Chef competition winners in Luxor announced

Ahram Online is on site during the chef competition in Luxor; a city that holds most of Egypt's temples and many of its hotels, whose chefs are raising the bar

Clang, bang boom. Pacing pacing, furious pacing. Somewhat anxious faces hovering over their small, colourful, edible creations laid out over a long table. Tall, white hats bobbing everywhere. White uniforms contrast with the steel furniture, appliances and stoves. Dozens of chefs in the industrial-sized kitchen of the Sofitel Karnak in Luxor; some leaning over to concentrate on fine chopping. Others standing tall with fire ablaze under the pan they are swooshing. Others are finished with their meal, and staring over it; their eyes glaze as they wonder "What will the judge think? Did I make the right choice? Is it overcooked? Undercooked? Is it as well-presented as it could be?"
This was the scene at the Egyptian Chef's Association (ECA) Luxor Culinary Challenge 2012 at 10:00am. The chefs had arrived at 6:00am, eager to start the day, the competition and prove that they have the skills for the top prize. They pay a small fee to register and participate.
Eager chefs are rewarded by a chance to win the highest-level prize of LE1000. This is also a chance to prepare themselves for the national competition at HACE hospitality conference in Cairo in October.
Kitchen teams from Steigenberger Nile Palace Luxor, Hilton Luxor Resort & Spa, Sofitel Winter Palace, Maritime Jolie Ville, Iberotel Luxor Hotel, Sofitel Karnak Luxor all participated.
Mirjiam van Ijssel of the ECA announces the winners in a "graduation" ceremony for the chefs. There are seven five-star hotels and four four-star hotels, and out of that roughly 40 chefs took part in the competition.
On a green, manicured lawn, a spread of various tables and the chefs, still proudly in uniform, await the results:
Individual:
First prize, which received the top award of LE 1000 isMubarak Mohamed Hashem, Sous Chef at the Sofitel Winter Palace Hotel. In second place isAhmed Abdel Naby, 3rd Commis Maritime Jolie Ville Luxor Hotel and third:Ayman Tohamy, Demi Chef de Partie Steigenberger Nile Palace Luxor.
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Overall Team:
The first prize team isthe Hilton Luxor, who won LE1000, with the Maritime Jolie Ville Luxor coming in second and the Sofitel Karnak's own team coming in third.
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Notably, the ECA was so impressed with one particular chef that they created a new category on the spot and rewarded him with LE500 for Best Competition Spirit: Abdel Rahman Saad, Chef de Partie, Steigenberger Nile Palace Luxor. Although the pasta competition was supposed to be with fresh home-made pasta (not bought and boxed) only one chef followed the instructions.For any of the other chefs to even qualify - he gave of his own pasta!
All of the chefs made two plates from each of their dishes: one untouched and is merely there as a reminder of what it looked like before the judge delves into the spare plate. From the moment he picks up the fork to take a small, merciless slice, his eyes say he is concentrating on every detail. Immediately he pulls up his score sheet to jot down his impressions.
In the kitchen, during the competition...
For some of the chefs, such as Yasser Mohamed El Saady, it is their first competition. El Saady has been working in the industry for 16 years.
##He listened with rapt attention to Judge Markus Iten's comments, literally taking notes with a pad and pen, scribbling what he can hear above the constant murmur of orders flying back and forth in the kitchens and chit chat over all the other teams' dishes.
Each element from each plate is given a thorough review. Chef Iten, with decades of experience, can tell when the cooks didn't follow the recipe quite right. "Too salty" he says. "If the recipe calls for 200 of salt, it should be that exactly."
##Consistency in the sizes of each pieces, portions and proportions really count. Less is more.
"The stuffing should be warm when you make the [Juliene] chicken, not cold."
"This was overcooked, you should have taken it out when it was at 69 degrees and let it cook itself until it gets to 72. At that point it will still be juicy."
"The presentation is perfect. Simple, at least a thumb's distance from the edge. You don't need this dollop or this basil leaf, though."
On and on, with the chefs' team surrounding, listening to the suggestions. By the end of the competition, the chefs are also loosening up and tasting each other's dishes. They are less concerned now about the judge and curious to see what their colleagues are doing.
That's the kind of spirit that the organisers are aiming for. Interest in bettering themselves, trying new things.
As the Sofitel Karnak General Manager, Gamal Hassan says, "One of the biggest problems with the hospitality industry in Egypt is the food. We get so many comments on that!"
"We've signed a protocol of cooperation with the ECA and within the last seven-eight months we've been holding intensive and general trainings inside of the Sofitel kitchen," he reveals.
"There's been so much hotel expansion, but there hasn't been an equal investment in the human resources," he says, and cites the well-known statistic that Egypt holds one third of the world's monuments.
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"Also, we want to see who is really outstanding and has talent in Luxor;" which would no doubt put a glimmer in the eye of some of the chefs that love their job.
Ahram Online asked Hassan that with all his close to 20-years experience in the hotel industry and as GM, what percentage of those looking for work in the kitchen in Egypt do it for the love of the trade and how many look to it as "simply a job."
"About 50/50" he replies after some coaxing. "Really what you want to do is to hire the right person for the right job from the beginning. Otherwise they aren't happy, they leave and then you have to start the hiring and training process from scratch."
The spark in the chef's faces show this is exactly the challenge they've been waiting for.
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