Culinary Stars Align: Six Chefs, One Special Meal

On Monday, May 10 the Hilton Beijing Wangfujing will host what promises to be an amazing culinary event. Featuring the cooking of six distinguished master chefs visiting from France, Japan, Germany and the USA, 7 Courses * 6 Maestros * 6 Stars * 1 Night Only will be an unforgettable collaborative culinary extravaganza.

This is the lineup:

MICHEL ROTH
Executive Chef, Ritz Paris; L’Espadon – Paris, France.
Recognition: Awarded second star in the 2009 Michelin Guide
Cooking style: Chef Michel’s cuisine is deeply rooted in the soil where authentic savours find their full expressions. Enhanced by flawless technique and uncompromising standards, his cuisine is innovative, offering a contemporary approach to the establishment’s great classics.
Key to being awarded a second Michelin star?
“To always work with the best products available; mastering the cooking techniques; a personalized cuisine; regularity; a very talented sous-chef and a professional team.”
Guiding culinary principle?
“It’s always the product, following the seasons and the creative instant.”

MICHAEL HOFFMANN
Executive Chef, Margaux – Berlin, Germany.
Recognition: One-star Michelin restaurant. His Voyage de Cuisine or the Voyage De Legumes is reputed as one of the best vegetarian menus in Germany.
Cooking style: Chef Michael creates Cuisine Avantgarde Classique – breathtaking concoctions of classic French cuisine infused with avant-garde touches.
Favorite “forgotten” or wild herb?
“Fette Henne, which has a strong juicy leaf and goes perfectly with some of my dishes because of its freshness.”
Favorite ingredients to cook with?
“My favourite ingredients are vegetables, wild herbs and fish, because you have to deal very sensibly with these products.”

KARLHEINZ HAUSER
Chef/Proprietor, Seven Seas – Hotel Suellberg, Hamburg, Germany.
Recognition: Awarded a Michelin star in November 2001 for restaurant Lorenz Adlon in Berlin’s internationally renowned Hotel Adlon Kempinski, where Chef Hauser served as executive chef and director of food & beverage. Medals from Gault Millau, one of the most influential French restaurant guides, and from German fine-dining authorities Feinschmecker Guide and Aral Schlemmeratlas.
Favorite ingredients to cook with?
“Artichokes, porcini and caviar. These products have powerful, distinctive flavors that do not get lost after roasting, steaming, baking or anything else. Furthermore, they all pair brilliantly with thousands of other ingredients.”
Signature dish for Beijing?
Trilogy of lobster, white asparagus and heirloom tomato, with citrus vinaigrette and basil espuma.

ERIC HARA
Executive Chef, The Oak Room – The Plaza Hotel, New York, New York, USA.
Cooking style: Elegant, contemporary American cuisine.
Recognition: In 2007, Chef Eric was named a “Rising Star Chef” for New York City, USA by Starchefs.com
What do you communicate to diners with a deep-fried chicken head garnish?
“Two things: Utilization of product and a little bit of shock value.”
Favorite ingredients to cook with?
Sea urchin, shark fin and pork belly. All these ingredients have a rich umami characteristic – a taste sensation similar to using salt, and they are all very versatile and go great with many different things.”
Signature dish for Beijing?
Marinated Scottish langoustine with sea urchin cauliflower gelee and squid ink-olive puree.

ANDREA TRANCHERO
Executive Chef, Ristorante Armani – Ginza, Tokyo, Japan.
Cooking style: Classic Italian cuisine.
Recognition: His signature dessert – Torta Caprese with Babà and Limoncello ice-cream was featured in the recent worldwide tour of La Vita è Dolce.
Favorite ingredients to cook with?
“I like to use olive oil, pasta and utilize a lot of fish, because in Japan it is at the top quality. For the Italian guest they request the risotto.”
Guiding culinary principle?
“The Italian culinary tradition is so different from north to south that after finishing culinary school, I worked in many restaurants in southern Italy to understand the influence of the territory better. I had a very good experience at the two-Michelin star Sadler Restaurant in Milan. But Tokyo has changed my style, because here the level and competition is incredibly high, and is very exiting day by day.”

CLAIRE HEITZLER
Pastry Chef, Ritz Paris – Paris, France.
Cooking style: French pastry.
Recognition: Won the Tasting Prize of the Meilleur Apprenti de France competition in 1999; awarded the silver medal in the dessert à l’assiette competition in Dubai in 2008. Formerly of Maison Troisgros (three Michelin star), Georges Blanc (two Michelin star) and L’Amphitryon (two Michelin star).
Favorite kitchen equipage?
“My chocolate-tempering machine.”
Favorite ingredients to cook with?
“I love working with chocolate: the flavour varies greatly depending on the way it is prepared, its provenance and its cocoa content. I also love vanilla with its delicate and magic flavor.”
Guiding culinary principle?
“Use the products that one loves and to enhance them.”

The “7 Courses * 6 Maestros * 6 Stars * 1 Night Only” event will be on May 10, 2010, 6:30pm at the Lantern Ballroom of Hilton Beijing Wangfujing. Tickets RMB 1,900 + 15%/person, limited seats available. Call 5812 8888 ext 8402 or e-mail wangfujing@hilton.com for reservations.