IN a working environment it does not only take the leader to ensure productivity, but it takes a team effort.
This is an idea that has been the driving force for Kokomo Private Island Resort Head Chef Anthony Healy.
Originally from Australia, Mr Healy has travelled extensively around the world working in the resorts.
He has spent a number of years in Europe, the UK, France the Cayman Island and also in Australia before moving to Fiji five years ago.
He started with the Laucala Island Resort and worked there for three years before making the move to Kokomo on the island of Yaukuve Levu on Kadavu.
“We have a good senior chef, and I am lucky a lot of these guys have been with me from the last hotel, because they are good and they are super talented and they make my life easier. We have fun, when it is busy, but when it is not, we have a bit of fun as well.”
So what is the program like for the kitchen crew of a luxurious Private Island Resort, Mr Healy said the bakers started at 2am, breakfast team starts at 5am, the lunch team at 7am and the dinner team three hours later.
At the end of the day, the team has a meeting to discuss the next day’s event and menu depending on what is available from the sea and the farm.
“We are lucky to have a six acre farm from where all the fresh produce comes from. We have chickens to provide eggs.
“We have 12 bee hives to collect our honey, and the reef around us provides us with amazing seafood and local villagers bring us a lot of fish, lobsters, crabs and things like that and we have an amazing team of about 35 chefs.
“The guys are super talented and we make everything by ourselves,” he said.
With 16 years of experience, he added Fijian produce had been incorporated in European, Italian and Asian cuisines giving them a spectacular taste.
“We tailor make every guest experience, our kitchen is open, our chefs out in the front and a lot of the work involves communication with our guests.
“So we ask our guests what they like and what they don’t like, their preferences and we kind of tailor make their dining experience to what they are after.
“We take a lot of request, when we are asked to make something we try to make it as best as possible,” said Mr Healy.
With the entire resort having more than 200 employees, no food goes to waste.
“We don’t have a lot of waste, almost all our staff are always very hungry. Anything left over goes to the staff any scraps like organic we send to the chicken and other waste goes to composting.
“We also have a kitchen for the staff, and I also have a team of chefs there to cook for the staff.
“So everyone from our staff to our guests are well looked after.”
