Last
June 22nd in HCM city, the first meeting of The Golden Spoon club carrying the
topic of “Wine and cuisine” took place with attendances of experts, who are The
Golden Spoon’s judges, such as Food Artisan Bui Thi Suong, Elite Teacher Trieu
Thi Choi, Master Bui Thi Minh Thuy, Ly Huy Sang – Deputy Director, and top 15
chefs from The Golden Spoon contests.
The
2 speakers of the show were the President of Escoffier Vietnam and Judge of the
Golden Spoon contest - Mr. Sakal Phoeung (on the right) and Brand &
Training Ambassador of Pernod Ricard Group – Ms. Jenny, who brought lots of
interesting knowledge to the meeting.
President
of Escoffier Vietnam was excited to share chefs’ creativity in new dishes, food
displaying styles, and trendy fusion culinary. He appreciated passions,
creativity, and ability to food of young chefs.
At
the same time, the judge of The Golden Spoon contest virtually practiced sous
vides cooking technique, which is a trendy practice in culinary world.
“Whatever method you cook, you need to understand your ingredients and your
elements to make a proper heat for the best result. If you don’t understand
your stuff, you will accidentally create chemical reactions that can affect
diners’ health”, emphasized Mr. Sakal.
This
dainty egg and pumpkin soup was made by sous vide cooking method. Eggs were
slowly cooked at 62oC in 40 minutes; foam and earthy brown decoration mixture,
made from malto powder and grinded dried olives, were top on over the dish.
In
the meantime, at the exchange section, Brand & Training Ambassador of
Pernod Ricard Corporation brought full version information of wine’s main
ingredient: grapes. Every single part of a grape carries a flavor of wines.
Grapes’ skin, which has tannin, adds acridity, colors the typical hue of wines,
and enriches the whole flavor of wines. Grapes’ flesh carries both sweetness
(from sugar) and sourness (acidity), which balances the wines and prolong shelf
life. Finally, grape seeds add bitterness into the liquid.
Wines
from this country always differ from others’. To choose which wines go with
which food, we base on the types of grapes. All grapes and fruits species in
the world have made 2 typical wines: red and white. The percentage of alcohol
in each type also depends on the maturity and ripeness of fruits.
The
way we enjoy wines shows how fancied and sophisticated we are. Furthermore, if
we do it right, the deep flavor and aroma of wines will thrive. We can swirl,
smell, sip, and enjoy full senses of taste.
Talking
about the combination between Vietnamese food and wines, Ms. Jenny thought that
there was harmonic. She shared that she had over a year in Viet Nam to study
Vietnamese cuisine. She loves almost every type of food here because of the
tropical diversity of spices. “Some chefs are still afraid of western wines to
be tasted with Vietnamese food but we should study and do a survey about eating
psychology of average Vietnamese. Vietnamese cuisine is typical with rich yet
balanced flavors from sweet, salty, sour, to spicy. If you mix them right by
your own principles, wines should make the dishes perfect and completed.”
For
instance, phở bò and bún bò (beef noodles) are flavorful
because they are seasoned by many different spices. Red wines will strengthen
the flavors and even create a smooth after-taste. Other food, like fried or
grilled meat, salad, or fried spring rolls (mild taste) will be enriched by
white wines with aroma of vanilla and caramel.
Furthermore,
rules of combining wines and food must depend on other issues, such as main
ingredients of food. They play a big role to decide which wines should get
involved. White wines usually go with white meat (chicken) and seafood whereas
red wines stick with red meat (beef, lamb).
The
most important rule here is how to balance food and wines, in which the
richness of wines should not overpass food’s flavor. Wines with high acidity
level can match with different types of food, so does champagnes and sparkling
wines.
To
use up all hidden flavors of wines, diners can try combining food and wines
with the same styles or opposite styles to experience. (Sweet food or spicy
food goes with sweet wines). For desserts, the wines must be as sweet as the
food or sweeter. Otherwise, the sweetness of desserts would turn wines to
bitter or sour.
The
Golden Spoon Club is a place where top chefs from our contest can meet,
connect, and exchange their knowledge, skills, and experiences. Once a month,
the club will have different topics with well-known and reliable
experts/presenters in culinary world and related fields. Topic of this July -
“Cuisine and High-tech” – was planned to be hold on July 27th in HCM city.
By Chi Tran