Page 27 - Headingtonian Magazine 2017

THE HEADINGTONIAN 2017
FOOD, GLORIOUS FOOD
AN INTERVIEW WITH
MARIO COELHO
CATERING SHIFT LEADER
The Headingtonian goes behind the scenes in the School kitchens to find out what inspires Mario Coelho, the Catering Shift Leader, in his daily quest to keep his customers happy.
Mario, what are your responsibilities as Catering Shift Leader?
My day starts with a meeting at 7.00am with the Breakfast Chef. I make sure everything
is set, the menu is planned for the days
ahead and that everyone is happy. I don’t work as a chef myself, my role is more to manage the team in what is actually a very large and popular restaurant! Under our very experienced new Head Chef, we have two other chefs working on the main course, with a salad chef and one desert chef helping to prepare around 1,000 meals for our lunchtime sitting. In addition, we have a small army of front of house staff which together makes the Headington Kitchen unit. I help make sure the team works well together. There’s no place for egosinourkitchen,we’reheretocaterforthe students and it’s a very rewarding job.
How so?
Headington places a lot of importance on good meals for the girls. The challenge is to produce well-balanced meals and a healthy diet. With such an international gathering of pupils, we have to present a wide variety of menus for different tastes. Our pupils
are pretty sophisticated and diverse and are always ready to try different
things. For example, as well as the favourites like roasts and pasta dishes, we like to branch out into things like South East Asian dishes. Headington also has a very effective Food Committee which the girls organise. I liaise with them and our chefs to help make sure everyone is happy. Some of the ideas the Food Committee has come up with include International Food Week to coincide with the School’s International Week.
What is your favourite food?
Well, I started my catering career at a French restaurant in Camden Lock called Créperie de la Clouse. I had a passion for food and wanted to learn more and more. The French restaurant community is quite small really andovertimeIworkedwithsomegreat chefs, among them the Roux Brothers at
Le Gavroche in the 80s. So my favourite dishes are traditional French classics – Coq au Vin, Blanquette de Veau, Gratin Dauphinoise, Sole Meunière
and many more! – I admire Raymond Blanc’s classic style and culinary skills.
He makes great food. I also rate Keith
Floyd highly because he was one of the first
to popularise a diverse and creative menu. I’ve travelled a lot and so did he, opening our eyes to cuisines around the world.
Is cooking a performing art, do you think?
In a top restaurant, as you know, it’s certainly something of a performance! And of course we know the phrase ‘L’Art Cullinaire’. So yes, in my view good cooking is an art form because it has its skills and its creativity and its capacity to surprise at every level.
Just like great art!
Mario is also a very talented illustrator,
as you can see here. See more of his work at www.mariocoelho.co.uk
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