 |  |  | | Four young chefs create a gala dinner for 35 from a ‘black box*. At the largest international culinary competition in the southern hemisphere, the Burj Al Arab team were overall winners, beating 120 competitors from restaurants across the Asia-Pacific region. Toby Pfister, Robbie Stokes, Sascha Triemer and Team Leader Christian Gradnitzer created an unbeatable menu, which included |
| the featured Australian beef tenderloin, succulently cooked in a blue cheese crust. Christian explains their fantastic success:
‘It was all down to the teamwork and commitment of each team member, and what we created was simple – but good - food!’ |
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| For a ‘black box’ challenge, teams must create their dishes in a very limited time from mystery ingredients in a box. Rules vary, but there is always a nail-biting finish as the deadline approach. A typical event might go as follows:
The clock starts when the teams open their boxes. They have only one hour to declare the meal they will be preparing, and plan amongst themselves how best to create it for 30 people within the total time limit. Then, over the next five hours of the first day, they rush to undertake all the preparation required. The following morning they spend a hectic five hours completing their dishes, as well as leaving their kitchens spotless. Along with any last minute touches, each team then presents its courses to the judges, initially prepared for just two people. Scoring is completed in the afternoon, and guests arrive in the evening for dinner, during which each team serves their menu to 30 of the guests. At the end of the evening, the all-important awards ceremony completes the event. |
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