More effort needs to be made on developing in-house staff, says Head Chef Tyrone Mizzi

Tyrone Mizzi, Head Chef at Bahia, says there can be no single solution to the challenges facing the industry at the moment, particularly in terms of staffing problems, with different styles of restaurants needing different approaches. He agrees with the need to tackle the issue at an educational level, but also stresses the need for more effort from the sector to develop its own staff.

Despite the challenges, Mr Mizzi is confident that recovery is not far off. “As humans we need to interact socially,” he says. “After the first time we had to close, it was evident that people were longing to start socialising again. I think most people are now aware of how to remain safe, which has removed part of the fear. Over summer, our guests started to visit consistently once again and, if the COVID-19 situation does not deteriorate, we find no reason why the situation should not continue to improve.”

With social distancing still in place, he says, maximising potential remains difficult, and he looks forward to the day these restrictions are lifted. Nevertheless, he adds, the strategy for restaurants shouldn’t change all that much. “From our end we must keep working hard to provide our guests with good value for money. Our focus on offering a complete experience with high-quality food and service in a welcoming ambience will not change,” he adds.

This forms part of a wider feature on the future of Malta’s catering sector, first carried in the Autumn edition of Business Now magazine, the sister publication to BusinessNow.mt