chef

Max’s Chef Richard: An Engineer Turned Chef

Although he is a qualified engineer, Chef Richard followed his parents’ footsteps and entered the famous Filipino kitchens of Max’s Restaurant.

Richard or Chai, to his friends, has a Bachelor of Science degree specializing in Civil Engineering. He is a graduate of the Technological Institute in the Philippines.chef richard max restaurant filipino

Combining a love for cooking with the practicality of science, Chai’s career has seen him win a number of accolades across his decade-long career with Max’s restaurant including a special award for food safety. However, his greatest moment of pride was when his dish won over the finickiest of critics; his 6 year-old daughter!

When Max’s was brought to the UAE, Chai was chosen to help the team in maintaining the high quality standards of the food. For him, bringing Max’s to UAE was like planting the Philippine flag in the UAE culinary map. Chai believes that Max’s UAE has brought Filipinos closer to home.

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Ashiana by Vineet: Indian Fine Dining by a Michelin Star Chef

Sheraton Dubai Creek is one of the city’s oldest hotels, located by the picturesque creek, Deira – Dubai. It’s Indian restaurant has been reinvented with a touch of stardom in the past year; Michelin stars that is!

Ashiana restaurant’s menu has been recreated by Chef Vineet Bhatia who happens to be the only Indian chef to have acquired a 3 Michelin Star rating, and our dinner at Ashiana by Vineet was a wonderful journey into sampling the magic of this culinary maestro.

Ashiana by vineet review dubai indian michelin star chef (12)

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A Chat with Michelin Star Chef Frederic Vardon

chef vardon interview
Image taken from fredericvardon.com

I had the pleasure of having a chat with Michelin star Chef Frederic Vardon.

Raised on a farm in suburban France, Frederic was exposed to the freshest of ingredients at a tender age and there stemmed his love for the kitchen.

His humble upbringing did not deter him from being awarded a Michelin star for his signature restaurant in France, Le 39V.

Humble as he is talented, Chef Vardon does not consider this award a game changer as he continues to insist on the power of hard work and perseverance.

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An Interview with Celebrity Chef Osama El-Sayed

Chef Osama El-Sayed needs no introduction in the Arab world. With over a million fans across seven continents, Chef Osama’s television shows have been educating the audience with a vast array of cooking styles that have kept in mind the simplicity levels required home cooking.

Image taken from the Chef Osama Twitter page.
Image taken from the Chef Osama Twitter page.

“Ma Osama Atyab” (It’s More Delicious with Osama) is a daily show on Dubai TV. Chef Osama has also published a number of cook books, and has regular columns in a number of prestigious publications.

Chef Osama has recently been appointed the brand ambassador for the DeLonghi Multifry. Being an advocate in the field of cooking, Chef Osama loves the versatility of this product and believes it should be renamed the ‘multi cooker’.

It’s been an honor interviewing this culinary genius. Read on for more about Chef Osama. He’s also been kind enough to share a recipe for Moroccan Hareera Soup with us!

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Meet Chef Gaurav (Zafran): try out his recipe for Coconut Prawn Curry

chef gaurav zafran interview
Chef Gaurav with bubby & me at Zafran, Mirdiff City Centre.

Remember my gastronomic meal at Zafran? We had a sampler dish from every corner of India!

Meet Chef Gaurav, the mastermind behind the delicious fare.

With an impressive culinary career including cooking for the Ambani’s, Chef Gaurav gets candid about his journey as a chef so far and has generously shared the recipe for one of my favorite dishes at Zafran: the Bengali inspired Prawn Coconut Curry. This mildly spiced curry is a perfect addition to the Iftar table.

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Indian gastronomy with a pinch of Zafran!

Zafran is ‘saffron’ on an Arabesque tongue.

Saffron, the most prized of spices, the sacred color of sadhus, and a shade that takes up a third of the Indian flag, is the inspiration behind this trendy contemporary Indian restaurant.

Having passed Zafran in Mirdiff City Centre a number of times during hurried shopping sprees, we’ve been meaning to give this branch a try for a while now. The interior decor looks so trendy and inviting! My little family and I finally made it there last Saturday.

zafran mirdif city centre dubai indian restaurant review

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Italian Recipe: Chef Glady’s Almond Crusted Lamb Chops

Chef Glady, Executive Head Chef at Per Te Italian Restaurant Dubai, has quite a few tricks up his sleeves! If you liked his risotto recipe that I posted here earlier, the picture below will surely make you drool:

almond crusted lamb chops italian recipe by chef glady per te restaurant dubai

This is Chef Glady’s take on Costa di mandorle costolette di agnello (or Almond Crusted Lamb Chops for those not blessed with an Italian tongue!).

It is a surprisingly easy recipe given how good it looks and tastes. If you are just starting your journey into Italian cooking, this dish is guaranteed to get you praises in no time. Read on for the recipe.

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Mango Tree: Branching out to higher levels of Thai cuisine

When it comes to scrumptiously good Thai cuisine, Mango Tree never disappoints. Together with the ambiance, set in the very exclusive Souk Al Bahar with views of the magical Dubai Fountain, the restaurant is the perfect choice for a very special dinner out.

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Songkran Special: an award-winning Chili Prawns recipe

Happy Songkran!

The Songkran festival marks the beginning of the Thai New Year, and like most cultures the world over, the celebration is marked with a feast of traditional dishes.

Chef Sanya from The Royal Budha restaurant has a special Songkran gift for us. He has agreed to share his award-winning Chili Prawns recipe!Chef sanyaThe Royal Budha’s Wok Fried Chili Prawns is one of the restaurant’s signature dishes. The dish is a play of authentic Thai flavors married in with chili oil and turmeric.

Try Chef Sanya’s recipe in your own kitchen, and invite a taste of Thailand to your table!

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Authentic Filipino Cuisine, and Katherine’s recipe for Pancit Palabok

Katherine Lorente is from the Philippines. Her bubbly persona masks her age, and makes her perfect for her daytime role as a receptionist for the Q-Gourmet head office based in Sharjah.

In Katherine I found yet another master chef! Katherine has an innate love for cooking, and has her very own culinary business back home in the Philippines.

pancit palabok philippines recipe

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