was to work with and its portability. Everyone was very positive and found it much easier having Wrapmaster at the same level as their food to wrap and cover.”
Trialing the new Wrapmaster 4500, the dispenser features all the benefits that have made Wrapmaster the number one brand in Europe and was designed with efficiency in mind, delivering a perfect cut to foil, cling film and baking parchment.
“I would recommend Wrapmaster to any chef. It’s a product which should be in every kitchen, big or small. It’s safe, hygienic and it saves money. During the trial we saved 25% on our cling film usage, because of the clean cut we’re no longer wasting film. Which is money for the hotel and we’re helping the environment.”
As President of the Emirates Culinary Guild, Chef Uwe Micheel was also part of the development team for HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point) and the food safety management procedures all UAE kitchens must adhere to. The Radisson Blu, Deira Creek was one of the first hotels to achieve the certification when the standards were introduced.
Chef Uwe Micheel continues:
“Food safety is the most important thing. As a chef you have the life of your guests in your hands every day. Training is a big focus to ensure the safety of our diners and our kitchen teams. From ingredients to the equipment, we’re always looking at new ways to improve food safety and hygiene of the whole operation.
“What was completely new for me was you can put Wrapmaster in a dishwasher and it’s perfectly sanitized when it comes out. It was so easy, so good, so fast.”
Built for demanding professional kitchens, Wrapmaster can be wiped down and easily disinfected in a commercial dishwasher to minimise cross-contamination, a clear benefit for the HACCP rated kitchen.
With team safety a top priority, the old cardboard cutter boxes had also proved problematic for the kitchen especially during busy service times. Wrapmaster’s concealed blade removed that issue.
Micheel adds:
“With the old boxes, we had a lot of cuts on the fingers and even some people would cut themselves when they used small knives. There’s no risk of injury at all with a Wrapmaster.”
Wrapmaster is proven to have a big impact on kitchens on hygiene, safety and cost savings, using 20% less cling film, 25% less foil and 25% less parchment compared to a cardboard cutter box.
“With a 25% cost saving it’s a product that should be in every kitchen, big or small”
President of the Emirates Culinary Guild, Uwe Micheel