Food Alchemist

Aussies Abroad: Alan Orreal – Executive Chef, Resorts World Sentosa

2011-12-12T13:32:00.001+05:30

Aussies Abroad: Alan Orreal – Executive Chef, Resorts World Sentosa

Aussies Abroad talks to Alan Orreal, Executive Chef at the massive Resorts World Sentosa development in Singapore.

Alan commenced his culinary training in Brisbane in 1985 as one of the first group of apprentices at the Hospitality Training Association. Over his 26 year career he’s worked in five star hotels, airline catering and fine dining restaurants. In his previous position as Executive Chef of Sri Lankan Airlines, he opened a new Airport Catering Kitchen, and in the wake of the 2004 Tsunami was instrumental in the establishment of a new culinary school for disadvantaged youth.

Having spent much of his career in Asia, Alan has developed his own distinctive style which he describes as “modern global cuisine”. This bears the influences of chefs he has trained under such as Chong Liew and Tony Bilson.

From 2000 to 2004 Alan was a member of the Singaporean National Culinary Squad, honing his culinary competition skills under the tutelage of Otto Weibel (Director of Kitchens at Swissotel The Stamford and Fairmont Singapore since 1985) and Peter Knipp (chef, publisher and founder of the World Gourmet Summit Singapore). Alan represented Singapore at the Luxembourg World Cup and Food Hotel Asia winning several coveted trophies and medals over the years. He also represented at the World Cooks Tour Against Hunger 2003 & 2011 in South Africa.

In 2008 he was culinary coach of the Japanese National Junior Team which won gold and silver medals at the 2008 Culinary Olympics.

Alan was encouraged to take up his current position as Executive Chef at Resorts World Sentosa by Vice President of Food & Beverage John Sloane, with whom he had worked at Singapore Airlines. “It’s been a dynamic and exciting learning curve these past three years,” says Alan of his time at the exclusive island resort, which he describes as a development on a massive scale – four hotels on 48 hectares – with a fifth set to open in early 2012 – comprising a large chunk of Sentosa island.

“On the resort we have 55 restaurants right now, this includes restaurants that are owned and run by RWS and stand-alone outlets that further complement the F&B offerings across the resort. There are about 430 culinarians in RWS currently, and 10 months from now there will be as many as 600,” Alan confirms.

When he arrived, his first task was to further develop and define the kitchens for the Universal Studios theme park within Resorts World Sentosa and oversee the pre-opening. “18 months later, I’m back in the pre-opening phase for the new Equarius Hotel and Villas,” he explains. “We’ve just opened MEMA, which is the Maritime Experiential Museum and Aquarium – there’s a vibrant modern café inside and we’re also opening the Malaysian street food court this December. There are 16 food stalls representing famous dishes from right across Malaysia, operated by more than 70 street food experts who will feed about four and a half thousand people a day.”

The new project is an experience Alan describes as very exciting – “No two days are alike, I’m meeting with interior designers and architects one minute and briefing chefs for events and food tastings the next, it’s a very dynamic time.” The current pre-opening is for the Equarius Hotel and the ESPA Wellness Centre and beach villas – “we’ll be working with a signature headlining chef, who’ll be featured in the hotel’s main restaurant; we’re developing an original contemporary food concept for that at the moment.”

In overseeing so many restaurants across the resort, Alan says it’s important to look at the operation as a whole to ensure a good variety of cuisine styles.

“The signature restaurant in Equarius Hotel for example will be a modern, contemporary Asian dining experience, in the ESPA Wellness Centre we’ll have health-focused cuisine, and of course in the Marine life Park and Water Theme Park we will feature resort style casual restaurants with regional flavours and many family favourites.

“We’re also building another restaurant inside the Aquarium, which will have a direct view right out into the main ocean tank. This will have cuisine with a sustainability focus and an edgy feel.”

Alan says the customer base is very much Singaporean followed by Asian international tourists – “we also have a lot of Aussies coming through, not just to see Universal Studios but staying at the resort and using its facilities. And there’s 116 Australian staff in varying roles across the resort.”

Resorts World Sentosa has been designed as a one-stop tourist destination for the region – Alan says, “there’s so much going on and so many options, different activities. There’s no other resort like it in the Southeast Asian region, in terms of diversity of things to do.”

His current focus, naturally, is on making the new Equarius Hotel as big a success as the rest of the resort.

“For every new opening, there are always many challenges, as the resort gets bigger and bigger – we keep asking ourselves, have we done enough and how can we continue to exceed our guests’ expectations? I’m fortunate to be just a small part of a great, supportive team and together we know we’re giving it our best.”

Alan is also a strong advocate of international apprenticeship and academic training, frequently lecturing at culinary colleges throughout the region.
“I’m really focused on making sure our team members are achieving their own goals as we grow – we want to maintain our standards as the very best. One of the things I’m really proud of is seeing our team members grow and develop with the company. And at RWS they have the opportunity to reach their full potential as they climb through the ranks.

“It’s been an amazing project – starting from a site office and ending up with a multibillion dollar development. It’s an extremely dynamic and challenging environment but its wonderful to watch it grow and I feel humbled and lucky to have been a part of it.”

2011-02-21T11:12:00.000+05:30

An Online Video Cookbook of recipes submitted by professional chefs!

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Click here to start searching for your favorite video recipes or click on the pictures below to see some of our favorite video recipes!.

2011-02-20T09:20:00.000+05:30

From hawker to haute

February 19, 2011

Stellar kitchens ... Tetsuya Wakuda's Waku Ghin. Photo: Leisa Tyler

A constellation of celebrity chefs is transforming fine dining in Singapore, writes Leisa Tyler.

Some say Singapore is one of the best eating cities in the world. It is certainly one of the most diverse. Founded by Sir Stamford Raffles as a trading post of the British East India Company in 1819, the tiny island settlement attracted labourers, merchants and mercenaries from Kerala to Canton. Continuing their culinary traditions, and sometimes blending with the styles and spices of their neighbours, these new arrivals helped Singapore become a smorgasbord of Asian cuisines.

From rich buffalo rendang, originating on the Indonesian island of Sumatra, to Chinese-style pork-rib soup and creamy Nonya-style laksa fusing Chinese ingredients with south-east Asian spices, these dishes can be had cheaply and cheerfully at hawker stalls and laneway restaurants across the city for just a few dollars a plate.

But now Singapore is shifting its culinary attention. Spurred by the arrival of satellite kitchens run by celebrity chefs in the flashy Marina Bay Sands and Resorts World Sentosa - Singapore's new casino-hotel complexes known together as the ''integrated resorts'' or IRs - the city is embarking on a campaign to reinvent itself as Asia's premium destination for haute cuisine.

''In the past, we heavily promoted street food but with the two IRs, it's time to start changing our focus,'' says Ranita Sundramoorthy, who oversees dining at the Singapore Tourism Board.

The kitchen line-up is extraordinary. French chef Joel Robuchon, who has 20 restaurants around the world with 26 Michelin stars between them, plans to open three diners in Singapore by April. Austrian-American culinary entrepreneur Wolfgang Puck and Daniel Boulud, of New York's Daniel, both opened venues early this year. French chef Guy Savoy and Spain's Santi Santamaria opened eponymous restaurants in May last year (Santamaria died earlier this week while giving tours of his new restaurant). Tetsuya Wakuda, of legendary Sydney restaurant Tetsuya's, opened Waku Ghin two months later. Australian Scott Webster has opened Osia, offering ''authentic Australian cuisine'' using not-so-authentic Chilean sea bass and bluefin tuna.

Fine dining in Singapore doesn't come cheaply, however. Kyoto-born Kunio Tokuoka's restaurant of the same name has tasting menus for $S750 ($580) plus 17 per cent tax a head. Only steps away from Resorts World Sentosa's casino, it's not hard to see who the restaurant is targeting.

To get to Waku Ghin, Santi and Guy Savoy, you must traverse a shopping mall, then make your way through gaming halls heaving with adrenalin-charged punters.

Inside Waku Ghin, the incongruities continue. Most of the 11-course degustation menu is served in one of four teppanyaki booths - bare wood-panelled rooms where guests sit side by side facing a teppan hotplate; dessert is served in a different room. You might score a booth to yourself, as I did, or you might have to share, in which case you'll be seated beside a stranger. The first five courses are prepared in the kitchen. So with no art to gaze at, no music, no chef at the hotplate and conversation with your dining partners only possible by turning your body to see them, the ambience is strangely austere, almost frigid.

Wakuda's food, however, is extraordinary, with dishes such as plump Pacific oysters with ginger and rice wine, an astoundingly sweet and creamy sea urchin served with raw shrimp and caviar, fresh Tasmanian abalone (which is, disturbingly, fried alive in front of you) and thin slices of seared wagyu beef with fresh dragon-fire wasabi.

Next door, Santi's atmosphere is more engaging and he scores top marks for food, too. The country-style Catalan dishes include a gobsmacking tuna belly with eggplant and truffle, melt-in-the-mouth roast pig and a wooden trolley of more than 26 artisanal cheeses to choose from. There is an excellent Spanish and French wine list and an affordable tapas bar.

Although these star chefs add a new dimension to the city, Singapore's gastro scene has been maturing for some time. Last year, two Singapore restaurants - Iggy's and Jaan par Andre - scored places in the San Pellegrino world's 50 best restaurants list; another two - Les Amis and Gunther's - were listed in the top 100.

First appearing in the list in 2009, Iggy's, which is owned and run by sommelier Ignatius Chan, is known as much for its shoebox size, absence of windows and homely bookshelves full of cookbooks as it is for its cuisine: oysters with mascarpone and Japanese mint; slow-cooked egg with black truffles. (The restaurant recently moved to a slick new space at the Hilton Hotel.)

''We hope one day Singapore will be another San Sebastian,'' Chan tells me, referring to the Basque city famed for its cuisine.

When Jaan par Andre at the Swissotel made the best-restaurant list, dashing young Taiwanese chef Andre Chiang was running the kitchen. Chiang has since left Swissotel to start a restaurant of his own, a 30-seater named Andre. Set inside an early 20th-century two-storey house at the New Majestic Hotel in Chinatown, Andre is hushed and refined, with white linen, Christofle hand-moulded crockery and a whimsical herd of shaggy sheep stools standing by.

Before dinner, each person is given a booklet with stories and drawings outlining Chiang's philosophy and relationship to food. Only artisan-grown produce is used, with five or fewer ingredients a dish. The raw-scallop ravioli in a purple cauliflower consomme is so beautiful, it could be a watercolour; oysters served with sea grapes and a foam of Granny Smith apples is a perfect combination. With relaxed but attentive service and wines from little-known family producers in France, Andre is, for me, Singapore's most exceptional dining experience.

Swedish chef Ebbe Vollmer has now taken the helm at Jaan Restaurant. This long-standing restaurant on the 70th floor of Swissotel The Stamford, with its dazzling Murano chandeliers and views across the city, is elegant and classy. Vollmer's food isn't as theatrical as Chiang's was in this restaurant but it remains a fine choice, with dishes such as butter-soft pheasant with Madeira sauce and boudin blanc with mustard, teamed with a superb wine list and outstanding service.

Rustic meets industrial chic at Cocotte at the recently opened Wanderlust hotel. The bustling ground-floor diner swarms with patrons in jeans and T-shirts and wooden trolleys stacked with cheese. The hearty French farm food is simple and casual: think fatty pig's trotters, tongue-tingling onion and anchovy tarts and a succulent organic roast chicken served with the carcass and a pot of roast vegies on a wooden platter.

If that doesn't wow you, there's always hawker centre next door.

Leisa Tyler stayed courtesy of the Swissotel and Wanderlust hotels.

WACS Young Chefs: World Chefs Tour Against Hunger 2011

2011-02-14T15:22:00.000+05:30

WACS Young Chefs: World Chefs Tour Against Hunger 2011: "World Chefs Tour Against Hunger 2011South Africa21 - 30 August, 2011The World Tour hopes to raise a total of R4 million to fend off hunger..."

Find out what your Chinese horoscope has to say for the Year of the Tiger - 2010

2010-01-24T11:40:00.001+05:30

The Rat

The Rat

For those born in the Year of the Rat, year 2010 promises to be an average year for you, while you may suffer from melancholy from time to time, the positioning of the planets in 2010 will benefit the rats and they will most definitely be more self-confident, and be more innovative than before. Excellent news for the lonely rats, year 2010 promises a great love life for you. You will definitely find a lover within the year, and for the ones that are blissfully married, the year will be filled with romantic joy. Time to rejoice in the warmth of love, rats!

The Ox

The Ox

You should be aware of some conflicts that might happen in the coming year, particularly with the dragons and horses. To avoid these conflicts, remember to keep an open mind and to not judge others without any basis. This year is a good year for you to learn a new language, so, if you have always wanted to pick up a new language before traveling, 2010 would definitely be the best year. Career-wise, those born in the year of the Ox should be aware that in 2010, your working attitude will be slightly lackadaisical and without much buoyed enthusiasm, put in effort to change the attitude.

The Tiger

The Tiger

For their own year, the Tigers will face a surprisingly average year with little ups and downs. While everything will be at your advantage this year, you will find it terribly difficult to find the encouragement and willpower to perform at your very best. Find the encouragement within yourself or you might be faced with plenty of disappointments. 2010 will provide a healthy backdrop for you, for those suffering digestive problems; you will most likely find that situations for you will improve.

The Rabbit

The Rabbit

Unfortunately for the Rabbits, 2010 will possibly be a bad year for those who were born in the year of the Rabbit. You will have to work hard to achieve some good in terms of your career, health and love life. Rabbits should look towards philosophy and religion to find some good in the upcoming year. Be prudent, thrifty and stay on the lookout for signs of a business scam, your finances could prove to be a problem this upcoming year.

The Dragon

The Dragon

For those born in the year of the Dragon, it is time for you to apply into some form of school or undertake some courses! Studying in the upcoming year will bring you a considerable amount of success. While you might find yourself getting into some minor conflicts, it is essential for you to stay positive. Your ability to stay positive will lead to a happier and more successful year ahead. It might also be a rocky year ahead for you if you are in a relationship, remember, stay positive and lend a listening ear and you will stay happy.

The Snake

The Snake

Those born in the year of the Snake are known to be very stubborn. Keep your stubbornness in check; learn to control it and you will find many successes coming towards you in the upcoming year. While it is important to have dreams, try to keep a level-headed mind for the upcoming year or you might end up straying away from reality. Once you’ve kept a level-headed mind, you will find yourself in favorable opportunities in your career, make sure you grab them!

The Horse

The Horse

Good news for the horses! Year 2010 might be one of the smoothest years for you. You will find bonds between your friends and relatives being built fairly easily. Keep a clear head when making decisions for you will find that plenty of decisions may sound familiar to one another but with very different outcomes. You may also tend to overfeed yourself in the upcoming year so be sure to keep on a healthy diet and exercise regularly.

The Goat

The Goat

Those born in the year of the Goatwill find plenty of wealth opportunities coming their way in 2010. You may end up passing up on a lot of them and making several bad decisions early on in the trimester but it is crucial for you to stay positive and not be disheartened by your losses for more opportunities will be coming for you later in the year. Stay on your feet, be in the company of your loved ones and develop more personal relationships and you will find that the upcoming year might just be your best year yet.

The Monkey

The Monkey

It is essential for the monkey to not be overly emotional in 2010. You will find that not everything will go your way initially. While you might lose some close friends, you have to maintain mental stability to save the broken pieces of the relationship. However, 2010 will provide business opportunities for you. It is the year for you to take risks. Take the risks and you will be rewarded tremendously. Do not rest on your laurels and expect things to happen!

The Rooster

The Rooster

2010 will be a year of competition for those born in the year of the Rooster. In your career, you will face plenty of competition to get up onto a higher rung of the ladder in your company. If you are unattached, you will find competition for someone that you are interested in. Make well-thought out decisions and do not make rash decision. Adopt a positive and hardworking attitude and 2010 might just be a good year for you.

The Dog

The Dog

There will be ups and downs for the dog in the year 2010. In your career, your lack of respect towards authority might prove to be a downfall for you. Your quest for independence will lead to you having some problems in your love life as well. It is ultimately crucial for you to tone down your brash attitude to find some good in the upcoming year or 2010 will prove to be a year of loneliness for you. Stay friendly!

The Pig

The Pig

Known to be sentimental creatures, you have to learn to put off your sentimental ways to find some unexpected successes in your line of work and your love life for 2010. The alignment of the stars will bring you utmost luck for the coming year so expect some monetary windfall coming your way. It is important for you to stay away from carbonated drinks in the upcoming year for you will be vulnerable and open to intestinal and digestive problems. However, besides that, 2010 might prove to be a healthy year ahead for you.

2008-07-25T15:39:00.003+05:30

The Chefs Guild of Lanka was initiated in 1988 and won an affiliation to WACS in Germany in 1992.
The Chefs Guild of Lanka has always striven for creativity and innovation not only in the hospitality industry but in every sphere of Sri-Lankan life. We pride ourselves on reaching out to those with few opportunities to live their dreams by ensuring that through cuisine, we cross language barriers and communicate world trends to those that desperately need empowerment.
Humbly we accepted a Humanitarian Award presented by WACS for the island-wide cooking camps within tsunami-affected areas where we brought together chefs from all over the country to feed the displaced tsunami victims. 25,000 people were fed daily for four weeks in two huge camps.
The guild’s main objective is to focus on training and development for chefs; we achieve this through setting up our own training institutions in both developed and rural areas focusing on cookery, pastry and bakery training and thus, have created employment opportunities for retiring chefs from the industry.
The school offers a fully sponsored course by the Chefs Guild of Lanka and focuses on underprivileged youth, combined with an Eco-Tourism project where accommodation and food is provided to tourists and it is fully managed by the students and the board of the Chefs Guild of Lanka
We have always dreamed big and achieved bigger, thus hosting ambitious projects to unite the industry on a large scale is nothing new to us. Culinary Art; the biggest culinary competition in Sri Lanka bi-annually since 1988 has grown to become a competition of high repute in the Asia-Pacific region, now accommodates more than 1200 participants.

Sri Lanka is a land like no other. From the cool winds of little England to the sultry summers of the tropics, our versatile geography and amazingly diverse attractions have something to offer everyone; the cosmopolitan sophistication of the city, the soul inspiring simplicity of the South or the beauteous chill of the mountains. We are world renowned for our hospitality and our ‘service with a smile’ and our cultural, historical and wildlife attractions are unsurpassable.

Our work and pioneering contribution to the industry in Sri Lanka and the Asian region speaks for itself. A school fully owned and operated by us, a focus on the underprivileged, creation of cross exposure and employment opportunities and other commendable works that serve for the betterment of the world we operate in have always been the root of our work. Our groundbreaking innovation of combining hospitality and philanthropy to further the industry and indeed, society as a whole serves as our beacon and philosophy.

We invite you to be a part of the dream The Chefs Guild of Lanka!

2008-07-01T10:34:00.000+05:30

Click on the picture to enlarge...

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2007-12-16T19:07:00.000+05:30

Asian Spiced Christmas Pudding
by Chef Alan Orreal

As Christmas is upon us once again, and many people have asked me for this recipe. I felt it was time to post this recipe once and for all. So, this is my recipe and it has been inspired by two of the great Australian Chefs of my career: Masterchef Chong Liew & Chef Maggie Beer. I first made this recipe with the late Don Dunstan in the early 90s, I have changed very little of the recipe over the years except the cashew nuts and the Kaffir lime leaves.

Ingredients:
115 g candied citron peel
250 g mixed peel
225 g currants
225 g seedless raisins
225 g sultanas
225 g granulated sugar
75 g crushed cashew nuts
150 g preserved kumquats
4 pieces Kaffir lime leaves
300 ml port
100 ml 18 year-old brandy
115 g unbleached plain flour
1 good pinch ground cinnamon
1 good pinch freshly grated nutmeg
1 good pinch ground ginger
1 good pinch ground mace
4 pods cardamons
1 teaspoon salt
225 g chilled unsalted butter
225 g fresh breadcrumbs
3 free-range eggs

Method:
- mix the fruit, spices, lime leaves, sugar and alcohol together, allow to seep for 24 hours
- place flour and breadcrumbs in a large wooden bowl, and grate in the chilled butter
- mix the fruit and spice mix with the flour and butter
- beat the eggs in a glass bowl separately, and add to the mixture
- dust flour onto a 30cm square of calico, then spoon the mixture into the middle,
gather up the sides and secure the bundle
- steam the pudding for 6 hours in a large pot with plenty of water (boiling method is ok,
but water must be replenished every 30 minutes)
- suspend the pudding in a dry cool and airy place and leave to mature (I made mine late-September)

2007-12-16T15:05:00.000+05:30

Vanilla Brandy Sauce
By Chef Alan Orreal

Although my recipe for Vanilla Brandy Sauce is sheer perfection itself, it is not however easy to make and requires attention to detail, flawless timing and a fearless heart.

So as I am sure you are up to the task I shall divulge the greatest recipe of French Culinaire.

Ingredients
480ml Milk
480ml Pure Cream
1 Vanilla Bean, split and scraped
227gm sugar
14 EggYolks
50ml 18yo Brandy

Method
- Heat the milk, cream, vanilla pod and seeds and half the sugar until the mixture reaches boiling point.
- Combine the egg yolks and rest of the sugar and brandy then temper the hot milk slowly into the egg mixture one ladle at a time whisking all the time until half the liquid has been added.
- Now add all of this to the remaining milk and heat slowly stirring all the time with a wooden spoon not allowing the mixture to boil as the eggs will coagulate and your sauce will be ruined.
- Continue to stir and heat slowly to 82 deg cel.
- When the temp is reached 82 deg cel, remove from the stove immediately and strain the sauce through a fine-mesh sieve, directly into a container in an ice bath.
- The finished Vanilla Sauce should coat the back of a wooden spoon and hold a line drawn through it.
- To stop a skin from forming serve at once or lay a piece of plastic wrap on the surface.

This sauce should have a smooth, luxurious mouthfeel, with a well balanced flavor.

2007-09-28T18:27:00.000+05:30

Extracted from FINANCIAL TIMES dated 28 September 2007.

SriLankan Catering among the best at Culinary Art

SriLankan Catering Services won 23 medals at the Culinary Art, Sri Lanka’s foremost hospitality industry competition, proving that it is more than capable of competing among the best in the business.

SriLankan Catering, the in-flight catering arm of the National Carrier, was placed among the top ten companies at Culinary Art, winning six Gold, six Silver, and 11 Bronze medals. The competition at the BMICH in Colombo drew 1,400 participants, mainly from Sri Lanka’s hotel industry. It even had small teams from the Maldives, India, and Australia.
Dilip Nijhawan, CEO of SriLankan Catering, said: “It is a considerable achievement as an in-flight catering company to distinguish itself and win such a high tally of medals in a hotel-oriented competition.”

SriLankan Catering has won a number of impressive global and local accolades recently. These include two Silver Medals and a Bronze Medal at the recent Hong Kong International Culinary Classic; and a Mercury Award from the International Flight Catering Association. At the last Culinary Art in 2005, SriLankan Catering won 11 medals.

Sudhish Pande, Production Manager at SriLankan Catering, said: “This performance is all the more impressive because our team competed mainly in Live Cooking events, where they prepared dishes within a limited time in front of an international panel of judges, rather than in static displays.”

SriLankan Catering is an ISO 9001:2000 certified company that provides inflight catering for airlines that fly through Colombo, and also operates restaurants at Bandaranaike International Airport. The company last year commissioned a state-of-the-art Flight Kitchen at an investment of USD 25 million, and presently produces an average of more than 13,500 meals per day. Alan Orreal, the company’s Executive Chef, said: “We competed right alongside the best names in the country’s hospitality industry and proved that we are as good as any five-star hotel. We had a mix of senior staff down to trainees in the team.”

SriLankan Catering’s team even won medals in unusual areas, most notably the Tea Service competition, where it won a Silver overall but was presented a Gold medal for Innovation by the judges for its unusual Japanese Tea Presentation.

“It is not easy for an airline caterer to send a large team to compete in culinary events, as we must maintain our 24-hour production of meals for flights at the airport. But SriLankan Catering encourages participation in such competitions in order to provide exposure for our team,” said Alan Orreal.

2007-08-19T10:16:00.000+05:30

2007-05-17T08:55:00.000+05:30

Pictures from HOFEX...
Congratulations to Susantha (above) for winning a SILVER medal, and George for winning a SILVER & BRONZE medals.

2007-05-17T08:45:00.000+05:30

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