Reiz Continental’s Adeboye Adebimpe Spear-heading Customer Satisfaction @ Reiz

Can we get to know you?
My name is Adeboye Adebimpe. I am the Executive Chef of Reitz Continental Hotel, Abuja. I joined the organization almost a year ago. I come from a family of seven and I am the fifth child of my parents. I am married with children.

What is your educational background?

I had my primary education at Local Government Primary School in Idi-Oro, Mushin, Lagos. My secondary education was at Nigeria Model High School, where I had my school certificate. From there, I moved to The Polytechnic, Ibadan. I studied Medical Laboratory Science. From there, I moved to Gambia School of Hotel Management, and the rest, as they say, is history.

What attracted you to being a chef, was it accidental or by choice?
It was strictly by choice and nothing accidental. It has always been my passion ever since I was a kid. It started when my mother was in the kitchen, I will always be around her assisting her doing one or two things as she prepares the family food. From there, I started developing more interest in food preparations. Cooking has always been my hobby and that is my motto.

Was your mother a caterer then or she operates a Buka?

My mother was a civil servant. But once she is at home, preparing food for the family, I would always be by her side, assisting her with the cooking. In the process, I always wanted to know how she prepared the food; like wanting to know why and when condiments are added and the quantities to be added in order for the food to be delicious and appetizing. From there, I started developing strong interest in preparing quality meals.

Why did you go all the way to Gambia or you were there for other things?
After I finished at the Ibadan Poly and my compulsory one year internship, I worked with a biscuits manufacturing company in Ibadan as their cost controller for about a year. From there, I found myself with the popular Mr. Biggs as a baker. That was how the passion was honed and from there, I got a
job with a hotel in Ibadan, Oyo State of Nigeria. It was from the hotel that I was sent for further training to Gambia, to hone my skills in cooking. And I was in Gambia for six months.

Before Reiz, where else have you plied your trade?
Upon my return from Gambia, I worked at Check-In Hotel, located around Bodija area of Ibadan. From there, I moved down to Abuja in 2009. I have moved around places in Abuja. The last place I worked before joining Reitz Hotel was Valencia, where I spent eight years. And I can say that Reitz is a very wonderful place to be.

What is the experience like being a chef?

It is an interesting discipline. I say so because you learn new things every day, new ideas and new experiences. I see cooking as an art where you look at ingredients and come up with something new and out of the usual. You look at a thing and create something different. For me, it has and will remain
an exciting experience.

How do you come up with your menu?
The menu is always prepared by the executive chef of the organization. In preparing a menu, the chef puts three things into consideration. There is what is called three-course meal, the starter, the main dish and the dessert. In preparing the menu, the chef does the preparation according to how the organization is and that is, the continental, African dishes as well as the dessert and other pastries and sweets. And the executive chef is usually assisted by his or her team of chefs.

What is your specialty, Continental or African cuisines?
My specialty is continental cuisines. I zeroed in on that area when I went to the Gambia for further training. The school specialized in continental cuisines. I also improved my skills by educating myself through online studies about my areas of interest. But that does not mean that I do not handle
African dishes. Do not forget that I am first an African. Specializing in continental cuisines does not mean that I do not know anything or cannot handle our traditional dishes. You can take it for granted that I will spin your head with Ewedu and Gbegiri soup and taken with Amala (yam flour). If you come to the eastern part of the country, I can give you a run for your money on Ofe Nsala (white soup). I do not want to start mentioning other soups like Onugbu or Ugu soups. I am at home with our Nigerian dishes as well but continental remains my specialty.

Have you had any ugly or embarrassing moments as a chef?
In as much as we are all human, there is no way you will walk and heads will not shake. There is no way you will not have such an embarrassing moments once in a while. However, I see such rare occasions as a stepping stone in one’s journey through life. If I sit here and tell you that I have not had a complaint from a guest, then I will be lying to you. It is one of those things one encounters on the field. I had a good example where I worked before coming over here. A guest ordered for a scrambled egg for breakfast. After taking the scrambled egg to the guest, she started raising hair that what was brought to her was not what she ordered for and demanded to see the chef. I went to her and she said that she wanted “Nigerian” scrambled egg. You once in a while encounter guests who do not in actual sense know the real
name of the type of food they want. She said she wanted the type of egg that is usually fried at home with onions and tomatoes and the like. It one of the challenges one encounters on the field.

How do you handle client with special dietary challenges?
We do have guests with dietary challenges from time to time like vegetarians and that is a person that does not eat anything protein. Such people are majorly on vegetables. Some also come with medical prescriptions on what to eat and what not to eat. Some even give us their medical history, telling us
what they are allergic to, what they eat and how they eat such food. Armed with such information, we prepare their meals to suit their health challenges. 
Have you been looked down upon as a chef?
Yes, I have had one or two moments where you are looked down upon. But that is only in Nigeria that chefs are not looked at with the respect and dignity they deserve. It not peculiar to the chef profession alone. In Nigeria, people tend to look down on some professions. I have met a guest who told me that I am wasting my time as a chef that I should go and look for something else to do.

If cooking is your hobby, do you take your cooking skills to the home front?
(Laughs) Cooking is my hobby, it is my profession and my career. As soon as I leave the office, it ends there. When I newly got married, the issue of preparing meals almost created problems. My wife was not happy that I tend to find faults with some of her cooking. So, I had to pull back and let her handle the home front. But I cook at home as a way of giving my family a treat. And that happens occasionally.

If not a chef, what other career would have attracted you?
If I have not been a chef, my other option would have been in the medical profession. That would have been my second option. Remember, I read medical Laboratory science. So, I would been a medical laboratory scientist