Working in Paradise

As a chef you can never complain about where you work as the world is literally your oyster and you can go out there and explore. I do that since nearly 30 years and I am not tired of it. So after working for three and a half years in a paradise called The Maldives, I changed location to an new paradise called Thailand.

Since beginning of February I work on Koh Yao Noi in a superb hotel as Executive Chef. It has been a complete lifestyle change as the hotels is a lot smaller than most of the previous places I worked but that is exactly what I was looking for.

Here we do things different. I am not just a paper tiger that sits in the office most of the day.....even so there is still a of of paperwork to be done, I am actually cooking a lot more than I did in the past couple of years. But now I am doing evenings at The Hilltop restaurant with a maximum of 24 guests (usually the full moon dinners. I am doing Chef's Tables cooking intimately in front of the guests and sometimes I just stand at the crepe section on the breakfast buffet doing crepes....something that is very calming I find...

But then there is a lot more to the job than just paperwork and cooking. We have an organic chicken farm, not under my supervision, but we need to make sure that we get enough eggs for our restaurants and breakfasts. We got a couple of goats, so in month to come we will start with goat milk, yogurt and cheese. Our mushroom hut has just been renovated and we got the first batch in....and of course the chefs garden that has increased in size over the last two month.

No worry you will hear a lot more about all these projects very soon. I actually have a little more time to write now, the stress level has gone down and the enjoyment of being a chef has gone up

We already had our first guest chef and there are more to come this year...of course you will hear about them too

So in summary I can say that I tremendously enjoyed the past two month and I am looking forward telling you a lot more about the happenings on this little sleepy island close to Phuket

It has been too long

As the title says, it has been too long that I have not written a single Blog and one of my new years resolutions is that I am writing again regularly, something that I actually always enjoyed but due to a really hectic time at work totally put on the back burner.

It has been a fantastic time here in Maldives, I am not complaining, we have done a lot here at Anantara and have now culminated on a fantastic New Years Eve buffet...not just one but we had on Dhigu one buffet, then another one on Veli and 2 of the a la carte outlets served set menus...so yes we were running a bit

One of the main attractions was the ostrich eggs that we had in Dhigu....something most of the team members here have never seen nor touched. So when I got up this morning I saw plenty of photos on Face Book with the ostrich eggs

It took me more than 6 month to get them here....from the initial idea to contacting a super supplier in South Africa to finding out that the supplier actually needs an export permit for the eggs. The supplier went onto it and obtained a permit from the South African government, then got everything in place to send them to us which again is a challenge as they need to be

fresh and sent between Christmas and New Year.

 They did arrive in Male airport in the morning of December 30...then customs and yehee....arrived safely with us late in the evening, just in time for the next days events

But of course not just the Ostrich eggs were a big attraction. As usual the pastry outdid themselves and every year got better....I have attached a couple of photos as I really like these pastries very much0 In future there will be again a lot more....not just promising, but really taking the time to write a little bit

It's more fun in Philippines: Hoyop Hoyopan Caves

This is not the first time I write about caves here in Philippines, I like caves and wherever I see caves and go and see them. Last time I wrote about the Calao caves in an earlier blog but let me tell you, the Hoyop-Hoyopan Caves are a lot better.

The main difference is that the Hoyop-Hoyopan Caves are still alive. One can see the Stalactites and Stalagmites still growing which is amazing. Then there is a lovely tour going around the caves.

The caves have been used by the local population as a shelter, even now when there is a big Cyclone coming, the local population would find shelter in the caves. But the locals are not the first ones using the caves, there is evidence that 10’000 Years ago the caves have already been used by the first settles in the region.

The tour is really nice and at the end it gets a little tight, one has to squeeze through a tight, narrow opening, I guess I was already at the limit to fit through. Then one gets out of the cave and can see towards Mount Mayon....and with clear weather one can see the volcano.

Going back even further, one can still see some of the corals left which proves that originally the caves where actually under water

I have to admit, it would have been great to have a more knowledgeable guide, not that our guide was bad, he really tried his best, but I just like to hear a lot of facts too, how old, what stones and so on, but at least the guide gave a lot of the recent history of the caves

As usual, it is a bit difficult to find the caves, best to have a GPS a put the name in, and then the drive is very easy. The caves are quite high up in the hills one has even a good view onto Mount Mayon, so while staying  in Legazpi, I think it is a must to visit these Caves up here in the hills.

The caves ore on private property, so there is an entrance and a parking fee, but both are not very high. As soon as a car comes on the parking there are a couple of souvenir stores opening...nothing special but some nice little souvenirs are for sale

While I am on the topic of Legazpi, we stayed in a lovely hotel called St. Ellis. It was very refreshing walking into the hotel, all was nice and bright, we got a great room to a very reasonable price and tried out the restaurant which served excellent food. The SPA offered exactly the right massage I needed after a long day driving, so I can only recommend this hotel. Again, there is of course a write up I did in Trip Advisor.

Pork BellyAdobo

Its more fun in the Philippines: Mount Mayon

The second part of my miniseries to Mount Mayon which is the most iconic volcano in Philippines. Mt. Mayon is one of the most perfect shaped cone volcanoes in the world and yes it is still very active even so when we were there it was not just very quiet, but totally hidden away in the clouds.

The road to Mt. Mayon from us is a very long one, not just in Kilometers, but the roads are not the best while we went, there is a lot of building and upgrading being done at the moment so one has to stop often at red light. On a positive note, the scenery between Lucena and Naga is absolutely beautiful, we tremendously enjoyed the drive. Just after Lucena the road has a diversion with a beautiful curved road, take that one, it is a lot of fun driving through it I felt like being in the Swiss Alps driving up a pass road.

Then there is the traffic. It is actually better driving the good 500 km during the day as at night the visibility is not great and there are plenty of trucks and buses who seem to prefer driving at night. During the day there are of course plenty of jeepneys and tricycles

We stayed over in a town called Naga, there is not much I can tell you about this town, we only arrived late around 9 PM and looked up a hotel in Tripadvisor…….which was a bad choice. The room was OK but breakfast was terrible and the restaurant full of cockroaches, we just left as quickly as we could. No I won’t tell you the name of the hotel but of course I wrote something in Tripadvisor….

So, let me come to the volcano, the one, the famous one…that we actually didn't see because of the clouds. The best photo opportunities are from the Cagsawa Ruins. Cagsawa is a town that was founded by the Spanish in 1587 and was totally buried by an eruption on February 1, 1814. Only in the 1930ties the town was excavated and a made into a tourist attraction. Even today Mt. Mayon is very active and tourists are advised not to go hiking without a guide. Only 2 month ago some German tourists lost their life while hiking and walking into a dangerous area with deadly gases

If one imagines a sunny day, I have to admit, it would be absolutely stunning, and there are plenty of souvenir stands where one can buy little memorabilia and food. The volcano is not far away from Legazpi, the next major town, so Legazpi is actually the best point to stay over. We stayed there for one night. Unfortunately the mountain was still covered the next day so we have no choice but come back here in the future again

There is still more to explore here but more about that in my next blog.

It is more fun in Philippines, Pagsanjan Falls

I am back in Philippines for a little while and we have decided that we will have a little drive down to Mount Mayon, the famous volcano in Bicol.

As we are living close to Tagaytay, another volcano even so this one is not active anymore, we wanted to see some of the other great tourist attractions here in Philippines. Pagsanjan Falls was very high on our list.

The one things one never must forget is that driving here takes time, if Google tells you one hour's drive, take 2 hours as a guideline. The falls are a mere 60 km away from us but it took nearly 2 hours to get there. There is always a lot of traffic and at the moment it seems like all the roads are getting fixed at the same time.

But trust me, it is absolutely worth the drive to Cavinti and then taking a small boat to travel to the falls. The boats are very small, maximum 3 passengers can go on a boat and then there are 2 boats men. It might sound like a small amount, but there are 14 rapids and the 2 guys have to push the boat with you inside up the rapids.

The boat ride is absolutely amazing, first one is pulled by a small motor boat, but then as soon as one is in the park it is just quiet. The gorge is at least 150 to 200 meters high and everything is lush and green, an absolutely amazing ride.

The 2 guys had to work hard to get up up the rapids, we had a rest from time to time. About half way there is a little hut, they are selling food and drinks, so we treated the boats men for a lunch of crispy chicken leg and rice, it really did look yummy, the golden brown roasted, crispy legs, I still get hungry thinking of it..

The falls are 91 meters high, it is not rainy season yet but the falls are still stunning. One has the possibility to go on a bamboo raft and then go under the falls and even behind them to make a photo with the falls behind one.

Apparently there is a hiking trail to the falls, but one has to descend 500 steps and 2 vertical ladders.....this is not my thing, especially after I have seen the one ladder coming down close by the falls.

After a little while we went back through the rapids, that was a lot of fun and went a lot faster than going up. Yes the boats men still had to pull us over some of the rapids as there was not enough water. They said in August is the best time to come here, then the water is about  10 cm higher and still the falls are accessible. After that it might get difficult as the water level is just too high

There is just one thing that one has to be careful and that is at the end, the boatsmen will ask for tip and especially if one is a foreigner they will try their luck. The told us that the Koreans give 50$ tips.......then suddenly it was 50$ per person. That is more than double what the whole cruise costs and of course we did not entertain the thought of giving that much. It gave a little bit of a negative experience, but apart from that, it was an amazing 2 hours going through a beautiful gorge

Magnum yourself

Manila has its own Magnum Ice Cream shop where you can make your own Magnum. This is soooo cool, an individual Magnum. There are shops as well in Hamburg, Paris and Istanbul, but to have one here in Manila is just absolutely amazing. The location is on the 5th floor in Aura Shopping Mall, one of the hip shopping malls in and around Manila. 

I always had a bit of a fetish for Magnum, I love the rich flavor of the ice cream and the lovely chocolate around, but to make your own flavor is just incredible. We had so much fun making our own flavor of Magnum, our own personalized Magnum.

You can choose from 2 ice cream flavors which is chocolate or vanilla, then from 18 toppings and 3 different dipping chocolates so you can make your own piece of art.

We took 2 extremes, one I call death by chocolate, it was with chocolate ice cream, milk chocolate dipping and then all sorts of chocolate toppings, the other one was the sweet delight, vanilla ice cream with a caramel chocolate dipping. The toppings were white crunchy chocolate pearls, mini marshmallows and freeze-dried raspberries which just looked so lovely and gave a bit of acidity to the extremely sweet concoction

There are some strange toppings available like broken chips and broken pretzels.....strange?? Yes but it actually goes well. The saltiness brings out the chocolate flavor even better so even so it sounds strange, it goes well with chocolate

Magnum Manila offers more than just Magnums, one can actually eat there with savory and sweet plated desserts available. The savory menu includes about everything from sexy crostini to pasta and salads all the way to the roasted Rib eye 

Tokyo Fish Market

Another blast from the past, a little bit from my travels while working on some of the most amazing cruise ships. This time it is about the visit of the Tokyo Fish Market, something that will always stay in my memory. I think it is one of the most amazing markets in the world and it was an eye opener for me at the same time....but let me tell you the whole story

While being the Executive Chef on "The World" we spent a couple of days in the port of Tokyo as part of our one month circumnavigation of Japan. During this time I had a little time to explore this amazing city, amazing in every aspect as basically nobody speaks English and all the roads are marked in Japanese only. The city is absolutely huge, so one better does not get lost in it.

One of the adventures I had was going to the Tokyo Fish Market, the biggest in the world and famous for its tuna auction which happens every morning. We got up nice and early, outside was still dark, so around 4.00 in the morning we were in the taxi to get to the market. It was still cold outside as it was early spring, but all the excitement we had was enough to keep us warm.

One of the most amazing parts of the Fish market is the Tuna Auction. All the tuna is lying on wooden pallets and are ready for inspection. All of them are frozen and will sell for a lot of money. For Japanese freshness of the fish is paramount, so why would they buy frozen fish? It is actually quite simple, Tuna is caught all over the world, the boats are sometimes out for many month. To keep the fish fresh it will be shock frozen, that means it will be put through a freezer line that freezes a big tuna in minutes. Like this the ice crystals are very small and won't deter the quality. 

When the tuna gets defrosted carefully, the meat will still be in perfect condition. So to buy a top quality frozen fish is actually not a bad thing, I rather have that then a "fresh" fish that might be already in the shop for days. But everything else on the market is super fresh and sometimes still alive.

Another amazing part is to see how everybody works, the ethics the camaraderie, the team work. The best example is when they fillet a tuna, the fish is so big that one needs more than one person to do the job. Sometimes up to three people help with the filleting. They use a special knife that is about two Meters long, flexible and extremely sharp. With the skilled men they are able to fillet a tuna leaving none of the precious meat on the bone. I was just watching them how the quickly filleted a fish, working in complete harmony and making it look so easy

Another great par is to see all the different types of fish and seafood. Here I stood behind some New Zealand Green Shell Mussels, I had never in my life seen Green Shell Mussels of that size, I just had to have a photo with me, just to see the huge size of them. But of course there was a lot more to see. All the sea Urchin, the Hamachi, I found Guey Duck which is a clam that is mainly from the west coast of Canada, a Clam with a mussel hanging out that is up to 50 cm long. It gets mainly used for Sashimi, and of course there was so much more.

We must have spent something between 3 to 4 hours in the market and I could spend easily a lot more time there, I think I have only seen a fraction of the entire market, but the memories I have are always with me and have changed my way of thinking, especially about freshness and quality of fish, about the way the Japanese take care of the products in the market, it was a real eye opener.

I have seen many fish markets in the world, but I think this one is by far the most impressive one, the sheer size, the cleanliness of it, yes it smells of fish, but it it is all fresh, it smells of the sea. By the time we left they were already busy cleaning up the market, everybody is making sure their little stand is absolutely clean for the next day

On the way out we could see all the fish packed and ready to be delivered to thousands of restaurants, not just in Tokyo, but all over the region and some is even exported. It was a fantastic experience and I hope that some day I will be able to go back to Tokyo and it is 100% sure that I will go back to one of the most fascinating fish markets on the world

Maldives, a new adventure begins

Newly created kids amenities, chocolate fondue

As you could gather, Ghana is in the past. I had a wonderful time and learned a lot, but it was time to move on. There will be more recipes from Ghana, there is still so much to write, but right now it is time to tell you more about my new adventure, the Maldives.

Staff beach......

I spent nearly 3 month in Philippines and the job search was on full blast, not easy to find something that has everything one wants, a decent salary, great location and on top of that the promise of having an enormous lot of fun producing great food, work with a great team  learn new things and I think that I found it.

Fresh in the Garden Restaurant

I loved of course every minute in Philippines, that is why we have more Philippine recipes and travel hints and next time I am here there will be a lot more, but now it is time to take off.

Chocolate Soup with Sea Salt and Olive Oil

Malaysian Airlines flies three times a day from Manila to Kuala Lumpur, so the flight I had went off a 3 PM (OK as usual there was a delay) and I had less than one and a half hours on KL airport to catch the next flight (which as well was delayed). The actual flying time was short, just a bit more than 3 hours for the first flight and 4 hours for the second, I am used to much longer distances. The downfall was that Malaysian Airways still has really old planes in service, so on one leg we did not have an inflight entertainment system.....I didn't see that for many years. But the food was good and the seats are OK. I had a terrible cold while flying, so happy to just sleep on the plane.

Relaxing area by the beach bar

Then in Male I was transferred straight to the Island....straight? No, of course not, first I got stuck in immigration, then the domestic plane had over an hour delay.......then I waited for the transfer to the boat who then finally brought me to the island and at 3.30 in the morning I was finally in my new home on Soneva Fushi, one of the best Resorts on Maldives

The main road on the island

I had a days rest and then started with work, getting to know everybody, the Island and Resort is amazing, it is one of the biggest private islands in the Maldives and even so everything is made for luxury, we live the slow life here, meaning that we try to go as organic as possible, to buy as local as possible and even grow a lot of salads and vegetables ourselves.

I will write a bit more about the island soon, about the different restaurants, the snorkeling and diving and all the other things one can do here.

The Observatory

Of course you can expect a lot of recipes, we are cooking a lot here, just the finest products, I will tell you about the white truffles used here, I will even go a little into Molecular Food, just a tiny bit, something you can actually do at home, yes it is not that difficult.

So join me in this great new adventure of food, here in themiddle of the Indian Ocean