Top chefs from China host culinary demonstration

On January 29^th, we welcomed five top chefs from China each hailing from renowned restaurants and hotels for a unique cooking demonstration at Le Cordon Bleu London. These well-respected chefs recently won a culinary competition organised by Gourmet Magazine in China. The demonstration was a fusion of both Asian and French cuisine which included dishes such as sushi and foie gras, with each chef preparing separate dishes in under 20 minutes.

The first demonstration was from Chef Andy Choy, a renowned Malaysian Executive Chef at Groupe FLO Asia, based in Beijing. He made Carpaccio de St Jacques which is a fusion of Asian and French cuisine. The ingredients included scallop carpaccio with oyster mousse, frisé, mango, and passion fruit dressing which was served with a delicious turmeric condiment.

Secondly, Hanson Hu a well-known Chinese Executive Chef at Chef’s Dream in Beijing made an intricate dish from simple ingredients, perfect for anyone to try at home. He used just two large potatoes as his main ingredients which were then deep fried. They were accompanied with dried seaweeds, wasabi, mayonnaise and spices such as parsley and chives.

Next up was native Korean Chef, Min Lee who works at Renaissance Shanghai Caohejing Hotel . She prepared a delicate selection of sushi known as Salmon Maki Roll with Gonbu Orange Cream Sauce. In just 20 minutes she prepared the appetising sushi with Japanese rice, crab meat and Japanese pickled ginger.

Following this was Chef Tao Shan’s Pan-Fried Foie Gras with Tri-Coloured Beats, Watermelon and Vanilla. As an Executive Chef at Chaplin Bar and Kitchen in Beijing, he decided to make a dish inspired by both France and Asia with light and fresh ingredients such as watermelon fresh thyme and garlic which was thoroughly enjoyed by the attendees.

The recipes of the demonstration drew inspiration from not just France but also Italy as Chef Joel Manchia made Beef Tataki, Seaweed and Cucumber Salad, which is a combination of French, Italian and Chinese. To prepare this unique dish, he used tenderloin, ginger, mirin and karashi which is a type of mustard. For the salad he used two types of seaweed (red dulse and green wakame), rice wine vinegar, carrot, leek, green onion and sesame seeds. Chef Manchia is currently the Sous Chef at Mio restaurant, Four Seasons hotel Beijing.

The room was filled with Le Cordon Bleu students and attendees from outside the school. Those in attendance thoroughly enjoyed discovering new recipes and cooking techniques from these renowned chefs!

During the demonstration everyone had the opportunity to taste the food as well as converse with the chefs about each off their cooking techniques, backgrounds, and how it’s like to be a chef in China. We hope to welcome these truly wonderful chefs to Le Cordon Bleu London soon again !