Flip through the latest issue of Gulf Weekly.
When someone asks me if I can cook, the answer is usually along the lines of: “Sure, I survived for three years at university on my own!”
Admittedly, I usually choose to leave out the part that said cooking almost purely consisted of the combination of a microwave and Heinz’ product range, but who needs all the gory details?
Unfortunately, Editor Stan got wind of my secret, and combined with his consistently-failing attempts to palm me off to various female personalities around the island (although he thinks I’m ideally suited for his niece, Hannah), packed me off to the Mövenpick Hotel Bahrain to learn how to do it properly and woo the ladies.
Luckily, this coincided with the arrival of new Executive Chef Iain Joyce to the hotel. With more than 20 years of experience at hotels in the likes of Bermuda, Dubai, Jordan, Djibouti and China, he was the perfect man to put me through my culinary paces.
The day started with a quick look over the menu (all five courses … my new girl’s gonna have a hunger) and a short briefing.
As usual, I just couldn’t wait to get stuck in. However, if there’s one thing I remember from my GCSE Food Tech lessons, before you do anything you must put on your apron, known as a ‘pinny’ by us Brits, and wash your hands!
First up was the Marinated Salmon. What a great start to the day … my mortal enemy, seafood. This would have to be something truly special to start the menu off on the right note. Thankfully, it was!
Following Iain’s guidance, I sliced the salmon up into thin strips before neatly rolling it up into swirls. Then I chopped up a fresh avocado, diced the salmon up into tiny chunks, added sour cream to bind it all together and then used a template to create a perfect cylindrical block. The appetiser was done and dusted … and most surprisingly of all it actually looked appetising!
Just as I was starting to think this cooking lark was easier than it looks, the first of the main courses came along. Prawn Tortellini it was, which involved a paste of prawns in seafood cream rolled into a perfect pasta ring. At least, that’s what was supposed to happen but things quite literally fell apart. Who knew rolling pasta around your finger could be so difficult?
Still, garnished with a side of pumpkin mash and snow peas, I managed to arrange the tortellini rings in a decent enough way that any prospective date would be too enamoured with my exquisite presentation to notice the filling leaking out.
Next up was the second main course, and a chance for me to get my own taste buds watering with a move away from the ocean to a smaller body of water, the lake. Yes, duck was on the menu!
This was my magnum opus, as I sliced and diced the Roasted Duck Breast and placed it in the oven whilst I mixed the Mascarpone Palenta side and prepared the Black Cherry Glaze.
It emerged succulent and tender, and after slicing it into three chunks and drizzling the glaze over it, I rushed to the table to eat it almost before a photo could be snapped!
Usually, my biggest pet hate with cooking, and probably the main reason why I don’t do it as often as I should, is that it takes a lot of care and effort to slave over a hot stove for hours, only to sit down and gobble it up in five minutes.
This time, though, I savoured every bite and took the time to chat to Iain, who promised more of the same from the reputable hotel, situated right next to Bahrain International Airport.
Iain, who grew up in Bournemouth, a seaside town in south west England, and heads an international team of 22 in the kitchen, said: “We already have a good reputation, so we just want to keep moving in the right direction. This means giving the guests variety, but also providing the value and quality they are used to.
“Of course, we’ll be introducing some new items to the menu and will be using predominantly local ingredients.”
Finally, it was on to everyone’s favourite part … the dessert! This was another in two-parts, the first of which saw me decorate a glass with coloured sugar as I made a lemon sorbet with fizz, while the second was the most fun of all.
It was a Strawberry Margarita Cremeux (a posh mousse basically) that I got to decorate with almond crunch, chocolate, whipped cream, pistachio, berries and orange jelly on a tiled slab.
Regular followers of GulfWeekly will know that art is far from my strong point, but I think this was a creation to be proud of. It’s amazing what you can achieve when you put your mind to something and know the photographs will be printed on these pages for all to see!
Although my stomach would like to disagree, I left the hotel wanting a lot more! Cooking a romantic meal (for one … story of my life!) was an extremely enjoyable experience made even better with the guiding hand of a master at work.
If I do ever get round to producing the real thing on my own, at least I know I’m now capable of more than beans on toast!
