Canadian Celebrity Chef Chuck Hughes in Hong Kong!
Hong Kong Jockey Club at Happy Valley, Hong Kong, was quite a happening place last week. This was because Montreal-based celebrity chef Chuck Hughes was here to mesmerise his guests, including the media, with his exceptional culinary talent. He played host to an exclusive dining event for selected people. I am thankful to the American Express and the Asian Food Channel, for inviting me as a part of the media to sample the food cooked by him right in front of us!
If you are a fan of Celebrity Chef Series on Asian Food Channel (AFC), reason for you to smile! The series returns this month once again and will be showcasing Chuck Hughes who will make cooking an easy-going and fun-filled experience for his fans! AFC broadcasts on “now TV”, channel 527, in Hong Kong.
Chuck emphasised on cooking with fresh and quality ingredients. As he cooked food for his guests, I noticed his confidence in his cooking skills and playfulness with his ingredients. The dishes demonstrated were easy, less time-consuming and tasted scrumptious! I particularly loved the dessert very much: tasting absolutely out-of-the-world with a touch of style!
Speaking about style, Chuck Hughes has a positive and a truly magnetic personality. His sense of humour is something which comes naturally to him. In his first dish (popcorn shrimp) which he cooked in front of us, he used honey as an ingredient. When one of my journalist friends enquired about which kind of honey to use, he innocently replied, “Canadian!”, before telling us the actual answer, which set everyone laughing!
The featured recipes were:
- Popcorn Rock Shrimp with Spicy Honey
- Pan-Seared Beef Carpaccio with Potato Chips, Fried Capers and Lemon Aioli
- Chocolate Tapioca Arancini
These dishes are one of his most popular dishes. So I was really inquisitive on how he makes them!
The first dish was deep-fried shrimps with a crunchy coating. I loved the spicy honey which the chef prepared to drizzle over the shrimps. It was simple, unique and flavourful. The spicy honey was infused with garlic, peppercorns, chilli flakes, smoked paprika and sea salt. I noticed that he loved adding citrus zest in his dishes, which really added a subtle flavour and aroma to his treats.
The second dish was classy. The beef was succulent and not overcooked. First, he coated the beef tenderloin with crushed coriander seeds, cumin seeds, mustard seeds, kosher salt, black pepper and oil (we use the same spices to marinate meat in India as well!). He made a terrific lemon aioli to go with it, which is basically an emulsion of spices and beaten egg in olive oil. Here too, he added lemon zest for a refreshing flavour. I must say, I never had such lemon aioli before, so tasty and made in minutes! The presentation with spinach leaves, fried capers and potato chips made it all the more inviting.
Frankly, I was eagerly waiting for the final dish, as it was a dessert and I am highly sweet-toothed. I never tried experimenting much with tapioca before, but now I am definitely going to explore with tapioca in my upcoming recipes on Cosmopolitan Currymania. Thanks, Chuck Hughes, for inspiring me! He deep fried a mixture of soaked tapioca, cream and milk by making small balls out of them. Not only that, the balls were oozing with sinful chocolate ganache filling, which gave the dish a level of its own!
Cosmopolitan Currymania would like to thank American Express and the Asian Food Channel for highlighting cooking as an art and for introducing Hong Kong to such amazing talents. I really learnt a lot of culinary nuances from him in that event. Full of life and having a down-to-earth personality, the chef is an exemplary that with hard work and enthusiasm, only sky is the limit!
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March 11, 2012 @ 6:55 pm
This looks like such a great event. I don’t know of this chef but his food looks fantastic.
Thank you for taking us along with you
March 11, 2012 @ 9:51 pm
Yummilicious dishes..
Cook in any recipe with “Cilantro /Cumin & Just link in EP Series-Cilantro /Cumin Event
Erivum Puliyum
March 12, 2012 @ 2:06 am
Oh wowww..Love the photos Purabi..you are very pretty lady!!! All the dishes look so so delicious!!!Great post!!!
March 12, 2012 @ 2:52 am
What an AWESOME event!!! Gosh, wish I was with you. LOVE the photos!
March 12, 2012 @ 4:37 am
nice event!!!great pics!……….what an amazing time you would’ve had!very nice..i like the popcorn shrimps with that lovely dressing!
March 12, 2012 @ 5:07 am
Wow…great…hope u had a very great time.
March 12, 2012 @ 8:43 am
Looks like you had a great time! The dishes look spectacular and so delicious!
March 12, 2012 @ 9:19 am
Looks like you had a rocking time…the food looks drool worthy and what a handsome chef!
March 12, 2012 @ 9:41 am
Yay, Purabi! I’m so glad you got to go — what fun! Your descriptive write-up of the flavors and ingredients were inspiring, too — thanks. Looking forward to your “playfulness” in the kitchen in future posts. GREAT photos of you enjoying this event!
March 12, 2012 @ 9:43 am
Great shots! Lucky u, managed to capture clear & stunning shots. I couldn’t get very nice pix during my sessions with Bob Blumer & Bobby Chinn when they were in S’pore last time :< Looks like u'd fun! Hey, I’ve been nominated for this Int’l Women’s Day. Appreciate if you could support this event & click on “Like” @ Support International Women’s Day! Thks, dear!
March 12, 2012 @ 12:11 pm
Thank you, my dear friend, for your wonderful comments! 🙂
March 12, 2012 @ 12:17 pm
How exciting! All the food is so mouthwatering, especially the popcorn shrimp! 🙂
March 12, 2012 @ 3:25 pm
I am so jealous!!! I love him…. not LOVE lol but I think he’s pretty great. 🙂 The food looks awesome what a fun day for you.
March 12, 2012 @ 4:08 pm
Looks like a terrifically fun time! Food photos are great. Looking forward to seeing all of these dishes on Cosmopolitan Currymania!
March 12, 2012 @ 8:33 pm
a lovely treat for you! and us virtually!
March 12, 2012 @ 9:21 pm
Hey, thanks again for stopping by! This looked like a really fun event, I love cooking with honey!
X
March 13, 2012 @ 10:30 am
You are so lucky to be a part of such an amazing event! Chuck Hughes sounds like such a great chef =)
March 13, 2012 @ 2:57 pm
Congrats on witnessing the Celebrity Chef Chuck in Action. As pics suggests , it must have been a gala event.
Deepa
Hamaree Rasoi
March 13, 2012 @ 3:03 pm
Thank you, dear followers and blogger friends, for your kind comments. I really learnt a lot of things in the event. It was great meeting a celibrity chef like Chuck Hughes and sampling his culinary creations!!
March 13, 2012 @ 4:04 pm
Lovelyyyy pics n post I love popcorn shrimppppp
March 13, 2012 @ 4:54 pm
Great event…looks like u have enjoyed and experienced a lot…after all hardwork is paying you…keep it up…my best wishes are always with you.
March 15, 2012 @ 7:01 pm
What a fun-looking event–and those dishes look amazing! I wish I knew the secret to the tapioca arancini.
April 22, 2012 @ 4:28 pm
Great post! (And the chef is very handsome)