aTP- Arab tourism portal News
Ambition is the driving force for the young man from Baie Lazare, Mahe – an opportunity to see how far he can go, coming from his relatively humble beginnings. Trevor Philoe is his name and he is the commis chef at the Club Liberté Casino.
Trevor started with the Club Liberté Casino from the opening in 2016 and was initially preparing the meals for the casino staff. However, his passion for food showed through and this potential was soon picked up by the casino management. Last year in August he took it upon himself to participate in the social media photo contest organized by the Seychelles Tourist Board. Although he did not win, some of his local-based dishes were added to the menu at the casino restaurant for the dining pleasure of the local and international guests.
At this stage he was pretty much self-taught, with only the experience that he had picked up on the way to help him. So the casino management proposed to Trevor that he should enrol at the Seychelles Tourism Academy for a STA Certificate in Food Production. This course can lead to Trevor taking his City & Guilds Exam – optional in the 2nd year. This 2-year apprenticeship certificate course in Food Production provides students like Trevor with a basic introductory insight into the operational and skilled areas of the catering industry. Trevor now attends the Academy for 2 days each week and for the rest of the week he is back hard at work in the Club Liberté kitchens.
His mentors in the Club Liberté are Nurettin Aydoğan, the new international superstar Turkish Head Chef, who is currently putting together the new food concept in the casino, the exotic “5 Spices” restaurant, and his associate in the kitchens, Chef “Itamae” Jerico, the Sushi chef. They have taken Trevor under their wing, so to speak, as they can see that he has the possibility to go as far as he wants. For him now, the opportunities are limitless if he has the willingness to take them. He is very fortunate to have the opportunity to study and work at the same time, as he has chance to practice more often than his co-students.
Nurettin notes, “I am very pleased with Trevor, he is a friendly young man who has shown great strength and determination turning his life around, he is focussed on becoming a fully qualified chef. When I first met him he was unsure that he could work in a team, and how he would cope in the hard practical work environment. Importantly, he showed strong interests in sustainability, the environment and producing good food from fresh local produce”.
The future of the hospitality industry in Seychelles is in the hands of young people like this, for whom there is a responsibility to ensure they have everything they need to keep it going, to train them and develop them.
Trevor says, “Having found my passion is something which is important for me. Now I can say that I can push myself to succeed in this industry, just to see how far I can take it. I never really want to settle for just getting by, it’s not me, and for me nothing compares to this. There’s just nothing like it”.
What excites Trevor now is the opportunity to tackle new challenges and to continue refining his craft. As Nurettin explains, “It’s about technical ability, because at the end of the day, all that a chef has, really, are his hands. People talk about it as an art. It can be artistic but I see it more as a craft. It’s not something you’re born with – you get better as you put in the time and you build experience.”
And so it is that we can expect much more still to come from this dynamic young Seychellois apprentice chef, Trevor Philoe.
A new menu for a new authentic taste at the casino has been introduced with the arrival of Nurettin Aydoğan. He is Turkish and has been working at the top end of his profession in casino resorts in Central Asia for a number of years. He has been running some big operations in the last few years but felt that he was getting away from his roots, that of actually cooking! Now he wants to get involved in the Club Liberté Casino and get “hands-on” again.
