Food critic Richard McComb meets Paul Gould, a chef who isn’t fazed by catering for Biblical numbers of diners.
Forget about the feeding of the five thousand – Paul Gould just about breaks sweat when he is rustling up meals for 10,000.
As group executive head chef at the NEC, Gould might have to cater simultaneously for conference delegates, show visitors and concert-goers. Throw in a few international superstars and a couple of Royals and you pretty much get an insight into the pressure-cooker life of this industry veteran.
Gould, aged 57, is celebrating 35 years working at the NEC, having watched the venue grow from a fledgling building in a muddy field to a world-renowned meeting place for just about anyone from doting dog-lovers to fans of Lady Gaga.
When he started on £40-a-week, there was “just” the NEC to cook for. Now there is the International Convention Centre, the National Indoor Arena, the LG Arena, plus any number of outside events under the auspices of Amadeus, the NEC’s premier catering wing. The latest addition to the expanding roster is the RHS Hampton Court Flower Show. As far as Gould’s career goes, everything has a habit of coming up roses.
We meet in his office in the Atrium at the NEC. It’s like any other workplace except Gould is dressed in his chef whites.
A pleated, starched toque blanche sits atop his head. Another senior chef is working on menu plans – for 2013. A wall is lined with large hardback folders crammed with details about the catering triumphs of previous large-scale events. A casual glance catches on the Ryder Cup 2002 and the BBC Gardeners’ World Live 2001. There are hundreds of folders.
Gould’s own desk is neatly lined with thinner plastic files containing typed menus with details on dish presentation, decoration and garnishes. The style of food changes depending on the acts, or shows, and are “artist appropriate.”
There’s one menu for Simply Red and different ones for the poppier feel of X Factor Live and Boyzone. The Irish band are due on stage in the next few days and Gould says it will be interesting to see the audience for the “grown up” schoolgirl heart-throbs. He’s expecting plenty of mums aged in their 30s or 40s with screaming young daughters of their own.
Mr Cool, Jamiroquai, is playing the LG Arena in April and the funky fare includes top level dining in the venue’s Sanctum restaurant – pan-fried fillet of beef, roast duck breast, fillet of sea bass. It is part of the 14 catering packages available that night alone, from fish and chips to fine dining.
The menus vary greatly according to the age profile and tastes of the act’s fans. Mobile units mean Champagne bars can be converted into mini sweet-shops for child-orientated spectaculars.
Gould says: “Michael Buble would be a modern, Mediterranean style of plated food. His sort of audience goes regularly to restaurants and they will be au fait with what goes on with food. Justin Bieber will be more of a buffet-style for a younger audience.”
It’s a far cry from the days when The Who were ripping up the Arena and international stars like Tom Jones and Rod Stewart were in their pomp. The glory days of the epic Motor Show lunches, which started at midday and trailed off into the evening, have long gone. Dining has gone from formal to informal; less (certainly as far as cream and butter are concerned) is more. Conference delegates and pop fans want a lighter touch.
“When we opened here at the NEC we had silver service, hors d’oeuvres trolleys, roast ducks carved at the table and flambés. There were not the restrictions on alcohol. Entertaining and business was a three to four-hour affair. Now it has gone to lighter buffets for lunch. People don’t have the time any more,” says Gould.
“Now people are happy with a modern steak presentation or a light four-course meal. People’s style of going out has changed, the dress code has changed. I remember men would have to wear a suit and tie. Now men have the same amount of money but they will wear jeans and a jacket. People know what they want.”
Today, father-of-two Gould, who has been married for 36 years to Shereen, heads a catering operation responsible for more than 900 events a year and 4.1 million visitors. The former Birmingham College of Food trainee came to the NEC as head chef in 1976, via apprenticeships in Zurich and London. He was appointed executive head chef in 1988.
His record for cooking on a massive scale, for such a long time, is unrivalled, possibly anywhere in the world. Gould, a great believer in the importance of training and skills promotion, has led his team to more than 600 medals and represented the UK in the World Culinary Olympics.
In fact, he is the only British chef to take gold at The World Culinary Olympics, The Banqueting Chef of the Year Award, The Grand Prix D’Honneur and The Arthur Hope Trophy at the British Cookery Open Championships. If he’d done it in football, he’d be knighted.
Gould is highly respected by Birmingham’s leading chefs and says he has no regrets about resisting the temptation to go it alone and pursue Michelin stars at his own restaurant. On any given day, he is in charge of 81 chefs across the group’s venues but it is not unusual to have another 200-300 chefs brought in for major events.
He says he relishes having a platform to perform on and insists his job gives him the sort of immediate feedback – and access to world famous personalities – that you wouldn’t get in any other chef’s role.
“It is like being on a stage. The audience want a performance and I have to give them what they want,” says Gould. “If I say to a client I will cook you 1,000 steaks and get them to you medium they will be medium. Everything can be done in my industry if the budget and the facilities allow.”
But having worked at the NEC in a career spanning four decades, there must be a special motivation for this chef. And there is: he’s dreaming the impossible culinary dream.
Gould says: “I have an unachieveable standard. If I get it, there is nowhere else to go. You have got to take risks and put your head on the line. People get menu fatigue so you always have to push on.”
