Wonderful Winkler!
By Dr. Michael Lim The Travelling Gourmet
who attends a Culinary masterclass by a 3 Michelin Star Masterchef………
MASTERCLASSES by top Chefs are always enlightening and although I have trained at CIA (Culinary Institute of America), I always believe what Socrates said, namely, "The only true wisdom is to realise you know nothing." On 19 April, 2007, I went happily to attend the Culinary Masterclass by the only 3 Michelin Star Chef at the 11th World Gourmet Summit in Singapore. Singapore aspires to be the culinary Mecca of Asia and is succeeding to a large extent. Many tourists like to attend the World Gourmet Summit events in Singapore because of the many top Chefs and celebrities that take part.
Chef Heinz Winkler was the youngest Chef to get 3 Michelin Stars at the tender age of 31 in 1981. He was also awarded the Bundesverdienstkreuz by the German President in 2001 for his services to German gastronomy. Friendly and unassuming Heinz has his own restaurant and hotel in Aschau in Germany. Chef Winkler began his class, speaking in German, with Oliver, Fullerton‘s Austrian Director of Food & Beverage translating. His first dish was Carpaccio of Salmon & Scallops with Lime Dressing. Raw salmon and scallops from the USA drizzled with a very simple dressing of olive oil, lime juice, salt, pepper, freshly grated lime and lemon zest typified his "cuisine vitale" which aims to provide good food with fresh ingredients of the best quality so as to make the person who eats it healthy. During his demonstration, The lady moderator kept asking irrelevant and irrational questions like "What kind of scallops are these?" and "Can you use lemongrass as a herb?" which wasted time and distracted the Chef. An attractive well dressed lady attending the Masterclass got so incensed that she put her hand up, and asked the moderator to stop asking questions and to just let the Chef explain and demonstrate the dishes which was what everyone wanted. Unfortunately, it only had limited effect.
Chef Heinz then demonstrated how to make Crepinettes of Veal Tenderloin with Morels. He seasoned the veal and then made a paste of butter, cream, parsley, minced chicken, tarragon, mint and basil which he used to cover the veal. Next, he used Caul Fat or Pork Net which is the lacy membrane around the intestines of the pig to lovingly wrap the veal into little parcels. Heinz sauteed the veal for 3 to 4 minutes before putting them in the oven at 200C for 3 to 4 minutes depending on the thickness of the meat. Here, the moderator interjected irreverently and proclaimed, "Now the Chef is doing a bit of quick stir fry!" Saute is to cook the meat in a shallow pan called a saute pan with a little fat over relatively high heat. It is NOT stir frying. The Chef explained that the veal should be served medium rare. The moderator exclaimed in suprise, "But there are people who cannot take medium rare, must be well done." Respectfully, people who want to take their veal and expensive USDA tenderloin well done are not gourmets, and would be better off eating fast food burgers instead of foie gras. "How long do we let the food rest?" was another question from the moderator. Chef Heinz replied adamantly, "Serve it immediately!" For a masterchef who serves "cuisine vitale" where food is served fresh and a la minute, is that not logical and obvious?
Chef Heinz also showed us how to make a Salt Baked Sea Bass, and the moderator promptly got a plate of salt to be passed around for all to see. There were many amused and bemused faces in the audience. Is there anyone who does not know what salt looks like?? Frivolous and ridiculous antics like this only detract from the Culinary Masterclass by a 3 Michelin Star Masterchef no less and wastes time.
Sour Cream Ice Cream with Rhubarb Compote was dessert. The moderator pronounced, "Compote is jam." Compote is NOT jam but is fruit cut or whole, cooked in a sugar syrup and of a much lighter consistency than jam. Lunch of the speciaities Chef Winkler had cooked was served with Miguel Torres wines. I particularly liked the Miguel Torres Cordillera 2003 red wine from Chile. A blend of 65% Carinena, 20% Merlot and 10% Shiraz, its bouquet of roast pork, sour plum and spice intrigued me. On the mid-palate, cassis, sour plums and cherries were delicious with the veal flavoured by the aromatic parsley, basil, mint and tarragon. The dessert wine of Miguel Torres Riesling 2004 Vendimia Tardia from Chile with its apricot and wild honey nuances evened out the tartness of the rhubarb and melded seamlessly with the sour cream notes of the ice cream. The Masterclass would have been much better without a moderator who kept interrupting and distracting the Chef from his cooking and explanations with irrelevant and frankly, somewhat silly questions. As the old Italian proverb goes, "Troppi cuochi scuipano la minestre." It means, "Too many cooks spoil the minestrone soup". Especially, when they do not know how to cook. By Dr. Michael Lim The Travelling Gourmet who is a renowned Travel, Food & Wine Writer in Asia. {:-)
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Yahoo Travel Singapore St. Andrew’s Cathedral 3.5.07.
MOST tourists don’t know that the current Fullerton Hotel was actually Singapore‘s historic General Post Office. It is near to the majestic St. Andrew’s Cathedral. It was here that I attended a Culinary Masterclass in April 2007 held as part of the 11th World Gourmet Summit in Singapore. The World Gourmet Summit is very popular with Singaporeans & tourists too. The large number of world famous chefs & celebrities make it attractive for tourists to attend, for eg a Culinary Masterclass by a 3 Michelin Star Chef. Chef Heinz Winkler at 31 was the youngest Chef to get 3 Michelin Stars in 1981. Friendly Heinz has his own restaurant/hotel in Aschau. Heinz began his class, speaking in German, with Carpaccio of Salmon & Scallops with Lime Dressing. Raw salmon & scallops drizzled with a very simple dressing of olive oil, lime juice, salt, pepper, freshly grated lime & lemon zest typified his "cuisine vitale" which aims to provide fresh, good food to make the person who eats it healthy. Throughout the class, the moderator asked irrelevant questions like "What kind of scallops are these?" & "Can you use lemongrass as a herb?" distracting the Chef. An attractive lady attending the Masterclass got so incensed that she put her hand up, and asked the moderator to stop asking questions & to just let the Chef explain and demonstrate the dishes. Unfortunately, it only had limited effect.
Chef Heinz then showed how to make Crepinettes of Veal Tenderloin with Morels. A paste of butter, cream, parsley, minced chicken, tarragon, mint and basil was used to cover the veal. Next, he used Caul Fat or Pork Net to lovingly wrap the veal into little parcels. Heinz sauteed the veal for 4 minutes before putting them in the oven at 200C for 4 minutes. Here, the moderator interjected irreverently proclaiming, "The Chef is doing a bit of quick stir fry!" Saute is to cook the meat in a shallow pan with a little fat over relatively high heat. It is NOT stir frying. The Chef explained that the veal should be served medium rare. The moderator exclaimed, suprised, "But there are people who cannot take medium rare, must be well done." Respectfully, people who want to take their veal well done are not gourmets who would be better off eating fast food burgers.
Chef Heinz also showed us how to make a Salt Baked Sea Bass, which prompted the moderator to pass a plate of salt around for all to see. There were many amused and bemused faces in the audience. Does anyone not know what salt looks like?? Ridiculous antics like this wastes time & detracts from a Masterchef’s Masterclass.
Sour Cream Ice Cream with Rhubarb Compote was dessert. The moderator pronounced, "Compote is jam." Compote is NOT jam but is fruit cut or whole, cooked in a sugar syrup and of a much lighter consistency than jam. Lunch was served with Miguel Torres wines. I particularly liked the Miguel Torres Cordillera 2003 red wine from Chile. A blend of 65% Carinena, 20% Merlot and 10% Shiraz, its bouquet of roast pork, sour plum and spice intrigued me. On the mid-palate, cassis, sour plums & cherries were delicious with the veal flavoured by the aromatic parsley, basil, mint &tarragon. The dessert wine of Miguel Torres Riesling 2004 Vendimia Tardia from Chile with its apricot & honey nuances evened out the tart rhubarb to meld seamlessly with the sour cream ice cream. The old Italian proverb goes, "Troppi cuochi scuipano la minestre."(Too many cooks spoil the minestrone soup). By Dr. Michael Lim The Travelling Gourmet, a renowned Travel, Food & Wine Writer in Asia.
The Travelling Gourmet 