Eckart Witzigmann was born in Austria. He has become The World Greatest Chefs in 1994 as “Chef of the Century”, which was honored by Gault Milau (an influenced French restaurant guide).
From
the tittle “Chef of the Century” to shining Michelin stars, Eckart Witzigmann
has been succeeded in most of the fields as an authorized culinary Professor
and gold medals for his books of life.
To
prepare for his journey to Viet Nam as professional judge of The Golden Spoon
contest 2016, we publish his 7 important advices to cooks and culinary career.
1. Choose abundant
seasonal ingredients
I
always spend time on grocery shopping before cooking, at least in my mind. I
plan what I want to cook and what I can cook. After that, I follow my first tip
“to choose abundant seasonal ingredients” to decide what should be in the meal.
We
need to learn about seasonal products of the year because those ingredients
will determine what happens next in your kitchen.
And
there is a fact that every professional chef or household’s cook must
understand: the star in kitchen is what we bring in and what will come out, not
the cook or cooking tools.
I
have another important experience that we have to trust the quality of certain
food suppliers.
I’d
love to buy ingredients from whom I’ve known and trusted. Having reliable
suppliers means you have just completed the first stage of great meals.
2. Choose fresh
ingredients
Many
cooks prefer frozen ingredients because they’re standardized and safe but they
would lose joyce and happiness of cooking fresh ingredients.
A
good chef can elevate normal ingredients to a good dish but no one is able to
save an expired frozen fish.
Personally,
I only eat where uses fresh ingredients.
3. Respect every diner
I
used to cook in a military barrack’s canteen then moved into a palace and cook
for royal families.
I
realized that I treated those 2 groups evenly because I had focused 100% on
cooking for both of them.
After
years of hard working, I’ve learned that maximum concentration to your jobs
would bring the best results.
Moreover,
playing different roles in different positions as well as serving diverse
diners do inspire your passion because the biggest enemy of a cook is boring
repetitive jobs.
A
chef told me that he had drowsed when cooking with daily routine.
4. Shopping with your
eyes open
I
try to research different culinary cultures and never get satisfied with what
I’ve known. Cooking means relentless working.
For
examples, recently I still go to supermarkets or farm markets myself not only
to buy things but also to see new products, trendy ingredients, and diverse
spice bottles on shelves.
Always
open your eyes to see and feel the market’s movement in order to catch what new
trends.
5. Cook your cup of tea
I
believe in unlimited creativity of culinary work. However, if you have to make
a formal meal, I’d recommend you to cook your cup of tea.
Let’s
choose something that we can totally control from ingredients, processing, to
final dishes.
Do
not be creative. Just follow your ordinary flow. Choose something easy to
prepare because it’s nonsense if the host has to stick in kitchen the whole day
just to cook a fancy strange dish.
6. Be a little bit
better
Some
cooks make to great chefs but not all. The reason lays on your practice.
To
reach the perfection, you have to practice, adjust, experience from failures,
and practice again.
You
have to be strict to yourself. Believe that you can make it better in every
time of practicing.
7. Keep your dining
table clean
I
have an important standard of a restaurant or a chef that how clean the dining
table is. It’s simple a good start of everything.
* Eckart
Witzigmann is one of the most famous chefs in the world. He had 13 years
working in many countries before staying at Germany in 1971.
His
legend restaurant Aubergine (Munich) was the very first restaurant in Germany,
and he is one of the only 2 chefs in the world rewarded 3-star Michelin in
1979.
Chef
Eckart Witzigmann had come in Viet Nam as professional judge of The Golden Spoon
contest 2016, final round (5th December). He will be also hand Champion cup and 1 billion
Vietnam dongs to the winners.
** Integrative The
Golden Spoon contest
Professional
judge Bui Thi Suong stated that the tips from chef Eckart Witzigmann also were
the contest’s expectation in the journey of finding and honoring Vietnamese
cuisine.
5
targets of The Golden Spoon contest:
1.
To discover traditional and feature dishes of each region in all over Viet Nam.
The message is that “each dish introduces its origin.”
2.
To find talents who have creativity, delicacy, and artistic styles. They will
elevate Vietnamese food onto international level.
3.
To emphasize existing values of Vietnamese cuisine, delicious and nutritious.
4.
To honor chefs and restaurants that has contributed to develop and enrich
culinary culture of Viet Nam.
5.
To improve people’s health, to motivate national economy through culinary
industry and to boost “Tourism and Cuisine” movement in Viet Nam.
By T.Nguyen/TTTG