Category: News

June 22, 2020

Dear Worldchefs Colleagues!

Let’s start talking about International Chefs Day 2020!

Uncertainty is all around us, never more so than right now. These trying times can leave us feeling anxious & stressed. What we do know is that we need to keep ourselves and others healthy. Having a strong immune system and eating “stress-busting” foods will help us through these challenging times. 

Here is a time when we can all be in this together! The Worldchefs way to do that is by Preparing Children for a Healthy Life!

Over the past years, Worldchefs has partnered with Nestlé Professional to teach children around the globe about the importance of healthy eating habits by hosting fun-filled and healthy workshops worldwide.

This year’s International Chefs Day 2020 campaign theme is Healthy Food for the Future!

In order to ensure a healthy planet for future generations, it is vital that we start teaching our children about the impact that production and consumption of food actually has on the environment. It is for this reason that Nestlé Professional has recommended our theme for International Chefs Day this year be focused around sustainability and the environment.

How to get involved: It’s so easy! Join Chefs from around the globe on or around October 20^th and host a fun and exciting event. It could be an event for your own children, or an event for 300 children, it is important to share the opportunity with every child to help them learn and enjoy eating healthy food!

Just go to www.internationalchefsday.worldchefs.org and download the Chef’s toolkit, recipes and marketing materials provided. There are many delicious & healthy recipes to choose from this year. This will help you to organize and launch your International Chefs Day 2020 Workshop. The Chef’s toolkit included all the details you will need to run an International Chefs Day workshop.

Recipes are also provided, thanks to all those Chefs who have already contributed to the 2020 International Chefs Day campaign!

In 2004, Dr. Bill Gallagher implemented International Chefs Day to celebrate our profession, to share and pass on our knowledge and culinary skills to our children. It’s our legacy to help children get excited about healthy food and our industry. 

If you are planning to host a Healthy Food for the Future workshop, the International Chefs Day Committee members are standing by to help you find a venue, connect with schools and much more. Just ask, we are here for you. Email us at [email protected].

Vanessa Marquis, Chairman

International Chefs Day Committee

“Worldchefs, Preparing Children for a Healthy Life!”

www.internationalchefsday.worldchefs.org 

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Culinary News Spring 2020: The Magazine of the British Culinary Federation

Welcome to the Spring 2020 issue of Culinary News. Read the 15th anniversary edition of The Magazine of the British Culinary Federation below.

 

https://issuu.com/worldchefs/docs/culinary-news-spring-2020-web

See more from the British Culinary Federation on Worldchefs online community, Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter.

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Worldchefs is seeking contributors for latest.worldchefs.org!

Do you have a story, recipe, or article you want to share with us? Let’s hear it! Get in touch via this link.

Worldchefs Academy Helps Train & Upskill Cooks and Stewards in Papua New Guinea

 

Hilton Hotel Port Morsbey, one of the world’s first global hotel companies, celebrated 21 Cooks and Stewards for successfully completing the Pre-Commis Chef Course with Worldchefs Academy.

Hilton Hotel Port Moresby Executive Chef and Worldchefs Continental Director for Pacific Rim, Neil Abrahams stated, “We have now qualified 21 kitchen team members from the Worldchefs Academy and there are more to come. This is a great achievement for the industry here in Papua New Guinea and Hilton Hotel Port Morsbey, as this is a developing country and most cannot afford to upskill or attend a Vocational Training College.”

He further stated, “As an Executive Chef to have something like Worldchefs Academy available really assists me to train and upskill our staff and what is even more exciting is it’s FREE!!! Our next goal for the kitchen team is to qualify them as chefs with a trade certificate and have them achieve Worldchefs Global Certification.”  

The Worldchefs Academy was created to give upcoming chefs a chance to learn the culinary basics needed to start a career in culinary arts.

The 21 Hilton Hotel kitchen team members, through the program portal, had access to a foundation level of culinary education providing them with the basics that set the standard for an entry-level job in a professional kitchen. The program is offered via a web-based platform offering an offline study mode, where they were able to complete the program.

Chef Abrahams further stated, “It is our duty while here in Papua New Guinea to upskill our kitchen team members and equip them with the skills needed to grow the Hospitality and Tourism Industry for the country. I am excited for the team to be part of Worldchefs Academy and Worldchefs, both recognized in over 110 countries around the world.”

Hilton Hotel General Manager John Lucas also congratulated the kitchen team and stated “Hilton is committed to training and upskilling its team members and will continue to reach out ensuring we as a hotel and a country are recognized on a global platform.”

For more information on Worldchefs Academy visit www.worldchefsacademy.com or contact: [email protected].

An Interview with Rick Stephen

Director of Kitchens for SATS Singapore and Worldchefs Continental Director for Asia.

Rick Stephen is the current Director of Kitchens for SATS Catering Solutions in Singapore. His leadership and knowledge of culinary practice is reflected in his additional role served as Worldchefs Continental Director for Asia. He’s a man who has seen it all – experiencing kitchen life as an entry apprentice, through to completing a Doctorate in Food from Young San University, and leading a 880+ brigade in catering to Singapore Airlines and many other International Carriers. He partners with SFS who looks after the Armed Forces, hospitals and Education centres. Rick further supports joint ventures in kitchens that span China, Japan, Indonesia, Macau, Malaysia, Maldives and India; servicing 400,000 meals per day, when the world is normal, is no understated accomplishment.

A few questions were posed to Rick with the passion to discover how he has implemented innovation into a century’s old profession, and scale production to be systemically viable in a competitive culinary landscape. 

 

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What were the greatest challenges facing the industry, when you entered in 1972 as an apprentice?

At the time, I was employed at Noah’s Hotel Melbourne in Exhibition Street (Australia) under the renowned Master Chef Claudio Magris. I had jumped from finishing Year 10 as a 15-year-old straight into work with a 5-day break between ending the year and starting my new career. Claudio had many talents and skills and for myself it was a matter of doing your 10-12-hour day, then if you wanted to learn something, staying behind and doing the extra. The biggest challenge for myself was at first adapting to the hours after having been at school. Each section relied on you to do your part – the pressure of orders coming in from one section was felt as you strived to complete yours. There was also the pressure on working in a kitchen where not many spoke English. This multi-cultural world did afford the pleasure of working with professional chefs and professional waiters

What do you feel are some of the biggest challenges facing mass production of quality product, in today’s times?

The challenge we are faced with now include achieving consistency of the finished product. It’s not a matter of a pinch of salt, a squeeze of lemon juice to adjust the finesse of a final dish; each item needs to be exactly what you may have shown to the customer. Further, there is the challenge of Food Quality Assurance with hygiene and the standard HACCP guidelines to be followed. We must ensure the product we are moving is safe for consumption, with all the backing data, to support our world standard reputation.

What do you predict may be realistic challenges facing the future of large-scale food production for our global community?

Not only is it the current challenges like I mentioned before of food quality, hygiene, international safety standards and consistent finished results that face our future kitchens. is also teaching our future generation to possess a broader mind and not work with blinkers on. We all need to see the final picture and work as a team to achieve a shared vision – such ideals do not just apply to one company but are vital to our profession as a whole. The days of “knowledge is power” are well and truly over in a modern world.

What advice would you give to aspiring chefs looking to grow their business or move forwards in their place of employment?

Naturally everyone these days talks about terms like “sustainability”, “fresh” or “Farm to Plate”, but for me, the first challenge is to be dedicated to your profession. By this I do not mean working 18-hour days yet being paid only 8 hours. Time management is vital so it is important to prioritise work loads, listen to others, and once you have absorbed all that information, to then filter out what you do not think is relevant for yourself, or the place you work in, then move on. It is important to be prepared to make mistakes and be humbled enough to then learn from these mistakes. In our life in the kitchen “Fail to Plan” is synonymous for “Plan to Fail!”

What do you consider it means to be innovative about food?

When I think about innovation, I like to use the term “Culinology”; that is the combination of Science, Equipment and Techniques which make food great. Science is represented by learning how food reacts under different temperatures – for example, how to blast chill correctly or how to regenerate food if appropriate under a full HACCP system. Equipment is innovative if you know what your equipment is designed for and how it can work correctly to get the best out of it with the RnD that companies have already invested in. Lastly, Technique aids innovation by knowing the styles of cooking that are optimal to your purpose. It embraces simple things like knowing how long to cook for, how little to cook, their correct temperatures, food combinations possible, options for styling and finally, food costs alongside an often-forgotten element – food waste.

Why is it so important to nurture and promote the creative energy of developing chefs?

In all business, it is important to have a winning edge, say “a track record” that speaks for you – the ability to deliver what you promise within the time frame allocated. In SATS, we have 27 different nationalities working in the kitchens, encapsulating countless mindsets and skill levels. We have the ability to tap into or draw support from our team by our intentional choice to dedicate time for development, training and testing.

Can you explain the process of taking a new dish for a menu through to large scale production?

It sounds simple, but the secret to success is understanding we are not a stand-alone restaurant. When I had my own restaurant Raphaels in Brisbane, Australia, each 8 weeks I would change the menu – if the dish did not work or was not popular, I would change it out the following week. At SATS, we need to go through a number of set procedures for each dish. It starts with purchasing needed items with the place of production meeting our Food Safety Guidelines. QA will have visited to ensure we have the “thumps up”, then follows comparisons of tasting items; at times, these are blind tasted. Yields must be worked out to assess feasibility, and costing is the final step that ushers in our procurement and marketing goals. As a Chef, I am about quality first and foremost.

We do trials and then test, firstly 10 portions, then 100 portions. Our IPD Department then joins us for further development and along with the QA team we examine a suitable flow process. Tasting sessions occur with a minimum of 5 sessions under real-life business-like conditions. For an airline, we must cook-chill- plates then regenerate them under the same conditions as in an aircraft…We even have a Simulated Aircraft Cabin (SAC) to help test food at 30,000 feet! Those outside the industry may not be aware but our taste buds seek out differences when dining at low humidity and within the cabin pressurisation. An example of outside airline food design, is when we develop food for other vendors. Again, there are numerous trials, we host taste panels to assess and refine…our customer is our end focus and each step of the journey is all designed to improve, refine and celebrate the final food choice for our valued consumer.

How does SATS nurture creative energy and aspiration in its team of developing chefs?

Our SATS slogan is ‘Feeding and Connecting Asia’, however, this has been broadened to include funky, modern euphemisms like “Ghost/Dark/Cloud Kitchens”; basically, a place to start the work that may be finished elsewhere. SATS analyses the global market – not just Airline market. We reach out to many areas way beyond the aircraft industry to determine how to ensure the growth of the business and the future for all our staff.

Interestingly enough, it is the chefs in all our sections that play a vital role in the major development for customers; be that from Airlines, QSR, Export or International hotels. Our boundaries are limited only by our minds, for the wise chef knows the world of food is constantly evolving and so must we.  

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In summary, it is clear that Rick Stephen is an icon within the culinary profession; he has harnessed art and innovation with the practical success of know how and expertise. The world speaks to his success of partnering with promising individuals and a company that supports growth without the expense of quality. It has been a pleasure to continue business with Rick, supplying his innovation with equipment that helps achieve his SATS’s vision. It is our hope you are inspired, encouraged and find solidarity in the aspirations of SATS and Rick Stephens, to keep your dream for food technology and quality alive. Breathe deep his vision for a satisfied customer who experiences food production at its peak of driven conception to delivery.

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This article was originally published by Regethermic.

Eid al-Fitr marks the end of Ramadan, the holy month of fasting in the Muslim faith. It means ‘Festival of Breaking the Fast’. Typically lasting two or three days, the festival centers around family, forgiveness, and gratitude, with good food to tie it all together.

Eid al-Fitr is the one day in the Islamic calender when fasting is forbidden. Families and friends enjoy a sumptuous spread of the finest regional dishes and favorite family recipes. Also known as Meethi Eid, or ‘Sweet Eid’, the celebrations include delicious sweets to delight young and old alike.

We’ve rounded up 4 recipes from the Worldchefs community to give you a taste of one of the most celebrated festivals around the globe.

Eid Mubarak and Bon Appétit!

Rose Balaleet from Chef Sabeen Fareed

This first recipe comes to us from Sabeen Fareed, a Patissier and instructor at the renowned International Center for Culinary Arts Dubai, a Worldchefs Education Partner.

Balaleet is a sweet and savory dish, made of sweet vermicelli topped with savory egg and enjoyed hot or cold. With traditional Eid al-Fitr breakfasts being a sweet start to the special day, this is a favorite Eid delicacy.

https://youtu.be/cKON_79sKns

Ingredients:

For the Noodles

• 1 cup vermicelli
• 2 tbsp rose syrup
• Rose colour, as required

For the Milk Sauce

• 100 ml evaporated milk
• 25 gm unsalted butter
• 4 tbsp sweetened condensed milk
• 1 pinch of cardamom

For the Egg Crepes

• 2 eggs, beaten
• Salt, to taste
• Oil, for making the crepes
• 2 tbsp cream chunks
• 2 tbsp ricotta cheese
• Crisp vermicelli, as required
• Mixed nuts, cropped, as required

Instructions:

1. In a pan, boil the vermicelli noodles for 3-4 minutes or till done. Remove in a bowl and add in the rose syrup and mix and reserve.
2. In a saucepan, heat the evaporated milk and butter, add in the cardamom and saffron, and mix in the condensed milk.
3. Pour this sauce on top of the vermicelli and set aside.
4. Heat 3 tablespoons vegetable oil in a separate pan. Add the beaten eggs with Saffron. Tip the pan in order to spread the uncooked egg into a thin crepe. When dry on top, flip the omelet over and cook for an additional minute.
5. Serve the vermicelli with Omelet, cream chunks, cottage cheese, crisp vermicelli, and chopped nuts.

Lamb Harees from Chef Musabbeh Al Kaabi

For Musabbeh Al Kaabi, Executive Oriental Chef at Jumeirah Hotels & Resorts and Worldchefs judge, harees were one of three special dishes his family ate for Eid. A wheat and meat porridge, his family served it alongside whole baby lamb mashwi, slow-roasted in a sandpit for hours.

“I’ve got endless memories of Eid. One of them was when we were all together one Eid, and we prayed together as a family early morning. The best [Eid] feeling is when the families get together and wish each other, and enjoy the best home-cooked cuisines by our Michelin chefs — our mothers!”

Ingredients:

• 1kg Lamb, bone-in
• 800g pearl barley or wheatberries
• 1tsp ground cardamom
• 20ml local ghee
• 2l water

Instructions:

1. Wash the barley and soak it overnight in water.
2. In a pot, bring the water to a boil. Add the barley and cook for 45 minutes. Add the lamb and continue cooking for two hours on a slow flame.
3. Add the cardamom and season to taste with salt and pepper. Cook for another 20 minutes.
4. Remove it from the heat and debone the meat. Blitz the mixture to a porridge-like consistency. Top with ghee before serving.

Murgh Mussalam from Chef Dirham Haque

For New Delhi native Dirham Haque, he looked to royal Awadhi cuisine to define his festive feast. Mussalam denotes a dish which has something whole cooked together in a rich gravy. For this recipe, he stuffs and trusses a whole baby chicken before baking it with saffron, rose, nuts and onions.

“As children, we began Eid by getting ready in new clothes, followed by the morning Eid prayers, and friends and relatives coming over. We were given Eidi or spending money, and a sinful lunch and dinner followed. There would be three or four types of seviyan, lamb liver masala, lamb biryani, gosht korma, boti kebabs and shammi kebabs, all especially prepared from the fresh slaughter of that day.”

Ingredients:

For the Chicken
• 1 whole chicken (450g)
• 20ml malt vinegar
• 30g ground Kashmiri red chillies
• 3tsp ginger paste
• 2tsp garlic paste

For the Gravy
• 20g desi ghee
• 2tsp green cardamom
• 1tsp cloves
• 2 bay leaves
• ½tsp mace
• 2tsp ginger paste
• 1tsp garlic paste, fried
• 25g curd
• 1 medium onion, sliced
• 2 garlic cloves, sliced
• 4tsp almonds
• 4tsp cashews
• 2tsp freshly grated coconut
• 25g tomato puree

For the Stuffing
• 75g chicken mince
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 medium tomato, chopped
• 20g granular khoya
• 2tsp rosewater
• Pinch of saffron
• 2tsp almond flakes
• 1 egg, boiled
• 2tsp almonds, fried
• 2 tsp cashews, fried
• 2tsp raisins, fried
• Ghee, for frying

Chai Date Roulade by Pastry Chef Malavika Raghavan

For this last recipe, we return to ICCA Dubai. Graduate and Certified Pastry Chef Malavika Raghavan’s dessert of choice transports you to Arabia.

“There is so much nostalgia quite literally rolled into this dessert with a rich generous date filling sandwiched between layers of tender cake reminding you of another childhood favourite – Mammoul. This dessert is guaranteed to transport you to that feeling of Dubai in the 90’s, eating dirham supermarket snacks in the heat of the desert sun.”

https://youtu.be/0CX_bvzJlWk

Ingredients:

For the Cake

For the Filling

• 200 gm date paste

For the Topping

• 100 ml whipping cream
• 1 tsp black tea
• Whole spices, as required
• Pitted dates, as required
• 10 gm icing sugar
• Almonds/apricot, as required
• Gold leaf for garnish (optional)

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 160°C. Line a 21 x 34 cm baking dish with parchment and set aside.
2. In a large bowl, whisk the 3-egg white, until foamy. Then add the sugar gradually and whisk until the egg whites are shiny and have reached stiff peak consistency.
3. In another bowl, beat the egg yolks and sugar until pale. Add in the milk, spices, and oil and combine. Finally fold in the sifted all-purpose and corn flour.
4. Scoop 1/3 of the Egg white mixture and mix into the egg yolk mixture. 
5. Pour this into the rest of the egg whites and fold carefully so the mixture is combined but still light and airy.
6. Pour into the prepared cake pan, smooth the cake batter to make sure it’s even. Tap the pan to remove any additional air pockets and bake for 25 mins at 160 °C until golden brown.
7. Once cooled, easy out the cake from the baking pan, peel off the parchment and spread a thin even layer of the date paste.
8. With the short end facing you, roll the cake to form a log. Chill the cake in the fridge for 2 hours.
9. While the cake is chilling – prepare the karak cream by bringing cream, spices and tea to a boil. Let the flavours seep into the cream for 10 mins, then strain and cool the cream in the fridge.
10. Using an electric hand whisk, whip the cream in a bowl with icing sugar until you get stiff pipeable peaks.
11. Fill the cream into a piping bag with a rose tip. Remove the chilled cake, trim the edges to reveal the spirals.
12. Decorate the top of the cake with rosettes of karak cream, top with stuffed dates and gold leaf.

 

 

 

Thank you to Gulf News and ICCA Dubai for the original recipe posts.

You can find more updates, recipes, and stories from ICCA Dubai at blog.iccadubai.ae.