THE FCSI INTERVIEW F


or Melissa Yarman FCSI, VP of operations at CKP Hospitality Consultants, a career in F&B seemed inevitable. Having


grown up in Malaysia, with some early years spent in the UK and France – as the daughter of a British mother and Malaysian father, with some newly discovered roots in Indonesia – Yarman proudly celebrates the blend of cultures that she has inherited: “Great Asian food on one side and a healthy dose of British humor on the other side gave me a pretty well-rounded outlook growing up,” she says. Looking back, it’s clear that


Yarman’s sense of connection has always centered around food, beginning with her family. “I still think about my aunt’s layered cake, in Malay it’s kek lapis. It’s a rarity these days, but when I find it, I always make a point to buy a bunch of it for friends, colleagues, and clients,” says Yarman. “My mum is British but loves to cook Malaysian food, so I guess that shaped me and, without me realizing it, created that connection with F&B.” Even at the young age of 15,


Yarman knew instinctively that she wanted to work in F&B, or hotels. One of her first jobs, as an A-level student, was as a waitress in an ice-cream parlor that also served food, where she found a strong sense of pride in earning tips and working with people: “Watching people connect over food is the best thing ever,” she says. Diving deeper, it is clear


from the onset that Yarman embodies that same spirit as her family – a joy of bringing people together and seeking authentic human connection through food that is reflected in the work she does as a foodservice consultant today.


TRANSLATING WORKFLOWS


Tat driving force has shaped her life and character. “It’s how my family shows that they care – it’s a love language,” says Yarman. “Food was always a big part of how my family connects, especially on my dad’s side, the Malaysian side. ‘Have you eaten?’ Tat’s the first thing you say to connect with someone.” Leaving behind her


waitressing days, Yarman arrived at the University of Nottingham, where she earned a prestigious degree in chemical engineering. “At its core, it’s about understanding and optimizing process flows, which is what a kitchen is,” says Yarman. “It’s a big workflow that requires optimization and thinking through how things go from one point to the other, so that translates quite well into what I do now.” Following a string of


part-time jobs after her finals, Yarman found herself working in the HR department of a hospital, where she first came across a project engineer opportunity at CKP Hospitality. “I interviewed in 2007, and the rest is history really,” says Yarman. “Ten, in 2009, our company president, Alburn William FCSI, put out an ad about opening a Dubai office. I knew I had to go for this one, so I went for the


interview. I got the gig, they sent me off to Dubai in 2010, and I’ve been here ever since.”


SHAPING THE BIG IDEA


In her role, Yarman drives concept strategy and master planning, creating meaningful opportunities for cross- disciplinary collaboration. “Beyond principal consulting, concept development, and strategic master planning across foodservice, laundry, and waste, I lead multidisciplinary teams to deliver coordinated, high-performance solutions,” she explains. “Te best part of my role as


VP in operations is impacting the client, the project, operators, supporting my team, and being part of someone else’s journey,” she says. “I always try my best to contribute positively and be part of the solution.” Despite her firm standing


in chemical engineering, she developed many of her skills


Above: Smart restaurant design at The Royal Dubai Atlantis


on the job, with the breadth of overseeing full projects from conceptualizing to delivery, even refining her creative sketching skills. “Looking back, I was


the one in my family who couldn’t draw, but now I’m sketching, doing elevations, and even attempting perspective drawings,” says Yarman. “At one point, I was asked to scale a drawing. I studied chemical engineering – ask me how to apply the Bernoulli’s equation, I’m there. Ask me the fundamentals of thermodynamics, I’m there. But ask me to scale a drawing? Tat was the scariest day of my life.”


JOINING FCSI


Upon joining CKP Hospitality, Yarman’s awareness of FCSI grew, and the company eventually joined in 2021: “As our company president, Alburn believed that we could be part of something meaningful and that we could contribute to a strong professional community. I believed firmly in that aspiration.” >


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