The search for the city’s culinary king will come to an end on June 11 when we reveal the winner of Time Out Abu Dhabi’s Young Chef Of The Year 2013. But who will have the recipe for success?
Taking place at The Westin Abu Dhabi Golf Resort & Spa on June 11 is our second Young Chef of the Year competition. Cooks from hotels and restaurants all over the city applied to enter and we’ve chosen four finalists who will compete in a live cook-off on the night.
A panel of expert judges and Time Out readers will then crown one of them Abu Dhabi’s young culinary king. The chefs will create their own four-course menu, which is scored against a set criteria, including presentation and, most importantly, taste.
The winner will be revealed on the night.
This year’s heavyweight experts include chief judge Uwe Micheel, president of the Emirates Culinary Guild and director of kitchens at Radisson Hotel Dubai Deira Creek; Scott Price, executive chef at Table 9; David Contreras, executive chef at The Westin Abu Dhabi Golf Resort & Spa and Andy Sherwood, Editor of Time Out Abu Dhabi.
We chatted to the finalists to find their inspiration behind the menus and to get an insight into their style of cooking, and quizzed the judges on what they’re looking for.
Sinju Varghese
Chef de cuisine, Sayad, Emirates Palace Hotel
Nationality: Indian
Age: 28
Congratulations Sinju. Tell us why you decided to become a chef.
It sort of happened by accident. I grew up in Kerala in India and got a job as a chef when I was 16. I simply needed a job and it was easy to find one as a chef as it’s such a tourist destination and there are plenty of restaurants. I worked in a multi-cuisine restaurant with access to loads of fresh seafood before moving to Dubai in 2002.
What are the most important skills needed to do this job?
You need passion and patience and you need to do this job every day from your heart. It’s the one thing I say over and over again to my chefs – if you aren’t going to do it properly, then don’t do it. Everything must be done from your heart and done perfectly every time.
Apart from your own, what is your favourite restaurant in Abu Dhabi and why?
I really like Bord Eau at the Shangri-La. I think it’s a really amazing fine dining restaurant. At Emirates Palace my favourite is BBQ Al Qasr – it’s so laid back and relaxed and it really feels like you live in the desert. You could easily sit there for four or five hours.
What would winning mean to you?
It would mean so much to me and be a really proud moment. It will be great for my career and it will also be good to know if I am doing a good job.
How do you think you will feel when you are serving the food?
I think I will feel proud. It is a bit like running a marathon, though. So much hard work goes into it and it’s like a big race. But once you get to the end you feel great.
How does your menu for Young Chef reflect your personality and cooking style?
I really like simple food done well with lots of fresh flavour. I like to serve things simply as I think if you use good quality produce it really shows and this is what I have done with my menu.
What is your ambition as a chef?
My aim is to one day open a restaurant back in India with a fusion of European and Indian cuisine. Before I do that I would like to work my way towards being an executive sous chef or executive chef in a big hotel.
Tell us about the menu that you’ll be serving on June 11.
I tried to use as many of the ingredients as I could and I’ve tried to create the dishes according to my cooking style. I hope that people will like it.
Cyril Calmet
Chef de cuisine, Pearls & Caviar, Shangri-La Hotel, Qaryat Al Beri
Nationality: French/American
Age: 28
Why did you decide to become a chef?
My mum was always cooking when I was young and was always creating dishes. She used to take me to the markets every day and we grew mushrooms and my dad also took me fishing. I was always around food.
I guess it was a natural decision.
What’s missing from the food scene in Abu Dhabi?
I think that really unique food experiences are missing, which may sound strange as there are so many restaurants. But what I mean is one of those real fine dining food experiences that you remember forever.
What are the most important skills required to do this job?
You need to be very disciplined, not only with work but with yourself. You need to respect the produce and you need to respect the guests. Gordon Ramsay says, ‘mistakes stay in the kitchen’ and I believe this is very true.
What would you say to aspiring chefs starting out in Abu Dhabi?
I would say that it’s a very tough life but it will be a unique one. You will have a very different lifestyle. You will be able to make guests happy through your food: no one else gets to do that.
What’s the most memorable meal you’ve had and where did you have it?
It was at 11 Madison Park in New York, my friend was the executive sous chef there. It was the most amazing restaurant I have eaten at. The concept and food is so simple but it was perfect.
What about a memorable meal you’ve cooked for someone else?
When I worked at The Peninsula in Chicago I used to cook for some of the guests’ dogs. That was the most memorable guest I have cooked for. We had a lot of VIP visitors and I used to make special dishes for their dogs and they loved it. We set the table for the animals and everything. The dogs liked the food.
Apart from your own, what is your favourite place to go for a meal in Abu Dhabi and why?
I like Hakkasan as it’s very modern and cool and has a vibe of being in a big city. I also really like Bord Eau at my hotel. The quality of food is simply amazing.
You were a finalist at last year’s Young Chef, what did you learn?
I learnt so much but it reinforced that flavours are the most important thing.
Are you looking forward to June 11?
I think I will be excited and under pressure but most of all I think I will feel proud to be involved. Time Out means a lot to me and I’m excited to be in the competition again this year.
Tell us about your menu
I called it ‘La Gourmandise’ which means a taste and appreciation of fine food and I designed the menu around it. I hope that people will enjoy eating my dishes.
Mohammad Issa Ali
Sous chef, Giornotte Restaurant, The Ritz-Carlton Abu Dhabi, Grand Canal
Nationality: Jordanian
Age: 27
Why did you choose to become a professional chef?
I grew up in a very big family; I have five sisters and three brothers. A lot of my early memories are from the kitchen; every Friday my mum would cook for the whole family and my uncle, who is also a chef, used to
help out. I used to enjoy being in the kitchen and my uncle encouraged me to purse it as a career after he saw that I had some talent.
What is missing from the food scene in Abu Dhabi?
There is a big variety of types of restaurants in Abu Dhabi but I think there aren’t enough Korean venues. I believe that some good Korean BBQ restaurants are missing; it would be a great addition to what Abu Dhabi is and wants to be as a food destination in the UAE.
Are you competitive?
Of course I am! I am competitive in the kitchen and in everything I do in life! I train in my free time as a kick boxer and I have won one silver medal and two bronze in regional competitions. I have been participating in different competitions in Jordan and Dubai for the past eight years.
What is your favourite piece of kitchen equipment to use?
Definitely it would have to be the immersion circulator [a liquid warmer]. It’s great, it lets you keep all the flavour and juices.
What’s the best meal you’ve eaten?
During a food promotion I did in Seoul, Korea, at The Ritz-Carlton, we had a small very typical and traditional Korean BBQ restaurant where some of my colleagues took me to try their food.
Apart from your own restaurant, where is your favourite place to eat out in Abu Dhabi and why?
The Park Bar and Grill at the Park Hyatt on Saadiyat. I love the venue, the decoration and most of all…the food.
Who is your culinary hero?
[French chef] Joël Robuchon is for me one of the most respected. He inspires me with his philosophy of cooking: he makes it simple, respects your product and uses the right technique for each of them.
Are you getting a lot of support from your team? Who will be helping you on the night?
Yes, I am! And I thank them for it, they are a great support. I will have the help from one gentleman from pastry and three others, one was already my colleague in Dubai and two others became very close friends of mine here and we are working together.
What moment in your career are you most proud of?
After every busy service, when I interact with my guests to get their feedback and they tell me that it was one of their best meals.
Muhammad Ali Shiddique
Junior sous chef, Jumeirah at Etihad Towers
Nationality: Singaporean
Age: 27
Why did you become a chef?
I was lucky growing up. My mum cooked a lot and my dad used to take us out to a lot of restaurants every weekend so I guess my love of food developed from there.
What’s missing from the food scene in Abu Dhabi?
I think that cool ethnic street food is missing and I would like to see more of it.
What are the most important skills to have to do this job?
You have to be really committed, patient and have a high level of discipline.
What advice would you give to young, aspiring chefs?
That it can be a difficult job but if you stick to it then it will pay off.
What’s your favourite piece of kitchen equipment to use?
I would definitely say it would be the wok as it’s unique to Asian cuisine and you can cook things quickly in it.
Can you remember the most memorable meal you’ve had?
There is a small family restaurant back home in Singapore that I love. They serve simple things like burgers and pizza.
How do you think you will feel on the night of the competition?
I think that I will be nervous but I will also be focused.
What was your reasoning for not using certain ingredients from the list supplied by TOAD for your menu?
Some of them just didn’t go with the flavours I was trying to achieve or the style of courses I want to serve. For example, we don’t ever really use butternut squash in Asian cooking so I didn’t put it in.
Why should people vote for you on the night?
They should only vote for me if they think that the food that I am serving to my table and at the tasting station is good.
Tell us about the menu that you will be serving on June 11.
It’s inspirational Asian cuisine. Wait and see.
Meet the Judges
The four men who’ll pick the winner with TOAD readers
Scott Price
Executive chef, Table 9, Dubai
Can you tell us a bit about the criteria you look for in a winning dish?
I think it’ll be really interesting to see different nationalities and different flavours and styles. Every chef is different – it’s exciting to see every dish that is presented by the chefs. Ultimately it’s about taste, flavour and execution, thought process and their skills.
What key things must they get right?
You have to be fair to everyone and we’ll use our experience to judge the dishes. Things need to be cooked properly, it doesn’t matter if it looks good if the taste is all wrong. I am looking for the basics. Food needs to be cooked and seasoned to perfection – you have to look at all aspects of the dishes.
What will be a deal breaker for you?
People make mistakes and you are cooking under pressure but I hope the chefs don’t make too many. If the food is not cooked properly then that is a deal breaker for me.
What advice would you give the chefs who have made the final?
My advice is to keep things simple, focus on flavour and to cook things well and keep the sauces hot. I can’t wait, I am looking forward to it. I judged the last Young Chef event in Dubai and I loved it. It’s all about the chefs bringing ideas to a plate and pulling it off in a high profile event.
David Contreras
Executive chef, The Westin Golf Resort and Spa
Tell us what you’ll be looking for from the winning chef?
There are certain parameters to judge a menu, according to the rules given. The menu has to work as a whole: it needs to make sense. The ingredients have to be properly balanced in terms of variety and the selection. We have already seen the chefs’ photos of their menus, so now it remains to see how flavour will complement presentation on the night.
What qualities in the kitchen will the winning chef possess?
There are many important qualities but what I consider important is execution. The method of serving will be interesting. There are many things that can be done in terms of culinary engineering to make a certain difficult dish feasible to serve to a crowd. The chef should also be organised, creative and exhibit strong techniques in the kitchen.
So no pressure, then!
It is really more about the whole package. I need to see how each chef balances all their strengths with their weaknesses and then judge based on the end result.
Uwe Micheel
Director of kitchens, Radisson Hotel Dubai Deira Creek
What will you be looking for from the chefs on the night?
Their meals definitely need to be tasty and creative. The chefs have to use all the ingredients well and the presentation is very important. Sometimes when you look at a dish, it might strike you as very visually impressive however you are completely let down by the taste. Other times, the dish looks very average but completely wins you over with taste. So the perfect dish should have a good balance of the two.
What qualities are deal breakers with regards to the cooking?
I can’t really name one quality because a good chef should have a combination of many good traits. However, of course, there are basics like hygiene that have to be adhered to.
What are your expectations for the night at The Westin?
I am looking forward to seeing the result at the event. The competition is pretty tough and the menus look very interesting. All in all I think it will be a very good evening.
Andy Sherwood
Editor, Time Out Abu Dhabi
What did you look for when choosing the four finalists?
Original and creative ways of combining all the ingredients. Presentation was also key.
What qualities are you looking for from the winning chef?
They’ll definitely need to be calm under pressure. I’m looking for dishes that are easy to cook; at the event our readers will be sampling the food, and the reason we’ve chosen these four chefs is because their menus are realistic: if the courses are too ambitious it could cause problems on the night. We don’t want an army of angry and hungry TOAD readers who have paid good money eating substandard dishes. What’s more, creativity is key: the chefs were given a set number of ingredients to choose from so the world is their oyster. But how they find perfect harmony is what it’s all about.
What are your expectations for the night at The Westin?
I hope our readers get to sample a rich menu that is memorable and delicious. The really interesting element is the live cooking stations: it means our readers get to see the amount of effort professional chefs put into making fantastic food. And then they get to choose the city’s Young Chef of the Year.
The rules
• Chefs cannot be older than 30.
• A minimum of 30 ingredients from a list provided by TOAD to the chefs must be used.
• Points will be deducted if less than 30 ingredients are used.
• All four protein ingredients must be used (beef topside, lamb rack, red snapper, salmon). Points will be deducted if less than four proteins are used.
• Competing chefs may add ingredients.
• General pantry items like flour, sugar, eggs and spices may be provided by the competing chefs.
Get your tickets for Young Chef!
Are you a foodie? Think you have what it takes to choose our Young Chef of the Year? Buy your ticket today and become a Time Out food critic, but be quick – spaces are limited!
The Westin Abu Dhabi, June 11, 7pm. Tickets are Dhs395 each and are available at www.timeouttickets.com.
