The Spinneys Kitchen specialist talks to us about the salads on his colourful counter and reveals his favourite superfood.
Premnath Narayanan watches proudly as his colleague carefully drizzles a balsamic glaze over a bowl of succulent cherry tomatoes. The bowl is placed next to a variety of other beautifully colourful salads such as prawn and mango; kale, walnut and parmesan; chicken Caesar; basil, pesto and farfalle pasta, and the best-seller: quinoa, feta and pomegranate.
Prem, 35, oversees the preparation and presentation of the deli counter at all Spinneys stores but is here today at the Springs Town Centre store to explain how he and his team work to bring the freshest, healthiest and most enticing salads to customers. A big part of his work, he says, is the display.
“Presentation and colour is so important,” says Prem. “Obviously, we want our customers to enjoy the taste, but first they must feel the visual impact of how the salads look.”
“We always use the best ingredients for freshness, colour and texture. It’s all about the quality of the ingredients and also the consistency of the preparation."
Dotted around the salad bowls are garnishes of red peppers, green leaves and radishes cut into decorative shapes. Prem, who comes from Chennai, India has worked at Spinneys for seven years and believes that freshness is crucial in his work.
Salads are made in-store using premium produce and then replenished throughout the day so that ingredients are always at their best. Dressings are added to the salads only at the last moment to prevent the food going soggy - even the decorative garnishes are replaced during the day so that the presentation of the deli counter remains top notch at all times.
Excitingly, the range of Spinneys Kitchen salads created by Prem and his colleagues are now available to order online at Spinneys.com, meaning fresh and flavourful boxes of goodness can be brought to your home or office to aid your healthy eating choices.
“Presentation and colour is so important,” says Prem. “Obviously, we want our customers to enjoy the taste, but first they must feel the visual impact of how the salads look.”
The most recent addition to the Spinneys Kitchen range is a superfood salad of kale and roasted vegetables including sweet potato, beetroot, peppers and cherry tomatoes, topped with avocado and sunflower seeds. “Dubai is a healthy city and lots of people exercise so the superfood salad is very popular,” he says. “We always use the best ingredients for freshness, colour and texture. It’s all about the quality of the ingredients and also the consistency of the preparation.”
When asked for his favourite salad, Prem doesn’t hesitate, and points at the kale superfood salad. “It was my idea and inspiration, which we researched and then passed to the new product development team. Seeing the kale salad here now on the Spinneys Kitchen counter makes me happy.”
Prem steps aside as a customer orders a portion of the chicken Caesar salad and watches as a box is filled with crispy iceberg lettuce, succulent strips of chicken and crispy croutons. “My main motivation is not to be number one,” says Prem, “but to make our customers happy and fulfilled.”
