The reward of being a Chef.

Today, I am particularly happy. Why? you’ll asked me.

Well, let me tell you.

When I was working in Cyprus, Aphrodite hills in Paphos, I had in my kitchen a staff that was new to this business, hailing from Greece. She was a bundle of energy and a party animal, but she never came late, always worked her ass off, and always had a smile on a face. A pleasure.

So I started to teach her what I know, from organising her station to proper technic of preparation; I was behind her every step of the way, to let her know she did good, or to let her hear me when it was crap and that she had to redo the whole thing. I was firm, but fair, or at least I like to think so.

During that season with her, she got to learn a lot of different things, from making Foie gras to baking proper creme brulee. She must have hated me.

By the way, I forgot to mentioned that we were only 3 staffs in that kitchen, including me. The other cook, Mikael, was my sous chef.

To come back to my story, today I get a message from her, Katerina Tsirmoula and it said: “Chef, thank you!! I got a promotion today and it’s thanks to you.”

There it was, a moment that a lot of chefs expect, the reward after all these hours spent passing knowledge, getting angry, laughing and putting pressure on the staff to get the best of them. I was ecstatic. I now know how my Chef felt when I called him several years back to thank him for his time and patience with me.

So today, I’d like to dedicate this post to Georges Paccard, the one person that I will always refer to as Chef, and to Katerina, the first person that makes me feel so happy to be a Chef.

To both of you, a great thank you.

Oh and Kat, if your read that, keep doing what you’re doing, you’ll be more than OK.

Culinary yours,

The little Greek, in her whites, always ready to work and learn.

She was messy some time, had to remind her to clean her chopping board.

When West meets East, a french chef in the jungle.

The worst fruit on earth, smells bad, taste bad and look bad too. But such a delicacy in South east asia.

Satay, chargrilled meat skewers, served with spicy peanut sauce, sooooooooo good!!

Kind of fish paste sausage, boiled, then deep fied and serve with chilli sauce. Very addictive in front of the TV

The hairy fruit, very close to the litchi, but more fruity and juicier.

Travelling, one of the most important thing a chef should do.

The reason?

Discovering new flavors, new cultures, learning new ways to create and gather enough knowledge to be able to marry two traditions.

Beside the fact that travelling is enjoyable, it will bring a chef closer to people, helping him to understand the roots of a culture, very often, far from our own and difficult to grasp. The longer we stay in a country, the greater the chances to immerse ourselves in their habits by the way of local friendship, taking us on, what is for them, a gastronomical tour.

May it be fried cricket, fermented shrimp paste, Durian (a south-east asian fruit that smells so bad that it’s forbidden to bring some in hotels and airplanes) or a simple curry, their respect for the culture and the food is usually above average.

In Malaysia, I’ve been taken on hour-long ride across country to sample their most famous delicacies, not always to my taste I should say, but every time it was fantastic, the hospitality displayed surpassed by far what I’ve known in Europe. People with little means, opening their door and lying a spread of food fit for a king, by the quality and quantity, sitting you down at the best seat in the house, watching you eat and making sure that you had everything you needed. Pure generosity.

On my opinion, this is the way to discover, and the more you respect their culture, learn their language and traditions, the more they will initiate you to hidden aspect of their gastronomy.

Their attitude started to change towards me when I could speak a bit of Malay; suddenly, invitation for lunches and diners started to pour, they realised that I was interested to know more about, not only their food, but them too. I was then, discovering Malaysia.

These memories, are sealed in my mind, I’ve discovered products, flavors, tastes and sights that forever shaped my way of cooking and enjoying food. If any of these persons read this, I would like to thank you for that, you’ve made me a better Chef and a better human being in the process.

culinary yours

Summer creations @ Spazio 77

Hello,

As some of you know, menus are changing with seasons and mood, taking in consideration climate is also a way to adapt the supply to the demand.

So, for this summer, I decided to go fruity and fresh, exception being the foie gras.

without further wait, here is the summer collection 2010, Riyadh, KSA.

An adaptation of the Caprese salad, tomato tartar, pine nuts, fresh mozzarela and a crispy Ciabatta toast with Thyme Flavored olive paste

Home made Foie Gras terrine, seasoned with ginger bread spices, rd berries and demi-glace sauce.

I kind of liked the look of the dish overlooking the city.

I wanted something smokey, yet fresh, slightly lemony with a nice and delicate Dill flavor to it.

the carrot are sauteed with shallot, cumin, cilantro and a bit of tomato paste.

Base of Zesty Moroccan carrot salad (sharmoula) topped with freshly seared scallop

take on a traditional Carpaccio, stuffed with pesto sauce, Aged parmesan shaving and drizzle with a bit of Argan oil.

Background is a vanilla apple compote, topped with a cinnamon chibouste cream. Foreground i a Granny smith and mint salad, passion fruit sherbet an citrus canneloni

Sweet in the city, could be a hit serie.

I’m trying to devellop my photographic skills, finding angles and light. not yet there but working on it