Mövenpick Resort Al Nawras chefs cook up a storm in contest

Chefs from Jeddah’s Mövenpick Resort Al-Nawras cooked up a storm to be crowned champions of the kitchen at Saudi Arabia’s first-ever inter-hotel culinary competition.
Pitted off against ten of the Kingdom’s finest hotels, the Mövenpick team came out on top as the chefs’ cooking prowess was put to the test by the contest’s “Mystery Box” challenge.
Each team was given three hours to whip up four courses using ingredients only revealed to them once they stepped inside the kitchen.
Their efforts were judged by four chefs from the Saudi Arabian Chefs’ Association (SARCA) and the Saudi Arabian Chefs Table Circle (SACTC) — and played out in front of thousands of spectators at The Hotel Show Saudi Arabia.
Around 50 dishes were served over the three-day “Worldchefs Endorsed Competition.”
It was eventually the Mövenpick’s five-man team that took home the gold medal.
Ali Salloum, executive chef at the Mövenpick Resort Al Nawras Jeddah, said: “This is Al-Nawras my kitchen has participated in such a competition. It has been amazing to be given such an opportunity, and I am very proud of our team on winning the gold.”
Chef Yasser Jad, founder and president of SARCA, and food and beverage manager at Saudi Arabian Airlines, chaired the jury.
“We would like to congratulate Mövenpick Resort Al-Nawras Jeddah. They have done a marvellous job creating a simple, presentable and very tasty menu from some of the more tricky ingredients in the ‘Mystery Box,’ including tuna for the starter, fresh vegetables for the soup, chicken for the main course, and the creation of a crème brûlée for dessert. This team also stood out for its excellent presentation and perfect portion sizes,” Jad said.
Elaf Jeddah Hotel and Makarem Ajyad Makkah Hotel took the silver and bronze medals respectively, the latter being unique as it was the only team in the competition comprising entirely Saudi female chefs.
Jad said: “We would like to thank all of the teams that took part in the competition for their outstanding efforts.
“Through competitions such as these, Saudi Arabian Chefs’ Association aims to highlight the talent and skilled roles of chefs in the Kingdom. There are excellent opportunities available in the food and beverage sector here, and we seek to assist the goals set by Saudi Vision 2030 in increasing the number of jobs occupied by Saudi nationals in hospitality.”

Source: Arab News