IKA 2008

IKA / Olympiade der Köche 2008
Just today, a team of our very own Chefs, flew off to Erfurt, Germany to compete in the prestigious IKA/ Culinary Olympics Erfurt Germany 2008. Held once every 4 years, this competition demands the very best of Chefs from around the world and is considered the most important event in our field. The world's best Chefs and Pastry Chefs will gather in Erfurt to show their know-how and expertise in culinary arts.

Comparable to sports events the international exhibitions of Culinary Art are offering different disciplines such as teams, national or regional level, culinary or pastry, junior members (under 23 years) or individuals.National Teams have a two-part-assignment which consists of the Hot Kitchen and the Cold Platter Show. The Hot Kitchen, representing category R (= Restaurant) is usually covering the preparation of a three-course-menu – ambitious but practical – serving 110 covers in the "Restaurant of Nations".

The Cold Platter Show includes appetizers, main courses, complete menus, desserts, cakes and showpieces to be displayed on artfully draped tables in the exhibition hall. Being prepared hot (or cold) but displayed only cold the exhibits need to be covered with aspic. These four categories are internationally known:

• A for appetizers, show platters, fingerfood

• B for main courses, menus

• C for desserts, patisserie

• D for showpieces

To learn more about IKA, log on to http://www.olympiade-der-koeche.de/

Singapore Junior Chefs Club

wishes the

Singapore National Culinary Team

all its Best and may they bring Glory to our Country!!!

You can now download the files for Tabasco HotChef Team Challenge 2008 at the following links:

Application & Indemnity form
Download Application & Indemnity 2008
or by copying and pasting the following link:
http://www.uploading.com/files/YAA8BDA0/Application_&_Indemnity_2008.DOC.html

Briefing Pack
Download HotChef Team Challenge Briefing Pack 2008
or by copying and pasting the following link:
http://www.uploading.com/files/A9QIRJV4/HotChef_Team_Challenge_Briefing_Pack_2008.pdf.html

Please do send in your entries to Jayson at sjcc_jaysonsee@yahoo.com.sg by the 2nd of October, to qualify to participate.

HoTchef Team Challenge 2008

HoTchef Team Challenge 2008 Registration Opens

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Registration Open

Email us Today for an Application Form

Win Sin Masters Bowling Tournament Invitation

Dear Members,
The Singapore Chef’s Association would like to cordially invite members for a sports event.

WIN SIN MASTERS BOWLING TOURNAMENT
Proudly sponsored by Win Sin

The handicap score for men and women will be pegged at 15 and 25 respectively (except for the Top 10 from the last tournament, who will not have any handicap score).

You may just be the CHAMPION of the Year and walk away with the TOP PRIZE!

Prizes:
1st S$250 Cash + S$50 Sins Vouchers + Trophy
2nd S$150 Cash + S$50 Sins Vouchers + Trophy
3rd S$100 Cash + S$50 Sins Vouchers + Trophy
1st Turkey prize: S$100 SINS voucher

Details are as follows:-
Date : Sunday 31 August 2008
Time : 1:30pm – 5:00pm (Tournament starts at 2pm & Hi-tea will be served)
Venue : No. 2 Bukit Batok Ave 7 #03-01 Cdans Country Club Singapore 659003
@ Bukit Gombak MRT

Interested parties, please approach your respective institution's Liaison Officer to register ASAP

Our New Sponsor, City Gas Pte Ltd

On behalf of Singapore Junior Chefs’ Club, the youth arm of the Singapore Chefs’ Association. It gives me great honour to receive this monetary sponsorship from City Gas Pte Ltd.

The SJCC, just like SCA, is a non-profitable organization that strongly believes in nurturing and inspiring young enthusiastic culinarians. It is our hope to help them in making their first move towards painting an international picture in the culinary scene with a new brush of style and colours.

Throughout the work-year, the SJCC plans enriching activities for its members, such as educational fieldtrips, seminars, forums, cooking demonstrations, wine and dine classes and culinary competitions. It is our hope that these events will help increases the interest and knowledge of our members.

However, such activities would not be possible without the generous support of our kind sponsors. It is only through sponsors like City Gas, who share a common interest of nurturing the future generation of Chefs, that we are able to turn our vision into reality.

On behalf of SJCC, I would like to thank City Gas once again for your generous support. And be rest assured that this contribution will be put into good use for the benefit of all our members. Together we can all make this possible. A Dream to be cooked! Thank you.


Eileen Phua
Chairperson

* Photo (from left to right): Chef Ignatius Leong (Vice Chairman), Mr Ng Yong Hwee (Director/ President & CEO of City Gas Pte Ltd), Chef Eileen Phua (Chairperson)

Ever wondered how Tofu was made?

Ever wondered how Tofu was made?

The Singapore Junior Chef Club, together with a group of about 30 members visited the Unicurd factory of which we saw how Tofu was being made, on the morning of 21^st of August.

After a bus ride from Ang Moh Kio MRT Station, we arrived and were greeted by Ms Ravinder, who sat us through watching a video of the process of tofu making, as well as their company’s background. She then explained to us the difference between cold treated and heat treated, which results in soft/silken and firm tofu respectively.

We were also brought to the viewing deck of which overlooked the entire process of which tofu is being made. Ms Ravinder also patiently explained the different machines and its various uses, from which the soy beans are soaked and grinded, to the coagulating of soy milk of which beancurd is derived from.

After which we were gathered, to taste some freshly prepared soy milk, and were allowed to see the various bean curd products.

Their range of products include the regular silken and egg tofu, the Chinese yellow and black “Tau Kwa”, the Japanese range, a ready-to-eat range, the ISO Joy Desserts, Deep fried Tofu (Tofu goreng), and the tofu puff.

All of us were also given a recipe booklet with tofu as the main ingredients, and were also allowed to purchase some of their product.

It was definitely a fruitful trip, for everyone, as we walked away with both, the knowledge in tofu making, as well as our shopping bags of tofu products.

With Culinary Spirit,
Belinda Ng
Membership

Unicurd Visit Poster

HoTchef Team Challenge '08 Teaser

President's Message

President's Message
In the past month, I bought two fabulous books, Becoming a Chef and Culinary Artistry, on the recommendation of some Chefs. I kind of regretted not getting the books earlier as they are really good books that every Chef should read. Becoming a Chef shares with us life as a Chef. Hear stories and experiences of the many chefs interviewed in the book and explore questions like choosing between schooling and apprenticeship. Culinary Artistry on the other hand pairs ingredients that are heavenly matches. Through the book Becoming a Chef, I've learned how wonderful our profession is. It is the only few professions which allows us to learn new things everyday. The dishes we have yet to taste, the new techniques we have yet to learn, and the ingredients we have yet to discover, all symbolises a lifetime of learning, experiencing and enjoying.

It has been an even greater challenge to be a chef these days. I was watching Star Chef 2 on television the other day and the mystery box items they gave the contestants were totally unimaginable. Who would imagine getting ingredients like chicken feet and heart, pork skin and cow's heart? Rarely in international competitions will one find such ingredients, which chefs usually shun. I quote Paul Lenz saying "You should always ask yourself: What ingredients do I use? Where do they come from? What can I do with them? How can I eat them?" These words really inspire me when I deal with ingredients each and everyday in the kitchen. Recent reality cooking shows like Top Chefs, Iron Chef, Star Chef and Hell's Kitchen has also brought interest to our profession. By the way, I am really excited about the HoTchef Team Challenge 2008, which will be held in November, later this year. Hongkong Young Chefs Club is going to have their first HoTchef Team Challenge this year in September and their winning team will be flying over to compete in our challenge. I would like to thank Tabasco for their kind support towards grooming junior chefs here and in the region. In the meanwhile, look out for more news about the HoTchef Team Challenge 2008 on our blog soon.

Best Culinary Spirits
Jasper Jek
President
Singapore Junior Chefs Club

Website of the Month: Alinea

Website of the Month: Alinea

This month we feature www.alinea-restaurant.com/ If you love beauty, this is definately a website you should catch. Not only does it contain many beautiful photos of creative dishes, its restaurant itself looks modern and sophisticated. Yes, its "Home" page does look a little dull though, but wait till you inch alittle further into its neatly catergorize subpages, will you find the hidden gems.

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Alinea Restaurant was opened in 2005 and has won many awards ever since. Among them are Best Restaurant in America by Gourmet magazine (2006) and Jean Banchet Award - Best Fine Dining (2007). A scroll of its subpage "press" shows a never-ending list of reviews by press from around the world.

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What I love most about the website are the crystal clear high resolution pictures of the fine creative dishes. Scrolling the gallery reminisces looking through old camera films. I wonder if you call their creations avant-garde, but I believe they invest alot on technology, such as with the company PolyScience, and also on their unique tablewares.

Check out this website and you might find Beauty...

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Best Culinary Spirits

Jasper Jek

President

Singapore Junior Chefs Club

Invitation to WYPALL* ExploraQuest Singapore

Invitation to WYPALL* ExploraQuest Singapore

Guys, form a team of 5 and take part in this exciting game... Lotsa Prizes awaiting to be Won...

The very First ExploraQuest is now in town! ExploraQuest is designed as a walk-about adventure race based on the theme of "the quest of versatility and sensory delights". There will be lots of actions, lots of adventure and loads of fun. The most exciting part would be this event is brought to you absolutely FREE OF CHARGE! The event will be held on 19th July 2008 (Saturday) at the Singapore River.

Prizes:Champions - SGD $1,500 + Trophy + WYPALL* Products
Runners Up - SGD $700 + Trophy + WYPALL* Products
3rd Placing - SGD $500 + Trophy + WYPALL* Products
4th Placing - SGD $350 + Trophy + WYPALL* Products

Read Details and Registration forms below

Interested Parties, please approach your institution's Liaison Officer to register A.S.A.P

Edu-Trip to Huber’s Prime Meats & Sausages

Singapore Junior Chef Club (SJCC) organized an exciting educational trip to Huber's Prime Meats & Sausages on the 10th May ’08. Huber’s is one of the finest production meat factory in Singapore. There were a total of 28 enthusiastic SJCC members who took part in the event on that day.

Upon our arrival, we were warmly welcomed by Mr. Andre Huber, Sales Director of Huber’s. There were many highlights during the tour. We were given detailed briefings and explanation about the whole process of making sausages and curing of ham which nowadays is not easily seen in the industries.

One interesting part of the tour was that we saw how a whole strip loin was trimmed and portioned into standard cuts.

At the end of the tour, we were even more delighted when we were given a small food tasting session. The products we tasted were tasty and delicious. During that session we have a one on one session with the founder of Huber’s. We learnt about their history and the origin where the meats are from. The edu-trip has greatly increased our knowledge of meat and sausage making.

The overall assessment of this trip was fun and knowledgeable; I will definitely visit them again. It has been a successful trip and I will work closely with my fellow committee members and sponsors to organize more of these events in the near future.

With Culinary Spirit,
Athejo Chia
Social Activities

Family Day notice 1

Block your dates for...
SCA FAMILY DAY!

15 June, 9am - 5pm Bottle Tree Park @ Yishun 81 Lorong Chen Charau
Come join us for a full day of fun, food and games!

Stay tuned for more details...

SCA Family Day 2007

Website of the Month

This month we feature The-Best-Chefs.com . A fellow colleague of mine recently introduced me to this enriching gourmet portal. It gives you knowledge of a myriad of restaurants and chefs in Europe. Restaurants and chefs de cuisines are neatly categorized alphabetically or by countries, making searching hassle free. A click on a chef’s name brings you to his detailed portfolio, listing his nationality, apprenticeship/training background, career, philosophy, awards and interesting habits. The site also boast a “restaurant ranking” page which allows you to browse the T0p 50 restaurants in Europe. Should you like to dine at a particular restaurant, you may try searching for it under the “online-reservations” page and book a reservation. The website is still pretty new; hence there aren’t many posts on their forum page. The website is also available in German and French. These two versions have a larger community viewership, thus are better developed and have a larger forum. The site also offers the latest news in the European culinary scene.

Overall I find The-Best-Chefs.com a useful website and would recommend it to my friends.

P/S: Fellow members, if you have a website to recommend and share for Website of the Month (WOTM), please feel free to email us or "shout" on the tag board...

Best Culinary Spirits

Jasper Jek
President
Singapore Junior Chefs Club

Edu trip to Huber's poster

Members who are not in their Institutions may register through the following address:

sjcc_jasperjek@yahoo.com