The Pro Chef Middle East - October Issue, 2013 by The Pro Chef Middle East

MIDDLE EAST ISSUE 20 OCTOBER 2013

Plugging the skills gap

Trying hot Aussie dishes

Solving the waste issue

Contents

UP FRONT

FEATURES

CHEFS

LEISURE

EDITORIAL Great produce, authentic concepts, efﬁcient service, no reservation policies and sensible pricing are the prescription for restaurant success.

ROUND TABLE More hotels mean more F&B. More F&B means more staff. but where are they all coming from and how will they be trained? We debate the issues.

PIMP MY PLATE Dirk Haltenhof, Executive Chef of The Oberoi, reinvents an Italian/American classic, cioppino.

TRAVEL All too often overlooked when people are discussing the foods of Europe, Wales punches above its weight for quality produce and interesting dishes.

OUT AND ABOUT New ﬂavours from Nespresso and Heidi, The `hotel Show 2013 review and a look forward to SIAL Middle East 2013.

AWARD S The countdown has begun to the ﬁrst Pro Chef Middle East Fine Dining Awards.

FACE TO FACE Spice queen Christine Manﬁeld gives us an update on what’s she’s doing since giving up her acclaimed Sydney restaurant. And enfant terrible Shannon Bennett whirls into town towards the end of a world culinary tour with Miele, on his way back to Melbourne. It’s a Down Under special!

FOOD CULTURE We all think we know about Italian food. It is, after all, the go-to cuisine for most diners and very few hotels operate without an Italian outlet or, at least, a variety of Italian dishes on the menu. But it’s curious how mistaken we are about many ‘authentic’ Italian dishes and food customs.

THE EGGS FACTOR What in the fridge of David Prantera, Executive Chef at Desert Palm Dubai?

INGREDIENT A fun couscous variant this month.

THE LAST WORD Food preparation makes up the largest percentage of a restaurant’s energy bill at about 30%, with refrigeration costs running somewhere around 13-18% depending on who you ask. Then there is the water heater, exhaust hoods and HVAC systems. These costs make efﬁcient and well maintained equipment an integral part of a green kitchen.

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October 2013 / The Pro Chef Middle East

UP FRONT / editors letter

Is it safe? A recent short trip to London that involved a number of great meals at slightly quirky and achingly busy places made me realise two things. Firstly, that great produce, authentic concepts, efficient service, no reservation policies and sensible pricing are the prescription for restaurant success; secondly, that in both the fine dining and serious casual sectors in a city like London, the argument for sustainable sourcing is so last year. In fact, sustainability is almost at the stage of not being a market differentiator any more, as diners make the simple assumption that produce will be of a high quality, be sustainable and, if required, fully traceable. After all, why wouldn’t it be? So it’s interesting to see the UK-based SRA (Sustainable Restaurant Association) launching a global sustainability rating system, available to any restaurant in the world. This global expansion of the SRA rating aims to create an international standard for sustainability in the food community. The first three awards were granted back in April to Narisawa (two Michelin stars in Tokyo), Noma and 8 1/2 Otto e Mezzo BOMBANA (Hong Kong). Chef Yoshihiro Narisawa summed up the honour: “We operate sustainably because it is the right thing to do, as eating and gastronomy go hand-in-hand with sustainability and it comes naturally to me as a person as well as a chef to take care of nature.” The SRA rating system is an on-line questionnaire to gauge a restaurant’s commitment to three tenets of sustainability - Society, Environment and Sourcing - which has been used in the UK since 2009. It is the only fully independent and comprehensive assessment of a restaurants’ environmental and social responsibility. Restaurants that score 50-59% receive One Star, 60-69% Two Stars and 70% and above Three Stars.

PUBLISHER DOMINIC DE SOUSA GROUP COO NADEEM HOOD PUBLISHING DIRECTOR, HOSPITALITY DIVISION DAVE REEDER dave@cpidubai.com M: +971 55 105 3773 GROUP SENIOR EDITOR, HOSPITALITY DIVISION MELANIE MINGAS melanie.mingas@cpimediagroup.com M: +971 56 758 7834 EDITOR DAVE REEDER SENIOR GRAPHIC DESIGNER, HOSPITALITY DIVISION CHRIS HOWLETT PHOTOGRAPHER, HOSPITALITY DIVISION ANAS CHERUR

A number of NGOs and environmental organisations have also embraced the SRA’s mission, including Compassion in World Farming (CIWF), Marine Stewardship Council and Waste Action Resources Program. Philip Lymbery, Chief Executive of CIWF, said: “Animal welfare worldwide will improve signiﬁcantly if the SRA can replicate its success with its global rating.”

DIRECTOR OF SALES, HOSPITALITY DIVISION ANKIT SHUKLA ankit.shukla@cpimediagroup.com M: +971 55 257 2807

More than 500 UK restaurants - including Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons - have completed the rating. That’s convenient as the SRA’s President is Raymond Blanc, Chef/Patron of Le Manoir. His view? The world’s best chefs have a duty to operate responsibly and I would urge all my chef colleagues around the world to take the test.”

SENIOR SALES MANAGER, HOSPITALITY DIVISION AJAY SHARMA ajay.sharma@cpimediagroup.com M: +971 50 419 5067

It will be interesting to see which restaurants in the region put their heads above water and go for the rating...

PRODUCTION MANAGER, HOSPITALITY DIVISION VA DEVAPRAKASH WEB DEVELOPER, HOSPITALITY DIVISION LOUIE ALMA DISTRIBUTION MANAGER ROCHELLE ALMEIDA SUBSCRIPTIONS www.cpievents.net/mag/magazine.php PRINTED BY Printwell Printing Press LLC, Dubai, UAE PUBLISHED BY

Head Office, PO Box 13700, Dubai, UAE Tel: +971 4 440 9100 Fax: +971 4 447 2409 Group Office, Dubai Media City Building 4, Office G08, Dubai, UAE A publication licensed by IMPZ © Copyright 2013 CPI. All rights reserved. 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.

A shared passion for excellence

The Valrhona Ecole du Grand Chocolat Whether in Tain l’Hermitage, Paris, or Tokyo, the world of creativity represented by Valrhona’s Ecole du Grand Chocolat knows no boundaries when it comes to sharing its expertise with pastry chefs around the world. Drawing on over 20 years of experience, Valrhona’s Ecole du Grand Chocolat focuses its efforts in three main areas: training, expert advice, and recipe development. ecole@valrhona.fr valrhonapro.com v a l r h o n a t v. c o m Distributed by Chef Middle East LLC- PO BOX 26 747- Dubai- UAE- tel: +971 4 3473455 - www.chefmiddleeast.comBranch offices : Abu Dhabi UAE +971 2 55 11 830 - Doha-Qatar +974 460 2200- Umm Al Quwain + 971 6 766 6437 - Muscat, Oman + 968 245 66 239

UP FRONT / out and about

Plantation supplying Nespresso

Turn it up! In a busy time for the leading coffee capsule manufacturer, Nespresso recently launched two new intense blends, opened a new boutique in Dubai, delivered two new coffee making machines to market and unveiled an eagerly awaited capsule recycling programme for the UAE. It's the coffee that keeps them awake! According to Karsten Ranitzsch, Nespresso's Head of Coffee, "Coffee has a real message to convey, not just in the cup. More and more, people want intensity of ﬂavour and, although we originally thought the strongest blend would a ten on a ten-point scale, it was clear that more intense ﬂavour was required by the market." The result? Two new Grand Cru blends, Dharkan and Kazaar, which reach intensity levels of 11 and 12 respectively. Kazaar was initially released as a limited edition blend in 2010 and is derived from a groundbreaking blend whose intensity

The Pro Chef Middle East / October 2013

derives from two Robustas from Guatemala and Brazil. To avoid potential bitter notes, a different and smooth drying approach is employed as well as a split roasting technology in order not to stress and burn beans. Finally, a new grinding method retains the blend’s strength whilst avoiding the unpleasant bitterness which is often found in other strong coffees. Dharkan, on the other hand, is more velvety, with notes derived from long roasting at low temperature which unveils the powerful, seductive character of the blend of washed Arabicas from Latin America and Asia. "We went to the limits with Kazaar and that wasn't easy," recalls Green Coffee Expert Alexis Rodriguez, who heads up Nespresso's blend

"Over the past decade we've seen the taste profile change with a shift from black or coffee with milk moving to a new profile, where coffee has personality and aromatic specificity." - Edouard Thomas, Coffee Sensory Expert, Nespresso

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UP FRONT / out and about

NOSING OUT FLAVOUR At the Nespresso EMEA media launch of its two new intense ﬂavours held in Saville, we found time to talk to Alexis Rodrigues, the company's Green Coffee Specialist. Originally from Colombia, he is responsible for product development and quality control.

development team. "The challenge was to find a coffee that could deliver the required power. At the same time, we needed to change the mentality of the farmers we were working with. everything we do is linked to quality and to make a blend that was strong but not harsh, we had to persuade the farmers to pick at an earlier time than they had done originally. we succeeded because they understood that there was added value in their crops if they improved quality and focused on sustainability." Kazaar and Dharkan join four other Grand Crus released in the past year: Linizio Lungo, Vanilio, Ciocattino and Caramelito. In total, the permanent range now includes 21 coffees. The company also has an unusual route to market with its capsules available only via dedicated 'boutiques' or on-line. The fourth and largest in the UAE has just opened at Mirdif City Centre, joining 29 others in the region Nespresso's fastest growing with 30% increase in the last nine months alone. Of course, growth means a continuing increase in the amount of aluminium capsules joining landfill and Nespresso has been working regionally to roll out a recycling programme that already exists in many territories worldwide. It uses aluminium capsules to protect its highest quality coffee from factors such as oxygen and sunlight, which could compromise taste and quality, however aluminium is infinitely recyclable and by collecting and recycling used capsules Nespresso can reduce its environmental impact - recycling aluminium produces only 5% of the carbon emissions compared with primary aluminium sourcing. Together with Bee’ah, the Middle East’s leading and award-winning fully integrated environment and waste management company, Nespresso developed a dedicated recycling system in which the aluminium in used capsules will be separated from the coffee grounds. The former will then be smelting process to be reused to make new aluminium products, while the coffee grounds will be used as a natural fertiliser. Capsules will be collected from professional customers.

The Pro Chef Middle East / October 2013

What is driving the demand for more innovation in taste proﬁles? It's a combination of market trends and our own desire to innovate as much as we can, as market leader. Of course, sometimes that means we try crazy things! There are similarities in creating a coffee blend as their are in creating wines and so we'll play with harvest times, boost or reduce hydrolytic maceration just as winemakers boost or reduce sugar. And so on. How do growers react to these changing demands? It can be a problem. They might say, for example, 'You teach us to do the harvest now instead of our usual time, but how can you assure us you'll still buy our coffee?' So we have to develop trust and partnerships, educate and support through our AAA initiative. The reality is that there are so many variations of beans and ﬂavour intensities - it's in our interest and the growers' to develop the best.

To help all this, we've co-developed a tool that allows us to trace varieties via DNA. We think traceability is important to customers. How many varieties are out there? The two main ones, Robusta and Arabica, of course, then there are cultivars adapted for particular terroirs - maybe 50 or so good ones. The industry as a whole works on this - Illy, for example, recently released six new varieties to breeders as a gift. Where do you source the bulk of your beans? South and Central America mainly, so Brazil, Colombia, Peru, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Nicaragua and Mexico, but also India and Kenya. 80% of what we source comes through close relationships we have with growers. And we largely work on gentlemen's agreements, insisting on fidelity with our growers. Looking at the coffee industry as a whole, what is your general view? One of frustration! Yes, things have changed a great deal over the last two decades thanks to companies like Starbucks - the quality of coffee in the US used to be dreadful - but there's still a long way to go. Coffee is a fresh product and needs to be treated with respect. Of course, we're very conscious in the Middle East that coffee originated from nearby in East Africa. Do you see any market for heirloom blends like that? In fact we in the process of a big project in South Sudan that began with following coffee back to its source. We hope to do something with it maybe a limited edition blend - and, as a start, we shipped two tons of coffee back to Switzerland to experiment with. I was really surprised at the quality - just astonishing. And this, remember, is a product that was virtually ignored during 35 years of civil war. I see a big opportunity for the Robusta from there, especially in the American market, but growers will have to pay real attention to quality. In time, it will certainly improve the portfolio of flavours. Will the coffee industry follow the wine buisness with different vintages or the chocolate market with single estate releases? I don't think so. People want quality but they also want consistency, so we need to retain the flavour profiles over different seasons. The solution to that, for us, was to create clusters of growers in a single country. The earth, the rain, the variety and so on might vary but we can mix within that cluster to maintain the same taste. This is what you can call cluster flexibility.

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UP FRONT / out and about

A fine Kettyle Known in the market for its activity in the baking sector, Heidi Chef Solutions is now breaking out with a carefully selected range of quality products, from cheese to olive oil. Latest addition? Dry-aged beef from Ireland. At a recent meet and greet with chefs, Maurice Kettyle, MD of Kettyle Irish Foods, arranged a tasting for Dubai-based chefs. The quid pro quo? A presentation on the product and details of the dry-ageing process. However, Kettyle had a ready audience. Claiming to be “just a farmer’s boy”, the family farm in County Fermanagh supports 350 cattle. “Not enough,” he insists, “for a sustainable business model”. The solution? A network of 3,500 farms across Northern Ireland and Eire supplying quality meat for Kettyle to dry age and then sell on. “Our whole business is based on trust,” he explains. “We began back in 2001 with the intention of being the very best in Ireland. Back then, a lot of Irish meat was being shipped to Scotland and then sold on as ‘Scottish beef’.” Kettyle and his team of quallified butchers have used their experience to change that by deliverong the highest quality of specified cuts. And, over the past five years, its award-winning meat served at many fine dining establishments and supplied to a wide and varied customer-base

The Pro Chef Middle East / October 2013

across Europe. But why dry ageing? “Dry ageing is the optimum and most consistent method of meat maturation that does not disturb the tissue make up, while holding and indeed intensifying the flavour profile,” Kettyle claims. “The end result is meat that is consistent, tender and flavoursome it’s more intense with a slight nutty profile - with less shrinkage.” And Kettyle has the only purpose built dry ageing facility in Europe. “We stay away from dairy breeds. All our stock is sucker fed and a mix of Angus and Hereford. It’s all grass fed with 100-day grain cycle at the end. At first, the market didn’t understand the benefits of dry ageing and it took some time for chefs to see the benefits,” he recalls. “The Dorchester was one of our first big names to come on-board and now we supply over 700 restaurants, 25 of them with Michelin stars. On the retail side, 90% goes to Marks & Spencer - you know what their quality checking procedure is like.” The company is currently celebrating after picking up four awards at Great Taste 2013 ‚Äì the

world‚Äôs largest and most rigorous food awards scheme involving over 400 judges and thousands of hours of blind tasting. Shwoing the growth of Kettyle from a beef supplier, its stand out winner was its Dry aged boneless Rack of Lamb with Marrow Melt which was awarded 3 Stars and uses Kettyle‚Äôs renowned Lough Erne Dry Aged Lamb. Judges‚Äô comments included: “Really beautiful, looked fantastic. Excellent length of flavour and melting texture!” It achieved a further two stars for both its Dry Cured Bacon Collar Steaks, sourced from 100% British Outdoor Bred pigs and its 28 Day Dry Aged Tomahawk Steaks with Truffle Infused Marrow Melt which one judge commented: “The Tomahawk steak speaks pure ‚Äòtheatre‚Äô when it comes to butchery! It‚Äôs as impressive in its appearance as it is in flavour. The authentic dry aging definitely made this steak an outstanding product, the sauce was gorgeous!” The company‚Äôs one star winner was its Guinness Stincotta Osso Bucco - a ham hock with a smoky, dark Guinness glaze. Kettyle said: “Once again we are thrilled to be recognised at Great Taste which are often referred to as the Oscars of the food industry. All of our products are crafted with great skill, innovation and dedication and we‚Äôre delighted our customers can enjoy the fantastic award winning results.” Also on the trip was Patrick Goff, General Manager of Simply Soups, which makes a business out of reusing Kettyle Irish Foods’ bones following slaughter and processing.

www.cpimediagroup.com

out and about / UP FRONT

Busy in Abu Dhabi SIAL Middle East, the region’s fastest growing professional trade exhibition for the food, drink and hospitality industry, is gearing up for its busiest edition yet. For the 2013 edition of SIAL Middle East, being held at ADNEC from 24th to 26th November, almost three quarters of international exhibitors are using the exhibition as ta regional entry point. New for this year is the creation of two new spaces dedicated to healthy food products and to organic food products. To be able to be showcased in these two areas, products have to fulfill a list of conditions set by the Organizing Committee. “These two dedicated areas will receive extensive media coverage and are expected to attract crowds of professional buyers and visitors. We have set a list of conditions that any product should fulfill in order to be displayed in the healthy food and the organic food areas,” explains Mohamed Jalal Al Rayssi, Chairman of the Organizing Committee for SIAL Middle East and official spokesperson for Abu Dhabi Food Control Authority (ADFCA). “ADFCA, the strategic partner of SIAL Middle East, wants to play an active role in promoting better food practices in the UAE.” The Health Authority- Abu Dhabi, also a member of the Sial Middle East Organizing Committee, is stressing that the private sector plays a major role in educating and encouraging consumers to buy healthy and organic food products, and is preparing several promotional initiatives during the exhibition. Now in its fourth edition, SIAL Middle East

continues to witness a credible increase in size and numbers of exhibitors. This indicates that it fulﬁlls a real need in a region that imports 90% of its food requirements and is entirely dependent on external markets to satisfy consumer demand for maize, rice and barley. According to an Alpen Capital report, food consumption in GCC will reach 51.5 million tons by 2015 growing at 4.6% over the period 2011-2015 compared to 4.1% annual growth between 2007 and 2010, with per capita food consumption to increase at 2.1%. Food sales in the UAE was worth $7.73b in 2011 and is expected to increase by 36.1 % to $10.52b by 2015. SIAL Middle East 2013 is being held in strategic partnership with the Abu Dhabi Food Control Authority (ADFCA), which was established in 2005 as an independent food regulatory agency for the emirate of Abu Dhabi. The Authority embodies the Abu Dhabi Government’s commitment to protecting its consumers, particularly by ensuring the safety and quality of food served throughout the public. It enforces policies and standards and conducts research and awareness campaigns to maintain a sustainable agriculture and food sector that delivers safe food to the public, protects the health of animals and plants, and adheres to sound environmental practices

Organised by the Emirates Culinary Guild of Abu Dhabi in association with the World Association of Chefs Societies, La Cuisine by SIAL is now a favourite meeting point for foodservice professionals. Last year, it saw over 600 professional chefs compete. www.cpimediagroup.com

October 2013 / The Pro Chef Middle

UP FRONT / out and about

Cooking the world A major new UAE culinary initiative was launched at this year’s Hotel Show - the Dubai World Hospitality Championship. One key aim will be the development and export of traditional Emirati cooking and flavours. From November 16-19th a new annual event will launch in Dubai that will take Emirati hospitality to a global audience, as teams from 12 countries compete to be named Dubai World Hospitality Champions. Held at Dubai World Trade Centre, the challenge will not only promote Emirati talent, but traditional Emirati dishes - a cuisine that, in spite of the melting pot of nationalities and cultures in Dubai, is rarely the main attraction on any restaurant menu. Majid Al Marri, DTCM director of classification, said: "We are bringing something new to the region and this is important for all sectors, to have a first of its kind championships for the hospitality industry. The categories cover international local and restaurant cuisine. This is the first time an Emirati team will have competed and there will be 12 teams from around the world." These will include usual major teams from countries like Germany and Australia, but also more unusual entrants like Wales. An initiative of DTCM and Emirates Culinary Guild in collaboration with Zabeel Palace Hospitality - the royal caterer with a staff of 800 chefs - the championship is a directive of Dubai Crown Prince, HH Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed

The Pro Chef Middle East / October 2013

"Women have conventionally played a key role in shaping the culinary tradition in Emirati homes and indeed in our country at large.” - HE Ahmed bin Hareb Al Falahi, President, Dubai World Hospitality Championships Bin Rashid Al Maktoum. It has also gained the support of the World Association of Chef Societies. A live panel discussion was held on day three of The Hotel Show to introduce and promote the event. ECG’s President Chef Uwe explained some of the background: “In the past we’ve had

some international events held here. The biggest change with these championships is that they are incorporating non-professional Emirati cooks.” As well as professional Emirati chefs (120+ expected), there are 350 places set aside for home chefs who will demonstrate traditional Emirati foods as well as show off food products, some of which are expected to reach the market at a later stage. A ‘National Centre of Emirati Products’ is being mooted for the future. According to Shaikha Al Mutawa from Dubai Tourism & Commerce Marketing, “There has been huge demand from women across the Emirates. So much so that we have had to cap the numbers.” “We not expecting elaborate dishes from the home cooks,” add Chef Uwe. “The important thing is to see local women cooking in front of an audience, giving us an understanding of the culture and allowing us to get the real taste of the local food.” DTCM's Majid Al Marri believes that "this will not only encourage the Emirati chefs we have here in the UAE, but it will also encourage the at-home chefs and younger aspiring talent, who may go on to start their own businesses. This is something new for the region and very exciting."

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UP FRONT / out and about

Controlling food waste A panel of top chefs discussed the challenges of customer demand needing to be balanced by cost control and waste reduction at the recent Hotel Show at DWTC, moderated by The Pro Chef ME’s editor Dave Reeder. Highlighted as a discussion about food wastage during the holy month, when iftar dinners are traditionally generously oversupplied, a panel about the Hotel Show rapidly turned into a discussion about customer demand, chefs' desire to ensure guests are happy, the differing eating expectations of different nationalities and more. Joining Dave Reeder, The Pro Chef ME’s editor, on stage were: Chef Uwe Micheel, Director of Kitchens, Radisson Blu Dubai Deira Creek Chef Harald Oberander, Director of Kitchens, Dubai World Trade Centre Chef Michel Jost, Executive Chef, Yas Viceroy Chef John Cordeaux, Executive Chef, Fairmont the Palm Uwe, you’ve been here in Dubai the longest. What do you see as the main issues? Uwe Micheel: I think there’s no real clarity about where the line is drawn at full buffets. You can have 30 items, you see empty plates amongst the diners, you know they have eaten well, but still many complain that the buffet is not being constantly replenished. They’re not hungry but they feel they’ve paid for food and so it should still be supplied. This is a key problem. And that upsets chefs? Micheel: Of course. It’s our job to feed people and make them happy but I think every chef would prefer to produce less food and see less wastage. HACCP and so on makes it almost impossible for us to distribute food that’s been on display, even during Ramadan when it would make so much sense to donate to labour camps. And after food has been out on the buffet for four hours, we can’t reuse it. One obvious answer is not to produce it and waste it - instead, prepare in smaller volumes and refresh the chaffing dishes more often. Harald Oberander: This is not just a problem during Ramadan. Waste happens throughout the year. For us, preparing for functions like weddings, we try to address it from the first meeting with a customer, suggesting that instead of a traditional buffet-style presentations, we think of the meal in different ways. Smaller portions. Silver service. Intelligent portion control is a great answer and the servings will still make the guests happy. Micheel: In Europe, maybe 95% of events are plated. Here, the proportion is the other way. Michel Jost: I’ve been here in the UAE for a couple of years now. When I first came, this style of eating was very new to me and my first reaction

The Pro Chef Middle East / October 2013

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out and about / UP FRONT

was one of shock. Food waste is a real problem and people need to be concerned. Here’s a piece from Gulf News this past July, which says that 10,000kg of extra food is being distributed in Abu Dhabi - every day! Apparently, back in 2011, 500 tons of food were thrown away by hotels and private residences every day in Abu Dhabi. In Dubai, it reached a staggering 1,850 tons. What are the solutions? Measured portions, buying less food, avoid piling plates high and so on. What can be done? Micheel: There’s not enough action. The responsibility for this is everyones. For us, we need to look more closely at our order planning to manage the volumes more effectively. To look at my hotel for a moment, we have a restaurant Fish Market where guests pick their ﬁsh from a display and then it’s cooked to their choice. There’s a very clear direction to the staff there: Do not upsell. It all comes back to the culture. Here, people complain that there’s not enough food. John Cordeaux: I think there is one thing that a lot of us are doing. We all want to present a fresh quality product so cook it in smaller quantities and refresh. Keep it turning over. An issue is that an iftar spread has to be overwhelmingly generous. We should be more creative with what we offer. Oberander: We should also talk to the Higher Colleges of Technology - start with the students and change minds. We do it and give them a free

“In many cases, we are not wasting. Instead, we are cooking what people are paying for.” - Chef Uwe Micheel lunch so they start to focus on healthy eating. Micheel: A lot depends on presentation. Let’s go with smaller dishes. Are people still hungry? Fine, we’ll cook them more food! Now, 60% of our

buffets are on smaller dishes. Cordeaux: I spent a lot of time in North America and although there’s a belief there that the last person in line at a buffet should have the same choice as the first, the amounts on offer aren’t a vast. Like Michel, I was shocked when I came here. Micheel: Of course, we have a commitment to serve our guests but we can also educate them. Jost: Live stations are great in reducing waste. And having a really effective reservation system so you have accurate numbers on diners and so how much you need to cater. Everything is about a mix of education and delivering an attractive proposition. Oberander: It’s like the whole sustainable fish issue. It started with education and then people started to change their habits. Micheel: One idea I saw in America was great a place that offered great value for money but charged customers more if they didn’t finish what was on their plates! Cordeaux: That’s how we all grew up: if it’s on your plate, then eat it! John, tell us a bit about the garden you’ve been planting at the hotel. How much of the compost can you create from the hotel’s food waste? Cordeaux: The garden is just developing with citrus, herbs and so on. Yes, we do some composting on the property and I know at least two other hotels in Dubai also do the same.

UP FRONT / out and about

Celebrating the industry Announcing our ﬁrst annual awards for the industry: The Pro Chef Middle East Fine Dining Awards 2013. Vote for who you think are the best professionals out in the market! CATEGORIES AND AWARDS CHEF AWARDS Junior Chef 2013 Pastry Chef 2013 Seafood Chef 2013 Meat Chef 2013 Executive Chef 2013 Sustainability Champion 2013 Innovation chef 2013 Pro Chef of the Year 2013

SPECIAL CATEGORY AWARDS Restaurant Manager 2013 Best Restaurant 2013 Sommelier 2013 Barista Champion 2013 Hygiene Champion 2013

ike every other market sector, F&B is awash with awards and, like every other market sector, those awards come under various types of criticism, most notably that the award schemes rarely compare like to like (grouping ﬁne dining with family outlets, for example) or that the voting mechanism is not transparent. Meeting those criticisms head on and to truly celebrate the achievements of the ﬁne dining sector, we have launched The Pro Chef Middle East Fine Dining Awards. Nominations and winners are drawn exclusively from 4- and 5-star F&B outlets - and equivalent independent restaurants - across the UAE in a number of categories that celebrate the skills and expertise of the entire restaurant team. And, because only the industry knows the levels of skill and dedication required, voting will be limited to people who work in F&B, though of course they may not vote for their own

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restaurant! Instead of consumers voting for the restaurant based on nothing more substantial than ‘this is a nice place’, The Pro Chef Middle East Fine Dining Awards will highlight and celebrate the achievements of those working in the fine dining sector judged by their peers. The Awards will be presented at a special gala evening, October 28th 20134 at the H Hotel in Dubai. In addition, the staff of The Pro Chef Middle East will present two special awards. One for a Culinary Ambassador for the F&B figure who has done most to promote fine dining in the UAE and one for an Industry Champion to celebrate a career of dedication and excellence.

The Pro Chef Middle East / October 2013

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UP FRONT / out and about

Keeping it simple David Prantera, Executive Chef at Desert Palm Dubai, has worked across the Middle East with Rotana and Ritz-Carlton following his work with top ďŹ ne dining Italian restaurants in Canada. He specialises in rustic Italian cooking.

The Pro Chef Middle East / October 2013

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out and about / UP FRONT

ithin less than six months at Desert Palm, Chef Prantera has redesigned its signature menus and brought in various new cooking techniques to enhance its offerings. His cooking style is based on a deep afďŹ nity towards conserving the original ďŹ&#x201A;avours of ingredients which means he prefers preparing classic dishes with modern touches to ensure the original taste is brought to the plate. When he was working in Bahrain, he developed a sustainable menu using locally grown greens and vegetables that used only hydroponic methods; back in Canada, in Niagara, he worked closely with purveyors to source local organic produce for a new Italian restaurant. A graduate of St Clair College for the Culinary

ing in So whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s lurk

Arts in Canada, heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s been resident in Dubai now for two years. At home, his busy schedule means that most items in the fridge are eaten by his wife and daughter, but for family meals they usually buy the freshest ingredients on the day. â&#x20AC;&#x153;On a family meal day Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll buy salmon, pork loin or local baby chicken for protein,â&#x20AC;? he explains. â&#x20AC;&#x153;All the items in my fridge are basic ingredients but I always buy good quality food. We like organic products because no pesticides or antibiotics are used on the goods and, even though I use simple ingredients, I always opt for wholesome foods. Eating organic produce changes the taste and look for the food because they are not sprayed with chemicals.â&#x20AC;? One of his favourite dishes to eat is simple root vegetables roasted in the oven. â&#x20AC;&#x153;It's easy, but the ďŹ&#x201A;avours created by roasting them are superb as this enhances the natural sweetness.â&#x20AC;?

SHOPPING TIPS Â&#x2021; I buy most of my fruit and vegetables from the Union Co-op in Al Barsha South as all their products are reasonably priced, especially for more expensive fruits like raspberries and strawberries. I also like their organic cucumbers, local veal and chicken as well as the fantastic selection of Arabic cheeses. Â&#x2021; For pork, I like to buy organic British pork from Park n Shop or Waitrose, as well as seafood items like Scottish salmon. There's a great organic food store in The Greens which sells exceptional pork ribs and they are excellent quality.

his fridge?

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FEATURES / round table

Nicolas Smalberger Cluster Executive Chef, JA Resorts & Hotels

Roni Masri HR & Training Manager, Radisson Blu, Dubai Media City

Andreas Mensch Executive Chef, Pullman Dubai, Dubai City Centre

Marianne Saulwick Director of Industry Liaison, The Emirates Academy of Hospitality Management

With the inexorable spread of new hotels, let alone the prospect of a major boost if Dubai wins the Expo 2020 bid, ﬁnding the right staff to ﬁll out brigades can only get harder, surely? Industry professionals don’t all share the same opinion, however.

The Pro Chef Middle East / October 2013

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round table / FEATURES

ake chefs, an HR Manager, a hotel General Manager, a chef/trainer and a recently retired Restaurant Manager and you get a pretty wide view of the staffing issues facing F&B. Whilst all agree that finding Executive or Sous Chefs at the right level is not a problem, it’s how you fill the bottom ranks with motivated and skilled staff that is the poser.

Anthony Cuthbert General Manager C&I, Madinat Jumeirah

Kristyna Reger Ex-Restaurant Manager, Hakkasan Dubai

Francisco Araya Executive Chef, SCAFA

What’s your helicopter view of the issue? Otto Kurzendorfer: I’ve only been in Dubai for two weeks and the answer to me seems quite simple: use the talent that’s in China. There are enough competing people there. Here, it seems different. People need to be trained, of course, but I don’t see it as the major issue that many do. I think the key may be this: salaries have to match expectations. Dubai is an F&B hotspot and it’s probably the easiest city to get work in - there’s an invisible payback right there. There’s no labour shortage, just a motivation shortage. Roni Masri: Yes, I agree with that. Andy Cuthbert: The top level from Sous Chef upwards is ﬁne - no problems there. Kurzendorfer: Ten years ago, I guess Dubai would have attracted kitchen staff from India, Sri Lanka and, to some extent, Egypt. Now it has a global reach and that makes us very lucky. Masri: Yes, you only have to reach out. Nicolas Smalberger: We need to address the problem of entry level staff. Cuthbert: Yes, it depends on the level and you get what you pay for. Masri: I believe we can train skills. Francisco Araya: There’s a gap everywhere. It’s very hard to train people on food safety - they need to be cooking and being trained. If someone hasn’t the background, it’s a struggle to get them to understand why we have different cutting boards and knives. You can have a great induction

Otto Kurzendorfer, General Manager, Ocean View Hotel

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October 2013 / The Pro Chef Middle East

FEATURES / round table

but then what? Chefs have other jobs to do apart from training. The important period is when someone leaves training and goes into the kitchen. Kristyna Reger: Most training does not involve the pressure of service, of course. Is the problem getting worse? Cuthbert: Most of us chefs here we learned in what? - three years? But we’re bringing in people who were not trained like us. Maybe they have a six-month certiﬁcate course but they won’t have learned the classics. How can we give them three years’ experience in a month or so? Reger: Effective training only happens when you have a proper schedule and all too often it’s the thing that gets cancelled or postponed because of other meetings or whatever. Smalberger: But that’s not training!

The Pro Chef Middle East / October 2013

Masri: I believe it must be on the job. Cuthbert: The buddy system can work. In Europe and so on, people are educated, here they come in fresh. They do need a base. Smalberger: I’ve worked in ten countries and I think that Dubai has the worst level of casual labour. There’s no culture of quality here. Of course, we hang on to the good ones! Cuthbert: Any casual staff we use are all from agencies. Are wages an issue? Kurzendorfer: Yes. I’d double the right person’s salary to make the kitchen run properly but most junior staff are here on the national average wage plus 5 or 190%. I’m shocked at how low wages are compared to Asia. We need to pay people what they’re worth.

Reger: In my experience, salaries differ a lot between independent restaurants and hotels. Cuthbert: I really believe that the level of competency brought by independent restaurants has changed us all. Reger: It’s surely more than just money. Shouldn’t we look at quality of life? In Europe, In F&B you can feel the passion of people. How do you retain them if there’s no passion for the job? We need to raise the level of F&B but the question is how. Cuthbert: If you look at Greeks and Spanish, there may be unemployment but there’s no incentive for them to come here. Why leave 4,000 Euros a month on beneﬁts, a relaxed lifestyle to share a room for Dhs 2,000? Marianne Saulwick: People do come here to better themselves. I’ve spoken to taxi drivers who left jobs as draftsmen back home.

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FEATURES / round table

“It’s the difference between a cookie cutter approach against a culture of developing passion and skills. All too often service is just a word.” - Marianne Saulwick

Cuthbert: I believe we need to rethink how we screen candidates. Are they logical? Do they want to learn? Andreas Mensch: In some, you can feel the passion but how can you develop people if they’ll move to the next door hotel for an extra Dhs 200 a month? Smalberger: One good thing is that the culture here is good in terms of people working hard. Saulwick: It’s amazing what you can do here. A brigade of 40 or 50 putting on special dinners. I don’t see how you could do that back home with the level of food served here - the wage bill would kill you! Mensch: The right skill set and the right desire to serve is critical. Our business is about serving. Reger: Often waiters don’t know what they’re doing wrong. How can we change that? Saulwick: We’re limited in a number of ways. A lot of waiters feel uncomfortable relating to guests. A lot of chefs too! Saulwick: Training is key and I think we need a a hospitality training association, even a college. We have to address what’s missing: conﬁdence, experience, passion. Reger: Too often diners have an expectation of bad service. Kurzendorfer: Back in China, people would almost take refuge in a restaurant and be happy to be there. Here? Whoa! The expectations and the attitude to staff.

The Pro Chef Middle East / October 2013

Smalberger: Yes, that can be nasty. Cuthbert: We need to educate guests as well as staff. Kurzendorfer: The customer may be always right, as they say. Cuthbert: Yes, they may be right but not when they’re rude and abusive. That’s just not acceptable. Accessibility to luxury is different here than in other places and we’re trying to run our business using people who’ve never even walked through the front door of a 5-star. Masri: Our expectation of service is very high here. Smalberger: One important topic is the experience of some of our younger staff. You wouldn’t believe some of the things I have to deal with. One guy, always smiling, told me the other day that only had one year to live. Another, just 18, is having to deal with family members murdered back home. As employers, it’s easy to forget all this - we just demand more and more from our people, Saulwick: I think in general that hospitality need a uniformity of training and standards. If Expo 2020 comes here, the pressure will be enormous. Already, we’re seeing things go crazy Araya: If we hired the right people and traimned them properly, there would be such a difference. Reger: Let’s not forget that staff retention is cheaper than hiring. Mensch: Yes, it’s key. Reger: But it’s all too easy to lose staff in this business. They’re gone for another Dhs 100. Araya: If you have good staff, then surely you take care of them? If you don’t, they’ll leave. Cuthbert: I agree that we have to develop people

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round table / FEATURES

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October 2013 / The Pro Chef Middle East

FEATURES / round table

- competitions are a great way, I think. How much of a problem is staff turnover? Cuthbert: Industry average is - what - 20, 22%. We have more than 3,000 staff at Madinat, so that’s 700 a year. To tackle that, we need to look at the way we recruit. Araya: There’s a great chef in South America who really motivates his staff. He gets them English lessons. He sends them to drama classes. The company really makes an effort - his people love it. Reger: We need to look at succession plans and staff mobility - let them understand it’s a career. Saulwick: It’s the difference between a cookie cutter approach against a culture of developing passion and skills. All too often service is just a word. Reger: Critical for me is this: training is not about

The Pro Chef Middle East / October 2013

“Training has to be both practical and consistent. Look, we all know that without passion, you can’t survive on the ﬂoor or in the kitchen, because of the pressures.” - Kristyna Reger ticking boxes. Smalberger: Generic training is no good. Masri: You need engagement. Reger: And training has to be both practical and consistent. Look, we all know that without passion, you can’t survive on the ﬂoor or in the kitchen, because of the pressures. That’s why training is an on-going process.

Cuthbert: I force my people to train. Maybe if people don’t train, then they should lose part of their bonus...

Our thanks to Ocean View Hotel and its staff for hosting this round table.

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FEATURES / food culture

We all think we know about Italian food. It is, after all, the go-to cuisine for most diners and very few hotels operate without an Italian outlet or, at least, a variety of Italian dishes on the menu. But it’s curious how mistaken we are about many ‘authentic’ Italian dishes and food customs. Parma-based Academia Barilla, whose self-declared mission is to “defend and safeguard Italian food products made by reputable artisans and certiﬁed denominations from poor quality imitations”, has recently issued a list of things we think we know NO SPAGHETTI BOLOGNESE While probably being the world's most popular Italian recipe, you will not ﬁnd any restaurant in Bologna serving it. That's because the original Italian recipe is Tagliatelle Bolognese, not spaghetti. Although this may seem a minor detail, in real Italian cuisine the pairing of the right kind of pasta with the right sauce is considered almost sacred.

NO FETTUCCINE ALFREDO This is perhaps the most famous ‘Italian’ in the United States and the least known dish in Italy. This pasta, seasoned with butter and Parmigiano Reggiano, was in fact invented in Italy by Alfredo Di Lelio, the owner of a restaurant in Rome, but in Italy it has never gained a reputation as a traditional dish. Overseas, however, it has become increasingly popular.

NO RED AND WHITE TABLECLOTH For some reason, these tablecloths are universally associated with our food and with the stereotype of the spaghetti eater and abroad almost all the restaurants that want to play typical Italian use them. Probably, tourists who come to visit Italy remain somewhat disappointed when they discover that the checkered tablecloths are almost never used, unless they cater for tourists.

NO RISOTTO AND PASTA ARE NOT SIDE DISHES The organisation of courses in Italian dining is unique and requires pasta and - most of the time - risotto to be served by themselves, apart from speciﬁc recipes such as Ossobuco Milanese-style. The presentation of pasta as a side dish to others is widespread in several countries, but in Italy is seen almost as a sacrilege.

The Pro Chef Middle East / October 2013

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food culture / FEATURES

NO CHICKEN PASTA One of the most frequent requests in many countries is a typical Italian recipe for pasta with chicken. In Italy there are no hot dishes featuring pasta and chicken.

NO KETCHUP ON PASTA This is one of the combinations that most shocks Italians. Although ketchup may have some similarities to tomato sauce, pouring ketchup over pasta in the Bel Paese is considered a real gourmet crime. Keep ketchup for your fries or

NO DO NOT ADD OIL TO PASTA WATER Oil should not be added to pasta cooking water! Pasta dressing and oil too must be added only after you have drained it from its cooking water.

NO CAESAR SALAD This salad, with the name of its supposed creator, Caesar Cardini, is a recipe devised by chefs of Italian origin, but in fact is almost unknown in Italy.

NO CAPPUCCINO DURING A MEAL Coffee and cappuccino are the pride of Italy in the world. However, the ďŹ rst is usually consumed at the end of the meal whilst the second, more substantial, is sipped at breakfast, usually accompanied by some pastry. You can ask for a cappuccino at the end of a meal, just know that most Italians don't.

YES MAMMA KNOWS BEST She knows from her mamma, who knew from her mamma who knew from her mamma and so on. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s been tried and tested. And what a mother teaches at her daughter while they are cooking? That love is the centre of all. So you should share Italian food with your loved ones.

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October 2013 / The Pro Chef Middle East

FEATURES / ingredient

Found throughout the Arab world, moghrabieh are small pearl-like balls of rolled semolina cooked over an open ďŹ&#x201A;ame. It has considerably larger grains than couscous and retains more bite when cooked. In Beirut it can be found fresh.

oghrabieh is also the name of a Lebanese dish - chicken and onions cooked with fragrant spices (cinnamon, caraway and allspice) to make a broth in which the moghrabieh is cooked. Fusion chef Peter Gordon pioneered moghrabieh ďŹ ve years or so back at his Providores restaurant in London and his latest take on the ingredient is a salad with broad beans and pistachio. Moghrabieh is also referred to as pearl couscous and it can be used as a substitute for fregola, its Sardinian equivalent. Yotam Ottolenghi, for example, has a dish called Jerusalem which uses it as a warming burnt aubergine and moghrabieh soup. It can also be used as an alternative to pasta with pesto. Moghrabieh is the Lebanese name for an oversize version of couscous, a pasta-like grain product. Ordinary couscous is made from ďŹ ne pellets of semolina and itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a staple across North Africa. Similar pearl-like couscous varieties are made in other Arab countries, where theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re known as maftoul. In each case the cooking method is essentially the same:

The Pro Chef Middle East / October 2013

t 4UFQ )FBU B IFBWZ CPUUPNFE TBVDFQBO PWFS B medium burner. Add vegetable oil or butter and pour in your moghrebieh. t 4UFQ 5PBTU UIF NPHISFCJFI GPS UISFF UP mWF minutes, swirling the pan frequently to ensure UIBU UIF QFBSMT BSF FWFOMZ DPBUFE JO UIF PJM 5IFZ should smell toasty and aromatic. t 4UFQ 1PVS JO UXP DVQT PG DIJDLFO PS WFHFUBCMF broth for every cup of moghrebieh and stir. Bring the pot up to a boil, then turn it down again until itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s just simmering gently. Season and cover. t 4UFQ 4JNNFS UIF NPHISFCJFI GPS UFO UP minutes, shaking the pot occasionally, until all UIF WJTJCMF MJRVJE IBT CFFO BCTPSCFE 5VSO PGG UIF heat and let it sit for ďŹ ve minutes. t 4UFQ 4FSWF UIF NPHISFCJFI IPU BT UIF CFE GPS a stew or tagine, or let it cool and use it in salads.

Note that some recipes call for onions, garlic or other aromatic ingredients to be sautĂŠed in the butter or oil before the moghrebieh is added, to make it more of a pilaf. Moghrebieh can also be cooked like pasta in a large pot full of salted water and then drained once it is tender.

VEGETARIAN MOGHRABIEH Ingredients 15 oz can of moghrabieh 1 diced tomato 2 thinly chopped green onions 1/2 lemon, squeezed 2 garlic cloves 3 tablespoons pure olive oil 1/2 teaspoon salt Method 1 Crush the garlic cloves with a garlic press or beater until ďŹ nely chopped. 2 Empty the contents of the moghrabieh can into a pot. Add the squeezed lemon, the crushed garlic and the salt to the moghrabieh. Heat the mixture on low heat for 20 minutes. Empty in a salad bowl and let the entire mixture cool for another 20 minutes. 3 Add the tomato, onion and olive oil and mix everything together.

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CHEFS / pimp my plate

Tasting the memories

An Italian-American classic originating from San Francisco, the fish stew cioppino is a fisherman’s classic - remnants of the day’s catch cooked up together. Whether the name derives from the Italian word ciuppin or it comes from demands to ‘chip in’ to the communal plot, the stew is typically a mix of dungeness crab, clams, shrimp, scallops, squid, mussels and fish. How would Dirk Haltenhof, Executive Chef of The Oberoi, reinvent such a moveable target?

The Pro Chef Middle East / October 2013

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pimp my plate / CHEFS

hrow oddments from the day’s catch into a pan, liven it up with saffron, maybe chilli ﬂakes and garlic, tomatoes and maybe some wine - what do you have? In Italy, it’s cacciucco and brodetto, in France it’s bouillabaisse, burrida and bourride and in Catalonia it’s suquet de peix. And, of course, around San Francisco and the Bay area, it’s cioppino. It was ﬁrst developed in the late 1800s by Italian

ﬁshermen, mostly from Genoa, who settled in San Francisco and cooked the dish while out at sea. Gradually, it made it’s way onto restaurant menus and is now a Californian classic - an ItalianAmerican invention like spaghetti and meatballs. The name? The most logical derivation is from the Ligurian dialect word ‘ciuppin’ meaning ‘chopped” which described the process of making the stew by chopping up various leftovers of the day’s catch Ciuppin is also a classic Genoan ﬁsh soup of Genoa,

“To be honest, I always work with tomatoes and they’re at the heart of what I cook, because you can do so much with them.”

similar in flavour. Of course, any dish based on what’s available on a day to day basis, whatever the base preparation method, is fairly standard: seafood is cooked in broth and served in the shell, including crab that is often served halved or quartered. How would Black Forest raised Dirk Haltenhof, Executive Chef of The Oberoi, Dubai, cope with such a regional dish from sunny California? Quite easily as it happens. “I remember a very similar dish that I had in Sylt in north Germany when I was quite young, which just used the offcuts of the catch of the day,” he recalls. “Later, I also had very similar dishes in Iskia in Italy so the flavour profile wasn’t strange to me. To me it’s really a tomato dish that has fish in it. To be honest, I always work with tomatoes and they’re at the heart of what I cook, because you can do so much with them. Tomatoes are perhaps the ony stereotypes you’ll find in my cuisine.” So the thought of a tomato-infused fish stew was the ideal choice for him? “Yes, I think so. However, back in my native Germany, we’d probably think of it as a type of goulash.” How did he approach the task? “I thought that as well as pimping the plate, I’d also pimp the ingredients!” With extensive experience in Asia (Malaysia and then Macau, he wanted to include an Asian influence. His first thought was to use risoni (a short cut pasta that looks like rice) but decided “it was too much for this dish”, so changed his approach to “reinventing with what fits us here in Dubai” together with some flavour souvenirs from his recent family holiday in South India and Japan. “I love to play with flavours,” he insists, “so I wanted to include memories of the flavours of my holiday together with elements of the original dish.” These memories came from the use of coconut milk and Goan fish curry, together with umami for moul feel and the surprise of umeboshi. Could he take the dish in another direction next time round? “Maybe more like a paella.”

Cioppino Serves 6 Ingredients 60ml olive oil 110g butter 1 celery stalk, chopped 1 onion, diced 1 can crushed tomatoes 480ml clam juice or ﬁsh stock 480ml white wine 4 cloves crushed garlic 1 lemon, juiced 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce 1 bay leaf 1 tsp dried basil 1 tsp dried oregano 1/2 tsp red pepper ﬂakes, or to taste 1/2 tsp salt 1 crab, cracked and cleaned

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900g halibut ﬁllet, cut into one inch slices 24 large prawns, peeled and de-veined 12 mussels 1/2 bunch Italian parsley, chopped Method 1 In a large pot on medium-low heat, melt the butter with the olive oil and saute the celery and onions until soft. Then add all the rest of the ingredients except the seafood and fresh parsley. Simmer on low, uncovered, for one hour, adding a splash of water if the sauce gets to thick. Season. 2 Add the crab, shrimp and halibut, then simmer covered for ﬁve minutes. Add the mussels, cover the pot and simmer for three minutes, or until the mussels open. Turn off the hea, and stir in the Italian parsley. 3 Serve in large bowls with sourdough bread.

October 2013 / The Pro Chef Middle East

CHEFS / pimp my plate

STEP BY STEP COOKING GUIDE:

Step 1: Mise en place

Step 2: Filling the sous vide bag

Step 3: Sous vide complete

Step 4: Preparing tomatoes

Step 5: Keeping seafood warm

Step 6: Preparing the espuma

Step 7: Plating up

Step 8: The ﬁnal dish

TOMATOES VERSUS SEAFOOD Seafood sous vide

Tomato essence and espuma

Serves 6

Ingredients 550g fresh tomatoes, roughly chopped 500g crushed canned plum tomatoes 4 spring onions, chopped and sautéed 1/2 lemon or lime, juiced fresh basil leaves 2 garlic cloves, peeled sea salt and freshly ground black pepper bouquet aromatique with dried herbs 60ml umami (fermented tea, seaweed-based) 50ml cream, for espuma 10g lecithin or three gelatin leaves, for espuma

Ingredients 200g clean tiger prawns or lobster 150g blue mussels 150g scallops 150g cod 100g salmon trout or salmon 100g clams 150ml ﬁsh or vegetable stock 100ml white wine or Champagne 100ml Goan ﬁsh curry stock (mild with 50ml coconut cream content) 50ml Noilly Prat juice of two yuzu lemons or limes 2g saffron 5g green chilli togarashi chili pepper, to taste 5g roasted fennel seeds 5g roasted coriander seeds sea salt and black pepper to taste parsley, coriander, rosemary or other fresh herbs

Method 1

2 Method 1 Place all seafood in a vacuum bag, add the curry and other ingerdients, seal and sous vide in either motion circulator or convection oven under steam at 63C for 15 minutes.

The Pro Chef Middle East / October 2013

3 4

Carefully release from bag and place in stock to keep warm until serve. Flash sear scallops in hot pan with butter ﬂakes. erve with tomato essence (containing a skinned plum tomato covered with umeboshi plum syrup) and espuma.

For the essence, mix all ingredients then hang in cheese or muslin cloth over night, collecting the clear essence. Freeze before filtering. For extra colour and flavor add mini root vegetables and potatoes slowly cooked in the essence, until crunchy, later added with the seafood and essence. For the espuma, combine Goan fish curry after sous vide with cream. Dissolve gelatin or lecithin in a small amount of warm tomato essence and combine, then fill in an iSi Gourmet Whip. Shake vigorously after each one. Chill in the refrigerator.

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Signature plates Would you like to be a part of our exciting, on-going series of recipe supplements, produced in association with RAK Porcelain? :H路UH ORRNLQJ IRU WHQ FKHIV HYHU\ PRQWK WR MRLQ XV <RX FKRRVH WKH UHFLSH DQG WKH SODWH :H SKRWRJUDSK \RXU GLVK ,W路V WKDW VLPSOH 3OHDVH FRQWDFW PH LI \RX路G OLNH WR VHH \RXU UHFLSH LQ 6LJQDWXUH 3ODWHV dave@cpidubai.com

CHEFS / face to face

Christine Manﬁeld is a highly regarded Australian chef, author, food writer, food manufacturer, presenter, teacher and gastronomic traveller whose culinary work draws on the exciting tastes and ﬂavours of many cultures, whose passion and commitment to culinary excellence are world renowned. We caught up with her in Spain.

t the recent Nespresso media event in Saville, Spain, Australian chef Christine Manfield was an integral part of the proceedings, not just cooking the gala dinner that concluded the event but using her love for and experience with spices to draw out the complex overlayering of flavours within the two new Grand Cru blends from the coffee manufacturer. She is one of Australia's most celebrated chefs, a perfectionist inspired by strong flavours, a creative spirit and a writer. Finally deciding that “100 hours a week in front of a stove” is enough, she has transformed her life into one of a food explorer, hosting culinary holidays around the world and acting as a culinary ambassador for Australia‚Äôs gastronomy. She first found fame in Sydney with Paragon in 1990, followed by the Phoenix and then to the legendary Paramount in 1993. She closed the latter some seven years later and, in 2003, relocated to London to open the critically acclaimed East@West, which was awarded Best New Restaurant by the 2004 London Tatler Restaurant Guide . A year later it closed when the property was sold by the owners and Christine returned to Sydney to open Universal Restaurant in August 2007, again to praise from critics enthusiastic about an a la carte menu of tastes inspired by flavours of the world and Christine‚Äôs extensive global travels, with distinctive and definitive flavour combinations unlimited by traditional boundaries. Can you tell us a bit about your childhood and what food meant to you? Was food an early passion or just a way of getting energy? My upbringing was the standard suburban fare typical of the sixties in Australia - meat and three veg syndrome, the relic of rudimentary colonial cooking. Australia started to open up in the sixties with mass immigration and this had a most positive impact on how our food culture was shaped and I was game, up for it all. As a young adult I lived in

The Pro Chef Middle East / October 2013

shared houses with students from other parts of the world and this (where we shared our cooking responsibilities) combined with travel instilled an enduring curiosity for food flavours from the world’s cuisines. I developed an adventurous palate - seeking out anything that was different to my limited childhood experiences. Food went from being something I just ate out of habit to something that was thrilling, exciting and exotic. I started experimenting with everything that was available from produce to recipes and food books. I was very fortunate to be the right age to grow up at the same time as our evolving food culture, to be part of the food revolution in Australia. When did you decide you wanted to be involved with food? I took the plunge and jumped into professional cooking in the mid eighties, leaving behind two previous careers, without a blueprint or game plan - armed with a sense of urgency and a thirst for excellence. I came to it with a hunger, a desire to excel, that I had no time to waste if I was going to achieve what I wanted. That journey is ongoing, one that constantly challenges, delights and nourishes. Did you go to culinary college? Did you work in kitchens before that? What was your first real job? I am a self taught chef - I didn’t want to go back to institutional learning when I started my culinary career in my early thirties. I preferred to chose wisely about who i worked with, who would be my mentors, who would offer the most creativity and challenges, I was extremely fortunate with my choices rathe than have my mind muddied by dismal institutional learning that pitched (and still does) to the lowest common denominator. This solid foundation formed the basis of a food philosophy that has stayed with me, giving me the courage to be brave, to understand the intrinsic nature of food flavours and textures - something that standard education

simply does not offer. In 1986 I started work as a chef in a small coastal guesthouse restaurant south of Adelaide, an important lobster fishing port close to the Coonawarra, one of Australia’s most significant wine regions. I stayed for the summer season then went to work at Petaluma when it opened its doors in the Adelaide Hills, a premium restaurant attached to the winery. They were halcyon days. I moved to Sydney in early 1988 to specifically work with Philip Searle at his new ground breaking restaurant Oasis Seros - where the work and the skill level were intense and demanding. It shaped my future and where I wanted to position myself in the market. I opened my first restaurant, a pub dining room in 1990 and have never looked back. What made you move to the UK? I had recently closed Paramount, one of Sydney’s iconic restaurants of the ‘90s and was headhunted by an investment group who had a small portfolio of restaurants and wanted to open a modern Asian restaurant in the West End. So in 2003 I went in as executive chef, took some of my Paramount team with me and East@West became an instant hit, collecting several key awards in its short life. It closed before its time as the group decided to offload the property and capitalise on its success, central location and extended bar licence, a gold ticket in Westminster. Theirs was a short sighted vision. I knew I had unfinished business and Sydney would be the place. Did you find the range of food in Britain a surprise? I had been travelling to the UK for a long time before I lived there and have witnessed its food culture develop and grow, embrace the cuisines of other cultures and showcase its regional specialties at the same time. However I would say that the food of London, a huge cosmopolitan city is a very different experience to rural UK. These days there is a deeper understanding and appreciation of the provenance of food, like elsewhere in the first

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face to face / CHEFS

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October 2013 / The Pro Chef Middle East

CHEFS / face to face

world, there is a healthy food culture, better cooking practices in restaurants and at home. When did you open your restaurant? How did you create a particular identity in such a competitive market? Universal (my fifth and last restaurant) opened in Sydney in 2007 to instant critical acclaim. I had total control, it was my money, I was not held to ransom by financial backers, I took sole responsibility - exhilarating, challenging and infinitely rewarding all at once. I chose the name Universal for its meaning and the a la carte menu offered a list of tasting size dishes showcasing flavours of the world and not limited by traditional boundaries. Our wine portfolio offered a similar approach - the list was universal and intriguing in its content. I was determined and fearless - Universal was a platform that consolidated all that had gone before it. We managed to create ongoing excitement throughout its life through all sorts of diverse and dynamic initiatives - never once did we rest on our laurels - it was an enriching and rewarding team effort, an environment I purposely created. Every aspect of my work portfolio was reflected in how the restaurant was positioned. When it opened, I said it would be my swan song as restaurateur. Universal closed at the end of April this year. You clearly have great passion for food but your food is very precise. How do find a balance between enthusiasm and precision? Passion and precision are not diametrically opposed, rather for me they go hand in hand. Precision is about craft, creativity is about exploring flavour and texture and finding perfect balance and harmony. For me casual home cooking also has to be excellent. I don’t cook or do anything to be mediocre - why bother? Life is too short to eat bad food.

What made you decide to start food tours? How do choose new destinations and research them? What particular problems are there in creating a cohesive group from a number of strangers? Any disasters so far? When I published my third book Spice in 1999, I was approached by an Australian premium travel agent to host a series of Spice tours to exotic destinations, with a focus on food and how it ﬁtted within the culture of a particular country. Since then I have been hosting regular bespoke adventures to india, Morocco, Tunisia, France and SE Asia. Each tour comprises ten people, to create an intimate group so that everyone feels included and not invisible - all I ask is they be well travelled, come with an open mind and a keen curiosity and be up for adventure. In all these years there have only been two people who have proven difﬁcult, but that’s the beauty of group power - they can minimise a problem through solidarity. Every tour requires enormous background research and an expert attention to detail - that is what people seek when they join an exclusive trip with me. Luckily travelling is a compulsory pastime for me so I am well versed in many regions of the world and forever seeking out new experiences. Food and travel have become my life long passions, what drives me on a daily basis. How do the food scenes of Sydney and Melbourne differ? When, if ever, will we see the experimentation of chefs in those cities reaching into the interior of the country where food-related health problems are widespread? They are both very different cities and I join many people in celebrating those differences rather than trying to compare, which is impossible and biased. There is a wonderful collaboration between young chefs right across our country at all sorts of levels, through all sorts of initiatives. Generally Australians are very outward looking, we are great travellers

and this is evident within our industry - the global inﬂuence is as strong here as it is anywhere, in fact we are part of it. Obesity and food related problems are a global phenomena, one I ﬁnd disheartening and outrageous - for so many ethical reasons - the abuse of resources, the burden on the health system, the warped sense of entitlement on a personal level etc. I believe that it is the responsibility of chefs to be good role models, the subliminal messages our industry sends out is of paramount importance. Greed and gluttony are not connected to epicurean or gastronomic pastimes. What excites you most about being a chef? The challenge of each day where nothing is routine - there is never a sense of groundhog day. The world of food offers so many exciting possibilities that is there for the taking if you are brave and demanding and lateral in your thinking. Nothing compares with feeling a sense of how our food culture has evolved over the decades, to have my place amongst it, to have created a benchmark of excellence and have it publicly recognised and awarded. Apart from your own, which cuisines and chefs do you enjoy? I like good food from anywhere, it is impossible for me to have any one or two favourites. I admire chefs who are forward thinking and experimental and consistent in their approach and philosophy, that show humility and are not ego driven. Heston Blumenthal is so inspiring on so many levels, there are many others. As long as food is cooked and seasoned well, I am happy, you can always taste the chef’s passion on the plate - there is no need for bullshit or pretension. Of course I am drawn to spicy food, that is my preferred benchmark for comfort and satisfaction. Street food can be as exciting and surprising as any restaurant, it just depends on where you look and what your expectations are.

Maple tamari glazed lamb, serrano ham, coca hazelnut crumble Serves 6 Ingredients 125ml pure maple syrup 125ml organic tamari 6 x 75gr suckling lamb loin portions, trimmed 12 baby carrots, peeled 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil 1 tsp sea salt ﬂakes ½ tsp freshly ground black pepper 90gr cocoa nibs 120gr roasted hazelnuts 6 x Serrano ham slices 1 tsp extra sea salt, for seasoning lamb

Method 1 Heat the tamari and maple syrup in saucepan to boiling point, simmer for 2 minutes then allow to cool completely.

The Pro Chef Middle East / October 2013

3 4

Cryovac the lamb in individual bags, add 1 tbsp maple syrup and tamari glaze to each bag and seal to secure. Set aside remaining syrup. Toss the carrots in a bowl with the olive oil, salt and pepper the seal in cryovac bag. Steam the carrots until soft, remove from bag and blend in food processor until smooth to make puree. Pulse the hazelnuts in food processor to make a coarse crumb then mix with coca nibs to make the crumble. Set sous vide machine at 70C and cook lamb for 8 minutes, remove from heat and rest for 2 minutes. Remove from bag and cut each loin into 5 slices crosswise. Heat the remaining maple tamari glaze and drizzle over the lamb slices, then

season lamb liberally with sea salt. Grill the ham slices until crisp, then break each slice into 3 pieces. 10 Spoon the carrot puree towards one end of plate, then drag the spoon to spread it across the plate. 11 Spoon the cocoa hazelnut crumble onto the centre of the puree – to make a bed (base) for the lamb. 12 Arrange the lamb slices on top of the crumble and garnish with the crisp ham slices and serve immediately. 9

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CHEFS / face to face

hannon Bennett is one of Australia‚Äôs most acclaimed chefs. He is the owner/chef of Café Vue, Bistro Vue and the multiaward winning Vue de Monde, awarded Restaurant of the Year by Australian Gourmet Traveller for 2006 and again in 2007 - the first time in the award‚Äôs history that it was won by the same restaurant in consecutive years. He’s also an ambassador for Miele and is now in the final stages of a global cooking project for the company. Touring 20 Miele centres around the world, in each visit Bennet has been immersing himself in the local culture, starting by a day of local food shopping, with the aim of getting to know the people and culture that shape the city. Before leaving, he created meals for a hand-picked selection of influencers in each city showcasing Australian food. In Dubai, for example, diners were served a menu featuring smoked eel and caviar, sea bass with prawn and garlic, kangaroo, pear and macadamia and Australian pavlova, finished off with traditional lamingtons. At the same time, he’s creating a cookbook based on his travels which should be out by year end. Food as a child - what was it like? My mother was a great cook and my father a good eater. I was anaemic until I was 12 then I went to live with my uncle. He took me to good restaurants and I loved it! When did you decide to be a chef? I was a failure at school and became a kitchen apprentice in Melbourne when I was 15. I moved around a bit but, as one of four kids, I was pretty lonely at first. But I loved the connection with food and that has stayed with me. I’ve always looked at local flavours and done research - taste is key for me and now I even have my own greenhouse. My biggest regret looking back is that I didn’t keep a diary. I loved the focus and prospects. I’m a contemporary of Curtis Stone and we both enrolled in a home economics class in a girls’ school. When I eventually made it into the Grand Hyatt, I was surrounded by chefs who’d worked in Michelin restaurants - I just put them on pedestals.

a cuisine that Melbourne-based chef Shannon Bennett has while reﬂecting his respects classic techniques and ingredients Monde has led the own innovative style. His restaurant Vue de outlet in Oman for Melbourne food scene for some time and a was recently in a few years gave him a taste for the Gulf. He Dubai as part of a global tour for Miele.

Over the time of your career, Australian good has changed quite a bit, hasn’t it? Well, I’m not sure that there a single Australian food any more - it differs in different places because of different climates and so on. A third of the country lives in Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne so there really isn’t a deﬁned food culture. How do the food scenes differ in Sydney and Melbourne? I’m a Melbourne chef but I think one thing unities the two cultures which is a growing desire to offer authenticity. Expectations generally are evolving. Are we at the stage, like France, with great food markets everywhere? No, but chefs are really challenging themselves in terms of what they do. Some people are also real game changers - David

The Pro Chef Middle East / October 2013

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face to face / CHEFS

“II take a lot off inﬂuencess from nese cuisine - the Japan que and the techniq uch a lot ulture. I have su cu he chefs of respect for th e and the way they there on ombine traditio can co and modernism.”

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October 2013 / The Pro Chef Middle East

CHEFS / face to face

Thompson, for instance, has incredible knowledge of Thai cuisine and he totally changed the way I though about food. I think Perth will be the next city to really change - Neil Perry has opened there and he’s making ther most of the amazing seafood in Western Australia. How do you view your role with Miele? My job with Miele is not to teach - I’m an ambassador and I’m trying to spread good ideas about food. You know, don’t buy battery hens, buy the best, try new things, look back at tradition. Generally, how would you sum up the food scene in Melbourne?

What people forget is how advanced a city Melbourne used to be - we had a population of half a million back in 1860 and four shiploads of ice used to arrive every day from San Francisco! Melbourne tends to look back towards Europe whilst Sydney is more Asian focused. In Melbourne, we say we have 13 seasons because the weather changes so much.

What lies ahead? I’m not interested in that whole TV celebrity chef thing - to be honest, I don’t need the money. I love writing so there will be more books. My big project now is the Burnham Beeches hotel - 50 rooms, 80 acres, it’s own forest complete with ﬁve acress of trufﬂes!

What inﬂuences you as a chef? I take a lot of inﬂuences from Japanese cuisine the technique and the culture. I have such a lot of respect for the chefs there and the way they can combine tradition and modernism. We still have a lot of growing up to do.

Which cities were your favourites on this trip? Brussels was a real eye-opener with chefs doing some very interesting things. There’s a unique culture and it was fascinating fries cooked in horse fat, for example. The cuisine is mature but still holds onto tradition

Barramundi head Serves 4 Ingredients 1 barramundi head, cleaned 1 iceberg lettuce Gascony butter Method 1 Preheat oven to 220C. 2 Roll up some tin foil to make a doughnut shape. Place this on an oven tray. Place the fish head on top and bake in the oven for 12 minutes 3 Peel a large leaf from the iceberg lettuce and cut out a large circle using a large round cutter. Place the barramundi head on a board stabilised with some rocks and shells underneath it. 4 Heat the Gascony butter. 5 Place the lettuce rounds on a plate. At the table, peel back the skin from the barramundi cheeks using a butter knife and scoop out the cheek using a spoon and place on a lettuce round. Spoon over the Gascony butter. 6 To eat, roll up the lettuce leaf and enjoy with your fingers. I recommend pulling apart the rest of the fish as there is still so much meat on there still to enjoy. GASCONY BUTTER Ingredients 1/2 head roasted garlic 20g finely chopped shallots 15g finely chopped parsley 1 tsp Dijon mustard 500g unsalted butter salt and cayenne pepper Method 1 In a mixer using the paddle attachment, add the butter and whip until it starts to whiten. 2 Add shallots, parsley and mustard, whip until all incorporated. Season to taste with salt and cayenne pepper.

The Pro Chef Middle East / October 2013

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face to face / CHEFS

Blackmore wagyu, beetroot, potato, smoked bone marrow Serves 4 Ingredients 40g beef cheek terrine tenderloin, 4x100g each BEEF CHEEK TERRINE Ingredients 2 beef cheeks 3l beef stock to cover 1 lemon, zested 1 large ﬁnely chopped shallot 1 tsp ﬁnely chopped parsley 40ml apple vinegar salt Method 1 Cook cheeks under pressure for 2.15 hours till tender. Strain stock and reduce into glaze. 2 Finely chop shallot and parsley, then sweat shallot with butter. Mix cheeks, shallot, parsley, zest, jus, apple vinegar and salt 3 Taste and press it for 12 hours. Portion to size. BEETROOT CRUDITE Method 1 Thinly slice baby beetroots on a mandolin. 2 Cut into circles 3cm wide and count three per dish. BARBEQUE SAUCE Ingredients 100g caramelised onion 1 clove of garlic 1 red chilli 20g caster sugar 10ml apple vinegar 1 thick strand of orange peel 1/2 tsp seeded mustard 1 anchovy 40ml apple juice 2 tomatoes 1/2 tsp fennel seeds 1 star anise Method 1 Caramelise onion in a pan, add all ingredients and cook out until tender. Wrap fennel and star anise in a cloth and sit in mixture whilst cooking. 2 Once cooked out, take out spice cloth, add to blender and blend till smooth. Season to taste. BONE MARROW SAUCE Ingredients 250g bone marrow salt to taste Method 1 Soak bone marrow in cold water for 72 hours changing water every 24 hours.

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2 3

Make a brine of 25g salt to 1l water and continue to clean in brine for another 24 hours, drain. Burn wood chips over an open ﬂame until smoking, place into a tray and place the bone marrow, resting on a wire rack, on top. Cover and repeat the smoking process twice. Render the smoked bone marrow oil over gentle heat. Season with salt.

BEETROOT SAUCE Ingredients 3kg large beetroots 1 star anise Method 1 Peel and cut the beetroot into cubes. Juice beetroot in a juicer then strain through a ﬁne sieve. 2 Pour juice into a wide based pot and reduce to a quarter of its size. Strain then add a quarter of the bone marrow sauce to the beetroot to serve. FRIED SALTBUSH Method 1 Pick the leaves off of the salt bush and shallow fry at 160C in clean oil until they

2 3

are slightly crispy (avoid colour). Drain on a paper towel then place in oven to colour and crisp further. Note: You can substitute kale. Saute it in brown butter with plenty of salt, making sure pan is on high heat so you get a little smokiness and a touch of crispyness to it.

To serve 1 Making sure you do not burn the butter, keep it foamy. Spoon the butter over the meat continuously as you are cooking it, then remove from heat after two minutes each side and let it rest for five minutes. Place the tenderloin on the plate. 2 Sear beef cheek on one side in a pan, flip over and turn off heat. The remaining heat in the pan will finish cooking it. 3 Pipe the barbeque sauce onto the plate. Place beef cheek on the plate and garnish with the beetroot crudité and saltbush leaves (or kale). 4 Sear the tenderloin in the pan with a little oil, add a tablespoon of butter. Spoon the beetroot and bone marrow sauce around the plate in a circular direction, one spoonful per person.

October 2013 / The Pro Chef Middle East

CHEFS / face to face

Lamb, sunflower, olive Serves 4 Ingredients 4 lamb loins lamb leg terrine lamb glaze sunflower seed puree sunflower seed tuille olive and anchovy mix warm mayonnaise rocket oil potato puree LAMB LOIN Ingredient lamb loin portioned to 140g Method roast loin till medium LAMB LEG TERRINE Ingredients 1 lamb leg light stock to cover thyme 2 shallots finely chopped 5 lemons handful of chopped parsley salt Method 1 Pan sear the leg and cook under pressure covered with stock for around four hours, then reduce the stock to a glaze, pick down the leg, sweat the onions, add the picked leg meat, add the lamb glaze (you want the mix to be quiet moist), reserving some glaze for the sauce. Then fold through the parsley, zest the lemons, add juice and salt to taste. 2 Press into tray and set overnight with weight on top. Portion into 70g. 3 With the lamb glaze you have left, mix with honey to your taste - you may need to add a little water to the sauce. You want a meaty flavoured sauce with sweetness that glazes the plate. SUNFLOWER SEED PUREE Ingredients 200g sunflower seeds milk to cover salt Method 1 Roast seeds in 160C oven till golden, then season with salt. 2 Place in pot and cover with milk, cook till seeds become soft, strain and keep liquid, blitz in blender till smooth adding liquid for desired texture.

The Pro Chef Middle East / October 2013

SUNFLOWER SEED TUILLE Ingredients 10g roasted sunflower seeds 50g fondant 50g glucose Method 1 Combine the fondant and glucose in a pot and bring to 151C. 2 Pour on to a Silpat, when cool blend to a fine powder. 3 Sprinkle powder onto Silpat and bake on 160 degrees for five minutes. Take out and sprinkle seeds over toffee mix then place back in for one minute. Take out and let cool. OLIVE AND ANCHOVY MIX Ingredients 200g Australian green olives 20g anchovies Method 1 Chop the olives and anchovies finely and mix, check seasoning to get a good balance of flavour. WARM MAYONNAISE Ingredients 37g egg white 150g egg yolk 300g egg 750ml oil 30g white wine vinegar 60g mustard 23g salt 200g cooked potato Method 1 Blend all together, then gently warm in saucepan for use.

ROCKET OIL Ingredients 300ml grapeseed oil quarter box of rocket Method 1 Blanch rocket in well seasoned water, place in ice water. 2 Squeeze water from rocket, place in blender add oil and blitz till smoke starts to come from the oil. 3 Place in container and keep overnight, strain through a fine strainer. POTATO PUREE Ingredients 2 large Sebago potatoes 250g unsalted good quality butter, diced 50 ml milk warmed salt Method 1 Peel and dice the potatoes and place in pot with water to cover, cook till done. Strain water and put the potato through a mouli with 100g of butter. Return to the pot add warm milk and beat in the butter one cube at a time, salt to taste and keep warm. To serve 1 Roast loin and let rest. 2 Pan sear the terrine on one side and keep warm, add olive anchovy mix on top, place sunflower seed tuille on top. 3 Drizzle the lamb glaze and the rocket oil around the plate. 4 Pipe potato on to plate. 5 Pipe a dot of sunflower seed puree on plate. 6 Cut loin in half and place on plate. 7 Place terrine on plate.

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THE 2013 Known for celebrating the best foodie brands and experiences in the region, the fourth annual BBC Good Food Middle East awards is here! THE CATEGORIES REST RE STAU ST AURA AU RANT RA NTS NT S FINE FI NE D DIINING 7 RESTAURANT OF THE YEAR - DUBAI* 7 RESTAURANT OF THE YEAR - ABU DHABI* 7 BEST NEW RESTAURANT - DUBAI* (OPENED ON OR AFTER JANUARY 2013) 7 BEST NEW RESTAURANT - ABU DHABI* (OPENED ON OR AFTER JANUARY 2013)

7 BEST INDIAN 7 BEST MIDDLE EASTERN 7 BEST STEAKHOUSE 7 BEST BRUNCH 7 BEST ITALIAN 7 BEST SEAFOOD

7 RESTAURANT OF THE YEAR - DOHA 7 CHEF OF THE YEAR* 7 BEST EUROPEAN RESTAURANT 7 BEST ASIAN RESTAURANT 7 BEST CONTEMPORARY BRITISH 7 BEST LATIN AMERICAN

7 BEST EXPERIENTIAL DINING VENUE (AN OUTLET THAT OFFERS A UNIQUE ENTERTAINMENT EXPERIENCE ALONG WITH GREAT FOOD)

CASU CA SUAL SU AL D DIINING 7 BEST INTERNATIONAL

7 BEST INDIAN

7 BEST ASIAN

7 BEST MIDDLE EASTERN

7 BEST CAFÉ

HOME HO ME C COO OOK OO KING ING IN GRE RED DIEN ENTS TS 7 FAVOURITE SUPERMARKET 7 FAVOURITE SPECIALITY FOOD STORE/MARKET 7 FAVOURITE BRAND FOR STORE CUPBOARD ITEMS 7 FAVOURITE RITE DA DAIRY D IRY Y BRAND BRAND

ACC CCES ESS ES SORIES 7 FAVOURITE OLIVE OIL BRAND 7 FAVOURITE TEA BRAND 7 FAVOURITE COFFEE BRAND 7 FA FFAVOURITE AVOURITE JUICE BRAND

7 FAVOURITE LARGE KITCHEN APPLIANCE BRAND 7 FAVOURITE SMALL KITCHEN APPLIANCE BRAND 7 FAVOURITE TABLEWARE STORE

Creating new benchmarks in the industry, the vote-based awards recognise the top restaurants and food-related brands and stores. Log on to bbcgoodfoodme.com/awards/2013 to get your favourite restaurants and food brands of the region, into the running. Nominations close on September 30.

NOMINATE AND WIN! Everyone who votes will be in a draw to win an amazing luxury beach holiday package at Four Seasons Resort Mauritius, at Anahita. The prize includes 3-night stay for two in a 1-bedroom pool villa with breakfast and dinner, complimentary watersports and golf, and a special wine-pairing dinner. *Terms and conditions apply I Subject to availability, blackout dates apply I Valid for 1 year

HOW IT WORKS In the nomination phase, which runs from August 15-September 30, we are calling consumers to nominate their favourites in each category online. After September 30, the top ten nominees in each category (with the highest votes) will be listed on our website. Between October15 and November 15, consumers will then get to vote again for the winner, from that list. The winners will be revealed at our gala awards event in January 2014. * Winners for Restaurant of the Year (Dubai & Abu Dhabi), Best New Restaurant (Dubai & Abu Dhabi) and Chef of the Year will be chosen by an independent judging panel.

Contributing g spo p nsors

CHEFS / toque to me

Still waters run deep Although Alice Waters is a chef, an author and the proprietor of Chez Panisse in Berkeley, California, it’s as a pioneer of a style of American cooking that her inﬂuence is greatest. For four decades, she has argued that cooking should be based on the ﬁnest and freshest seasonal ingredients that are produced sustainably and locally. General acceptance of this shows how far she has guided the industry.

s a passionate advocate for a food economy that is “good, clean and fair”, Alice Waters has helped create a community of scores of local farmers and ranchers whose dedication to sustainable agriculture assures her famous restaurant Chez Panisse a steady supply of fresh and pure ingredients. Chez Panisse opened in 1971, founded by

Waters and a group of idealistic friends. A neighbourhood bistro, it was named after Honoré Panisse, a character in Marcel Pagnol‚Äôs 1930s movie trilogy about waterfront life in Marseille (Marius, Fanny and César), as an homage to the sentiment, comedy, and informality of these classic ﬁlms. From the start, Alice and her partners tried to do things the way they would like them done

“We’re not just talking about this product that doesn’t have herbicides and pesticides. We’re talking about farm workers and the conditions under which they produce that food. We’re talking about a kind of biodiversity of the land. We’re talking about a care for the land beyond the superﬁcial. Food isn’t like anything else. It’s something precious. It’s not a commodity.” 44

The Pro Chef Middle East / October 2013

at a dinner party at home, with generosity and attention to detail. The restaurant has a menu which changes every night and is designed to be appropriate to the season and composed to feature the finest sustainably-sourced, organic and seasonal ingredients including meat, fish and poultry. However, her influence has been much wider, set partly against perennial discussions about how much she has actually contributed to Chez Panisse’s dishes. For example, in 1996, her commitment to education led to the creation of The Edible Schoolyard at Berkeley’s Martin Luther King, Jr, Middle School: a one-acre garden, an adjacent kitchen-classroom and an ‘ecogastronomic’ curriculum. By actively involving a thousand students in all aspects of the food cycle, The Edible Schoolyard is a model public education programme that instills the knowledge and values needed to build a humane and sustainable future. The program is nationally recognised for its efforts to integrate gardening, cooking, and sharing school lunch into the core academic curriculum. The same year, she also established the Chez Panisse Foundation to support the Schoolyard and encourage similar programmes that use food traditions to teach, nurture, and empower young people. The success of The Edible Schoolyard led to the School Lunch Initiative, whose national agenda integrates a nutritious daily lunch and gardening experience into the academic curriculum of all public schools in the USA. She is also Vice President of Slow Food International and the author of eight books, including ‘The Art of Simple Food: Notes and Recipes from a Delicious Revolution’.

A TYPICAL DAY’S MENU Petite friture of local shellﬁsh with tomato, cucumber and herb salsa. Chino Farm corn soup with roasted poblano peppers. Grilled Wolfe Ranch quails with chanterelle and garlic sauce, braised pancetta, squash blossom risotto and garden salad. Mission ﬁg feuillet with wild fennel ice cream.

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LEISURE / travel

rom the grandeur of Snowdonia in the north to the post-industrial landscape of the south, Wales is a very different place. The difficulty of north-south transport has effectively created two halves of the same country with a very different cultural look and feel, though the language, religion and low economic status are shared influences. With a mountainous landscape, sheep farming has always been extensive in the country and lamb is the meat traditionally associated with Welsh cooking, particularly in dishes such as roast lamb with fresh mint sauce. Welsh cooking often includes seafood, especially close to the coast, where fishing culture is strong and fisheries are common - this is exemplified by the use of cockles and laverbread in Welsh cuisine, largely unknown outside the country. Cheese has long been a traditional food of Wales, with Welsh Rarebit being a popular national dish by Tudor times, though known then as caws pobi (baked cheese). However, the origins of this dish are unclear and the name may actually be an ironic English reference to the poverty of Welsh cuisin

WELSH SPECIALITIES Tatws pum munud (ﬁve minute potatoes) is a traditional Welsh stew, made with potatoes, vegetables and bacon, cooked on top of the stove. Tatws popty (oven potatoes) is a traditional Welsh stew, made with potatoes, vegetables and a joint of meat, cooked in an oven. Teisennau tatws (potato cakes) is a potato dish, served as an accompaniment. Bara brith (speckled bread) is a sweet bread which originated in Wales - see recipe. Cawl is a Welsh stew with lamb and leeks. Roast lamb with laver sauce or with plum sauce. Shepherd’s pie is a lamb pie made with mashed potatoes. Cockles, usually steamed. Crempogau are Welsh buttermilk pancakes. Faggots are Welsh meatballs made from lamb or pig’s liver, onions and a cereal binder. Selsig Morgannwg (Glamorgan sausage) is cheese, eggs and breadcrumbs in the shape of a sausage. Bara lawr (laverbread) is a Welsh seaweed delicacy. The laver is mixed with oatmeal, which is formed into patties and usually fried in bacon fat. Picau ar y maen, picau bach, cacenni cri or teisennau gradell (Welsh cakes or bakestones) are small cakes cooked on a bakestone. Cawl cennin or Cawl mamgu (leek soup or granny’s stew). Lobscows is a popular stew in Anglesey. Monkﬁsh, often served with laver, common on the coast.

The Pro Chef Middle East / October 2013

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travel / LEISURE

With a unique place in world history as England’s first colony, Wales is a stunningly beautiful part of the United Kingdom that still retains old traditions and widespread usage of its language. Although much of the food has influenced and been influenced by other British cuisine, there are some very specific regional dishes.

Bara brith Ingredients 450g wholemeal flour 1 tsp yeast 50g brown molasses sugar 75g butter, cut and melted into 1/4 pint milk 75g seedless raisins 75g currants 25g mixed peel 1 tsp salt 1 tsp mixed spice Method 1 The night before, soak all the fruit and mixed peel in a cup of tea. 2 All utensils and ingredients should be warm. Mix the yeast with a little milk, then add to the flour and salt and work into a dough with the remaining milk. Put in a bowl and leave to rise until doubled in bulk, then knock back and work in the sugar, spices and fruit, aiming for even distribution. 3 Insert into warmed and buttered loaf tin, leaving to rise to top of tin. 4 Bake 20-30 minutes in the centre of the oven, at 180C, covering the top with paper or foil for the final ten minutes. 5 Leave to cool a little before turning out onto a cooling rack, then brush the top with a sugar syrup to glaze. 6 Serve cut in thin slices and spread with Welsh butter.

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October 2013 / The Pro Chef Middle East

LEISURE / the last word

Raising efﬁciency Food preparation makes up the largest percentage of a restaurant’s energy bill at about 30%, with refrigeration costs running somewhere around 13-18%. Then there is the water heater, exhaust hoods and HVAC systems. These costs make efﬁcient and well maintained equipment an integral part of a green kitchen.

n the efficiency side, there is a growing number of commercial food service equipment available that is Energy Star labeled by research organisations like the Foodservice Technology Center (FSTC) and the Consortium for Energy Efficiency (CEE). They, together with equipment manufacturers, are paving the way for mainstream efficiency standards in commercial kitchen equipment. Currently the types of equipment that have been tested and rated are limited to a small group, but the FSTC is in the process of expanding the programmes to include a larger range of equipment including ovens and griddles. Hopefully, the industry will see all commercial kitchen equipment manufactured with not only quality and value in mind, but also energy and water efficiency. Even if your restaurant is not in the market for new equipment, it is a good idea to have an energy efficient equipment replacement plan for potential equipment failures. A replacement plan will give you an easy resource to reference and purchase energy efficient equipment when a piece of equipment goes out rather than grabbing the first unit available. A replacement plan can be detailed enough to include current equipment and potential future replacements - a nice option because it documents major changes in your equipment supply. Maybe you don’t want to replace the old freezer at all, or would rather move up a 35-cu/ft unit rather than the 27-cu/ft unit. A documented plan puts the

change in writing so the chef doesn’t have the local dealer ship over a replacement of the old unit. The Food Service Technology Center provides the most diverse lists of cooking equipment that have undergone their efficiency testing. These include combination ovens, convection ovens, rack ovens, fryers, large vat fryers, griddles, steam cookers and insulated holding cabinets. Energy Star cooking equipment includes fryers, steam cookers and hot food holding cabinets. Steam cookers in particular offer a huge savings for both energy and water. These are a good place to start when switching equipment over to modern energy efficient units. If starting from scratch there is no reason not to choose efficient equipment throughout the cooking line and there is a large and growing selection of prices and options. In addition, the FSTC publishes equipment performance reports on specific models in a wide range of equipment. It has also created energy saving tips sheets and technical assessments that provide basic description and energy performance of each type of cooking equipment. These reports and informational sheets are available for braising pans, boilers, fryers, griddles, ovens, pasta cookers, ranges, steam kettles, steamers and dishwashers. Most refrigeration manufacturing companies have at least a few solid and glass door units listed in a huge variety of styles and price ranges. Walkin coolers and freezers offer a few more options than solid door refrigerators for tweaking the systems to gain efficiency. Another sustainability issue is the refrigerant used in the compressors. Most people have heard about the environmental damage caused by CFCs, which were phased out of use and replaced by hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFC, usually HCFC-22) that are also in a phase out process to be replaced by hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs). HFCs do not deplete the ozone layer like CFCs and HCFCs, but are still greenhouse gases. While food service refrigeration systems tend to be fairly simple as far as refrigeration systems go, they are still way over the head of most of us in the food industry so consult a refrigeration contractor before making any changes. All reputable refrigeration contractors should have a thorough knowledge of HFC refrigerants.

Refrigeration costs represent around 13-18% of a restaurant’s total energy bill so it is important to keep refrigeration equipment cleaned and maintained so the units work efﬁciently. 48

The Pro Chef Middle East / October 2013

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