The Pro Chef, 2013 July

UP FRONT / out and about

Gourmet delight from Belgium There's another option for pastry chefs on the market with the introduction by Masterbaker of the Belgium Gourmet chocolate brand. Famed Belgian chocolatier David Austraete - who trained at Patisserie Bogaert in Brussels, Ecole Gerard in Luxembourg and Lenotre in Paris - held a one hour masterclass of chocolate techniques at JW Marriott Marquis and then invited the capacity audience of pastry chefs to sample an all-chocolate buffet created by himself and the hotel's Executive Pastry Chef Herwig Knapen and his team. The event marked the launch by Masterbaker of the range of professional couverture chocolate in the UAE, extending the company's offerings of baking products. "By introducing a premium brand that is very reasonably priced, we are simply ensuring that hotels, restaurants, cafes and chocolatiers in this country can deliver crowdpleasing products at competitive prices," said Ronnie Khajotia, CEO of Masterbaker. Belgium Gourmet is now available as dark chocolate (53% cocoa), white chocolate rondos and milk chocolate rondos (32% cocoa). The products are sourced from Dawn Foods and developed by Uniﬁne Belgium, one of Europe's leading specialists in value-added pastry ingredients.

Made of iron? The challenge was to ﬁnd an Iron Bartender, according to Baqer Mohebi and Teisseire for the second annual Teisseire International Bartender Showdown 2013. Most such competitions test knowledge of classic cocktails or individual ﬂair, but the Iron Bartender needs 'the full package'

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The Pro Chef Middle East / July 2013

and so the competition also tested other basics of bartending such as speed, accuracy and knowledge as well as entertainment while mixing the drinks, speed of making multiple drinks, accuracy of the pours and overall knowledge of the products and bar service. A shortlist of ten outlets were chosen for the UAE round: Mahiki, Buddha Bar, Radisson Royal, Royal China, Patiala Restaurant, Y-Bar, Studio F,

Cavalli Club, Meydan Beach Hotel & Amwaj Rotana. Other finalists from Warsaw, Prague, Moscow and Paris came to Dubai for the finals, which involved creating an original cocktail based on a Teisseire syrup. Overall winners were Alexey Balashov from Moscow in first place; Rachelle Escalona from Royal China, Dubai in second place; and Matthias Aso from Paris in third place.

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The Pro Chef, 2013 July

Published on Jul 11, 2013

The Pro Chef Middle East

Unlike other F&B trade magazines, The Pro Chef Middle East focuses on chefs and their inspiration, allowing them to demonstrate their talents as well as providing a platform for skill transfer, produce knowledge and recipe development. And, unlike other food magazines aimed at the amateur cook, it will provide enthusiastic fine diners with a real insight into the world of the professional chef, inspiring them to visit restaurants and develop their own cooking techniques and menus. For both communities, it’s a resource of new products and equipment. And for suppliers and manufacturers wanting to reach both a professional front and back of house audience and a keen amateur community, it’s an irresistible mix. A food magazine like no other in the regional market, aimed at a knowledgeable and high spending audience, interested in everything from quality knives or kitchen equipment to premium produce and specialty ingredients. If you’re serious about food, this is the place to be.