AKIL AHMED

SOFITEL DUBAI JUMEIRAH BEACH DUBAI

Growing up in India, Akil I learned the ropes of the culinary trade between 1991 and 1995 with a collection of hotels. As an ambitious chef, he worked my way up the ranks quickly. The inspiration to become a chef was his mother as he watched her cook and he learned the abc’s of cooking from her. He initiated his career with Accor Hotels in 1998 as chef de partie at the Sofitel City Centre, where his passion for gastronomy shined through everything he did and went on to lead the kitchen brigade and subsequently, the immense task of rebranding the property to Pullman Deira City Centre Dubai. His foray into Accor properties continued around the country including holding the position of executive chef for the pre-opening of Novotel and Adagio Abu Dhabi Al Bustan and now at Sofitel Dubai Jumeirah Beach. Akil’s preoccupation with classic French sauces forms the basis for much of his work. He terms sauce as ‘the verb of French cuisine’, and has tried to fully comprehend its place in cuisine as the one single component that can unite other, mostly diverse, flavours in harmony. For him, this is what differentiates ‘cuisine’ from ‘food’, and many of his recipes hold true to this philosophy. His dishes are created with simple ingredients combined with rich sauces and subtle flavours elevate them to a culinary art form.

Beef Rossini is a French steak dish, named after 19th-century composer Gioachino Rossini. The dish comprises a beef tournedos (filet mignon) pan-fried in butter and topped with a hot slice of fresh whole foie gras briefly pan-fried at the last moment.

INGREDIENTS

250g beef tenderloin 50g potatoes 50g broccoli 50g heirloom beetroots 80g foie gras Sakura mix 50ml cream 50g shallots, chopped 40ml milk 40g butter 30g all-purpose flour 30g olive oil 2 sprigs thyme 3g garlic 40ml water Salt and pepper for seasoning

Method

Marinate the tenderloin with salt, pepper and thyme then sear it on a hot grill on all sides. Remove and rest the beef 10 minutes. Boil the potatoes until they are over cooked to make the mashed potato add milk, cream and butter to the mashed potatoes. Boil all the vegetables and sauté them with shallots, garlic and seasoning. Making the toile – use the flour, oil and water make the toile in non-sticky pan. Cross cut the foie gras on one side and sear both sides on a very hot pan. Finally cook the steak to your desired temperature and serve immediately along with accompaniments.

BEEF ROSSINI

by AKIL AHMED