If you can't take the heat, get into the kitchen

It's getting seriously hot in Dubai. Now I am starting to see why all the Arab nationals head to Europe for the months of June and July.

However, the hotel is still running on a good occupancy rate - which is great for this time of the year, so I am told.

There are big changes afoot at the Hilton. Our general manager is transferring to Japan and our new manager, Jan, is coming in the opposite direction.

Angela Hartnett, the executive chef, is going back to London to take over at the Connaught hotel with Gordon Ramsay, but first she is going on a chef's tour of Italy and New York - lucky devil.

It has been great working with Angela and I know she will be sorely missed, but all good things come to an end, as they say.

I take over from Angela officially on 1 June, and am looking forward to the challenge very much.

It is something which has appealed to me for a long time, running the kitchen of a five-star hotel. It makes you more financially aware and a sight more organised - some restaurant chefs are grossly underqualified to run a business, but I believe this sort of post can only enhance your knowledge in this department.

Last week I had some friends come on vacation to see me, so I took them deep-sea fishing in the Arabian Gulf. The fishing at this time of year is not so good, we were told, but we went anyway.

We had a great time and caught a total of 12 fish, one of them being a kingfish. The boat's captain told us it was very good to eat, so we took it back to the hotel and prepared it.

It was the easiest fish to prep I had ever come across. We roasted it, served it on lettuce fondue and sauce antiboise, and it was delicious. So, at Dh12 (£2.24) a kilogram, it has replaced imported halibut at Dh74 (£13.84) a kilogram - and I can't sell enough.

Gordon Ramsay is coming out next week on one of his trips. We will have two masterclasses and a gala dinner, both of which are fully booked, so I'd better go and get some prep done before the boss gets here.

JASON ATHERTON is head chef of Gordon Ramsay's Verre restaurant at the Hilton Dubai Creek hotel, Dubai

Next diary from Jason Atherton: 11 July