Halal Chef: a new academic qualification is born in Salamanca

Almost 25% of the world's 8 billion people are Muslims. Of these, more than 100 million leave their respective countries every year for tourism, spending a global total of 154 billion dollars. In Spain, the growing number of Muslim tourists spend the equivalent of $2,000 per four- to seven-day stay, almost double the $1,089 spent by the average tourist. 

For cultural and religious reasons, Muslim tourists require halal accommodation, food and services, so there is a growing tendency for them to plan their family holidays or leisure trips preferably to countries that offer them. 

With these premises in mind, the Escuela Hostelería Salamanca will start the courses next September, where students will obtain the double qualification of Higher Technician in Kitchen Management and the Diploma as Halal Chef. The details were announced at a presentation ceremony at Casa Árabe in Madrid, under the auspices of the Malaysian Embassy, an enthusiastic supporter of the initiative. The latter's chef de cuisine, Luqman Zhulkepli, together with the school's director, Ricardo Gómez Marcos, gave a practical demonstration of the preparation of halal dishes. 

Halal refers to the lawful lifestyle in accordance with Islam, a global and integral concept that influences and affects everyday issues such as food, hygiene, health, economy, fashion, trade and tourism. It is regulated by the Sharia (Islamic law), which is rooted in the Koran and the Sunna (heritage of the Prophet). It is therefore a market sector with between 1.5 and 2 billion potential users and affects more than 150 countries. 

The qualification now born in Salamanca will be endorsed by the Halal Institute based in Cordoba, whose director general, Muhammad Escudero Uribe, is the one who issues the corresponding certificates, to which 520 Spanish companies have already subscribed. Now, in agreement with the Escuela Hostelería, they have created the Muslim Friendly label, which accredits the establishments that hold it with the Institute's endorsement that their facilities, the production processes of the products they serve and the services they offer are in accordance with Islamic law. 

The two-year course to obtain the double degree will begin with a maximum of twenty students, a figure that guarantees not only the quality of a personalised training but also the corresponding periods of work experience in Spanish companies that have already requested the services of the professionals who leave the aforementioned School. 

As its director, Ricardo Gómez Marcos, explains, "this new qualification puts Salamanca at the halal and Muslim Friendly time, since the first graduates have their jobs guaranteed in a Spanish city that perfectly combines its ancestral university quality and its thriving tourist industry, and the subsequent departure of these professionals to other places and companies, both national and international, that are already requiring them". 

Aimed at aspiring Muslims, in order to obtain this qualification, students will have to learn the keys, techniques and halal gastronomic culture to be able to better influence the tastes and regulations of Muslim consumers. They will then be able to develop their skills in hotels, restaurants and catering, especially in airlines, where halal catering is already well established and where there is a strong and growing demand for professionals who can meet this demand.  

In this case, it is not a question of bringing the rich and varied Arab and Muslim cuisine to the country, in this case Spain, but rather of ensuring that the no less rich and diverse Spanish cuisine has a halal preparation that allows Muslim visitors to get to know it and consume it without any kind of prevention or discomfort. For example, the exquisite oxtail, which is widely served in many Spanish restaurants, owes much of its characteristic flavour to the wine with which it is made. At the Salamanca School they will be taught to introduce alternative ingredients which, without substantially altering the flavour of the dish, will allow Muslim consumers to eat it with confidence, knowing that the animal has also been slaughtered in accordance with Islamic law. 

In short, it is not a question of substituting Spanish gastronomy or cosmetics for Muslims, but of making Spanish food and services available to them, yes, but specially prepared for them. This, in addition to extending the traditional Spanish reputation for hospitality, opens up an unquestionable niche of jobs and business that has so far remained unexploited.