Tuesday, March 24, 2015

Goût de France...Good France..Formidable!!

Last Thursday I was invited for the Goût de France at the French Ambassador's residency. In Suriname, this event is hosted by the French Ambassador, His Excellency Michel Prom and his lovely wife Suzanne.

Before I go any further, here a little explanation about Goût de France:


In 1912, Auguste Escoffier started Les Dîners d’Épicure (Epicurean Diners): one day, one menu, served in cities around the world, to as many guests as possible. In 2015, Goût de/Good France takes the idea further, bringing all categories of restaurants together globally. This international event, taking place on March 19,2015, will mark the first concrete demonstration of French cuisine’s recent listing in the “Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity” category by UNESCO, and its influence on the world. - a piece from the official website rendezvousenfrance.com.

When I think about France, I imagine Eiffel Tower, lavender fields (all thanks to those postcards from my cousin Joyce) and I think of wine, cheese and great food. So when I received this invitation, I was ecstatic!! What to wear? What to expect?

I was happy that I was going together with Jill-Joy Landburg from Victuals. At least one familiar face. When we arrived, it was still very quiet. A handful of invitees already arrived and we were welcomed by Ms. Carolle Lucas, the Deputy Chief of Mission. We got invited to start with some aperitif from the bar and mingle a bit.

 
Any outsider would think it's a friend's gathering since everyone is so relaxed and not so formal and uptight as I thought it would be. But if you see the list of high officials, I kinda feel a bit like a kid among adults. And the nice thing is that they were all very down-to-earth and you don't even notice the gap when talking to them.

While enjoying our aperitif, Champagne Canard Duchene Reserve authentique, we were served some finger foods/ amuse bouche. There was choice between puff pastry with snails in parsley butter and puff pastry with scallops flamed with cognac. The one with scallops has more flavor compared to the one with snails. And I had to contain myself not to fill up on finger foods.

Then it was finally time to be seated. I was seated at the deputy's table, next to headmaster, Mr. Jean-Pierre Octavia, of the high school where the chefs are from. On my other side, I have the company of Mr. Stanley Sidoel, the Director of Culture.

Our dinner continued with the cold starter:
tartar of salmon & weakfish, dressed with passion fruit's vinaigrette & dasheen's chips
 
The passion fruit vinaigrette complemented the mixed fish tartar really well. A tad of the lemongrass powder enhances the flavor even more. It's the first time I had the dasheen's chips. Dasheen is a type of taro. The chips was very thin, crisp and flavorful.
This was paired with the Bordeaux Entre-deux-mers Grands Terroirs Dourthe 2010.
The wine is light, easy to drink and combined with the dish: very fruity.

We continued with a hot starter:
ravioli of foie gras with morel's cream & sesame cracker

It's my first time having Foie Gras. I don't know what to expect, but since it's goose/duck liver, it might be a bit similar to chicken liver, but maybe better in flavor and texture. Probably because my expectations were too high, I was a bit disappointed in the flavor. The Foie Gras tasted gamey,  however it goes really well with the morel's cream, I was not impressed with the flavor of it.
This was paired with the Bordeaux Sauternes Chateau Laribotte 2008.
However I should know that Sauternes are known as sweet, but still it surprised me with its sweetness. For me, a bit too sweet. One of my fellow diners mentioned that it tasted like honey wine, so you can imagine how sweet this is.

Then came the fish main course:
pave of blue fin tuna, lemon grass emulsion served with small glazed vegetable.

My piece of tuna was a bit overcooked to my taste, but I can see that they made every piece medium-well. For this nice piece of tuna, I'd prefer a medium-rare to medium which will give a nicer texture to the end product.

To cleanse our palate and as an aperitif and digestive, we were served:
Trou Normand - apple sorbet with Calvados
 
I've had sorbets before, so I expected something cold, lemon-y and was surely surprised by the alcohol. Calvados is an apple brandy. This creation is with pieces of apple in it, but the alcohol level really surprised me!! It's really strong and I only sipped a bit. At this point, my belly was already full and we were only half way through.

Next, we were served the meat main course:
Rack of lamb with gingerbread crust, hazelnut mousseline celery & mustard crusty

I was a bit afraid that the lamb is gamey as most lamb meat I've experienced, but this one is so flavorful, so juicy and the crust makes it a bit sweet, and gives it a nice crunch. It's the best rack of lamb I've tasted till now! Was not really fond of the hazelnut mousseline. I still am not sure which spice it is, but it was way too overwhelming.


As the 6th course, we could choose from the assortment of French cheeses:
Camembert de Normandie, Chabichou du Poitou, Époisse de Bourgogne, Roquefort de'l Aveyron, Comté de Franche Comté
 

It's for the first time I see cheese be eaten as a course of the dinner. For a second, I thought we were already having breakfast. It was so extensive. There was marmalade, honey, different kind of nuts, raisins and it's really a different way to enjoy cheese. I'm used to using cheese as topping or with bread, but not as a stand alone item.

And last but not least:
Praline dessert with black chocolate & raspberries

It is very unfortunate that the dessert always comes as the last course. My belly was already so full that I can only eat half of it. The creation is so rich, so chocolate-y. The sour from the raspberries breaks the sweet of the chocolate, and the soft texture of the praline combined with the crispiness of the cornflake pieces makes this a marvelous finish of the meal!!

After this, we were invited for the award ceremony to the stakeholders of this event, the chefs (students) and their teachers.


As a summary to this event, this is my opinion:

Compliments to the chefs:
- great combination of textures
- well balanced flavor combinations

Improve possibilities:
- smaller portions. We were all served full portions. Based on a 3-course dinner, it would be perfectly fine, but for a 7-course dinner I believe that the portions can be way smaller.
- start earlier. We started at 7:30 (aperitif) and ended around 12:30 (included the award ceremony), so about 5 hours. At the end only a handful guests stayed, which is a pity to the chefs. The other guests did not see the creators of their meals.

However it was a lengthy dinner, but I enjoyed every minute of it.
It was a wonderful evening! The twinkling stars in the clear sky reflects on the water of the swimming pool, a light breeze was blowing and music that makes you believe that you're in a French-Latin country, enjoying great food with great people!!!

* Please also check my latest addition The Taster-page on Facebook here about this event*

Saturday, February 21, 2015

New culinary team in action!

In my last blog, I already presented the new team and of course everybody is very excited and curious how good they are. Those who went to the first fundraising dinner, already put their comments. Those of you who didn't, can read it here and come to one of the following fundraising dinners. For the exact dates, please check it in this post here.

So.. for the first time the chefs come together, the first time they really have to do it on their own. As the coach said during the interview; he gave them the space to do their thing and he'll observe what needs to be fine-tuned.

Even though I'm involved in the team, I'll try to be as objective as can be. Next to that, I'll also add several comments given by guests, so that it'll be as true as can be.

The menu for the night:


Cocktail: Amazon Special 

All guests are welcomed with the cocktail prepared by the bartender David Deul.
There was an alcoholic and a non-alcoholic option.

I got the privilege to try both.
Personally I'm not that fond of the non-alcoholic one. The spinach flavor is a bit overwhelming and even though the juice does cover-up the flavor a bit, but I don't like the after taste.
The alcoholic version was way better. A bit on the sweet side for me. It looks nice with the pink in it, but the parts of the pineapple crown were used as a stirrer and it's hazardous with that in the glass. And for me, I didn't taste any alcohol in it.

Guest's input: 1.very sweet and not-chilled enough, 2.no alcohol 'kick', 3.traditional flavors nothing new

The surprise: amuse

The smokiness of the Bang Bang and the sweetness of the onions makes a great combination. For some guests, they find the piece of bang bang a bit too big.

The appetizer

For me, the soup is missing some depth in flavor and texture, the passion fruit seeds were a bit annoying to eat.


Guest's input: 1. salad difficult to eat, but the flavor was good. 2.love the salad 3.a bit boring presentation, garnishing can be better.

The entrée
The beef was heavenly delicious!! Juicy and every bite was filled with flavor. The peanuts used are a bit too big in size and my piece of fish was overcooked.

Guest's input: 1.Fish was delicious, garnish can be better and a bit chaotic on the plate.2. great flavors, really compliment each other. Be more consistent in plating. Garnish leaf unnecessary unless it contributes to the flavor.3. too much food on the plate. fish was really good

Dessert

The Java-Appel (Pommerak) foam and confit is the best thing of the fundraising dinner!!! Soursop cheesecake is smoother than traditional cheesecake, tasted differently and for me, the cantaloupe garnish was a bit off.

Guest's input:1. delicious 2. delicious but too much. combination was outstanding 3.cheesecake top! soursop good. Java-Appel mousse amazing!

Overall, the team is still a diamond in the rough. Their plating skills and portioning still needs some polishing, but as we've tasted: they have enough skills and a stable base to work on. The next fundraising dinner is on February, 24!! 4 more days to make your reservations if you haven't yet!

* All images are captured by IN and provided by The Suriname Culinary Team*

Sunday, February 1, 2015

Meet the Suriname Culinary Team 2015!

Last April they won their competitors to make it to the team. In the months after that, they supported the Suriname Culinary Team 2014 in their fundraising dinners and also showed some of their skills during the last Moksi Alesi Strey and the DSB anniversary celebration. But in case you missed them... no sweat......it's time for the fundraising dinners again!

In short:
Why: To gain funds and experience for the Taste of the Caribbean Competition
Who: The Suriname Culinary Team 2015
When*: The first one starts at 2 February
Where*: The first one will be held at Spice Quest

*The date is already fixed, but the location will be a different one every time. This is not only to promote different venues, let guests have a different setting every time, but also have a different cooking site for the chefs. It's important for them to get used to different working environments, so that they'll be prepared for whatever space they might get.

So....let's meet the team!!!

 Team Coach: Jethro Wirht
    Employer: D-Chefs private catering
    Current position: Food Consultant
    Greatest culinary achievement: Gold Medalist -Chef of the Year 2014 (Taste of the Caribbean)
                                                   His own cookbook

 Bartender: David 'Cheftender' Deul
    Employer: 22 Yards
    Current position: Mixologist
    Greatest culinary achievement: Bartender of the year 2014


Chef #1: Lorenzo Harper
    Employer: Torarica
    Current position: Senior Cook
    Greatest culinary achievement: Winner Moksi Alesi Strey 2013


Chef #2: Benedict Cataggatan
    Employer: Spice Quest
    Current position: Chef
    Greatest culinary achievement: 1st runner up SCA national competition

Chef #3: Gilbert Wirjomoenawi
     Employer: Paranam Country Club
    Current position: Head Chef
    Greatest culinary achievement: Best Graduate of SHTTC Culinary 2013/2014


Junior Chef: Algeray Ravenberg
    Employer: Hotel Krasnapolsky
    Current position: Junior Chef
    Greatest culinary achievement: Bronze Medalist -Junior Chef of the Year 2014 
            (Taste of the Caribbean)

Pastry Chef: Xaviera Mijnhijmer
    Employer: Hotel Krasnapolsky
    Current position: Pastry Chef
    Greatest culinary achievement: Winning Pastry Chef of SCA national competition

This team will be supported by Cindy Nuboer (Team Ambassador) and Damei Shen (Team Coordinator). This project is an initiative of the Suriname Chefs Association, who is giving their utmost to elevate the culinary standards in Suriname.

It's a  team filled with enthusiastic culinary artists, who can't wait to improve their skills and prove their worth at the Taste of the Caribbean competition. Like their Facebook page and receive the latest updates of their progress.

Want to show your support?

If you want to make a donation, it can be either financial or material, please contact:
Amy MacDonald 597 8550077
amymacdonald210@hotmail.com
suriname.chefs.association@gmail.com

Or you can support them by joining one of the fundraising dinners. The dates are:

Monday 2 February
Tuesday 24 February
Monday 9 March
Monday 30 March
Monday 13 April
Tuesday 28 April
Monday 11 May
Tuesday 26 May
Tuesday 9 June

To make sure of a seat for one of those days, make reservations ahead.
Mail your name and phone number and how many seats you'd like to reserve to suriname.chefs.association@gmail.com.

See what they can do and experience their growth with every fundraising dinner towards the Taste of the Caribbean competition!

** All images contributed by Suriname Chefs Association**