Team led by Zaiyu Hasegawa, chef-owner of restaurant number two on Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants 2018, shows how they add humor and surprises to their fine dining
Ahead of the highly anticipated announcement of Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants 2019 list and awards ceremony tomorrow evening (March 26) in Macao, visiting chefs from renowned restaurants across Asia joined a session this morning that brought to the table the discussion of sustainable practices and the key elements for a successful restaurant. Culinary arts students in Macao also had the chance to learn from one of the best in the field in an educational session conducted in the afternoon.
Ingredients behind the success of a restaurant
Some of the star-chefs in town for the awards ceremony spoke this morning at 50BestTalks held at Wynn Macau. The session consisted of a culinary conference and demonstration themed “Vital Ingredients”, with chefs awarded or from restaurants listed on Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants talking about their secret ingredients of success and presenting some of their signature delicacies. The chefs’ lineup included Japanese Zaiyu Hasegawa from Den in Tokyo, restaurant ranked number two on Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants 2018 list, who believes soul is the main ingredient and demonstrated how his team adds fun into its creations in fine dining. Next, this year’s Asia’s Best Female Chef, Bangkok-based Indian chef, Garima Arora, talked about spice as her key element, while Tokyo-based Italian pastry chef, Fabrizio Fiorani, gave an insight into his world of sugar, among other presentations.
A panel discussion followed on the menu of 50BestTalks with leading industry experts from different corners of the world discussing different approaches to improving sustainability across the restaurant sector. Among the speakers was awarded chef Bo Songvisava, respected for her Thai fine dining and commitment to run a zero carbon footprint restaurant, along with Rodolfo Guzmán, who is one of Chile’s most respected chefs and a leading voice in sustainability and ethical cooking in Latin America. Also joining the debate was Japanese chef Shinobu Namae, whose restaurant L’Effervescence in Tokyo, was awarded with the inaugural Sustainable Restaurant Award in Asia in 2018, due to his respect for the environment, the freshness and natural resources in his kitchen.
Educational session on restaurant reinvention
In the afternoon, Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants went to the Macau University of Science and Technology (MUST) to conduct an educational session for around 50 students of Food and Beverage Management. The guest speaker was chef Richard Ekkebus, the culinary director of Amber in Hong Kong, ranked number seven on Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants 2018, who shared his experience and elaborated with the students how he and his team have approached the reinvention of the restaurant, now undergoing renovation. The Dutch-born chef engaged in a conversation and answered the questions of MUST students, sharing his global experience, influences and advises, encouraging them to follow their dream, along with the process of innovation of the menu, the interiors, the service style, sustainable practices and inspiration of a restaurant at his helm.
This evening, chefs and restaurateurs are booked for a Chefs’ Feast at Pousada de Coloane, for networking among themselves and with local counterparts. The menu for the dinner gathering of the best chefs in Asia will include Macanese dishes.
List of Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants unveiled tomorrow
Tomorrow morning, chefs from across Asia will also have the opportunity for a hands-on experience in making some of Macao’s popular pastries in workshops to prepare almond cookies and Portuguese egg tarts, followed by a visit to nearby gastronomic attractions in Taipa Village.
In the evening, Asia’s culinary community will gather at Wynn Palace for a gala event to unveil this year’s ranking of the fifty most influential restaurants in Asia and present several individual awards. Chefs and restaurant owners, food critics from Macao and destinations across Asia will attend the occasion.
Organized by William Reed Business Media, with the support of Macao Government Tourism Office, the hosting of the world famous gourmet awards ceremony in the city for the second consecutive year provides Macao with the opportunity to once again interact with some of the best chefs in the region, showcase the city, its dynamic restaurant scene and development as a UNESCO Creative City of Gastronomy.
Asia's 50 Best Restaurants awards ceremony will be streamed live (via Facebook) on March 26, after 8:45pm at: https://www.facebook.com/Asias50BestRestaurants/
