The Pro Chef, 2013 March

MIDDLE EAST ISSUE 13 MARCH 2013

HOT!

- The organic debate gets going

COLD!

- Italian chocolate masterclass

CHILE!

- Stunning food from the south

PUBLICATION LICENSED BY IMPZ, DUBAI TECHNOLOGY AND MEDIA FREE ZONE AUTHORITY

ISSUE 13 MARCH 2013

24 COVER IMAGE: DISH FROM CHILE’S LEADING ORGANIC RESTAURANT, BORAGO.

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EDITORIAL We all know that opening restaurants is no guarantee of success. However, there are ways of minimising the risks.

Here’s advice to help stop the risk of failure.

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FROM THE WALK-IN Food trends analysed and celebrity chef cookbooks critcised.

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THE EGGS FACTOR Thai chef Aphithak Withojit, from the Eastern Mangroves Hotel & Spa in Abu Dhabi, is next to reveal the secrets of his fridge.

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OUT AND ABOUT Gulfood outdoes itself and Gourmet Abu Dhabi comes of age. A busy month for the F&B sector.

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CHEF OF THE YEAR It’s award season for our sister magazine, BBC Good Food Middle East - here’s the result of its top chef award.

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ROUND TABLE What do chefs enjoy more than cooking and eating food?

That’s right, talking about it. We take a good handful of Executive Chefs around a table to discuss the current state of the organic market in the region.

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KITTED OUT What’s actually being used in the kitchens of the UAE? Deff Haupt, the new Culinary Director of the Kempinski Hotel & Residences Palm Jumeirah, talks us through his hardware.

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PIMP MY PLATE Despite a love of Greek ingredients and cuisine, Ilias Kokoroskos, Head Chef of the Majestic’s Elia Restaurant, was ready to accept any reinvention test!

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ON THE PASSE Executive Chef Gavin Gleeson, who grew up in a house where fish were never on the menu, talks us through what’s on offer at Wheller’s of St James’s.

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FACE TO FACE French chefs Olivier Biles from Reflets par Pierre Gagnair and Cyril Lignac over here on a flying visit from Paris talk about the state of French fine dining, whilst leading Swedish sommelier Andreas Larsson discusses tasting skills and the importance of quality mineral water.

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SKILL SET Dessert and pastry genius Fusto Gianluca has an irrepressible desire to innovate and expand horizons. Is his recipe too challenging for you?

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TRAVEL Images of food from Chile.

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THE LAST WORD What are chefs ‘must have’ kitchen tools? Take our fun quiz to find out.

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Do not do this - or this - or...

We all know that opening restaurants is no guarantee of success. However, there are ways of minimising the risks, which include the following pieces of advice to help stop the risk of failure.

First, consider your customers. Above all, they need a reason to come to your restaurant instead of another and outlets that don’t have a unique selling point are already on the back foot. Remember that great food and service is not a USP, as it’s certain that your competitors also think the same thing. Any marketing based on ‘We’re best’ will not work although, of course, good food and service need to be part of your offering.

Instead, your USP needs to be based on an emotional appeal that will make a real connection with your customers.

Next, don’t make the mistake of offering too long a menu. Choice is good but too much choice is confusing and diners are savvy enough these days to know that you’re not keeping the ingredients for 100 dishes fresh in the walk-in. Instead, provide focus and identity - that is, a daily special and two other fish on a rotating menu rather than 20 fish offered every day. Become well known for quality not quantity.

Next, do you think that great cooking and good ingredients are enough? Wrong!

That gets you part of the way, as do great staff and nice design, but to succeed you need to market and manage. That means being able to collect data about your business and analyse it properly, such as ‘What is my actual cost of sales?’, ‘What gross profit do dishes deliver?’, ‘What are my inventory levels?’ and so on.

Next, don’t make menu pricing mistakes. Don’t, for example, just price dishes at the same level as competitors - each restaurant will have a different financial picture. Many restaurant managers will use a budgeted cost percentage to formulate prices but most restaurant operating expenses do not fluctuate as a percentage of sales. Instead, look at pricing by gross profit - that is, pricing according to the markup you need to cover the business expense and deliver a profit. In other words, pay attention to market prices not competitor prices.

Any thoughts?

PUBLISHER: DOMINIC DE SOUSA GROUP COO: NADEEM HOOD ASSOCIATE PUBLISHERS ALEX BENDIOUIS DAVE REEDER EDITORIAL DIRECTOR: DAVE REEDER dave@cpidubai.com M: +971 55 105 3773 CONTRIBUTORS: MELANIE MINGAS KAREN YOUNG ART EDITOR: CHRIS HOWLETT PHOTOGRAPHY: ANAS CHERUR ADVERTISING SALES SALES DIRECTOR: ANKIT SHUKLA ankit@cpidubai.com M: +971 55 257 2807 SALES MANAGER: ALEXANDRA GRIFFIN alex.griffin@cpidubai.com M: +971 50 850 0727 ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER: ALEX BENDIOUIS alex@cpidubai.com M: +971 50 458 9204 PRODUCTION MANAGER: DEVAPRAKASH dev@cpidubai.com M: +971 50 464 9197 DISTRIBUTION ROCHELLE ALMEIDA rochelle@cpidubai.com SUBSCRIPTIONS www.cpievents.net/mag/magazine.php PRINTED BY Printwell Printing Press LLC, Dubai, UAE PUBLISHED BY

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While the publishers have made every effort to ensure the accuracy of all information in this magazine, they will not be held responsible for any errors therein.

02 Eds comment.indd 4

3/7/13 3:34 PM

From the walk in

“IT’S EASIER THAN MOST THINK TO INTEGRATE FLAVOUR INTO YOUR FAVORITE DISHES. ACHIEVE PERUVIAN FLAVORS

BY COMBINING YOUR FAVORITE QUINOA AND CHEESE WITH FRESH HERBS LIKE MINT AND CORIANDER. OR EXPERIMENT WITH FERMENTING KIMCHI TO ADD A SOUR KICK TO EVERYDAY RECIPES LIKE BURGERS.” - Chef Rick Bayless

Top trends The Sterling-Rice Group (SRG) has identified ten top food trends that will be served on restaurant menus and line the supermarket shelves across the US this year. Do you agree?

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ith a breadth and depth of culinary experience, the brand strategy, innovation, and creativity firm SRG has counseled and created foods for several of the largest food companies across the world.

With health and global realities top-of-mind concerns for consumers, it says to look for these food trends to go big this year as they move from cutting-edge to mainstream: 1 - Sour gets its day. Fermented cherry juice and

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The Pro Chef Middle East / March 2013

sour beer? Yes, as food palates move beyond sweet, salty and fatty to tart, acidic and bitter.

2 - Chefs watch your weight. Chefs are changing their habits and exchanging their butter and bacon for broth and beets. The result? Better-for-you food that actually tastes good.

3 - Asian infiltrates comfort food. The spicy and fresh flavours of cusines from countries like Thailand, Vietnam, and Korea will give consumers a new take on comfort food.

4 - Veggies take over the plate. No longer prepared as just a side or salad, vegetables will get their chance to star as the main dish.

5 - Kids’ menus grow up. Chicken nuggets take a backseat to more kid-friendly versions of adult dining options.

6 - Artisans save you a trip. With the emergence of local artisans and speciality food stores, food lovers can think globally, but travel locally.

7 - Under-size me. Small plates for sharing will be replaced with smaller, singular servings of meat, veggies, or starches – for a much more customised dining experience.

8 - Savoury fruit. Look for fruit used with savoury flavours, incorporated as a touch in appetisers, soups and meat dishes.

9 - No diner left behind. From gluten-free to vegan, more and more restaurants will offer all-inclusive menus and services to accommodate all eaters.

10 - Popcorn is the 2013 snack. Sweet or savoury, the healthy snack will pop up everywhere.

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From the walk in

Cookbooks have their chips A recent report in the British Medical Journal makes interesting reading for those food lovers who spurn readymade meals in favour of fresh ingredients to make their favourite celebrity chef recipes. Looking at saturated fat, fibre and calories, those chefs are doing less well than supermarkets.

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ewcastle University public health experts weren’t prepared to accept the general wisdom that home cooked food is better than pre-prepared, so they studied the nutritional basis of recipes found in a series of best-selling cookbooks, including ‘30 Minute Meals’ and ‘Ministry of Food’ by Jamie Oliver, ‘Kitchen’

by Nigella Lawson and ‘River Cottage Everyday’ by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall.

Led by Martin White, professor of public health, researchers studied 100 recipes from the books and compared their nutritional value with 100 randomly selected brand name ready meals from UK supermarket chains Asda, Sainsbury’s and Tesco.

The result? None of the recipes or meals, according to the research team, met either national or international guidelines for a balanced diet. However: “The recipes seemed to be less healthy than the ready meals on several metrics.”

Compared by portion size, for example, they contained more energy, protein, fat and saturated fat as well as less fibre than the ready meals.

Given rising levels of obesity, diabetes, heart disease and cancer, Professor White believes that cookbook authors should include nutritional information both to their printed recipes and to dishes they cook onscreen.

“We did not set out to bash the chefs,” White stressed. “That wasn’t at all our intention. If you look at the TV chefs as a whole, there are a number of them who are vociferous champions for sustainable food and healthy eating. They are a passionate lot who do care about the healthy content of our diet.” He hoped they would respond to his team’s research in a positive way, just as ready meal manufacturers have reformulated their products in response to criticism. “They were heavily criticised for salt content a few years ago.

The advent of better nutritional labelling and things like traffic lights has drawn attention to the content of ready prepared food.”

A spokesperson for Jamie Oliver said that he was already working on these issues and his latest book, ‘15 Minute Meals’, does contain calorie content and nutritional information per serving. This will be the norm for any future Oliver titles. “We will soon also be re-launching the Jamie Oliver Web site with nutritional information on the recipes,” added the spokesperson. “However, we would regard the key issue to be food education so that people are aware of which foods are for every day and which are treats to be enjoyed occasionally.”

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The Pro Chef Middle East / March 2013

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The eggs factor

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The Pro Chef Middle East / March 2013

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The eggs factor

Ingredients to Thai for With more than 25 years in F&B, Aphithak Withojit, affectionately known as Chef Mac, joined Anantara last year as part of the opening team for the Eastern Mangroves Hotel & Spa in Abu Dhabi. As Chef de Cuisine, he has created an innovative menu for Pachaylen, the hotel’s signature (Thai) restaurant. But, at the end of service, what does he find when he opens his fridge at home?

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hai-born Chef Mac (Aphithak Withojit) started cooking professionally at 17 as a trainee chef in two restaurants in Bangkok.

He grew up in the outskirts of North East Thailand, learning about Thai cooking from his family at an early age. He quickly specialised in Asian cuisine, diverting from Thai cuisine to acquire Sushi Master training in Singapore in 1989, before returning to a number of positions as Senior Sous Chef and Chef cooking menus featuring Chinese, Japanese, Singaporean, Malaysian and Thai cuisine.

In 1995, he was approached by the Sukhothai Group to lead a team to open the Sukhothai Restaurant in Cape Town South, where he held the role of Head Chef de Cuisine for three years before becoming Western Senior Chef de Partie at awardwinning Five Flies Restaurant & Bar in Cape Town.

In 2000, he began working with the Berfin Group as Group Thai Chef and was a regular at ‘A Taste of Thai’ events while also leading a number of cooking classes instructing on Sushi and Thai cuisine.

Two years later, he opened his own restaurant in Cape Town - Aphithak’s Thai Restaurant - and then, in 2005, he returned to the hotel industry and worked for Arabella Sheraton Grand Hotel as part of the opening team and The Westin Grand Arabella Quays as Asian Chef de Cuisine.

Chef Mac came to the UAE as part of the opening team as Head Sushi Chef at Karma Kafe in Souk Al Bahar, Dubai, before being recruited by Buddha Bar at Grosvenor House, Dubai, as Head Chef de Cuisine. He then returned to his Thai roots

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USING INGREDIENTS

in 2009, becoming Head Chef at Thiptara Royal Thai Restaurant, The Palace, Old Town in Dubai.

Immediately prior to his current role with Eastern Mangroves Hotel & Spa, he completed six months with Emirates Flight Catering as Executive Sous Chef, Japanese & Asian Specialty.

So what does he have in his fridge?: Fresh herbs: oregano, basil, parsley and coriander Galangal, ginger and garlic Butterfly pea flower Lemongrass Shallots, white and sprting onions Thai small red chillies Kaffir lime leaves Limes, both whole and juiced Aubergine Tomatoes Carrots Celery Eggs Parmesan cheese

I like to use ginger, garlic, coriander leaves and lemongrass most often to make a basic Thai herb paste that is essential for Thai cooking.

This paste can be used several ways such as for soup, marinade, stir fry and sauce base.

Other ingredients such as chilli and lime can be added to the paste to enhance the flavour depending on your individual preference. This is the basic Thai herb paste I use at home for most Thai recipes as well as in the restaurant.

Another combination I like to make is lime, mint and chilli paste to add to rice dishes and, my wife’s favourite, to add to sandwiches with mayonnaise, or crushed garlic in fish dishes.

Another item in my fridge that is often used - and is quite rare - is the Butterfly pea flower, which has several uses such as eating it fresh in a salad, using as a garnish, making tea or using the colour in desserts. An additional benefit is thatit is great for your blood circulation, hair loss as a memory enhancer and an antidepressant! I also use this to make Chor Muang (Steamed Royale blue butterfly pea flower shaped dumplings with chicken aromatic) - one of the most attractive appetizers in my menu at Pachaylen.

Mustard Mayonnaise Butter Milk Sprite and Diet Coke Soda water Pineapple, mango and tomato juices Oyster fish sauce Mae Pra Nom Brand Thai Chilli Sauce Thai red and green curry paste Thai ripe mangoes, for making desserts Green papaya Pork belly Homemade tamarind juice – I love to cook pork belly in this for a different flavour!

March 2013 / The Pro Chef Middle East

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Out and about

success The 18th Gulfood saw tens of thousands of trade visitors from around the world welcomed by 4,200 exhibiting companies from 110 countries on just the first day. And they kept on coming!

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pened by HH Sheikh Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai and UAE Minister of Finance, in the presence of HE Sheikha Lubna bint Khalid Al Qasimi, UAE Minister for Foreign Trade, Gulfood 2013 was the largest and most international show in the event's history.

As always, the show was a potent mix of country pavilions, local distributors and small food and equipment suppliers looking for a partner in the region. More than 1,400 new exhibitors attended Gulfood 2013 ensuring an unparalleled range of new products and technology solutions available to buyers from each sector of the food and hospitality spectrum.

Major interest from show visitors centred on food service as well as food from South America, widely tipped in the F&B industry as this year’s breakthrough cuisines. Imports from various countries in the continent continue to increase massively: Ecuador (at Gulfood for the first time) saw exports to the UAE increase by almost 90% between 2009 and 2011; headline sponsor Brazil reported total food exports to the GCC at $7.63b in 2012; and other country pavilions from Argentina, Chile and Peru also saw brisk business.

Leading companies and brands participating at Gulfood included Al Rawabi, Amari, Choithrams, Delmonte, Dilmah, Electrolux, General Mills, IFFCO, IPS, Knorr, Lipton, Masafi, RAK Porcelain, Tetrapak, Sadia, Unilever and Valrhona.

Alongside the exhibition, a series of four key summits brought together senior executives of global

HH Sheikh Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum opened Gulfood 2013 F&B companies, dignitaries and trade professionals at the Global Food Leaders' Summit on day one. The rest of the week saw the Food Packaging & Processing Forum, Food Inspection Conference and a Franchising Workshop.

As always, a highlight for many chefs was the Salon Culinaire competition, organised by Emirates Culinary Guild. Hundreds of chefs took part in 23 classes with categories ranging from chocolate work, ice carving, baked goods, confectionary and five-course gourmet meals. According to Chef Uwe Micheel, President of the Guild, “There cannot be a better platform for culinary professionals to showcase their competence and skills”.

25 judges from as far afield as Iceland, Namibia, Hong Kong and Europe, under the aegis of the world Association of Chefs Societies, oversaw the Salon.

AROUND GULFOOD IN PICTURES

BAKING AWAY This year’s Gulfood saw the inaugural Baking and Pastry Guild’s baking competition, where the emphasis was on demonstrating skills without the normal pressure of such events.

Aimed at young professional pastry chefs from Dubai, it allowed them to compete in three categories a day with the judges from Germany, Switzerland and Austria looking at taste, texture, presentation and hands-on skills.

The judges’ overall impression? Work on display was world class with many of the contestants worthy of a place in some of the best restaurants worldwide.

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The Pro Chef Middle East / March 2013

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Out and about

'BEST' AWARDS GULFOOD 2013 New non-alcoholic beverage award: Go Coco - Coconut Water New functional food or drink: ANJR - IFFCO - Noor Lite Mayonnaise Newcomer brand or business award: Dione Dairy Ice cream New Halal food award: Mas Pares - The Foie Gras of the Pharaohs New fast food product/innovation award: MorLife - Goji Antiox Gluten Free Muesli New baked or confectionary product: MorLife - Super Snakes New frozen or chilled food: Midamar - Oven Roasted Turkey Breast New health food/beverage ingredient award: Al Rawabi Dairy - Nutree Boost Health education initiative award: Al Ghurair Foods - A Better Tomorrow!

New foodservice innovation award: Unilever - Knorr Hollandaise Sauce Nw food and drink packaging machinery: Capri-Sun Middle East New F&B packaging innovation award: Bebi Australia - Bebi Infant Suitable Beverages New food and drink processing equipment: Clauger - High Energy Efficiency Tunnel Environmental sustainability initiative award: Al Ghurair Foods - Be Responsible Campaign Local food award: Foods Company: Coconut Date Chocolate Consumer marketing campaign award: PepsiCo -Lay's Flavour Me Campiagn New catering equipment innovation award: Manitowoc Foodservice - NEO Sustainable catering equipment award: Rendisk - Flex WasteDispo Light equipment innovation award: Mec2 - Livecookintable Heavy equipment innovation award: Salva Group - Kwik-Co Bakery Oven Trade stand (up to 40m²): Pro Ecuador Trade stand (between 40-90m²): Federal Foods Trade stand (over 100 m²): Tetra Pak Gulfood outstanding achievement award: Petros Hadjipetrou, MD, Greenhouse

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March 2013 / The Pro Chef Middle East

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Out and about

Capital dining New culinary initiatives, a focus on traditional Emirati dining and local ingredients plus a re-energised programme of events underpinned the landmark fifth Gourmet Abu Dhabi - the UAE's annual haute cuisine festival

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6 days. 23 restaurants. 14 international masterchefs and celebrity chefs. Dozens of special guests. This year, Abu Dhabi Tourism & Culture Authority, the festival organiser, outdid itself for Abu Dhabi Gourmet 2013.

"This is evolution not revolution," said Noura Al Dhaheri, Leisure Products Development Manager, TCA Abu Dhabi. "Gourmet Abu Dhabi has played a pioneering role in heightening industry standards in the Emirate's fine dining sector and we look forward to these enhancements pushing existing standards to the next level of culinary excellence."

According to recent TCA Abu Dhabi statistics, F&B

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The Pro Chef Middle East / March 2013

income for Abu Dhabi's hotels sector has recorded double-digit growth since Gourmet Abu Dhabi's inception in 2009.

Celebrity chefs attending were: Pascal Barbot from L'Astrance, France Sebastien Archambault from the Blue Duck Tacern, USA Shinichiro Takagi from Zeniya, Japan Abhijit Saha from Avant Garde Hospitality, India Brent Savage from Bentley Restaurant & Bar, Australia Bojean Panel from The Mira, Hong Kong

Chumpol Jangprai, Thai Culinary Director, Thailand Cyril Lignac from Groupe Cyril Lignac, France Ciccio Sultano from Ristorante Duomo, Italy Dani Garcia from Restaurante Calima, Spain Enrico and Roberto Cerea from Da Vittorio, Italy Frank Camorra from MoVida, Australia Imtiaz Qureshi from Grande Cuisine of India Jason Black from Shore Restaurant & Bar, Hong Kong Khulood Atiq from Tourism Development & Investment, UAE Michel Sarran from Michel Sarran Restaurant, France Mauro Colagreco from Mirazur, France Mathieu Viannay from La Mère Brazier, France Michel Rostang from Restaurant Michel Rostang, France Philippe Etchebest from Hostellerie de Plaisance, France Ernst Knam from L'Antica Arte del Dolce, Italy Gianluco Fusto from Italy

WELCOME TO GOURMETS Photography from the Gala Opening, February 5th 2013, held at The Ritz-Carlton, Abu Dhabi.

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Mini Paniers SalĂŠs Artichoke Basil

NEW AND DELICIOU S

Pissaladière e Style

Tomato Shallot

Mediterranean n Vegetables

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Chef of the year

Who’s the best?

For our sister magazine BBC Good Food Middle East’s 2012 Awards, four of Dubai's best chefs entered a mystery box cook-off. Who won?

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size of the kitchen, the cook-off was held in two stages with Chefs Bonnard and Fernandez face to face, followed by Chefs Alvis and Othman. With just fifteen minutes to plan their dishes, the race was on!

And the winner was Nick Alvis! According to the judges, "Nick won his extra points due to his cooking techniques, presentation and flavours." He received his award at the BBC Good Food Middle East gala awards dinner and party held at the Ritz-Carlton and, in a double whammy, Table 9 also received the Restaurant of the Year award.

he annual awards presented by BBC Good Food Middle East range across a wide number of categories, covering restaurants, ingredients, equipment and chefs. From nominations by the magazine’s readers, shortlists emerge which are then voted for on-line, with close scrutiny by both magazine staff and independent judges to ensure fair play.

The only category not voted on is the coveted title of Chef of the Year, which is decided by a 90 minute mystery box cook-off by four chefs chosen by readers. This year, the four finalists were: Cyril Bonnard, Chef de Cuisine, Stay by Yannick Alleno, One & Only the Palm Jumeirah Juan Gonzalez Fernandez, Chef de Cuisine, Villa Beach Restaurant, Jumeirah Beach Hotel

Nick Alvis, Chef Patron, Table 9 by Nick & Scott, Hilton Dubai Creek Reif Bin Othman, Executive Head Chef, Zuma DIFC The chefs could bring their own knives and specialty cooking equipment (maximum of three items) plus up to three specialty ingredients. Judges did a blind tasting of the dishes which had to use all the mystery box items plus whatever the chefs wished to use from the pantry. The box contained: Whole quail, Pink ear emperor fish (Shaari eshkeli), Chinese egg noodles, Peanut butter, Lentil, Pumpkin, Beetroot, Chilli flakes and Mascarpone.

The pantry at the MKN show kitchen in Dubai held a wide variety of dry goods and fresh produce, ranging from English mustard and Thai vermicelli rice to sour cream and hibiscus leaves. Due to the

The winner!

Chef Nick Alvis plating up

Chefs Othman and Alvis head to head

Chefs Bonnard and Fernandez head to head

Nick's winning dessert: Panna cotta with vanilla poached pumpkin and English crumble Serves 2 Ingredients: 200g milk 200g cream 60g sugar 100g mascarpone 3.5 leaves gelatine (soaked in water and dried) 100g pumpkin diced x 1.5 cm 50g sugar 60g water 1 vanilla pod For the crumble 300g flour (all purpose) 150g butter (unsalted)

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75g caster sugar 75g demerara sugar Method: 1 Bring milk, cream, mascarpone and sugar to boil, whisk in gelatine, strain and pour into moulds. Refrigerate until set.

2 Blend or rub flour and butter until it becomes like breadcrumbs, then add sugar until it forms a nice crumble. Bake on a non stick tray at 160C for ten minutes and then stir, return to oven for further five minutes and repeat process until crunchy and golden.

3 Bring sugar, water and vanilla to boil, then add diced pumpkin and leave to cool and marinate for one hour.

March 2013 / The Pro Chef Middle East

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Round table

John Cordeaux, Executive Chef, Fairmont The Palm.

Antonello Manca, Executive Chef, Dusit Thani Dubai.

Lorraine Sinclair, Executive Chef, Fairmont Dubai.

Back to our roots In the search for avour and in a return to their childhood roots, more and more chefs are embracing organic food - a shift mirrored by consumer demand in food retailing. But problems abound, from higher prices, to lack of certiďŹ cation and potential food preparation cross-contamination. We got chefs and organic suppliers around the table to talk through the issues.

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Round table sponsored by MLA: The Pro Chef Middle East / March 2013

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Round table

Michel Jost, Executive Chef, Yas Viceroy Abu Dhabi.

Jamie Ferguson, Regional Manager - MENA, Meat & Livestock Australia.

Hassan Massood, Executive Chef, Radisson Blu DMC

Dave Reeder, Editor, The Pro Chef Middle East

Dalene Wray, General Manager, OBE Organic.

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an I start by asking each of you what ‘organic’ means to you?

Lorraine Sinclair: Organic to me? Well, I’m not a big fan to be honest because nothing’s been proven to me with regards to scientific evidence that it keeps you healthier or is better for you or it stops cancer. For me, I believe in honest food rather than going for organic. when it first came on the market it was a big hit, but I’m still looking for that scientific evidence. People are using it but, at the end of the day, they’re still dying just as they have for hundreds of years when there were no pesticides or fertilisers. Look, 100 years ago there was organic food, it just wasn’t called that then, due to the population explosion, we needed to grow more food and so came up with ways of growing more food faster.

As a chef, do you notice any difference in taste?

Sinclair: Some things, some things. You can put ten tomatoes in front of ten chefs and ask them to pick the organic ones - I’d be very surprised if nine out of the ten could pick them out.

John, what’s your take on organic?

John Cordeaux: In terms of organic cuisine, we have to think where we are in the world. Whether we’re in Dubai or Abu Dhabi or the wider Middle East then as chefs we’d like all our produce to come farm to table. All of us who come from outside the region, whether that’s Canada or Italy, UK or America, we’re used to having products coming from the farm up to the back door, whether they’re organic or non-organic, fertilised or not. I think if you relate organic food to the Middle East, then is there a product that can be grown without fertiliser in the desert using a viable amount of water, which is scarce? Does it make sense for us to be having hydroponic farms? Personally, I believe that if it’s commercially viable to grow locally then, absolutely, I would love to buy that product. Our responsibility is to get the tastiest product to our table, to make the source of the products we use to be the be the best we can find. It’s more than just organic for me - it’s more about sustainability and that the food is harvested quickly and is on the table as quickly as possible from when it was in the field. Unfortunately most of the products we buy today have been gas stored or been in some sort of container for five, six, eight days. They might be picked unripened and then ripened as they travel to our table, so if there is an opportunity for a product that is as natural as possible delivered to our door with the most natural flavour and taste as possible, then that is the highest advantage we can have. Whether it’s organic or not, we have a responsibility to buy the best products we can. The challenge we face is where we are. Talking about organics in the Middle East is very different from talking about organics in Canada, where I’m from.

Two different stories.

As well as farmed products, what about protein?

Cordeaux: I think it’s the same story. Again, I think Lorraine has a very interesting point. Looking at a

Round table sponsored by MLA: www.cpidubai.com

March 2013 / The Pro Chef Middle East

17

Round table

big heifer fed organically, one would assume that it would be better for you. There’s no way we’d consider having irradiated vegetables fed to us and I believe that any product that been forced to grow through chemicals cannot be good for you. I’m not a scientist but I cannot believe that it makes sense to injest that into our systems.

Antonello Manca: I have a similar position to both of them, actually. On the one side, we have the scientists who say that there is no proof; on the other, anything with a chemical in it cannot be good for you. I think the customers, the consumers are looking for healthier options. At the Dusit, we have for example an organic corner for breakfast.

However, I see it more as a trend than actually as a necessity. In Abu Dhabi there is a farm that is using a greenhouse, but when you use one then you are going away from what is the natural. With proteins, of course, I’m sure we all prefer to to buy grass fed than meat pumped up with chemicals, but you know I don’t see the huge demand here in the Middle East like you do in the West. When you go to Asia, for example, you don’t hear a lot about ‘organic’ because things there are still organic.

Here, it’s still a young market.

One point is that, instead of importing relatively tasteless vegetable from Europe, we should be sourcing from India which may not look as attractive but might actually have some taste.

Manca: I think that is happening. If you go to the local markets here, you’ll find vegetables, from

Antonello Manca, ni Dubai.

Executive Chef Dusit Tha

India, from Sri Lanka, from the rest of Asia. They may not have the brand ‘organic’ but they are Michel Jost: I’m a big fan of organic and I want to share the story of how I came there with you.

When some years back there was all that talk about crazy cow disease in Europe, I was working in Greece where people still go up into hills and pick greens and herbs and berries, so the products available are very different. It was easy for the whole family to become vegetarian and then organic we stayed that way for two or three years, then because we wanted the children not to have too great a shock when we moved to a different country, we started to reintroduce meat back into our diet. Here, the cost of organic food is outrageous. Back in Greece, my wife found an organic farmers’ market. The first thing we noticed was the taste of the food - it was just like food tasted when I was a kid. All too often, commercial food has no flavour or smell. I think organic is important as a movement and that organic food is the taste of natural food. For us, as adults, I think it’s okay to mix organic and non-organic food our bodies can take it. But I think if kids just eat organic, they might get allergies when they go back to regular food so we started to mix them.

Now, when you go organic, the first thing you notice is that your taste changes. I went to visit the organic farm in Abu Dhabi and it’s amazing, just amazing - the greenhouses in the summer use this system like car radiators to cool them down via water evaporation. The water tank is underground so the water is cool and they manage to maintain a temperature of 26/28C during the summer. They really welcome anyone to visit and I encourage you to do so. Here in the Middle East, you’d think it’s not possible, but the Abu Dhabi Organic Farm is doing it and they’re even supplying Ethihad Business Class!

Yes, you only have to go to the oasis in Al Ain and the dates being grown with traditional methods to see what is possible here.

Jost: There are farms in Palestine producing great vegetables.

Manca: Yes, all around the Dead Sea. In Gaza too.

Sinclair: I know there’s a farm in Bahrain.

Manca: I have a farm at home and we have olive trees that never get treated and we make olive oil which is as organic as you can get. We plant tomatoes and they come this big, full of flavour and you can really get the smell of the vegetable.

Jost: When you talk about organic, I can guarantee that 90% of the population has no idea of the real taste of an olive - just about every olive you buy doesn’t have the taste of an olive. When you make your own, it’s very different - you take them from

the tree and put then in water and then change that water every day. After about 25 days, you start to taste one every day until you get the right taste. Those olives have nothing to do with the ones on sale, which are produced in just two days with chemicals. I only discovered this ten years ago because we had an olive tree in the garden and I thought we’d try curing them. I was working as a cook for 22 years and, honestly, I had no idea of what an olive tasted like!

Jamie Ferguson: Personally, I prefer to eat organic if it’s available and I can afford it.

Is that because of the taste?

Ferguson: There are ethical and moral issues here and I prefer to eat natural food. I know with organic there’s a certification process which gives that food integrity and I trust that actual process, basically. Organic has had double-digit growth for the past few years - it’s the fastest growing sector of the industry, partly because in some sense it’s a trend and partly because of your organic tragics who’ll only eat organic. From that comes demand and with command comes a premium - it’s more expensive to produce, with longer growth rates and so on. I think if you’re going to grow organically then it should be sustainable - you need to farm to suit your environment. With livestock, you need a production management system that deals with things like parasites otherwise those animals will suffer. You need a holistic approach and people now are doing things like rotating livestock from paddock to paddock with a grazing system that breaks the parasite and pest cycles.

Of course, crop rotation is how everyone used to farm. It’s a basic practice and we’ve lost it.

Ferguson: No, we haven’t lost it. There are production systems in Australia where they’re mastering it and they have to because Australia has a lot of naturally organic country, with rain around the edge and then it gets hotter as you get nearer the centre.

Hassan Massood: For me organics is more about nutrition and the use of vegetables as the origin of medicines. What is important is the growth in the market - a decade back there were four of five organic markets here, now there are over 75 across the UAE. All hotels now say that we have organic food and products but it’s still a mix-match. I did an experiment in January of last year in our restaurant Certo where for two weeks we had a major organic promotion but we didn’t have any strong demand for it. People like it but it’s not strong at the moment, I think because it’s expensive. People cannot afford it on a daily basis and I think it’s being adopted more by the health conscious.

“WHEN YOU GO TO ASIA, FOR EXAMPLE, YOU DON’T HEAR A LOT ABOUT ‘ORGANIC’ BECAUSE THINGS THERE ARE STILL ORGANIC.” - Antonello Manca, Executive Chef, Dusit Thani Dubai.

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Round table sponsored by MLA: The Pro Chef Middle East / March 2013

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Round table

Jamie Ferguson, Regional Manager - MENA Meat & Livestock Australia.

Meat & Livestock Australia, Dubai Airport Freezone, Building East 1, Office E313, P O Box 293715, Dubai, United Arab Emirates P: +971 4 433 1355 F: +971 4 454 9543 www.mla.com.au www.lambandbeef.com

Dalene Wray: I’m a fifth-generation organic beef farmer with around 100,000 cattle, each of which has a square kilometre to graze in. For me, organic is a choice and if we were having this conversation in America then it would be very different where most of the food is just horrible. From a personal point of view, I like to have choice. I have a threeyear old daughter and I like to buy organic food for her whenever I can afford it. It’s expensive. As a producer, it’s very hard to get to see chefs and I’d like to say to you that the loudest voice doesn’t always produce the best food. There’s a lot of wonderful organic produce out there and the issue is how we get the best food to the table. Look, organics are not going to take over the world. At present, it’s about 5% of the supermarket trade in America and could get to 10%, but it will never get to 25% and so it’s never going to be 25% of someone’s menu. However, I think that in the same

way you wouldn’t today have a restaurant without 5-10% of the dishes being suitable for vegetarians, you should have a proportion of organic produce. I don’t personally like chicken but if I see free range, organic chicken on a menu then I will order it because I like to support sustainable agriculture.

Cordeaux: I think the point is that if we all had access to cost-effective product, then we’d use it.

Sinclair: People here also go for organic protein, rather than organic fruit and veg. The protein has got more flavour to it but for me, walking into a supermarket and looking at organic food, I think ‘Really? You’re trying to charge me that?’.

Wray: I agree 100% with you on price, but it’s not that easy from our side. We supply Carrefour but the volumes are quite low, which means it’s costing $3 a kilo to air freight our beef here.

Manca: I come from Sardinia and it’s still very rural.

Raising animals is naturally done organically - you know, you have 15 cows and 100 sheep and they graze on the side of a mountain.

Ferguson: One interesting point from an organic point of view is how you need to treat animal protein in processing. If a facility handles both organic and non-organic then the organic is always done at the start of the day when there’s a clean environment. What restaurant has that segregation? What about cross-contamination?

Is that covered by HACCP? Cordeaux: No, it’s not. Look, we’ve just opened up our hotel and I want to start exploring organics.

The thing is that if you’re going to spend the money you’re going to spend bringing organic products then you’re going to be sure you’re segregating it properly and using it appropriately in the recipes. We’ve actually now got the second plan for a garden we’re making - not just a kitchen garden as we’re going to have citrus, oranges, lemons, aubergines, lemongrass, bananas, coconuts, papayas. I’m really excited about this and the whole point of this is not that we can harvest all this produce every day and put it on the kitchen table but that it’s going to be an experiment in education for our guests. are we going to produce 16 tons a year? No, we’re not, but it’s going to be really exciting to grow our own produce. It’s like a memory of growing up - I think Michel spoke very eloquently about that. We’d go to the bottom of the garden and pick food that we then ate. That’s what cooking is all about.

One area worth talking about is the explosion of the retail organic market. Why isn’t there a similar demand from F&B? It can’t be about price because they’re paying a premium in these shops...

Jost: It’s different customers. When people buy fresh food they get used to the taste, but when they eat in a restaurant they find that the taste is not the same. Let me give you an example - half of the sea bass here in Dubai is imported from Greece and it’s all farmed. Me? I’ll choose a sardine instead rather than a farmed fish.

Ferguson: But isn’t it about sustainability? Is it better to farm fish that deplete natural stocks?

That’s another bigger subject! Who’s got all day?

Jost: You know, the person who’s willing to pay the money is a supermarket on good produce will not go into the restaurant. As John said, when you take something from the garden and shortly afterwards it’s on your plate, then that is what we want.

Wray: The best product on your menu is not necessarily certified organic, but it’s fresh, recent and natural.

Sinclair: It’s just not certified. I mean, a good proportion of the products that we buy probably are organic but they don’t have that certification.

Ferguson: Which costs money, of course.

Manca: All of us buy oysters, clams, sea urchins - I buy from Spain and, of course, they’re organic but it doesn’t say anywhere.

Hassan, when you did your two week experiment, what was the reason people didn’t order more of the dishes? Was it just about price?

Massood: Yes, it was on price. What I did also for my promotion was grow some vegetables on our rooftop. We’re not gardeners, of course, but it was good to enhance the promotion. I also do an organic breakfast, all the way from the cereal, the milk that we purchase, fruit. Organic is coming, just not right now in this market, I think.

Sinclair: Plus, if a menu was going to be organic, it would need to have a separate kitchen.

Jost: The safest way is to have a separate restaurant with a full organic menu. You would even need to promote it as organic - people would know.

Ferguson: Would your customers pay that premium?

Look, we’re here in Dubai and last week there was news of a Dhs 500 pizza here in Dubai Mall, so I don’t believe the slow adoption is just about price.

Manca: In Dubai, there’s a market for everybody.

Cordeaux: If we’re honest, that pizza is just a marketing stunt.

Massood: I think we’re also forgetting that local fish are organic, though they’re not certified. I

John Cordeaux, Executive Chef, Fairmont The Palm.

Round table sponsored by MLA: www.cpidubai.com

March 2013 / The Pro Chef Middle East

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Round table

think we’re all using them, apart from hammour!

Cordeaux: Now we’ve moved on to sustainability and Fairmont as a company is really very much committed to that. Buying organic product from wherever and then flying it in, are you really doing the right thing? There are all these different areas we need to look at.

John, they’re building a fish farm in Abu Dhabi to farm hammour. Obviously it will take a few years before they’re at the right size for market but what wins in your mind? The sustainability or the use of chemicals to produce the fish?

Cordeaux: Unfortunately, I think the fish farm will do extremely well because it will be competitively priced but I do not think it’s the right way to go. I relate the issue of hammour back to the situation in Canada where we lost the entire cod industry on the east coast. A whole species gone and villages that also died, jobs and a way of life gone. The livelihood of many, many fishermen here will be severly damaged unless measures are taken soon.

Having hammour on sale here is just irresponsible but, with respect, it needs to be about education.

People just don’t know.

Manca: But there are so many different types of hammour - they don’t all come from the Gulf.

Cordeaux: The challenge is that most of the local fish are very, very small. There are ionly a few local fish that you can use to make a nice fillet.

Jost: I think the authorities need to put a stop to the fishing, even if it is in the local culture. It’s like a parking system - there should be fines.

Cordeaux: But it’s their livelihood.

Jost: If you talk to people who’ve been in the UAE for ten years or more, they’ll tell you that fish in the market used to be a real size.

Sinclair: It’s true. When I lived in Bahrain, we’d have hammour delivered that were so big you’d have to throw them over your shoulder to get them into the kitchen! Now I go to the fish market and I think ‘What’s that?’ as the fish are so small.

Dalene Wray, Organic.

General Manager, OBE

20

Lorraine Sinclair, Executive Chef, Fairmont Dubai.

Manca: The fishing here is just not selective and that’s to do with a lack of education.

Cordeaux: Remember that 40 years ago, there wasn’t a great deal more hear than fishing. So, forget the commercialisation aspect, this is also a cultural issue. You can’t just say ‘Don’t fish!’ - it’s a very sensitive subject.

Will the announcement of more organic markets mandated by Dubai Municipality help you in terms of price and availability, do you think?

Jost: If you go to any supermarket, produce is twice the cost of buying direct from the farm. I place an order with the farm in the evening, it’s picked first thing in the morning and comes directly to me before lunch.

Wray: What’s the responsibility of middlemen and importers in all this? Shouldn’t they be encouraged to source organically?

Michel Jost, Executive Chef, Yas Viceroy Abu

Dhabi.

Hassan Massood, n Blu DMC Executive Chef, Radisso

Jost: Suppliers do bring organic produce but they position it as a premium product not as a healthy product. Instead of violume sales, they’re going for niche sales. The problem then is if I place a 100% organic dish on my menu, what am I to do when a regular guests wants that for a banquet of 450 guests? You can’t say no but the pricing is different.

If organic is seen as luxury, it’s not going to work.

Wray: We also supply the Hong Kong market and often our pricing is the same as conventional beef but the importer believes that it should cost more and so she adds 20% for the market.

Cordeaux: They’re looking at it as a niche, premium product instead of educating the market.

What is your role in educating customers?

Jost: I don’t think we need to educate, because when we eat nice food it’s okay, but when you eat the wrong things then your body tells you. A guest will feel if something is not right and sometimes fancy restaurant push things too far and a guest will think ‘It was nice, but' and wish they were at home with a simple meal that feels good.

Cordeaux: Honestly, I do understand where you’re coming from but I do feel we have the need to educate. The reason is that many of us grew up with a garden at home and it was natural for us to go into the garden and eat organically. However, there are many, many people who have grown up in big cities, living in partment buildings, who’ve never even seen food growing. I remember having apprentices years ago in Canada who’d never even seen a kitchen garden. So I do think we have to educate those people who haven’t had the opportunity to grow up in the country. We’re fortunate to be able to talk.

Ferguson: Food is about integrity and understanding.

Our thanks for the hospitality at the Fairmont Dubai, who put the Cigar Lounge at our disposal for the round table.

Round table sponsored by MLA: The Pro Chef Middle East / March 2013

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Kitted out

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The Pro Chef Middle East / March 2013

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Kitted out

My little kitchen Two months into the job and Deff Haupt, Culinary Director of the Kempinski Hotel & Residences Palm Jumeirah, is planning changes to his kitchen and working on the designs for the kitchens in the new hotel that will open next door in two years time.

C

hef Deff Haupt started his career in Germany in 1983 and during the next six years worked with leading chefs in France, including Paul Bocuse, Joel Robuchon and Emile Jung. He then spent five years in Sao Paulo, first working at the prestigious restaurant Cantaloup, acclaimed as the best restaurant in Brazil, and then at Leopoldo, an exclusive restaurant and club in Sao Paulo. During that time, he trained the Brazilian team for the prestigious Paul Bocuse d'Or culinary award, as well as creating the First Class and Business Class menus for Varig Airlines.

He returned to Germany in 1999 and opened as Executive Chef and partner the restaurant Theodor Tucher in Berlin. Six years later he shifted to Canada as Executive Chef at the Sofitel in Montreal and its Restaurant Renoir.

Two years ago, he was part of the opening team for the Sofitel at the Corniche in Abu Dhabi, winning a Best Seafood Restaurant in Abu Dhabi award within the first six months of operation.

Now he’s facing different challenges at the Kempinski, as the small kitchen designed to service the Brunello outlet and support in-suite dining in the hotel apartments has morphed into the engine driving a major new business for the hotel: banqueting.

As Chef Haupt walks us around his kitchen, it’s clear that space is at a premium. “The kitchen

was designed for maybe 100 covers a day but we’re doing 6-800 with all the special events we handle like weddings,” he explains. “It’s doable but we need to be smart. When I was at Sofitel, we’d easily handle 500 covers at a time but guests here are amazed how few chefs can put out so much food.”

The problem he identifies is one quite common in the industry - people running purchasing who have no food knowledge. “It’s hard to get them to understand that certain types of equipment may appear expensive but that they’ll save money over time and deliver a better product. Even simple things like multifunction ovens or gas salamanders.” Instead time saving techniques and “a bit of chemistry” are being used to ensure excitement in the food, such as Malto, a tapioca powder that, when mixed with oils creates a powder which melts when eaten.

He also has plans to bring back equipment like a dehydrator and a Thermomix mixer on the next trip back to Canada. “One thing we are steering clear of,” Haupt insists, “is liquid nitrogen. It can be extremely fun to use but I don’t want the danger of a guest injuring themself with it.”

Meanwhile, he’s also focused on the opening of the Kempinski Hotel next to the current site, sometime in 2015. “It’s still at the stage where I can have a lot of influence though obviously the infrastructure is pretty much in place and that will dictate some of the kitchen layout. I have

“We have is a fairly basic kitchen with standard kit, so we're clever with prepreparing what we can. This crust for fish is made ahead so, when fish is cooked, we lay a slice on top and quickly warm through under the Electrolux salamander.”

“One of the first things I did was to move the pastry section - they were basically working in a box! A blast chiller is essential these days to meet HACCP standards and to deliver great food.”

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a comfortable relationship with others on the team and I’m able to suggest changes that will save money and make the brigade’s job easier.

The problem is that chefs are never happy - ‘The kitchen’s too big!’ ‘The kitchen’s too small!’ But this is proving to be a different story than Softel in Abu Dhabi - that went through so many changes. The property was originally designed as a mall, then a 4-star hotel and, finally, a 5-star hotel. Architects look at these places from a guest’s point of view and don’t consider, for example, how the placement of elevators affects the speed of service.”

Of course, the earlier in the design process that an Executive Chef gets involved, the better, not just in terms of equipment fit-out but as importantly looking at work flow and the impact of food handling and storage regulations.

“Changes that impact a kitchen can be as simple as just swopping fridges around,” Haupt says. “I’m lucky here because our GM had more than 25 years in F&B and so he understands these issues and knows that if I raise concerns then there’s going to be a reason.”

Moving on to food, what are the outlets being planned for the new hotel? “That will depend on the owner, of course, but I am arguing my corner for a number of concepts. There’s no certainty in F&B but I don’t want us to be a copycat hotel - we need fresh concepts. So I’m looking at North Africa, which I think will work. There’s a great rooftop space and we’re looking at some sort of imperial theme that mixes Moscow and Paris - go one side for Champagne and oysters; go the other for vodka and caviar. Probably with a Viennese coffee shop.”

No Italian? “Well, we do have Brunello here, of course, You really have to ask what guests like. Do they really all want the same menus in every hotel?

That just makes us like a burger chain, so we want to be different. Do we, for example, really need strawberries all year long? We should go back to our grandmothers’ days and cook more seasonally and we shouldn’t just take produce from Europe without thinking. Why use tomatoes without taste from Holland when there are great ones from India, even if they’re a bit ugly. I don’t know what’s happening with food these days.”

“The MKN ovens are fine for a la carte but for larger services we could do with multifunction ovens so we can steam and grill. Using equipment that’s great for a restaurant for banqueting is a real challenge for us, but we manage!”

March 2013 / The Pro Chef Middle East

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Pimp my plate

B

Kali oreksi!

Despite a love of Greek ingredients and cuisine, Ilias Kokoroskos, Head Chef of the Majestic’s Elia Restaurant, was ready to accept any reinvention test we could throw at him. Tempted to suggest Black Forest Gateau, we turned instead to that Asian classic Pad Thai!

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The Pro Chef Middle East / March 2013

ased at Elia for the past two and a half years, Chef Ilias grew up in Athens. Sadly for a small boy who loved food, his mother didn’t like cooking although “she was very good” when she did so. “Your mother’s food is the first taste in your mind,” he reminisces.

“Today, when someone says my food tastes homemade, I see that as a big success for me.”

At 14, he decided he wanted to be a cook but was sent back to finish high school; at 18, he was just as keen and entered the industry via a small taverna-style restaurant in Athens. “It was a real shock to me and I didn’t know how I would survive.

But I learned a lot in the first six months and was completely in love with cooking.” He then too the classic step and worked for free in one of Athens’ top restaurants, Jérôme Serres’ Pil Poul adding French techniques to his Greek background.

After that he spent a season as Demi Chef de Partie at the Grand Resort Lagonissi in Athens, working in Galazia Akti, a restaurant specialising in Cretan cuisine. “It was modern Greek cuisine - recognisable but with lots of small touches.”

After the season, he worked in the small but high quality Pere Ubu, again mixing French and Greek styles before returning for another season at the Grand Resort Lagonissi. “Next I spent eight months at Apolis, which served modern Greek cuisine and had the best view in Athens of both sea and mountains!”

Finally, it was time to spread his wings and he took a job as Chef de Partie in Belgium, cooking French cuisine. “What did I think of Belgium? I have no idea - I was so busy working I hardly saw anything. I was there to take knowledge and worked 7-12 every day.

He returned to Pil Poul as Sous Chef before joining Elia, under Chef Yiannis Baxevanis. “He had been one of my teachers at culinary school and he could be tough! I remember just about the first thing he asked me as a student, ‘Why is the deep fryer dirty?’ but he was a great teacher and now a great chef to work with. I had initially wanted to go to the CIA and had been accepted but the $80,000 tuition fees for six months were just out of my reach.”

How does he work with Chef Yiannis? “He comes out four times a year or more and is always open to my ideas. We talk them through and the menu here is a co-operation between us. He doesn’t have a big ego complex - he likes his team to contribute.

Recipes most of the time are just borrowing ideas can you create anything new? I like simple food.”

So how did he face up to the challenge? “To be honest, I don’t recall Pad Thai as a dish - I’ve eaten a lot of Thai food but don’t always remember the names of the dishes. But in Greece, we love homemade pasta and seafood, so that seemed the obvious way to go. Pasta and tomato sauce is it Italian? There are similarities, of course, but the flavours are different and the addition of lemongrass gives this a suggestion of Thailand.

Would I put it on the menu here at Eloa? I think it would destroy the menu and most people would only eat this!”

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Pimp my plate

STEP BY STEP COOKING GUIDE:

Step 1: Prepping

Step 2: Makarounes

Step 3: Tomato sauce

Step 4: Lemongrass sauce blended

Step 5: Flaming off the ouzo

Step 6: Sauce over makarounes

Step 7: Finishing the sauce

Step 8: Plating up

Makarounes with seafood, lemon leavess and wild greens infused with lemongrass sauce.

Serves 2-3

and strain. Put the mixture into a mixer and add the spinach, blending it to get a nice green colour and a thicker consistency.

Makarounes Ingredients 2 cups T-70 our 1/2 cup water 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil salt to taste Method 6 Mix all ingredient to form a dough then let it rest for one hour as a small ball. Cut into smaller balls and roll out to 0.5 cm thickness. Cut into squares 3x3 cm and roll each square around a thin bamboo.

Tomato sauce Ingredients 5 mature tomatoes, cubed 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil 1/2 tbsp tomato paste seafood broth, at will 1 tsp cayenne pepper 1/2 red onion 100g parsley 10 basil leaves 4 lemon leaves, julienned 2 cloves garlic green chiili, at will salt and pepper to taste Method 1 Saute the choppped onion and add the garlic, then the tomato paste reducing the heat until

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the paste turns brown and caramelises. Add the cubed tomato and cook till it breaks down, then add the seafood broth (shrimp shells boiled with garlic and bay leaves) and the lemon leaves. Continue cooking until the sauce thickens, then add the cayenne, the parsley and the green chilli. Season and reserve.

Lemongrass sauce Ingredients 4 lemongrass sticks, smashed and ďŹ nely chopped sugar to taste salt to taste juice of two lemons 10 spinach leaves water Method 1 Put all the ingredients except spinach into a sauce pan and add enough water just to cover the lemongrass. Heat gently - do not let it boil. After one hour, remove from heat

To serve Ingredients 8 shrimp 6 calamari heads 4 fresh mussels olive oil at will 1/2 red onion 70g parsley 2 cloves garlic 1 shot ouzo (optional) 4 butter cubes 2 tbsp Parmesan 2 tbsp Graviera salt and pepper to taste sorrel leaves at will baby garlic at will Method 1 Sautee the calamari with olive oil, then add the shrimps, the mussels and some onion, parsley and garlic. Add some ouzo (optional but suggested) or six fennel seeds. Burn off the alcohol and sautee for ten minutes. Then add the tomato sauce and, when it starts boiling, add the makarounes. Cook through then monter with the butter, season, add the baby garlic and cheese. Keep warm.

2 Warm the lemongrass sauce then plate with the lemongrass and then the tomato and makarounes, garnishing with the sorrel leaves. Grate over some Graviera cheese and fresh pepper. Serve.

March 2013 / The Pro Chef Middle East

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Pimp my plate

Pad Thai Serves 2 Ingredients 50g bean sprouts 1 egg 4 tsp fish sauce 3 cloves minced garlic 1/2 tsp ground dried chili pepper white pepper 1/2 lime 2 tbsp peanuts 1 tbsp preserved turnip 1 shallot, minced

8 prawns 2 tsp sugar 2 tsp tamarind paste 125g Thai rice noodles, soaked 50g extra firm tofu 2 tsp cooking oil Method 1 Soak the dry noodles in lukewarm water until flexible but not mushy. Julienne tofu and cut into 1 inch matchsticks, then fry till golden brown.

2 Rinse the bean sprouts and reserve half.

Mince shallot and garlic together.

3

4

5

Fry the peanuts in a wok, add shallot, preserved turnip, garlic and tofu and cook till they start to brown. Drain the noodles and add to the wok, stirring quickly, then add tamarind, sugar, fish sauce and chili pepper. Stir on a high heat.

Push noodles to the side of thr wok and scramble the egg before folding it into the noodles. When noodles are soft but still chewy, add shrimp and stir then sprinkle white pepper and add bean sprouts.

To plate, pour onto plate, sprinkle with peanuts and raw bean sp[routs, plus wedge of lime on the side.

“IF POT WASH GETS BACKED UP THEN THE RESTAURANT IS BLOCKED. EVERYONE SHOULD START THERE - IT’S A VERY IMPORTANT PART OF ANY KITCHEN AND WE SHOULDN’T FORGET THAT.” 26

The Pro Chef Middle East / March 2013

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Middle East Agent

On the passe

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The Pro Chef Middle East / March 2013

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On the passe

Fish on a plate Marco Pierre White’s UAE empire continues to grow with classic fish restaurant Wheeler's of St. James's joining Titanic, MPW Steakhouse & Grill and two Frankie’s. Located in the new food hotspot, DIFC Gate Village, the latest addition is headed up by Executive Chef Gavin Gleeson who grew up in an Irish house where fish were never on the menu.

W

heeler's is one of the oldest fish restaurants in the world and its first non-UK iteration in Dubai has been planned to capture the feel of the original, to maintain the quality level and also to give it a more contemporary twist. With signature dishes that include the Wheeler's Prawn Cocktail, Smoked Salmon, Scottish Cumbrae Oysters, Dover Sole and Grilled Lobster, the restaurant lives up to Marco Pierre White’s mantra: "It's all about feeding people. And feeding people well."

Running the restaurant is Executive Chef Gavin Gleeson, who gained a good reputation in his native Ireland and was working at Terra Firma at the InterContinental Dubai Festival City before he was headhunted for the new role. “I had tremendous respect for Marco and, of course, I’d read ‘White Heat’ but we’d never met until I took the job.”

Now, in the eye of the storm of Dubai’s dining scene with a cluster of high quality standalone restaurants in Gate Village, he’s coming to terms with sourcing local fish to the same high quality standards that Wheeler’s is well known for.

What impression of food did you have as a child?

None at all. We grew up in a quiet corner of Limerick and my mother was an awful cook, though she was also a good baker. Meals were meat and two veg - we ate to survive and, with two boys in the family, you had to eat quickly!

What made you decide to become a chef then?

I think I was lucky with the timing. I started cooking 15 years back just as Irish food became amazing, riding the back of the Celtic tiger boom but still behind other European countries. I remember the biggest supermarket in our nearest shopping centre - it had just one aisle of basic vegetables with nothing exotic. Then, suddenly it seems, it all changed and you’d have aisles of amazing produce - cured meats, everything. Before

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realised that whatever I’d been doing wasn’t cooking and I fell in love with this 5-star food where everything was made from scratch. They started me on sandwiches and I was just petrified of this important chef. I was so green - the menu was in French and I couldn’t even read it.

for cheese you’d maybe have had Cheddar and Babybel, now you had giant wheels of Parmesan and the rest. This was when we joined the EU and food flooded in, although the availability of quality native produce came a lot later. This was a time when local cheesemakers would have to load up a van and drive to England and France to sell it because the Irish weren’t interested.

Where did you start in the kitchen?

I was very lucky to get an apprenticeship at Dromoland Castle in County Clare under David McCann. My parents were horrified that I was going into food but I really thought I was cooking, even though I was basically the kitchen porter. I

So this was a new type of food for you.

Was that a shock?

Here’s the thing. Before Dromoland, I’d never eaten fish before except as fish fingers. My mother was so scared of fish that she never would let them into the house and if one appeared on TV then it was switched off at once! And here was the chef cutting slits in a cod and inserting bay leaves - I asked if he was using mint and he was like ‘Are you kidding?’ But my innocence was what he wanted - he wanted a clean slate. He was very old school and had been at the Connaught but he was a great teacher. I remember each day, he’d ask if my station was clean? I was confident and staked a fiver on it - and lost. And lost again the next day as we played double or nothing.

By the time I got it, I’d really got it so he moved me on to breakfasts and so on - learn a service and then move on. I was also attending culinary school - six months work in the peak season and six months study - but really was so far advanced. When I was 21 I felt ready and I was working where, at the time, everyone said was the height of Irish fine dining.

But you moved to London?

Yes, everybody was talking ‘London, London’ so I went to see what it was about, working for Richard Corrigan at Lindsay House. That was tough - he wasn’t an easy chef to work with - but I found the food interesting although I didn’t feel what he was doing was better than what we’d been doing in Ireland. Overall, it was a great experience but I was lonely in London - I guess I’m a country boy at heart! It was too hard and I didn’t see the point of working all the hours and falling asleep

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On the passe

in the kitchen. I guess, ultimately, I didn’t feel that what I was doing was worth it. I wouldn’t change my choice to go there, but, after a year with Corrigan, I moved to Dublin to work with Kevin Thornton at Thornton’s Restaurant - the first Irish chef to win two Michelin stars.

years the business was bankrupt and I was broke, albeit with a great reputation as one of Ireland’s ‘brilliant boys’.

Where to next?

Dubai! Actually, I applied for a job in the Caribbean but the agency said they needed someone in Dubai and I ended up at the InterContinental - the interior of the hotel just blew me away. I couldn’t believe it - 17 outlets, that big lobby.

Yes, it was me so I applied and got the job in Terra Firma.

What was his food like?

Good homely food that was well executed and originally plated.

Maybe not 100% my style but I learned a lot as his Sous Chef and I really appreciated what he was doing - it was extraordinary. For example, there was one dish with a braised pig’s head. He deboned it and used the bones for stock, then braised the meat, made a farce from the tongue and then stuffed the head with that, made confit from the ears and served it all just on a simple shallot puree. He would play with different coloured and shaped vegetables that didn’t seem to fit on the plate - I couldn’t understand what he was doing! However, he taught me that the look is just as important as the taste. I’d also never seen another chef before use a whole animal or make stock from the relevant bones - beef stock from beef bones, lamb stock from lamb bones and so on. He’d also paint with powders.

How long were you there?

A year and a half then I got the chance to work at the 5-star Aghadoe Heights Hotel in Kerry. The Executive Chef was beyond horrific, putting out some of the worst food I’ve seen in my life. After two months, I went to management and said I had to leave and they said they knew it was bad and what could I do to make it better.

I changed everything and that was my first time in charge of a menu. This was real Celtic tiger time and there was unbelievable excitement with people just throwing money around. I was sourcing some of the very best ingredients - it was great!

The problem we faced, though, was that the old clientele of local farmers didn’t want change so we had to satisfy them whilst attracting the city slickers. One way was to improve the quality of our

produce. Another was to give them something they wanted - a new take on venison but served with turnips. I gave a choice with sauces - traditional or modern. It was all about flavours.

If you were running it, what happened to the Executive Chef?

Well, they gave me the title but he retained it as well. To be fair, he was okay with the changes and it didn’t hurt me to share the title. I made sure he was always mentioned along with me in any publicity and so on. But after three and a half years I wanted a change and decided to open my own place in Kerry. Big problem! Five days after opening, the stock market crashed and, although I didn’t think it would affect me, after two and half

And then the call from Marco’s people?

Yes, I’d never met him but, of course, had read ‘White Heat’ years ago, like every young chef. I like the way he cooks, his style which saw him early into the whole idea of simplicity. This place [Wheeler’s] is just great - we have amazing produce and nothing frozen. That means we have to plan ahead well but that’s not a problem if you know where to find things. I created the menu here based on his brand and, of course, using examples of his old menu - the standards like fish cakes or fish and chips that just have to be on the menu. At the end of the day, this is seafood not rocket science. One area that I’m getting into is the use of local sustainable fish - to be honest, they’re new to me but I’m learning and we now have a local special for the daily business lunch. We started on sustainable fish from overseas and we’re expanding our offerings into local sustainable fish - it’s a new challenge for me, especially as I’m not used to cooking with warm water fish.

What do you make of the location?

I don’t mind it and the other good places nearby give me confidence that between us we’ll draw big crowds. For the moment, we’re doing largely a business lunchtime service but I think that will change as we get to know the local customers better and word gets out that we now have our licence. You know, I don’t always like walking through a hotel to eat.

“AT THE END OF THE DAY, THIS IS SEAFOOD NOT ROCKET SCIENCE. ONE AREA THAT I’M GETTING INTO IS THE USE OF LOCAL SUSTAINABLE FISH - TO BE HONEST, THEY’RE NEW TO ME BUT I’M LEARNING AND WE NOW HAVE A LOCAL SPECIAL FOR THE DAILY BUSINESS LUNCH.” 30

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Face to face

A true reflection

A mere 11 months after opening, Reflets Par Pierre Gagnaire was named on the S Pellegrino list of the top 100 restaurants in the world - the first restaurant in the Middle East to receive the accolade. While the restaurant is the concept of leading French chef Gagnaire, it’s Head Chef Olivier Biles who maintains the consistent high quality and innovation. He talks to us about life in a Gagnaire world.

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hef Olivier Biles has had a lifelong association with Pierre Gagnaire - his father, born and bred in the south of France, worked with him during the 1980s. Olivier himself went on to follow in his father's footsteps when he became Sous Chef at the renowned Pierre Gagnaire restaurant in Paris, a post he continued for five years, before being personally groomed to become a key part of Gagnaire’s international empire.

After surviving overseeing the catering for Gagnaire’s marriage, he was part of the opening team at Reflets Par Pierre Gagnaire, which has held a leading position amongst the region’s fine dining restaurants since the start. He talks to us about how he and Gagnaire work together and how he reached these heights at such an early age.

What did food mean to you as a child?

Well, my father was a chef and he gave me a great education in food. What did we eat at home?

Just normal fresh, homemade French classics. I grew up in Provence, in between Avignon and Toulon, so I’ve always had a real taste for things like bouillabaise and aioli. My roots are the Mediterranean no matter where I cook, though I think that my time in Paris was where my eyes were really opened.

When did you decide to become a chef like your father?

It’s funny, my dream from about the age of seven was to run a night club! At that time, my father was running a night restaurant open from 7pm to 6am and it seemed like a great life. In time I took lessons in cooking - I already knew what I wanted but you need to have the technical skills. So first I got a waiter diploma, then chef then pastry chef.

At 16, my dream had changed to wanting to have my own restaurant and that is really what I have now with Reflets, without having to have made an investment.

What were your first jobs in the industry?

I started in what you could call a proper French restaurant where my best friend was the sommelier. I just went and asked the chef for a job.

He wasn’t sure if I was serious but told me that if I came back in uniform then he’d take me. So I served my apprenticeship there near Nimes, where we did good semi-gastro food based on good produce and good techniques. I’d say it was classic but affordable cuisine. The chef was a Compagnon du Tour de France and he arranged for me to do a summer season at a one star - that was a bit of a shock for me joining a kitchen with a dozen chefs.

I was used to hard work, though - each summer when I was 14 to 16 I’d worked in a giant brasserie putting out 700 covers a day. Then I heard of a possible job in Lyon at a very traditional one star, Larivoir. It had been in the same family for over 100 years and had just 80 covers with a terrace, serving very classic dishes that had been created by the grandfather and then passed down.

Such as?

Pan-friend foie served with rhubarb, for example.

I had two very intense years there, with just the chef, myself, two apprentices and a pastry chef. It’s hard to work at that level with a chef that screams and a very busy kitchen. However, I was able to create new dishes for the menu, even though I was just 20 years old.

How did you come to Gagnaire?

From the first time I saw his work, being part of his

team was my target. When I first saw pictures of his food, I was amazed that there’s always movement on the plate rather than the food just being stuck.

You just cannot categorise his food. I was also very interested in working for Michel Troisgros to see how he’s managed to remove the shadows of his grandfather and father without damaging the reputation of the restaurant. There are other greats, like Bocuse or Robuchon, but I don’t feel I have anything to offer to their cuisine.

Your background was in classic techniques, but Chef Gagnaire’s style is really fusion or, in some sense, molecular‚ No, his food is neither, it’s Pierre Gagnaire! It’s very modern, of course, but there’s a solid base of classic technique underneath everything he does.

Anyway, I sent my CV and had a phone call almost at once asking me to go to Paris for a two day trial, which I did on my days off. When I was there, they said, ‘If you fit with the team, you will be trained.

However, even if you’re good we won’t take you unless the team says yes.’

What is Chef Gagnaire like with his staff?

He knows everyone as if they’re part of his family so people have to fit into the family. Anyway, I joined the family and suddenly felt I was moving at double speed. It felt like being in a big noisy machine but everything was very well organised.

At first, I was totally scared and then I looked at each part of each dish individually and realised that there was nothing that I couldn’t so. I met Chef Pierre on the second day and we talked and he said he’d take me on from the following September. I was a little worried about what my boss would say when I broke the news, but he was very happy for me to have this chance.

“IT’S BEEN A GREAT TEAM FROM THE START. I HEAR OTHER CHEFS COMPLAINING ABOUT STAFF BUT WE DON’T HAVE THAT PROBLEM. WE TAKE TIME TO TRAIN PEOPLE. WE NEED TO GIVE HAPPINESS AND MAKE THEIR LIVES PEACEFUL.” 32

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Where did you begin in the kitchen?

I was Commis 1 in the meat section working on garnishes. It’s a good place to start as it’s easier to move to Chef de Partie than if you’d been in Garde manger. After I’d been there about a month, Chef talked to me and asked about my surname. He said he’d had an Alain Biles working for him years before - of course, that was my father but I hadn’t known until then. Needless to say, I didn’t speak of that with the other chefs! I was very lucky and grew fast in the kitchen, becoming Chef de Partie after one year, with a spell after only six months with the opening team in Tokyo. All in all, I spent three years on the meat section. Working there was a real education, even doing the staff meals.

Chef insisted that the staff meals must be done to the same quality standard as the restaurant, but using recipes from Escoffier - 45 covers twice a day.

I think the staff canteen would win its own star!

What did you learn from the experience?

Mostly, that there is no limit, no wall around you.

It was hard work, very intense and tiring but my first year there was probably my best year as a chef. I moved to fish and then - lucky again! - I got involved in the company’s outside catering business. Two years before it opened, I was offered Dubai even though I was still only in my mid-20s. I had a week to decide but I wasn’t sure I was ready

to be a head chef. Pierre said: ‘We’ll make sure that you are ready.’ So I got squeezed hard, starting with having to learn English! I did two events in Hong Kong, five in London, two in Venice as well as Tokyo and Miami. For the last, my wife was ready to deliver so I was torn between wanting to be with her and the need to do 300 covers in Miami. I love airports now but before the catering work, I’d never left France.

Then the wedding?

Yes, Pierre’s wedding. He entrusted me with delivering his menus over two days of celebrations.

Day one we did a seven course tasting menu for 150 guests, plus seperate menus for the children and the musicians; day two, we had a number of live stations and BBQ. Amongst others, we had every head chef of a 3-star in Paris and Chef and I worked on the menu for six months, with it changing every day. It was crazy - a lot of pressure!

How did the menu for Reflets comes about?

The dishes are 100% Pierre Gagnaire. Although I submit ideas and menus, everything needs his approval . With his 13 restaurants, there’s not a single dish that’s the same and they change all the time with the seasons. For us in Dubai, although we use some local ingredients we rely on deliveries from Rungis twice a week.

How was the opening team chosen?

The sommelier and Sous Chef came from Sketch and six others had worked with me in Paris. One of the great things about the Gagnaire family is that people stay, there’s real loyalty so I’ve had staff here for five years. It’s been a great team from the start. I hear other chefs complaining about staff but we don’t have that problem. We take time to train people. We need to give happiness and make their lives peaceful.

How do you view competition?

Dubai does not have too many restaurants - it has too few guests. You can get good food all over town but the ones that stand out have good presentation and interesting plating. But when I eat out, I’m no longer a chef just a diner.

And what’s the future?

For me and my wife, another baby soon. For Reflets, we’re converting the outside area into a glassed in terrace where we’ll serve small tasting plates like tapas. People can eat quickly, share a bottle of champagne between friends and relax.

We’re aiming at the people who say Reflets is too complicated, that’s it’s over ornate - a younger crowd. However, we’ll still deliver to the Reflets standard. For the industry as a whole, I think classic style will return. And for me, I’m still learning.

Salpicon of Omani prawn and popcorn soup Serves 4

salt and pepper to season popcorn to garnish

Popcorn soup Salpicon of Omani prawn Ingredients 1kg fresh sweet corn, from a raw corn on the cob 200g fresh white onion 100ml olive oil 500ml cream 500ml milk

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The Pro Chef Middle East / March 2013

Ingredients 500g (20-30 per kg) Omani prawns 100g olive oil 240g ricotta

Method: 1 Slice the onion and cook on low heat with olive oil. Meanwhile, remove corn from the cob.

Add corn to the olive oil and cook slowly.

2 Add milk and cream and cook for 30 mins on a low heat. Blend and add seasoning.

3 Serve in a deep plate and sprinkle popcorn on top before serving.

4 Peel shrimps and dice into 1cm pieces. Pan fry in hot olive oil.

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Face to face

A chef with attitude In the UAE for a spell at Nautilus at the Yas Viceroy as part of Gourmet Abu Dhabi 2013, Chef Cyril Lignac is a French chef with a difference - he embraces spices and flavours that most of his countrymen reserve for desserts, if they use them at all. “I love to grow French cuisine,” he explains.

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orn near Aveyron, Cyril Lignac got his culinary diploma aged 20 and, after some local training, moved to Paris to work at the 3-star L’Arpège, run

by Alain Passard. He then trained with Pierre Hermé at Korova, Alain Ducasse at la Grande Cascade and the Pourcel brothers at both the Maison Blanche and the Jardin des Sens before, in 2004, running La Suite in Paris.

A year later, he opened his own restaurant in Paris: le Quinzième Cuisine Attitude. Full of energy, he became a regular on French TV with ‘Yes Chef!’, ‘Chef, the recipe’, ‘Live in the canteen!’ and ‘Get Chef’d’, as well as an author of numerous cookbooks and a fortnightly magazine ‘Cook by Cyril Lignac’. Further fame followed when he voiced Lalo in the French version of the Pixar movie Ratatouille and he

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has since opened other outlets in Paris - the bar Chardenoux, a Left Bank bistro and La Pâtisserie in together with former Fauchon pastry chef, Benoit Couvrand.

Was food important to you as a child?

I grew up near where they make Roquefort and, yes, I loved food. However, my mother was in hospitality and my father a car mechanic so nobody in our family cooked. I just remember eating at school. When I was 16, she told me I must take a job when I left school and home - I choose cooking because I thought it was a good job that made pleasure for people. I was so happy I could be a cook and my mother cried because she thought it was right for me. I went to culinary school and specialised in pastry before taking my first job

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Face to face

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in a small one-star auberge. the chef was a woman and really she became like a mother in cuisine to me. She was very sensitive and I loved working with her for two years. Everything was very local and we’d go to the markets together before making very subtle gastro cuisine.

Why did you leave?

Well, it was amazing to work with her but I realised that if I wanted to progress in my career then I needed to move to Paris. I joined Alain Passard at L’Arpège and I loved this chef! He had ambition, passion and was not afraid; I wanted to improve so I took my chance and talked to him. Over Christmas, I used some money my grandmother had given me and, without telling my parents, went to Paris to try Passard’s food. Then I called him: “Chef, My desire is to improve my dishes with you.” Done! When I was at school I hated it but when I entered the food world I changed and worked so hard. I spent a year at L’Arpège and it was amazing - Passard is a poet.

What was it like working with the Pourcel brothers?

Again, amazing to be in that three-star world.

I loved the food, the Mediterranean feel and the produce - the fish, the oysters, the lobsters, everything. You know, I have been very lucky - I also worked with Alan Ducasse and his strictness taught me the business of the restaurant. Finally, I felt that I was a real chef even if I was still a Chef de Partie. I have always taken chances. I took a chance to become a chef. I took one opening Le Quinzième. And I took one when I made my first TV show. I thought that it was impossible, that I was a chef not a showman but I decided to try it just once. Why not? I cooked on camera and then the big boss of the TV station called and said ‘It’s you!’ So now I was on TV doing a show a little like Hell’s Kitchen with young chefs trying to open restaurants. Ha, I’m the French Gordon Ramsay!

But, to be honest, I hate that celebrity world.

Instead, I like to communicate, to share my passion and my knowledge. After that, I reopened Le Chardenoux, which was a monument and I began what I call Kitchen Attitude, with a workshop where I could pass on what I knew.

Lignac at Gourmet Abu Dhabi

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Constant attention to detail Paris is a very competitive restaurant scene...

Yes and things are changing too. It’s now expensive to eat out so more people are buying dishes to take home and eat. That’s why I think it’s important to create a cuisine for ‘normal’ people as well as for the rich. I think too that people need to have that choice: do they spend four Euros at home on a dish or 25 in a bistro.

You’re quite unusual in a French chef in that you incorporate a lot of elements into your dishes that aren’t traditional to French cuisine.

I think it’s very important to travel, to discover new people, new cultures, new produce. I mean, here in the Emirates it’s amazing to have so many nationalities and influences. I love the souk! I do think that when you travel it’s important to see and experience new cuisines. I guess I’m just very curious. For me, French cuisine should be a mix of French produce plus influences from travel such as Szechuan peppers, curry, vanilla and so on, but getting the balance is very important. When I prepared my menu for Abu Dhabi, I thought that people here liked very spicy food and that having

so many nationalities would mean that I had to adapt a great deal, so I did. However, French cuisine can do that - it’s big and I like that but my travels mean that I can grow it even more. That’s my fantasy.

What is the future for classic French cuisine? Is it game over?

Don’t worry about the future of French cuisine!

When the masters like Bocuse are gone, then another chef will rise up and another and another.

I don’t know who they will be, but they will appear and, as young chefs, they will evolve our cuisine.

You see, French cuisine is not a trend. As a chef, I’m not a magician, I’m not interested in trends, I’m not driven by business - I’m a cook, an artist and I belong in front of my stove. I don’t make plans, that’s not my personality. Tonight, I met the boss of the Viceroy Group [Note: Interview was held at the Viceroy Yas Island] - that was not planned but maybe it will lead to some business between us.

Who knows? All I believe is that tomorrow has to be better than yesterday and that I will continue to evolve and grow as a chef. I will realise my dream.

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Face to face

Is the glass half full?

After his nomination as Best Sommelier of the World 2007 sponsored by S Pellegrino and Acqua Panna, the Swedish sommelier Andreas Larsson has been an ambassador of the two fine dining waters. In the UAE recently for tutored water and wine tastings, we caught up with him to understand his changing career.

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urrently working for the restaurant PM&Vänner in Växjö, Sweden, Andreas Larsson was nominated Best Sommelier of Sweden in 2001, 2002, 2003 and again in 2005, Best Sommelier of Europe in 2004 and Best Sommelier of the World in 2007. Since the last title is a one time honour, he now devotes his time between wine tasting, talking to sommeliers about quality waters, working on the restaurant’s wine list and extending his tasting and analysis skills into the world of spirits.

What was it about wine that appealed to you?

I was fascinated by the tastes. How were they created? Are the differences in terroir or grape variety real? I got really intrigued by the culture of beverages and how viticulture had helped shape Europe. As I said, I was a bit of a geek and got heavily into geology and soil types. As to being a sommelier, I think it’s more about the people and the communication.

You have what many would consider an ideal job, tasting wine every day!

Well, I’ve been in love with food and related fields for as long as I can remember. You can call me a bit of a geek, but apparently I was fascinated by cookbooks and food magazines from about the age of two. Later, I loved wine. I can’t really digest beer - it makes me tired and dizzy. And spirits are still an area I’m learning about.

Tell me about food when you were a child.

I grew up in Stockholm and food was integral to my life - I was always either hungry or eating! My brother, however, didn’t like to eat anything and he became the skinny one and I was the big one.

We both became chefs. What did we eat? It was everyday Swedish food: cod with dill sauce, pork chops and other traditional dishes. Potatoes were a daily standard - we knew when our father was coming home from work because our mother would start cooking the potatoes.

So you decided on a career with food?

Yes, I was fascinated by it and it just seemed like a natural thing to do. My other ambition was to be a musician and I, perhaps naively, thought that chefs worked flexible hours and so I’d have time for

music. I went to culinary school and then worked as a chef until 1997-98, in all sorts of places. I seem to end up doing mostly catering - not very inspiring.

Hence the shift to wine?

I was really hooked on the whole world of wine and so I took a year out of the kitchen to go to sommerlier school Restaurangakademien. It was such an injection of knowledge and inspiration.

We don’t tend to think of Sweden as a wine drinking country. Isn’t it rather expensive there?

There’s a tax on wine which means that even cheap wines are expensive but, as you go up the value chain, wines aren’t really any more expensive in Stockholm as they are in an equivalent restaurant in Paris or Rome.

What was your first job as a sommelier?

A wine cellar in Stockholm that was also a private wine club where members stored their collections.

It was pure luxury - I got to taste the greatest wines every night. Sommeliers were growing in numbers at that time and all the top places had one. Now I guess there’s around 400 across the country with perhaps half in Stockholm. There’s a very good standard of wine knowledge. So, after three years in the club, I started a series of small wine bars with a friend of mine, maybe the first real ones in Stockholm. Then I was fortunate enough to work at the Michelin-starred Bun Looc, which closed in 2006. It was an amazing experience.

Can you explain how, as a sommelier, you start matching a wine with a new dish. Can you explain the process?

Surprisingly, 80% of pairing is done before I’ve even tasted the food. I see the recipe on paper and the broad brush stroke appears - for example, ‘an unoaked crisp white’. Then, with maybe ten possible wines, we start to taste. I do a lot of tasting and you know pretty quickly how few work perfectly with some dishes - especially white as red wines are easier to pair. As a trained chef, I understand flavours and ingredients, of course. In the tasting, we’re looking for the wine with that extra ‘wow’ that it adds to the dish, together with

“SADLY, A LOT OF THIS INDUSTRY SEEMS TO BE ABOUT THE PACKAGING AND THERE ARE SOME VERY BAD WATERS ON THE MARKET. I’D SAY THERE ARE ONLY ABOUT 20 TO 30 BRANDS WORTH LOOKING AT.” 40

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the price and the wine’s availability.

Have you given up on food?

No, I still like to be in the kitchen, working services.

But most of all I like flexibility and my current position allows me to help the restaurant owner to improve and gives me the opportunity to be an ambassador and so on.

How did you get involved in competitions?

A guy from the wine cellar competed and I wanted to prove who had the better sense of taste! The competitions are broken down into four areas: theoretical, blind tastings, practical tests such as decanting and serving and, finally, drawing up wine recommendations.

What makes a good wine taster?

I believe everyone has the ability but being a good taster is more about memory and analysis - it’s a process of deduction. Look, great wines are easy to recognise but wine is never an exact science.

I imagine it’s even harder because no two vintages will taste the same, wines develop as they age and so on. How many wines do you taste?

When I was competing, around 7-8,000 a year. Now it’s a little more than 5,000.

How did you come to water as a subject for study?

To be honest, I came quite late to it really because I realised that I needed to be aware of all fine beverages from wine, tea, coffee, mineral waters and so on. San Pellegrino the company was clever enough to support food festivals early on but I was surprised that good wine guys didn’t seem to understand this area and the fine nuances between different waters. But it’s part of the overall dining experience, like different tableware or glassware.

The reality is this: bad water can kill a meal. So I became involved with the company in creating, sharing and increasing the natural mineral water culture, emphasising the unique characteristics of both S. Pellegrino and Acqua Panna. I think they’re perfect mineral waters and I recommend them to enjoy a true fine dining experience - between them, there’s a natural positioning depending on the natural taste.

Do you see a place for water pairing with separate courses?

Yes. We did a tasting of 80 waters in New York City, which was interesting. Of course, back home, many people don’t even think of mineral water - water is something that comes from the tap and the quality is good. Elsewhere, mineral water is more important. What I find intriguing is the way that many mineral waters have shifted in the market from being known for their health benefits to being judged on their taste.

Like wine, do mineral waters differ year on year?

No, not really. Nature has run water through the same courses for centuries of not thousands of years and so the mineral mix is fixed. If areas are

42

The Pro Chef Middle East / March 2013

TASTING WATER AND WINE Andreas Larsson has conducted water and wine tastings worldwide, a useful way to communicate the S. Pellegrino and Acqua Panna characteristics.

Recently at Jumeirah Zabeel Saray, he undertook water and wine pairings for Dubai-based sommeliers, showing the effect of drinking both of the premium waters and a locally bottled one with Vergelegen

protected then nothing can change. For a nerd like me, I love the whole atmosphere, history and culture of a water source. Most people are not interested but my background interest in geology from tasting wines feeds that interest in how geology affects the taste of water.

You’ve been a brand ambassador for S. Pellegrino and Acqua Panna. Do you drink other waters?

I think it’s important to taste other brands and, yes, there’s some good competition out there.

Sadly, a lot of this industry seems to be about the packaging and there are some very bad waters on the market. I’d say there are about 20 to 30 brands worth looking at. When I started with San Pellegrino, I did a blind tasting with notes of 150 waters and I was surprised I could feel the difference between them. Many of them are not very obvious and I think, in terms of taste, there’s

Sauvignon Blanc Reserve 2011 South Africa, Massaya Silver Selection 2009 Lebanon, Michele Chiarlo Barbaresco Reyna 2009 Italy and Michele Chiarlo Nivole Moscato d’Asti 2012 Italy.

Participants were surprised how much the mineral qualities of a water can affect the taste of wine, either lengthening the taste experience or cutting it dead.

likely to remain a narrow segment of people who think about they’re drinking with their food.

What next?

Well, I’m learning about spirits. I’m not a great drinker of them but I love to taste and there are a lot of interesting products out there. Don’t call me a mixologist, though I can work a bar…

What about beer?

Beer too is an interesting beverage. I think describing beer has not been so good until now - perhaps that’s because sommeliers use a more colourful language to describe tastes and so our opinions on other beverages than wine are more open-minded. In terms of beer, perhaps surprisingly small is not always better. Despite the growth of micro breweries, the largest beer companies do very well in my opinion.

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Gerald Lawless President and Group CEO Jumeirah Group

Hospitality Business ME magazine The choice of the professionals To advertise please contact: Alex Bendiouis, alex@cpidubai.com +971 50 458 9204 Alexander Griffin, alex.griffin@cpidubai.com +971 50 8500727 Ankit Shukla, ankit@cpidubai.com +971 55 2572807 Read every monthly issue free of charge via: www.cpidubai.com

Skill set

H

ighlight for many at the recent Gourmet Abu Dhabi celebration was an evening of chocolate, sponsored by Valrhona, held at Yas Viceroy and hosted by the mercurial and talented Italian dessert king, Gianluca Fusto.

Born in Milan, Fusto spent the first years of his career working between Milan and Paris after attending the Carlo Porta hotel management school. Then, aged 25, he joined the kitchen of Chef Aimo Moroni's Aimo e Nadia in Milan, where he learned to respect raw materials and traditions as well as developing his creativity. In 1998, he attended Valrhona's L'Ecole du Grand Chocolat in Tain and was inspired by Frédéric Bau. He fell in love with the world of chocolate and quickly demonstrated his in genuity and creativity, starting with creations involving pipe tobacco and Havana cigars.

However, unlike most pastry chefs, Fusto is not an isolationist and has no animosity towards chefs.

Instead, his best friends are chefs from Italy and the Mediterranean. And it is the cuisine of this area that inspires and drives him.

After leaving Aimo e Naida in 2000, Fusto began to travel, with stints in the USA and Switzerland.

More recently, he's been a global ambassador for chocolate, experimenting, conducting classes and hosting tasting events. At the same, he continues to create at the very top of his game, inspired by a 400+ book collection gathered from around the world, he combines chocolate, art and spices.

In 2011, as a coach, he led the Italian Team to win the Juniores Pastry World Cup at SIGEP in Rimino. In 2012, he became a member of AMPI (Accademia Maestri Pasticcieri Italiani) and was awarded Best Italian Pastry Chef 2012 at Identità Golose International Congress in Milan. And, last month, he published his first, long-awaited pastry book, Percorsi (Paths), which contains dozens and dozens of techniques, ideas, pairings and brilliant ideas. In 320 pages, he covers four visions of the sweet universe (restaurant, boutique, chocolate and ice-cream), 54 creations from which over 300 recipes derive, three main ingredients in each preparation and two technical parts.

A master at work Gianluca Fusto's first creations in his mid-20s were based on pipe tobacco and Havana cigars - an early example of his astounding ingenuity. Under the personal tuition of Frédéric Bau’s school of Valrhona, he has not looked back and astonishes fellow chefs with his creativity and imagination.

44

The Pro Chef Middle East / March 2013

Baobab CARAIBE CHOCOLATE JELLY Ingredients: 750ml milk 44g sugar 3g pectin X58 200g Couverture Caraibe 66% 2g gelatin powder 200 bloom Method 1 Weigh all the ingredients separately, then re-hydrate the gelatin with water and combine the sugar with pectin X58.

2 In a saucepan, heat the milk then add the pectin-sugar mix and bring to a boil. Pour the milk on top of the chocolate and using a spatula

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Skill set

3

stir vigorously to create an emulsion. Continue to pour the milk, always trying to keep this smooth consistency and brilliant. Then refine the structure with the help of the mixer.

Heat the gelatin, taking care to bring the whole to 60C and then use it at 30/35C.

NAMELAKA NYANGBO Ingredients: 220ml milk 10g glucose 10g gelatin 50ml water 320g Couverture Nyangbo 450ml cream Method 1 Weigh all the ingredients and rehydrate the gelatin in cold water 2 In a saucepan, bring the milk to a boil and then mix the glucose syrup and gelatin.

3 Pour the milk a little at a time on the previously melted chocolate, rubbing energetically with a spatula. Repeat this process at least three or four times.

4 Mix for two minutes to refine the structure, being careful not to incorporate air bubbles Make sure that the mixture is above 35C (the melting point of cocoa butter) then add the cream. Mix again, taking care not to incorporate air bubbles.

5 Crystallise in a covered container in the refrigerator at +4C for at least six hours.

CREMEUX GUANAJA Ingredients: 725ml basic custard cream 275g Couverture Guanaja

VANILLA JELLY Ingredients: 230ml water 130g Absolu Cristal neutral glaze 3g vanilla beans 10g gelatin powder 200 Bloom 50ml water Method 1 Weigh all the ingredients separately.

2 Rehydrate the gelatin in cold water.

3 Heat the first amount of water and add the vanilla, the Absolu Cristal and gelatin, then pour into a container, cover and refrigerate at +4C. CHOCOLATE DOUGH Ingredients: 75g butter 20g brown sugar 60g sugar 64g Couverture Extra Amer 67% 10g Coeur de Guanaja 15g cacao powder 2g fleur de sel 1g vanilla powder 87g flour Method 1 Soften the butter at 25C, then add the sugar, brown sugar and vanilla powder.

Mix without adding air bubbles.

2 Melt the chocolate at 42C and add to the mixture. Mix well.

3 Finish the dough with the flour.

CHOCOLATE CRUMBS Ingredients: 340g cooked chocolate dough 40g muscovado sugar 50g pitted black olives Method 1 Weigh all the ingredients separately.

2 Wash the olives, then put them in the dryer and let them dry overnight at 50C. 3 Bake the cookie and once cooled grind it in powder.

4 Combine all ingredients, then store everything in an airtight container in a dry place CANDIED CHERRIES Ingredients: 325g frozen cherries 175g sugar Method 1 Weigh all the ingredients separately, then dissolve the sugar and pass through a sieve .

2 Boil the syrup and pour over the cherries. Let it sit overnight and repeat two more times.

TO ASSEMBLE 1 On a square plate, pipe three drops of chocolate Namelaka Nyangbo. Pipe the Creameux Guanaja .

2 Draw lines of juncture with the aid of gelatin giving the form of an island.

Sprinkle over the chocolate jelly cubes.

3 Cover with biscuit crumbs, sprouts and candied cherries at the ends. Finish with the appropriate decorations in chocolate and gold leaf.

Method 1 Weigh all the ingredients separately.

Pour the custard a little at a time on the couverture, previously melted at 45/50C. 2 Rub vigorously to create a 'node' elastic and shiny - the sign of an emulsion well underway. Repeat the operation four or five times in order to maintain this structure.

3 Refine the structure of the ganache with the help of a mixer then crystallise in a covered container.

BASIC CUSTARD CREAM Ingredients: 300ml milk 300ml cream 120g egg yolks 60g sugar Method 1 Weigh all the ingredients, then bring the cream and milk to a boil.

2 Mix the egg yolks with the sugar .

3 Pour the boiling mixture of milk and cream onto the egg yolks and cook everything until 82/84C, then mix to refine the structure.

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March 2013 / The Pro Chef Middle East

45

Travel

Long and thin, Chile offers a wide range of cuisines, from fine dining to artisanal and traditional. No matter the occasion, however, the food is always marked by stunning ingredients and a love of sharing.

Mulato Restaurant is clo se to use the best of the loc to the central market in Santiago, allowing Ch ef Cristián Correa al Chilean fish, seafood and vegetables.

nced Hotel Colonos del Sur, Puerto Varas, in the German influe es.

Los Lagos region. Food from Hotel Chef, Álvaro Moral

46

Wines from the central Colchagua Valley are increasingly seen as among st Chile's finest. Leading Chef Pilar Rodríguez is also based in the region.

Mountain to ocean

Travel

Possibly Santiago's most innovative and stylish restaurant is the organic Borago, run by young chef /patron Rodolfo Guzmรก n, who bases his food on a combination of Chilean/Peruvian ingredients with elBulli-type surprise s and reinventions. Expect beef as lumps of dirt, squid ink dust, pureed tofu and dry ice desserts. Guzmรกn has worked at Mugaritz and is a friend of Chef Andoni Luis Aduriz, but his cuisine is unique.

47

The last word

Objects of desire As well as the most modern of gadgets, some well-known chefs have objects in their kitchens that they couldn’t dream of living without.

Have fun trying to match chef against object in our fun quiz!

WHICH CHEF PICKS WHAT?

1 - Pierre Gagnaire

2 - Angela Hartnett

3 - Fergus Henderson

4 - Giorgio Locatelli

5 - Bruno Loubet

6 - Jamie Oliver

A “AN EMPTY JAM JAR: SUPER CHEAP AND SUPER USEFUL.”

B “I LOVE MY ELECTRIC MINCER‚ IT’S GREAT."

C “A WOODEN SPOON. A WONDERFUL TOOL, ERGONOMICAL AND A BEAUTIFUL OBJECT.”

D “MY RIDGED LE CREUSET GRIDDLE PAN.”

E “A CAST-IRON CASSEROLE, SUCH AS A LE CREUSET.”

F “OUR CRUSTASTUN - IT ENSURES WE KILL OUR LOBSTERS HUMANELY.”

How many did you match? 1-E | 2-D | 3-C | 4-F | 5-B | 6-A

48

The Pro Chef Middle East / March 2013

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