WG Spring 2020

SPRING 2020

PACO PÉREZ

ESSENCE OF THE MEDITERRANEAN

THOMAS BÜHNER

ELENA ARZAK

A CULINARY GENIUS www.wgmagazines.com

THREE DIMENSIONS

THOUGHT PROCESS THE CHEFS

A TASTING MENU

WITH THE WORLD’S CUTTING EDGE CHEFS

by FLAVEL MONTEIRO

COFFEE ABSOLUTE GASTRONOMY BY FLAVEL MONTEIRO IS A CELEBRATION OF COFFEE AND FINE CUISINE. FROM CURITIBA IN BRAZIL TO SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA. INSPIRED BY THE GENIUS OF 40 OF THE WORLD’S CUTTING-EDGE CULINARY PROFESSIONALS.

Flavel Monteiro

WINNER OF THE 2019 INDEPENDENT PUBLISHERS WORLD BOOK AWARDS GOURMAND WORLD COOKBOOK AWARDS TOP 3 BEST IN THE WORLD - GOURMAND WORLD COOKBOOK

LEGACY SAN MARZANO - THE FINEST CHEFS CRUSHING IT!

FLAVEL MONTEIRO AWARD-WINNING AUTHOR WITH

DOUG SINGER

WINNER OF THE 2019 THE GOURMAND WORLD COOKBOOK AWARDS AND THE TOP 3 BEST IN THE WORLD BY GOURMAND

Good taste isn’t expensive

S P A C E S

F O R

B E A U T I F U L

L I V I N G

conceptplus INTERIOR DESIGN

Suite 214, Hamsa (A) Office Tower, Za’beel Road Karama, Dubai, United Arab Emirates P.O.Box 300450, Dubai, United Arab Emirates Tel.: +971 4 3705269 I Fax: +971 4 2947442 E-mail : info@conceptplusstyle.com I osama@conceptplusstyle.com www.conceptplusstyle.com

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Dar Wasal Mall Al Wasal Road, Dubai Tel: 971 04 255 51 42 reservations@reifkushiyaki.com

IMAGINATIVE CUISINE WITH A GLOBAL TWIST Bull & Bear is warm, welcoming and genuine, your favourite place, day or night. Stylishly sociable, it invites you to simply sit back and enjoy the moment. Strictly business or simply pleasure, the ambience is right whatever the occasion. The goto spot in DIFC, Bull & Bear is the essential venue in the city’s most vibrant district.

18th Level | Burj Daman, Al Mustaqbal St., DIFC, Dubai, UAE +971 (0)4 515 9888 | BullandBear@waldorfastoria.com www.waldorfastoria.com/DIFC

Savour authentic Italian brunch at BiCE Ristorante: Italian classics | Grilled meat and seafood Outdoor terrace | Live saxophonist Every Friday | 12:30pm to 4:00pm AED 250 with soft beverages AED 325 with house beverages

Hilton Dubai Jumeirah | 04 318 2319 | restaurant.jbr@hilton.com BiCE_Dubai BiCEDubai

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WG MAGAZINE

From the first photographer of Rolling Stone Magazine with JIMI HENDRIX 1968 - 1970 Baron Wolman saw the music. His iconic music photography included shots on-stage with Jimi Hendrix, backstage with the Rolling Stones, and in front of the stage with Jim Morrison and Janis Joplin. Grace Slick and the Grateful Dead performed for the camera in his studio. Baron Wolman was Rolling Stone’s first staff photographer. From 1967 through the early seventies, his pictures have appeared in virtually every issue.

To order a copy, please contact Baron Wolman - baron@baronwolman.com WG SPRING 2020 -

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CHRISTINE CHARLES VALRHONA PARTNER SINCE 1992 - MADAGASCAR

Creation :

Photo crédit : Pierre Ollier

WE TREAT YOU BY

TREATING

OTHERS WELL 100% of our cocoas are traced back to 10, 262 farmers. We build close relationships with them so that we can improve their living and working conditions while guaranteeing the finest quality beans.

Together, good becomes better.

valrhona-mea@valrhona.fr - www.valrhona.com

A stunning rooftop location with views across the Arabian Gulf, and a modern Japanese menu created

by Michelin-star Chef Akira Back

Caesars Resort Bluewaters Dubai #ParuDubai @ParuDubai

YOUR CHOICE OF IMAGE WITH SUSTAINABLE ATTITUDE – DESIGNED TOGETHER WITH CHEFS

Kentaur provides the perfect mix of design and function, and delivers what my team here at ME DUBAI needs.

The ME by Meliá brand is personality led, encouraging personalized service and interaction with our guests, and Kentaur enables us to look stylish and professional without compromising on the practicality and durability we need for our highly physical work. The brand understands and delivers on this without fail.

James Knight-Pacheco, Executive Chef, ME DUBAI, UAE

Style No. Shirt 25236 Apron 30536

Style No. Shirt 25203

When I think quality, I think of Kentaur ChefWear.

The Chef Jacket is not only stylish & looks Professional, it fits and is serviceable.

The breathable and lite weight material make it easy to freely move especially for long shifts and humid conditions we face daily.

Dominic Petzold Complex Executive Chef, LE MÉRIDIEN DUBAI HOTEL & CONFERENCE CENTRE, DUBAI, UAE

Distributed by: Nordica Uniforms For more information please contact Christine Pedersen at: Mob: +971 52 784 3126 Mail: ccp@merrild-gruppen.dk

Visit us and find lots of inspiration at www.kentaur.com

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SOMETIMES SPIRITED, SOMETIMES SOOTHING BUT ALWAYS BEAUTIFUL Get down to Seafire Steakhouse & Bar as we kick off our new live music theme nights that’s full of soul.

Enjoy these special nights from 8:30 pm to 11:00 pm Country Music : Every Saturday Soulful Jazz : Every Sunday Menu: Ala carte For reservations, please call +971 426 2626 or visit atlantis.com/seafire

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CONTENTS

SPRING 2020

30

A PRESTIGIOUS REFERENCE

40

CREATIVITY BRIMS OVER ALL DISHES

48

54

THREE DIMENSIONS

90

COFFEE - A TASTING MENU

THOUGHT PROCESS - WHEN IMAGINATION BECOMES EMOTION

112 BB’S 118

THOUGHT PROCESS - A CULINARY MIX WITH IRISH PRODUCE

158

NIFTY CHEF

168

MIXING FLAVORS

176

LEGACY - A TASTING MENU

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COFFEE ABSOLUTE GASTRONOMY PHOTO © VICTORIA SHASHIRIN

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Editor Feature Editor Contributors

Fabian deCastro Maria Lourdes Michael Hepworth

FJMdesign WGkonnect Photography Consultant Creative Design Studio Publisher IZZY Publishing Pvt. Ltd.

‘ Identifying underprivileged children with culinary ambitions...

WG™ is an online digital publication published by: Izzy Publishing Pvt. Ltd. Unit 14, Agnelo Colony, Kerant, Caranzalem, 403002 Goa, India Tel: +91(832) 2463234 Fax: +91(832) 2464201 wgmagazine@wgmagazines.com

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Company Registration Number U22100GA2011PTC006731 Marketing & Advertising Call: +91 832 246 3234 E-mail: wgmagazine@wgmagazines.com WG™ Beverly Hills Michael Hepworth 287 S.Robertson Blvd Beverly Hills, CA 90211

©IZZY Publishing Pvt. Ltd. All rights reserved. Editorial material and opinions expressed in WG™ digital publication do not necessarily reflect the views of IZZY Publishing Pvt. Ltd. WG™ and IZZY Publishing Pvt. Ltd. cannot be held responsible for any inaccuracies or errors and do not accept responsibility for the advertising content.

All contents are strictly copyright and all rights are reserved.

Production in whole or part is prohibited without prior permission from IZZY Publishing Pvt. Ltd. ©2019 WG™ All rights reserved.

Cover Image Credit: ELENA ARZAK PHOTO © SARA SANTOS

PAGE 54-55 and PAGE 196-197 THOUGHT PROCESS - WHEN IMAGINATION BECOMES EMOTION (L-R) ©JEROME BRYON / ©PHOTO BY JB LASSARA/GINKO

PAGE 118-119 THOUGHT PROCESS - A CULINARY MIX WITH IRISH PRODUCE (L-R) ©IMAGE BY WALTER PFEIFFER ON THE BORD BIA MARKETING HUB / ©IMAGE BY MANJU JISTO FOR WG MAGAZINE

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The most prestigious reference in the history of Spanish cuisine, Elena Arzak brings her own sense of responsibility and her enormous curiosity. The mother of two who was named best Female Chef in the World in 2012 discovered her culinary vocation at an early age and insisting that she wanted to follow in the footsteps of her parents.

Elena Arzak is a product of both inherited and nurtured talent. Alongside her father, Juan Mari Arzak, Elena shares the head chef responsibilities of three Michelin starred restaurant Arzak.

With five Michelin stars, Paco Pérez’s cuisine reflects the full essence of the Mediterranean with his traditional and local cooking where creativity brims over all dishes. And, Thomas Bühner’s inspiration to his culinary creations is a procession of three dimensions - natural flavours, preparation and extensive range.

2019 has been a year of awards for Flavel Monteiro and this continues, two of the books Coffee Absolute Gastronomy and Legacy are the Top 3 Best in the World by Gourmand World Cookbook. 2020, saw the release of Though Process - When Imagination Becomes Emotion and Thought Process – A Culinary Mix with Irish Produce.

The enchanted world of cacao brings When Imagination Becomes Emotion with Frédéric Bau and 12 of the finest pastry chefs. Each of these chefs bring emotions, flavors, textures whiles reflecting on their own creative spirit and in process passing a message.

What makes the island of Ireland so special? It’s all about working in harmony and this culinary mix with Irish produce works in harmony with 14 of the finest working with the best produce.

A unique tasting menu with coffee with some of the world’s cutting-edge chefs and from Legacy a nine course featuring San Marzano tomato sauces. Recipes from Coffee Absolute Gastronomy and Legacy.

The last stop is Dubai with BB’s executive chef and co-owner Alexander Stumpf.

Alexander’s creativity goes beyond the horizon with local ingredients. While still in Dubai, we catch up with the Nouel Omamalin, the Nifty Chef. His name may not ring a bell in the food scene but two years on and he runs his own business as an innovation chef and consultant for several new brands in the Middle East. And the last stop is all about mixing flavors with Raven Rudolph at the Waldorf Astoria DIFC. A time to reflect during these difficult times let;s come together. In the last pages of this issue, WG offers a free digital e-book of Though Process - When Imagination Becomes Emotion.

Be Safe, Keep Healthy and Bon Appétit

FdeCastro

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ELENA ARZAK

ELENA ARZAK

M

other of two who was named best Female Chef in the World in 2012 discovered her culinary vocation at an early age and insisting that she wanted to follow in the footsteps of her parents. Elena Arzak is a product of both inherited and nurtured talent. Alongside her father, Juan Mari Arzak, Elena shares the head chef responsibilities of three Michelin starred restaurant Arzak, a must for any dedicated food pilgrim and lover of Basque culture.

ARZAK IS ONE OF THE MOST PRESTIGIOUS REFERENCES IN THE HISTORY OF SPANISH CUISINE. ELENA BRINGS HER OWN SENSE OF RESPONSIBILITY AND HER ENORMOUS CURIOSITY.

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Elena left home to study in kitchens all over Europe, both in restaurant kitchens and a variety of vocational and catering schools. From 1988 to 1991, she went on to study at the Schweizerische Hotelfachschule Luzern in Switzerland while also working at the International Hotel in Zurich and the Grand National Hotel also in Lucerne. Elena then went on to work in some of the most prestigious kitchens - Le Gavroche in London; Troisgros in Roanne, France; and Carré des Feuillants and Vivarois in Paris. Short but influential stops were also made at elBulli in 1997 and Pierre Gagnaire in 1998.

An accomplished chef with her own personality who is positive and loves to interact with different kinds of people, a very practical person who finds life to be interesting, not much of a person to get upset about things which are not significant and Elena views food in the same way. “My father and I work as a duo and have done for many years now. Life in the kitchen is very intense. I am very sentimental and not a day passes where I’m not moved by something.”

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PHOTO © COCONUT

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ELENA ARZAK

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Food is in her DNA… it’s the first thing she wanted to try, “If it wasn’t the right thing or it didn’t work out then fine but you need to try the first thing you want to do. I was 90% sure but if I were not a chef, it would be something related to gastronomy because I like gastronomy.” In her family they have a great sensibility when it comes to food. Elena’s aunt and her grandmother lived with them and every Saturday morning they would cook rice pudding with cinnamon. When she would wake up and go to the kitchen, Elena was greeted by the aroma. “I was very small, maybe four or five and I still remember when I entered the restaurant, there were always crabs boiling so I can recognize that smell of fresh crabs.”

At Arzak, they create an author’s cuisine: a Basque cuisine with research, innovation and a desire to be avant-garde, without turning our backs on local traditions. ”The use of Basque products as the recipes tie in with the region’s code of flavors. She brings all her creative potential to the fore is in the laboratory, a small kitchen and workplace housing her own library of flavors where she plans new recipes, experiments with surprising combinations and works on textures.”

Do you see yourself as a role model for female chefs?

I don’t consider myself a role model. I’ve always been a hard worker and I’ve always been as fair as possible with everyone around me. If with my work, I can give a good example, even better. I’m very happy. You don’t do it because you want to be a role model. If this happens in a natural way, I’m very happy.

Female chefs in the industry…

We need to wait. Another one or two generations. I think the number has increased slowly. Not very much but it has increased. Compared to when my father was in culinary school in the 40s, when he was very young. When I went to culinary school in the 90s, there were more women. Now in the Basque Culinary Centre, there are more women. But one thing is women in the schools and another thing is female chefs in the kitchen. So in my opinion, it needs time. It’s getting better but we need time.

Do you see this in your kitchen and do you consciously or subconsciously try to give more women a chance?

The Basque society has always been a matriarchal society where women has been very strong. When my father was a child, he and the wine steward were the only men in the restaurant. In the kitchen in was all women and the service staff were all women. So I grew up without being conscious of if I was a man or a woman but people started asking me about it. I don’t care if you’re a man or a woman, I want talent.

PHOTO © COCONUT

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ELENA ARZAK

You’ve been quoted as saying that your food is becoming simpler?

It’s simple like all the tendencies of the moment. It’s an apparent simplicity. It looks simple but it’s not simple at all.

What we want to try to do is to give more flavours to the elements of the plate. It looks simple but it’s not simple.

“We have maintained the capacity in the number of guests but the space is more disphanous, practical and comfortable both for the guests and the working team.

The workspace is separated from the space of the guests.The architectural project was carried out by my husband, Manuel. But the design has been planned together with the room staff who have contributed with valuable ideas in terms of organization and agility in daily work in the room. It has been a wonderful and enriching process.”

Ingredients, creativity or technique…

For me the first is the ingredients because without the ingredients we can’t do the next steps. Then creativity and technique. The technique helps you to do things that you otherwise couldn’t do. You can’t do a string of caramel if you don’t have the technique. But if you don’t use good sugar it’s not worth it. The flavor for me I the most important thing.

What inspires you?

Anything. When you like creativity and you like your job.

Everything that you see is inspiring. I’m looking at the bottle over there and I see two shells. A shell of chocolate and outside another flavor. Or a crispy galette of squid ink and outside I could do saffron. One thing gives you the other. My son Matteo asked me ‘Why don’t you make a dish based on pixels?’ So now I’m creating something based on small squares. Anything can influence you.

Would you want your children to follow in your footsteps?

It is for them to choose their careers freely just like I did.

No one forced me. It wouldn’t be fair and it wouldn’t work.

My sister is an art historian. You can force someone into this career. It would be a disaster. But if they wanted to, I would be very happy.

Many admire you and your father, the legacy that you’ve created…

In Spain family is very important. For me, being with my father I started very young and he believed in me. For me, seeing everything he has done is very nice but it’s also very interesting to see the enthusiasm that he never loses. He talks about projects from this year to 40 years from now. He’s fantastic. He inspires me. And still today, even though he comes less, I like that he still comes with me to the restaurant.

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GAME BETWEEN PAPAYA AND SQUID Working with enzymes of certain fruits.

Here the papaya enzymes act and softens the squid; and it improves texture.

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ELENA ARZAK

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PHOTO © SARA SANTOS

WG MAGAZINE

HISTORY OF ARZAK

The history of the Arzak Restaurant begins in 1897 when Juan Mari Arzak’s grandparents built the house in which his Restaurant still stands today.

First it was a wine cellar and tavern. Later Juan Mari Arzak’s parents turned it into a food house of some relevance and refinement, with Paquita Arratibel as cook. They highlighted its stews and basic elaborations of the Basque and Donostiarra recipes.

In 1966 Juan Mari Arzak takes over the Restaurant with his mother. She was his teacher in traditional Basque cuisine, to which he added his great curiosity and desire to innovate that led him to develop his own recipes.

Traditional Basque dishes to which he gave his personal touch.

Very soon his great talent caught the eye, and at just 32 years old, he received the National Prize for Gastronomy, and the Arzak Restaurant obtained the first star of the prestigious Michelin guide in 1972.

Starting in the mid-1970s, he began to receive awards and recognition that make the Arzak Restaurant a benchmark in national and international gastronomy. In 1976 Juan Mari Arzak, together with a group of chefs, revolutionized the kitchen and created a concept and a movement: The New Basque Cuisine. In 1978 he obtained the second Michelin star and in 1989 he was awarded the third star of the Michelin Guide. He was the second to receive triple recognition in Spain and has maintained them since then.

In the nineties, Elena Arzak, daughter of Juan Mari Arzak, joined the family restaurant. In May 2001 Juan Mari Arzak received the Chef de l’Avenir award from the International Academy of Gastronomy and in 2010, the Spanish Academy of Gastronomy awarded him the National Prize for Gastronomy. And in 2012, Elena Arzak she was crowned the World’s Best Female Chef Veuve Clicquot.

In May 2001 he received the Chef de l’Avenir award from the International Academy of Gastronomy. In 2010, the Spanish Academy of Gastronomy awarded him the National Prize for Gastronomy. And in 2012 she was crowned the World’s Best Female Chef Veuve Clicquot.

Today, Juan Mari Arzak shares with his daughter Elena cooking, knowledge, passion and desire to continue making history at Arzak.

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ELENA ARZAK

SEA BASS AT ITS PICK Elena works with collagen extracted from the skin and the bones of the seabass. The idea is to return to the fish what was previously removed from it. This result is a mellow texture and a taste of good flavours. She extracts the collagen by means of pressure cook, then mixes it with cava and serves it in the form of a sauce.

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PACO PÉREZ

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PACO PÉREZ TRADITIONAL AND LOCAL COOKING WHERE CREATIVITY BRIMS OVER ALL DISHES… PHOTO © PACO PÉREZ / MIRAMAR RESTAURANT

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PACO PÉREZ

“Paco’s cuisine reflects the full essence of the Mediterranean.”

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Paco has made cooking a way of life, born in Huelva.

When he was just six months old his family moved to Llançà, on the Girona Costa Brava coast. His first contact with restaurants was at El Peña, the tapas bar owned by his family in Llançà, where he helped out by serving during weekends and holidays. After this experience, he continued by taking other temporary summer jobs in traditional Catalan restaurants.

His introduction to the professional kitchen was first in France where Paco Pérez trained alongside Michel Guèrard, one of the forefathers of “nouvelle cuisine”. Finally, Paco joined El Bulli in 1993, for five years. It is there that he acquired much of his philosophy of cutting-edge techno-emotional cuisine.

GAMBA EN ESPETO - SKEWED PRAWN

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PACO PÉREZ

RAMEN DE MEJILLONES - MUSSELS RAMEN

Cooking with soul and taking dreams to new levels.”

“Expressing the emotion of sea smells early one morning; uncovering the magic of a heavy storm; extracting the Earth’s soul from the sea; discovering the essence of flavours and textures… Cooking with soul and taking dreams to new levels.” This is how Paco Pérez explains his cooking, because neither Paco Pérez nor Miramar can be understood without considering what surrounds them and gives them meaning.

Embedded in the Cap de Creus at the eastern most point of the Iberian Peninsula - the Mediterranean waves roll into Llançà - a small town, originally with a fishing industry - where Paco Pérez grew up. It is there that he soaked up the elements that define this region: the Tramontana – a mythical violent wind from the north. With these surroundings, Paco turns into state-of- the-art flavours and textures, a creator of geniuses such as Salvador Dalí, the fierce natural environment, the seafaring tradition, the good taste in food.

The MIRAMAR story is the story of Julia Cisneros, from Albacete and Alfons Serra, a driver who covered the Barcelona-Portbou journey. In 1939, they moved to Llançà and built a humble beach-side restaurant. In the post-war years, a traveler asked if they rented rooms, and without hesitating, she said yes.

That night, Julia slept on the beach, and MIRAMAR Inn was born. The Inn continued to grow. It started serving food and had a total of 45 rooms. However, a young Paco Pérez would change the narrative. One summer morning he fell in love with a girl in her pajamas in Miramar port, Montse Serra, the granddaughter of the founders, and they would be together forever more. They converted the restaurant into a 2-star Michelin venue, and the Inn came to have 5 exclusive rooms to “look after” guests as if they were personal friends.

Together, in absolute synergy, they turned the place into a pilgrimage for foodies from around the world.

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ALMEJAS EN JEREZ - CLAMS IN SHERRY

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GAMBA EN ESPETO - SKEWED PRAWN

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PACO PÉREZ

In 1997, Paco married Montse Serra and after three years of producing modern Catalan cuisine in Miramar during the summer seasons, he decided to take a step forward and open year round. Together, they faced the evolution of Miramar, converting the past traditional restaurant into the avant-garde cuisine restaurant that it is today, a place of pilgrimage for contemporary gourmets. His culinary philosophy is focused on a cuisine with roots and proximity in which creativity and the search for unknown horizons flood every dish. The influence of these surroundings is not just felt in the restaurant. It is also present in the kitchen, where Paco turns the sea and nature into mouthfuls of pure art. He uses extremely high quality products that come from an ideal environment, which Paco Pérez knows and looks after to perfection.

Although surprising to start with due to its formal aspects, Paco found its ultimate explanation in the world of emotions, in their inner cosmos. From this private brainstorming, in constant dialogue with the Mediterranean Sea that lies next to Miramar and with the “no memory” dreamscapes, up to 130 dishes of pure creation are conceived each year. But Paco is also a great academic chef, a great teacher for his young and enthusiastic international team. He cares about everything, from the most innovative, surprising and provocative dishes on the tasting menu to the most affordable dishes on the a la carte menu, where he offers the same exacting perfection as he does in the tasting menu.

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ALMEJAS EN JEREZ - CLAMS IN SHERRY

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THOMAS BÜHNER

O

ne of Germany’s top chefs for more than twenty years, Thomas Bühner was born in Riesenbeck (North Rhine-Westphalia) to a housewife and a commercial clerk, his first experiences of the restaurant trade came at his grandparents’ pub where there was always a slice of freshly baked mixed-grain bread spread with butter and topped with Westphalian ham waiting for him as he came through the door and where he would fall asleep in the evening to the chatter of customers and the sound of people clattering around in the kitchen.

Nevertheless, it was a long time before the young Bühner knew what he wanted to do when he left school. While his twin brother decided to become a joiner, the results of an aptitude test at the local job centre suggested that Thomas was best suited to being either a cook, a baker or a farmer.

He settled on becoming a cook, and even at that early stage he informed his parents that “if I’m going to be a cook then I’m going to be a good one”, a principle to which he remains true to this day. He trained as a chef at the Schweizer Haus in Paderborn, and this was followed by stints at the Düsseldorf Hilton under Günter Scherrer, the Landhaus Scherrer in Hamburg, the Grand Cru Restaurant in Lippstadt and the Restaurant Jörg Müller in Westerland on the island of Sylt.

THOMAS BÜHNER THREE DIMENSIONS PHOTO ©THOMAS BÜHNER

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Then, in 1989, Bühner moved to Baiersbronn to take up a post as Chef de Partie at Harald Wohlfahrt’s Schwarzwaldstube. He sees this as a key moment in his career, since in addition to the discipline and consistency that are essential for any successful chef, Bühner was particularly intrigued by the down-to-earth attitude and humaneness that Wohlfahrt showed towards the people who worked for him on a daily basis. He couldn’t have been better prepared to take up the position of Chef at the La Table Restaurant in Dortmund in 1991 where he gained his first Michelin star five years later, followed by a second one in 1998. In 2001, Bühner scooped the Gault Millau “Rising Star of the Year” award and was voted “Chef of the Year” just five years later. Together with Thayarni Kanagaratnam he has been running Restaurant la vie in Osnabrück since April 2006. In 2009, Thomas Bühner received the accolade of becoming a Relais & Chateaux “Grand Chef”, while the la vie was granted membership of “Les Grandes Tables du Monde” at the beginning of 2010. In 2012, Thomas Buehner was awarded with his 3rd Michelin Star and his now one of only ten German chefs who has three stars.

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THOMAS BÜHNER

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VENISON

WG MAGAZINE

“If I’m going to be a chef, then I’m going to have to be a good one.”

A TOUCH OF....G

This is the standard that Michelin-starred chef Thomas Bühner has held himself to since leaving school. Fortunately, he followed his careers advisor’s suggestion that he become a chef, a baker or a farmer, and Bühner has now been regarded amongst the highest echelon of German chefs for more than 20 years, one of just ten master craftsmen to have been awarded three Michelin stars.

From 2006, Thomas Bühner ran the kitchen at La Vie restaurant until 2018 when it closed its doors. A simple, cosy and relaxing environment – so the diners can truly appreciate the culinary fireworks produced by the avant-garde aroma alchemist. Bühner works with the conviction that there is no more authentic and intense flavour than that of the pure and simple original taste of an individual ingredient. In this spirit, the Michelin-starred chef often spends weeks tinkering and tweaking to fine tunes his perfectionist creations. He truly unleashes his creativity it is a feast for both the palate and the eyes, proving that the 19 points awarded to him in the Gault Millau are well deserved.

COD, OTORO & SAFFRON STOCK

Since its closure, Thomas Bühner has been active as a guest chef, keynote speaker and consultant for gastronomic concepts and food producers worldwide. In Valencia, for example, he spoke at the Gastrónoma Valencia about some of his signature dishes and past experiences. In Amsterdam, he presented his ideas for the reduction of sugar in food to European journalists and scientists in collaboration with Givaudan. In China, he was active as a guest chef for The Ritz-Carlton, in Güterslohhe developed a concept for a new restaurant with down-to-earth Westphalian cuisine and in 2020 in Dubai at Glufood – Taste Of The World, Thomas presented a master class on the subject Rethink Food In the end it is this diversity that excites Thomas. Whether it’s a gourmet restaurant or a pub, a food producer or hotel business – there are no restrictions for Thomas Bühner.

Important to him is the dialogue at eye level and an exciting project.

PIGEON JUNIPER SMOKE

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THOMAS BÜHNER

Thomas Bühner’s inspiration to his culinary creations is a procession of three dimensions…

NATURAL FLAVOUR The first dimension – the basis for all his dishes – constitutes each individual product’s natural flavour. He believes there is no more authentic and intense flavour than the original, pure flavour of a product. He therefore always places the natural flavour in the foreground. “We often work for weeks with various techniques to create my purist ‘taste bombs,’ going beyond taste boundaries. For example, my ‘pure venison’ dish is refined from year to year: rather than creating a gravy in the traditional way of lightly roasting meat and vegetables together, a jus was developed using the unadulterated juices of the venison meat. To create this jus, the meat is first coarsely minced and then heated, vacuum-packed, in a bain-marie.

The pure juice released from the meat is then boiled down in a vacuum evaporator. The resulting essence is served as a sauce with the venison – without adding any spices, roasted aromas or tannins”.

SPARGELLACHS

PREPARATION The second dimension of his cuisine describes how he prepares dishes: characterised by a penchant for lowtemperature cooking, the motto is ‘take the foot off the gas.’

By this, he means not only the time taken to prepare a dish but, above all, the temperature at which it is cooked. Rather than pan-searing a fillet of fish, for instance - braise it for a few minutes in homemade infused oil at just 55°C. In addition, meat and vegetables are cooked ‘sous vide,’ bringing out the different aromas and automatically creating a more relaxed atmosphere in the kitchen.

FISCH AUSTERBRIES

EXTENSIVE RANGE The third dimension represents the extensive range of Thomas’ cuisine: a set menu is more than a series of disparate courses; it is composed like a symphony. Sometimes the violin can be heard, at other times the oboe – but strong emotions are only ever aroused when the whole orchestra comes together.

Supposed opposites are skilfully staged when composing a set menu: purist dishes are juxtaposed with playfully arranged plates, creating a sensuous dramaturgy.

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POTATO FOAM

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thought process WHEN IMAGINATION BECOMES EMOTION FLAVEL MONTEIRO

AWARD-WINNING AUTHOR

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GAËL CLAVIERE L’HÔTEL DE MATIGNON ET DU PREMIER MINISTRE PARIS, FRANCE

ELIZABETH STEVENSON THE TASTING CLASS DUBAI, U.A.E.

GREGORY CHRISMANT MANDARIN ORIENTAL JUMEIRA DUBAI, U.A.E.

SAMANTA BAKKER MONSIEUR TRUFFE MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA

RYAN HARRIS RH CONSULTANCY DUBAI, U.A.E.

FRANCESCO ACQUAVIVA SOCIAL BY HEINZ BECK DUBAI, U.A.E.

BALAZS ENZSOL BALAZS ENZSOL PÂTISSIER BUDAPEST, HUNGARY

DANIEL NEGREIRA HIDDEN BY DN TAIPEI, TAIWAN

STEPHANIE CERONIO JACK RABBIT CHOCOLATE STUDIO PRETORIA, SOUTH AFRICA

JUN TOMIOKA KUSHIYAKI DUBAI, U.A.E.

DWIYANTI CINTANINGRUM WALDORF ASTORIA DIFC DUBAI, U.A.E.

GLENN NOEL L’ECOLE VALRHONA MIDDLE EAST, INDIA, AFRICA

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ARTIST AND ARTISAN The orchestra conductor of creation at Valrhona, Frédéric Bau is above all a talented French pastry chef, trained by the greatest and in particular Pierre Hermé. Author of several books, he also participates in several TV culinary shows, including as a jury member and host of the 2017 semi-finals on “Meilleur Pâtissier” (Best Pastry Chef), during the “Top Chef” chocolate special in 2018, and as co-host during the second season of “Les Rois du Gâteau” (The Cake Kings) with Cyril Lignac in 2019.

In 1989, he created the École du Grand Chocolat Valrhona and has been leading it for 30 years so that it has become a reference in technical chocolate expertise. A pioneer in creating full chocolate menus, he is one of the rare chefs to master perfect balance when interpreting chocolate in savoury and sweet forms.

In 2012, Frédéric perfected Blond® Dulcey 32% chocolate. In 2017, he organized the “De Mains de Maître” cycle of conferences and demonstrations inspired by artistic techniques, to share his vision of the creative process with key Valrhona clients and gastronomy professionals from around the world.

FRÉDÉRIC BAU VALRHONA CREATIVE DIRECTOR

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Always looking for innovative ideas, he also constantly suggests new recipe ideas to Valrhona clients and advises them on the best ways of using new couvertures, such as Cuvées du Sourceur Sakhanti Bali 68% and Kilti Haiti 66% in 2018.

Thanks to his long experience and vast expertise, Frédéric is now in charge of exploring new areas of chocolate to imagine Valrhona’s future. Both an artist and an artisan, creative and technical, he asserts this dual approach that mixes sublime taste and high technology to develop a new, esthetic and gastronomic type of pastry that also respects the environment.

©STÉPHANE DEBOURGIES

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Frédéric Bau’s vision and desire to play with his senses with this unique living ingredient as he brings it to life - the flavours, profiles of chocolate and he lets the chocolate speak for itself.

It all started in 1989, Frédéric Bau recalls, “I was young and Valrhona asked me to create a school, it was wonderful at the time as Valrhona had proposed a new range of chocolate - Guanaja 70% cacao, this transformed the world of chocolate, the first chocolate in the world to reach 70% which captures the original taste of cacao beans.

At that time all the chefs used to use chocolate as sweets, I mean 50-55% cacao and when we changed the profile of the chocolate by 70% cacao, the recipe changed with the same amount of chocolate.”

At the time Frédéric was young, working at Fauchon with Pierre Hermé and they received a few Guanaja babies. They did not have any good results with the prototype. The ganache looked separated, the chocolate mousse was hard like stone and they found it very strange as the chocolate did not work. The reason was that they were adding too much sugar with Guanaja prototype.

It was Valrhona’s idea to create École du Chocolat. They discovered that by changing the way to use chocolate, they could present the best chocolate to their customers and at the same time the best techniques, the best tools and the best training to transform the best chocolate in the world. “I was young and was speaking about Valrhona toolbox, the best toolbox that Valrhona proposes to its customers.”

Frédéric Bau started with Paul-Bernard Bret who was the chef chocolatier of Valrhona for over 32 years. Paul worked all the time and a big part of the time he worked with Robert Linxe of Maison du Chocolat. They created the chocolate couverture and chocolate Caraque 56% cacao. Even till today, they are still speaking about Caraque, about extra bitter, the grandmother.

When Frédéric arrived at l’Ecole Valrhona, he did not speak about pastry because Valrhona was mainly working with chocolatiers. “Chocolatier’s and pâtissier think differently, with the way they work and the way to transform materials into chocolate and praline. It was nice because we opened the minds of Valrhona by speaking about pastry, about the percentage of cacao, about change. It was a new reference point in the world of chocolate.”

After Guanaja, nobody ever spoke about the chocolate experience. Now in 2020, everyone speaks about the experience. “30 years ago, Valrhona was already offering their customers this experience. We never spoke about the origin, but now everyone is talking about the origin. The chocolate is from Peru or Madagascar but if you look at the map it all comes from France. This is what I love about Valrhona, here we speak about the origin. We transform chocolate by keeping it and not killing it with too many flavours or textures, this kills the real identity of the chocolate. The job begins with the farmers and we finish the job. All the ingredients come from all around the world. That is what the chefs should know that our job is not always to build a wonderful puzzle of textures and too many things because sometimes we lose the things like the beautiful fish, scallops or the beautiful chocolate. One thing I love about my job is that we take care of this wonderful ingredient that we have, not doing what the market is waiting for.

We are not a big company, but we take risk and give love, emotions to the customers.

This is why we are very lucky to have an owner who allows us to take the chance to invent the future, coming up with crazy ideas, making it come to life and not afraid to surprise the customer.”

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©PHOTO BY JB LASSARA/GINKO

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GLENN NOEL L’ECOLE VALRHONA MIDDLE EAST, INDIA, AFRICA

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rowing up in the British Island of Jersey, Channel Islands, Glenn spent his young days with his grandparents who grew most of their fruit and vegetables. Spending time with them in the garden, looking after the fruit and vegetables; and then going into the kitchen to cook them has been a special memory for him. His first job was at 14 in a local café which gave him the real first experience of the industry, after that he took up a role in a local hotel called the Royal Yacht where his passion and hunger for learning bloomed. His interest for different cultures and cuisines led me to spend time in the UK at The Hand & Flowers, with Valrhona in France, with Jordi Cruz at the three Michelin star restaurant ABaC in Barcelona, in Copenhagen with Noma and now in Dubai.

His first fine dining experience was at 17, he started working at the Michelin-Starred restaurant at Atlantic Hotel, and this moulded him and taught him to look at the finer details whiles working with a talented team that pushed him to be better whilst learning better ways to work. “Back at the time we had a great team, Mark Jordan and the head chef Matt took me under their wing and took the time to teach me. Mark had a big influence on me in the kitchen, he put me straight on the pastry section when I arrived whilst also working with him closely plating up on the pass. Mark also started as a pastry chef and then turned to cuisine and winning a Michelin star. He taught me to taste everything before it goes on the plate, developing the palate which I’m lucky to have today. On the Island of Jersey, we have amazing local produce, his philosophy was to keep it simple, let the produce do the talking.”

As one of L’ecole Valrhona Pastry Chef Instructor IMEA, the most important part of any dessert for Glenn is Taste. So it starts from there. He has an idea in his head then he goes from there, “A balanced dessert always needs to stimulate the tongue with sweet, salty, acid, bitter and umami. After I work on other elements to bring textures and also maybe a sauce just to round off the dessert.

I like to work with seasonal and local produce as much as possible.”

He continues to say “One of the great things about Valrhona is our diversity in our products, from Couverture to Pralines and even our new Inspiration range, means the mind can run wild with creativity.

For me, the perfect desserts using chocolate are ones which aren’t too sweet, have the correct texture and don’t leave us feeling full.

Some of my favourite combinations are classics using Waina 35% Organic White Chocolate with Vanilla, Praline with Jivara 40% Milk Chocolate and Macae 62% with Grapefruit.

©PHOTO BY JB LASSARA/GINKO

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One of Glenn’s favourite desserts he created was with Inspiration Almond and Apricots. It was an Iced Parfait using Inspiration Almond, a compote of Apricots and a Buttermilk Sorbet, finished with a warm slightly salty sauce of almond and Thyme. This recipe was inspired whiles in the middle of the Apricot season and he received some amazing Apricots, it was at the same time Valrhona released Inspiration Almond and Almond Apricot goes great together. “The future trends I see coming through are reduced sugar, and going back to the source and working directly with producers.”

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SQUID, DASHI ETON-MESS WITH CITRUS FRUIT ©ANTOINE PIECHAUD

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WAKAYAMA ©FLORIAN DAVID

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orn in Toulouse, Gaël is the third child of a working family.

He schooled in Toulouse, the pearl of the Southwest of France and known for its culinary specialities and gastronomy. After the third year of the secondary school, he chooses a National Vocational Qualification in Patisserie and Confectionery, as well as in ice-cream making.

At the age of 14 after his brother passed away, Gaël follows his father’s advice and goes to work at a local bakery. This is where the future “Dali of Patisserie” learned the fundamentals and the basics at Donati’s bakery in the Southwest of France. After finishing from Donati’s, he left home and settled in Paris where he refined his skills working at Fauchon and at Maison du Chocolat. Eclectic and open-minded, porous in many ways regarding the cultures and the world, he fed his personal development and insatiable curiosity in the capital city. He even studied theology.

Today, at the L’hôtel de Matignon as the Prime Minister’s Pastry Chef, Gaël shakes up his comfort zone, each day is different and thus, a new challenge. His primary mission is to respond to all the commissions he receives, whether they are planned or at the last minute, such as lunches or dinners, as it often happens. He doesn’t have a dessert menu, he has to question himself, rely on his imagination for not suggesting the same pastry twice. It all takes some time, requires a lot of energy but it’s the kind of challenge that he likes. Nature is an inexhaustible source of inspiration - the scents, the colours, the shapes, the change of season and the arrival of new fruits.

According to Gaël, to find balance, you have to know, select and most importantly respect the food. He uses fresh products of great quality because those raw materials have more taste and are more interesting. The chef also greatly values his creative process breathing, touching, thinking, tasting, harmonizing the colours and stimulating his imagination. “For me, the Patissier is an artist because he’s a creator of emotions expressing himself through his creations.

I keep this as a priority in the heart of my culinary vision sharing, aestheticism and especially taste. It doesn’t matter that the pastry is traditional or avant-garde, gourmet or staged, it always has to awaken the gourmets’ senses. I add to this philosophy my desires, shaped by all the things that surround me and my sensitivity.”

“Discovery of flavour, precision, attention to detail and touch of passion makes a great chocolatier.”

©FLORIAN DAVID

GAËL CLAVIERE L’HÔTEL DE MATIGNON ET DU PREMIER MINISTRE PARIS

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BALAZS ENZSOL BALAZS ENZSOL PÂTISSIER SOMLÓ

©LINDA PREBREZA

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alazs’ heartbeats for the sweet things in life.

Realizing his passion late in life and before putting on the chef’s jacket, it was economics at university and after completing his sergeant’s training at the military academy he felt that there was something missing. He decided to take a break and moved to the UK to brush up on the language and to make a bit of money.

He landed his first job as a dishwasher in a gourmet restaurant and he was then determined to work his way up from the bottom in the restaurant world. He then made it to a commis and then went on to become the chef de partie. In 2009, he got his first job as the head chef at The Meadows in Stamford.

He then moved to Austria and because his German skills weren’t great he settled for a position as chef de partie.

It was by chance that he landed himself in the pastry section, which is where he found his true calling. Two years later Armin Leitged offered him a job as a head pastry chef and having learnt the tools of the restaurant trade, it became clear that he wanted to focus on the pastry kitchen. He started attending various international patisserie courses, trying to learn all that he could about the sweetness in life and working with desserts has allowed him to travel the world, learning new taste and new techniques.

Two chefs have been really crucial to Balazs’ career, Armin Leitged and Ryan Clift from the Tippling Club. “I consider myself lucky to have worked with these guys, and no doubt they have shaped my style of cooking immensely.”

Since 2012, Balazs as chef de patisserie in France and Austria, and since the summer of 2016, he has been based in Barcelona, working at one Michelinstarred restaurant Hoja Santa with Albert Adrià. In the last years, the pastry chef extraordinaire has found the time to do master classes on a regular basis in Vienna, Budapest, London, South America, Singapore, U.A.E. and popup events in New York, Singapore, Bali and Austria.

He brings a little bit of himself to each of his dishes. A memory, a feeling, a taste

THE GRAPE ©BALAZS ENZSOL

that he carries “It’s hard to explain, but I don’t feel like every dessert needs to have every element like crunchiness, sponginess or acidity. I think if I followed a checklist like that, all my desserts would end up being the same. One of the key things for me, especially when I am developing new recipes, is music.

Music sets the mood and somehow kickstarts my imagination. I owe a lot of my signature dishes to Depeche Mode.”

“I want to keep learning and be better than I was yesterday. There’s a race on, but it’s with yourself, not with others.”

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CAVIAR INSPIRATION FRAMBOISE 300g Water 75g Maltitol powder SOSA 200g Raspberry Inspiration 3g Agar agar SOSA Grapeseed oil required ASSEMBLY AND FINISHING Bring to the boil the water, maltitol and agar agar. Pour the liquid over the couverture in 3 stages, making sure to create an emulsion with a shiny elastic texture. Keep the ganache at 50°C. Place a deep container filled with oil in the freezer. Place the liquid in a squeezy bottle and let little droplets of ganache fall into the oil creating the ‘caviar’.

Leave to set then strain and wash with cold water. Serve in a caviar box.

GLENN NOEL L’ECOLE VALRHONA

CAVIAR INSPIRATION YUZU 300g Water 75g Maltitol powder SOSA 230g Yuzu Inspiration 3g Agar agar SOSA Grapeseed oil required ASSEMBLY AND FINISHING Bring to the boil the water, maltitol and agar agar. Pour the liquid over the couverture in 3 stages, making sure to create an emulsion with a shiny elastic texture. Keep the ganache at 50°C. Place a deep container filled with oil in the freezer. Place the liquid in a squeezy bottle and let little droplets of ganache fall into the oil creating the ‘caviar’.

Leave to set then strain and wash with cold water. Serve in a caviar box.

CAVIAR CHOCOLAT GUANAJA 300g Water 75g Maltitol powder SOSA 200g Couverture Guanaja 70% 3g Agar agar SOSA Grapeseed oil required ASSEMBLY AND FINISHING Bring to the boil the water, maltitol and agar agar. Pour the liquid over the couverture in 3 stages, making sure to create an emulsion with a shiny elastic texture. Keep the ganache at 50°C. Place a deep container filled with oil in the freezer. Place the liquid in a squeezy bottle and let little droplets of ganache fall into the oil creating the ‘caviar’.

Leave to set then strain and wash with cold water. Serve in a caviar box.

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CAVIAR ©COOK AND SHOOT BY ALINE GÉRARD

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PISTACHIO CAKE ©JOHN CAREY

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iz Stevensonis a Dubai London based Canadian Pastry Chef whose journey was a gradual one, she studied music and visual arts when she was young and did an undergraduate degree in fine arts at the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design in Halifax, Nova Scotia. After graduating she struggled to make ends meet as a young artist, and took jobs in kitchens to supplement her income. Liz ended up loving the culinary process since it was very similar to the process used in any other creative discipline. She was using her hands, engaging her senses, and feeding people. It was a wonderful feeling and very empowering to her as a young person. At some point, she made the decision to ‘do’ cooking as a career and put all her focus in this area.

She moved to Montreal, then from Montreal to London where she worked for a very well-known chef whose kitchen was brutal.

The pastry section was the quietest, and she found that she could work very effectively there without getting yelled at (as much). She preferred the methods used in pastry, and so for her next job she specifically sought out a pastry position. The rest is more or less history. “I’ve always preferred working in restaurants, probably because of the rush, but also because I love the delicate balancing act of service; the skills required to make it a successful night after night is like performance art.”

Largely a self-taught in cooking and pastry, Liz started out with zero ability, working from books. She worked as Executive Pastry Chef for Qbara, an award-winning arabesque-themed restaurant in Dubai; spent several years in London between The Boxwood, J Sheekey, Scott’s and The Ivy, as Executive Pastry Chef for Caprice Holdings in Dubai, and Rüya in both Dubai and London. Liz currently resides in Dubai where she develops educational material for The Tasting Class and consults as a pastry and brand development chef.

At Rüya, her unique creations were creative and complex, especially the chicken dessert, known as Tavuk göğsü. Her desserts always start with a vague inspiration of some kind – an image, colour, shape, and ingredient or flavour profile. This is then elaborated to form the basis of a dish, and usually, she strives to provide context – whether historical, social or place-based. For her, this is very important, because it makes the difference between something that people can engage with, rather than simply an inanimate object on a plate.

“Take it slow and focus on mastering one skill at a time.”

©RITA TESSANDORI

LIZ STEVENSON THE TASTING CLASS DUBAI

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RYAN HARRIS RH CONSULTANCY DUBAI

©CHARIS THOMAS

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I

t all started in Ryan Harris grandmother’s kitchen where he helped her make the best pastries. This sparked his interest to formally train in Classical French Pastry at Le Cordon Bleu Institute of Culinary Arts. His professional journey continued in prestigious hotels in the United States, the Bahamas which led him to the vibrant scene in Dubai. He got a taste of the consulting life, lending support to develop newly opened restaurants’ pastry programs. It was only a natural step for him to work for himself. Today he helps entrepreneurs and organizations achieve their vision, making his varied experience their very own. It’s been a great journey so far and still inspired by hope and dreams.

After having refined his skills and palate, he served as Pastry Chef at Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s restaurant, the three Michelin star restaurant at the iconic Atlantis, Bahamas. “I was honoured to work for him, his vast knowledge and experience coupled with his zest for cooking really inspired me. What I remember the most is that he was ready to share, mentor and motivate the team, and I hope I emulate him every day.”

His culinary philosophy is pretty simple: make good food, use good ingredients and listen to what clients and guests want. “Chefs need to adapt, I like to look back at classic dishes I have done or even done by other chefs, and then challenging myself to see how they can be made relevant and reimagined to today’s taste.” Always wanting the final plate to be simple yet powerful. The influence of good ingredients shines through as they perform consistently to his precise actions. The plate he presents has gone through many taste tests, experience, great ingredients and passionate people to make it seem effortless and balanced.

By day a Pastry Chef; by night a foodie, Instagrammer and photographer who is always planning his next travel adventure. He gets to do something he loves every single day, “I jump out of bed waiting to start the day. It’s never a boring day since I get to change hats to express the specific client’s brand in the pastry program it puts forward. I find being in charge of my work, I get to pick interesting projects, sometimes even across borders which is very exciting. Finally, I also get to prioritize myself, I get to develop my skills with external training, and find time to enrich my soul with travels exploring the world. I am a pastry chef, I love to see people’s eyes light up!”

VALRHONA GLACAGE NOIR ©RYAN HARRIS

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ecognized internationally as one of South Africa’s best chocolatiers, Stephanie Ceronio’s mother was an influence, allowing her to always taste and experience ingredients in their raw and baked forms. Always baking treats for the house, fetes and fundraisers. Her mother made personal sacrifices to make sure that Stephanie travelled the world, saw and tasted as much as possible while travelling and always reminded her to keep an open mind when tasting and experiencing new flavours. But she also showed her the importance of hard work and dedication.

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ELDERFLOWER, CITRUS AND CINNAMON ©YOLANDI JACOBSZ

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Her baking career started early in life, cracking eggs into the mud and receiving a suitable spanking for it. But it didn’t stop her. She was not bound by the pragmatic advice to “just focus on the job and stop worrying about cookies”. So slowly, the world in her head and on the internet, she linked up with creative bakers and confectioners in South Africa and offered her time, to learn from them. “I decided to take it a step further. Today, I am seen as a qualified Professional Chocolatier creating Artisanal Chocolates and confections.

My creativity and dedication is a channel in bringing my customers delightful alternatives-to- the ordinary to amaze their senses.”

She believed that she has an aptitude for pastry. Imagining and remembering combinations, although sometimes can’t remember what happened a few months ago in her real life.

However, she remembers the way she felt when she smells or tastes something. “I can remember the combinations that I would have preferred when dining out. When trying new things and reading recipe books. When I see images online and in books or magazines, I try and remember each of the tastes that I have experienced and try and ‘memory bank’ each one. Creating an archive of experiences that I can call up at a later time.”

Influenced by Chantel Dartnall, Jordi Roca, Janice Wong and Jessica Prealpato. Stephanie’s inspiration behind the desserts is creating easy and accessible desserts. She knows combinations with the use of chocolate and the use of some uniquely South African flavours to compliment the other elements in the desserts. “Experience with each ingredient gives you the feel for what you are trying to achieve. Anyone can follow a recipe but it takes time and effort and practise to understand the importance of the smells, textures and consistencies of what you want the product to achieve.” Usually, she follows recipes loosely, as a guide and makes each item according to her feel. Learning the smell of chocolate at each stage of temper, the look and feel of a perfectly elastic and balanced ganache, the sound of that perfectly tempered chocolate crack, and mouthfeel when all elements come together.

Her aspiration for professional growth for herself and the Jack Rabbit team keeps her motivated. Everything she has done and accomplished has been with trying to find creative alternatives and by teaching herself through trial and error, and by trying to network and ask questions. She loves the creativity and freedom that comes with being a chocolatier.

Believes that desserts and chocolate, specifically, should not be limited. This allows her to create magical experiences with desserts and enjoy the daily challenge of creating flavour combinations.

©BETTINA BICKNELL

STEPHANIE CERONIO JACK RABBIT CHOCOLATE STUDIO PRETORIA

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FIRE CIDER JELLY 300g fire cider – Union Libre / 3g Agar agra / 2g Bovine gelatine In a saucepan heat half of the fire cider. Pour in the agar and make a broth. Add the rest of the cider and the gelatine previously soften and mix well. Pour in a film container and keep it cold to detail the discs.

MACARON DE FEU

GAËL CLAVIERE L’HÔTEL DE MATIGNON ALMOND PASTE ET DU PREMIER MINISTRE 310g Almond powder / 310g Icing sugar / 120g Egg PARIS whites MACAROON COOKIE

ITALIAN MERINGUE 310g Caster sugar / 85g Water / 120g Egg whites / 14g Caster sugar Sift the icing sugar and almond powder. Work on the mixture by adding the egg whites. Make a syrup with the sugar and water at 118°C to make the Italian meringue/ pour the syrup over the whipped egg whites. After cooling, whisk it with a blender, add the meringue to the almond paste and macaroon. Pour it on a baking sheet and bake it for 14 minutes at 145°C. SOFT CREAM WITH TAHITIAN VANILLA 330g Liquid cream to heat / 280g Whole milk / 55g Egg yolks / 1 Tahitian vanilla pod / 40g Caster suga / 30g Flour / 200g Valrhona White Chocolate / 2g Bovine gelatine leaves / 800g Whipping cream 35% fat Heat the milk in a saucepan with the liquid cream. Whisk the egg yolks and sugar until the mixture turns white.

Add the flour and pour over the hot mixture, little by little without ceasing to stir. Return the fire to low heat and stir until the mixture thickens.

Pout the cooked cream over the chocolate and add the gelatine which was previously softened in cold water. Mix well and cool to 30°C. Add the cold cream 35% fat with the whipped cream and incorporate the vanilla pastry cream. Mix well and set aside.

TO SERVE Place the macaroon shell on the plate, place a disc of fire cider jelly in the centre. Using a pastry bag, put the vanilla cream around the jelly. Close it with a macaroon shell on top. You can use the vanilla cream to decorate the plate.

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MACARON DE FEU ©FLORIAN DAVID

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FRANCESCO ACQUAVIVA SOCIAL BY HEINZ BECK DUBAI

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rancesco Acquaviva grew up in Rome with a passion for food in his blood. An extrovert and incredibly curious with a touch of craziness, always wanted to be a chef since he was a child, thanks to his mother who inspired him to become a chef. He was also inspired by famous chefs and used to dream of working in a three Michelin-starred restaurant.

He looked up to chef Beck in particular at sent his CV to La Pergola several times before finally getting the opportunity to work with him. His dream, as a child, was to arrive at La Pergola. Eventually, as a result of the young chef’s determination, Heinz Beck answered him seven years later and took him in the three-starred Roman restaurant where Francesco showed his passion for the sweet side of the meal.

For Francesco, being mentored by chef Beck’ was a great motivation and he’s always had the opportunity to freely share his ideas. Chef Beck’s inspiration is to surprise guests with something that they never tried before. The team follows Chef Beck’s philosophy to offer guests well-balanced, Mediterranean, Italian-inspired dishes without sacrificing taste.

Francesco’s remarkable drive took him far away, to Dubai, where since December 2013 he’s the pastry chef and in 2018, the chef de cuisine at Social By Heinz Beck at the Waldorf Astoria Palm Jumeirah in Dubai. This was an impressive career move for someone who wasn’t born into the business, coming from a family of nurses. Growing up, his only professional link to the culinary world was his uncle Orazio, the soul behind a small restaurant in Basilicata, Vecchia Matera, who every time he came to Rome, always had a present for his nephew. One time it was Nobu’s book, another it was Ducasse’s, and the third was a book on French pastry making.

©MIKHAIL H. DE GUZMAN

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Francesco has passed through the kitchens at La Taverna Angelica, Giuda Ballerino, Splendid Royal, Jolanda Ristorante, Hotel De Russie, Casa del Jazz, Il Convivio Troiani, l’Hosteria dell’Orso with Gualtiero Marchesi, Open Colonna and La Pergola with Heinz Beck.

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SQUID, DASHI ©MIKHAIL H. DE GUZMAN

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rowing up in Argentina, Samanta’s favourite childhood memories are food-related. For her, food has a meaning of communication and plays an important part of her culture and identity. She recalls moments from her childhood, the aromas of her mum’s coffee every morning - the reason why she loves coffee that she even took a coffee roasting class to learn more about it. She’s fond of her mum’s chocolate salami as her mum would make it for every school fete.

Samanta started cooking when she was 7, this was right after she received her first cookbook as a gift from her parents.

She loved the desserts her grandmother made and every Sunday whiles she was growing up, her grandma would bring a home-cooked dessert that was always so delightful.

Samanta has always been interested in food for as long as she remembers but her culinary career started after a few detours. She spent two years at university studying some

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careers that were not related to food, but felt heavy-hearted and took a leap of faith signing into a culinary school which she never regretted her decision.

As a kid she was always experimenting with flavours and textures, trying to turn mistakes into opportunities. She thinks that been exposed to different cultures helped her to grow up as a curious and open-minded chef. In 2005, she moved to Australia. While she was working, she managed to attend courses in Japan, Switzerland, Italy and France. And she now holds a master’s degree in chocolate. She won four ICA awards for her chocolates, a bronze medal for a Bean to Bar Vegan Milk Chocolate, two silvers for an innovative Australian Plum Vegan Chocolate and another silver for her Peach Melba Chocolate. In 2019, she went to Papua New Guinea to learn more about traceability, cacao harvest and fermentation. Always trying to learn more and never stops educating herself. She learnt from some of the best - Frederic

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Bau, Luca Mannori, Gilles Marchal, Carles Mampel, Fabrice David and Amaury Guichon. Her inspiration comes from everything and everywhere.

For her, a dessert is a living thing, always evolving and changing.

She likes desserts that are like symphonies, a well-planned, well-executed, capturing and engaging. “It doesn’t need to be complicated but it needs to work. My approach is to make something that combines emotions and like to have altering textures or playing with taste contrast or different temperatures.

I try to find an emotion to connect with others through what I put on a plate.” Her motto is ‘desserts should always put a smile on one’s face’, her creativity is very emotional, and with no favourite flavour combination yet her taste is in continuous evolution, seeking to discover new textures and flavours. “Work is always challenging and you would only enjoy it if you love it and you feel passionate about it.”

©ESTEBAN BAKKER

SAMANTA BAKKER MONSIEUR TRUFFE MELBOURNE

BANDOLERO ©ESTEBAN BAKKER

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DANIEL NEGREIRA HIDDEN BY DN TAIPEI

T

he main reason Daniel became a chef was trying to imitate Conan the Barbarian, as he wanted to play with the knives and the only way to get to touch a knife was to help his grandmother in the kitchen. What began as a kid’s game has ended up being his entire life.

After a successful learning stage and working with some of the best chefs in the business in San Sebastián, Daniel moved to Taipei and opened El Toro, a small restaurant that ended up listed among the Top 500 of Asia on the Miele guide in 2009. He then went on to a much larger project, DN Innovación. CEO and founder of DN Group, Daniel has been successfully managing Shanghái Marina By DN which was awarded the Best Spanish Restaurant in China by El País, and Alma

By DN which was included on the Michelin Guide Shanghai for four consecutive years. In 2017 as a Bib Gourmand selection, along with Level 41 in Saint Petersburg and his other advisor projects in Asia.

Daniel’s Hidden by DN is based in the heart of Taipei and has been recommended in the first edition of the prestigious Michelin Guide Taipei 2018 as the only Spanish restaurant to have this recognition in Taiwan. In 2019, he opened Alma by DN in Taipei “This new store will try to live up to the expectations offering the same, as we love to call it, “soulful” Spanish food, featuring recipes from my childhood along with some of the most solid Spanish classic dishes with detailed presentation, a great selection of exclusively Spanish grape and cocktails in a casual and relaxed ambience. I want to showcase the richness of Spain and the “soul” of its gastronomy to Taipei.”

His style is based on solid roots of Basque cuisine and influenced by his time in Asia. His creative menus render classic flavours which he aims to always try to keep a delicate balance between tradition and modernity, complexity and simplicity, respecting the ingredient and transforming it.

“Live great adventures trying to master wild unknown ingredients.”

©COURTESY OF HIDDEN BY DN

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TAIWANESE CUISINE EXTREMES XLB ©COURTESY OF HIDDEN BY DN

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DARK CHOCOLATE CAKE DONUT LIZ STEVENSON THE TASTING CLASS DUBAI A lovely dark and rich donut which is not overpowering.

The cinnamon, dark brown sugar and sour cream give the batter a warm depth while the dark chocolate ganache glaze takes it to another level of chocolatey.

DONUT BATTER 700g Cake, plain or all-purpose flour 522g Soft dark brown sugar 140g Valrhona cocoa powder 6g Cinnamon powder 4.5g Sea salt 12g Baking soda 12g Pure vanilla extract 280g Whole fresh egg 375g Sour cream 233g Full fat milk 224g Vegetable oil Oil for frying

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Place the flour, sugar, cocoa powder and baking soda in the bowl of a tabletop mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Mix on low speed to combine. In a separate bowl, combine the sour cream, egg, milk, oil and vanilla. Blend until smooth with a whisk or hand blender. Fold the wet ingredients into the dry and mix well. Scrape down the bottom and sides of the mixing bowl to incorporate any unmixed batter. Allow the batter to rest at room temperature for 30 minutes before using.

Preheat your donut hopper or fryer to 180C. Alternatively, pre-heat an electric donut maker to 160째C. To cook, pour the batter into the donut hopper, or drop the batter into a fryer using a sauce gun or piping bag. Fry on 180째C until done (about 90 seconds). Alternatively, pour the batter into a donut maker and bake for 8-10 minutes. Remove from the fryer and drain on a paper towel to absorb any excess oil. Cool completely before glazing.

DARK CHOCOLATE GANACHE GLAZE 100g Full fat milk 20g Liquid glucose 200g Whipping cream 480g Valrhona Equatoriale 55% 20g Olive pomace oil Place the chocolate in a large bowl and set aside. Place the milk, cream and glucose in a saucepan and bring to a simmer.

Pour onto the chocolate and let it sit for one minute. Stir to combine and continue to mix until the mixture is smooth and glossy. Add the oil and blend with a hand blender for best results, being careful not to incorporate air. Cool to 36째C and use immediately, or place in the chiller until needed.

SERVING SUGGESTIONS Dip each donut halfway into the liquid glaze. Note: the glaze should not be hot, or it will not coat properly. 36-45째C is best.

Place the donuts glazed-side up on a glazing rack. Sprinkle with your favourite topping, or leave plain. Once the glaze is set, eat them.

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DARK CHOCOLATE CAKE DONUT ©TALA SOUBRA

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W

inner of the 2019 F&B Masters Pastry Completion, Dwiyanti grew up in Bandung, Indonesia. As a child, she always had a passion for baking. She helped her mother prepare special homemade cookies during the Holy Month of Ramadan, as it was a tradition visiting other families and gifting them these cookies. This was the starting point for her to understand how flour, butter, an egg can turn into something delicious. Once she graduated from senior high school, she wanted to enhance her pastry skills and decide to continue her studies in catering management at the Indonesia University of Education.

She then went on to work with some of the best five-star hotels - St. Regis Saadiyat Island Abu Dhabi, The Address Boulevard, Dubai, Fairmount The Palm Dubai and Sheraton Dubai Creek; and currently the pastry sous chef at the Waldorf Astoria DIFC, Dubai.

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Her influence and inspiration come from people. People who she works with, their passion and knowledge motivate her to experiment with flavours, to try different techniques. Grateful to have worked with some talented chefs and pastry chefs – Abel Vieilleville, Christophe Sapy, Kapila Amaratunga, Ryan Harris and John Buenaventura. “All these chefs have their styles and techniques. Learning basic recipes, learning how to develop seasonal fruits in the menu, composing different elements on a plate, using fine chocolate garnish techniques and learnt that delicious dessert can be delivered by something simple by just focusing on the taste. Today, I love the feeling of making something beautiful that puts a smile on people’s faces after they taste my desserts, seeing this makes my day. The science and creativity of creating dessert keep me motivated, the value of my mentors who I worked with in the past which play a major role in my career.”

Her greatest influence comes from the French chefs she has

BERRY RHUBARB SENSATION ©YULIUS SATRIO AJI

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©DREAMCAM STUDIO

worked with. Learning several French classic styles which inspired her to create her desserts with brilliant products and the finest chocolate – Valrhona “One of my favourite flavour combinations is acai, yoghurt and white chocolate ivory. The combination of those three ingredients creates a deliciously balanced flavour between sourness which comes from the red grape flavour of the acai, the acidity from the yoghurt and sweetness from Valrhona Ivoire White Chocolate. Valrhona has always been a favourite ingredient, so versatile with unlimited creations.”

“The best way to gain experience is to do it and believe that you can do it.”

DWIYANTI CINTANINGRUM WALDORF ASTORIA DIFC DUBAI

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GREGORY CHRISMANT MANDARIN ORIENTAL JUMEIRA DUBAI

©MANDARIN ORIENTAL JUMEIRAH - DUBAI

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B

orn in Cannes, France, Gregory’s apprenticeship started at the age of 15, discovering this new world which he admired most. The passion for work set out to be the perfect platform to express himself. Over time with practice and continuous commitment, this passion for pastry grew with every step was amazing, thus focusing on the best and from that moment he knew that it was a start to his professional goal.

After a few years of training, he was allowed to work at the two Michelin star restaurant La Bastide Saint Antoine, Grasse. He continued to invest in his personal and professional development until a new challenge and responsibility which came in Cote d’ Azur with Chef François Raimbault at his two Michelin star restaurant L’ Oasis in Mandelieu- La- Napoule. A few years later, Gregory moved to Palace Hotel Martinez, located on the Croisette, discovering a new perspective to restaurants.

I started to get closer to my dream of expanding my knowledge, skills, techniques, and methods; on the other hand, Chef Fabrice Meynet was a great mentor.

He was then relocated to Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates as Chef Fabrice was opening the Rocco Forte Hotel. “I was always looking for innovation, perfection, and here I experienced the world of hospitality on a big scale – besides fine dining, the events such as the F1 and the Airshow. I was hungry and took it all in, mastering everything I could.” Gregory then went on to open Palazzo Versace Hotel- Dubai and the Mandarin Oriental Jumeira, Dubai.

He is grateful to the chefs who he learnt from, with different principles, methodology and techniques, and their leadership direction, this allowed him to open himself to the immense knowledge and the willingness, seeing the bigger picture by being involved in all the changes and challenges.

His passion for chocolate, and involving different elements to create a combination of flavours and textures, “I have always found chocolate very fascinating.

Nature inspires us to explore, strive to understand, build relationships, create products and I’ve learned this. Each step of this process is important. Chocolate is all about relationships, where one engages all their senses and discovers a magical dimension, the art of chocolate.” His secret is simple, he never compromises on quality and at the end, and you have a miracle. He wants people to discover what is the real Patisserie a la Francaise?

RELIGIEUSE STRAWBERRY PISTACHIO ©MANDARIN ORIENTAL JUMEIRAH - DUBAI

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J

apanese born Dubai based chef, Jun Tomioka began his culinary career at the age of 15, working in a Chinese restaurant in Japan. Two years later he moved to Kushi Katsu, a skewer cutlet concept restaurant and later he then met his mentor Chef Miyata who gave him the base of being a chef.

With plans of working abroad, Jun decided to travel to Italy, “I was having lunch at a trattoria in Milan and after eating, and I went to the kitchen to ask for work and was declined since I did not speak any Italian or English. I was earnest in my plea and after a while they accepted me. I trained with no salary but it was the experience which I wanted and to taste and feel a traditional Italian kitchen.”

Returning to Japan, Jun found work in an Italian restaurant but it was not for long as he got the opportunity to travel to Dubai and work with Takashi Kori at Zuma. At Zuma Dubai, Jun met Reif Othman and after Zuma, he went on to Play, The Experience, Sumosan at the Billionaire Mansion and currently at Kushiyaki.

Not much for awards and accolades, and not recognized.

However, Jun has been behind the stoves and success of restaurants where he has worked. This quite, shy and highly talented chef combines unique ingredients without making a mess, he brings the fifth taste of savouriness Umami together with sweetness, sourness, bitterness, and saltiness.

He loves the colours of the season where he dismantles traditional dishes and reconstructs them with his unique style of cooking.

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MOLTEN CAKE ©IMAGE BY VIVEK KUMAR FOR WG MAGAZINE

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©IMAGE BY VIVEK KUMAR FOR WG MAGAZINE

JUN TOMIOKA KUSHIYAKI DUBAI

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A Tasting Menu with Coffee

FROM COFFEE ABSOLUTE GASTRONOMY WINNER OF THE 2019 INDEPENDENT PUBLISHERS AWARD GOURMAN WORLD COOKBOO AWARDS TOP 3 BEST IN THE WORLD BY GOURMAND

“A passion for the finer things in life - a desire to live within the greatest expression of pleasure coffee and gastronomy!

Coffee Absolute Gastronomy is a celebration of coffee and fine cuisine. From Curitiba in Brazil to Sydney, Australia. Along the way, encountering 35 Michelin stars, crossed 6 continents, 23 countries and inspired by the genius of 40 of the world’s cutting-edge culinary professionals.

As an ingredient, coffee is highlighted in each recipe, some plates are specially created with Lavazza coffee beans, while others feature either ground coffee, an espresso shot, coffee infused in oil or a coffee rub to complement and highlight the ingredients in each dish, each of these brilliant and outstanding chefs have brought out the best of their culinary prowess while working with coffee as an ingredient – A culinary homage to coffee.”

A nine course taste of coffee...

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UOVO CALDO DI CAFFÈ © FABRIZIO ESPOSITO

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WARM SALAD OF YURINE BULB (LILY BULB) © THE WINDSOR HOTEL TOYA RESORT AND SPA

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INGREDIENTS 2 Yurine bulbs (lily bulbs) 200g Espresso coffee 120g Meat fond 40ml Juniper oil 1 Orange (peel and juice) 4 Fresh sea urchins 10g Orange juniper powder YURINE BULB Select two bulbs of medium size, remove the dirt and wash them carefully, taking care not to break the petals or leaves.

Cover them completely with the freshly made espresso coffee, so that the aromas and heat penetrate inside the bulb very slowly.

Leave them to soak for two days, thoroughly marinating them in the espresso coffee.

After two days, skewer the bulbs and roast them very slowly over a medium open fire until they are caramelised.

Patience and flame management are the two secret ingredients that will ensure a successful result.

SIMONE CANTAFIO MAISON BRAS TOYA JAPON HOKKAIDO My passion for the vegetable world, was born in the years spent alongside Michel Bras, his teachings and his visceral contact with the plant world, have captured me over time. As a result, I create recipes and menus that have vegetables, cereals, herbs and flowers at the centre, while looking for nuances and supporting notes in the animal world. The yurine bulb, is a very well-known product on the island of Hokkaido. It is its elegance in form, and taste that has inspired me in the creation of this recipe. A recipe that brings forth touches of sea as well as land such as the fresh sea urchins and a rich vinaigrette flavoured with meat from the island. A vegetable expression that does not forget the animal kingdom and takes us on a journey to the island of Hokkaido, through its best products and their pleasurable combinations.

MEAT VINAIGRETTE Make a classic meat fond. Once the sauce is made, reduce it very slowly on the stove, to obtain a thicker consistency and a more pronounced flavour.

When the sauce is still warm, add the juniper oil and a few drops of orange juice to add a sour/sweet note to the vinaigrette.

JUNIPER OIL Infuse 150g Juniper in a litre of grape seed oil, heating the oil to 60°C for approximately six hours.

Filter the oil to separate the juniper.

ORANGE JUNIPER POWDER Let the peel from the orange dry and grind finely to a powder.

Mix 500g of orange powder, 200g of muscovado sugar, 5g of fresh ground black pepper and 30g of dried and finely ground juniper.

PLATING Gently remove the petals of the yurine bulb, flip the bulb carefully and season it with the vinaigrette.

Add the fresh sea urchins.

Garnish with some valerian leaves, leaving them raw to preserve their freshness and light bitterness.

FINAL NOTES This warm salad of the land and sea, with aromatic shades of coffee, should be served at the beginning of the menu, to open the gastronomic journey with its first stop at the island of Hokkaido and the goodness of its most prized produce.

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INGREDIENTS 400g Filet back loin of pike perch 500ml 10% Salt brine 20g Dried chanterelle powder 10g Freshly ground coffee beans 2g Finger salt Salt the fish filets in salt brine for 10 minutes, rinse with water and dry.

Roll the fish filets in plastic wrap, cool down in freezer until almost frozen and cut into portions.

Steam for five minutes in a bamboo steamer over a pot of water with 5% Guji coffee beans.

Mix the dried chanterelle and freshly grounded coffee with the finger salt.

Roll the steamed fish in coffee and mushroom powder before serving.

PORCINI AND COFFEE PUREÉ 100g Porcini mushrooms 40g Butter 50ml Filter coffee made of Ethiopian Guji beans Cut the porcini mushrooms into small cubes and fry in butter.

When golden, add the coffee and boil for five minutes.

Add to a food processor and blend to a smooth purée.

Flavour with salt.

MUSHROOM, COFFEE AND BUTTER SAUCE 50g Onion 10g Whole Guji coffee beans 50ml Chardonnay or similar 50ml Porcini stock 100ml Cream 10g Ground Guji coffee beans 50g Butter Salt to taste Fry the onion in a preheated pot, add the whole coffee beans, chardonnay and reduce to a third.

Add mushroom stock and reduce to a third.

Add cream and reduce to a third.

Add the ground coffee, cover with plastic and let rest for five to 10 minutes.

Strain and mix in the butter with a hand blender.

Season the sauce with salt.

FINNISH WILD MUSHROOMS 30g Porcini 30g Sheep polypore 30g Chanterelle 40g Butter Salt to taste Cut the mushrooms in small pieces.

Fry the mushrooms in butter and season with salt.

PLATING 20 Spruce shoots 20ml Spruce oil 12 Slices of raw chanterelle

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STEAMED PIKEPERCH AND FINNISH WILD MUSHROOMS @ MATIAS JURVANEN

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FILIP LANGHOFF RESTAURANT ASK HELSINKI

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PENNY BUN AND LAVAZZA COFFEE GNOCCHI BY PACO PÉREZ © MIRAMAR

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ALGINATE BATH 1.5ltr Mineral water 7.5g Alginate Mix the alginate with the mineral water and grind it in a mixer until it gets unified. Pass it through a fine strainer and keep it covered in a fridge for 24 hours.

GNOCCHI 75g Penny bun mushrooms Salt flakes to taste 200g Mona Lisa potatoes 25g Butter 10g Tartufo bianco d’Alba butter 25ml Potato cooking water 4g Gluco-lactate

Clean the penny buns well with a wet cloth and chop into quarters. Put the mushrooms into a vacuum bag with the olive oil, salt, pepper and the garlic with its skin. Vacuum pack it and cook it in boiling water at 70°C for 40 minutes. Remove the mushrooms from the bag and set aside.

SAUTÉED PENNY BUNS 3 Medium-sized penny bun mushrooms Olive oil to taste Salt flakes to taste Clean the mushrooms with a wet cloth, chop them into quarters and sauté them in a hot pan with salt flakes and olive oil until they are brown.

SLICED PENNY BUNS 2 Small penny bun mushrooms Clean the mushrooms with a wet cloth and thinly slice them with a mandolin or a sharpened knife.

Clean the mushrooms with a wet cloth, chop them into irregular sizes and sauté them in a hot pan with a little bit of salt and olive oil till they are well browned. Wash the potatoes and boil them in some water with its peel and salt until they are tender. Peel the potatoes and put into a Thermomix with its own water, add the sautéed mushrooms, the butter, the truffle butter and the gluco-lactate. Grind all of it for seven minutes at speed 7 and 80°C. Pour the mixture through a fine strainer and keep it in the fridge.

Cover the mixture with a plastic film making contact with the surface to avoid the mixture drying out. Once chilled, pour the mixture into a pastry bag with a #6 nozzle. Pour the alginate bath into a deep tray. Pipe the mixture in 20 cm large stripes and with the help of scissors cut them in 4cm gnocchi. Separate the gnocchi to avoid them getting stuck to each other and leave them in the alginate bath for five minutes. With a slotted spoon, take the gnocchi out of the bath and dip them in cold water to clean them before draining them.

MUSHROOM AND COFFEE INFUSION 300ml Mineral water 25g Black trumpet mushrooms 75g Red pine mushrooms 50g Chanterelle mushrooms 10g 100% Arabic Lavazza coffee grains 3g Dried penny bun mushrooms Salt flakes to taste 0.9g Xanthan gum

LYOPHILISED COFFEE POWDER 100 g Lavazza espresso coffee 100% Arabica

Clean the mushrooms well and break them by hand. Add the minced mushrooms, the coffee grains and the penny buns and the mineral water in a pot and boil it. Add the salt flakes and stir the blend before removing from the heat. Cover the pot with a plastic film and leave it rest for 30 minutes. Strain the juice in a fine strainer and add the xanthan gum. Mix well with in a mixer until the mixture becomes thick and strain it again. Boil the textured juice to remove the air from the blend and let it cool.

PINE NUTS 4g pine nuts (preferably from Castilla, Spain) Mineral water as needed

CONFIT PENNY BUNS 3 Medium-sized penny bun mushrooms Olive oil to taste Salt flakes to taste 2 Black pepper berries ¼ Garlic clove

Freeze 100g of the Arabic coffee and lyophilise it. Then, at the time of plating, make it to a powder.

PENNY BUN SAUCE 100g Penny bun leftovers 100g Ossobuco 400g Mineral water Olive oil to taste Salt flakes to taste Chop the ossobuco and add it to a pan with olive oil and salt. Add the leftover mushrooms and continue cooking it until everything is browned. Season the mixture and add the water.

Leave it cook at low temperature for 30 minutes and pass it through a fine strainer. Chill it in the fridge and degrease the broth. Reduce it in a pot until a brilliant demi-glace is obtained.

DRIED FIG AIR 100g Dried figs 400g Mineral water 25g Palo Cortado (Sherry) 2.5g Sucro texture Vacuum pack the dried figs with the mineral water and the Palo Cortado. Cook it at 70°C for four hours. Strain the mixture and add the sucro with a mixer, for plating, incorporate more air.

Clean the pine nuts and soak them in a fridge until they’re well hydrated. Drain them well and slice them into round slices.

PLATING On the base of a plate spread the mushroom and coffee infusion (very warm). Lightly warm the gnocchi in salted water, drain them and spread out on the infusion. Warm the confit and sautéed penny buns and distribute them over the plate.

Sauce it with the demi-glace and sprinkle the sliced pine nuts.

Place the sliced penny buns against the gnocchi and finish by topping with dried fig air.

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KONSTANTIN FILIPPOU RESTAURANT KONSTANTIN FILIPPOU VIENNA INGREDIENTS BEEF MARROW 2 Large beef marrow bones 1 Pinch of salt HAZELNUT FOAM 500g Hazelnuts (peeled) 1l Cream 200ml Milk 1 Pinch of salt DASHI STOCK 2 Onions 50g Brown sugar 100ml Soy sauce 2l Water 100g Bonito flakes 1kg Button mushrooms 90g Arrowroot powder BUTTON MUSHROOMS 4 Button mushrooms 100ml Dashi stock ZANDER LIVER 4 Zander livers 250ml Olive oil 1 Pinch of salt 2 Sprigs of thyme 2 All spice berries 2 Juniper berries 2 Black peppercorns ZANDER FILLET 200g Zander fillet (boned) 25g Butter 1 Pinch of salt

HAZELNUT FOAM Roast the hazelnuts in the oven at 180°C. Mix the milk, cream, and salt, then heat and add the hot hazelnuts. Refrigerate for 12 hours. Very briefly blend and pass through a fine sieve. Pour into an iSi whipper with two chargers.

DASHI STOCK Roast the button mushrooms in the oven at 180°C for 30 minutes.

Halve the onions and roast them cut side down, until they blacken.

Deglaze with soy sauce, add water and bring to a boil. Stir in the brown sugar, then the bonito flakes, and button mushrooms.

Remove from the heat and let sit for two hours. Strain and thicken the stock with arrowroot powder.

BUTTON MUSHROOMS Cut off the mushroom stems and vacuum seal the mushrooms with a little dashi stock. Cook in the sous-vide basin at 63°C for 20 minutes. Cool in ice water. Finally, cut out with a round cookie cutter (2 centimetres in diameter).

ZANDER LIVER Very slowly cook the zander livers together with the spices in hot olive oil (max. 65°C) for about seven minutes.

ZANDER FILLET Quarter the zander fillet, sear until crispy on the skin side until transparent, then salt lightly.

ZANDER CHEEKS Pour hot butter over the zander cheeks; keep warm for five minutes, then salt.

COFFEE OIL Put the coffee beans and the oil in a pot and heat it up to 80°C and simmer for 15 minutes. Put it through a sieve and cool it.

ZANDER CHEEKS 4 Zander cheeks 50g Butter 1 Pinch of salt

ROASTED HAZELNUTS Roast the nuts in the oven at 180°C for about 15 minutes, then chop finely and lightly salt.

COFFEE OIL 200ml Olive oil 60g Coffee beans

PÉRIGORD TRUFFLE Shave the truffle into thin slices and cut out discs using a round cookie cutter (1 centimetre in diameter).

ROASTED HAZELNUTS 250g Hazelnuts, peeled 1 Pinch of salt

PLATING Circularly arrange the zander liver, zander fillet, zander cheeks, and button mushrooms in a deep plate and pour in the dashi stock. Fill the mushrooms with hazelnut foam and cover with the beef marrow. Evenly sprinkle the coffee oil and the roasted hazelnuts on the marrow disc and garnish with the truffle.

PÉRIGORD BLACK TRUFFLE 50g Périgord black truffle

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BEEF MARROW Soak the marrow for 12 hours, changing the water every two hours. Then thinly slice the marrow (5 millimetres), and cut out discs using a round cookie cutter (2.5 centimetres in diameter).

Add a bit of salt and keep warm.

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ZANDER, HAZELNUT, TRUFFLE, DASHI AND COFFEE OIL @ ALAN KAVCIC

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RED MULLET © IVO GESKUS @SPECIAL PIXELS

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INGREDIENTS 4 Red mullet fillets (50g each) SHALLOT CREAM 10 Banana shallots 100ml Clarified butter Sea salt and pepper to taste SWEET RED PEPPER CREAM 4 Sweet red peppers Sea salt and pepper to taste BLACK OLIVE CREAM 200g Taggiasca olives (stoned) AUBERGINE CREAM 2 Aubergines 100g Clarified butter Sea salt and pepper to taste RAZOR CLAMS 300g Dutch razor clams 50g Finely chopped onion 50g Finely chopped celery 50g Finely chopped celeriac 50g finely chopped leek ¼ Fennel, finely chopped 50g Olive oil 1 Bay leaf 30ml Chardonnay or similar 10ml Pernod 50ml Fish stock RAZOR CLAM SAUCE 40ml Razor clam jus 25g Rwanda coffee beans 50g Butter 5g Lecithin SHALLOT CREAM Remove the skin of the shallots, and cut them in half lengthwise, then cut each half into chunks. Fry the shallots in the clarified butter over medium heat until golden brown and allow to caramelise slightly. Lower the heat and continue to cook until very soft. Blend the cooked shallots in a food processor to obtain a smooth consistency.

Return to a pan and allow to thicken over low heat.

Season with salt and pepper.

SWEET RED PEPPER CREAM Deep fry the whole peppers at 180°C for approximately five minutes. Cool in ice water then remove the skin. Cut in half and remove the seeds. Blend the peppers in a food processor until smooth. Season with salt and pepper.

Store in a piping bag.

ONNO KOKMEIJER & ARJAN SPEELMAN CIEL BLEU RESTAURANT HOTEL OKURA AMSTERDAM This dish contains two unique ingredients from the North Sea: red mullet and razor clams. Coffee and razor clams is a classic combination. The red mullet and razor clams have salty flavours, which complement the razor clam sauce that is infused with Rwandan coffee beans. This also matches well with the rich flavours of the olives, aubergine and paprika. This dish was created by Onno Kokmeijer and Arjan Speelman of two-starred Michelin restaurant, Ciel Bleu. They prefer to use Dutch products as the main ingredients in their dishes that are enriched by international influences due to their travel experiences.

BLACK OLIVE CREAM Blend the olives in a food processor until smooth. If the mixture is too thick, thin with olive oil until the correct consistency is obtained. Store in a piping bag.

AUBERGINE CREAM Peel the aubergines and cut them into 3x3cm pieces. Heat the clarified butter over medium heat and add the aubergine. Cook slowly for 45 minutes until the aubergine is evenly browned and the flavour has developed. Blend in a food processor until smooth. Season with sea salt and pepper. Store in a piping bag.

RAZOR CLAMS Rinse the razor clams for five minutes in salt water. Cut them open down the side with a small knife and extract the flesh. Leave the intestines in the shell. Heat the olive oil in a large pan and cook the finely chopped vegetables and bay leaf in the oil without browning. Add the razor clam shells and cook for one minute.

Deglaze with the Pernod and the Chardonnay or similar, allow it to evaporate almost completely and add the fish stock. Once hot, cover with a lid and cook for five minutes. Strain through a fine cloth. Put the liquid back on the heat to boil and then pour it over the cleaned razor clam meat. Let it stand on the counter for five minutes then remove the razor clams and cut into very fine rings.

Boil the liquid from the razor clams until you obtain a strong jus.

RAZOR CLAM SAUCE Infuse the razor clam jus with the Rwandan coffee beans and keep it in a bain-marie at 80°C for 15 minutes. Strain through a fine cloth and mix it with the butter. Just before serving, foam it up with a stick blender.

PLATING Pipe dots of all the creams uniformly on the plate to create a confetti effect. Cook the mullet fillets sous vide for one minute at 75°C. Plate the fillets and arrange the fine razor clam rings on top in a row. Pour the foamed razor clam sauce over the top.

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COFFEE GRAVY 4l Brown chicken stock / 200g Ground coffee / 2l Pinot Noir or similar / 300ml Double cream / 20g Arrowroot / Fresh lemon juice to taste / 50g Caster sugar / 10g Ground black pepper / Salt to taste / 250g Sliced button mushrooms / 250g Banana shallots (sliced) / 250g Unsalted butter In a heavy flat stainless steel pan, place the chicken stock, arrowroot, and Pinot Noir or similar. Reduce by ¾. In two separate heavy based pans, heat vegetable oil then roast off the mushrooms and the shallots separately. Once soft add 125g of butter into both pans, allow to caramelise, keep stirring, and do not allow to burn. Strain, then add to the sauce reduction. Add the double cream and check the consistency and seasoning. At this stage add the ground coffee and allow it to infuse for 10 minutes then strain. Season with sugar and lemon juice, then strain through double muslin. Blast chill straight away. Re-heat when needed.

HAY ASH 300g Leeks / Hay as needed

JAMES KNIGHT-PACHECO

SIX SENSES ZIGHY BAY MUSANDAM, DIBBA INGREDIENTS

MILK COOKED VEAL TENDERLOIN 200g Veal tenderloin / 20ml Milk / 2g Rosemary / 2g Thyme / 1g Salt / Vacuum pack bag Place all the ingredients into the vacuum pack bag, vacuum as tight as possible. Set the water bath to 52°C. Drop the lamb into the water bath – cook for 4 hours, then blast chill or refresh in iced cold water. To re-heat, simply drop the Lamb into the water bath at around the same temperature for 15 minutes.

Then pan roast in vegetable oil, foaming butter, once rested, slice - season with salt, serve.

MILK GEL 300g Reduced full fat milk / 200g Water / 3g Malt powder / 7g Agar agar / 10g Caster sugar Place all of the wet items into a pan, bring to boil. Mix the dry elements, then add to the boiling liquid, whisk well for 3-4 minutes, place into a container, allow to cool to room temperature, then place in the chiller for 6 hours. Once set, place the gel into a blender, blend at a high speed, until it becomes a fluid gel, then strain well, use when ready.

CAFÉ LATTE MASH POTATO 1kg Désirée potatoes (sliced) / 300ml Milk / 200g Double cream / 200g Unsalted butter / Salt to taste / 200g Café latte Place the sliced potatoes into a vacuum pack bag. The potatoes must be as flat as possible when they are being vacuumed.

Once vacuum packed, place the bag in a water bath at 72°C for 45 minutes. Once the time is up, chill straight away. Set the water bath to 90°C, then place the chilled potatoes back in the water bath and cook for 90 minutes or until soft. Remove from the bag and pass through a sieve then vacuum pack and chill.

To heat up the mash, simply heat up the butter, milk and cream, whip the mash until a light pomme mousseline consistency is achieved. Add the café latte, then season, serve when ready.

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Pre-heat the oven to 220°C. Chop the hay, place it onto an oven tray, and bake the leeks until fully black. Allow to dry, then blend to a fine powder, strain, then keep in a dry cool place.

CHARRED BABY LEEKS 100g Baby leeks / 10g Corn oil / 1 g Sea salt Steam the leeks for one minute, add the oil and then lightly sprinkle with salt. Place directly onto a chargrill and char both sides.

CHIVE OIL 150g Chives / 100g Corn oil / 100g Pomace oil Blanch the chives in boiling water for 30 seconds, then transfer the chives into salted ice water. Dry well and place the chives and the oil in the blender. At full speed blend for exactly 50 seconds then strain the oil twice, place in a bottle, and keep in the fridge.

TURKEY BACON POWDER 200g Turkey bacon Pre-heat the oven to 170°C. Place the bacon in the oven, cook until crisp, then turn the oven down to 130°C, cook until the bacon is fully crisp. Dry well, once cold, finely chop to a powder, do not blend. Store in a dry cool place.

TOASTED PANKO CRUMBS 100g Panko breadcrumbs / 2g Sea salt / 30g Unsalted butter Place the panko in a dry non-stick pan, roast the crumbs until they begin to colour and then add the butter. Roast until the crumbs turn to a golden caramel colour, then place onto absorbent paper. Add the salt and allow to cool. Store in a dry cool place.

SHERRY CARAMEL 150g Sherry vinegar / 150g Caster sugar Lightly heat the vinegar and set aside. Place the sugar in a dry pan, on a medium heat and slowly turn the sugar to a goldenbrown caramel. Once all of the sugar has melted, very gently whisk in the vinegar until a light caramel has formed, then keep whisking the caramel, until all of the sugar has dissolved.

Strain immediately and allow to cool at room temperature.

Once cooled, place the caramel in a squeeze bottle.

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VEAL LOVES MILKY COFFEE @ JULIET DUNNE

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TURKISH COFFEE CHILLI RUBBED RIB EYE STEAK © RITA TESANDORI

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INGREDIENTS 10 300g Rangers Valley rib eye 200g Unsalted butter 10 Garlic cloves 10 Sprigs of thyme 10 Bay leaves COFFE RUB 30g Isot (black chilli flakes) 30g Turkish red chilli flakes 30g Turkish coffee, ground 30g Black pepper, ground 30g Dark brown sugar 12g Smoked paprika 7g Coleman’s English mustard powder 2g Ginger powder FRIED ZA’ATAR POTATOES 200g Katakoriko (Japanese potato starch) 30g Dried za’atar 10g Table salt ROASTED GARLIC 5 Garlic cloves, cut in half 100ml Extra virgin olive oil Maldon Sea salt to taste Freshly ground black pepper to taste THE RUB Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl. Store in an airtight container.

FRIED POTATOES Boil the ratte potatoes in the boiling salted water until just cooked.

Refresh in ice water. When ready to serve, gently smash to break open, dust with the za’atar mix. Deep-fry the potatoes until crisp and golden brown, season with Maldon sea salt and a little extra dried za’atar.

COLIN CLAGUE RÜYA DUBAI

ROASTED GARLIC Preheat oven to 175°C degree. Cut the garlic bulb in half of to expose cloves. Place garlic in small baking dish. Add oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper, toss to coat. Turn garlic cut side up. Cover tightly with a tin foil. Bake until garlic skins are golden brown and cloves are tender, about 55 minutes.

STEAK Season the steak with Maldon salt then about two tablespoons of the rub. Grill the steak until beautifully marked. Place in a hot pan with little oil, butter and herbs and baste until the butter foams. Roast to required doneness. Allow to rest then slice.

PLATING Serve the steak with the fried potatoes and roasted garlic.

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COFFEE SOUS VIDE OSTRICH FILLET © THE ROYAL PORTFOLIO

WG MAGAZINE

VERONICA CANHA-HIBBERT THE SILO CAPE TOWN Ostrich is a healthy alternative to beef and works well with strong bold flavours such as coffee. The creamy celeriac and sweet caramelised pears bind a flavourful dish without the traditional heaviness of a smoked main course meal.

INGREDIENTS COFFEE SOUS VIDE OSTRICH FILLET 400g Trimmed ostrich fillet / Maldon salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste / Canola oil as needed / 15g butter / 2 Garlic cloves peeled / 8g Roasted coffee beans / 1 Sprig of thyme / 50ml Pinot Noir or similar demi-glace CELERIAC PURÉE 2 Heads of celeriac, approximately 500g / 15ml Olive oil 4 Garlic cloves peeled and sliced / Maldon salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste / nutmeg to taste / 1l Vegetable stock / 15g Butter / 100ml Cream CONFIT LEEKS 6 Baby leeks (washed and trimmed)/ 50g Butter / 25ml Olive oil blend / 100ml Water / 1 Garlic clove (crushed) SALT BAKED BEETROOT 200g Coarse sea salt / 200g Fine salt / 2 Egg whites, lightly beaten / 250g Plain flour / 2 Rosemary sprigs, de-stalked / 125 ml Water / 6 Medium beetroots / Extra virgin olive oil to serve CARAMELISED PEARS 20g Butter / 400g Packham pears (peeled and cut into equal-sized wedges) / 50g Light brown sugar COFFEE SAUCE 125ml Pinot Noir or similar demi-glace / 5g Roasted coffee beans / 25ml Gin / 1 Sprig of thyme / ½ White onion, sliced / 1 Clove of garlic crushed / Canola oil as needed COFFEE SOUS VIDE OSTRICH FILLET Generously season the meat on all sides with the salt and pepper. Place in a large vacuum-pack bag with the coffee beans, thyme and 50 ml demi-glace and vacuum-pack on medium. Cook in a water bath at 60˚C for 35 minutes.

Remove the bags from the water and let the meat rest for 10 minutes. Heat a sauté pan and brown the meat on all sides, add the thyme and rosemary to the pan and a knob of cold butter. Baste the meat with the butter.

Remove the meat and let it rest before slicing.

CELERIAC PURÉE Brush excess dirt off of the celeriac. Cut off the bottoms and tops, cut into quarters and peel. Cut into rough cubes. Heat the olive oil in a heavy based saucepan over low heat. Add the celeriac, garlic, salt and pepper and cook, stirring frequently, just until it begins to soften, approximately five minutes. Increase the heat to medium-high and add the vegetable stock. Bring to a boil and cook until the celeriac is tender and easily pierced with a fork, approximately 20 minutes. Drain the celeriac through a colander and return to the pot and steam till all the moisture evaporates.

Add the cream and the butter, and bring to the boil. Transfer to a blender and blend till smooth. Transfer into a plastic piping bag and keep warm.

CONFIT LEEKS Melt the butter in a large pot over a medium-low flame. Once the butter is melted, add the leeks and olive oil and stir to coat the leeks. Add the water and salt and stir to combine. Place a lid on the pot and reduce flame to low. Cook, stirring often, for approximately 25 minutes or until leeks are tender. Remove the lid and cook for two to three minutes or until the remaining liquid has evaporated. Serve warm.

SALT BAKED BEETROOT To make the salt crust, place the two salts, egg whites, flour, rosemary leaves and most of the water in a food processor and whiz until combined. Add the remaining water until the mixture forms a firm dough that isn’t too sticky. Tip out the dough and squeeze into a ball, cover with plastic wrap and set aside for two hours. Heat the oven to 170˚C. Scrub the beetroot and closely trim, but do not peel. Roll out the dough on a bench and cut into six pieces. Place a beetroot on top of each one, and press the dough up and over each beetroot until completely sealed. Bake for one and a half hours, then crack open the crust, brush the beetroot with olive oil and cut into quarters.

CARAMELISED PEARS Heat a large sauté pan over medium heat. Melt the butter, and then add the pears, cut-side down, cooking until they are slightly golden brown, approximately five minutes. Add the brown sugar and continue cooking until caramelised, approximately five minutes.

COFFEE SAUCE Sauté the onion and garlic in a heavy-based saucepan. Once the onions are a golden brown colour, deglaze the pan with the gin.

Add the demi-glace.

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VINEET BHATIA ZIYA MUMBAI INGREDIENTS PESHAWARI SAMOSA 100g Desiccated coconut 30g Ground almonds 30g Flaked almonds 30g Pistachio nuts (chopped) 30g Raisins (chopped) 80ml Unsweetened condensed milk 4tbsp Granulated sugar 1tsp Ground cardamom 8 Double-layered spring roll sheets (cut into squares) Plain flour glue to seal Vegetable oil to deep fry COFFEE SHRIKHAND 30g Instant coffee powder 1tsp Green cardamom powder 100g Caster sugar 250g Thick Greek yogurt ESPRESSO SAUCE 30g Coffee powder 80g Moscavado sugar

Chocolate samosa or ‘Chocomosa’ is my most copied signature dish and provided a new ‘avatar’ to the iconic samosa, catapulting it from a savoury to a sweet genre. Ever since, I have come across countless sweet variations of the samosa and have even been served the ‘Chocomosa’ in a couple of restaurants with the server oblivious to who it is being served. Peshawari samosa is another of my variation of a sweet samosa and is inspired from the Peshawari Naan – a bread that is more English than Indian. I encountered this sweet naan once I arrived in London and now have exported my own version to my restaurants.

PESHAWARI SAMOSA In a bowl add all the ingredients and mix together to form the sweet filling.

For the samosa, divide the cut out spring roll squares into two to form a triangle. Fold to form a cone, sealing the pasted straight edge with the flour glue. Then lift the cone with the tapered end at the bottom and fill with the sweet mix. Seal the open end with the flour glue, pressing the edges firmly together. The prepared samosa should be kept refrigerated for about 30 minutes or until you are ready to use. Deep fry in hot oil until golden, remove and place on absorbent paper to soak excess oil. Samosas can be optionally garnished with melted white and dark chocolate lines, piped through a fine tipped piping bag.

COFFEE SHRIKHAND In a bowl add the instant coffee powder, green cardamom powder and caster sugar. Pour in 40ml of warm water, whisk well until the coffee and sugar dissolve in the water. Add the thick Greek yogurt to the coffee mixture and whisk until the coffee is well incorporated. Keep in refrigerator.

GARNISH Baby meringues and chocolate chips

ESPRESSO SAUCE Whisk all the ingredients in 20ml of warm water until a smooth glaze forms.

PLAIN FLOUR GLUE Take two or three tablespoons of plain white flour and add a few tablespoons of warm water to the flour. Keep stirring the mixture and adding more water if necessary. The consistency of this mixture should resemble glue, slightly runny but sticky.

PLATING Spoon the coffee shrikhand on a plate and top it with the coffee glaze. With the back of the spoon, smear the shrikhand and coffee glaze on the plate. Arrange the samosas, meringue and chocolate chips alternatively on the plate.

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PESHAWARI SAMOSA, COFFEE SHRIKHAND @ VINEET BHATIA

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FERRERO & LAVAZZA BY PACO PÉREZ © FRANCESC GUILLAMET

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HAZELNUT MILK 200ml Low fat milk 100g Toasted hazelnut In the oven, toast the hazelnuts at 160°C for seven minutes. Heat the milk at 70°C and add the freshly toasted halved hazelnuts.

While it gets cold, vacuum pack the blend and leave it to rest for 12 hours in the fridge. Strain it with a Superbag.

HAZELNUT INULIN 50g Pure hazelnut paste.

150ml Mineral water.

45g White sugar 80g Inulin 6g Salt flakes Add all of the ingredients except the inulin to a Thermomix and mix it at speed 3. Dust the inulin while it is ground and heat it up to 37°C at speed 3. Strain it in a Superbag and chill it in a fridge for 12 hours. Then pour it in a pastry bag and set aside.

HAZELNUT AND FEULLETINE MERINGUE 200g Hazelnut milk 100ml (50/50) Sugar syrup 12g Albumin 3g Xanthan gum 0.2g Cream of tartar 1.5g Oblate for each 300g the resulting mixture.

A measure of feulletine A measure of toasted hazelnut Mix the hazelnut milk with the sugar syrup. Heat the mixture up to 70°C, when the temperature is reached, add the oblate, slowly grind with a mixer. While it is tempered, add the albumin and the cream of tartar, and finally the xanthan gum. Keep it in the fridge, and leave it to rest for 12 hours.

After that, whip the meringue with a stand mixer and stretch it out in a tray with a silpat previously oiled with sunflower oil, leaving a 0.4mm height. Sprinkle the feulletine and the toasted hazelnuts cut into sheets, set it with the meringue.

Dry it in the oven at 55°C, without ventilation for 12 hours. Set aside.

COFFEE INULIN 50g Lavazza Arabica grain coffee 150ml Lavazza espresso 20g White sugar 80g Inulin Add all of the ingredients except the inulin to a Thermomix and mix it at speed 3. Dust the inulin while is grinded and heat up to 37°C at speed 3. Strain it in a Superbag and chill it in a fridge for 12 hours. Then pour it in pastry bag and set aside.

CHOCOLATE AND COFFEE CREAMY PASTE 40g Egg yolks 40g White sugar 140g Santo Domingo 70% dark chocolate 100ml Whole milk 125ml 35% Fat fresh cream 50g Lavazza Arabica grain coffee Blend the coffee and milk and vacuum pack it. Refrigerate it for 24 hours and strain it. Put the egg yolks (room temperature) and the sugar in a bowl. Whip the mixture until it becomes white. Mix the fresh cream and the milk previously infused with the coffee.

Bring it to a boil, pour it on the egg yolk preparation and mix well. Heat this up to 84°C, constantly stirring. Then, put it on the chocolate. Emulsify it with a mixer. Remove the air in a vacuum machine, put in a pastry bag and keep it in fridge for 12 hours.

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ALEXANDRA STUMPF

B ALEXANDER STUMPF ©ALEXANDER STUMPF/ BB

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orn and raised in Germany from a small village called Goldisthal. Both his parents come from the restaurant industry, so he grew up with only homemade food, farming their own crops, as well as chicken and ducks. Alexander started his career just after he turned 16. He left home and moved to Bavaria near the Austrian border to start work at Hotel zur post, a very traditional Bavarian restaurant and a busy venue - 300 covers a day was the norm. All of the food was home baked and handmade with a butchery attached to the restaurant. “Looking back today, both my parents were working in the F&B industry, which I did not like when I was around 15-15 years old, had to work weekends, holidays and did not have the same routine as my friends. I thought there was no way I’m going to have this routine when I am older. Yet I always spent time in the kitchen, tasting and helping. Over the summer holidays, I started working in the kitchen doing the dishes and, in a nutshell, as soon as I entered the kitchen I felt home. It was strange, but it felt like I belonged there and after that I never left! I wanted to see more, learn more and taste the world”.

The three years at Hotel zur post, built his foundation of cooking today. He then travelled to Munich, Cologne, London, Dubai, Miami, Istanbul, Mexico, and Kuwait and gained a lot of different experiences with different cuisines and finally he fulfilled a dream with the launch of BB in Dubai.

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ALEXANDRA STUMPF

TRUFFLE EGGS

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HABIBTI BAO

HABIBA BAO

WAGYU KATSU

WG MAGAZINE

As the executive chef and co-owner of BB’s, Alexander’s creative menus are driven by quality produce, a composition of flavours… For Alexander creativity is going wide beyond the horizon. “Here in Dubai, having access to global ingredients with a snap of a finger is just mind blowing, and the quality is amazing. We also having fantastic local ingredients too. I try to not get carried away too much, I limit myself to three main flavours and enhance them.”

BEEF PHO

WG catches up with Alexander Stumpf…

Your culinary philosophy, the inspiration creating a new dish…

I try not to complicate things too much, but sometimes as chefs we can get carried away. I like to keep it real, not too much of changing the core product. Creating a new dish which stands out and makes it as a top runner on the menu takes time and passion, as you have to balance all components and make it work in a la carte environment. First comes the inspiration, then how does it fit in the menu - as nowadays we have a very consumer driven market. Then I talk with my team about how we can get different textures and presentation on the plate, and lastly cooking it until we get the right balance and comments. After all it has to make sense to the clientele and service we are offering.

Your culinary experiences, how did it help you as a chef and how did they influence your cuisine?

Markus Rathe was one of my first mentors, unfortunately for only a short period of time but this was my first influence of high-end Mediterranean cuisine. He was talented, driven and creative. And of course Zuma with Coline Clague, Ross Shanon, Reif Othman and lately Mexican chef, Eduardo García. All these chefs gave me trust and it gave me confidence in what I was doing.

My style of cuisine… Well put it this way, all of them have their own personality and creativity, yet all have the same goal to be the best in their own field and are all running their own empire, as do I now too. I always looked at these chefs and asked what do they do differently? How are they handling situations? And then learnt from them.

SUPER GREEN HUMUS

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ALEXANDRA STUMPF

Ingredients that inspire you and like working with, ingredients that you weren’t able to work with and in your opinion what is the most overrated ingredient...

Insects would be the one ingredient I would love to supplement in my kitchen. Did you know two billion people eat insects in 162 nations around the world? I tried already to bring them in but unfortunately the local authorities rejected it. I love working with Chilies, Japanese & Mexican herbs and vegetables.

You just can’t make Huitlacoche, also known as corn mushroom; and fermented soybeans taste nice. Overrated – well, I think cheaper versions of high-end ingredients such as truffle, lobster and caviar. These are now widely available in supermarkets and at affordable prices, but they can’t compare to the quality of produce that we source and use in the restaurant and of course our prices reflect this quality.

Your greatest influence in the kitchen and what motivates you?

My wife! She always supports and motivates me. It’s also the growth of BBs and thinking about next steps for the future.

Other than creating good food, what are the most important qualities that make a successful chef?

Building a great team is everything, without them a restaurant would not be a success. Also being organised and understanding your finances Your earliest childhood memories and flavours from your childhood…

Earliest food memory would be baking my own chocolate cake. Flavours from my childhood would be roast duck at my grandma’s home with red cabbage and potato dumplings.

In the past years how has cuisine changed around the world?

Cuisine has changed simply because of the availability of ingredients and that we are continuously cross mixing, what was called fusion is now the norm in all cuisines. See how many people are now using simple Asian ingredients in their food across Europe or the US.

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CHOCOLATE SPOONS

FRUIT PLATTER

WAFFLE APPLE PIE

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thought process A CULINARY MIX WITH IRISH PRODUCE by

FLAVEL MONTEIRO

AWARD-WINNING AUTHOR

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RAYMOND WONG SEAFIRE STEAKHOUSE DUBAI

STEVEN SMALLEY HILTON DUBAI JUMEIRAH HILTON DUBAI THE WALK DUBAI

HEINZ BECK LA PERGOLA - ROME

GRANT MACPHERSON HAKKASAN GROUP - LAS VEGAS

ANNA HAUGH MYRTLE RESTAURANT - LONDON

LUIGI VESPERO WALDORF ASTORIA DIFC - DUBAI

DANIEL NEGREIRA HIDDEN BY DN - TAIPEI

JOHN BUENAVENTURA HAMPTON BY HILTON AL SEEF - DUBAI

CRAIG BEST HELL’S KITCHEN DUBAI

JAMES KNIGHT PACHECO ME DUBAI

REIF OTHMAN KUSHIYAKI - DUBAI

ALFREDO RUSSO DOLCE STIL NOVO - TURIN

SHANE BORN BIDIBONDI - DUBAI

SARADHI DAKARA THE MAINE - DUBAI

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THOUGHT PROCESS - A CULINARY MIX WITH IRISH PRODUCE

WHAT MAKES THE ISLAND OF IRELAND SO SPECIAL? People enjoy sharing food that they love, they take interest in the stories of where it comes from, and how it’s produced. Each story starts in the very same way, with a perfect combination with the natural environment, and working in harmony.

The plentiful rain that nourishes Ireland’s lush grasslands and bountiful fields to make it perfect for livestock to graze on, for produce, plants and cereals to grow. The wild Atlantic coastline brings in gusts of fresh, clean air, and provides clear blue ocean waters to fish in.

It’s from natural beginnings like these that Ireland looks to share its produce with the world, to be enjoyed wherever people love good food. Families and communities rise each day with a purpose, to farm, to fish and to produce with the same care, commitment and respect for tradition that they have done for generations. So, if you ever wondered what’s behind Ireland’s food - well, it’s a place where they work in harmony with nature like nowhere else in the world.

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©IMAGE BY JACK CAFFREY / OWNED BY BORD BIA

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G

rowing up in Tallaght, Dublin as the youngest of four children, Anna Haugh has been described as Gordon Ramsay’s protégé. Her interest in cooking started at a young age of 12 when she was making Sunday dinner roast for her family from scratch. Her parents raised her as their parents raised them; focusing on homemade food and harvesting fruits growing in the back garden, which would be preserved or used until gone. One of her first memories was making jam. Her mum used to make her top and tail blackberries.

At 17, her friend’s mother told her ‘why don’t you be a chef’ and to Anna, the question was more like “why don’t you be an astronaut?”

She never thought she could do it, but when Anna went into the kitchen for the first time, it was love at first sight, and she never looked back.

Her first kitchen experience was with Derry Clarke at the Michelinstarred L’Ecrivain, and in 2000, Anna joined Gualtiero Marchesi as the head pastry chef. She was keen to work in the hot kitchen, so on her days off, she would try and help but was told: “You’re the head pastry chef and you are never going higher.” Anna gave her notice and left for London, and never worked in pastry again. While in London, Anna worked with Shane Osborne as chef de partie under Philip Howard at the Michelin star restaurant Pied à Terre.

In 2013, she got a call from Gordon Ramsay’s team. The interview involved her creating a main course and dessert for Stuart Gilles, Gordon Ramsay’s second in command. Anna was given a mystery box, and she put two brilliant dishes together – a boxty based stuffed gnocchi inspired by Irish cuisine and a carrageen moss as the dessert.

After the tasting, Stuart told her she got the job, and she then went on to help out at Maze, and Union Street Café while the finishing touches were done at London House in Battersea. At London House, Anna won three AA rosettes before her departure to the iconic Soho restaurant Bob Bob Ricard as the executive chef.

©MYRTLE RESTAURANT

ANNA HAUGH MYRTLE RESTAURANT LONDON

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It was finally time to venture out on her own. Anna opened Myrtle in Chelsea, named as a homage to Myrtle Allen, the matriarch of Irish cooking. Anna took modern European cuisine and overlaid it with Irish influence, using only the finest Irish produce. “I enjoy using any great product, but using great Irish produce makes me particularly proud. There is so much that Ireland has to offer.” Her interest in getting more out of cooking with beef with a twist to her signature dishes – her Irish boxty cake and her roasted Irish fillet. “My roasted Irish beef and boxty cake is a refined version of what a traditional boxty cake would have been in Ireland. In the past it would have been seen as peasant food, so the idea of pairing it with a fillet of beef is saying look at this, it’s delicious! A lot of the recipes I’m working on are the ones that I got from my mother and grandmother. All of my Granny’s dishes are truly Irish because she never left Ireland.

One of her favourite cuts of beef is the shin, as she explains, “I love a good rib eye, I love a good steak but take a shin of beef and marinate it, roast it or braise it until it’s tender, this takes time, knowledge, effort and I love that. It’s lovely in the boxty; however, there’s so much more you can do with a shin.”

Irish at heart and a champion of Irish food!

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ROASTED IRISH BEEF AND BOXTY DUMPLING ©MYRTLE RESTAURANT

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LOIN OF LAMB WITH A CEREAL CRUST ©JANEZ PUKSIC

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H

einz Beck is known as one of the most notable “Masters” of gastronomy in the world. With his unique interpretations of the modern kitchen, Heinz Beck thoughtfully curates ingredients and implements innovative techniques to convey simple components into highly evocative dishes.

Beyond an excellent career as a highly decorated chef, Heinz Beck has been heralded as a leader in Italian and Mediterranean culinary tradition. Born in Friedrichshafen, Beck is a careful observer of food effects on the body. His profound understanding of culinary culture is revealed in several of his noteworthy articles, which address more than culinary practices. “As I often say, at first I desired to be a painter, due to the love I have for art, but my family opposed, so I decided to dedicate myself to a profession that could allow me to express my creativity.”

For more than 20 years, he has had important collaborations with national and international scientists, as well as Italian universities, concerning the good balance between food and health. Today, Beck consults on several businesses and offers the same attention to detail that his guests receive at his Three Michelin star restaurant La Pergola in Rome, as well as his restaurants worldwide. This is a testament to the genius of Heinz Beck.

A genius of our time, in which different attitudes evolve into different arts. Beck, a multi-starred and widely awarded chef with prizes including the Five and Six Star Diamond Award by the American Academy of Hospitality Sciences, the Gold Medal at the Foyer of Artists, an international prize awarded for the first and only time in 40 years to a chef, and the Knight of the Order of Merit from the Federal Republic of Germany.

Founder of the Order of the Knights of Italian Cuisine, in 2010, Heinz Beck along with other top Italian chefs joined forces to communicate with national and international institutions and the media as a united front. In 2014, Beck was named Chef of the Year at the 10th Identità Golose International Congress, and the recipient of the Lion of Venice Career Award, conferred by AEPE during the 6th Congress Gusto in Scena. In 2016, he was nominated for Ambassador of Extraordinary Italian Taste by MIPAAF, the Italian Ministry of Agricultural, Food and Forestry Policies, for the promotion Italian Cuisine worldwide and in the same year, he was awarded the “Italian Excellence”, the symbol of the first edition of the Italian Excellences Festival. In March 2018, Heinz Beck received a Degree in Natural Bio Energies, which was awarded to him by the Popular University of Arezzo. In November 2019, he received the “Best German Chef Abroad” award from Gault & Millau guide. In December 2019, he received the “ANGI 2019 Innovation Experience Award”. Heinz Beck has been collaborating with the Catholic University Hospital Agostino Gemelli as part of its 50th-anniversary celebrations, creating healthy and yet enjoyable, menus for their in-house patients. “My cuisine has passed through several styles: from traditional to creative with imaginative side dishes, to technically cutting-edge, to attentive to health issues.

Healthy menus are my top priority and I’m a chef who pays attention to the wellbeing of my guests. I don’t invent diets.”

©ALBERTO BLASETTI

HEINZ BECK LA PERGOLA ROME

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t was at the age of 13 that Turin native, Alfredo Russo discovered his culinary passion. “I was a very young boy, and there is a funny story behind this because nobody in my family was involved in a restaurant or a hotel. My father was in engineering, and my mother was a teacher. One day, I said, I want to become a chef, and they asked me, “Chef? Why?” Yes, being a chef was my choice because there were three options which I had—to be a chef, a tailor, or a carpenter. In the end, I chose to cook. My family were not happy about this decision, but my parents agreed and told me to go to the restaurant to clean and wash the pots and dishes just to demoralize me. However, I was determined to be a chef.”

Not to be deterred, after cutting his teeth as a dishwasher and working his way from the ground up, it was at the ripe age of 19 that Alfredo wanted more responsibility and opportunity than he was being offered and made the bold decision to open his restaurant.

At 20, his goal was realized, and after purchasing a space with a small kitchen, and virtually no money, he started to cook - and just like that, word spread - and every night, there was a line outside of people coming to eat. A short two years later, Michelin gave him his first star. After this incredible accomplishment, they moved into a significantly larger space, and the story continues to unfold from there.

In 2004, Russo’s brand evolution continued, and he notably started to work as a consultant. Working with Starwood for approximately 10 years, Alfredo opened several Italian restaurants in Japan and Thailand, amongst other locations. In Dubai, he partnered with Sheraton and started Vivaldi by Alfredo Russo and then the Franklin

by Alfredo Russo in London.

With a global restaurant footprint in place, in 2008, the government of Italy allowed Alfredo Russo to work inside of the Royal Palace.

The Palace of Venaria (Italian: Reggia di Venaria Reale) is a former royal residence and gardens located in Venaria Reale, near Turin.

The Palace was designed and built starting in 1675 by Amedeo di Castellamonte, as a commission from Duke Charles Emmanuel II, who needed a base for his hunting expeditions in the hill country north of Turin. Reggia di Venaria Reale is one the largest palaces in the world and is one of the Residences of the Royal House of Savoy, included in the UNESCO Heritage List in 1997.

©ALFREDO RUSSO/DOLCE STIL NOVO ALLA REGGIA

ALFREDO RUSSO DOLCE STIL NOVO TURIN

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Alfredo Russo’s career continues to be extraordinary. His cuisine is founded upon immutable respect for the Italian and Piedmontese regional traditions, coupled with a constant search for innovation.

The outcome of his lifelong passion is a highly original and creative style. His dishes evoke a sort of collective memory, and his continuous and unwavering search for the purity of taste co-exists with a playful spirit that is articulated by a surprising mix of textures, shapes, and consistencies with each dish he creates. His signature is a gastronomic adventure consisting of seven or nine courses that change daily depending on the availability, freshness, and quality of produce - reinventing, amusing, and consistently surprising his diners. He is a self-made man, a global enterprise, and a true culinary artist at heart.

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SMOKED SALMON ©ALFREDO RUSSO/DOLCE STIL NOVO ALLA REGGIA

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ROAST RIB OF BEEF ON THE BONE ©IMAGE BY WALTER PFEIFFER ON THE BORD BIA MARKETING HUB

WG MAGAZINE

ROAST RIB OF BEEF ON THE BONE BORD BIA Best Quality Beef Cuts to Roast - Rib of Beef, Rolled Rib, Striploin, Topside. The Beef must be aged for a minimum of two weeks.

2kg Joint of beef Place the beef in a roasting tin. Spread the fat surface with a mixture of mustard and black pepper.

Add the onion halves to the roasting tin to give extra flavour and colour to the gravy.

Set oven to Gas Mark 6, 200°C (400°F). Place the joint in the hot oven for 15 minutes, reduce the temperature to Gas Mark 4, 180°C (350°C) and allow 15 minutes per ½ kg for rare, plus 20 minutes extra for medium or 30 minutes extra for well done.

To be accurate, use a meat roasting thermometer.

When the meat is cooked remove from the oven, cover loosely with foil and allow to rest for 30 minutes. This resting time allows the juices to settle; the meat firms up so it is easier to carve.

SERVING SUGGESTIONS Spoon off the fat. Add some stock or water to the juices. Boil over a high heat and taste for seasoning.

Serve with the sliced roast. Delicious with crispy roast potatoes, roast vegetables or a creamy vegetable purée.

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IRISH BEEF KUSHI WITH BLACK PEPPER TERIYAKI ©IMAGE BY VIVEK KUMAR FOR WG MAGAZINE

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ith his outstanding culinary career and transforming the culinary landscape in the United Arab Emirates, Reif Othman is currently one of the most sought after chefs, gaining global recognition and celebrity status. From Zuma to PLAY to The Experience to a brief stint at Sumosan, Flavio Briatore’ Billionaire Mansion, and now Kushiyaki.

Reif first started cooking at the age of 14, helping his mother in the kitchen. He would cut and wash the vegetables for lunch or dinner. His first kitchen experience was with his mother in her food stall, preparing traditional Javanese cuisine (a mix of Indonesian and Malaysian cuisine). He then went on to learn with Violet Oon, a Singaporean chef doing Peranakan cuisine. Violet Oon saw the potential Reif had, which gave him the drive to be where he is right now.

Reif began gaining international recognition for his culinary talents in 2007 when working with One Rochester Group in Singapore as Group Executive Chef. Two years later, he joined the Zuma Dubai team as Executive Chef and quickly moved up the ladder as he displayed extensive talent being both creative and disciplined in the kitchen, finding inspiration in all types of cuisines. His hard work and dedication helped establish Zuma as one of the most renowned restaurants in Dubai, winning the prestigious San Pellegrino World’s Best Restaurant Awards for four consecutive years.

In 2015, with much success at PLAY, Reif then launched his most intimate creation, The Experience, a culinary ingenuity, flavourful, and magical tastes where he unleashed his captivating and mindblowing culinary experience to Dubai’s elite with his perfectly balanced one-of-a-kind cuisine. A concoction of exquisite flavours that fuse East and West. Based on techniques, fine ingredients composed of the freshest produce with his ‘Meditterasian’ concept.

This revolutionary concept which took a fresh look at the traditional chef’s table.

Winning awards and accolades are not new for Reif, he has picked up every award that Dubai has to offer. In 2017, Bord Bia launched it’s U.A.E Chapter of it’s Chef’s Irish Beef Club, the first outside of Europe. Reif was inducted as the Chapters first member and the 88th member of the global network by the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Michael Creed.

2019 saw the opening of Reif’s unconventional Japanese street food concept – Kushiyaki and The Experience chef’s table featuring ingredients fused to perfection. “My cooking style has always been inspired by Japan, and the street food element has never been done in Dubai. A part of the menu focuses on kushiyaki - which are bamboo skewers common in Japan street food.”

A self-motivator who pushes himself to achieve more, Reif brings something and different to the table, showing that he can do more than just cook a piece of steak and plate it. His simplicity, passion, and moving away from the conventional ways of doing things through reinventing the wheel, allowing him to be creative and draw his inspirations from around the world.

©IMAGE BY VIVEK KUMAR FOR WG MAGAZINE

REIF OTHMAN KUSHIYAKI DUBAI

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rant’s illustrious culinary career stretches over four decades. At 16, he started at a local restaurant cooking chicken wings. Although the surroundings would fail to foreshadow the five continents that MacPherson would grow to cook and to build legacy restaurants and culinary programs within, they did light a fire in the young man that would lead to his continuation of cooking and his decision to attend and later graduate with honours from the Niagara Falls Culinary Institute. “I didn’t enjoy school, and I travelled a lot as a kid through Canada. In the kitchen, I found peace with myself because there was so much going on, so much action, so much to live up to. Things were always buzzing with action, and everything seemed interesting from butchering a piece of meat, turning a vegetable, or making the perfect mashed potatoes. It continues for me today.”

Life got a bit richer after his graduation, as he seized the opportunity to work at the Four Seasons in Vancouver, which then took him across the Atlantic to join the brand in London. “It started with travel, and travel led me to my success. I started to meet people and see different cultures. It was incredible to be able to pick up my knives and venture off to places I barely knew existed.”

Sydney, Australia, was his next stop with Serge Dansereau at the Regent Hotel, from there he moved to open the Regent in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia where his love affair with Asian cuisine began.

Grant went on to design and run world-class kitchens and built topnotch teams at iconic places, including Raffles Hotel in Singapore, Bellagio Las Vegas, Wynn Las Vegas, Wynn Macau, Ritz Carlton Big Island, and Sandy Lane Hotel in Barbados. This native Scotsman’s robust embrace of global wanderlust and contrasting cultures has exceeded only by his passion for food.

After 10 years of overseeing the mammoth juggernaut of the Wynn properties in Las Vegas and Macau, Grant decided to accept the challenge of renovating and reimagining the jewel-like and worldrevered Sandy Lane property in Barbados. In 2010, he decided to leave the corporate structure to start his own global culinary consulting company, Scotch Myst.

©BILL MILNE

GRANT MACPHERSON HAKKASAN GROUP LAS VEGAS

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In 2019, Grant decided to add another assignment to his evergrowing resume by taking on the title of Senior Vice President of Restaurants Globally for the powerhouse Hakkasan Group.

Currently, he is overseeing Hakkasan’s stellar global concerns from Las Vegas to the Middle East and the Far East.

Grant continues to have an absolute passion and genuine love for cooking, as well as for creating a total experience from concept to completion of the culinary experience. “I believe truly great cooking to be a noble art. It’s an expression of generosity engaging all five senses to elicit a response, generally underpinned by pleasure.”

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BEEF TARTAR ©BILL MILNE

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SENCHA TEA SMOKED SALMON ©IMAGE BY MANJU JISTO FOR WG MAGAZINE

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he 2018 edition of Illustrado’s 100 Most Influential Filipinos in the Middle East. John Buenaventura was born and grew up in the Philippines, surrounded by family who had a love for food. His grandmother cooked rice cakes to pay his father’s schooling and his mother was the second child out of eight siblings who helped her mother with the cooking. At family gatherings, the entire family including the aunts and uncles would prepare extravagant feasts and eventually, John fell in love with cooking and his culinary journey began.

From the Philippines to the Maldives, to Abu Dhabi, The Atlantis in Dubai, John was exposed to different kinds of properties and operations that helped him a lot in his career. From working in a Michelin starred restaurant to being the chef of a catamaran cruise ship in the Maldives, to running a steakhouse at the Atlantis. “The experiences were priceless and no culinary school can ever teach you this. I worked with some great chefs for over a decade and a half and eventually, I streamlined my style and cuisine after learning all the techniques and philosophy of these chefs.”

He follows a simple golden rule “Simple & Straightforward”. Good produce, proper and modern cooking with a great deal of love and passion. Whenever he creates a dish, his focus first is on what’s available in the market, what is fresh and from there, he looks at different components that would complement the main ingredient.

“Flavour, texture, scent and visual appeal must be balanced to make a complete dish. Ingredients inspire me, black cardamom, dry-aged beef, smoked paprika, garlic and cumin seeds, they are all so interesting and complex.” His selection of ingredients is fresh and as much as possible locally sourced, and he then works around its flavour to enhance it. “There are lots of ingredients I have not mastered and I think cooking is something that will always require constant growth and learning. You will always find new ways to use ingredients as you grow. Every new ingredient is a challenge and I never stop innovating and experimenting.”

Adding colour to the culinary landscape in Dubai, John opened “Cuisinero Uuno, an Urban Tapas Bar.” Here is where he expressed himself. He had the tools to do what he does best and he drew his motivation and drive from the urge of previously being deprived of doing what he wanted to do. Unfortunately, due to market crunch and other difficulties, he closed Cuisinero Uuno. “The market was tough and brutal, and a business cannot be fuelled by passion.” John was then appointed Executive Sous Chef, as part of the pre-opening team of Waldorf Astoria DIFC, Dubai. He and his team handled the F&B of the restaurants and dining concept. Recently John was appointed as the Cluster Executive Chef of the Al Seef Hotels - Hampton by Hilton Dubai Al Seef, Canopy by Hilton Dubai Al Seef and Al Seef Heritage Hotel Dubai, Curio Collection by Hilton.

His courage and motivation allow him to excel as he continues to grow in the culinary world. “Learn the craft, take time to properly learn and master the basic skills and foundation of being a chef and never be arrogant and over your head! Humility is key to success let your food speak for itself.”

©PHOTO FOR ILLUSTRADO MAGAZINE 100 BY ALEX CALLUENG

JOHN BUENAVENTURA CANOPY BY HILTON DUBAI

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SMOKED BEEF CAP AND PIQUILLOS DANIEL NEGREIRA HIDDEN BY DM AND ALMA TAIPEI

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SMOKED BEEF CAP AND PIQUILLOS ©COURTESY OF HIDDEN BY DN

WG MAGAZINE

Simplicity at its best, my homemade dry-aged beef with these red wonders, the aromas enhanced with olive oil and sugar.

SMOKED BEEF CAP 250g Clean Prime Beef Cap SMOKED OIL 1.6 ltr Sunflower oil 300g Coconut charcoal Place the oil in a large pot with at least 10 litres capacity. Heat the coal until it is on fire and immediately place it in the pot with the oil and cover it with a lid. Keep it, then filter and decant, discard the sediments and set aside. Once cool, place the beef cap and the same amount of smoked oil into a vacuum bag and seal it right. Infuse for 8 hours.

CONFIT PIQUILLOS 150g Piquillo peppers 15g Sugar 10g Salt 5g Dry chilli 300g Extra virgin olive oil Place all the ingredients in a pot and simmer for about two hours, the piquillos shall look slightly sundried like texture after it’s done.

SERVING SUGGESTIONS Grill the steak, adding sea salt flakes on both sides, and let it rest for a couple of minutes after it’s done.

I strongly recommend cooking the beef to medium as in my opinion that is the best texture for this cut of beef. Add freshly grounded black pepper. Place a little bit of smoked oil in a tray and add the piquillos, then bake it at 165°C for a couple of minutes, serve immediately with some sea salt flakes. Slice the cap and set the piquillos aside, sprinkle some chopped parsley and just enjoy the delicious simplicity.

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orn in Italy and as long as he can remember, Luigi always wanted to be a chef. His inspiration for food came from home, from his ‘Nonna’ (grandmother), who made the most delicious food. She is the one who helped Luigi discover his passion for cooking and to this day, the taste, smells and textures of his grandmothers food.

He first stepped into a professional kitchen at the age of 14, he knew this was his calling. He started out as a pot washer, but even so, the kitchen was his comfort zone, a happy place where he knew he belonged. Even today, he stills get a sense of belonging in any kitchen, his passion for cooking running through his veins.

Luigi was fortunate to work with some of the most highly respected people in the industry, first with Chris and Jeff Galvin in London and Dubai and with Gordon Ramsay.Chris and Jeff taught him a great deal about French cuisine which he fell in love with. “The first day I stepped into Gordon Ramsay’s kitchen, my life changed forever and I was catapulted into a different league. This helped me so much throughout my career.”

©LUIGI VESPARO

LUIGI VESPERO WALDORF ASTORIA DIFC DUBAI

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Luigi embraces every moment of his beautiful culinary career, as Executive Chef of the Waldorf Astoria Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), he and his team are constantly looking at what the market can offer in terms of seasonality, quality, and sustainability.

The dining experience at Waldorf Astoria DIFC offers three very unique outlets. The signature restaurant Bull & Bear offers an imaginative cuisine with a global twist. The rooftop bar, St. Trop brings you a Mediterranean-infused menu with regional accents; and the iconic Peacock Alley lounge is the ideal spot for a freshly brewed coffee, amazing pastries and afternoon tea.

Luigi’s philosophy to food is “Help the ingredients to be the star of the show” He is much more focused on the sensory elements of the dish, it has to look right, but it must also smell and taste delicious too. He uses a simple technique which has never let him down – Taste It, Re-Taste It, and Taste It Again. His attention to the acidity levels of a dish is very important “especially when we think about what guests will pair their dish with, perhaps a glass of white or red or another beverage, how that impacts the overall sensations and taste. Food and drink must be well-balanced and complement each other, not fight or compete for the senses.”

“If there is something that money can’t buy, it’s the smile on my guests’ faces, when they have their first mouthful of a dish that I have created, prepared and served for them. That feeling never gets old and does make my day.”

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CURED SALMON ©LUIGI VESPARO

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SALMON WITH TOFU AND AVOCADO BUTTER ©COURTESY OF HIDDEN BY DN

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he main reason why Daniel became a chef was trying to imitate Conan the Barbarian. The only way to even touch a knife was to help his grandmother in the kitchen. What began as a kid’s game, has ended up being his entire life.

After a successful learning stage and working with some of the best chefs in San Sebastián, Daniel moved to Taipei, where he opened El Toro, a small restaurant which ended up listed among the Top 500 restaurants of Asia on the Miele guide in 2009. He then went on to a larger project, DN Innovación. As CEO and Founder of DN Group, Daniel managed Shanghái Marina By DN, which was awarded the Best Spanish Restaurant in China by El País, and Alma By DN, which was included on the Shanghai Michelin Guide as Bib Gourmand selection in 2017. Daniel is also involved with Level 41 in Saint Petersburg and advisory projects in Asia.

Daniel was influenced by working with some of the best chefs, including Ferran Adrià, Juan Mari, and Elena Arzak. “Working with these legends was one of the best experiences of my life. Both chefs inspired me to be who I am today. Ferran taught me his way of being able to see beyond the ingredient and to create new things from familiar items. His mind has no limits, probably that’s the biggest lesson. Use your imagination and dream big. It was with Arzak that I learned the passion for finding natural and excellent quality for raw materials, respecting their natural qualities and elevating them. For example, you can turn a simple pepper into a piece of art.”

His style is based on solid roots of Basque cuisine, influenced by his long stage in Asia. His creative menus render classic flavours: “To me, the key to a successful menu is to have it balanced, combining the latest and more sophisticated techniques with straightforward and familiar flavours. We describe our food philosophy at Hidden By DN as “complex simplicity.” Sometimes the complexity comes from the time and efforts we spend trying to source the ingredients. We cook and present them in a very simple way, or the other way around, easily accessible ingredients that we add a twist and bend it through our cooking techniques with a very detailed and elaborated presentation.”

In 2019, Daniel opened Alma to Taipei, the Alma project was conceived in 2015, with the first opening in the heart of Shanghai in Joy City. After a year of developing the concept, Alma achieved the honour until this date for four consecutive years of being the only Spanish restaurant recommended by the prestigious Michelin Guide Shanghai.

Hidden By DN has been recommended in the first edition of the prestigious Michelin Guide Taipei and is the only Spanish restaurant to have this recognition in Taiwan since 2018.

©COURTESY OF HIDDEN BY DN

DANIEL NEGREIRA DN BY DANIEL TAIPEI

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teven Smalley began his culinary journey from his home country of England, a rich food upbringing from his grandmother, an excellent cook from Lithuania. Steven’s career was down to luck as he was supposed to pursue a career in Electronic Engineering but thankfully, he ended up going to catering college where he found his true passion.

With over two and a half decades of experience, Steven took up positions in London, Lincolnshire, and Cambridge, working with the Crowne Plaza brand, followed by a series of posts in France, Italy, Ireland, and the Netherlands. It was after building his experience around the world, he then made his move to the Middle East, where he worked with Atlantis The Palm, Madinat Jumeirah, and Damac Hospitality Management.

Working with several talented chefs, David Fitzpatrick and Tony Wright in England, Eamon O’ Reilly and Maurice Fitzgerald in Ireland, Jean Joel Bonsons and Martijn Van Roon in Amsterdam, have helped him be the chef he is today. “Taking all the elements I’ve learned from each chef, I’ve inherited a number of characteristics and styles. But still constantly evolving as we are learning every day in the kitchen, not just from the mentors but all the chefs around me. Working in so many countries with so many nationalities, plus the number of outlets I have overseen over the years as a chef have had an impact on my cooking. It becomes hard to define your style, rather adapt a style to suit the concept of guest requirements and needs, especially when working in resorts. If you have a standalone concept, it is easier as you can have it reflect your style.”

Appointed as the Cluster Executive Chef at Hilton Dubai Jumeirah and Hilton Dubai The Walk, Steven oversees the daily operations of all the dining venues, in-room and banquet services, and stewarding operations at the two hotels and ensuring seamless interactions amidst all the staff and the highest quality of service. “Another big part of the position is hiring and training personnel, planning menus, optimizing the use of seasonal produce, overseeing product purchasing, and managing the culinary budget for the resort. I manage a team of 164 colleagues, who ensure smooth operations across 12 restaurants.”

©STEVEN SMALLEY

STEVEN SMALLEY HILTON DUBAI JUMEIRAH HILTON DUBAI THE WALK

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His inspiration comes from the DNA of the concept, where food needs to match, so guests get fully immersed in the dining experience. Quality ingredients are the key as he brings out there natural flavour, combined with other ingredients that balance the flavours and textures, but never overriding the key ingredient of the dish. “Creating a dish always starts with the main ingredient.

From there, it is a dance between flavours and textures that only serve to complement the main ingredient. Depending on the style and restaurant concept, Nods to tradition or family recipes, classic combinations, with a twist is a great way to draw a guest into the dish and spark an emotional connection between them and the dish.”

No two days are the same, and there is always a new challenge around the corner!

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IRISH SMOKED SALMON WITH RHUBARD AND CITRUS GRIBICHE ©STEVEN SMALLEY

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VEAL ON AMARANTH GRAIN WITH PRESSED CAVIAR AND HERBS HEINZ BECK LA PERGOLA ROME

VEAL 150g Fillet Extra virgin olive oil Salt Pepper Edible gold flakes

AMARANTH 60 gr Amaranth Extra virgin olive oil

Cut the meat into pieces and place it in a paco jet glass and paco jet it. Sift and season with olive oil, salt and pepper. Lay half of the meat between two sheets of paper to obtain a thin sheet and shape it with a rectangular mould 5x7cm. With the other half make small meatballs, a part of which will be breaded with the potatoes and the other in edible gold flakes.

Fry the amaranth in extra virgin olive oil at 180°C. Dry the amaranth on absorbent paper.

MAYONNAISE WITH MUSTARD AND TABASCO 1 Yolk 210ml Extra virgin olive oil 1 tsp Mirin 1 tsp Mustard ½ tsp Tabasco Put the yolks in a bowl with a pinch of salt, mirin, mustard, Tabasco and mix the ingredients with an immersion blender.

Incorporate the oil gradually and emulsify.

GROUND POTATOES 4 Potatoes Extra virgin olive oil Clean the potatoes and boil them in salted water until tender.

Peel them, mash and spread the potatoes on a non-stick baking paper. Dry it in the oven at 80°C for 15 minutes. Fry the ground potatoes in extra virgin olive oil, dry them on absorbent paper.

VEAL ON AMARANTH GRAIN WITH PRESSED CAVAIR AND HERBS ©JANEZ PUKSIC

GROUND VEAL HAM 80g Ham Cube the veal ham and fry it in a pan without oil until crispy. Dry it on paper towels and keep it warm.

GARNISH Pressed caviar Shiso Tarragon Basil SERVING SUGGESTIONS In the centre of the platter, draw a strip of mayonnaise with mustard and tabasco sauce. Put the crispy amaranth over it and lay the beef veal with the meatballs. Pour a bit of extra virgin olive oil and garnish with ground ham and slices of pressed caviar.

Decorate with herbs.

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TOMAHAWK ©JULIET DUNNE

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he 2019 Executive Chef of the Year, James KnightPacheco, Executive Chef of ME Dubai grew up in a culture based on family and food, and most of his household were female. The weekends were family gatherings, and it was all about sharing, cooking, and laughing. From a very young age, he learned a great deal from his grandmother, his mother, even his uncles, however, the kitchen and cooking were not on his mind, and James did not think that one day that this would shape his career.

Around the age of nine, he moved to the southwest of England, half an hour from the beach and half an hour from the mountains. It was an incredible place for great produce, fresh seafood, and incredible dairy. James started doing small odd jobs, where his first kitchen job was to do the dishes. It was either music or cooking, and it was his father who told him, “James, just think what you want to do, everybody needs to eat and being a chef, you will be able to feed people, you can travel the world.” Listening to his father, James took up a course in hotel management and food. The first two years were mostly administrative, and the third year was intense cooking. After this experience, he knew exactly what he wanted to do. He went on to work with some of the culinary greats, Raymond Blanc, Gordon Ramsay, Michael Caines, Jason Atherton, Peter Gorton, and Andre Garrett.

James always wants to keep pushing himself as hard as possible and loves a challenge. Combining his South American roots and upbringing in South West England, James developed a unique cuisine featuring locally sourced produce and refined flavours. It took James a long time to develop this balance of flavours - a flavour pyramid. “At the very top of the pyramid is the superstar flavour, and then below that, you have two supporting flavours. Then you have the texture and finally, the presentation. Once I have all of these components, then it’s finding that perfect balance through exhaustive trial and error. I always find ways to improve.”

©JULIET DUNNE

JAMES KNIGHT PACHECO ME DUBAI DUBAI

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orn in Botswana and grew up in South Africa, the UAE, Beijing, Thailand, and Vietnam until he was off to a boarding school in the US. Later, Shane completed his university studies in Australia. Shane developed his love for food and cooking from his mother, who is also a chef.

There was always incredible food at home, and his mum always encouraged Shane and his brother to help in the kitchen.

A proud South African who calls Dubai home, Shane has been fortunate enough to live in some of the most fascinating places around the world. He considers himself incredibly lucky to have been exposed to several different cultures and culinary delights. “It is safe to say that learning a craft from your mother ignites a passion and love that is hard to replicate. Through my love of food and the encouragement from my family, I started cooking at home from an early age.”

Starting his culinary journey in his mother’s kitchen this foundation led Shane to his first job as a sous chef for Gustronomy headed by Ghassan ‘Gus’ Farra. A few years with Gus, Shane, and his mum decided to start their own catering company and entertainmentbased cooking school - Born’s Kitchen, a brand he still holds dear to his heart. While doing Born’s Kitchen, his mentor, the Weber Queen, Shirley Guy, one of the great chefs of South Africa, invited Shane to spend some time at her prestigious guest house in Franschhoek and run a unique pop-up restaurant concept called The Next Step.

This experience was an eye-opening moment that he believes set him up for the next step of his career, the Executive Chef for OZNL and heading up Bidi Bondi.

©CLYDE GABRIEL

SHANE BORN BIDIBONDI DUBAI

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Shirley introduced Shane to the world of classical cooking. She helped him refine his techniques and understand the fundamentals of sauce-making in French cuisine. Most importantly, she showed him how to use the produce that is available to create dishes that may not necessarily be conventional but still refined and well balanced.

“I always had a more rustic and less refined approach to my style of cooking, but through Shirley, I refined my style. I also learned quite a lot about how different flavour profiles, from different cuisines, can marry together well. Through refining and better understanding flavour combinations, I believe I developed my unique style of bringing classical techniques and flavours to meet some of the newer, less understood techniques and flavour profiles.”

Shane’s culinary philosophy is based on creating an experience that will mean something to someone, the final product that comes out of the kitchen, and the experience for his guests. “I tend to keep that in mind when I think about my food – Is this going to take them back to a special memory? Will it be a new culinary experience? Food can evoke emotion as it has a different meaning to everyone.”

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STOUT BRAISED OXTAIL ©SHANE BORN

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DRY AGED T-BONE STEAK FEAST ©IMAGE BY VIVEK KUMAR FOR WG MAGAZINE

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t all started when Saradhi was a child back in India. Born and raised in a small town on the south coast of India, Saradhi comes from a large family and, invariably, there were many family get-togethers. These occasions revolved around food and his mother presided and stage-managed the whole operation. More often than not, she cooked a traditional 7-course menu called a Thali. Saradhi was always eager for her to finish and join the family, so he used to help her in the kitchen: peeling, chopping, cleaning, and plating dishes. “She is a marvellous cook, even now when we get a chance to cook together, I am amazed at her rhythm and touch in the kitchen. Like many chefs, I think this is where my love for cooking comes from. This experience growing up drove me to pursue a career in cooking.”

While he was young, there were only 2 or 3 professions that people considered worthy of getting into; medicine, engineering, or banking.

Unlike most of his peers, these did not interest him. However, the creative aspect of cooking excited him. Unfortunately, in his culture, this career path was not viewed in a respectable light. He didn’t let that hold him back, and instead, he used it to motivate himself to further his ambition and prove them wrong – and so with that in mind, he went off to study culinary arts.

As the Group Executive Chef of The Maine, for Saradhi preparation is the key, this he learned from his family gatherings. “Organise yourself and have everything ready to rock before your guests arrive, you will make your life a lot easier. You must get their balance right when you cook. That’s quite challenging for me when I cook. I don’t like to complicate the dish, and I keep my recipes simple.” He always tries to soak information up from everyone around him, from the CFO to his stewards. He draws his influence from people around him, his servers to his sous chefs. Marco Pierre White and Gordon Ramsey have had a profound effect on him as a young chef.

When Saradhi creates a dish, the genesis starts with one main ingredient that he wants to work within that season. He doesn’t like to overcomplicate his dishes with too many ingredients, and he likes to keep it simple by highlighting the main ingredient and then build around it. Inspiration comes to him in many forms. Sometimes, a fresh piece of produce will cross his path and get him thinking.

Sometimes a smell, a memory or a season or even an argument, or a challenge ‘you can’t cook that’ and sometimes it’s his ego that drives him or his owners drive him.

Saradhi thinks his career has just started, and he has a lot more to offer in the future in the food industry. Every day he wakes up, and, naturally, thinks about food. He is constantly considering something new, and when he is in the kitchen, he puts his thoughts on the plate or tweaks his old recipes. “Being a chef is a never-ending story. You can never become a rock star chef overnight. It is a journey you need to take with seriousness and dedication. It’s all about knowledge.

You need to take in everything and learn it fast.”

©IMAGE BY VIVEK KUMAR FOR WG MAGAZINE

SARADHI DAKARA THE MAINE DUBAI

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THOUGHT PROCESS - A CULINARY MIX WITH IRISH PRODUCE

DRY AGED RIB EYE 350g Dry Aged Rib eye 30ml Olive Oil 1 Lemon Sea salt to taste Black pepper to taste PIQUILLO SOFRITO 100g Cherry tomatoes 100g Piquillo peppers 50g White onions 10g Basil 10g Garlic 40ml Olive oil 5g Sweet smoked paprika 2g Cumin powder Sea salt to taste Black pepper to taste In a small saucepan, drizzle some olive oil and sautĂŠ the white onions, tomatoes and piquillo peppers. Add the garlic, smoked paprika and cumin. Stir while cooking it over medium heat until most of the liquid has evaporated.

Season the sofrito with salt and pepper once the mixture is done. Add the chopped basil leaves at the last minute and drizzle some olive oil to finish. Set aside.

CORIANDER CHIMICHURRI 50g Coriander 30g Parsley 10g Tarragon 5g Garlic 30ml Red vinegar 30ml Olive oil 5g Lemon zest Sea salt to taste Black pepper to taste In a mixing bowl, combine the chopped herbs, vinegar, olive oil, garlic and lemon zest. Season the dressing with salt and pepper and keep chilled.

GRILLING THE STEAK In a tray, marinate the rib eye steaks with some olive oil, crushed black pepper, cumin powder and a bit of smoked paprika. Add salt just before cooking the steak. Set aside for grilling.

On a hot grill, sear the steak until it forms a nice crust, carefully move the seared steak on the cooler side of the grill to cook it slowly either rare, medium-rare or well done. I suggest to cook at medium-rare to taste the flavours of the dry-aged meat. Make sure to rest the steaks for 5 minutes once it is off the grill and flash it back before slicing them. Serve the steak on a wooden board or plate with some piquillo sofrito on top and serve the chimichurri on the side with a slice of lemon.

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JOHN BUENAVENTURA CANOPY BY HILTON DUBAI

DRY-AGED RIB EYE ©IMAGE BY MANJU JISTO FOR WG MAGAZINE

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raig’s passion for cooking started while working at a local village pub in Bedfordshire before making his move to London to work for Gordon Ramsey Group. Craig started as a demi chef de partie and for four years he worked his way up to a sous chef. He then decided that he wanted experience in a Michelin star restaurant and he moved to join La Trompette in Chiswick. After spending two years there he took on the role as the head chef at Michael Nadra which was also based in Chiswick. He then moved to work with Marcus Wareing and was part of his opening team for Tredwells before he moved across to The Gilbert Scott as the sous chef.

After a year working for Marcus Wareing, he went on to work with Jason Atherton’s Social Company as the head chef at Social Wine & Tapas. Whilst in this role he was allowed to help with the opening of the restaurant in the Philippines before moving over to Dubai in 2016 as head chef of the Marina Social. Craig was then approached by David Martin, the International Operations Director at the Gordon Ramsay Group and offered a position as head chef at Gordon Ramsay Hell’s Kitchen, an offer which he couldn’t refuse.

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CRAIG BEST HELL’S KITCHEN DUBAI

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“Each kitchen I moved to was different and it enabled me to learn new skills. As a young chef, used to panic a lot when it was busy.

My head chef from La Trompette use to always say ‘why are you panicking, you’re just cooking someone’s dinner which is what I say to my chefs. I think every head chef I worked with taught me a lot. I learnt a lot from Jason Atherton and his motto was ‘the harder you work the luckier you get’. To get to the top of your game, it does take a lot of hard work and dedication. If it hadn’t been for the Gordon Ramsay Group I wouldn’t be where I am today. Gordon has been a big inspiration.”

It’s not just about creating a dish, Craig’s philosophy is about creating a menu that enables guests, to choose dishes that complement each other and a dining experience that they will enjoy. A lot of it comes from experience and knowing what flavours go well together.

With a lot of drive, ambition, the 2019 BBC Good Food Chef of the Year wants to be the best, and Craig is constantly trying to enhance his skills. He enjoys teaching his new chefs the way to work and see them improve. “Chefs need to evolve and become more accommodating to stay ahead of the game.”

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©BBC GOOD FOOD MIDDLE EAST

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SAVORY SHORT RIB DONUTS ©ATLANTIS THE PALM

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rowing up in the United Kingdom and having an Asian background, Raymond Wong’s passion for cooking developed through growing up within the industry. His father had a few Chinese restaurants around Edinburgh, and his first real job was a kitchen porter at the age of 15. As a child, he wanted to become a fireman but as he got older he was interested in becoming a graphic designer. He wanted to express his creativity which he now does it in the kitchen. He dabbled with graphic design at college in Aberdeen and ended up going back home to Edinburgh to figure out what he was going to do with his life. His mother then suggested to take up a culinary course at Telford College.

The art of cooking came naturally to him, having been exposed to Malaysian, Hong Kong, British and French cuisines, which gave him the amazing capabilities to create a culinary fusion.

As chef de cuisine of Seafire Steakhouse in Dubai, Raymond has spent most of his career in hotel properties - a demi chef de partie at Santini in Edinburgh, sous chef at MJ’s Steak House at Madinat Jumeirah’s Al Qasr Hotel in Dubai, from there he went on to the all-day dining restaurant The Arboretum at Al Qasr and the chef the cuisine at the Sheraton Grand Dubai. Raymond has worked in all areas of the hotel kitchen from fine dining to mass banqueting to a brasserie to all-day dining even room service and a steakhouse, and his cooking style and flavours embody all of this experience.

With a culinary philosophy to cooking with passion, he believes that you need to love what you do in the kitchen. “As a chef, we work long hours and sociable times so it can be hard for the faint-hearted that’s why you need to be passionate about what you do.” His inspirations come from several sources, it could be from travelling, eating out, and learning something new from team members or suppliers introducing new products. Once he gets an idea, that’s when he starts to play and create new dishes.

Being creative is the key to being a good chef!

©ATLANTIS THE PALM

RAYMOND WONG SEAFIRE STEAKHOUSE DUBAI

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NOUEL OMAMALIN

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rowing up in a family that had a very discriminating taste for food. It was largely influenced by his grandparents who take cooking seriously. His mum owned a restaurant while he was growing up and he started to learn how to cook alongside her before it became clear that he was going to end up as a full-fledge pastry chef. The culinary world for him was a big mission at a personal level. He wanted to be a chef not because he needed to survive but passionate about food. He learnt that if you let your passion drive people will see and feel that and the numbers will naturally work out in the equation. He wanted to experience more of the world and to learn new flavours and ingredients, Nouel left the hotel industry yet unsure what kind of a chef he wanted to be.

Having lived in the Middle East for the longest period of his career, he had been constantly challenged in defining who he should be in the industry. What was always sure was that he loved experimenting – unafraid of the outcome no matter how much time and resources it took; and wanted his world to be free-flowing, inspiring and creative.

The question still remained - So, what kind of a chef did he want people to know Him for?

When he wrote his first book, the process slowly opened up the realization, he needed to return to his roots. He believed if he keeps following the footsteps of other chefs and aim to be just a copy of celebrity chefs he would end up nowhere – a plain doppelganger, a forgettable statistic. In the recent years when asked to share about himself, he would simply say “I am a heritage chef – one who values heritage, my own and others”. Combine that with his past experiences, the knack to be out of this world and to stay different coupled with an open mind, the path to becoming a successful, self-defined chef became more clear and certain.

NOUEL OMAMALIN

THE NIFTY CHEF ©NOUEL OMAMALIN / NIFTY CHEF

“I stay humble because I want my work to do the talking. And I believe the whispers have already progressed into chatters” Having returned to his Filipino heritage, he felt it is a duty to keep pushing to elevate what the Philippines has to offer in the culinary world. And with the same drive, he couldn’t have been happy to be well recognized by discerning entrepreneurs in the Middle East where he could turn the key for them to succeed. Nouel’s name may not ring a bell in the greater expatriate scene for what he has accomplished in the continuously emerging home-grown businesses in the GCC but it is pride enough for him to be seen as one of the major influencers or players in the world of desserts for the local Arabic market. Two years on and he runs his own business Nifty Chef, as an innovation chef and consultant for several new and existing brands in the Middle East.

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NOUEL OMAMALIN

WG catches up with Nouel Omamalin…

Your passion for cooking…

Finding it was not crystal clear as while growing up we do have that automatic response to be that same successful person in town – like a doctor, a lawyer or an architect. However, my mum had given me sort of a shortcut in this path. She owned a restaurant and our family, relatives and close friends adored her cooking a lot – like no one else makes the best dish but mom. She also loved to bake. The time came when she needed to update her library of cookbooks. She had been relying on note cards compiled by my grandmother – all heirloom recipes. The cookbooks were very colourful and they got my attention. Note cards were boring. There were no images to relate to the measurements and texts. While scanning every page, I began imagining the processes to reach to the perfectly shot dishes. So, I started asking mom to buy me ingredients. No matter how the recipes turned out, I never gave up. I always had that rush of excitement after accomplishing a recipe. And I remember I was already experimenting with the ingredients – grinding the sugar fine, using another type of milk, changing the procedure, etc.

Hence, it was innate in me to explore and think out of the box.

Between cooking and baking, it turned out I had more successes in baking. My mum used to say I made better cakes than her. Whatever I make in our kitchen the cakes get sold in my school – gaining more reviews (and encouragement) from a bigger audience. I became mum’s side kick (or the other way around?). When I left home for college, I took up hotel and restaurant management – the closest I could get to become a chef as culinary arts was exorbitantly expensive.

The next step was returning home after graduation providing a bigger menu to our patrons in my home city. Years went by and I got immune to the routine. When I switched on my favourite food or cooking channel, I knew that wasn’t it for me yet. There was a bigger world out there waiting. I joined the hotel industry so I could become a professionally-trained chef. Three years on, I was hired as a head pastry chef of Sofitel Hotel – though honestly still unsure and scared of that decision knowing I only had a very short stint in hotels.

Nevertheless, that was when my conviction remained stronger as I had my passion to back me up and no matter how hard I fell in those years yet I still remained steadfast. The hotel world wasn’t really my cup of tea. I left the industry after almost ten years and knew I could bring more than what was already on the table. I pieced the puzzle and relied heavily on my passion as it is the one that fuels the career and not the other way around; and the rest is history for me – things happening when you least expect it. An organic journey to success, to put it succinctly.

HOPIA

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PILI NUT PINIPIG CHOCOLATE

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NOUEL OMAMALIN

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MODERN SHAKSHOUKA

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Your culinary experience…

I don’t have a very fancy story with celebrity mentors attached to my experiences. I had been hoping I would get mentored well. Needless to say, I was fast-tracked in my career so I lost that privilege to work closely with a celebrated chef.

To augment it, I went to study in places I believed would leverage my career. So, I saved up and went to the Notter School in Florida, USA, learning how to craft fancy cakes and then at the French Culinary Institute in New York taking up artisanal bread and chocolate classes. I was nearly not accepted because they thought I was too senior in my position to sit as a student. I begged and in return they put me in events where I was able to meet my favourite chefs at that time and trailed in some of their kitchens, too! Chefs like Jacques Torres, Ron Ben-Israel, Alain Sailhac, Johnny Iuzzini and Daniel Boulud, to name a few, were just an elbow away.

These chefs re-ignited my passion to become more than what I thought I could be. It was Chef Johnny Iuzini of the then Jean Georges who greatly changed my perspective in patisserie.

He employed modern techniques and combined flavours, I thought it was far bolder than what I had encountered at the Burj Al Arab back in 2006. He was ahead of the pack! Also, my trainings at Ecole Valrhona and Lenotre (back when the Le Pré Lenotre program of Accor was just materializing) had solidified my understanding of techniques, most especially in handling chocolates.

The secret to a perfect dessert…

It is all about understanding what you like to achieve in the first place. Is the dessert a static showpiece or poised for entertaining (hence, interactive). Whatever your direction is, there needs to be complementary and opposing flavours: sweet and sour, salty and caramel, smoky and chocolaty, smooth and crunchy, hot and cold, soft and chewy, etc. It is always best to start with your core elements. For example, if I plan to use a mild bitter chocolate, like Valrhona’s 64% Manjari chocolate, I will want to have either a spice or a berry marrying with its acidic fruit undertones. Since I may serve it cold, I will have a hot sauce on the side. A brown sugar based sauce like a toffee sauce which would make a good pair and add a dash of Sosa’s powdered smoke flavour. Always been told “We all acquire similar knowledge and experiences but what sets us apart (hence, the real secret) is our creativity”.

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NOUEL OMAMALIN

The next trend you see emerging in desserts…

The need for entertaining and interactive desserts will remain although it may hit a plateau soon – say in a year or less than that. However, there will always be new ways of entertaining popping up every now and then and will also largely depend on when companies come up with new materials and ingredients. The other direction I see is people looking back to the classics but with a twist. There is a growing uptake again for viennoiseries but not as plain laminated dough. It will be incorporated in many new ideas. Brioche-type breads will remain a staple. An increased demand for new chocolate combinations or flavors. Lastly, the need for a healthier dessert menu is on the rise. Add to it vegan desserts and other special lifestyle-centric requirements.

EGGS BENEDICT

Produce, Creativity or Technique…

They all work hand in hand. You can’t have just one and expect the results to be great. They’re like the fire triangle in my opinion. One can’t exist without the other. When you change one of the elements it will affect the whole triangle.

If you apply good technique and yet your ingredients are nowhere near satisfactory it will show. If you have the best ingredients and the best technique employed but you lack creativity no one would give a second look at your dessert. A really expensive vanilla bean but handled badly will result in a really poor item. It’s gone to waste.

What keeps you motivated?

The support I get from partners in the industry, the people I meet every now and then who share the same level of passion, and the businesses you help put up that are now growing bigger and becoming better at what they do.

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ALMOND CROISSANT

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MUHALABIYA PUDDING

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NOUEL OMAMALIN

MORINGA MANGO CHOCOLATE

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CASHEW COCOA NIB BONBON

BRAZO DE MERCEDES

ESSENCE DE MALAGASY

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Don’t go chasing your dream half-hearted.

If you doubt yourself a hundred times, convince yourself a million times. Take the path if you know it is yours and not because someone told you so.

The C3 competition in France…

That sense of pride up to now, I can’t easily relinquish. If I have inspired one or two other Filipinos I am more than happy already. It is just sad we don’t see a lot of Filipino talents in the culinary world consistently excelling and who are genuinely reaching out to one another. We come in trickles. There have been recognitions here and there but not as much as I would like it to be. In the world of desserts, it is lesser. Nonetheless, that competition was a stroke of great happiness and accomplishment. It was a clear affirmation there is no excuse to one’s talent if passion is present. I was juggling between creating restaurant quality desserts on my days off as a hobby and my full-time job as an inflight chef When I chanced upon the invitation for Valrhona’s C3, I didn’t hesitate. My heart told me it was the right thing to do and not to be dissuaded by the fact I don’t have a restaurant or a brigade of chefs. I was an independent contestant.

Having been picked amongst a hundred or more chefs, I was honoured to have competed with great pastry chefs around.

Being there itself was already victory for me. I never see myself competing on a bigger scale. However, I felt I had to do it for once. The funny side of the story was that when my dessert was presented before the judges, most of them were chefs I have been following in my career, I almost couldn’t explain well because I was overjoyed they had the pleasure of tasting my creation - my dish was made with elements from the Philippines – biko or rice porridge, mango, coconut and jackfruit. The competition didn’t throw me off balance – but the pressure got in my nerves. I wasn’t used to the new environment, being on a time pressure and as well working in a limited space. However, I gained new allies in the process.

The competing chefs became friends and Valrhona has always been there for me.

BARAKO

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RAVEN RUDOLPH

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RAVEN RUDOLPH MIXING FLAVORS ©WALDORF ASTORIA DIFC

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orn and raised in South Africa, Raven Rudolph as a child was very much into sport but after his schooling he was on route to becoming a chiropractor. With his financial situation at that time and the political grant system in South Africa he did not manage to get into the university of choice, this was a big blow and he decided to work the year and figure out what to do with his life. Naturally, he moved into restaurants and wait on tables to pay the bills, this paired with his grandmother’s constant proper English etiquette “I found myself head over heels for the industry. I managed to get involved in events and catering, and once I got asked to help run the ‘bar’ service at a few events. I was addicted and wanted to know more.”

Having studied Advanced Hospitality Management in the city of Durban, Raven then moved to Cape Town where he started chasing a higher level of hospitality. This led him to his first job in Dubai at the Conrad Hotel, he then moved to GQ Bar, after which it was Karma Kafe, the Folly by Nick and Scott and now he runs the beverage program at Waldorf Astoria DIFC. His passion is hospitality - making people feel great. “I’m a student of flavour and I never stop learning. Dubai has been a crazy ride of meeting all kinds of people from all walks of life and from listening and learning I truly have never looked back. I have learnt from chefs, customers and leaders in the bar industry. I have been fortunate to share conversations and creative spaces with some absolute geniuses in the culinary and bar scene and grateful for the lessons and knowledge passed on. With that, I did self-study and invested in my own knowledge and with time spent it seems to be working out and paying off in my favour.”

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RAVEN RUDOLPH

WG catches up with Raven Rudolph…

Your approach to making drinks featuring flavors, texture and aromas…

The first thing to say here is that I am grateful to be part of an era that is constantly pushing the boundaries of creativity, and also for the guests. The next thing to note is about aromas, it is more than that, now we are looking at tantalising as many senses as we can, instead of focusing on only taste and sometime smell. There are visually pleasing drinks some involve textures, from glasses and garnishes and we have even experienced options of working with hearing as well.

There are no limits when everyone is constructively competing.

Our main focus is to focus not on a pleasant tasting drink where it is balanced and tastes good, but rather honing in on a few flavours, textures and smells and ensuring they are prominent. This allows drinks to have profile and character and allows people to have favourites and preferences, from there you can create menus that reach a wider target market instead of just being okay with a few drinks you can be pleasantly surprised with an arrangement of flavour that you know can only be achieved in our establishments Creating a new cocktail…

The first thing I enjoy doing when creating a cocktail is to look for a gap. Look for an area where I can do something that no one else is doing. This sounds common until you accept that it is easy to make drinks for people that are in this industry, but extremely difficult to remove yourself and target someone from a different walk of life. With that you need to study trends and be in tune. For example, I thoroughly enjoy a Boulevardier or Negroni but when the world is on a fitness and health conscious trend it makes sense to focus on the use of fresh fruits, for juicing or to include as a whole as well as low alcohol alternates and even now we are dabbling in Non Alcoholic options that taste just as good as the alcohol options. Although it is not something that I would order, I have come to terms with the fact that I am not the one ordering, I’m making the drinks.

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RAVEN RUDOLPH

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How is the art of food and cocktails evolving?

This industry is evolving at an undeniable pace. If you sleep too long you will miss three trends! Coming from the underdog in the relationship - being the bar and only working in pop up kitchens part time, I am grateful that chefs are opening up to a sit down and have a conversation of flavor and guest experience. If you have ever met a chef you will know that this is not an easy conversation to arrange. However, we do things so differently, the fundamentals are the same and we are definitely noticing that teams with the arrangement of pairing are providing a fantastic experience for the most important part of the equation is the guest.

What motivates you?

Competition, I am very competitive (in a healthy and selfmotivating way). Constructive criticism and constructive competition are two things I value most. There are very valid reasons why certain people are respected in the industry, and it is because actions speak louder than words. I have lost, but I have gained from those losses, and the industry pushes me to be a better version of myself. The possibility of being remembered and owning my own legacy and stamp on the market gets me out of bed and in the mood to create and push forward.

What does it take to get the right qualifications as a mixologist?

We have this funny notion that because we put a scientific ‘logist’ on the end of the term mixology that we are a different industry or have a different university to attend. A world class chef is still called a chef and I refer to myself as a bartender.

My goal is to give you a tasty tipple and help you leave happier than you arrived and hopefully to see you come back. To qualify to become truly hospitable I believe that you only have to care, truly care. Actions speak louder than words and continue to give the customer a better version of yourself. Information is widely available and the ability to try new flavor combinations and presentations is possible form the second your bar opens to the second it closes.

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A CULINARY EXPLORATION FEATURING FOUR SAN MARZANO TOMATO SAUCES...

Winner of the Gourmand World Cookbook Awards and the Top 3 Best in the World by Gourmand in two categories.

Award-winning author Flavel Monteiro and Doug Singer teams up to bring a one of-a-kind cookbook. Legacy is a special culinary experience showcasing the perfect blend of culture in its marriage with the San Marzano tomatoes. Featuring 25 world-class chefs from 10 different countries, who have all come together to celebrate the famed San Marzano tomato.

This exciting group of top-tier chefs deliver a broad selection of recipes with San Marzano based sauces into their recipes.

Legacy is the winner of the Gourmand World Cookbook Awards and the Top 3 Best in the World by Gourmand.

A nine course with a Sunday Sauce, Fra Diavolo, Capriccioso and

Marinara.

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THE FINEST CHEFS CRUSHING IT!

LEGACY

Alfredo Russo Konstantin Filippou Grant MacPherson Vineet Bhatia Tony Suppa Silvia Baracchi Tano Simonato Maneet Chauhan Carla Pellegrino Teresa Cutter Colin Clague Luca Rosati James Knight-Pacheco Reif Othman Daniel Negreira James Oakley Daniel Chavez John Buenaventura Mirko Fassari Lim Yew Aun Federico Teresi Jean Winter Tamara Chavez Niyati Rao Jorge Rivero Saradhi Dakara Giuseppe Cutraro Carlo Quattrocchi

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©LUCA ROSATI

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LEGACY

TRANSPARENT MONKFISH RAVIOLI TANO SIMONATO TANO PASSAMI L OLIO MILAN INGREDIENTS MONKFISH 500 g monkfish Honey Extra virgin olive oil medium from Sicily or Sardinia Salt GLAZED CARROTS AND CELERY 4 mini carrot 4 stalks of celery Sugar Salt SUNDAY SAUCE 600 g Sunday Sauce DISK OF TOMATO WATER Tomatoes and water.

METHOD Wash and clean the tomatoes. Blend the tomatoes along with the skin with an immersion blender. Let it rest for half hour.Pass through a sieve and then through a chinoise lined with a clean napkin until the tomato water drains completely. Put the tomato water in a pan and boil it at 90°C for 10 minutes. Stir with a whisk and pour onto a tray. It should be a maximum of 2 millimeters thick.

Refrigerate for 1 hour,. When it is perfectly solid, use a 9 mm pastry cutter to make discs. Keep refrigerated.

MONKFISH Clean the monkfish and freeze it for 2 hours. Remove the monkfish an hour before preparation and place it in cold water.

Put some oil in the pan with 3 leaves of basil.

Lightly coat the monkfish with honey and cook for a few minutes on each side until golden brown. Add salt to taste.

Place the monkfish in an oven that has been preheated to 250°C for 5 minutes.

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TRANSPARENT MONKFISH RAVIOLI ©MASSIMO PICCHIERI

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LEGACY

PESCADO A LA TALLA INGREDIENTS TOMATO ADOBO 150 g Vegetable oil 200 g Red onions 50 g Garlic 150 g Guajillo chilli 50 g Vinegar FISH 200 g Sunday sauce 100 g Mayonnaise 4 pcs Fish fillet with no skin (80g/pc) 100 g Spring coriander (cilantro) PARSLEY ADOBO 200 g Italian parsley 50 g Garlic minced 100 g Onions 50 g Water

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TAMARA CHAVEZ TONO CEVICHERIA SINGAPORE METHOD Cut the vegetables into small pieces. Halve the chilies and remove the seeds. Cook the vegetables and chilies in boiling water on medium heat for 5 minutes. Strain and blend the ingredients with Sunday Sauce and vinegar. Season with salt and let cool to room temperature. Blend all the ingredients to make a parsley marinade.

Add mayonnaise to adobo sauce and cover half of the fish with adobo and the other half with parsley.

Keep the fish fillets in a container in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. Sear the fish on both sides in a hot oiled pan, and then bake at 180°C for 7 minutes. Garnish the fish with olive oil and chopped spring coriander (cilantro).

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PESCADO A LA TALLA ©ANIL RIARD

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LEGACY

INGREDIENTS BEEF BOLOGNESE 300 g Ground beef 100 g Finely diced shallots 30 g Finely dice the garlic 30 g Fresh thyme 300 g Sunday sauce 30 g Sliced fresh parsley In a pan with olive oil lightly shallow fry shallot, garlic and thyme with no color. Add ground beef, shallow fry until evenly browned. Add Sunday sauce and gentle simmer until sauce has reduced by 20%. Season with salt and pepper, add parsley and serve.

PORCINI PASTA 400 g OO pasta flour 350 g Organic free range egg yolks 100 g Dried porcini powder In a Robo coupe (food processor) blend all of the ingredients. Place into a sous vide bag and vacuum, removing all air to compress the dough.

Allow it to rest in the refrigerator for 4 hours before rolling. Using a pasta machine, roll it to 1 mm in thickness and cut into lasagna-size sheets.

When ready to serve, prepare a pan of well-seasoned water with extra virgin olive oil. Take the water to a rolling boil and cook pasta for 30-45 seconds.

PORCINI AND COMTE CHEESE SAUCE 500 g Milk 500 g Cream 150 g Butter 50 g Sherry 5 g Tarragon 75 g Comte cheese 250 g Mushroom stock 15 g Dried porcini 10 g Thyme Reduce cream and milk by half, set aside. In a pan place mushroom stock and dried porcini, reduce by half and set aside. In a pan reduce sherry by half. In a pan mix together the cream and milk reduction, mushroom stock, porcini reduction and sherry reduction. Return to heat and bring to a gentle simmer. Whisk in butter and Comte cheese a little at a time until all butter is fully incorporated and all cheese is fully melted. Remove from heat, add thyme, tarragon and set aside to infuse for 30 minute. Strain through a fine sieve and place into an espuma CO2 charger and charge with 2 CO2 canisters.

CRISP BEEF TENDONS 100 g Beef tendon Place Beef tendon into a pan and cover with water. Simmer gently for 6 hours, until the tendon is transparent and a firm jelly-like consistency.

Remove tendon from water and allow to cool. Once cool thinly slice tendon and place onto a silicon mat. Dehydrate at 56°C for 12 hours. Once dehydrated allow it to sit uncovered at room temperature for a further 12 hours. Fry and season.

CONFIT PORCINI 200 g Fresh porcini mushroom 10 g Garlic 15 g Fresh thyme 150 g Beef dripping Clean porcini keeping whole and intact. Melt the beef fat. Place all ingredients into a sous vide bag and vacuum pack being careful not to crush the mushroom. Cook at 90°C for 4 hours.

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DECONSTRUCTED BEEF LASAGNA JAMES OAKLEY ALIBI, CORDIS HOTEL HONG KONG

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DECONSTRUCTED BEEF LASAGNA ©BEN WONG

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INGREDIENTS BANANA SEA BASS 4 Sea bass fillets (120 g each), scaled and pin boned MARINADE ½ tsp Turmeric powder 1 tsp Red chilli powder 1 tbsp Ginger-garlic paste 1 tbsp Vegetable oil Sea salt to taste TOMATO SAUCE 1 tbsp Vegetable oil 1 tsp chopped Garlic 1 tsp chopped Ginger 180 g Fra Diavolo sauce ½ teaspoon Red chili powder Salt to taste THE PLATE AND GARNISH 4 pcs banana leaf sheets, 7 inch x 3 inch Fried curry leaves to garnish

BANANA LEAF WRAPPED BAKED TOMATO SEA BASS COCONUT CHUTNEY VINEET BHATIA KAMA BY VINEET, HARRODS LONDON Banana leaf is a common ingredient used in the Southern states of India for cooking. The Parsis and the Zoroastrians that settled in India also have a bananaleaf wrapped fish—Patra Ni Machhi or flaky white fish coated with spicy coconut chutney.

My recipe is a delicate nod to both of these the cuisines.

The flavors of tomato, curry leaves, and coconut are ones that I very much relish and ones in which I find comfort. Wrapping the fish protects the delicate fillets from harsh dry heat. And the banana leaf imparts a sweet, floral flavor to the fish. Traditionally this would be seared over hot charcoals, but it also works wonderfully in a hot oven.

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In a bowl add the turmeric powder, red chili powder, ginger-garlic paste, vegetable oil and salt. Mix together to form a marinade.

Place the fish in the marinade and leave for at least 15 minutes for the flavors to infuse into the fish.

In a pan, heat the vegetable oil and add the chopped garlic and ginger. Sauté for 30 seconds and add the Fra Diavolo sauce and red chili powder.

Bring the sauce to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer the sauce to a coating consistency. Stir in the sea salt and transfer the tomato sauce to a bowl to cool.

Marinate the Sea Bass fillets in the cooled tomato sauce, ideally for 20 minutes.

Wrap the marinated fish fillet in the banana leaf and bake in a pre-heated oven at 170 C for 6-8 minutes or until the fish is cooked.

Garnish with a quenelle (spoonful) of coconut chutney and fried curry leaves.

COCONUT CHUTNEY Flesh of ½ fresh coconut, grated 25 g Roasted channa daal (split chick peas) Salt to taste FOR TEMPERING 1 tbsp Vegetable oil 1 tsp Urad dal (lentil-like beans) ½ tsp Mustard seeds ½ tsp Finely chopped fresh ginger ½ tsp Finely chopped green chili 3 Curry leaves, chopped Salt to taste Put the grated coconut and roasted channa dal into a blender with 50 ml of water and blend to a smooth, thick paste.

Heat the oil in a pan, add the urad dal and cook until golden brown. Add the mustard seeds. As they crackle, add the ginger and chili and sauté over a medium heat for a minute. Add the curry leaves and cook for 30 seconds more. Add this mixture to the coconut paste, season with salt and mix well.

BANANA LEAF WRAPPED ©VINEET BHATIA @CAVALIERLONDON

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DIAVOLO DI UN TAGLIOLINO! INSPIRED BY FRA’ DIAVOLO SAUCE LUCA ROSATI SAN GIMIGNANO TUSCANY

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DIAVOLO DI UN TAGLIOLINO ©LUCA ROSATI

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TAGLIOLINO DOUGH 200 g of Wheat flour 200 g of Durum wheat semolina 4 Eggs Zest of 1 lemon Grated black pepper (pepe lungo - piper longum) Beat the eggs in a large steel bowl. Gradually pour in the flour, lemon zest and grated pepper and mix slowly with your hands.

After mixing the dough well, roll it out to a very thin consistency with a rolling pin, giving it the texture needed to make the tagliolino. To obtain a complete drying of the pasta, it is necessary not to leave it in a too humid an environment because the operation will not succeed.

At the same time you do not want it to be too dry as it could form a crust on the outside, leaving the inside damp and therefore fertile soil for bacteria. Once the process is complete, it should be cut into the signature long strips and stored in paper bags in a dry place.

Pour enough sunflower oil into a large pot to cover the dough and put it on the fire. When the oil is hot, dip the pasta in the oil for a few seconds until it is crispy and drain. Serve the hot fried tagliolino with the cold gazpacho.

FRA DIAVOLO GAZPACHO 500 g Fra Diavolo sauce 1 Slice of cantaloupe melon 1/2 Cucumber 1 or 2 Slices of toasted bread Parsley Salt, pepper, extra virgin olive oil, raspberry vinegar, ice cubes Start by washing and peeling the cucumber. Cut it in half lengthwise and scrape out the seeds with a spoon (discard seeds). Chop it coarsely and reduce it to a puree in the mixer with a couple of ice cubes, the melon and the parsley. Pass through a sieve. Finely chop the toasted bread into bread crumbs (or use the blender) and season with salt and pepper. Add the strained vegetable and melon juice along with the breadcrumbs to the Fra Diavolo sauce stirring in the vinegar and olive oil. Let it rest covered in the refrigerator for 2 hours.

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SEBZE GUVEC CLAY POT BABY VEGETABLES INGREDIENTS 800 g Capriccioso sauce 45 g Turkish red pepper (spicy) 3 Bay leaves 10 g Roasted garlic 10 g Chopped parsley VEGETABLES 540 g Baby potatoes, blanched 600 g Yellow zucchini 600 g Green zucchini 450 g Japanese eggplant - pan fried 300 g Pumpkin / butternut squash, peeled, trimmed and pan fried 300 g Artichokes hearts - blanched and then roasted 240 g Assorted baby carrots (various colors) blanched and then roasted 300 g Fava beans 200 g Celeriac - sautéed 180 g Baby onions - sautéed 180 g Tomato - concasse Maldon sea salt Freshly ground black pepper GARNISH Za’atar, Fried garlic, Assorted cresses METHOD Peel or prepare the vegetables as needed. Either blanch or sauté separately. All vegetables should be nicely colored but al dente.

Sauté the roasted garlic paste and red pepper paste.

Add the tomato sauce and bring to low simmer.

Add all of the vegetables apart from the blanched fava beans and bring to a simmer, then place in the oven until nearly cooked.

Add the fava beans, chopped parsley and adjust the seasoning. Place in the refrigerator to cool quickly, then vacuum pack into portions.

To serve, drop the bag into water to heat through, then place in a Guvec (clay pot). If it is too dry, add more tomato sauce, then place in the oven to get piping hot.

Garnish with fried garlic, za’atar and assorted herbs and cresses, then drizzle with a good extra virgin olive oil.

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COLIN CLAGUE RÜYA DUBAI - LONDON

SEBZE GUVEC ©RITA TESSANDORI

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JAMES KNIGHT-PACHECO SIX SENSES ZIGHY BAY MUSANDAM, DIBBA

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AUBERGINE @JULIET DUNNE

WG MAGAZINE

INGREDIENTS 2 Large aubergine (eggplant) 50 g Pomegranate seeds 200 g Pomegranate juice 1 Baby aubergine (eggplant) 20 ml Pomegranate molasses 40 ml Olive oil 20 g Garlic 5 g Salt 2 g Agar agar 5 g Thyme 2 g Sugar 400 g Capriccioso sauce METHOD BAKED AUBERGINES Pre-heat the oven to 170°C. Slice the large aubergine in half lengthways, then score the flesh in a crisscross motion and season with salt. Peel and slice the garlic and remove the thyme leaves. Place these on top of the aubergine flesh.

Finally place the Capriccioso sauce on top of each of the aubergine. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until fully soft. Once cooked, very gently scoop out the flesh, making sure the body of the aubergine stays intact. Chop the flesh well, then add olive oil, salt and the molasses, taste and adjust the seasoning if required. Place the mixture back into the aubergine, keep it at room temperature for later use.

AUBERGINE POMEGRANATE GEL Place the pomegranate juice in a pan and bring to the boil. Mix the agar agar and the sugar well, then whisk into the hot juice and keep whisking for 3-4 minutes until the juice begins to thicken.

Immediately place the mixture into the fridge, allow to cool and set for 3 hours.

Once the mixture has set, then place it in a blender, and blend to a fine puree. Then strain through a fine sieve. Keep in a piping bag for later use.

AUBERGINE CHIPS Slice the baby aubergine on a mandolin, ensuring that they are as thin as possible. Salt the aubergine, allow the water to come out, and then dry well.

Deep fry the aubergine until they are golden, then place in the oven at 80°C. The aubergine chips will be ready, when they are crisp. Store in a cool dry place.

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A SIMPLE TOMATO DANIEL NEGREIRA HIDDEN BY DN TAIPEI INGREDIENTS SPICED TOMATO 300 g Peeled tomatoes (chopped not too small) 15 g Garlic 5 g Sesame oil 3 g Smoke sauce 8 g Salt 10 g Sugar 5 g Honey 5 g Moroccan spices Basil leaves 10 g Chardonnay vinegar 5 g White pepper 15 g Olive oil 5 g Italian seasoning 5 g Sweet paprika 50 g Marinara sauce Mix all of the ingredients above and marinate for one hour.

Using a very hot pan, add the ingredients and sauté keeping the fire strong until the water is almost gone, then put on the grill and let it dry.

Once dry, cool down and shape it as a small tomato by using plastic wrap.

Freeze until it hardens.

COATING THE SKIN 200 g Tomato juice 100 g Marinara sauce 12 g Vegetables gelatine 1 g Agar agar Boil all of the ingredients together, pass through a sieve and keep warm.

Stick the frozen tomatoes with a toothpick and coat each one twice with the tomato “skin.”

To finish the tomato decorate with peas sprouts, and to complete the “magic trick,” serve it with a soil made of blended dehydrated black olives and butter chocolate cookies.

A SIMPLE TOMATO ©IVAN ZHENG

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FETTUCINE PENNE TUNA AND WILD MUSHROOMS REIF OTHMAN REIF JAPANESE KUSHIYAKI RESTAURANT DUBAI INGREDIENTS 160 g Penne 1 tbsp Chopped olives 2 tbsp Chopped shallot 1 tsp Minced garlic 120 g Marinara sauce 1/2 tsp Chili powder 1 tsp Honey 80 g Shimeji mushrooms 50 g Eringi mushrooms 100 g Canned tuna, drained GARNISH Chives Sun-dried tomatoes METHOD Heat the oil in a pan. Add the onion and mushrooms and cook for a 1-2 minutes until lightly browned.

Add in minced garlic, tomato sauce, chili powder and honey. Bring to a slight boil and season with salt and pepper to taste. Add in the cooked penne and toss it well along with the canned tuna and olives.

Drizzle extra virgin olive and plate it. Garnish with a few sticks of chive and sun-dried tomatoes.

FETTUCINE PENNE, TUNA AND WILD MUSHROOMS ©VIVEK KUMAR / WG MAGAZINES

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thought process WHEN IMAGINATION BECOMES EMOTION FLAVEL MONTEIRO

AWARD-WINNING AUTHOR

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YOSHI IS TEN

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THE CULINARY MAGAZINE BY ALFREDO RUSSO

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THE ITALIAN IN HOKKAIDO www.extraordinaryitalian.com

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