The secrets from the Chef & Sommelier

 ZOOBA is a local restaurant with multiple outlets and even one in new York, absolutely amazing Egyptian cuisine where they serve the dishes with pride and a history lesson if you ask, I had the privilege to visit them now many times and It always blows me away how tasty and delicious the food are and the on the spot baked Arabic bread is fantastic. There are a lot to say when you talk about specifically Egyptian food, actually very few dishes is from here, and many more are imports from Lebanon, Syria and rest of the meddle east but at ZOOBA they are trying to showcase the soul of Egyptian cuisine, thank you Chef Mostafa with team and I will see you soon again. PS they have a outlet at the new grand museum and a perfect stop for lunch)

 Its always a great pleasure to be invited as a judge and a humble approach to all the young chefs competing, this year was much better and the quality over all was very much higher and I am sure that this is part of the feedback that we gave the competitors last year, "listen habibi" The big problem are all of this "I know everything master chef from Egypt" mentality that I still find all the time, the old boys dont know shit and there is a reason why all the big hotels have an expat chef,  To keep your secrets and not share to the young chefs is a big no no for me, sharing is caring and I wish that more of my fellow Egyptians could understand the benefit of this, especially when it comes to young female chefs that are always harrassed and pushed a side, how I wish to train an all female team to beat the crap out of the boys !! any ladies out there who would like to give it a crack?  Anyhow thank you Egyptian chef association for having me onboard also this year.

 Have you ever been in Venice? yes actually a few times and I must admit that there is some magic in this city and the history really hits you when you walk along the narrow streets and the canals, romantic ? yes, would I like to stay there for a few days in a nice hotel, / Hell yes!!  How about the worlds most expensive coffee at Café Florian or the ridiculously expensive Bellini at Harrys bar. In 1956, an extraordinary event took place in Venice, Italy, when the famous canals of the city were drained and cleaned for the first time in centuries. This remarkable undertaking was known as the "Svolte di Popolazio," or the People's Revolution, and it was a massive civic project aimed at improving the sanitation and infrastructure of Venice's historic waterways. Over the centuries, the canals of Venice had accumulated layers of silt, debris, and waste, leading to unsanitary conditions and posing a threat to the city's architectural heritage. The decision to drain and

 China, the land of the amazing food, culture and nice people, I was luckily invited to do a amazing dinner in the city of Changsha where the owner was opening up his own personal museum of photography, he is one of the largest collectors in China with hundreds of ancient and old photos that he wanted people to see and admire, so he simply just made a decision to build a huge museum to showcase his collection. Story short a Chinese guy came to Sweden and looked me up and asked if I was able to do a dinner for the opening night for the owner and his closest friends, who am i to say no to this, 40 people 8 course dinner, no problem, I can do that by myself with a little planning and a good mis an place" I arrived 6 days prior to the opening and was hosted by the officials from his office and NO ONE could speak a word of English! I had to use google translate for everything, luckily I had send a shopping list a few weeks ahead so that was kind of safe, they took me to see the venue o

 When it comes to Indian food and food culture few beats chef Manjit Gill, he is an living encyclopedia when it comes to Indian food and the story and history behind things that we take for granted when we talk about Indian cuisine, I meet Chef Manjit for the first time I think it was something like 2004 and hade the pleasure even to visit him in India a few years ago for a presentation and meetings with IFCA the Indian chef association, also awarded Lifetime member of the association, I am very proud and humbled. Chef Manjit can tell you amazing stories about why and how food is made in Indian kitchens and how to build flavor profiles and layers, its fascinating and I consider Indian food to be one of the most difficult and complex cuisines in the world, extremely difficult to master and very few do. I was happy to catch up with Manjit on his visit here for a few days and just listen to all his stories. Thank you chef for your wisdom and friendship, much appreciated and I hope we can

 What many of you dont know is that I do kendo, this old martial art is from the samurai era when they use blunt weapons to train with and protective gear to avoid to mush painful moments (it still can hurt like hell) to be part of a group kendo explorers is fun and extremely hard for an old guy like me, age do matter whatever you say, the training is tuff and also extremely hot in Cairo weather with the bogu on, long  hakama, tenugui and the men (head protector) Its great fun and I also try to do Iaido (sword drawing) once per week just for fun, great camaraderie and fun people of all ages. PS. photos are not allowed during training