Skift Take
What happens when a culinary tastemaker is handed the reins of a young culinary empire with deep pockets? We're about to find out.
As far as executive titles go in the hotel industry, it's rare to find that of a chief culinary officer. But that's exactly what Michael Ellis, a former chef and the former international director of the Michelin Guides, became last September.
Although Ellis' move to Dubai-based luxury hotel group Jumeirah as chief culinary officer may have been unprecedented, he said he was moved to take the position because of the opportunity to transform an entire brand.
"[Jose Silva, the CEO of Jumeirah Group] invited me for lunch in Paris and told me a little bit about the vision he had for making the culinary experience one of the cornerstones of what the Jumeirah product differentiation would be," Ellis explained. "It really piqued my curiosity."
Although initially "hesitant," he said that "the more I looked and the more I found out about what Jumeirah was about and what Jose's vision was, the more I really got interested."
Since joining Jumeriah, his first order of business has centered around Dubai.
"A good half of our hotels are in Dubai or the Middle East, but especially in Dubai. Of the 19 properties, we currently have about half that are wholly owned and about half that are under management contract. The ones that are fully owned are mostly in Dubai where we have six hotels, with almost 3,000 rooms and over 60 food and beverage outlets."
Not all Jumeriah Group's hotels and brands are necessarily luxury, either. In 2018, the company launched an affordable lifestyle brand called Zabeel House by Jumeirah, and by the end of this year, it plans to debut a new upper upscale lifestyle brand, tentatively called District.
Ellis will have to scale things accordingly for different brands and locations as he meticulously investigates menu items, just as he used at to the Michelin Guide. What he's found so far, however, has surprised him — in a good way.
"One thing I was positively surprised about was that there's really nothing broken. The overall level of the F&B [food and beverage] offering at Jumeirah was very good."
Now, all that's left is to build a Michelin-worthy hotel and dining brand. And for Ellis, that starts with the ingredients, cooking techniques, "harmony and equilibrium in the flavors," and in consistency — or what CEO Silva des
