Some of the Middle East’s most promising culinary talent will be basting, tasting, toasting and roasting over three days in Dubai for a chance to be crowned ‘Anchor MasterChef’ 2010.
Fonterra, the world’s largest dairy exporter, received entries from junior chefs working in the most elite kitchens in the UAE. At least eight teams of two will start their cordon bleu cook-off on Sunday. [10 January]. Each team consists of one hot kitchen chef and one pastry chef who will be representing both themselves and their establishment.
The competition will take place in Fonterra’s very own innovation kitchen – the Culinarium – which is a brand new; state-of-the-art facility, making the chefs feel right at home.
Chef Peter Hallmanns, Advisory Chef for the Fonterra Foodservices Division said the standard of the entrants’ recipes was exceptionally high.
“With such talent participating in the challenge, I have no doubt the competition will be fierce.
“Fonterra is well aware of the outstanding skills being demonstrated every day in our world famous hotels and restaurants across the UAE. By providing a platform such as the ‘Anchor MasterChef Challenge’ we can bring this culinary talent to the industry’s attention.”
The chosen teams will begin by preparing a three-course meal of their own choosing within a timeframe of three hours. The dishes will be judged by Chef Peter in additional to two professional chefs from leading hotels in Dubai and the most talented four teams will proceed to the semi-final.
Chef Peter continues: “In the first stage of the competition, the chefs will be able to create the dishes they know well and which show off their individual talents. The final two stages will test their imagination as they will be preparing food from a mystery basket of ingredients.
“There will be unlimited Anchor products on offer throughout the competition and this will give the chefs a chance to demonstrate the quality and flexibility of the products in their recipes.â€
The winning team will receive AED 10,000 per team and one year’s worth of media exposure in conjunction with Fonterra. The team in second place will receive AED 5000 per team.
In the first round, teams will compete on either 10th or 11th January, the semi-finals take place on the 12th January, and the final will be held on the 13th January.
