To become a good cook is attainable, but being a chef is no easy feat. Dena Rashed tastes the sweet and the sour in a five-star hotel kitchen Do you have passion for cooking? Some mothers say, "if you are happy, your cooking must taste great," and I personally found that to be true. On the rare occasions that I put my heart into trying a new recipe, the food always turns out to be first- rate, despite all the jokes I have to endure after serving the dish to family members. Great cooks must frequently brave the harshest comments. However, I came to a realisation in the past two months. I will only cook when I really feel like it, because it's the only way to guarantee success. After checking recipes, watching TV cooking shows and making a kitchen appearance every month or two, guided by the expert advice of my mother, I knew I had to take it a step up. I figured if I wrote mid-term papers on the night before the deadline and got a B, then maybe I could focus a little earlier on cooking and get an A. I just needed to get warmed up. So, I find myself at the Four Seasons Hotel in Giza tailing chef Brian Moyers in the kitchen and restaurant. Moyers, the Boulevard chef at the Four Seasons Hotel, Beverly Hills, California, had come to Egypt on his first visit for a 10-day promotional tour. He agreed to allow me to witness what happens in the chefs' back kitchen after attending his one-day cooking class at the hotel, in which Moyers shared his recipes, demonstrating some attractive dishes that impressed the small crowd. Watching the 33-year-old chef cook was inspiring because it proved my point. While his dishes were based on many ingredients, he made it look so simple to prepare, giving his valuable tips along the way. Although I am not a food critic, I know delicious food when I taste it, so after savouring the Panzanella, which is pan-seared prawn salad on top of field greens with fresh peach and apricot, it was an enlightening experience to find out that seafood and fruits could be mixed together most tastefully. My idea of a cooking class has been largely influenced by movies and sitcoms. So I expected to be given my own partition in which to prepare the ingredients and follow the chef's instructions throughout the demonstration. My hopes were crushed when I discovered we were seated audience-style to watch the chef prepare the meal. Dressed in jeans and ready to roll my sleeves, I noticed that, in contrast, the women present were dressed up for the class. However, after watching chef Moyers cook the Panzanella, the mouth-watering smell of the prawns filled the room and filled my heart with joy. After tasting the Orgeanto (crispy French chicken breast, white bean puree with charred broccoli and lemon supremes), I have to say I was completely ready for the dessert, peach cobbler. With a stereotype in mind, and despite the fit example of world-renowned chef Gordon Ramsey, I was under the impression that chefs had to be on the chubby side. Moyers and the other chefs in the kitchen corrected my cartoon imagination. "People always ask me how I stay slim," said Moyers. "But the long hours in the kitchen, the anxiety and the rush can keep one in good shape. If the chef does not spend much time in the kitchen cooking, then he could gain wait. I personally gained 30 pounds while supervising the cooking before." Cooking since he was 18, Moyers was trained by chefs from different nationalities; American, Japanese (while he worked at the renowned Nobu restaurant), French and Italians. Moyers did not plan to become a chef. "I studied criminal investigation for a year and my grades weren't great because I spent the first year at college having fun. When my mother asked me to get a job and pay my tuition, I started working at a restaurant," he told Al-Ahram Weekly. "My career took off from there and there was an instant passion. I joined a culinary school and started experimenting with different cuisines." He also worked for Olives in Manhattan and Relish in Sparkill, New York. Most chefs were younger than I expected; the oldest might not be over 45. Being a young chef responsible for a large restaurant does have its negative side. "I had chefs telling me I was younger than shoes they owned," said Moyers with a big laugh. However, it seems difficult for other chefs to accept a young person managing them at the end. Working long hours also does not grant chefs enough time to have a stable private life. "Sometimes I work 16 hours per day, go home, sleep, wake up and do it all over again, so it's difficult to maintain the balance between a private and professional life." The day after his cooking class, Moyers invited me to watch the preparations for a VIP tasting for the hotel executives in the open kitchen of the Seasons restaurant. The hotel's head chef, Italian Jon Carlo, accompanied by the Japanese Youshi Mizutani and the newly arrived Italian Jon Marco, were busy with the preparations. While the air was light, there was definitely some intensity during the cooking as this was one of the critical tests for newly-arrived chefs. Marco was preparing his dishes for a new menu, so everything had to be perfect. The fun part, beyond doubt, was getting to taste all the food before the VIPs and coming to the realisation that sushi, which turned me off because of the raw fish, could be great if eaten at the right place. "It is a new style of sushi," Mizutani told me when I praised him. After savouring one piece, Moyers asked me if I knew what I ate, which I didn't. What was wrapped inside the roll appeared to have been seal. Not in a million years would I have imagined tasting such a thing. The most intriguing part of the process was how the chefs managed to create new dishes. Moyers explained that every month they had to come up with a new menu. "A bad chef doesn't change the menu," he said. In his mind, the ingredients and the tastes must make sense and he can foretell how the dish will turn into. "Every dish has to have flavour, balance and texture, and you have to taste as you go." Sampling chef Marco's dessert for the VIP tasting was a good example of this creativity. It was iced watermelon with coffee at the bottom of the glass; sweet, yet strong, the taste shocking and hitting your brain immediately. I asked Moyers for tips for beginners like myself who want to experiment. "If you try to be great before good, it is a disaster." Moyers advises to go basic. "Spend some time with your mother in the kitchen." Moving to the back kitchen was a different experience, like coming out of the doors of a pub to the quiet street. It was chef Moyers' turn to prepare and supervise his meal and I was appointed his assistant right away. Things were really quiet, no yelling or screaming Ramsey-style. Yet Moyers explained that in many of the kitchens he worked, there was a lot of yelling, sometimes even tears. "When someone cries, I know they really care about their cooking and they put a lot of effort into it." As the guests for this specially ordered meal at the tea lounge arrived, chefs started rushing. Like all rookies, I had to start with an onion, under the promise that Moyers will not fire people on their first day of work. Displaying his set of knives that flew with him from the US, Moyers advised using Japanese ones, which are expensive but will get the work done easily. The lack of female chefs in the kitchen is due to a variety of reasons. "Women can't handle the pressure of the kitchen, the long work hours and the heat of the ovens," said Mustafa, an Egyptian chef. "The male chefs get their rest at home, because they rarely cook for the family. When I am done for the day, I need someone to make me food." Mohamed Fahmi, another Egyptian chef, said he did not comment on his wife's food in the beginning, but later began giving her tactful advice, which helped her become a better cook. After two hours of standing and no seat in sight, the job was still motivating. I was handed the second assignment, mozzarella and tomato sandwiches. If you believe they do not require dedication, you are mistaken. I was elated when Moyers complimented me with "You are like a machine." The most important factor that Moyers learned at the beginning of his career is to always have the ingredients ready. "It is called Mise en place. You have to have all the ingredients placed in front of you before cooking. It will save you time and effort." Usually, that is the job of the assistant chef, and it became apparent how a dish was delayed because the toothpicks that will hold the sandwiches were not enough and someone had to run and get more from the main kitchen. "Are you still hungry?" asked Moyers, and despite all my tasting for the day, it seems creative dishes make you want to have more. As the Italian chef was preparing more ravioli, I got to learn the right fold and, in a small plate, Moyers used two pieces with a mushroom sauce and voila, another dish served in less than five minutes. I took chef Moyers for a tour in the local Egyptian food market, where he checks the vegetables and fruits and, after a long walk, decides which place he would buy from if he lived in Egypt. "The vegetables look good and the display is great," he said after taking a photo at the Suleiman Gohar market in Doqqi. As for his inspirational Egyptian ingredient, "It is ferik. I will probably create a dish inspired by this ingredient." He also managed to get a dish of koshari before going back to the hotel. "I see myself living here in Egypt," said Moyers at the end of his trip to Cairo. "Maybe in the future." On my way home, I realised that another tough aspect of a chef's job is the instant reaction he gets. "As I enter the restaurant, I see people's reactions. If they like the food, it shows on their faces, they don't even have to talk," said Moyers. So next time you are in a restaurant and you are impressed by the food, remember to send your best to the chef. He has one tough job.
