Omani staff sent for training in Thailand

Muscat: A leading luxury hotel chain that is about to open in Salalah has sent a team of its young Omani staff members to train for a month in Thailand.
The Al Baleed Resort by Anantara will feature a distinct Thai flavour in its décor and restaurants. Team members hired to work in the resort, mainly Omanis with little hospitality training, have been put through their paces in Thailand ahead of the grand opening.
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The stunning resort offers beachfront and lagoon villas, with personal swimming pools. The resort, right next to the Al Baleed Archaeological Park’s UNESCO World Heritage site and close to the town of Salalah itself, promises to be the jewel in the crown of Oman’s tourism drive. Naefa Baitmabrak, one of the team members who travelled to Bangkok to learn about Thai food, is a commis chef at the resort. One of 10 children, Baitmabrak cooked for the family from an early age and joined Anantara to learn the ropes in the kitchen as she plans to open her own restaurant one day.
She said: “I will do it. My signature dish will be fettucine. I already have it all planned out, even the name. I joined here to learn. In Thailand, they taught me how to make Tom Yum soup and the people there were so beautiful. They looked after us really well. I want to learn everything and then take that and begin my own restaurant. This is a really good way to do that.”
Koukab Sabati, a guest service centre team member, who was also on the Thai training course, said: “It was my first time flying out of Oman. The flight was so long. I was a little scared at the beginning, but the people there are now like my family. They are beautiful. It was very good for us to go and see for ourselves they work.” Final preparations are being made for the resort’s grand opening later this year.