A summit at the pearl of the Mediterranean brought together delegates from Mexico, the United States, Japan, Italy and Bali; only at this summit, participants got along, contributed with fresh ideas, and found a common ground: good food.
On Sunday June 15, the Four Seasons Hotel Alexandria at San Stefano launched a unique culinary event that brought together renowned chefs from the Four Seasons top restaurants around the world. The Mediterranean Gourmet Summit took place from June 15 through June 21, during which six master chefs were running the kitchens of five different restaurants in the hotel.
The chefs also gave away a few of their secrets at a medley of cooking classes offered throughout the week, where they also shared some of their creative delicious recipes.
Participating in the summit was Chef David Jansen who flew all the way from the Four Seasons Hotel Philadelphia, where he is currently Chef de Cuisine at Fountain restaurant, consistently voted as one of the best restaurants in the US.
Jansen satisfied appetites with his award-winning specialties at Byblos, the Four Seasons Hotel Alexandria’s premier restaurant.
Adding a Mediterranean spin on Mexican cuisine was award-winning Sous Chef Jorge Gonzales, whose menu is fresh from the Four Seasons Resort Punta Mita, where he has worked for the last five years. Kala restaurant-goers were treated to a lavish buffet that carried traditional Mexican flavors.
Gonzales was particularly excited to be presenting Mexican food to a country so far from his own. However, he explained that to satisfy everyone s taste buds, he had to hold back the amount of spices he normally uses, while still respecting the flavor. Gonzales found the passion for cooking in Egyptian kitchens to be as strong as it is in Mexico.
Celebrating his one year anniversary at the Four Seasons Hotel Beverly Wilshire in Beverly Hills is Chef Brain Moyers. He presented his creative dishes at Fresca restaurant, which he found perfect for the style of food, which he describes as modern seasonal and colorful cuisine.
In preparation for the summit, Moyers headed down to the vegetable markets in Cairo to check out what s in season and ended up changing his whole menu according to what was available. But creating new dishes is nothing new to Moyers. I have to make sure my dish is unique so that nobody else can do it . I know what flavors work together and based on that I create new dishes, he said, adding that he doesn’t do classic cuisine.
Also attending the summit was Giovanni Speciale, executive sous chef at the Four Seasons Hotel Shanghai and who is originally from Puglia, southern Italy. Speciale gives credit to his mother for handing down her secret recipes, which he says gave flavor to his cuisine. Stefano’s was the venue of choice for Speciale, with its open kitchen and warm southern Italian hospitality.
Cooking up Balinese delights as well as sushi were the Four Seasons Cairo at the First Residence’s own Chef Yoshi Mizutani and the Four Seasons Resort Bali at Jimbaran Bay s Senior Sous Chef Nyoman Suasa.
Eric Deblonde, executive chef and maitre cuisinier de France at the Four Seasons Hotel Alexandria, explained that the idea behind organizing the Mediterranean Gourmet Summit was to bring different chefs from around the world to present their own unique style to the public.
Since there aren t a lot of restaurants in Alexandria, we needed a way to market the hotel s own restaurants, he added.
Deblonde starting running the kitchens at the Four Seasons Hotel Alexandria since its launch, however, he has been with the Four Seasons for the last 23 years, during which he spent 17 years in London and five years in Amman, Jordan.
He sees this as a great way for the participating chefs and the hotel s own chefs to exchange ideas and learn from one another.
Chef Moyers also took the summit as an opportunity to showcase what he does best as well as get inspiration from Egyptian cuisine. He was excited to have learned how to prepare koshary and is planning on using it in his kitchen in Los Angeles. I will put a different spin on it, like use it as an appetizer or a base for salad, he said.
Attendees of the summit also got to learn at the hands of the professional chefs through the cooking classes that were offered throughout the week.
Chef Gonzales shared his special Mexican style seafood recipe and taught eager attendees how to prepare Ceviches. His recipe, he explains, is a traditional Mexican recipe that includes fish, shrimps, octopus, scallops and vegetables that are served raw, marinated in lemon sauce.
The recipe, he said, was inspired by fishermen who stayed at sea for over a week. To be able to survive, they would go out at sea armed with spices, vinegar, lemon sauce and the works and counted on those ingredients to add flavor to the raw fish they caught.
Chef Speciale prepared a traditional Italian Gnoccetti, which includes potato dumplings, seafood, zucchini and parsley. Speciale explained that even though Gnoccetti is a traditional Italian dish, some of the sauces may be altered from region to region, depending on people s pallets.
Sharing his recipe for Crispy French Chicken Breast Oregenato was Chef Moyers. The chicken is served with white bean puree, charred broccoli [which was replaced by cauliflower] and lemon supremes.
Chef Mizutani shared his secrets on preparing everybody s favorite: sushi. In less than five minutes, he had prepared a plate of California Rolls (both traditional and exotic, with sea bass), as well as traditional sushi. To prepare the sushi, Mizutani used dry seaweed, boiled rice with vinegar, sugar and salt and of course, raw fish. So how does it end up looking like a work of art? Mizutani used plastic saran wrap and a bamboo mat to roll the ingredients all together into one long tube, which he later chopped into little rolls.
To top all that off, on Friday June 20, Kala restaurant hosted all of the participating chefs as they featured their specialties at a unique International Brunch.
The Mediterranean Gourmet Summit was the first of its kind in the region, marking a milestone in fine dining in Alexandria. It sets an example for other summits to follow, Albert Einstien put it best when he said, “An empty stomach is not a good political adviser.
Chef Jorge Gonzales’ Seafood Ceviche (Serves 4 people)
Ingredients
Seafood. 1 cup of white fish, medium dice. 1 cup scallops, medium dice. 1 cup cooked shrimps, medium dice. 1 cup cooked octopus, medium dice. ½ cup seafood stock
Vegetables. ½ cup tomato, small dice. ½ cup onion, small dice. ½ cup cucumber, small dice. 1/3 cup lime juice. ½ green Chile, small dice. 4 tsp. fresh coriander, chopped. 1 tsp. fresh mint, chopped. 4 tsp. extra virgin olive oil. Fresh black pepper to taste
Preparation. Mix the seafood in a bowl and season with lime juice, salt and pepper. Add the vegetables and stir slowly. Add the herbs and rectify the seasoning. Finish with extra virgin olive oil. Serve chilled. Garnish: corn tortilla chips (or pita bread crisps)
Chef Giovanni Speciale’s Gnocchetti
Ingredients
. 500 grams potatoes (with skin). 30 grams garlic with butter. 175 grams flour. 75 grams grated parmesan. 20 grams chopped Italian parsley. 20 grams chopped chives. 1 egg yolk. A pinch of nutmeg. Salt and pepper to taste
Preparations. Boil potatoes in salted water until very soft. Make sure to keep the skins so the water does not get inside. Remove from water and set aside to cool.. Remove skin and mash. Place potatoes on a working table surface and add all ingredients. Mix the ingredients without over working the dough. Cut dough into small pieces of about ¾ centimeter. Cut dough into pieces approximately 1 centimeter thick
Ingredients
. 8 pieces of prawns, medium sized. 2 squid . 10 black mussels . 15 clams. 5 scallops, medium sized. 2 zucchini, diced. 100 ml. olive oil. 1 garlic clove. 1 chili, diced. 400 grams Italian parsley, diced. 10 cherry tomatoes, halved. 8 small basil
leaves. Salt and pepper to taste
Preparation
. Set the Gnocchetti on a tray and dust with flour. On a saucepan, lightly stir fry chopped Italian parsley, chilies, cherry tomatoes, zucchini and all seafood. Cook quickly for about 2 minutes without over cooking the seafood. Set aside to cool. Cook Gnocchetti in a pot with boiling salted water until it rises to the surface. . Drain from water and toss with sauce for about 2 minutes, adding remaining chopped parsley, pepper and basil leaves
