WG MAGAZINE SUMMER 2021

SUMMER 2021

50 YEARS AFTER WOODSTOCK REMEMBERING

BARON WOLMAN www.wgmagazines.com

ENDO KAZUTOSHI

AT THE ROTUNDA

VIKAS KHANNA

KINARA AT JA

PÍA LEÓN

WORLD’S BEST FEMALE CHEF

ALAN MORRIS

AGEING THE FUTURE

A cookbook for the soul...

Back To Our Roots redefining gastronomy, a holistic approach of looking at simplicity, the science, techniques, creativity, and the culinary art of cuisine without losing sight of the ingredients.

This holistic cuisine is an experience that stimulates the senses, a skilful process of enhancing flavours with an open mind and bringing together roots, herbs, spices and natural produce.

The book will be released this autumn at KINARA

by VIKAS KHANNA, JA Lake View Hotel at JA The Resort Dubai.

VIKAS KHANNA

BACK TO OUR ROOTS RECIPES FROM THE HOLISTIC KITCHEN

WITH FLAVEL MONTEIRO

#RateMyPlate ALL YOU NEED TO DO IS: Purchase the ‘Come Together for India’ eBook for $5 to feed the children of India.

Recreate one of the dishes in the book and send an email with the recreated dish image with proof of purchase to wgmagazine@wgmagazines.com Subject line for the e-mail: #RateMyPlate Name & Surname We will repost your images along with numbers for each entry that the audience can vote for in the comments.

A COOKBOOK

WITH 58 OF THE FINEST INDIAN CHEFS

FOR A CAUSE

FUNDRAISER SUPPORT THE COVID CATASTROPHE IN INDIA

A partner you can rely on.

EACH OF OUR RECIPES IS A STORY OF LOVE, BAKING AND SHARING.

UNLEASH YOUR CREATIVITY with the French bakery specialties designed by St Michel Professionnel, your solution-driven partner for a unique experience of fresh baking.

CONTACT US : ANTOINE COMBES ANTOINE.COMBES@STMICHEL.FR - +971 (0)54 443 9568

The Meat Co. Souk Madinat Jumeirah reservations@meatco.ae +971 4 368 6040

Newby Teas is the world’s most awarded luxury tea company, dedicated to reviving the craft of fine tea. Inspired by our founder’s passion for high quality teas, we create our blends using only the purest ingredients available; picking, preserving and presenting them with unparalleled expertise. Explore our exquisite everyday teabags, rare loose leaf blends and limited gifting collections.

newbyteas.com

Hit the Water in Style with Roberto’s At Sea: La Dolce Vita Sul Mare With breezy, sun-kissed weather around the corner, it’s time to hit the water in style with Roberto’s At Sea, a brand-new dining experience, onboard a luxury yacht, where the renowned Roberto’s Dubai brings its unmatched service and exquisite menu to the sea.

What makes Roberto’s At Sea truly unique is its versatile approach in setting up a luxurious maritime adventure. You can enjoy Roberto’s culinary experience by renting a 58-foot yacht, fully equipped with a private Chef, captain and crew for you and your entourage. Or, you can host on your very own yacht along with Roberto’s catering services. Either way, Roberto’s At Sea will provide exclusive multi-course meals served by its skilled team, all for your enjoyment.

With luxury sailing befitting Dubai’s skyline, Roberto’s At Sea’s culinary line-up includes three optional menus featuring seasonal favourites like tuna tartare with avocado and wasabi cream, wild forest and portobello mushroom risotto and roasted tiger prawns.

Ending on a sweet note, the dolci selections include tiramisu, pistachio ice cream and chocolate profiteroles.

A yacht doubling as an outdoor rooftop lounge on water, a few glasses of bubbly accompanied by a multi-course menu and unobstructed skyline views, the Roberto’s At Sea embraces ‘La Dolce Vita Sul Mare’: The Good Life, At Sea. INFO: +971 4 386 0066 athome@robertos.ae https://robertosrestaurants.com/dubai/catering/

THERMOMIX EXCEPTIONAL QUALITY AND RELIABILITY AT YOUR FINGERTIPS For more information email: info@thermomix-me.com or call 04 2342520 Website: uae.thermomix.com | Facebook: Thermomix Middle East

Impact of poor quality tea on human health...

Newby constantly strives to make efforts towards community health and welfare. Our mission as part of the British registered charity the N. Sethia Foundation, is to be innovative with product that supports the health and wellbeing of humanity. We strongly believe that mass market tea brands retailing at extremely competitive prices may not be the best choice for good health in the long run. Cheap teas as a consequence of being mass produced due to high demand often have a very high fluoride content which can, over long periods of time, result in muscle and bone deterioration. Extensive research has started in the last decade exploring health concerns connected to fluoride in tea.

At Newby we are daring to alert the world to these potential dangers. When it comes to tea, the old saying is applicable: good can’t be cheap and cheap can’t be good. Currently consumers are unaware of the dangers of cheap teas as are the establishments who serve them, both only acknowledging the low price without consideration of quality, taste and overall character. Newby is passionate about raising awareness and industry standards in the interest of public health. We hope that the whole industry works together to produce better and healthier tea.

newbyteas.com

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Mythos Kouzina & Grill brings authentic Greek food to the table. As you feast on your favorite specialties, you’ll find that all the food is prepared with the freshest, hand-selectedingredients creating a style that’s pure, light and healthy.

Contact +971 (0) 4 399 8166 MythosDubai Armada BlueBay Hotel, Cluster P, JLT

Provide solutions for secure

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We are specialized in providing turnkey solutions for Food & Beverage segments of high-end fine dining restaurants and fast-food chain type restaurants.

We constantly monitor the market for the latest equipment, keeping abreast of the latest technologies and quality standards. While we represent many manufacturers for various food service equipment, we can maintain our independence when providing this service by offering alternatives to our own products if such is preferred by the client or the purpose. We are proud of the fact that the manufacturers represented by us are mostly market leaders in their respective segments and continue to share an equal and even higher commitment to quality in their products & services. All our products have impeccable performance records and are continually specified by many leading catering professionals from the world over.

Services offered: ✎ Kitchen Design with HACCP compliance ✎ Kitchen Equipment Supply, Installation & Maintenance ✎ Stainless steel Fabrication & Coldroom Supply Also ✎ Buying & Selling of Pre-owned UK, USA & European Kitchen Equipments ✎ Renting of Kitchen Equipment on Daily, Weekly and Monthly Basis

For more information email: info@alzabar.ae or call 06 5313613 / 054 4861999 Website : www.alzabar.ae

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remembering

CONTENTS

Baron Wolman

60 66 Best Female Chef 94 72 116 HIGH JOINT 82 124 90 KINARA by VIKAS KHANNA

AT THE

ROTUNDA

DINING IN HONG KONG

DRY-AGEING

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MAIZE & MEXICO

BEST OF DUBAI

WG MAGAZINE

COFFEE ABSOLUTE GASTRONOMY PHOTO © VICTORIA SHASHIRIN

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A PIECE OF SOUTH ITALIAN SEAFOOD FLAIR ALICI BRINGS THE SIMPLE FLAVOURS OF THE SOUTHERN ITALIAN COASTLINE TO DUBAI. WITH ITS CULINARY TEAM HEADED BY ITALIAN CHEF, DOMENICO SANTAGADA, ALICI’S MENU FEATURES AMALFITANA AND SOUTH OF ITALY SPECIALTIES INCLUDING A WIDE RANGE OF CRUDO OR RAW SEAFOOD SELECTION.

BLUEWATERS ISLAND, DUBAI +971 4 275 2577 WWW.ALICI.COM

WG MAGAZINE

For thousands of years, tea has enjoyed grandeur and glory, regarded as a delicacy to be honoured and savoured...

By painstakingly sourcing, blending, preserving and serving the world’s finest teas, Newby guarantees that its products have integrity. Not only do we set the bar for tea’s luxury standard, we speak volumes on the lost art of truly understanding and appreciating the well-loved drink.

Selecting the fine teas produced during the prime harvest seasons, Newby’s dedicated tea tasters and the tea master trial thousands of cups before selecting bespoke blends. These high grade teas are then preserved at a unique and state of the art facility in India’s finest tea growing region, ensuring unbeatable level of quality and freshness.

Proud to share tea’s history and support cultural causes, Newby supports the largest private collection of antique tea wares in the world. The celebrated “Chitra Collection” chronicles tea’s evolution from Song Dynasty tea bowls and elaborate Satsuma teapots to decadent Victorian tea sets and bespoke luxury pieces designed for the 21st Century.

newbyteas.com

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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

G

Company Registration Number U22100GA2011PTC006731 Marketing & Advertising Call: +91 832 246 3234 E-mail: wgmagazine@wgmagazines.com Content Creation IZZY MEDIA FZ-LLC 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. ©2021 WG™ All rights reserved.

Cover Image Credit: ENDO KAZUTOSHI Photo ©FoodStoryMedia 2021

G Woodstock and 50 years after… remembering Baron Wolman, a dear friend and the legendary Rolling Stone magazine chief photographer. “I came upon a child of God, He was walking along the road…” Little did Baron know that he was about to experience the most famous music festival in the history of the world. A personal Woodstock experience with a line-up of musicians - The Who, Jimi Hendrix, Richie Havens, Ravi Shankar, Joan Baez, Santana, Jefferson Airplane with Grace Slick, Janis Joplin, and on and on. Most of the performers he had photographed in concert, and although he was impressed by them all, what fascinated him most was the imagination, the event itself. Never before had he seen so many people gathered at one place. Never before had he seen children of the “counter-culture” sitting together peacefully, helping one another, enjoying the music and the rural atmosphere and one another. It was indeed a weekend of peace, love and music. A friend who drove me to doing WG and will be missed most dearly.

Featuring authentic regional dishes with a modern twist, a menu that highlights classic dishes, with a strong focus on the subtle smoky flavours of the Tandoori oven and the variety of spices, Vikas Khanna takes you on a journey with an explosion of flavours at Kinara by Vikas Khanna at JA Lake View Hotel at JA The Resort Dubai

Alan Morris takes us through the art of dry-ageing process which is been master for over 50 years at John Stone, and how to cook the perfect steak.

Mexico’s Rich Culinary History with Sofìa Danis, Mexican chef and chocolatier, editor and translator at Kiwilimón, former editor at EL UNIVERSAL and the 2012 Fiat Chrysler Awardee takes us through the journey of maize.

50 Best reveals Peruvian chef Pía León as the winner of The World’s Best Female Chef Award 2021 and a look at 50 Best brand new initiative Champions of Change.

Endo at the Rotunda, home to the award-winning cuisine of Chef Endo Kazutoshi. The 15seat restaurant is inspired by the Japanese spirit of omotenashi - the art of hospitality rooted in empathy towards one’s guest. Across to Asia with dining in Honk Kong with Vicky Lau’s An Ode to Fruit, Andrea Tarini at Radical Cic, the finest sushi at Sushi Mamoru with Hirofumi Chiba, locallyinspired menu with Mario Paecke at Margo and Aven Lau’s tasting menu at Bâtard

Sometimes, the most unassuming joints hold the biggest secrets, and it’s a given that if a place has grown in popularity through word of mouth, there’s a good reason behind it. The burgers at High Joint. While still in Dubai we manage to take a look at some of The Best of Dubai restaurants.

Come Together For India – A Cookbook For A Cause! 58 chefs, 89 recipes, 1 book = $5 58 of the finest Indian chefs from North America to New Zealand. They come together to showcase the best of their culinary excellence with 89 delectable recipes. #RateMyPlate competition. Everyone who buys the book has the chance to win US$500, two Expo 2020 Dubai season passes, and more. There will also be a weekly winner who will win a dinner for two. Buy the book, recreate one of the dishes from it and email an image of it to wgmagazine@wgmagazines.com. Also needed is proof of purchase of the e-book. The subject line of the email should include #RateMyPlate Name & Surname. Proceeds from the sale of the book will go to Dubai Cares – Permit No. 4074 and Vibha.org to support those who have been affected by the COVID-19 catastrophe.

Be Safe, Stay Safe, Keep Healthy and Bon Appétit.

Fabian de Castro

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PHOTO ©LYNN LOWN

WG MAGAZINE

remembering a dear friend and the legendary Rolling Stone magazine chief photographer

50 YEARS AFTER WOODSTOCK

Baron Wolman WG 2021 -

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BARON WOLMAN SITTING BACK STAGE, CARLOS SANTANA PLAYING AT WOODSTOCK PHOTO ©BILL GRAHAM - WG 2021

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I

pointed my rental car toward Woodstock thinking I would be covering just another summer music festival.

Wow, was I wrong! As I moved ever closer to the actual festival site, I was shocked. The traffic was incredible – I encountered a sea of automobiles lined up bumper to bumper, and people marching forward on foot. “I came upon a child of God, He was walking along the road…” Little did I know I was about to experience the most famous music festival in the history of the world.

WE ARE GOLDEN

My personal Woodstock experience was somewhat different than most of the photographers shooting the festival. The lineup of musicians was second to none: The Who, Jimi Hendrix, Richie Havens, Ravi Shankar, Joan Baez, Santana, Jefferson Airplane with Grace Slick, Janis Joplin, and on and on. Most of the performers I had photographed already in concert, and although I was impressed by them all, what fascinated me more, what captured my imagination, was the event itself. Never before had I seen so many people gathered at one place. Never before had I seen children of the “counterculture” sitting together peacefully, helping one another, enjoying the music and the rural atmosphere and one another.

It was indeed a weekend of peace, love and music.

No one could have predicted the enduring influence of Woodstock. Yes, the bands were first-rate and there were many of them. And the location, isolated in nature as it was, was picture-perfect and tranquil, a bucolic setting for relaxing with friends and listening to music and getting high. But in unexpected ways, Woodstock became more than a concert for all of us.

My photographer friend and cohort, Jim Marshall, stayed on the stage and behind the stage, high on who knows what chemical and tripping with the best of them, yet still producing impeccable and memorable images. I, on the other hand, was fascinated, captivated, enchanted and transfixed by the crowd, the hundreds of thousands of kind and gentle souls who made the trek to Yasguar’s farm. It was the people upon whom I focused my cameras. I wandered among them, taking pictures, building a personal diary of three miraculous days that I somehow knew were both a promise and an aberration.

We held out hope that the former would characterize our future lives. Yet, as we look at the world in which we now live, we realize with great sadness it was only an aberration. But for me – I give thanks to the photo gods who put me and my cameras at that place, at that time, and gave me the foresight to remember the moment in pictures.

Baron Wolman

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I’m going on down to Yasgur’s farm I’m going to join in a rock ‘n’ roll band I’m going to camp out on the land I’m going to try an’ get my soul free

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PHOTO ©BARON WOLMAN

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GRACE SLICK - JEFFERSON AIRPLANE

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Baron Wolman captured the experience and atmosphere of Woodstock like no other photographer, stunning black and white photographs of Woodstock published for the first time.

PHOTO ©BARON WOLMAN

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“I ended up spending most of my time out in the wild with the crowd because what was happening out there was just too interesting not to explore...”

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PHOTO ©BARON WOLMAN

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MAX YASGUR’S FARM, BETHEL, NEW YORK - THE SITE OF WOODSTOCK PHOTO ©BARON WOLMAN

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Every Picture Tells A Story – Baron Wolman, The Rolling Stone Years

WG MAGAZINE

176 pages, 12 x 10 ½ inches • US$37.95 + Shipping from the U.S.

To order one or more autographed copies, contact the author at baron@baronwolman.com

lman not only witnessed what is without a doubt the most important period of change in music and popular culture, but his photographs helped shape it. Rolling Stone magazine ted and distilled the most important events and changes as they were taking place. Each ld speak to this evolving youth culture in a language that was all its own and Baron’s photos Baron Wolman not only witnessed what is without doubt he events and personalities, and visualized the music.

THE ROLLING STONE YEARS

the most important period of change in popular music and popular culture, but his photgraphs help shape ages of “The Rolling Stone Years” are filled with photos and text.

Some Stone of themagazineencapsulated photos have it. Rolling and distilled n seen; none of the words have ever been read – other than the by most Baronimportant and the editors, of changes as they were events and taking place. Each issue would speak to this evolving s a picture book with text, the stories behind the photos. youth culture in a language that was all its own and Baron’s photo’s captured the events and personalities, s I’ve been asked to talk about the photos, how they cameand to visualized be, whatthe happened music. on

nt at the various shoots. This book answers those questions and more. I and my camera were For years Baron had been asked to talk about the to be around at a seminal time in the history of our countryphotos. and thehow music business.

Thebe, what happened on they came to y ‘thank you’ for the privilege. assignments at the various shoots.

Baron was living in San Francisco’s Haight-Ashbury and

ng in San Francisco’s Haight-Ashbury and working as a photo-journalist 1967, when in a 1967, when a fortuitous working as a in photo-journalist meeting with Jann Wenner, the founder of Rolling Stone, resulted myJaan becoming the the founder of Rolling meeting in with Wenner, Stone, resulted in his becoming n’s first chief photographer. From Issue Number One and for nearly three years thereafter, the publication’s first chief photographer. From Issue Number One and for graphs were published regularly in Rolling Stone and became the magazine’s graphic nearly three years thereafter, Baron’s photographs ce. The collection of pictures and the stories behind them in thewere bookpubished represents some ofinthe regularly Rolling Ston and became ficant artists and events of the period.” the magazine’s graphic centerpiece. He went on to capture the 1960s pop rock explosion including Janis Joplin, the Who, Jimi Hendrix, Pink Floyd, the Grateful Dead and Bob Dylan, among many, many more.

PHOTO ©BARON WOLMAN

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Having lived among the legends, Baron Wolman had the opportunity to get up close and personal with some of the greatest musicians of our time. This is how it began, this is Baron’s story.

My complete “story” is a long one, a much too circuitous journey for an afternoon interview… It began when, as a teenager, I received (bought) my first camera. The moment I looked through the viewfinder I knew I had found my own personal way to communicate about the world as I experienced it. In fact, it was curiosity about the world that became my photographic guiding light, the energy behind my drive to make pictures – what’s going on out there, how to make sense of it? Search for the essence, take a photo, share my visual insight with the world – I communicated better with images than with words.

BARON & FRIENDS PHOTO ©DIANNE DUENZL

Over the years, my subjects were many, from music, to sports, to aviation, to fashion, to travel and beyond. In order to “study” anything with my camera about which I was curious I gave myself an assignment. From those assignments came photo books and magazine articles and prints for sale. And from them, too, came my opportunity to immerse myself in the world of rock & roll music as the chief photographer for Rolling Stone magazine. Although I have made countless photos of many and varied subjects, it for my music photos, made mainly for Rolling Stone for which I am best known. The opportunity to become associated with Rolling Stone came in April of 1967; our first issue was published in October of ’67, dated 9 November 1967. The rest, as they say, is history. I photographed musicians who were icons and those who would become icons. I worked in the days when music was innocent, before the business of music became more important than the music itself. I was blessed to have been at the right place at the right time: at the very beginning of Rolling Stone magazine, in the early days of the popular music explosion, and in San Francisco’s Haight-Ashbury as U.S. and global society were experience massive changes politically, culturally, and most importantly, visually. For having been given the opportunity to shoot for Rolling Stone during those years, I consider myself one of the luckiest men alive…

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I love music, I “loved” the musicians.

They gave to me the gift of their music and for that gift I was most grateful.

In return I wanted to give them my gift of memorable and compassionate photographs of themselves...

- Baron Wolman Back in the day, on the road documenting chronicles of great artists and events, assumed leading a nomadic (may be described as hippie) lifestyle. The factors kept Baron grounded, focused and single minded to the quest and job at hand...

I never called myself a “hippie,” I never considered myself one. I understood and appreciated what it meant to be a hippie, but I was much more grounded in a traditional lifestyle. (If I had been a true hippie, I would have been to Goa decades ago when Goa earned its deserved reputation as a must-visit destination.) I was married to a dancer in the San Francisco Ballet and we had a fabulous life as members of San Francisco’s artistic community. I had a home and a mortgage. And I loved, loved, loved photography – loved discovering something new to photograph and experience through my camera.I never ever considered my “job” as work – it was always fun, exciting in unexpected ways, always satisfying.

Nor was I much into drugs. Ok, I inhaled now and then, but drugs never much interested me. Life interested me – there was so much going on around me that I wanted to experience fully, to be aware. If I had been stoned, those experiences would have been a blur. Just as there were no auto-focus or auto-exposure cameras – if I had been stoned, all my photos would also have been blurred…

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Baron pretty much saw the Rolling Stone magazine come to life - the early days, capturing the expressive lifetime shots and the emotional connection created with the artist...

The early days of Rolling Stone were wonderful, everything and anything was possible. We covered music, we covered politics, we covered art. We were irreverently creative but always honest. The magazine looked good, it read well – we hired talented writers and editors. We knew we were at the beginning of something good, something very, very good.

It didn’t take long for the public to become aware of Rolling Stone. On my first assignment for the first issue the musicians asked who I was. “Baron,” I said, “from Rolling Stone.” What was Rolling Stone, they wanted to know; at that moment the magazine didn’t yet exist. After we published a few issues it was clear we were becoming an important voice in the world of music in general, of rock and roll in particular. The musicians soon wanted to be seen in the pages of the magazines - and they became accessible and cooperative.

For concert photos there was no emotional connection created with the artist – there was no need to. I was there to capture a moment in the performance that, in a picture or two, would show what it was like to have been at that concert. I needed to “see” the music, not listen to it. I watched for magic visual moments that were occurring on stage.

For portraits it was an entirely different experience; yes, I always tried to establish an emotional connection with my subjects. You see, because I love music, I “loved” the musicians. They gave to me the gift of their music and for that gift I was most grateful. In return I wanted to give them my gift of memorable and compassionate photographs of themselves. In my photos session I urged them to share with me a piece of their soul, something from within that I could capture on film which showed them as they saw themselves, in the best possible light.

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PHOTO ©SONYA JASINSKI

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BARON & FRIENDS PHOTO ©DIANNE DUENZL - WG 2021

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Who knows what wonderful encounters follow a “Yes,” who knows what marvelous experiences may be missed upon a “No” answer.

- Baron Wolman Based on the wide spectrum of Baron’s work with the camera, which was part of his persona and a roving eye, the exceptional moments captured would be by intuition, with intention or incidental...

Baron says “An interesting question. Generally speaking, on every assignment, be it one I give myself or one given me by a client, I start off with intention and in a given direction. But I leave my mind open to the possibilities along the way of the “incidental,” as you call it. Woodstock is a perfect example.

As was always the case for events such as this, I went with the intention of covering a festival, from the natural setting, to both the on-stage and back-stage crowds, to the musicians, to the gentle folks who came to hear the music and chill out.

However, the pictures I took, the subjects I photographed,came as a series of incidental experiences - the people bathing in the pond, the cows relaxed and listening to the music, the size and nature of the enormous crowd, the local residents bewildered but welcoming the children of the counter-culture.

In other words, I usually have an idea where I’m going, I’m just never sure how I’ll get there…”

The music scene changed tremendously from the lyrically rich, gut wrenchingly soulful music of the 60’s and 70’s to what it is now. Baron’s take on this musical evolution. Similarly with new age technology that has changed in the art of photography...

Well, all of us, photographers and “civilians,” have experienced – are experiencing – the results of the digital revolution in photography. It’s the same with the music. Photographs are more easily taken with digital, music is more easily made with digital. The amount of music and the number of photos have increased dramatically, and therein is the problem. How does the best music, how do the best images rise to the top of the pool for us to encounter? After all, the instruments of both music and photography are simply tools to make art. But now there is so much of both. We are awash in art…

Every generation makes music that reflects its own current reality. You may not like rap music, but it’s all about what

it means to be living in the world today, a world of violence and mutual disrespect. You may be bored by EDM (electronic dance music), but that’s part of one of today’s important musical experiences, especially among the young. Classic rockseems to persist for two reasons: 1) because it’s more musically “accessible,” with a sympathetic and harmonious beat, and 2) because the lyrics clearly and simply deal with some of our universal, pan-generational experiences like the joy of love, and the heartbreak of loss in its many forms.

The advent of the digital camera has caused a sea change in the world of photography, a case of “good news/bad news.”

The good news is that it is now so easy to take photographs that everybody is doing it, some even doing it well! The bad news is that everybody is taking pictures; the result is that we’re inundatedby digital images, some good, some great, most forgettable. How do we access the great ones, where do we find them? The other “bad news” is that it’s now so incredibly difficult to make a living as a professional photographer, no more so than in the world of music photography. At a concert, for example, like a herd of sheep, photographers are herded into the “pit” in front of the stage, given two, maybe three songs to get their best shots and then kicked out. Unlimited access to the stage and the musicians, which I know from experience is virtually the only way to make great music photos, is a thing of the past. Explaining the “why” of this situation is somewhat complex, a subject to discuss on another day.

The other major change engendered by advent of the digital camera is how easy it is to become a so-called professional.

Invest a bunch of money in high-end pro digital equipment, set the dial to auto, and off you go, everything automatic; the camera does all the hard work…except for the eye! Having an eye for a great image is what sets the real pros apart from even the serious amateurs. Nothing will replace the eye of a great photographer; no camera made will automatically take great pictures if the man or woman holding it is lacking is creative, artistic photographic vision.

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Janis Joplin - Concert for One...

The 60’s had marked a beautiful time in history, where the youth came together in love and peace to celebrate music in rebellion against the war. 50 decades later, wars still rage on.

I’m not the one to ask. While I’m a short-term optimist, enjoying much of what life has to offer, I’m a long-term cynic. The generations to come must be prepared for an increasingly perplexing and unsettled existence. The easy times are over, the impeding challenges are huge: global warming, air and water pollution, over-population, lessening of natural resources, weapons in the hands of irresponsible people – the list is long and frightening. As the so-called “onepercenters” adopt a bunker mentality with infinite resources to protect themselves, the rest of the world will have to do with less and fend for itself. It’s important to remember that all of these problems are man-made; we caused them, the responsibility is on our shoulders. Because of our behavior we are becoming an endangered species. Honestly, I don’t see how humanity can survive itself…

Anyhow, I prepared the lights, Janis came over with the mic, and we started shooting. In the beginning she lipsynched as planned…for about a minute. Then she started singing quietly…for about another minute. Pretty soon she’s singing full-tilt, as if she really is on stage, and this went on for nearly an hour. She is performing for me alone – giving me an amazing, touching, moving, soulful experience. Janis Joplin could never do anything halfway; never do anything less than 150%. I call that series of photos the “Concert for One.” Baron’s encounter that had a lasting impact...

Baron had the privilege of immortalizing so many iconic musicians of the 60’s and 70’s. Special moments, the most challenging subjects...

You mean epiphanies, “ah-ha” moments. There have been a few. I recall a couple that are photographically related. The first was during the two times I and my cameras were onstage with Jimi Hendrix. I suddenly felt as if I myself wasn’t taking the pictures; rather, I was only a conduit for a greater force that was guiding me and my camera. Some people call that “being in the zone.” You will hear athletes talk about being in the zone, but until I experienced it myself, I didn’t realize it could happen to photographers, as well. I subsequently learned how to “click myself” into the zone when I needed to be there, when I need the assistance of that mysterious higher power.

One very special moment comes to mind. As Rolling Stone became more popular and successful, the main stream media took notice. Because we were printed on newsprint, we could not run color photos or color ads. The “big boys” decided they would try to match us with a large format magazine produced on glossy stock and printed in color. One of those magazines called me and asked if I could do color photos of Janis Joplin in concert. I did not because for obvious reasons at the time I was shooting primarily in black and white. So I phoned Janis – she conveniently lived only a few streets away – and asked her if she had any upcoming concerts where I could shoot her in color. She did not. So I created a “Plan B.” I asked her to come to my studio with a microphone, dressed in her performance best. My idea was to set up the studio lights to resemble stage lighting. I told her she could lip-synch; I was sure we could fake it and the magazine would never know.

The other situation happened one day (I don’t recall the exact day, only that the “ah-ha” moment occurred) as I was shooting when I came to realize that when I looked at my subject through the lens – any subject, it applied to them all – I had to adjust my “eye” to the film I was using. If I was using color film, I had to “see” in color, pay attention to the color itself. Conversely, if I were using black & white film, I had to see in black and white and gray. I also came to understand that the film determined how I was to look at the subject: switch on my color eye or switch on the black and white one.

In color pictures, color plays an often undesirable role, causing the viewer to see the color rather than the subject, rather than experiencing the essence of the moment the photographer is trying to share. Black and white photos are much more “content aware:” without color, the content becomes the message, more easily perceived.

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PHOTO ©BARON WOLMAN

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Drawing from his experiences, placed as a mentor and offering counsel or direction to this generation to pursue excellence...

“Beauty has no limits. There is beauty everywhere, near and far, close-up and at a distance.

How does one compare the beauty of a New Mexico sunset to the beauty of a woman, perfectly sculpted by Nature, or the close-up beauty of a rose to the snow-clad majestic beauty of California’s Sierra Nevada as seen from the window of a small Cessna? Yes, the subjects are diverse but beauty is the common denominator.”

- Baron Wollman

PHOTO ©ELIZABETH ALBAA

I would suggest to each that he/she find within themselves a passion, something that brings him/her great joy, something without which they cannot live. Honor and accept that passion, pursue it, fill your life with it.Our time here is short.

Take your own path, do what you want to do, what you must do, not what you are expected to do. Try not to take on so many responsibilities that they impinge upon your freedom to experience the variety and multitude of joys that life has to offer.

Joseph Campbell, the great American mythologist said it best when he exhorted us all to follow our bliss. “Follow your bliss and don’t be afraid, and doors will open where you didn’t know they were going to be. We must be willing to let go of the life we planned so as to have the life that is waiting for us.”

I always suggest to my students that they, “Assume success.” If they do, success will come their way. It they don’t, it won’t. This simple mantra is a self-fulfilling prophecy. I also admonish them to say “yes” to every opportunity that comes their way.

Who knows what wonderful encounters follow a “yes,” who knows what marvelous experiences may be missed upon a “no” answer. Where would I be now if I had not said “yes” when Jann Wenner, Rolling Stone magazine’s founder, asked me if I wanted to be that magazine’s photographer…

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I met Baron Wolman over 15 years ago in Las Vegas while I was the Executive Chef at the Wynn Las Vegas. Not only did we have an immediate connection but, I respected him as a person because he was not just an incredible photographer, but he was an individual with great integrity and true values. My times with Baron and memories will be forever with me. Whether hanging out in his place in Santa Fe, Las Vegas or London, and a tribute dinner to Woodstock with Michael Lang on April 7, 2016 in Napa Valley with our late good friend Claire Parr and brew master, George Reisch. Baron’s photography vault is epic because the things he saw through the camera is something no one else could capture with the Oakland Raiders, roller derby and all the rock and roll legends.

His stories will go on forever. He will certainly be missed by me and everyone else who knows him. His cool nickname was the Red Baron. Sunday’s was a day for fun things including betting on NFL football. He was a true friend and I knew that made him happy, even though we lost most of those bets. Baron, I know you’re taking pictures up there, you will be missed my true friend.

- Grant MacPherson

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is an internationally acclaimed Indian American chef, filmmaker, and author. He is a James Beard nominee and one of the first Indian chefs to be awarded a Michelin Star in the United States. He has been featured amongst the 10 most influential chefs in the world by Deutsche Welle and Gazette Review. He is the host of MasterChef India, Twist of Taste and Mega Kitchens on National Geographic. Author of 37 award-winning books, including UTSAV (world’s most expensive cookbook) and the creator of documentary series Holy Kitchens and Kitchens of Gratitude. He founded the Museum of Kitchen Arts, home to thousands of India’s unique kitchen tools and equipment, located at his alma mater, WGSHA, Manipal, India. His restaurant, Kinara

by Vikas Khanna, in Dubai has been rated the Favourite Indian restaurant by Conde Nast. His initiative Feed India served more than 25 Million Meals during the Covid 19 Pandemic. Vikas has raised over US$ 2.5 million through fundraising with Vibha for Covid 19 Pandemic in India. The Last Color marks Khanna’s debut as a film writer and director, and Vikas was eligible for the Oscars race for Best Feature. In 2021, Vikas released Barefoot Empress and was awarded the Best Documentary - Jury at the 10 Bengaluru Shorts Film Festival - 21.

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Described as a ‘journey of the senses and an explosion of flavours’, Vikas Khanna’s culinary collaboration with JA Resorts & Hotels began in late 2019 and received instant acclaim. Kinara, meaning by the lake, is a modern exploration of traditional Indian cuisine.

An ‘affordable and approachable homage to the Indian kitchen’, inspired by the raw beauty of home cooking, from the richly diverse regions of India and South Asia. Featuring authentic regional dishes with a modern twist, the menu highlights classic dishes, with a strong focus on the subtle smoky flavours of the Tandoori oven and the variety of spices for which India is renowned. Lead by Vikas Khanna’s protégé in Dubai, Chef de Cuisine Ashish Kumar, it presents signature dishes including Kurkuri Dahi (Yogurt Kebab), Kinara’s version of Chicken Tikka, and an introduction to the four delectable chutneys which represent the regions – Kashmiri apple & raisin relish, Konkani pineapple-fennel seeds pickle, Punjabi pickled onions and Rajasthani garlic-chili chutney.

Dishes are served in a sharing concept and the menu has extensive vegetarian choices. New menu additions for the reopning include Sesame Crusted Wild Seabass with cherry tomatoes and an onion-coconut curry, Paneer Carrot Kofta with cottage cheese dumplings in cashew gravy, and Podi Crusted Scallops with Celeriac cream, floral infusions and a nutty crust. The menu also offers vegan options like Citrus Salad with rhubarb shavings and raspberry soup, vegetable stew with rice hoppers and a non-dairy dessert -Soya Sago.

Innovative breads have been added to the revamped menu while much-loved favourties like the Achari Lamb, Shakarkandi ki Chaat. are still available.

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CHUTNEYS OF BENGAL, KONKAN, PUNJABI AND RAJASTHAN

DAHI KE KEBAB BAKED YOGHURT KUNAFA KEBAB

ANJEERI MURG

SESAME CRUSTED SCALLOPS

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TANDOORI SALMON

CHEF DE CUISINE ASHISH KUMAR & VIKAS KHANNA

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SHAKARKANDI KI CHAAT SANDALWOOD SMOKED AND SWEET POTATO

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VIKAS KHANNA WITH MOTHER & GRANDMOTHER IN KINARA BY VIKAS KHANNA

The restaurant design offers a journey of the senses from the moment of arrival. Elegant oversized spice displays adorn the entrance creating enticing aromas, as guests move throughout the space. The spice market experience provides guests with the opportunity to learn about the different culinary functions and health benefits of each ingredient used. Views into the kitchen further entice guest’s senses, creating a visual connection between the menu and its preparation, culminating in a beautiful open kitchen. A magnificent outdoor terrace offers al fresco dining and vistas across the lake and lush golf course.

Creating a fluent journey, guests of Kinara by Vikas Khanna can simultaneously interact and connect with Indian cuisine and culture during their experience.

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WORLD’S BEST FEMALE CHEF

50 Best reveals Peruvian chef Pía León as the winner of The World’s Best Female Chef Award 2021, sponsored

by Nude Glass. The chef-owner of Lima’s Kjolle and coowner of Central is recognised for her ascent to the very top of the gastronomic world. This year, the award is more relevant than it has ever been during its 10-year history, as the restaurant landscape still suffers from widespread gender disparity. Pia León’s kitchen seeks inclusion for all those who are qualified, regardless of gender.

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The World’s Best Female Chef Award, sponsored by Nude Glass, forms part of the forthcoming programme for The World’s 50 Best Restaurants 2021, sponsored by S.Pellegrino & Acqua Panna, with the main awards ceremony due to take place in Antwerp, Flanders in October this year.

León was previously named Latin America’s Best Female Chef in 2018, an accolade that honours the achievements and impact of a female chef in the region and her contribution to Latin America’s gastronomic scene. Kjolle also received the Highest New Entry Award on Latin America’s 50 Best Restaurants 2019 list when, just 15 months after opening, it debuted at No.21.

After graduating from Le Cordon Bleu in the Peruvian capital, the Lima native began her career in the city’s kitchens. After taking up a position at Central in 2009, she rose through the ranks to become its Head Chef.

Together with her now-husband Virgilio Martínez, they developed their flagship restaurant into a benchmark for gastronomy not just in Peru, but across the globe, with Central named The Best Restaurant in Latin America three times between 2015 and 2017.

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“Pía León was previously named Latin America’s Best Female Chef in 2018” León and Martínez together have also opened Mil, a restaurant situated at 3,500m above sea level in Cuzco, which is also a research, development and interpretation centre encompassing Mater Iniciativa.

León is a key player in this research organisation, founded by Martínez and his sister Malena, working closely with the siblings in research and studies to learn more about Peruvian produce and their place of origin.

Kjolle is León’s first solo endeavour: launched in the Peruvian capital three years ago, the restaurant eschews a set menu to create dishes that express her own culinary personality in accordance with seasonal ingredients and the indigenous food of the region. The name Kjolle itself is taken from a local orange flower that grows at high altitude. The restaurant, along with Central, reflects León and Martínez’s vision to showcase some of Peru’s lesser-known and indigenous ingredients, many of which are utilised in their menus.

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William Drew, Director of Content for The World’s 50 Best Restaurants, says: “It is an honour to name Pía León as The World’s Best Female Chef 2021. Her dedication to gender parity in her kitchen and her passion for using the indigenous ingredients of her country have set a benchmark for others. We don’t doubt that Pía’s work will be game-changing for the future of gastronomy and will contribute to helping more women succeed in some of the world’s best kitchens.”

León says: “The most positive thing that came out of such exceptional and difficult times is that I have been able to continue working with a team of people who are first-class human beings. They will see this award, as I do, as a great indication that we are on the right track for the future.”

The previous recipients of The World’s Best Female Chef title include Daniela Soto-Innes, formerly of Cosme and Atla in New York, in 2019; the UK’s Clare Smyth in 2018; Ana Roš of Hiša Franko in Slovenia in 2017; San Franciscobased Dominique Crenn in 2016 and French chef Hélène Darroze in 2015.

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AT THE ROTUNDA

Born in Yokohama, a Japanese port city south of Tokyo, Endo Kazutoshi grew up in and around his family’s traditional restaurant, immersed in a world of sushi. As a child, he would accompany his grandfather to the fish market and then observe the masterful cutting techniques and artful pressing of nigiri. Although Endo was expected to be solely Inspired by the craft passed from grandfather to father, it was his mother who had the most significant influence on these formative years.

ENDO KAZUTOSHI PHOTO ©FOODSTORYMEDIA 2021

She approached the art of sushi in an expansive way. She encouraged her son to take up the martial art of Judo for the physical, mental and moral teaching and philosophy.

He practiced Ikebana, the art of flower arranging, to help him develop ideas around expressive creativity through shape, line and form with an understanding of seasons and the concept of balance. He attended Chado tea classes, instilling an appreciation for the significance of ceremonial preparation and presentation of matcha. He learned the traditional practice of Nihon-buyo, a dance technique over four centuries old and that still features within Kabuki theatre.

And finally, he was a student of Shodo, the form of artistic calligraphy of the Japanese language. This all-encompassing education instilled in him a deep personal and social awareness, a cultural respect for heritage and the importance of balance in all things, laying the groundwork for his future as a master sushi chef.

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Judo though became the focus in Endo’s teenage years as well as punk music – and eventually led to a wrestling scholarship at the prestigious Kokushikan University in Tokyo.

This broke entirely with the Japanese family tradition of the son following the father directly into the business. His life at University saw him win many wrestling titles and graduate at 22 years old with a Master in Sports Science and his teaching license. Endo wanted to continue his sports career but eventually chose to honor tradition and began his training as a sushi chef. He joined the team at one of Tokyo’s top omakase restaurants, traditionally nameless, which served only six guests per sitting.

For four years, he immersed himself in the historic technique of edomae - a style of sushi invented in Tokyo 200 years ago – and coupled with an innate respect for the master craft, Endo naturally took to technique and eagerly absorbed knowledge. The more he understood, the more he realized that sushi would be his life’s journey.

After a year back at his family’s restaurant, Endo looked to expand his knowledge beyond edomae. He took on a position at the restaurant NARITA in Nagoya City, 340km west of Tokyo and home to one of Japan’s most revered sushi masters Akitoshi Ohno, protégé of the legendary Jiro Ono. Endo spent two years there, further honing his craft.

In 2006 he was approached by the London-based restaurant Zuma regarding the position of Head Sushi Chef. Endo was curious about the idea of moving to the UK and, after a few weeks in Spain, arrived in London to meet Chef Rainer Becker, the creator and founder of Zuma, Roka and Shochu Lounge.

Endo discovered that Rainer had a deep understanding and profound respect for Japanese culture. They also shared a vision of a more modern approach to traditional Japanese food with an uncompromising desire for quality. Endo accepted the position and flew home to tell his parents. In 2007 he returned to his new role and took up residence in London.

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Working permanently outside Japan for the first time with unfamiliar produce and ingredients proved challenging at first. However, as he learned from the team and engaged with more specialist suppliers and producers, he understood his adopted city. He applied his acquired skills with an innate sensitivity that innovated his craft, often eschewing modern gadgets for traditional techniques. As he adapted, he broadened his sushi knowledge always remaining true to his heritage. As Zuma began to grow and expand internationally, Endo grew with them, relishing in the challenge of delivering his sushi to new global audiences, leaving a legacy of excellence at each site that opened.

Endo left Zuma in 2015, after nine successful years; he had attained the position of Group Head Sushi Chef overseeing eight restaurants worldwide and gained the international respect of industry peers and a loyal following of restaurant guests.

He then took the time to develop his own concept whilst working as a private chef. These years were imperative to Endo as he researched produce and supply chains and developed relationships with select producers, fishermen, farmers and suppliers who shared his uncompromising commitment to the finest ingredients. He travelled extensively and collaborated with chefs, whilst creating and experimenting, developing his menu. This included time back in Japan to source the artisanal products his recipes demanded.

In April 2019, his debut solo venture was born and he opened Endo at the Rotunda on the top floor of The Helios, a Grade II listed, mid-century modern building in White City.

The accolades followed and within six months, the restaurant had garnered a Michelin star.

In May 2021 after the Covid 19 lockdown, he opened his second restaurant, SUMI (named after his mother); an elegant yet more casual restaurant serving á la carte sushi in Notting Hill.

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The award-winning cuisine of Endo Kazutoshi’s 15-seat restaurant is inspired by the Japanese spirit of omotenashi the art of hospitality rooted in empathy towards one’s guest.

This quietly unassuming chef and his kitchen team deliver an engaging, informative and approachable performance in presenting each dish from his ever-changing, elegant and artistic omakase menu; a series of intimate personal connections – from preparation to a presentation where touch, taste and technical mastery provide an immersive and personalized journey.

Ingredients are front and centre, with no detail overlooked.

Only the finest rice and water from Yamagata Prefecture are used, ensuring the cooked rice has the perfect PH, and guests can feel each yielding grain on the tongue.

Superlative seafood comes from Endo’s personal relationship with just a handful of fishermen: clams from Dorset, monkfish from Devon, cuttlefish from Brittany, scallops from Orkney, and many more. Signature cocktails use thoughtfully sourced Japanese ingredients, and there is a rotating selection of reserve spirits and fine wines. In addition, Endo has also curated special connections with some of Japan’s finest saké breweries, with many of those labels now only available in the UK at The Rotunda.

Endo at the Rotunda is situated on the top floor of The Helios building, a four-minute walk from White City underground station and entered via a private lift. The multi-award-winning architect Kengo Kuma has created a discreet, soothing and dramatic interior. The light-filled minimalist space is grounded by a meandering 200-year-old Hinoki wood counter, originating from the forested mountaintop behind the sacred Mitsumine Shrine in western Saitama Prefecture. A stunning washi-inspired, cloud light feature levitates gracefully above both diners and chefs, reflecting a soft glow onto the picture windows and out over the expansive views of West London.

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Beef is “Dry Aged” to enhance the flavour and texture of the meat cuts; this has become a huge trend within the food service market globally. The consumer is driving this trend as they seek more flavourful and tender cuts along with the demands of today’s restaurant industry to stand out within their markets and offer a premium product to their demanding clients.

Today, there are two forms of ageing: wet ageing in which beef cuts are deboned and stored in vacuum pack and dry ageing in which beef bone in loins are stored without any type of protective packaging in refrigerated conditions.

AGEING THE FUTURE

ALLAN MORRIS JOHN STONE BEEF, Managing Director PHOTO ©JOHN STONE

Dry and wet ageing beef results in both flavour development and more tender meat this of course is science fact with numerous studies having taken place around the world but, are both very different in taste and texture. (Warren and Kastner, 1992; Miller et al., 1997; Campbell et al., 2001).

For centuries, dry ageing was a common way for butchers to preserve and tenderise beef. When I was working as an apprentice butcher in Ireland in 1987 I was first introduced to “hanging meat.” Needless to say, my Master Butcher, to whom I was apprenticed, could not verbalise the Science facts as I know them today but he certainly gave me a hunger to find out more.

Dry ageing is a costly endeavour due to temperature control, relative humidity, and air-flow needed for the art of dry ageing to occur. This process needs to be perfect in all aspects to prevent the beef from spoiling or becoming rancid.

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In my 30 years’ experience, selecting the right beef with a maximum 6 days from the date of slaughter for dry ageing is the most optimum. The reason is the beef is at its prime of freshness and microbiological standard.

Beef loins must be evenly distributed to ensure proper drying, stacked on shelves is not a great way to do this as air cannot circulate around the beef. This is not the case for wet aged vacuum product; this can be stacked in cartons until it is needed. In my opinion there is no perfect time for the ageing period; it’s purely a matter of taste and time along with cost. Let me explain; after 14 days the tenderisation period of both Dry Aged and Wet Aged is the same, in other words the tenderness time and enzymatic process of tissue breakdown is equal. What is different is the taste profile in that dry aged beef; moisture is evaporating concentrating the flavour profile and changing the chemical composition of the fat. This moisture loss increases the texture mouth feel and the fat flavour change gives that distinct “beefiness” the most common comment is “this beef tastes like beef used to taste”.

Wet aged beef tends to have an acidic metallic taste from the product that has come from the bag after a number of weeks; this is due to the myoglobin in the cell walls and structure of the meat. The natural mineral Heme is found in the meat cell walls and as the meat sits for a number of weeks breaking down, the juices impart this flavour. Myoglobin is the Heme iron containing protein that gives meat its colour.

Dry ageing beef can incur losses of as much as 20% due to the loss of moisture and the loss of the outer crust which needs to be trimmed off. This makes this type of beef very costly to produce and of course for the restaurant to purchase.

I prefer 21 days of ageing to a maximum of 28 for Grass fed beef. Anything above this adds more cost and expense plus less shelf life of the finished product. Also by ageing longer you actually change the flavour to an almost cheesy, musty, wet cardboard, mouldy taste which to be honest I prefer my cheese to taste like this not my steak.

The other trend which I see is restaurants adding “dry age” fridges and ageing on site. This is highly dangerous in my opinion as the operators have little experience and knowledge to carry out such a delicate balance.

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“For centuries, dry ageing was a common way for butchers to preserve and tenderise beef” Beef is “Dry Aged” to enhance the flavour and texture of the meat cuts; this has become a huge trend within the food service market globally. The consumer is driving this trend as they seek more flavourful and tender cuts along with the demands of today’s restaurant industry to stand out within their markets and offer a premium product to their demanding clients.

Today, there are two forms of ageing: wet ageing in which beef cuts are deboned and stored in vacuum pack and dry ageing in which beef bone in loins are stored without any type of protective packaging in refrigerated conditions.

Dry and wet ageing beef results in both flavour development and more tender meat this of course is science fact with numerous studies having taken place around the world but, are both very different in taste and texture. (Warren and Kastner, 1992; Miller et al., 1997; Campbell et al., 2001).

For centuries, dry ageing was a common way for butchers to preserve and tenderise beef. When I was working as an apprentice butcher in Ireland in 1987, I was first introduced to “hanging meat.” Needless to say, my Master Butcher, to whom I was apprenticed, could not verbalise the science facts as I know them today but he certainly gave me a hunger to find out more.

Dry ageing is a costly endeavour due to temperature control, relative humidity, and air-flow needed for the art of dry ageing to occur. This process needs to be perfect in all aspects to prevent the beef from spoiling or becoming rancid.

In my 30 years’ experience, selecting the right beef with a maximum 6 days from the date of slaughter for dry ageing is the most optimum. The reason is the beef is at its prime of freshness and microbiological standard.

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“The art of dry-ageing” Beef loins must be evenly distributed to ensure proper drying, stacked on shelves is not a great way to do this as air cannot circulate around the beef. This is not the case for wet aged vacuum product; this can be stacked in cartons until it is needed. In my opinion there is no perfect time for the ageing period; it’s purely a matter of taste and time along with cost. Let me explain; after 14 days the tenderisation period of both Dry Aged and Wet Aged is the same, in other words the tenderness time and enzymatic process of tissue breakdown is equal. What is different is the taste profile in that dry aged beef; moisture is evaporating concentrating the flavour profile and changing the chemical composition of the fat. This moisture loss increases the texture mouth feel and the fat flavour change gives that distinct “beefiness” the most common comment is “this beef tastes like beef used to taste”.

Wet aged beef tends to have an acidic metallic taste from the product that has come from the bag after a number of weeks; this is due to the myoglobin in the cell walls and structure of the meat. The natural mineral Heme is found in the meat cell walls and as the meat sits for a number of weeks breaking down, the juices impart this flavour. Myoglobin is the Heme iron containing protein that gives meat its colour.

Dry ageing beef can incur losses of as much as 20% due to the loss of moisture and the loss of the outer crust which needs to be trimmed off. This makes this type of beef very costly to produce and of course for the restaurant to purchase.

I prefer 21 days of ageing to a maximum of 28 for Grass fed beef. Anything above this adds more cost and expense plus less shelf life of the finished product. Also by ageing longer you actually change the flavour to an almost cheesy, musty, wet cardboard, mouldy taste which to be honest I prefer my cheese to taste like this not my steak.

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“We have being dry ageing at John Stone for over 50 years and have mastered the art in this process without the need for gimmicks” The other trend which I see is restaurants adding “dry age” fridges and ageing on site. This is highly dangerous in my opinion as the operators have little experience and knowledge to carry out such a delicate balance.

These fridges are expensive and to be honest most of them should just about keep cans of soda cold.

The most common mistake is taking some beef that has been vacuumed for 4 weeks or more, removing from the bag and hanging in the so called “dry ageing fridge” until it goes black. This is not ageing beef it is oxidising beef. This beef will be sour, acidic and taste terrible and will not give the true taste of dry aged beef. I have eaten this type of aged beef all over the world and it’s terrible when I comment I am told that’s what aged beef tastes like, wrong!

The other “trend” we see is salt ageing, this can be Purple Peruvian, Pink Himalayan, and Salt Moss. The concept behind these is that the salt wall acts like a hygroscopic in that it attracts water molecules. The theory is also that the salt in the atmosphere and room adds to the ageing profile as it tends to keep bacteria levels down due to the absorption of the water molecules as water and humidity are the main factors for bacteria growth in the process of dry ageing. Some people believe the salt adds to the flavour albeit no scientific evidence of increased salt mineralogy in nutrition tests we have done has shown this.

The other side effect of this ageing is the corrosive nature of salt to the infrastructure of both the metal and steel in the room which can rust very quickly if not kept in check.

In essence we have being dry ageing at John Stone for over 50 years and have mastered the art in this process without the need for gimmicks other than traditional methods embracing technology in the form of the control and mapping of our process. ~ ALLAN MORRIS JOHN STONE BEEF, Managing Director

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MEXICO’S RICH CULINARY HISTORY

By SOFÌA DANIS

“Then, they started to talk about the creation and formation of our first mother and father. Their skin was made of yellow and white maize, the arms and legs were made with masa. Our parents were made only with this maize dough, the four humans who were created.”

- Popol Vuh, The Mayans Sacred Book We came from maize or so says the creation myth of the Mayan people. At the beginning, the Makers shaped the Earth and placed animals on it. Then, the Makers decided to create greater beings who could be aware of both the creation and of them. After failing twice with clay and wood, the Makers successfully formed human beings out of ground maize. Since ancient times, maize has been at the center of our culture, our identity, and our cuisine.

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Maize helped foster civilization in Mexico, allowing the earliest inhabitants of the region to settle down and take up farming. Along with maize, the first farmers grew squash and beans in a unique agricultural system known as milpa that has remained in use until today. Maize, squash, and beans are planted in a symbiotic and harmonious triad. Beans grow at the base of strong maize stalks that offer climbing bean vines support. Climbing beans, in turn, pump nitrogen back into the soil, fertilizing maize and squash, while the squash’s wide, spiny leaves protect the roots of the three crops altogether. The harmonious triad may turn into a lovely tetrad or even a beautiful quintet when bright tomatoes and fiery chiles coexist together within the ancient agricultural system.

Thus, maize, beans, squash, tomatoes and chiles are found at the core of Mexican cuisine. Maize becomes masa, atole, popular tortillas, and crispy totopos. Maize and chile turn into esquites and elotes. Tomatoes and chiles grow into a myriad of salsas. Maize and squash shift into milpa soups and huitlacoche quesadillas.

Maize, beans, tomatoes, and chiles become sopes, tlacoyos, huaraches, and tamales. These five ingredients fold in countless preparations throughout Mexico.

Nonetheless, beloved endemic ingredients such as aromatic epazote, grassy quintoniles, slimy nopal, sweet oursop, citrusy guava, enigmatic chicatanas, and world renowned avocado, cacao, and vanilla are especially significant to Mexican cuisine as well.

Mexican cuisine showcases not just the diverse landscape and the endless crops produced in the country, but its diverse links to European, African, and Indigenous cultures which span back thousands of years. Take, mole, for instance. Mole is a traditional sauce made with up to thirty individual ingredients prepped in different ways and ground together into a powder or a paste. It is a complex sauce that has been transformed over the centuries, just like Mexican culture.

Mexican cuisine is a vibrant, lovingly preserved, cultural heritage that was declared an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO back in 2010. Ancestral farming methods, endemic ingredients, unique cooking processes and culinary tools, traditional dishes, and age-old community rituals, made Mexican cuisine worth preserving.

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ODE TO FRUIT

Two-Michelin-starred TATE Dining Room presents a refined fruit-focused lunch menu with Chef Vicky Lau’s signature French Chinese cuisine, serving now on Fridays and Saturdays only. Following a successful series of seasonal single-ingredient lunch menus that started in 2020 focusing on Eggs, Rice, Tofu, Tea, Soy Sauce, Vegetables, Chef-patron Vicky Lau now shines the light on seasonal premium fruits from around the region.

The unique chef’s 6-course tasting menu is inclusive of a wine pairing for six courses, highlighting some of the finest hand-selected Asian liqueurs and European wines created with luscious fruits.

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An Ode to Fruit features six courses of elevated interpretations of both rare and everyday fruits, bridging familiar Asian flavors with refined French techniques.

Each chapter of the menu reflects a distinctive category of fruit, from the Aggregate (fruit borne from a merger of multiple ovaries such as raspberries) and Drupe (stone fruit with a “pit” center such as mangoes and plums) to the Berry (fruit with seeds and pulp from the ovary of a single flower such as strawberries), Pome (fruits with a “core” of several small seeds such as apples and quinces), Nuts (dry fruit that consists of a hard shell covering a single seed such as almonds) and Legumes (dry and fleshy several-seeded fruit such as peas and beans).

The menu begins with a selection of delicate amusebouche: Chinese sausage parfait, homemade Parmesan sourdough with fermented strawberry jam, cherry tartlet with smoked eel, and scallops with kohlrabi and Chinese wampi sauce.

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The first chapter, Aggregate, presents a savory version of a parfait with Japanese strawberry, marinated sweet shrimp, yogurt espuma and caviar. The chosen wine pairing to kick off the menu is 2019 Eric Bordelet, Poire Granit, Cider, Normandy, France, a pear cider that fuses the sweet and elegant flavors of pears, with a high acidity that pairs well with sweet shrimps and caviar.

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The Drupe course features a steamed local grouper with crystal shrimp, salted lemon, okra flower, French beans, and green olive foam, served together with olive & avocado focaccia. The selected wine pairing is 2018 Paul Jaboulet, Crozes-Hermitage “Mule Blanche”, Marsanne-Roussanne, Rhone Valley, France, a blend from the south of France with some fruitiness, minerality, and acidity. The white wine marries well with white fish, and the fruitiness with the green olive foam and lemon.

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Berry is a sensational flavor combination of yellow plum confit with razor clams, surf clams, asparagus and Japanese koshihikari rice. The beverage pairing of choice is the Otoro Plum Kir, a blend of Japanese otoro plum liqueur – made from fruits from Oita Prefecture, pureed and aged for a year and a half – blended with white wine from Burgundy. The sweet, fresh, sharpness of the plum mirrors the aromas of yellow plums and clam rice.

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For the Pome course, guests will enjoy aubergine with Chinese-style crispy tofu and Chef Vicky’s signature kumquat grenobloise sauce. The chosen wine pairing is 2017 X& A Amirault, “Les Quarterons”, Cabernet Franc, Loire Valley, France, a medium-to-full-bodied red wine with fruity and earthy notes. This marries beautifully with the earthiness of aubergine and crispy tofu, while the wine’s acidity echoes with the fruitiness and bitterness of kumquat sauce.

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The next chapter, Nuts, is a celebration of nutty and tender New Zealand Te Mana lamb, featuring a duet of lamb rack and lamb neck with pistachio puree, figs and roselle jam, lamb jus and green pepper sauce. The chosen wine pairing is 2008 Chateau Lassegue, Saint-Emillion Grand Cru, Bordeaux, France, a round, refreshing yet full-bodied wine predominantly made with Merlot grape. The Merlot grape brings out the flavors of pistachio paste and fresh fig on the plate, while the hearty lamb gravy ties the whole dish together.

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Ode to Fruit continues with a palate cleansing pre-dessert of red date and local longan jelly with goji berry and peach. The final dessert course, entitled Legumes, features a trio of Mexican, Madagascan, and Tahitian vanilla in homemade ice cream. The ice cream accompanies a warm crepe suzette with citrus mango sauce and 30-years XinHui aged mandarin peel. This is paired with 2017 La Stoppa Azienda Vitivinicola, Ageno, Emilia-Romagna, Italy, an orange wine with a blend of 4-months-aged grapes from Emilia-Romagna. Displaying an elegant acidity, bitterness, and sweetness with aromas and flavors of orange peel, ginger and honey, the wine pairs well with the dessert’s reduced citrus sauce and sweetness of the vanilla ice cream.

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RADICAL CHIC

Over 23 years in the restaurant industry around the globe with both an ambitious goal and lifelong passion for sharing fine Italian cuisine and its authentic products to the world, Andrea Tarini has been appointed as the Executive Chef at newly opened RADICAL CHIC in Hong Kong.

Prior to arriving in Hong Kong, Tarini led kitchens at acclaimed Michelin-starred restaurants around the world, from Italy to Dubai and Singapore, having worked alongside culinary icons such as 3-Michelinstarred Mauro Uliassi for a total of 13 years as sous chef at Uliassi and Heinz Beck at Taste of Italy by Heinz Beck in Dubai. As a cooking teacher, Tarini is regularly invited to participate in world-class gastronomy fairs and conferences in Italy and throughout Europe.

ANDREA TARINI

Now in Hong Kong, Tarini hopes to share with Hong Kong his unique views on the art of cooking innovative Italian cuisine inspired by Italian tradition and the best of Mediterranean ingredients.

Inspired by the modern culinary art movement, RADICAL CHIC portrays exceptional Italian ingredients with splashes of colors and contemporary fine dining twists. Tarini is both a noted chef and celebrated teacher of Italian fine dining, who derived many of his learnings from some of the world’s greatest and most revered Italian chef, Mauro Uliassi and German chef, Heinz Beck. Guests dining at RADICAL CHIC can expect the unexpected upon every visit, as Uliassi’s doctrine of boundless innovation remains deeply engrained in Tarini’s style of cooking.

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At Radical Chic, guests will have the chance to experience an exclusive chef’s degustation menu that expresses Chef Tarini’s culinary journey and changes according to seasonality. RADICAL CHIC has chosen Hong Kong – a city teeming with gastronomes and discerning palates – to debut its revolutionary take on Italian food.

RADICAL CHIC’s menu draws on Tarini’s teachings by Mauro Uliassi to bring a radical twist on Italian gastronomy.

The highly anticipated degustation features an elegant showcase of seasonal ingredients infused in re-interpreted Italian regional dishes, starting with Sicilia Caponata, a dish originating from Sicily. Mazera del Vallo prawns are marinated in olive oil and salt, served with a rich sauce made from the heads of the prawns and an ice-cream caponata made from vinegar, honey, pine nuts, raisins, eggplant, tomato, basil and olive. The Raw Fassona Beef features tender steak from Fassona in Piedmont, northern Italy, along with Grappainfused pear and Piedmontese Toma cheese.

The Frog Legs course includes deep-fried frog legs inspired by a classic dish from Marche, eastern Italy, from where Chef Tarini hails. Frog legs are topped with fresh garden herbs and rocket leaves to balance homemade green tomato jam. Zucchini Soup with Squash Flower is a popular dish from southern Italy, infused with plenty of garlic and caramelized onion. The beautiful green color is derived from blanched and iced zucchini, as well as fresh basil with zero butter or cream added to the soup.

Risotto di Mare uses carnaroli rice from Lombardy in northern Italy, which is tossed in a hot pan with olive oil in a traditional process called tosstatura. The homemade clam and fish stock gives the rice a rich seafood flavor, and the resulting dish is topped with caviar and creamy Japanese sea urchin.

RADICAL CHIC’s innovative take on carbonara, Cappello del prete alla carbonara, features “priest hat”, which is a special homemade pasta that resembles a square shape. Inspired by the traditional dish from Lazio in Italy, the “priest’s hat” pasta is stuffed with pecorino romano, parmigiano, guanciale, black pepper, and egg yolk for a decadent and harmonious bite.

The Beef course features Japanese A5 OMI wagyu, one of the oldest and most coveted brands of beef in Japan. This is paired with a homemade Italian-style “barbecue sauce”, a sauce that is made with balsamic vinegar, red onion from Tropia, and pepperonata (simmered red bell peppers).

Finally, cut the richness of the meal with a refreshing sorbet palate cleanser. The Red Cherry Sorbet features cherries from Emilia-Romagna and rosemary oil. The dessert is a deconstructed mascarpone cheese Tiramisu, with 95% of ingredients in the dish sourced from Veneto, Italy.

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JAPANESE WAGYU BEEF

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third-generation sushi master Hirofumi Chiba’s craft has become second nature. His style is deeply personal and knowledge based. He has developed a highly instinctual approach for balancing flavors preserving the taste of the wild.

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A self-proclaimed “fish geek”, Chiba’s expertise in fish is a result of his time spent at various fish markets in Japan, resulting in long-term relationships with the country’s finest fishermen and purveyors. His process is organic, as each evening he waits to speak with his fishermen to gather information about each catch. In a way, his ear is right to the sea. Chiba prefers line-caught fish, a testament to his efforts towards sustainability, because it is a method that is much more selective and targeted than net fishing. Embracing sustainability from ingredients to material and service, Chiba strives to incorporate the best practices available through rigid consistency and standards. The restaurant strives to be paper-free, from culinary preparation to guest-experience; a statement of our philosophy to consider our environment first and foremost.

Chiba’s career started humbly in the preparation of fugu and led to a decade of apprenticeship at Sushi Iwa in Tsukiji Market and Tokyo’s Zorokuzushi.

At Sushi Kohaku in Hong Kong Chiba rose to the rank of sushi master, before joining forces with Leading Nation to take the helm of Sushi Mamoru which has now in Wan Chai.

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SHIRO IKA, YAMAGUCHI

GESO IKA WITH YUZU KOSHO

CHUTORO

HOSHI GAREI, AICHI

AKAGAI, YURIAGE SENDAI

KOHADA, FUKUOKA

SHIRO EBI, TOYAMA

MASUNOSUKE, HOKKAIDO

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SABA, MIYAGI

SHAKO, HOKKAIDO

A cult following soon followed as Chiba shares with his diners an enthusiasm for highly valued wild fish and seafood. His menu is dictated by the seasons and inspired by the closely guarded traditions of sushi. Chiba’s precise and consistent day-to-day preparation pays tribute to the masters that have paved the way before him. The sushi counter at Sushi Mamoru is now Chiba’s theatre, a bastion where each course honours and extends the intricate heritage of sushi through Chiba’s well-honed form.

Sushi Mamoru was born from a commitment to safeguard the centuries-old sushi traditions practiced for generations. The seasonal omakase menu preserves this history while telling a story of the fragile environments that provide the pristine ingredients for Chef Chiba’s craft.

Through Chef Chiba’s guardianship and cultivated intuition, sushi customs and ingredients rarely found outside Japan are shared with pride to the new and eager audience in Hong Kong.

A revelatory experience at Chiba’s sushi counter transports the diner to a specific time and place through every bite.

SABA, MIYAGI

Offering a careful balancing act of tradition and adaptation, Chef Chiba’s edomae sushi refines the subtleties of taste and texture in every component of his menu - from handblended aged Hokkaido rice to wasabi sourced directly from famed farmer Keiichi Tashiro in Shizuoka. Through this approach, humble kampyou pickle and kohada is given the same reverence as other prized ingredients in Chiba’s kitchen.

Chef Chiba will offer a Takumi Omakase of over 20 dishes that highlights the transition of seasonality through Chef’s point of view, offering a singular experience in the evening and a Kiwami Omakase (short menu) is also now available for lunch.

SHIRO EBI, TOYAMA

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MARIO PAECKE MARGO

Mario Paecke’s expertise in fine-dining is a result of his 23 year career spent at world-renowned restaurants. His journey began in Germany, where he was an apprentice at the Hotel Zum Storchen.

After gaining ample experience in Europe, Paecke first helmed the kitchen as Chef de Cuisine in the Michelin-starred Luce d’Oro. His talent was soon discovered by the Mandarin Oriental Group in 2007, where he refined culinary techniques and led his team as Chef de Cuisine of SOMM, at The Landmark Mandarin Oriental, Hong Kong by 2017.

Paecke seeks inspiration from local-grown ingredients in the cosmopolitan which he lives and loves. “I have never seen a city like Hong Kong that can be the home of such a large variety of cuisines around the world.” He envisions a naturalistic concept in which original flavours of ingredients are enhanced using traditional Bavarian cooking methods.

His childlike enthusiasm for food led him to create the menu of MARGO, expressing modern European with a German twist, producing epicurean cuisine with eccentricity, flamboyance and style.

He has an excellent reputation for delivering Michelin-star quality cuisines. He is now joining forces with Leading Nation to take the helm of MARGO, which is set to open by mid-June 2021 in Central.

With a locally-inspired menu, Paecke strives to serve quintessential dishes that are light and fresh on the palate. By enhancing natural flavours of ingredients, the restaurant offers contemporary European cuisine with German influences from Mario’s origin.

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CAVIAR WITH SOUR CREME AND SEAWEED BRIOCHE

OZAKI RUMP STEAK FRITES WITH KALE SALAD

FOIE GRAS WITH SMOKED EEL AND GREEN APPLES

CARAMEL BANANA MERINGUE

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BÂTARD

A culinary gem located in Sai Ying Pun, Hong Kong; Bâtard strives to deliver an exceptional food and wine pairing experience to the city’s discerning wine lovers. Bâtard is the culinary brainchild of The Fine Wine Experience and Piccolo Concepts, bringing together the best of both worlds for a refined yet relaxed dining experience unlike any other.

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The kitchen is helmed by Singapore native and Chef de Cuisine Aven Lau, whose impressive resume sees his most recent stints at 3-Michelinstarred Odette, Belon and Le Pan by Edward Voon.

This summer, Bâtard unveils 2 new tasting menus including a set lunch menu for Fridays-Sundays, and a daily dinner chef’s tasting menu featuring the day’s freshest ingredient picks. Additionally, The Fine Wine Experience continues to stay true to its philosophy of offering the world’s best wines at retail prices through its latest Domaine Cellar-Direct Programme. The programme exists because Bâtard is dedicated to bringing guests comfort food elevated to pair with the world’s finest wines, sourced directly from the producer’s cellar in leading estates.

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LAMB

Bâtard welcomes guests to experience Aven’s tasting menu, featuring French-inspired dishes prepared simply with a focus on freshness and seasonality. With the aim to elevate French comfort food to pair with some of the world’s finest wines, Aven applies his wealth of expertise from some of the finest French Michelin-starred kitchens in Asia to deliver an unforgettable food and wine experience here at Bâtard.

The menu is designed to be shared between two guests and it begins with Beef Tartare Cannelloni with beef tartare encased within thin and crisp, tube-shaped cannelloni, followed by Japanese Fruit Tomato Tart with fennel pollen cream, burrata, and flaky pastry. The seafood course is a Scallop Rouelle-Maine Lobster poured over with crustacean sauce, followed by Bâtard’s signature Half Roast Chicken served with warm Pilaf rice.

Finish on a high with freshly baked, light-as-air Madeleines.

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SIGNATURE ROAST CHICKEN

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BISCUIT DE BROCHET

MONKFISH EN CROUTE

JAPANESE FRUIT TOMATO TART WITH FENNEL POLLEN AND BURRATA

APPLE TART, CRUSHED DRAGEE

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Waffle Waffle - Crispy fried chicken tossed in buffalo sauce, homemade ranch truffle mayo in between two homemade potato waffles and topped with maple syrup.

High Kim - A korean influenced burger - premium beef topped with provolone cheese, Korean BBQ sauce , Korean spiced bacon, kimchi tempura, fried lotus root, fried egg, and kimchi mayo.

BURGERS AT HIGH

Southern High - Overnight buttermilk brined fresh chicken breast, deep fried to the perfect crispiness, tossed in BBQ sauce, grilled charred onions, and crispy bacon.

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High Leaf - Made of a vegan patty, sauteed shimeji mushrooms, tomato jam, date mayo, American cheese and tempura kale

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Sometimes, the most unassuming joints hold the biggest secrets, and it’s a given that if a place has grown in popularity through word of mouth, there’s a good reason behind it.

The story started in 2018 when 3 burger-loving Emiratis met in front of a very quirky and off-track location, next to a mosque and your typical local group of shops: Afghani bakery, neighborhood grocery, and a barber shop. From that day on, they set their eyes on sharing their love for burgers with the masses. They believed that this love and passion for a patty and a bun would spread not only in Dubai but to the world.

Spicy Mango Slaw - Overnight buttermilk brined fresh chicken breast, deep fried to the perfect crispiness, tossed in homemade buffalo sauce, pepper jack cheese, jalapeno, and sour mango coleslaw.

JOINT

Halloumi Katsu High - A deep-fried seasoned halloumi cheese katsu style patty, with american cheese, homemade ranch, homemade honey musturd, fresh tomatoes, onion, and lettuce. Tastes out of this world even to meat lovers.

High Joint was born as a passion project. This unique hole-in-the-wall burger joint opened their flagship store in Al Manara, Dubai and has since managed to capture hearts, minds, and stomachs.

High Joint has received praises from food critics to major celebrity chefs in the city and has won multiple accolades and awards along the way. In addition, they’ve been named on many soughtafter lists as either best burger in town or within the top 3 in the city.

The flavors between the buns are a result of inspiration from one of the founders AKA Dr.High’s 15 years of travels around the globe and experiments of every aspect of burger making.

From the creation of patties, baking breads, mixing cheeses, whipping the sauces and the magic mixes that bring all the complex techniques together in the most delicious of ways.

High Joint is known for constantly pushing the boundaries when it comes to burgers and flavors, always striving to perfect and elevate the taste.

High Joint were the first ones in the city to self-dry their meat and create the ultimate Dry-Aged Beef Burger Experience – giving meat aficionados the chance to savor 21-63 days dry-aged beef.

High Joint is on a mission to reverse the paradigm of importing burger brands from the USA to actually exporting Dubai’s homegrown brand to major cities in the USA and the world. And we can only wait in anticipation to see what they’re cooking next.

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CHAMPIONS OF CHANGE

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“50 Best brand new initiative Champions of Change celebrates three local food heroes taking positive action” 50 Best unveils three winners of a brand new initiative called Champions of Change, highlighting unsung heroes of the hospitality sector, who were able to create positive change out of the extraordinary events of the last 18 months. Presented in partnership with S.Pellegrino, Champions of Change recognises and celebrates individuals who have used this period as a springboard to drive meaningful action in their respective communities.

Champions of Change, part of the forthcoming The World’s 50 Best Restaurants 2021 programme, sponsored by S.Pellegrino & Acqua Panna, forms a key pillar in the organisation’s evolving ‘50 Best for Recovery’ initiative. This year brings opportunities for positive change as the sector rebuilds and remodels itself with a greater focus on inclusivity and long-term sustainability, which is reflected in the winners’ powerful work. A substantial donation will be made to each of the winners’ causes from the 50 Best for Recovery Fund, allowing the recipients to continue building their initiatives and supporting long-term progress in the restaurant and food sphere.

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KURT EVANS

“Chef, artist-activist and social entrepreneur in Philadelphia, US, using his culinary skills to rally the community around ending mass incarceration” The first of this year’s winners is Kurt Evans – cofounder of Down North Pizza, a ‘mission-led for-profit restaurant’ in Philadelphia, US, which exclusively employs formerly incarcerated individuals while providing culinary career opportunities with a fair wage. In addition to slinging Detroit-style pizzas, Down North aims to mitigate recidivism and end mass incarceration in the long-term. Evans is the chef and activist behind the successful ‘End Mass Incarceration’ dinner series, where families impacted by mass incarceration come together with lawmakers and diners to engage in conversation about prison reform over a multicourse meal.

He is also the co-founder of Everybody Eats Philly, a collaborative team of Black chefs leading the fight against food insecurity in the city – an initiative born out of the pandemic. Evans will use the Champions of Change donation to help fund his End Mass Incarceration dinner series as well as to further the work that Everybody Eats Philly is carrying out to provide free meals and essentials to those in need.

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VIVIAN VARESE

“Chef of Viva restaurant in Milan, Italy, breaking down barriers around LGBTQ+ and inclusivity”

Viviana Varese, who received a Michelin star for her Milan-based restaurant Viva, becoming one of very few women in Italy to do so, has also been selected as a Champion of Change. An LGBTQ+ and inclusivity campaigner, following her own personal experiences of discrimination, Varese is also part of the non-profit association Parabere Forum, aiming to empower women in hospitality. As a result of the pandemic, Viviana reopened Viva in spring 2021, as well as new restaurant W Villadorata in Sicily, with a strong focus on staff inclusivity regardless of gender, race, age or sexuality. In addition to employing and training farmers over the age of 60 who have lost their jobs, she collaborates with suppliers who employ people with disabilities to make her plates and pottery.

In autumn 2021, Varese intends to open a new gelateria ice cream shop in Milan and is specifically recruiting and training women who have been victims of domestic violence to staff the operation.

Varese will use the Champions of Change donation to support this new retail project, which will provide much-needed employment opportunities to vulnerable women.

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DEEPANKER KHOSLA “Chef-owner of Haoma in Bangkok, Thailand – restaurant turned soup kitchen during the pandemic – creating crucial employment opportunities for migrants” When the pandemic hit Thailand, Deepanker Khosla, an Indian chef based in Bangkok, turned his restaurant Haoma – which is staffed largely by migrants – into a soup kitchen for out-of-work Bangkok residents. He raised funds to make meals with his campaign, No One Hungry, where his staff prepped free meals for the homeless, and were able to receive food for themselves and their families as well. Khosla employs people from Myanmar and Nepal who often lack citizenship and he was able to retain all of his staff successfully despite the impact of the pandemic.

Haoma also received a three-star certification by sustainability organisation Food Made Good and is on its way to become zero waste by 2022. Khosla will use the Champions of Change donation to create and staff a full-fledged kitchen for the No One Hungry project, providing meals to thousands of people in need.

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A CULINARY HUB: DUBAI Dubai is fast realizing the dream of making itself the global culinary hub and craft a trendsetting niche for itself in the international food arena.

Dubai has made no secret of its aspirations to becoming an international culinary hub and thanks to an explosion of investment in both unique home-grown restaurants and globally-recognised food & bverage brands, the realization of a vision is fast becoming true.

There is every cuisine available for every price scale, ranging from the casual, spacious eateries found in malls and quirky, independent cafés to standalone dining destinations and high-end hotel-based venues. Middle Eastern cuisine is a must-try and now, it’s offered at all ends of the spectrum, with around 45 restaurants specialising in the cuisine. This doesn’t take into account the regional variances, with numerous Lebanese concepts and a host of Turkish, Moroccan and Persian restaurants too.

Nearly 90% of the UAE’s roughly 10 million inhabitants are foreign nationals. When it comes to international cuisine, Dubai’s population of 200 nationalities means that every taste is catered for. There are restaurants specialising in African, American and Asian cuisine; British, French, Italian and German food; Spanish, Mexican and Peruvian delicacies; Indian, Korean and Filipino flavours; and Chinese, Japanese and Thai cuisine, not to mention restaurants specialising in everything from steak to seafood, and burgers to baos.

With greatest of pleasure and absolute delight I wish to place on record my sincerest appreciation for my dear friend Flavel Monteiro who has been playing an iconic role in placing Dubai as the

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true international hub vide his publication The Best of Dubai – A Dining Experience which had a successful first edition in 2020 – and this year will have its second edition. A phenomenal effort which in no time has received international recognition and created a pedestal for the chefs and business owners in this extremely vibrant city.

Am certain that the extremely informative content and unique recipes well curated by celebrity chefs play a significant role in promoting the culinary industry of Dubai to the world arena and would continue to make huge contributions in the field of exciting cuisine and gourmet art.

There is a special section dedicated to the best of culinary entities of the Emirati cuisine and showcases the richness and huge talent of the chefs from this part of the world.

I take this opportunity to sincerely applaud all the contributing celebrity chefs who are part of this wonderful publication and have played a truly significant role in brining their art to the culinary centre-stage.

It is such untiring and dedicated efforts that being Dubai to the pedestal it truly deserves and significantly elevates the stature of the city as the world’s fastest growing tourism hub.

I wish the venture all success and may the new decade we have just begun turn a positive leaf in all our lives after the year of challenges we have just successfully steered through with gut and resolution. ~ NAIM MAADAD Chief Executive & Founder Gates Hospitality

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BRINGING CULTURES TOGETHER AND BACK TO THE TABLE As a city that prides itself on being a melting pot of cultures, gastronomy has long been a key pillar of Dubai’s destination offering – showcasing authenticity, innovation and excellence, and satisfying every palate.

Above all else – it has always brought people together: from the head chefs, through the rest of the kitchen, out to the front of house, right to the patrons savouring the food served to them, the city’s restaurants and dining establishments reflect those 200 nationalities that call Dubai home.

Millions of visitors over the years have also come to understand that those flavours they experience here leave a mark on the memory just as strong as the soaring towers, majestic dunes, historic sights and warm hospitality.

Over the past year, the profound importance of the communal dining experience has been crystallized. In Dubai, restaurants were at the forefront of efforts to return to a semblance of normalcy; having shown admirable resilience through a short period in which they had to shut their doors, they embraced stringent yet prudent guidelines to ensure they could safeguard the health of every guest.

And within those safe environments, whether in five-star hotels enjoying food in restaurants from Michelin-starred chefs, or in vibrant neighbourhoods devouring street eats, visitors and residents alike have an almost unlimited range of culinary options to choose from.

It is therefore our pleasure to once again be supporting the publishing The Best of Dubai – The Dining Destination, which continues to vividly provide readers with a taste of Dubai’s food scene and flavours of the incredible work being done by restaurateurs, chefs and culinary professionals around the city.

As the city that has been leading the global tourism rebound, we have put gastronomy – and the ability for people to savour new flavours and culinary experiences in a safe setting – at the forefront of our destination offering.

We hope you are inspired and we look forward to welcoming you to Dubai to try it all yourself!

Dubai Corporation for Tourism and Commerce Marketing visitdubai.com

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BALALEET

Balaleet is a combination of sweet and savory elements which is the traditional Arabic breakfast. An omelet and vermicelli are the main ingredients along with rose water, sugar, cinnamon, saffron and cardamom are added to enhance the flavor. Local spices is added to the sweetened vermicelli, and is topped with a plain omelet.

emirati cuisine

CHEBAB

Chebab also known as the Arabian pancake, this thin crisp and sweet bread is eaten for breakfast with date syrup or butter or honey or am or with just plain sugar. The main ingredients is all-purpose flour, eggs, yeast and butter and it gets its name chebab from the golden brown on both sides.

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KHAMEER

Khameer is a round, puffy, flatbread with two layers, a very popular flatbread in the United Arab Emirates and the softest bread in the world. It is made with slightly sweet dough and is very soft. Back in the day, coal; ovens were used to bake the Khameer. Made with bread flour or all-purpose flour, sugar, salt, a touch of baking powder and yeast, milk, olive oil, cardamom powder, saffron threads and sesame seeds.

REGAG

Regag is a paper-thin crispy bread, similar to a crepe. An Emirati staple eaten fresh at any time of the day but especially for dinner during the Holy Month of Ramadan. It’s best eaten with cheese or honey or with an egg or with some fish salona (sauce). Made from wheat flour and the flattened rolled dough is cooked on a flat pan.

PHOTO ©DTCM

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FISH SALOONA

Saloona is a classic Arabic stew made with a tomato based broth with sautéed onions, garlic, ginger, seasonal vegetables, local spices (cumin, fennel and coriander seeds, dried red chilies, turmeric, black peppercorns, and cinnamon) and fish, it can also be made with chicken or lamb. Saloona is usually paired with white rice.

LAMB MACHBOOS

Machboos is one of the most popular dish in Emirati cuisine and served at every family gathering. A version of the biryani but prepared in a different way. This slow cooked basmati rice dish with onion, local spices, and dry lemon with either with baby lamb or chicken or fish. A traditional dish in the UAE.

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PHOTO ©DTCM

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HAREES

Harees is wheat porridge with meat, cooked for over 3 hours in salt water until it fluffs up. The meat is then added and it is heated again to form a nice thick porridge. Usually homemade ghee (clarified butter) is added before serving.

This traditional dish is served for weddings, during the Holy Month of Ramadan and Eid.

Lgeimat, a sweet fried dumplings or fritter made of milk, sugar, butter, flour, infused with saffron, cardamom and then covered in date syrup. This deep-fried dough balls are perfectly crunch on the outside, fluffy and delicate on the inside. It is undoubtedly the most popular traditional dessert, However, be warned, once you start it’s difficult to stop at just one!

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MUSHROOM CONSOMMÉ WITH TANDOORI MORELS SKEWER INGREDIENTS Mushroom consommé 250g button mushroom 10g chopped ginger 20g chopped garlic 20g chopped onion 20g chopped coriander roots 2g crushed black pepper 12g dark soy sauce 30g mushroom oyster sauce 5g vegetable stock cube 1 bay leaf 5ml truffle oil 15g dehydrated mushroom 650ml water 10ml cooking oil

by HIMANSHU SAINI

Method Take cooking oil in a saucepan, sauté onion, garlic, ginger and mushroom for 2 minutes. Add water in the pan along with rest of the ingredients except truffle oil.

Simmer the soup for 10 to15 minutes on slow flame.

Strain the soup and finish it truffle oil.

Tandoori morels 150g dried morels 50g Greek yogurt 25ml full fat cream 15g cashew nut paste 5g ginger, chopped 5g green chilies, chopped 15g Amul processed cheese 2g garam masala 2g green cardamom powder 2g white pepper powder Salt for seasonong Butter for basting Method Wash the morels thoroughly and hydrate them in water. Squeeze and pat dry the excess water from the morels. Wisk together rest of the ingredients for the marinade and apply it on the morels.

Skewer the morels on bamboo sticks and baste them with butter while cooking on the charcoal grill.

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SHISO ONION BHAJI WITH COLD BUTTERMILK CURRY

by HIMANSHU SAINI INGREDIENTS Shiso onion bhaji 12 to 15 shiso leaves julienne 2 white onions, sliced 100g gram flour 2g baking powder 2g turmeric powder 2g green chilies, chopped 5g ginger, chopped 5g coriander, chopped Salt for seasoning Oil for frying Method In a bowl mix onion and shiso leaf along with other ingredients for bhaji. Add few teaspoon of water, enough to coat the batter on onion shiso mix. Carefully fry battered onions and shiso leaf mixture on medium flame till golden in colour.

Cold buttermilk curry Ingredients 160ml yogurt whey 5g mustard seeds 2g dry red chilies 5g curry leaves 2g asafoetida 5g coconut, grated 5g cucumber, chopped 5g raw mango, chopped 5g ginger, chopped 2g green chilies, chopped 5g coriander roots, chopped 5ml cooking oil Salt for seasoning Method Take oil in a hot pan and temper the yogurt whey with mustard seeds, dried chili, curry leaves and asafoetida. Leave the tempering in the whey for 2 hours. Strain the whey and add the rest of the ingredients for the curry. Adjust the seasoning with salt and serve cold.

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ROASTED BEETROOT SALAD WITH CARAMELIZED HAZELNUT AND ROASTED SESAME

by ILIAS KOKOROSKOS INGREDIENTS Roast the beetroot 1kg beetroots, washed / 1 sprig of thyme / 2tbsp olive oil, per beetroot / sea salt Method Wash the beetroot thoroughly. Season with salt and olive oil and place them in aluminium foil with thyme sprigs. Bake then in an oven at 180C for around 1 hour or till the beetroots are tender and the knife passes through easily. Allow to cool in the foil and set aside. Once lukewarm remove the skin carefully not to damage the beetroot. Cut in 2cm cubes and set aside.

Note: you can keep the beetroot seasoned with some sea salt and olive oil.

Caramelized hazelnuts 300g hazelnuts / 1 vanilla pod / 150g superfine sugar / 50g mineral water / sea salt for seasoning Method Place the hazelnut on a baking sheet, put it in the oven and toast for 20 minutes. Put the nuts in a towel and roll it over to remove the skin. Split the vanilla pod and put the seed in a sauce pan with the mineral water and sugar. Cook at 118 and then add the hazelnuts. Stir the nuts in the syrup until it crystalizes around them. Return the sauce pan to medium fire and cook until the syrup darkens to a deep colour. Sprinkle with salt and pour out immediately on a silicon pad, spread and allow to cool. Chop coarsely and store in a dry container.

Amaranthus 200g Amaranthus, washed Method Remove the thick stems from the leaves and wash thoroughly. Place a pot with water and a pinch of salt over high fire and allow to boil. Once the water is boiling place the greens for 2 minutes.

Remove and place them directly in ice cold water for another 2 minutes. Strain and set aside.

To Serve 150g roasted beetroots / 3tsp olive oil / 200g amaranthus / 2tbsp Greek yoghurt / 6tsp sesame, roasted / 3tsp sesame oil / 3tbsp caramelized hazelnuts / sea salt for seasoning

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Method Place the amaranthus leaves in a bowl with half of the sesame and olive oil, add some sea salt and 2 teaspoons of the roasted sesame and mix well.

In another bowl place the beetroot cubes with the yoghurt, half quantity of the hazelnuts, 2 teaspoons of roasted sesame, 1 table spoon of hazelnut, the rest of the oils and mix well. Plate with the amaranthus at the base and beetroot on top. Finish with drops of sesame oil, the rest of the sesame and hazelnut and some sea salt.

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PANI POORI

by ROHIT SHARMA

INGREDIENTS Poori 256g semolina / 128g all-purpose flour / salt for seasoning / 60ml warm water / 1l oil for frying

Method In a mixing bowl add semolina, flour, salt to taste and warm water as required. Knead into a stiff dough. Cover it with wet muslin cloth and keep it for rest for 30 minutes. Roll out the dough and cut it with the help of a round cutter and deep fry until golden brown colour.

Tangy water 250g mint leaves / 125g coriander leaves / 50g ginger / salt and rock salt for seasoning / 3 green chilies / 15g roasted cumin powder / 30g jaggery 250ml water / 7g chaat masala / 45g tamarind pulp

Method In a bowl, add mint leaves, ginger, coriander leaves, green chili, jaggery and salt to taste.

Transfer this into a grinder and grind into a smooth paste, add little water while grinding. Transfer this into a bowl, add black salt. Cumin powder and water mix well and strain it in a deep container.

Add tamarind pulp and mix well.

Quinoa potato masala 100g quinoa mix, red, white and black / 1 potato boiled, diced / 10g rock salt / 10g roasted cumin powder / 10g chaat masala / 15g coriander, chopped / 10g red chilli powder Method In a bowl. Add boiled quinoa, potato, cumin powder, coriander, black salt, chaat masala and red chilli powder mix everything well.

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FOGLIE AUTUNNALI AUTUMN LEAVES

by FRANCESCO GUARRACINO INGREDIENTS Red bell pepper cream 500g red bell peppers, chopped 50g onions, chopped 5g pectin 2g salt 1g black pepper 5g extra virgin olive oil 1 sprig fresh thyme Method In a sauce pan cook the onions at medium heat with olive oil until translucent for. Season it with salt and black pepper. Add the red bell peppers, thyme and continue to cook until all vegetables are soft. Remove the thyme and in a food processor blend everything to a smooth paste.

Pass all the cream trough a fine sieve. Add the pectin and cook on low heat for extra 10 minutes.

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Pumpkins cream 500g pumpkin, chopped in small cubes 50g onions 5g pectin 1 small rosemary stem 2g salt 1g pepper 5g extra virgin olive oil Method In a sauce pan cook the onions at medium heat with olive oil until translucent for. Season it with salt and black pepper. Add the pumpkin, rosemary and continue to cook until all vegetables are soft. Remove the rosemary stem and in a food processor blend everything to a smooth paste.

Pass all the cream trough a fine sieve. Add the pectin and cook on low heat for extra 10 minutes.

Leaves Spread the pumpkin and red bell pepper cream on a silicon pad with a shape of leaves. Place the pad at 65C for 2 hours in a dehydrator. Once completely dry, roast them in a cast iron pan for few seconds only. Plating the leaf in one plate with some buckwheat down and garnish with some bay leaf.

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INGREDIENTS 1 large ice burg lettuce 1 sheet nori 2 spring onions, finely chopped 2tbsp roasted sesame seeds

Method Finely cut the white onions into fine dice, caramelize the onions in a heavy based sauce pan until rich in colour being very careful not to burn and set aside.

Remove the core from the apple and grate on a Japanese oroshi this can be substituted with a micro-plane, do the same with the carrot and mix both with the onions off the heat.

Add the remaining ingredients and mix well, season with a little salt if required, this will depend on the sweetness from the nashi and the carrot.

Caramelised onion wafu dressing 500g white onions 200ml low sodium soya sauce 20g carrots ½ nashi pear 100ml grape seed oil 30ml sesame oil

Assemble Cut the ice burg into quarters and lay on a serving plate with the cut surface facing up, spoon the wafu sauce over ensuring it gets between the layers.

Cut the nori into fine slices and sprinkle over the top with the sesame seeds and the spring onions.

ICE BURG SALAD WITH CARAMELISED ONION WAFU DRESSING AND NORI

by LIBOR DOBIS

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A dish full of omega 3 fatty acids. A famous and beautiful dish you can simply prepare at home. With its delicate taste and buttery texture, the fish simply melts in your mouth.

MISO MARINATED BLACK COD

by PAWEL KAZANOWSKI INGREDIENTS 4 black cod filets (200g each) with the skin not removed / 2tbsp salt Marinade 130g saikyo miso / 130g sake / 130g mirin / 150g castor sugar Method Combine in a sauce pan mirin and sake, bring it to a boil (30 seconds), remove the pan from the heat, add miso and mix with a whisk until it forms a smooth paste. Set aside and let it cool.

Sauce 125g miso marinade / 50g lemon juice / 15g wasabi / 10g light soy sauce

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Method In a bowl - using the ready cod marinade combine all the ingredients together until the liquid is smooth, keep it refrigerated.

Sprinkle cod filets with salt and set aside for 30 minutes (the salt will remove unnecessary moisture from the fish).

Next, wash the fish under cold running water from the salt, dry carefully with a paper towel, place in a container and cover with earlier prepared marinade – the fish fillet should be completely covered with the marinade.

Place the fish in the refrigerator for 3 to 4 days.

Cooking Remove all the marinade carefully from the fish, put skin down on an oven tray covered with baking paper and place it into 200C heated oven, bake for 20 to 25 minutes.

Once the fish is baked, transfer it to a plate skin down, and serve with sauce on the side.

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SEARED TURBOT WITH BEURRE BLANC SAUCE

by JOÃO GARCIA

Because of my passion for fish, I create this dish bringing the flavours of a very noble fish with a traditional sauce but giving a twist of crunchiness with tobiko.

INGREDIENTS 170g turbot 40g baby onions, chopped 50g carrots 50g asparagus 50g romanesca 20g butter 40g cream 30g chardonnay 5g tobiko eggs 2g salt 1g pepper 5g shallots, chopped Method In a sauce pan, add the onions with a little butter for 2 minutes, add the chardonnay, cream and let reduce to half, season with salt and pepper and blend everything.

Boil the vegetables and after sauté them in the butter, add the tobiko to the beurre blanc and mix.

Sear the turbot well on both side.

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SCALLOP CARPACCIO

by DOMENICO SANTAGADA INGREDIENTS Carpaccio 2 pcs hand dive scallop 10g mazara prawns dust 20g trasmontanus caviar 20g our cream Method Remove the scallops from the shell using a paring knife detaching the muscle along the flat-side of the shell. Repeat this on the concaved side. Clean the scallops, remove the coral and the roe, preserve only the meat. Cover each side of the scallop in mazara prawns dust and compress the scallops in order to achieve a round shape and freeze it overnight.

Lemon dressing 100ml olive oil 20ml fresh lemon juice 1tsp Dijon mustard Method Assemble all the three ingredients into a mixing bowl and whisk thoroughly until it is emulsified.

Garnish Sorrel leaves Malden salt Plating Slice the scallops in thin slices and place it on the plate. Dress scallop carpaccio with your lemon dressing and Malden salt, place the sour cream on the carpaccio with the help of a piping bag and cover each dot of sour cream with the caviar and finish with sorrel leaves.

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ACHARI JHINGA

by ROHIT SHARMA

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INGREDIENTS 20pcs prawn U10 350g labneh 60ml turmeric oil 125g mixed pickle paste 20g roasted cumin powder 50g panch puran, cumin, fennel and onion seeds 40ml mustard oil 30g red chilli powder Salt for seasoning Method Marinade the prawns with red chilli powder, lemon juice and salt for 20 minutes.

In a mixing bowl, put the turmeric oil and add the rest of the ingredients together and mix it.

Check the seasoning and add the marinated prawns in the bowl with the turmeric oil and mix well. Before cooking the prawns, wrap the tails with aluminium foil and cook it in a tandoor or in an oven. Remove the foil before serving.

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“It’s so easy to eat healthy. When you cook, you know exactly what you are eating.”

Izu aims to encourage people to reconnect with their kitchens, eat well and understand the health benefits of their ingredients.

HARISSA PRAWNS

by IZU ANI INGREDIENTS 6 whole prawns per person / 3 chillies, sliced / 3 sprigs rosemary / 1tbsp salt / 2tbsp roasted cumin seeds / 4 garlic cloves / 4tbsp olive oil and more for marinade / 1 lemon Method Marinade Fill a large oven pan with olive oil, sliced chillies, rosemary and garlic.

Place the whole prawns in the marinade and cover with cling film, leave it to soak overnight.

Harissa Slice the garlic thin and fry it in olive oil, ensure the colour stays light for the best flavour.

Once cooled, add the fried garlic to a pestle and mortar with flaked chilli, roasted cumin seeds, salt and half a clove of garlic, and crush together.

Prawns Remove the marinated prawns and place them into a deep cooking tray with a good quality olive oil, a generous squeeze of lemon and salt. Layer the prawns with the harissa mixture and place under a high heat for 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from the oven and add another generous squeeze of lemon and sprinkling of harissa before serving.

Serve alongside toast, to soak up the juices and enjoy!

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INGREDIENTS Butter chicken broth 8 momotoro tomatoes cut in halves 20g ginger, crushed 15g garlic, crushed 30g coriander roots 2 green chilies, slit 6 bay leaves 8g dried fenugreek leaves 15g butter 8 green cardamoms 150ml chicken stock 10g sugar Salt for seasoning Method In a ½ gastronorm pan, add all the ingredients for the broth along with 100ml of water. Cover it and cook at 180C for 90 minutes. Strain the broth through muslin cloth and adjust the seasoning with salt and sugar.

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BUTTER CHICKEN BROTH WITH SMOKY CHICKEN SKEWER

by HIMANSHU SAINI Chicken skewer 200g chicken thigh, sliced 20g ginger garlic paste 10ml lime juice 50g Greek yogurt 2g cumin powder 2g all spice powder 2g clove powder 2g cinnamon powder 5g coriander powder 5g dried fenugreek leaves 10g chili powder Salt for seasoning Butter for basting Oxalis leaf for garnish Method Marinate the chicken slices overnight with ginger garlic paste, salt and lemon juice. For the second marinade whisk together the rest of the ingredients in a separate bowl and mix it with marinated chicken slices. Skewer the chicken slices with bamboo sticks and cook it on charcoal grill. While grilling baste the chicken skewers occasionally with butter and serve hot with oxalis leaves.

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SMOKED LAMB CHOPS

by ANUP PAWAR INGREDIENTS 500g – 8pcs lamb chops 3g cumin powder 5g coriander powder 5g salt 6g malt vinegar 5g pineapple juice 10g corn oil 40g ginger garlic paste 5g Kashmiri red chili paste 150g Turkish labneh 10g gram masala Smoking 2pcs shisha charcoal or wood charcoal 2 whole cloves whole 10ml ghee or butter Air tight glass 14 cm high or utensil that has a tight lid A small stainless steel bowl to keep the live coal Method Marinate the lamb chops with ginger garlic paste, pineapple juice, malt vinegar and salt.

Make the second marinade with oil, powdered masalas, labneh, and mix them to make a smooth paste. Add the lamb chops into the marinade and mix well.

Roast it in an oven or on a barbeque for 10 to 15 minutes and finish it with lemon juice and butter.

Smoke it in a jar with live charcoal, cloves and ghee.

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MALAI CHICKEN

by VINU RAVEENDRAN

Indian food is considered as very complex, however that’s not the case, there are dishes that are actually very simple and flavourful, here I am using a very minimalistic approach and a few simple ingredients are used to complement each other.

INGREDIENTS 600g spring chicken / 60g ginger / 60g garlic / 50g green chilies / 100g ghee, clarified butter / 300ml cream /salt for seasoning / 5g garam masala / 5g kasoori methi / 5ml lemon juice Method Clean the chicken, remove the skin and remove the back bone. Cut the chicken into four pieces - 2 pieces of the whole leg with the bone and 2 pieces with the breast with the bone.

Make a paste of ginger and garlic, slit the green chilies into two.

In a pan, heat the ghee, add the ginger garlic paste and green chili, stir on a low heat. Add the chicken and sauté well. Add cream, 200 ml water or chicken stock, kasoori methi and season with salt. Cover the pan and cook the chicken, stir occasionally.

Once the chicken is cooked, remove the lid and reduce the gravy on high heat, until the oil start to float on top. Finish the dish with garam masala, lemon juice and a splash of ghee.

Serve hot with tandoori roti or naan, a pilaf can also be a good combination.

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HOW TO COOK THE PERFECT STEAK STEAK COOKING TIME GUIDE The times given here are a guide only and refer to a steak that is approximately 2½cm or 1” thick. Thicker steaks may require a longer cooking time, and vice versa for thinner steaks.

Cooking Time

Resting

Total Time

Rare

1 - 2 minutes

6 - 8 minutes

10 minutes

Medium

3 minutes

4 minutes

10 minutes

Well Done

4 ½ minutes

1 minute

10 minutes

RARE (BLEU) Press-Test: Soft The core temperature is 45-47C The meat is bloody and the juices are dark red.

MEDIUM RARE (SAIGNANT) Press-test: soft yet springy The core temperature is 50-52C The meat is still bloody in the centre and the meat juice is light red.

MEDIUM (A POINT) Press-test: Firm and springy The core temperature is 55-60C The centre of the meat is pink.

WELL DONE Press-test: Firm The core temperature is 64-70C The meat is cooked throughout and the juices are clear.

A note on using meat thermometers: If you check the temperature of your steak with a meat thermometer, please note that the internal temperature will continue to rise by a few degrees once the steak is removed from the heat source. Therefore, you should remove the meat just before it reaches the desired internal temperature.

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1. Prepare the steaks

Remove the steaks from the freezer and defrost overnight in the fridge. Before cooking remove the defrosted meat from its vacuum packaging and pat dry with kitchen paper. This will help the steak brown better in the pan when cooking.

Spread the steaks out on a board in a single layer. Allow the meat to ‘bloom’ and come to room temperature for about 20 minutes before cooking.

A note on colour: John Stone Beef is dry aged to get the best flavour from the meat. During this process the meat will lose moisture as the flavour concentrates.

The colour will change to a deep rich purple compared to product you see at a supermarket which tends to be bright red in appearance. When we then vacuum pack the beef by removing the air, this tends to make the steak look darker in appearance again. The vacuum pack protects the steak from the freezer and any contamination.

We freeze steaks instantly after packing to ensure the goodness and quality integrity is kept as temperature luctuation can affect the steak – that’s why we choose to freeze. The steaks will look dark from the ageing process and the freezing process.

As the steak thaws it goes through three stages. Stage one dark, Stage two dark purple brown. Once opened after 20 minutes in the kitchen, the “bloom” will appear and brighten the steak. This the room temperature and oxygen working with the natural properties in the steak.

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2. Preheat your pan

Make sure that your griddle or frying pan is preheated to the highest temperature before you cook your steaks – almost smoking hot. When you place the meat into the pan you should hear a sizzle. Using a pan which is not hot enough can cause toughness and make the meat look grey and not caramelised. Add a little olive oil to the pan or brush the oil directly onto the steaks to avoid using too much. Place the steak towards the wall and not yourself so it does not splash you.

3. Cook to your liking

Cook the meat for the recommended time (see table on back) on one side without touching, then turn very gently and cook on the other side for the remaining time. Don’t turn your steaks more than necessary – every turn lets precious juices escape and dries out the meat. Do not poke them with a fork do not push them down in the pan or squash them. Do not try and cook more than two steaks in a pan if the pan is not big enough. Be careful not to overcook, as this will make the meat dry and tough. You can test for ‘doneness’ by pressing your steak gently with the tip of your finger.

A note on equipment: We strongly recommend against the use of electric contact grills when cooking our steaks as these can make the meat dry and tough. Ideally you should use a ridged griddle pan or heavy frying pan as you can control the temperature more easily.

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4. Rest your steaks

Once the steaks are cooked to your liking they must be rested. During resting, the temperatures within the meat equalise, the juices in the middle move to the outside and it becomes warm, moist and tender all the way through. To rest your steaks, place them on a rack so they don’t lie in their own juices. Cover with foil shiny side of foil face down as this radiates heat back into the meat and leave in a warm place for up to 10 minutes. You can use the oven on its low temp or the gill at the lowest temperature.

Remember, it is always better to over-rest your steaks than to under-rest them.

5. Use a good steak knife

Finally, use the right knife to cut your steak. A serrated edge makes the meat feel tough which gives the impression of toughness to even the most tender meat. A sharp unserrated blade slices cleanly through the steak and enhances the whole eating experience for you and your guests.

6. On-the-bone cooking

Grilling & roasting cuts on the bone (T-bone, Tomahawk, Frenched Rib and Bone in Wing end 1kg to 1.5 kg steaks) To cook the perfect steaks on the bone, follow the steps above with the added step of popping the meat into a preheated oven at 200C and roasting for 6 to 10 minutes (depending on the size of steak you are cooking) and allowing at least 10 minutes for the meat to rest.

Cooking meat on the bone will always deliver more flavour but it also takes a little longer to cook as the heat needs to get in around the bone.

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VEAL CHATEAUBRIAND, BLANQUETTE GARNITURE

by ANNE LAURE MORISSET INGREDIENTS Veal chateaubriand 600g veal tenderloin / salt and pepper for seasoning Method Clean the tenderloin, then roll it tight with a cling film and keep it aside.

Blanquette garniture 350g heirloom carrots / 150g leeks / 120g baby onions / 400g button mushrooms / 800g carrots

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Method Cut the carrot into two then with a paring knife, turn it. In a pan, cook the carrots with the olive oil and vegetable stock. With the leeks, cut a slices of 1 cm. For the cooking, same way as the carrots.

Make sure to not get coloration. Brown glazed the baby onions. Make a Duxelle with the button mushroom, adding shallot, bay leave and thyme for the cooking.

For the carrot purée, cut the carrots roughly and roast them in the oven with olive oil and salt.

Once cooked, blend slowly then add butter and seasoning.

Blanquette sauce 500g veal jus / 600g cream / 1 clove / 1 bay leaf / salt and pepper for seasoning Method Boil all the ingredients together, reduce until to get the right consistency. Taste for the seasoning.

Plating Slice the tenderloin and put it along a side. Display the vegetables one by one. Serve the sauces on the side.

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WAGYU BEEF TARTARE WITH PRAWN TOAST, MARINATED RED PEPPERS, ASIAN PEA AND SESAME

by HOWARD KO INGREDIENTS 40g kiwami beef, diced 30g beef tartare marinade, recipe on the right 2g egg yolk jam - 5 eggs cooked at 64C for 2 hour and only the yolk 3g blistered marinated red peppers, recipe below 4g prawn toast – 35g bread, 115g mousse and 4g sesame seed Asian pear battens 1g micro shiso 2g shallots, crispy Beet tartar marinade 325g soy 50g sesame oil 125g honey 85g sesame 40g scallion 40g minced garlic Method Mix all the ingredients Blistered marinated red peppers 200g long red chilli peppers, sliced 12g mirin 12g garlic 9g sesame oil 13g soy 22g honey 7g Korean chilli flakes 9g sugar ¼ cup water 6g canola oil 12g garlic Method Slice long red peppers on a base. Mix the mirin, garlic, sesame oil, honey and chilli flakes.

In a pan use 6 grams of canola oil until it is smoking and add the blistered red pepper and 12 grams of garlic, and then add in the mixed ingredients.

Add water at the end and bring to a boil and cool down.

Prawn Toast 500g shrimp deveined 40g ginger, minced 35g garlic, minced 35g scallion, sliced 2 eggs 38g fish sauce 15g soy Sesame seeds 35g slice of pain di mie

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INGREDIENTS 250g striplion beef, sliced 3g onion leeks 1g garlic 5g oyster sauce 1g dark soya sauce 2g white vinegar 2g corriander leaves

SLICED STRIPLION BEEF ONION LEEKS

Method

by KAM FAI CHEE Cut the striplion beef and set aside.

Cut the garlic, onion leeks. Sauté the garlic, onions and leeks together. Put back the beef in the wok.

Add soya sauce, oyster sauce and dark soya sauce. Mix well and add white vinegar at last.

Ready to serve.

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GOSHT KI PASILLIAN

by ROHIT SHARMA INGREDIENTS 4pcs lamb chop / 10g ginger garlic paste / 5g red chilli powder 120g red chilli paste / 100ml balsamic vinegar / 60ml oil / 4g red chilli powder / 10g black pepper crushed / salt for seasoning Method Marinate the Lamb with ginger garlic paste, red chilli powder and salt. Set aside to rest for 15 minutes at room temperature.

Mix rest of the ingredients together in a bowl to make the second marinade for the lamb.

Mix the lamb with marinade and set aside to rest for 15 minutes.

Over a medium hot grill start to sear the lamb on both sides.

Finish in a pre-heated oven at 180C.

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CUPIM BRAHMAN HUMPS

by DAVID PAROLIN INGREDIENTS Beef humps Rock salt for seasoning 250g unsalted butter Dry herb mix Method Preheat oven to 160C. Cover the whole extension of the humps with a thick layer of butter.

Cover the butter with rock salt and the dry herbs.

Wrap all in cling film until is totally sealed.

Wrap it in aluminium foil and transfer to the preheated oven for about 6 hours.

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DUCK LEG CONFIT WITH LENTILS RAGOUT One of my favourite dishes, reminds me my childhood, when my grandma was cooking the lentils and finishing with roasted duck.

by JOÃO GARCIA INGREDIENTS 299g duck confit leg 100g lentils 50g carrots, cubes 10g shallots, chopped 5g garlic 100g demi-glace 20g butter 10g beef chorizo 2g salt 5g parsley 1g pepper Method Cook the duck leg in duck fat for 4 hours at 88C. Add the shallots and garlic. Then add the chorizo, carrots and let cook for more 2 minutes. Add the lentils and the demi-glace, slow cook for 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Finish with parsley and butter.

When plating, put the leg on the top.

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VANILLA MISO CARAMEL

by LAURE DUMAS INGREDIENTS Madeleine 110g eggs / 220g sugar / 220g all-purpose flour 10g baking powder / 110g white miso paste / 120g milk / 80g oil / 80g beurre noisette / 2g salt Method Mix all the ingredients together and bake at 180C. Vanilla siphon 300g cream / 300g milk / 70g sugar / 1pcs vanilla 4 egg yolks / 130g mascarpone Method In a sauce pan cook the cream, milk, sugar, vanilla, eggs yolks at 85C. Strain and add the mascarpone. Blend and put it in a siphon with 1 gas charger.

Miso caramel 525g cream / 350g sugar / 20g butter / 95g white miso paste

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Method In a sauce pan make a caramel by adding the cream and sugar, let it cook at 165C. Add the miso paste and at the end blend it with butter.

Pear sorbet 500g pear purée / 35g sugar / 100g water 25g dextrose / 1.5g stabilizer Method In a sauce pan bring all the ingredients to a boiling point. Pour into a pacojet container and keep in the freezer.

Peanuts 275g roasted peanuts / 150g sugar / 80g water Method In a sauce pan make a caramel by adding the sugar and water, add the peanuts and spread it on a slipat sheet.

Pear brunoise 1 pear / 10g white wine vinegar Method Cut the pear in brunoise and add the white wine vinegar.

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INGREDIENTS Mango and peppercorn marmalade 250g fresh diced mango / 50g fresh squeezed passion fruit juice / 20g sugar / 1pc grated long peppercorn / 2g NH pectin Method In a pot, cook all the ingredients together until you get the right consistency and let it cool in the chiller.

Lime whip ganache 260g cream / 60g fresh lime juice / 70g white chocolate / 3g gelatine Method Boil the cream then pour over the white chocolate, gelatine then add the hot lime juice. Blend properly then rest overnight before using.

French meringue 100g eggs white / 100g granulated sugar / 100g icing sugar Method Make as a classic French meringue, whip the eggs white then add slowly the granulated sugar, make it firm then add the icing sugar.

Make as a quenelle shape then bake it at 140C for 40 minutes.

FRUITY MANGO PAVLOVA AND LONG PEPPERCORN WITH PASSION FRUIT CONDIMENT

by CHRISTOPHE DEVOILLE

Passion fruit condiment 100g fresh passion fruit juice / 40g fresh persimmon 15g sugar / 2g agar agar Method Boil all the ingredients then cool it down in the chiller. Blend it in the Thermomix until the right consistency.

Finishing In a desired plate add the meringue, dig a hole on the top then pip the condiment inside the soft meringue.

Whip the lime whip ganache then add on the top of the meringue on nice quenelle of the cream, with a warm spoon make a cavity in the cream and add the mango marmalade.

Grate some fresh lime on top then add some flower petals. Add a nice dot of passion fruit condiment.

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MATCHA STORY This dish I created during the quarantine days, the inspiration came when I was drinking a cup of matcha latte, and I felt good. The matcha light sponge paired with the matcha opalys mousse and crunchy matcha crumble and coconut water caviar.

by DWIYANTI CINTANINGRUM INGREDIENTS Matcha sponge 130g caster sugar / 95g cake flour / 80g eggs / ½ pcs lemon zest / 3g baking powder / 6g green tea powder / 125g liquid cream / 80g melted butter Method Beat the eggs and caster sugar until it is fluffy. Fold in all the dry ingredients and lemon zest. Add the liquid cream and melted butter. Put the mixture in cake pan and bake it at 160C for 15 minutes.

Matcha opalys mousse 80g egg yolks / 40g sugar / 90g milk / 20g matcha powder / 230g white chocolate opalys / 1 pcs gelatine / 420g whipped cream Method Make an Anglaise by boiling the milk and the matcha powder. Whisk the egg yolks and sugar together in a bowl and pour in the hot milk and whisk lightly. Return to the pan and cook to 83C for 5 seconds. Strain, then add the chocolate and mix well, add the gelatine. Remove and keep it over an ice bath or in chiller, then fold with whipping cream.

Pipe in cake mould.

Coconut water caviar 250g coconut water / 2.5g alginate / 500g water (1) / 5g colour / 1000g water (2)

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Method Hand blend the coconut water and alginate.

Keep this coconut water alginate mixture in squishy bottle. In separate bowl hand blender water 1 and clorur. Pipe in the water colour mixture. Keep it for 1 minutes, strain and wash in water 2.

Matcha spray 100g cocoa butter / 100g opalys chocolate / 5g matcha powder Method Melt the cocoa butter and white chocolate. Add the matcha powder. Spray the cake whiles it is frozen to get a matcha velvety colour.

Matcha crumble 50g cake flour / 50g butter / 50g sugar / 50g almond powder / 5g matcha powder Method Mix all the ingredients together until you get a crumble. Keep it in the chiller for 30 minutes and bake it at 170C for 7 minutes.

Assembling Layer the matcha sponge with matcha opalys mousse in a silicon mould. Freeze, remove from the mould and spray it with matcha cocoa butter spray. Serve with coconut water caviar and matcha crumble.

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INGREDIENTS Passion fruit cream 250g passion fruit purée / 50gcaster sugar / 6g agar agar Method In a pan add all the ingredients and bring to a boil. Let it cool and blitz to a smooth paste.

150g whipping cream / 13g gelatin powder / 250g Ivoire chocolate

TORTELL DE NATA

by JEREMIAH GICHIA

Method In a pan add the cream and bring to a boil, remove from the heat, pour in chocolate and gelatin powder.

400g whipping cream / 50g icing sugar / 1 vanilla bean Method Whip the cream with the sugar and vanilla.

Puff pastry 750g all-purpose flour / 25g caster sugar / 25g butter / 12g salt / 400g water / 250g pastry butter Method Mix all the ingredients except the pastry butter in a hook attachment on medium speed. Rest the dough for 2 hours the fold in pastry butter. 1 single turn and 3 book turns.

Garnish Dulce de leche / dried passion fruit seeds / baked konafa / silvered pistachio / roasted crispy quinoa / kiwicha / dried meringue

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COCONUT CHOUX

by MOHAMMAD ORFILS INGREDIENTS Choux paste 88g fresh milk (1) / 2g salt / 2g caster sugar / 39g butter / 58g all-purpose flour / 101g eggs / 10g fresh milk Method In a sauce pan bring the milk (1), sugar, salt and butter to the boil. Remove from the heat and add the sifted flour, mix well then dry out over the heat.

Pour the eggs into the mixer bowl little by little, then dilute with the hot milk.

Put 40g of the choux dough in moulds and bake for 1 hour at 160C. Unmould and let it cool.

Coconut cream 200g coconut milk / 40g caster sugar / 52g whipped cream / 20g corn starch / 25g cocoa butter Method In a sauce pan, heat part of the coconut milk with sugar. In another sauce pan mix the cold milk coconut with the corn starch. When the coconut

milk is boiling add it to the previous mixture of the coconut milk and sugar, cook it for 3 to 4 minutes, once cooked add the cocoa butter and complete the emulsion with a hand blender. Store it in the fridge overnight at 4C. Mix the coconut cream until smooth, add gently the whipped cream.

Coconut marshmallow 15g gelatine sheets / 100g coconut milk (1) / 155g caster sugar / 127g glucose / 20g coconut milk Method Combine the gelatine and 100g coconut milk in a small bowl and set aside until softened. Transfer to a bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment.

In a small sauce pan, heat 20g of coconut milk, sugar and glucose to 116C. Pour the gelatine mixture and whip on medium speed until cooled and fluffy.

Garnish White chocolate / silver powder / coconut marshmallows / coconut powder

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WITH THE WORLD’S CUTTING EDGE CHEFS

by FLAVEL MONTEIRO

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LEGACY

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SAN MARZANO - THE FINEST CHEFS CRUSHING IT!

FLAVEL MONTEIRO AWARD-WINNING AUTHOR WITH

DOUG SINGER

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thought process A CULINARY MIX WITH IRISH PRODUCE by

FLAVEL MONTEIRO AWARD-WINNING AUTHOR

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thought process WHEN IMAGINATION BECOMES EMOTION FLAVEL MONTEIRO

AWARD-WINNING AUTHOR

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