THREE Berjaya University College of Hospitality students and two of its lecturers cooked their way into the hearts of the judges at the recent Hofex Hongkong International Culinary Competition. They walked away with a total of five medals at the competition held from May 11 to 15, which saw them pitting their culinary skills against competitors from 10 other countries.
Lecturers Loke Kun Kai and Malcolm Goh each won the Silver Award Professional in the live hot cooking barramundi category. In the western hot cooking category, Kan Pui Mun won the Silver Award Apprentice while Lau Suk Sin and Wilfred Liow each picked up the Bronze Award Apprentice.
Second-year students Kan and Lau are pursuing a diploma in culinary arts while Liow obtained a diploma in culinary arts in April. For the competition, they had a choice of beef or Cornish hen for their dishes, and all three opted for Cornish hen.
During a recent food-tasting session organised by Berjaya UCH, members of the media were given the opportunity to sample the three aspiring chefs’ award-winning creations.
Kan’s dish is gastrique-glazed supreme Cornish hen and ballontine stuffed with mushroom duxelle, accompanied with ratatouille, garlic confit, mashed potatoes and natural jus. The dish has strong flavours which complemented well and the Cornish hen was succulent and juicy.
“I had to make sure the flavours combined well as the mashed potato had garlic confit in it,” said Kan who concocted the dish after discussions with her lecturers.
Lau’s dish of supreme Cornish hen, stuffed with preserved tomatoes and pine nuts and served with Manchego bread pudding as well as a roasted leg of Cornish hen and buttered vegetables and red wine jus is a good combination of flavours and textures. The flavours are prominent and the textures from the pine nuts and bread pudding really good.
“It was all about good ingredients and good timing,” explained Lau, referring to the competition. “It’s important to use the best ingredients. I used Roma tomatoes, good Manchego cheese and Foccacia bread.”
Liow’s ballontine of Cornish hen stuffed with persillade and brown buttered basted supreme is accompanied by a warm potato salad, glazed vegetables and pommery mustard dressing. The hen is moist and tender and the sweet savoury stuffing gives it a good kick.
Liow described himself as a go-getter when it comes to food. “Actually cooking is my passion. I like proving myself.”
He has taken part in several cooking competition, the most recent being the semi-finals of the Hans Bueschken Asia competition (held in Hongkong) where he emerged second runner-up. “It was an honour for me to get noticed at that competition,” he added.
He had applied to take part in the Hans Bueschken competition to the Chefs Association of Malaysia. “It was a five-hour-long competition and I had to prepare an elaborate three-course meal.”
Liow’s entries for that competition consisted of pot-roasted flat iron steak with garlic croutons, pickled vegetables and hot mustard vinaigrette as starter; and roasted halibut partnered with butter poached lobster knuckles, accompanied by potato parisienne and vichy style vegetables as the main course.
He than rounded his meal with a cream cheese coconut parfait glazed with chocolate fondue accompanied by raspberry coulis and red wine spiced macerated figs as dessert.
Encouraged by his success at the Hans Bueschken competition, Liow hopes to take part in more cooking competitions in the future.
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