The secrets from the Chef & Sommelier

Its really nice and exciting when national TV of Serbia asked me to participate in one of their biggest shows on a Friday afternoon with more than 2 millions viewers and to have me talking about culinary trends and the power of the white jacket and the history of the brigade system developed by Escoffier, super cool to be invited for the third time and great to meet the familiar faces again and also the supercool drivers who picked me up, Thank You Anna for the invite @tanjug  What I did realized watching the show on you tube is how bad my Serbian language was, I could not stop laughing at myself listening how I mix in English words in the Serbian sentences, But at least I know another language which is cool anyway.  

How nice it was to again visit the magical city of Prague with some good friends and to judge the chef of the year of Czech Republic, the President of the association Miroslav goes way back and have been friends for years and also on the World chefs board of directors for 4 years. I am always amazed how good the chefs are in this country and how they develop year to year in standard and performance, super happy to see this and also recognize on the world stage like culinary Olympics and World cup. Thank you all chefs involved and thanks to fellow judges Gert Glotzke from My fellow country of Sweden and Roberto Beltramini from Luxembourg, hope to see you all next year.  

 My good habibi and great chef from another mother Daren Liew the Malaysian/Singaporean super star chef have opened up his new restaurant in the heart of London in posh Knightsbridge with the name of Nanyang blossom, so if you are in London you should not miss this place, and if you tell Daren that you know me he will give you Durian ice cream for free. follow below link and read more about this exiting opening. https://thechefsforum.co.uk/chefs-forum-favourite-daren-liew-opens-nanyang-blossom-in-trendy-knightsbridge/

 What the H...is Pan - American cuisine, well let me explain to you, this is a mix of Mexican, Caribbean and South American food culture that have inspired at least me for many years, bold full of freshness, slightly spice with the best and freshest ingredients available all cooked in a simple way, using open fire that ads this extra dimension to taste and texture, greatly balanced thru time and history adding local layers on top of each other to express the peoples native food culture but also a second dimension to all of us not raised there. I have such great memories visiting Mexico during my time working and living in LA ancient times ago  but the flavors is still with me and I can kill for a Mescal or 2. Enjoy some of the latest creations of mine all inspired by Pan-American cuisine, Saludos amigos

 What a great and exiting competition it was held i Belgrade Serbia end of last year with tons of wineries showcasing the best wines from the region and also some foreign producers, I hade a glass or two !! The other super exiting this was the culinary competition that I was invited as head judge with a team of great friends and fellow judges from Italy, Brazil, Switzerland, Germany, UK and Czech republic, what a brilliant bunch of people and great chefs who help out with Judging and most important to give proper feedback to the competitors, we even managed to present a chef jacket to the Serbian President Vukcic that he can use when his making his famous breakfast pancakes. We tasted some amazing dishes along the 3 day competition showcasing how far the chefs in Serbia and Balkan have gone for the past 10 years, yes there is much more to achieve but the path is crystal clear and we will witness greatness in the future for this part of Europe. Hanging with chefs is always fun and y...

 The last HACE EXPO her in Cairo showcased a wide range of suppliers and alo head the annual culinary competition held be the Egyptian chef association that invited myself to be a part of the judging team, It was great to se especially the young and female chefs showing skills and good attitude that was somewhat questionable by the fellow young gentlemen, to not win and accept is not in Egyptian culture. It was truly great to meet up so  many great guys and to know more people in the trade, some are very nice and some less but any how the output is positive for myself, and great enjoyment. What is nice is to be able to give the competitors proper feedback that will make them stronger and better next time they come back to compete, I want them to show that they learned something every time they spent time in the box. Thank you ECA for the invite and I hope to get a second chance later this year.  

 The Grand Museum Cairo Giza will be the biggest museum in Africa and also the biggest museum in the world with just focusing on one civilization, the Egyptian, a very bald move to build but I have to admit that the two architects (one Irish and one Japanese) did it absolutely breathtaking and a marvel in a building. I have been fortunate enough to visit a few times and was always blown away by its sheer size from the statue of Ramses II the great to the pillows and columns holding it up, this is a must visit museum when in Cairo and in the future there will also be a special part all dedicated to Tutankhamun with all items on display there for the first time in history, planed to be finished in 2030.