Hyatt’s Good Taste Series Asia-Pacific round-up: Japanese and Chinese chefs go through to grand finals
Six chefs from Hyatt’s Asia-Pacific properties battled it out in Hong Kong in front of a panel of star judges including Paul Pairet and Margarita Forés to determine who would be going to Chicago to take on the world’s best
Two young cooks – one from Japan, one from China – will be going to Chicago next year after winning the Hyatt hotel chain’s first Good Taste Series culinary competition for Asia-Pacific.
The competition, for Hyatt chefs, took place on October 30 in the demonstration kitchen of the Chinese University of Hong Kong in Sha Tin.
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It was judged by a panel of eight that included Paul Pairet, who recently won a third Michelin star for his Ultraviolet restaurant in Shanghai; Margarita Forés from the Philippines, who was honoured as Asia’s best female chef in 2016 by UK-based Restaurant magazine; Vicky Lau, who received the same honour in 2015 and who holds one Michelin star for Tate, her restaurant in Hong Kong’s Central district; and Tetsuya Wakuda of Tetsuya’s in Sydney.
Contestants had to prepare two dishes – one hot and one cold – using ingredients from a “Black Box”, which included a whole sea bass, fresh scallops, lamb saddle, chanterelle mushrooms, celeriac and yuzu.
Tomoya Sugizaki, chef de partie at the Park Hyatt Tokyo, took first prize for his two dishes: cured sea bass and scallops with fresh celery soup, apple and fennel; and a hot dish of roasted lamb saddle with seared purple mustard leaf, pickled yellow chanterelles and mustard sauce. Both were praised for their elegance, beauty and flavour.