Kim Do hotel’s chefs were excited yet nervous with the black box challenge in The Golden Spoon final round 2015.
It
is a big award but the challenge is not a piece of cake, in which the black box
- secret ingredients container – is the most curious gate with all competitors.
Totally different from the last two rounds, in the final round candidates
cannot bring any processed stuff besides specialized tools, such as knives,
cutting boards, ovens, and electronic equipment. All ingredients will be
secretly picked and sealed in black boxes by the Organization. In the morning
of final day, teams will ballot to get a random black box. Based on what
ingredients are in the box, each team will have 1 hour to come up with a
4-course menu and hand it to the Organization.
During
1 hour of brainstorming, there will be a farm market held near by. The idea is
an illustrative countryside with cornfields and all fresh products so that
chefs can pick what they need. The next 90 minutes will be preparing time for
food and displaying table and the official timing is 140 minutes. Therefore,
the final round will take a whole day.
The Golden Spoon farm market.
Being
totally passive so that all chefs have been nervous even though they all
excellently passed the last two rounds. Chef Nguyen Huynh Dang Tuyen (Thanh
Phat restaurant – Dak Lak province), who won Promising Young Chef 2014 and has
participated in the final round 3 times, shows his concerns, “This year, all the top teams seems even,
more professional, and the contest itself has many new things. The black boxes
are different every year so I have no idea what’s next.”
Chef
Dang Tuyen said, “My team has prepared
kinda’ enough ideas for the final round’s menu but it’s still very risky since
we don’t know what we’ll pick.” He also shared his experiences from last
seasons, “When you receive the black box,
open it and quickly come up with the potentially best solution for the menu.”
The Middle Highlands team will try their best in the final round, “I hope we’ll get over ourselves by staying
cool-head after receiving the black box.”
Three members of team Palm Garden Beach Resort & Spa (Hoi An) nervously opened the black box in The Golden Spoon final round 2015.
Being
so nervous since this is the first time in the final round, chef Nguyen Duc
Hoang (79 Gia Bao restaurant – Kon Tum province) said, “I’m very anxious. I know neither how the contest takes place nor what ingredients
are in the black box. We’re kinda’ afraid of devilfish ‘cause the whole team
has no clue about it.” However, chef Duc Hoang’s team has strength of
spices, they just hope their ingredients are not too hard to handle. All teams
in the final round have their own advantages so that Kon Tum chefs are
confident to “think big and try hard
because my team is longing for the championship and the award.”
In
the similar case as Kon Tum team, chef Tran Quoc Tri (Thang Loi restaurant
& wedding center – An Giang province) said, “We haven’t prepared anything. It all depends on the black box.” The
biggest concern of chef Quoc Tri in this round beside tough competitors is the
self. “We really worry that we’ll pick
something not our forte, for examples are lobsters or lamps. We never have done
those food before and we don’t have chances to try.” His whole team is
equipped themselves by researching on the Internet about those exotic
ingredients. Nonetheless, their skills and knowledge of traditional dishes,
especially cooking rustic dishes by modern styles, are enough to encourage them
to eagerly experience the final round.
Sofitel Plaza Hanoi team opened the black box.
From
another southwestern team, chef Hong Trang (Nhi restaurant – Can Tho province)
has nervously thought of the black box. Besides secret ingredients, this female
chef also worries about related spices. Since one of the contest’s topics is
about the journey of spices, definitely the black boxes contain regional spices
to challenge its candidates. Meanwhile, chef Tran Huy Cuong (Indochine Palace
Hue – Hue city) pays more attention to the timing of the final round. He said
that the timing would be extremely pressured because all dishes were not
prepare-able. Right in celebration night after the northern semi-final round
had ended, this Hue chef admitted that he had been so anxious because this was
his first time being in this contest - but his team would try their best.
Other
teams from Lao Cai, Ha Noi, Hue, Da Nang, Quang Ngai, Ninh Thuan, Vung Tau, Ho
Chi Minh city, and Kien Giang have their own concerns, too. However, they also
understand that this is a great chance to compete, to learn, and to challenge
their skills so that all are ready to face new obstacles in the final round.
Chef Quoc Hoang (Naman Retreat Resort – Da Nang city) shared his thoughts, “I just think it’s a gift box for us to
perform our skills.” Da Nang’s representative has thought of The Golden
Spoon contest as a playground for them to meet and learn from each other, to
introduce featured dishes. “In the last 2
rounds, we prepared menus to perform all what we have and what we’ve learned.
We love to be good today and better tomorrow”, he said.
Another
reason to expect in the final round is that the Organization has been
significantly supported all teams with 5-star whole kitchen systems and
specialized tools. The farm market this year will be expanded and has abundant,
diverse products, especially regional spices. All chefs need to do is to pick
appropriate material for their menus. This farm market is only opened in
certain time so that chefs need to be very careful with what they pick. If
chosen material is not enough, they have to take it anyway; if chose material
is too much, their points will be subtracted.
Chefs nervously opened the
black box in The Golden Spoon final round 2015.
One
more reason to get excited is about the jury of the final round. Besides
domestic culinary experts and famous chefs, the jury this year includes “Chef
of the century” Eckart Witzigmann. 3-star Michelin, “Chef of the Century” Eckart
Witzigmann will have a friendly talk with all chefs after all. Mr. Eckart
Witzigmann will share his own experiences about the tips to success and answer
questions from The Golden Spoon candidates. The “Chef of the Century” has
warned, “I’m not an easy judge!”
How did the champions
encode the black boxes?
Champion of The
Golden Spoon 2015 – Vu Van Thanh:
“I was very curious of what ingredients
were inside the box but I do not let myself be interfered. I focused on ideas
and how to do the ideas with my to colleagues. We were well prepared so I could
be confident saying that whatever ingredients were in the box, we could make
beautiful and delicious dishes out of them. To win a place in the final round,
all chefs have to be evenly skillful. We have to understand culinary information
and traditional cuisine to win.”
Champion of The
Golden Spoon 2014 – Tran Thai Bao:
“From the moment knowing that we would be
in the final round to the real contest was only a month to prepare. We had to
deal with potential theories. Once we got ingredients, the menu should be
quickly set up with 4 dishes, which must be related to the main topic. We
needed to use all feature spices and ingredients in the black box. About the
topic, we could think about it during brainstorming. Less-processing-time dishes
were preferred. Finally, pay attention to minor details, such as your uniforms
or sanitary around your kitchen.”
By Nguyen Trang – Thu Pham