French Wine and Dine dinner

The French Wine and Dine dinner organized by Sopexa recently at GourmetPlus was a delightful and enjoyable one. This dinner was held in conjunction with the Concours Cuisine 2009, a friendly culinary competition between junior chefs like me, focusing on French cuisine and techniques. Being my first ever competition, was really an eye opener for me. All the nerves and adrenaline at the final day was amazing yet scary at the same time. Up until the time when the last dish came out, a sigh of relief was a common thing that everyone faced. The dishes that were prepared were judge by a distinguished panel of chefs as well as industry related people. Because of the competition, I get to meet many myriad of trainees as well as chefs that are passionate about what they are cooking and presenting, they gave us, aspiring chefs, many advice on how we could improve our dish and also motivating words. This platform would not have been possible for me if not for Sopexa’s organization for the competition.

I was really excited when I heard from them that they are organizing a follow up dinner with the competitors as well as some of the judges and members of the Singapore Junior Chefs’ Club. When we arrive at GourmetPlus, we found the place very cozy and homey. There were many products from France around, like their red wine vinegar and what really surprises me was that the place even had a wine cellar of their own. It really exudes a very homey and comforting French bistro kind of feeling, where people would come here after a long day for a nice hearty meal and get together with friends. It was definitely a right place for the gathering!

Once we sat down, we were served some Cremant and home made gravelax on blinis orange and dill sauce. It was like small pancakes with smoked salmon on top, accompanied with dill sauce. The taste of the salmon together with the dill sauce merged so well together with the taste of the chives and the soft yet surprisingly fluffy blinis. It truly was a delightful way to start of the evening together with the Cremant d’Alsace.

Shortly after, Chef Mus gave us a short summary on French Cuisine and how it has evolved from Classical French to Nouvelle French and till Modern French cuisine, the differences and the people behind this food evolution, such as Paul Bocuse and Auguste Escoffier. I was really interesting getting to learn about the rich history of French cuisine and the many part of France that has different ways of doing different dishes and the history that goes behind those dishes and up till this day, these many dishes are still being served and in many different forms due to different intepretations by many different chefs but using almost the same classical techniques.

While we were enjoying our wine and blinis, we also had a talk on wine and the art of wine appreciation by Ms Jenny Tan, a wine journalist. It was like a 101 on how to drink and appreciate wines. For example the steps on appreciating it like swirling the wine globe so that the flavor of the wine would come out and how to coat your palate with the wine, which is to make sure that you can actually get to taste the actual flavor of the wine. She was also talking about wine from France, particularly wine from Alsace. We were also taught the importance of wine pairing. Like how wine could actually affect the way food tasted. It made us realize how important wine is in the culinary world and it is something that we have to take note of when we are creating a dish that has wine in it or when we want to pair a dish with wine. It is definitely not something to be overlooked.

We had wine that was made in France served to us and we also got to know a little history of the wine. That really gave us a much better appreciation of the things that we were drinking. While drinking, we were served our second course of Light Lobster Bisque, saffron emulsion tortellini of blue prawn. The first mouth full of the bisque was simply wonderful. It was really very flavorful and rich. All of us on the table shared the same thought as well. It had that rich lobster taste that really stayed in your mouth together with the tortellini, it was a perfect match. Coincidentally I was thinking to myself “that were the same ingredients I used in my competition and he actually created something so soulful from his own repertoire.”

The third course was Pan seared Cod Fish Carrot and Cardamom Emulsion and Tempura of Enoki mushroom. The cod fish was really well cook and went well the emulsion that it was sitting on. Chef Jean Rene’s cod fish dish had an absolute balance that would leave you craving for more.

After the cod fish was served, we were served with French Duck Breast Glazed with Honey and Raz El Hanout and Thyme Sauce together with a French red wine. The duck breast was really juicy and I really enjoyed the skin that was on top of the duck. It was crisp and sweet. And the best part was that the red wine really brought out the flavor of the duck.

To round the whole meal off, we had Home made Nougat Ice cream with Raspberry coulis. Wow, the difference between home made ice cream and factory made ice cream is really apparent. There was a crunch in every bite of the nougat ice cream, with loads of nuts and nougat in it. My sweet tooth could not resist finishing up the whole plate.

This was definitely a night that started and ended great. With soulful French food, wonderful French wine and delightful companies, what more can anyone ask for?

By Poh Lay Hwee, candidate of the Concours Cuisine 2009, and member of the Singapore Junior Chefs' Club

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

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

Writeup: Edu-trip to SATS Catering

Write-up: Educational Visit to SATS Catering Inflight Centre

“If you ever said that we are running a factory, you will never be welcomed to SATS in-flight catering. We are committed to constantly explore new methods and to upgrade equipment and technology to ensure that all meals produced appeal to the most discerning taste buds”, quote Executive Chef of SATS in-flight catering Chef John Sloane.

It was a Saturday morning, we, Singapore Junior Chefs Club (SJCC), assembled at Tanah Merah MRIT and waited anxiously for what to anticipate at SATS Inflight Catering located near Changi Airport.

SATS has come a long way since its modest start as part of the Malaya-Singapore Airlines more than 50 years ago. Since then, it has grown from strength to strength, developing into one of the premier players in the world providing a full spectrum of integrated ground handling and inflight catering services. The latest technology and innovative management is combined to meet airlines high catering standards. Costing a total of $217 million to build, including $77 million worth of kitchen equipment and material handling systems, it offers an impressive state-of-the-art inflight catering facility to meet international airlines' stringent requirements. The new centre will allow SATS to boost its efficiency, productivity and responsiveness with capacity to meet future growth and demands. SATS is clearly positioning itself to provide better services in the years ahead.

Being the privileged few, we were able to see and explore the secrets of their success in providing more than 500,000 meals a day.

The further expansion of SATS In-flight Catering Centre today broaden SATS' commitment to develop a competitive and vibrant inflight catering service to support Singapore's position as a regional air-hub. With this new centre, SATS is better positioned to serve its airline clients and to help anchor more such clients to Changi. The new centre will allow SATS to boost its efficiency, productivity and responsiveness with capacity to meet future growth and demands. SATS is clearly positioning itself to provide better services in the years ahead.

With Culinary Spirits
Terence Chua
SJCC Member

SCA D&D 2007

SCA Annual Dinner & Dance 2007

Swissotel the Stamford

It was event not be forgotten. It was a dinner & dance, yet, it was a food fest, a mini rock concert! “Rock Star” Chef Eric Teo was the highlight of the moment. Imagine: Being a rock star for the night, instead of being tossed into the roaring crowd, you are gently lowered off the stage and “buoyed” around by a sea of people with hands in the air. That was exactly what happened to Chef Eric Teo, President of Singapore Chefs Association (SCA), during this year’s SCA Dinner & Dance.

The theme was black and the venue, Raffles Ballroom Swissotel the Stamford. It wasn’t surprising to see 500 Men in Black there! A cocktail reception greeted the guests and soon the doors to the ballroom were opened. However no one was allowed to go for the food until the Emcee finished his formalities of games and introduction.

There was also a pole dancer who demonstrated her prowess of pole dancing and her endless and mind blowing acrobatic stunts! It was indeed an eye opener for all. As most of the guests may not have experienced a “live” pole dancer. It was a sexy, exotic performance, yet classy and professional.

Food was excellent as always of any SCA event. You could have a taste of the world. From Sushi and Sashimi of Japan to Peking Duck of China, Sausages of Germany to Lasagna of Italy. One would have tasted the cuisines of the world in just a single event.

The reception area was lined with beautiful confectionaries. Cakes, Pies, Haagen-Dazs Ice cream! With that many sweets around, I guess everyone had to put in extra effort to burn off those calories. The highlight of the night was nothing else but the lucky draw. The grand prize was a Philip’s flat screen TV. Members had to gather in from of the stage to win the prizes. If they weren’t in front and their numbers called, their draw would still be void. There were a total of 197 prizes, which makes a 40% chance of someone winning something.

Lucky Draw Prizes!!!

At the end of the night, I believe each and everyone who attended the dinner had fun and brought something back with them. I am beginning to wonder what next year’s SCA Lo-Hei dinner will be like.

With Culinary Spirits,
Jasper Jek
President
Singapore Junior Chefs Club

Not Too Hot To Handle

Not Too Hot To Handle

Bigger and better – that was the concensus of those who attended this year’s HoTchef Team Challenge 2007, the third event in as many consecutive years organized by the Singapore Junior Chef’s Club (SJCC) and kindly sponsored by Tabasco. This year’s event attracted a total of 24 participants compared to last year’s 15, with eight teams comprising three members each. As with the previous year, participants had three and a half hours to come up with eight varieties of amuse bouche or tapas; four hot and four cold, incorporating the five Tabasco flavours. This year, two new prizes were given away; best table display as well as best hygiene. Eileen Phua, chairman of SJCC said, “We wanted to recognize each team’s efforts in their table display as well as educate them on the industry standard for hygiene. The competition was also designed to instill a desire for competing among our members.” Kan Cheung, regional manager for Tabasco and one of the judges for the day, commented that Tabasco’s support for the SJCC meant support for the next generation of culinary professionals. “They are the future. The quality of chefs in SJCC is much higher than in the region, and we have to thank the Singapore government for investing in the culinary schools”

Cusine & Wine Asia 2007
Volume 11 No. 6

Deviled Pepper Mixed Eggs in Cherry Tomato Shells

Team Habenero

Judges


Awards

Fassler Educational Fieldtrip

Fassler Educational Fieldtrip

The value of expriencing the whole production process of smoked salmon is immense and important for our culinary knowledge. Therefore, the Singapore Junior Chefs Club (SJCC) has ideally organised an educational trip to Fassler Gourmet Singapore,one of the finest smoked houses in the region.

As many as forty of our enthusiastic SJCC members took part in the event. Upon arrival, we were honoured to be greeted by the owner Mr fassler, who is also a specialist Smoke Master and has notched up his brand, over the years.

During the tour, there were many highlights. We saw the whole process of smoked salmon from the trimming of the fish to curing it and up to the point before it was loaded into the smoking machines. Besides producing smoked salmon, Fassler Gourmet produces other products such as smoked markerel, smoked snowfish, smoked salmon terrine, herb salmon terrine, sauces and many more. After the tour we were invited for a food tasting session on their products and our members were even more delighted when they were able to purchase their products directly from their huge walk-in chiller.

Providing a close-up session of tasting, talking and exchanging ideas, the Fassler Gourmet trip was indeed a successful one. Along with passionate and enthusiastic people, SJCC will organise more interesting and exciting events in the near future as we hope tha t at the same time we can inspire, motivate and leave a lasting impression to all our young and aspiring chefs.

With Culinary Spirits,
Athejo Chia
Social Activities
Singapore Junior Chefs Club