Epicure
Pinch of spice, dash of theater and dollops of creativity
By Ye Jun (China Daily)
Updated: 2009-11-27 10:33
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World-renowned chefs (from left) Stephane Tremblay, Alvin Leung, Peter Kuruvita and Mark Best at Beijing's culinary event Hats Off. |
Hats Off, an annual culinary event held recently at The Westin Beijing Financial Street, gathered four chefs from around the world, who impressed guest with their up-to-date skills and some great culinary creations.
Peter Kuruvita, executive chef at the Flying Fish in Sydney, presented two wonderful seafood dishes: yellow fin tuna and sea scallops. Kuruvita matched sauted tuna with crispy crackling pork skin topping, sitting atop smooth steamed pork and ruby grapefruit, with caramelized coconut sugar forming the base. The pine nut dressing in the sea scallop, a mixture of diced grape and roast pine nut, was also a clear winner.
"To me seafood is a lightly flavored material," he said. "I try to enhance the flavor. Hopefully, the lingering taste in the mouth is that of the seafood."
Kuruvita's Sri Lankan origins have led him to use some native spices in his restaurant, where black "deviled" crab is one signature dish. He revealed his secret of success in Australia's intensely competitive food world.
"You need to meet people's expectations, but also surprise customers," he said. "Chefs should always get their guests to say, 'How did they do that'?"
Australian chef Mark Best's restaurant Marque is considered one of the best restaurants in Australia. His discovery of good-quality red flower sea crab has led to the creation of a poached crab with almond gazpacho, and corn custard and avruga, reflecting his penchant for natural products. He also did a pork jowl with an interesting contrast of fresh oyster, and a side dish of spinach and sesame. The dessert of sauternes custard was as simple as it was delicious.
He said he liked to experiment with unusual combinations, and also play with contrasting textures and temperatures, to add a dash of the theatrical to cuisine.
It was Best's first time in Beijing, and he pronounced the Peking roast duck "exceptional". He said he greatly appreciated Chinese cooking methods that took something traditional and gave it a fresh twist.
As host, Canadian chef Stephane Tremblay, executive chef with Westin Financial Street Beijing, wound up the banquet with a lovely passion fruit-guava sorbet, a frozen version of chocolate fondant, paired with a wide selection of fresh fruits. It was named N 3955' E 11621', in a reference to the bearings of the hotel.
Hong Kong chef Alvin Leung's "melody of Chinese dishes" showed how traditional Chinese dishes could be made to look as upscale and appetizing as the most up-to-date Western cuisine. Bullfrog, preserved egg, dandanmian noodles, and a molecular gastronomy version of xiaolongbao (steamed soup dumpling) were presented simply but did not fail to catch the eye.
In another dish, Leung paired super smooth foie gras with fresh sugar snap peas, and crispy guoba (rice), making for an interesting contrast of different tastes. The presentation evoked images of a beautiful picture.
Leung's Bo Innovation restaurant is the only independent Michelin 2-star restaurant in Hong Kong. "There are so many restaurants in Hong Kong, so it is important to make a difference," he said.
Leung believes traditional food trends and modern cooking styles, such as molecular gastronomy, both have reason to be popular.
