By Christopher Gallaga

A Sober Meeting and a Flamboyant Gala.

By: Christopher Gallaga

With feet secured fast to Mother Earth, we the members and friends of the Hong Kong Chefs Association, conducted another safe journey around the sun. As is our custom we met, first to dispense with the business of our association, and then to celebrate the achievements of the past and the hopes of the future.

The Annual General Meeting, was a sober affair, given that chefs are not used to spending much of their creative time delving into accounts, bureaucratic means, and politics.  While the association had accomplished much in 2008, much also needed to be accounted to the members at large. This was perhaps not the shortest of our meetings but also not the longest by any measure. In the end, and, after little debate, the members approved of and accepted the reports of President Rudy Muller, and his Executive Committee, voting to retain the leadership at President Muller’s command for another spin around sol. Chef Muller, and his team thankfully accepted, with the addition of a few new members to help guide the efforts of this coming adventure.

With business dispensed and the scent of fine food and wine in the air, we traveled up one floor of the Hong Kong Jockey Club Happy Valley Members Boxes. From leaving the somber hall of chefs conducting business to entering the bright and cheerful gala dinner, there was a palpable shift in spirits towards the vivacity that chef’s present at work and play. The Gala was, a stunning and satisfying event. A feast of the finest food from the Chefs of the Happy Valley Race Course, served by the finest service staff the Luxurious Jockey Club can provide.  And the company of friends, colleagues, and supporters from the entire food and beverage industry is company that cannot be matched for either interesting conversation or lively celebration.

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By Perry Yuen

We are glad to inform you that our HK team has won the 3rd Prize in the 36th Sapporo Snow Sculpture Contest. The result are as follows:-

Grand Champion  Thailand

Champion            Lithuania

3rd Prize             Hong Kong

4th Prize             Finland

5th Prize             Korea

 

Team members:

Mr.HUNG Siu Kay （熊兆基）       　    Chef

Mr. Perry YUEN Kam Hung（阮錦鴻）   　Food & Beverage Manager

Mr. Alan TAM Wai Lun　（譚偉倫）       Kitchen Artist

 

Hong Kong Chefs Association, Hong Kong Ice Carving Association所属

 

タイトル　「ドラゴンダンス」

 

ドラゴン（竜）は、中国文化で崇拝されている神話の動物で、運、貴高さ、パワーのシンボルとなっています。かつては、豊作を願うためにドラゴンダンスは踊られていましたが、現在では、オフィス開業時など特別なイベントや旧正月のお祝いの際に縁起物として演じられます。

ドラムの音に合わせて波打つように踊られるドラゴンは喜び、幸福など様々な感情を表現しています。

今回香港チームは、札幌雪祭りの６０回目をお祝いする意味をこめ、「ドラゴンダンス」の雪像を作成し、新年に札幌市民や観光客の皆様に平和とますますのご繁栄をお祈りします。

 

在中國神話故事裡、龍是吉祥、尊貴和權力的象徴。舞龍的起源、相信跟人們古時祈求風調雨順、五穀豐収的傅統風俗有關、故此舞龍具有國泰民安、吉祥大利的寓意。毎逢喜慶場合、如農暦新年及大型慶典、往往都可以見到舞龍儀式。表演時、人們會按鼓樂節奏、舞動龍頭、龍身而做出盤圈、翻騰等賞心悅目的動作：所謂「矯若游龍」、就是形容龍的靈巧敏捷及無比動力。

今年、欣逢札幌雪祭60周年、香港隊特別創作了這尊名爲「舞龍」的雪雕、興札幌市民及觀光旅客共同迎接美好新一年、並祈願世界和平、繁榮昌盛。

The dragon is a mythological animal revered in Chinese culture.  It symbolizes luck, nobility and power.  People perform dragon dances hoping to bring fair weather and therefore pray for weather conducive for bountiful crops.  Dragon dancing is also believed to bring good luck and fortune for the people associated with the dance.  This is why it is usually performed on special occasions or grand openings, especially during the festive Chinese New Year celebrations.  Dragon dancers move in a wave-like pattern to the rhythmic pounding of drums, while performers run in spiral formations to make the dragon’s body twist and turn expressing many emotions such as joy and happiness, creating a magnificent spectacle for the audience.  To celebrate the 60^th Anniversary of Sapporo Snow Festival, the Hong Kong team has created “the Dancing Dragon” ice sculpture – to wish Sapporo’s residents and visitors peace and prosperity for the coming year.

 

 

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BY Mak Kam Kui

March 22-24, 09 the HKCA will send yet another team this time to compete in the WA Oceana fest Culinary Competition in Perth, Australia. Click here to read the Salon Booklet.

 

The HKCA Team

Team Manager: Billy Yeung Unilever Food solutions - Hong Kong Unilever Hong Kong Limited Executive Chef Team Captain: Mak Kam Kui Hong Kong Disneyland Hollywood hotel Chef de Cuisine Team Member 1: Eddy Chu Happy Valley Clubhouse, The Honk Kong Jockey Club Sous Chef FP Team Member 2: Oscar Chow The Hong Kong Sheraton Hotel

Team Member: 3 Fung Lai Wah Intercontinental Grand Stanford Hong Kong” Team pastry chef: Pastry Chef Koo Ka Chun Vero chocolate  Executive Pastry Chef Team Helper 1: Kuma SY Kwan Hung   Happy Valley Clubhouse, The Hong Kong Jockey Club Tile Jr. Cook Food Plaza

By: Christopher Gallaga

A significant portion of the dining community and more than a few members of the professional food and beverage community are up in arms over the recently published Michelin guide for Hong Kong and Macau. To be certain I agree with at least one sentiment expressed in that we all seem to know of one beloved local restaurant or another that we personally consider a Hong Kong institution; but that The Guide somehow missed. Within the industry there is some genuine concern regarding the perceived clout of a Michelin listing in our status symbol coveting society. The power of the guide could certainly hurt both our industry and, if misused, the guide itself provided that owners, managers and the glitterati use it as an exclusive benchmark.

Robert Parker of similar fame in the wine business is now facing a growing groundswell against his astute pallet simply because his word on what is good has become the dogma of the wine industry heavy-hitters. The charge has been laid that commercial wine producers make wine with the specific intention of getting high marks from that one noted palate. Incredibly creative boutique wineries are now shunning any recognition from Parker in an attempt to demonstrate that they are avant-garde; and they argue that the mystique of his awards has inhibited the creativity of the wine industry as a whole. This has hurt Parker at least in publicity, with several new books admonishing the practice. A parallel can be drawn and should be noted with the Michelin guide. I for one have heard too often that one employer or another is only hiring people with “Michelin” experience. This sort of behavior is likely to stifle (if only by sheer numbers) the diversity and creativity that always produces the new and beautiful in our industry.

To be frank, the lion share of what Parker or Michelin judge is aesthetic: a specific taste, or a particular appearance. So by it’s very nature it is not a thing, which can be empirically nailed down and exploited. Indeed there is growing scientific evidence to show that the same professional tasters, under controlled, double blind settings, have very different and wildly varying opinions on the a given dish or drink from day to day. There appears to be no empirical basis to assume that anyone’s aesthetic opinion is more or less accurate at describing reality than anyone else’s.

The evolution of food and beverage thrives on diversity and change, and the larger that number of people adding new points of view; the more quickly we will see the next creative geniuses in our field develop. Parker and Michelin can only comment on the past, by the very nature of their work they can only report on the immediate history of our industry, they can not predict anything of our future success. There is no indication that they are a guide to the next big thing. In such I feel certain that luminaries like Thomas Keller, Gordon Ramsey, or Heston Blumenthal were doing outstanding and innovative work long before the guide took note of them. In much the same way that Chateau Montelena was producing outstanding wines long before the Judgment of Paris, which shocked the wine world some thirty years ago. New world wines didn’t suddenly appear out of thin air, but due to the fallibility and transient nature of taste, they were the sudden and unexpected champions of the art, at that time.

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