On Tuesday June 26, we’ll be naming the best of Abu Dhabi’s fresh-faced culinary talents at the Young Chef of the Year awards (YCOY). But before the four brave finalists step up to prove their mettle on that fateful day, they’ll have to get through round two. Their mission: impressing our food critics with a unique recipe and a picture of the dish they’ve created. This is no simple task, with such fastidious foodies on the panel. Ladies and gentlemen, meet the judges of YCOY.
Buy your tickets for the Young Chef of the Year show right here.
Uwe Micheel
President of the Emirates Culinary Guild and director of kitchens at Radisson Hotel Dubai, Deira Creek, chef Uwe has also served as a panellist at the Dubai YCOY awards. This eccentric German is so passionate about food he signs his emails off with, ‘culinary regards’. Back in the day, a 12-year-old Uwe loved to help his mum in the kitchen and even attended cooking classes which, at the time, were designed for little girls. Now with over 20 years of gastronomical experience spanning an international career, he is a gifted chef for whom simplicity in food is a key principle. And that’s why he’d happily have a German sausage or a packet of Haribo for any meal of the day.
What, in your opinion, constitutes a good or bad use of ingredients?
First of all I like to follow the ‘less is more’ guideline. Don’t put too many ingredients and too many flavours on the same plate. It might look nice but most of the time it will not ‘eat’ well together. You will not be able to taste 15 spices in the same dish, only the most powerful ones, so don’t waste them! Don’t use chili and saffron together, you would kill the expensive saffron. Also, it’s important to use flavours that match – which enhance each other instead of one overpowering the other. For example wild mushroom and blueberry, both come from the forest, and match perfectly in a risotto.
What are the most common pitfalls for many young chefs competing?
Trying too much. Changing at the last minute and not sticking to the basics – then a fusion dish becomes confusion.
How was YCOY Dubai?
Time Out Dubai Young Chef of the Year was a great event. With top chefs in the final, it was a very close competition, which I believe all guests enjoyed along with the great meal.
What are you looking forward to for YCOY Abu Dhabi?
I’m look forward to the same success as in Dubai, and I am sure Abu Dhabi chefs will try to beat Dubai, to go one better.
Over the course of your career and lifetime as a chef and food critic, have you ever had to eat something you’d rather not?
Yes, sure there will always be meals which you do not enjoy. Sometimes you go into a restaurant with very high expectations and you are disappointed. In general I try everything at least once, but some of the crawling stuff I had in China I thought I would not eat a second time. But you should try everything at least once in your lifetime.
What advice would you give to Abu Dhabi’s Young Chef contestants?
Focus on basics, flavouring and use your passion. Do what you are good at, use your strength and get the right helpers.
What was the best dish you tasted at YCOY awards Dubai?
I remember all the starters were great, good flavours and nice presentation.
Zoe Cooper-Clark
Publishing director at Time Out GCC, Zoe is a woman of many talents. In addition to running the magazines she manages a number of high profile products at ITP including the Time Out Restaurant Awards (in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Doha and Bahrain); Time Out Nightlife Awards; and most recently the Time Out Young Chef of the Year. Hailing from Sussex, this mum of eight-year-old twins is a passionate foodie. Zoe enjoys scouring the city with family and friends to find the next big thing as well as those good, solid ‘regulars’ that can consistently serve affordable quality, value-for-money dishes.
On a scale of one to ten how much of a foodie are you? One being ‘I don’t know my shawarma from my doner’, and ten being ‘beef cheek is so yesterday’.
I’d say seven, and working on it! Since I started at Time Out I have been fortunate enough to eat out more often and meet different chefs who have been extremely open and enthusiastic. I have found that the most evident quality of a successful chef is the pure passion they have for cooking, creating and pleasing their guests.
What, in your opinion, constitutes a good or bad use of ingredients?
In my opinion less is more but it must have good flavour and texture. Too many ingredients, sauces, colours and tastes on one plate are simply overwhelming and unappealing to the eye. Each ingredient should work individually but also complement the rest of the dish. People tend to move around the plate eating the food in different ways, some will eat items separately, some a piece of everything and others mix it up. So, sometimes it is good to have someone tell you how to eat it to get the best out of the dish.
What are you looking forward to for YCOY Abu Dhabi?
I’m hoping to meet the true foodies of Abu Dhabi and perhaps discuss what will be the new food on the block.
Over the course of your career and lifetime as a foodie what would you say is the most interesting thing you have eaten?
A number of years back I was fortunate to travel around the world. One of the lasting memories would have to be when I was in Africa where I tasted crocodile, antelope, zebra, hartebeest and ostrich roasted on traditional Maasai swords.
And how did those taste?
The antelope was surprisingly good.
What advice would you give to Abu Dhabi’s Young Chef contestants?
For me, taste and texture carry the highest point weighting.
What was the best dish you tasted at YCOY awards Dubai?
It would have to be the dish by Wesley, the winner – his slow cooked and marinated salmon, cured red snapper, oven roasted tomato and red pepper chutney with salmon crackling.
David Contreras
Executive chef at The Westin Abu Dhabi Golf Resort and Spa, this passionate Argentinean has 18 years of internationally rich culinary experience under his belt. A melting-pot of cultural diversity, David has instructed at Cordoba’s Institute Superior Mariano Moreno. Consequently, there is a teacherly way about David’s approach to judging. Elemental to his kitchen ethics are showing ingredients the respect they deserve and adhering to basic fundamentals of cooking and preparing dishes laid down by gastronomical greats of haute cuisine. ‘Use the basics as a starting point,’ he says, ‘after that we try to apply different techniques.’
What in your opinion constitutes a good use of ingredients?
Learning to make the best use of all available ingredients becomes a science on its own. For example, while cooking with purple king asparagus from Peru, which has travelled more than 3,000km to arrive here in the UAE, using only its tip and throwing away the character and flavour of the stem is a waste! If I am using asparagus, I would be using the tips for the starter and the rest of it for a very fine purée in the main course. Always show respect for the ingredients. I picked asparagus for this example, because I love them.
What are the most common pitfalls for many young chefs competing?
Commonly the guys will focus a lot on the presentation and garnishes, and less on the perfect cooking methods for each ingredient.
What advice would you give them?
Focus on the flavours, imagine a dish and try it several times. Don’t be happy with the first outcome, always try to do it better. Don’t be scared to fail – trial and error is the way to arrive at great endings. Learn as much as you can about every ingredient. That always brings new things out of usual ones.
What are you looking forward to for YCOY Abu Dhabi?
To see lots of creativity and solid basics, to see energy and passion put forward by the new generation of chefs.
Over the course of your career and lifetime as a chef and foodie, have you ever had to eat something you’d rather not?
Oops, many times! Things that I know are going to taste bad, but I still have to try it. I’ve had some experiences while travelling, for example, birds nest soup in Hong Kong, and escamoles – this is a kind of ant larvae – in Mexico.
Was your palate’s reaction a pleasantly surprised one or more of a gag-reflex?
The latter…
Chandrasena Sudusinghe
Certified WACS (World Association of Chef’s Societies) judge and executive chef at Traders Hotel by Shangri-La, Chandrasena, better known as chef Sudu, has spent 25 years in the hospitality industry. The son of two teachers, this multi-talented Sri Lankan believes the greatest thing he has inherited from his parents is his innate abilities as a trainer. Consequently, he has trained many a young talent over the course of his 15 years of working in the Middle East. At the time of going to press Chef Sudu was on a well deserved holiday.
Grab tickets at timeouttickets.com for Dhs395. Time Out Abu Dhabi Young Chef of the Year Awards will be hosted by the Westin Abu Dhabi Golf Resort and Spa (02 616 9999).
