Staff Meals: Fireside

Hong Kong is a city that is full of great, award-winning restaurants and chefs. While most are familiar with these restaurants as guests, few get to witness the type of food being served to staff. What’s on the menu for those that work there? For the next instalment of our Staff Meals series, we visit Chef Jaime Ortolá at Fireside to check out what multicultural dishes his team has prepared for their Staff Meals.

At Fireside, the motto “Fire is Our Religion” is taken very seriously. Whether it is grilling, charring, or smoking, the core of it starts with fire. Known for its delicious steaks cooked in an open-fire setting, the restaurant has a fitting wooden aroma that pairs well with the menu items. This passion for fire even extends over to their Staff Meals.

Executive chef Jaime Ortolá talks to us about how Staff Meals are actually a good opportunity for the staff to train and hone their techniques with the fire. Even the floor staff will be cooking steaks for the Staff Meals so that they can have a better understanding of the flavour profiles of what they’re serving and the techniques that go into the cooking process. Steaks that have oxidized and aren’t good for selling (but still good for eating) will be cooked every two (or so) Staff Meals. The staff at Fireside will often review these steaks to give each other more feedback on how to tame the fire in the journey of cooking the perfect steak.

Although not every Staff Meal will have steaks, most of them are quite diverse. With a multicultural team, the staff at Fireside get to showcase meals from home and learn from each other. When we visited, Chef Jaime prepared a Chicken Paella, a dish he has cooked since childhood. With techniques mastered over the years, this is a dish he was very comfortable making. However, for the team, he makes it with a Fireside twist. Cooking on top of burning wood, Chef Jaime says this is a technique used at the restaurant that helps the rice in his paella absorb a lot of the aromas.

According to the chef, it is very important that his Staff Meals are balanced with veggies, carbs and proteins so that his staff can be energised through the evening service. For today’s Staff Meal, Chef Jaime’s Paella is paired with a Nepalese Dahl and Indonesian Salad giving the staff a very diverse and nutritious experience.

Check out our Staff Meals video above. Reservations to Fireside can be made here for lunch and dinner.

Fireside

5th floor, H Code

45 Pottinger St,

Central, Hong Kong

Video: Ryan Putranto

Gaffer: Samson Jr De Guzman

Producer: Ambrose Leung

Special Thanks: Robin Smith