Gamal Nkrumah on the contest that clusters together Asian, Arab and Italian-inspired dishes with an accent on distinctness Most chefs care more about who they are competing with or who they are seen to be competing with than what they are actually cooking when competing at such a prestigious event as the Chefs Grand Prix Trophy 2008. This riveting affair took place at the Cairo International Convention Centre (CICC), 10-13 November, amid much pomp and ceremony. The competition, an eye-catching and mouthwatering aside of the 28th International Hotel Supplies and Catering Equipment exhibition, attracted some 180 professional chefs from Egypt and abroad. The live cooking competition, sponsored by the Egyptian Chefs Association, "met international standards and exceeded all expectations", remarked President of the Egyptian Press Association Markus Iten, a Swiss national who founded the aforementioned association in 1997. A towering and lanky figure, his demotic idiom, anti- elitist aesthetic and stark lucidity are rooted in his professional experience in this part of the world, which has been self-evidently compelling. Iten breaks off quickly. "Stuff happens," he shrugs and proceeds to give an example. This year's Culinary Olympics, held in Erfurt, Germany, 9-22 October, witnessed Egyptian chefs clasping five gold, two silver and a bronze medal. He lives rigorously. "To earn a gold medal at the Culinary Olympics is possibly the highest award a chef will gain during his whole career," he added commenting on the first ever Culinary Olympics gold medal won by an Egyptian chef in history. Fired with enthusiasm, the chefs, brimming with glee at the unprecedented mastery of the culinary art's most celebrated contest that like the Olympics occurs every four years, were poised to outdo themselves at last week's competition. Egyptian and foreign chefs competed on an equal footing in such eye-popping celebrations as fruit and vegetable carvings, mystery baskets, pasta and Asian cuisine. As always, this was a male-oriented contest. Only four women competed -- three Thai chefs and the bubbly Egyptian belle Sayeda. Chef Sayeda, a winsome matron with a ready smile, was perspiring profusely when Al-Ahram Weekly caught up with her after a hectic afternoon in which she prepared a winning stew of beetroot and okra. "I wanted to offer something different, something original but with a touch of the traditional," Sayeda chuckled as she wiped away a droplet from her forehead in a decorously coquettish fashion. She kept her ears cocked for any mention of her name. The judges squinted complacently at the cooks from gigantic screens. The list of instructions and guidelines for the competition brings with it a flavour of calculated abandon. Sayeda was no exception. She prepared the outlandish concoction with one of her preferred denizens of the deep -- denise, or grouper. She proudly made a show of it all. "This is my second contest and I am enjoying every second of it." Teaming up with fellow chefs from the redoubtable InterContinental Citystars, the empyrean Sayeda clinched several deals in a matter of minutes. "I don't have a catering business as such. I just cook for friends and friends of friends over the weekends or whenever I am free," she explained almost apologetically. The friendships really do have to play second fiddle. "Food comes first," she lets out a shrill chortle. So why are there not many more women chefs in the business? "Working in the kitchen is physically demanding, and let's face it: men are physically stronger than women," Mirjam van IJssel, a Dutch chef and a judge at the contest, tells the Weekly. She labours with a colossal copy of New Arabia Cuisine by photojournalist Lutz Jökel, published on the 50th anniversary of the launching of Lufthansa, the national German airline that sponsored the book. The recipes are by Dubai chefs whose bizarre fusion hits such as beetroot soup with hibiscus ( karkadeh ) were received with much critical acclaim in Europe. IJssel's chatter and bounce are reminiscent of an adolescent. Encased in aspic, the principal fare of regional cuisine such as Irish stew or haggis once upon a time made occasional appearances at the salons culinaires of Europe. Today, as a reaction to fusion cooking, the essential elements of regional cuisine are all the rage. "However, the food is presented in small portions that are pleasing to the eye," IJssel stresses. She roared with laughter. "Superfood is the new buzzword," said IJssel executive director of the Egyptian Chefs Association. "The notion of cooking healthy foods with smaller portions has caught on. We no more like heavy classic dishes, not even the much- revered French classics. That is all passé," she extrapolates. "That is why the traditional Lebanese and other Oriental mezze are now in vogue. They are packed with minerals and nutrients and they do not bloat your gut or give you heartburn," IJssel smiles. She points out that this is the first time that the mezze have entered the competition. "It was looked down upon," she muses. IJssel says that light, easily digestible foods that diners can nibble such as mezze have entered the cannon of haute cuisine. "They are a deceptively simple affair." The Culinary Institute of America (CIA), IJssel winks and raises a cautionary index finger, notes that 49 per cent of culinary students are now women. Eight million chefs are women, according to the CIA, she lets out a shriek of infectious laughter. "Cooking is a most unsociable profession. It is difficult to be a professional chef and raise a family. It is physically demanding and most chefs work for 12-15 hours a day, including religious festivals and public holidays," IJssel turns dead serious. "Contemporary cooking equipment makes cooking so much easier, and more and more women are entering the profession," she assures. "Asian cuisine is less laborious and that is why you see many more Asian women chefs. As cooking becomes more sophisticated, more women are entering the fray." Chef Yasser Kamel Ali of InterContinental Citystars, winner of the Middle Eastern main course category, is hurriedly ushered to my side. He is visibly shaken, stuttering and getting all het up. "I spent two days thinking about the dish I would prepare for the contest. I did not sleep a wink. I so desperately wanted to impress the judges, and I did. I came up with the idea of combining loin of lamb with duck breast -- two rich red meats with strong flavours -- and then popped cottage cheese among the meats to soften somewhat the pungency of the fleshly offerings," he was breathless with excitement. " Hamdullah, thank God," he gasped rapturously. Chef Yasser's elaborately moulded meaty dish clenched the first prize of the Main Course Middle Eastern contest. The braising of lamb and duck seasoned with herbs -- Oriental and Italian -- drenched with orange juice and coarsely chopped garlic and served with an aromatic coriander saturated risotto, was an incontestable winner. "I place the meat in an ovenproof dish and grease the inside of the dish. Then, I place the duck breast, skin side down," he mimics the motions of cooking a plump bird. What with one thing and another, you might not have noticed Chef Mohamed Hussein, also of the InterContinental Citystars, was the pasta winner. He ingeniously combined "rich French and healthy Italian" sauces to go with his fettuccine. Pan-fried foie gras, spiced with fresh thyme sprigs and marjoram, was his first creation. The second was a rich and flavoursome bisque of lobster and prawns peppered with freshly plucked parsley and again sprigs of fragrant fresh thyme. And, the third was a herbal delight to go with the famous French snails, l'escargots. Chef Yasser made no secret of his ambition to further his career. He knows that the diners want to give themselves big treats and he happily obliges. His career blossomed at the venerable Dar Al-Taweed InterContinental in the vicinity of the holiest of Muslim mosques Al-Haram Al-Sharif, Mecca. In the shade of Islam's holiest shrines he learned to cater for the tastes of his Saudi hosts. "The Saudis love hot sauces, their cuisine is heavily influenced by the classics of South Asian cuisine," he puffed on his hands. "It is the heat." Chef Yasser has been in the employ of the InterContinental in Egypt and abroad for the past decade and does not regret it. Life's achievement and philosophy is encapsulated in a tasty dish. Simple, accessible recipes are within our reach. These are some of the lessons drawn from the culinary contest at the CICC this week. "Brown the meat in a saucepan with sesame oil," Sayeda gingerly chips in. Once well coloured, add two large onions chopped into dice, celery stalks and ..." her mind wanders off. "I need to sit down," Sayeda huffs and puffs. She gestures at the bustling CICC. "How exciting," she exclaims. Reaping the rewards of know-how is exciting, indeed. "Allow the stock to simmer gently. Leave the parsley leaves for the final assembly. Braised cabbage hearts for the finishing touches." And, last but not least, it is time to catch up with the overwhelming chef Thomas Gugler of Lufthansa. Gugler, with his distinctive moustache and conspicuous golden earring, lived for many years in Tunisia and flies all over the Arab world. "Dubai is the centre of it all," Gugler admits. "Cairo is the second most important venue for these types of culinary contests after Dubai," Gugler confesses. "Beirut and Kuwait are not far behind, though." He disappears into the hustle and bustle of the CICC.
