The Ultimate Culinary Showdown at Taste of HK
The black box culinary competition hosted by HK food group & chaired by Emirates culinary guild received an enthusiastic response from Chefs, hotels & top brands in the F&B industry.
The participating team consisted of UAE’s top seven hotels with expertise in banqueting & catering. Atlantis the Palm, Le Meridien, St Regis Abu Dhabi, Madinat Jumeriah, Zero Gravity & Emirates flight catering.
A team consists of a Team Chef/Manager and three chefs, one pastry chef (one young chef 25 years old. Other chefs can be any level.
All teams were presented with a black box list of identical ingredients from which they developed a four-course menu comprising of
- Cold starter utilizing NAT Chicken Grillers or Cancao Chicken Thighs, two different preparations on the plate
- Hot appetizer utilizing Germania Duck, two different preparations on the plate
- Main course utilizing Fletcher’s Lamb Rack
- Dessert, utilizing any item of their choice. Devon clotted cream was provided as the sponsored item
Additional ingredients such as common grocery items and garnishes can be included to complete the meal. The cost of any additional ingredients is to be borne by the participants.
All proteins were sponsored & supplied by HK enterprises in association with their partner brands.
- The cold starter chicken was sponsored by NAT, a Brazilian brand part of the Vibra group. From farm to fork, all their cuts are inspected and hand-selected by trained and qualified people, all done with dedication to bring only the best to the consumers.
- Cancao by GT foods, another Brazilian brand synonymous to chicken thighs, and benchmark for quality and flavor to tables in Brazil and around the world.
- The most relished item on the menu, the duck was sponsored by Villa Germania from Brazil. largest producer and exporter of special birds in Latin America, leaders in the Gourmet Proteins category, with certified quality and a range of +200 products with duck & quail as their specialty.
- The main course was sponsored by Fletcher lamb, Australia’s most integrated processors and exporters of lamb and sheep meat products.
- The most critical item of the menu, the black box ingredient of Oyster sauce which was revealed only two days prior to the main event was sponsored by Lee Kum Kee. Established in 1888, Lee Kum Kee has become an international household name as well as a symbol of quality and trust.
- Wagstaff another leading brand for Lamb & Mutton was award sponsor for Best Service team
- Tramotina, the Brazilian manufacturer of cookware, cutlery, home appliances & of course knives were the gifting sponsor
- Ronai supported the participating chef teams with personalized aprons
Judging Criteria
The teams were judged on food & service.
- Brought Material/Ingredients - 5 points
- Timing 5 points: is the food served on time and in the correct order
- Professional Preparation 20 points: proper working technique. Correct utilization of working time and punctual completion
- Hygiene 10 points: Standard of attention paid to hygiene during the preparation of food.
- Presentation/Innovation 10 points: Ingredients and side dishes must be in harmony. Points were granted for excellent combination, simplicity and original composition. A pleasing table decoration themed to best set off the food displayed.
- Taste & Texture 50 points: Each dish must have appropriate taste and seasoning. In quality, flavor and color, the dish should conform to today’s standards of nutritional values.
Judging Points Criteria for Table Service where only the 2-service staff of the team were judged
- Professional Preparation of table including center piece 20 points
- Service and welcoming 40 points
- Food Knowledge 40 points
Everyone was a winner
It was extremely difficult for the judges to choose a winner. In fact, the champions & runner up were separated by only a point. However, there was indeed a team that had a slight edge over the others.
- Emirates Flight Catering Company LLC won the Best Kitchen team along with the Champions Trophy
- Atlantis the Palm were the runner up
- The Young Chef award came from Waldorf Astoria DIFC, Nour Alhuda Amro
- St Regis Abu Dhabi bagged the award for the Best Service team
