< Previouscaterermiddleast.com January 2020 30 Inspired by the original in New York, restaurant manager Orsi Halasz and head chef Giovanni Pintore talk us through Waldorf Astoria DIFC’s signature restaurant Bull & Bear, Wald31 January 2020 caterermiddleast.com dorf Astoria DIFCBull & Bear caterermiddleast.com January 2020 32 The Waldorf Astoria brand name comes with a wealth of heritage and history, and so does its signature restaurant at its latest Dubai opening in DIFC. Coming with a storied reputation from New York, the original Bull & Bear was a steakhouse held in high regard by the city’s financial elite. Now in Dubai’s financial centre, it is trying to replicate that success while offering a more varied menu. "The restaurant's diverse menu features a spin on all-time favourites" The Wall Street vibes are immediate upon entrance, with the symbolic hand- forged, iron-clad bull and bear sculptures — reminiscent of the famous bull statue outside the New York stock exchange. Front of house is managed by Orsi Halasz who says that Bull & Bear aims to be a place for people to come for any occasion “whether it’s a casual business lunch during the week or a celebratory dinner over the weekend”. Understandably with the amount of competition surrounding them, Halasz says it’s vital that the restaurant leads the way with what she calls “true Waldorf service”, but just what exactly is that? An imposing entrance to the restaurantBull & Bear 33 January 2020 caterermiddleast.com “Throughout the recruitment phase, we focused on assembling a hand- picked team of experienced managers and personable line staff, then trained them to deliver true Waldorf service — the Waldorf Astoria brand's graceful, anticipatory service. “Embedded in the DNA of all Waldorf Astoria team members is a philosophy of understated luxury which allows guests to dine on excellent food with impeccable service in a relaxed yet www.charvet.ae Add your choice of color to Charvet’s powerful cooking ranges. If you have: • an open kitchen • a specific brand color • or just want to make a statement ...then you can have a top-quality French- made, modular or bespoke cooking suite panelled in a wide selection of colors. Whether you are looking for a colorful show piece with that wow factor, or an affordable, modular suite for all your cooking needs, Charvet has a solution just for you. For more information email sales@charvet.ae STAND OUT FROM THE CROWDBull & Bear caterermiddleast.com January 2020 34 chic environment. The diverse front- of-house team hope to deliver to the neighbourhood a favourite, go-to place for effortless yet luxurious dining,” Halasz explains. The environment is certainly chic, and is what Halasz calls “a veritable Instagram paradise”. The interiors use a rich blue, gold, and black colour palette and incorporates a mix of timber, metal, and leather paired with contemporary furniture. In addition, the restaurant features floor to ceiling windows that wrap around the venue offering views of the city’s Downtown skyline. Bull & Bear can seat 167 people at one time across its restaurant, terrace, and lounge space, and Halasz says the team have developed a playlist featuring jazz lounge music to fit the venue’s ambience. To keep its offering fresh, says Halasz, the menu will be refreshed every season, while it offers a set business lunch menu for AED105 for two courses or AED135 for three courses, inclusive of tea or coffee. It has also launched a weekend ‘lazy breakfast’ offering which runs from 6:30am until 2pm and features a chef’s table selection of breakfast favourites as well as a variety of warm dishes from the a la carte menu at AED165. The man behind the food at Bull & Bear is Italian chef Giovanni Pintore. While the concept takes much inspiration from its forebear in New York, while that could be classed as a more traditional steakhouse, Pintore’s restaurant has a much more eclectic menu. He says: “At Bull & Bear, we have reimagined the traditional "The restaurant features fl oor to ceiling windows offering stunning views of the Downtown skyline" steakhouse menu from the original Bull & Bear once located at Waldorf Astoria New York into a more encompassing concept in Dubai featuring meat and more. Therefore on top of the classic grill elements, we offer a selection of imaginative interpretations of international cuisine using, as much as possible, the best locally produced ingredients. We are continuing the legacy of the original Bull & Bear by offering a variety of premium meat options and a fantastic wine list." Among the dishes on the menu include the chef's take on dish-of-the- moment avocado featuring pickled avocado, cilantro, pomegranate, kalamata rice cracker, and gazapacho jelly. There's also a Sardinian fregola which Pintore describes as an "elevated pasta meets couscous" dish with cured beef ham, poached hen's egg, parmesan, and seasonal mushrooms. Unsurprisingly with sustainability conscious Emma Banks as the Hilton Enjoy drinks at the bar before your meal The outlet has Burj Khalifa viewsBull & Bear 35 January 2020 caterermiddleast.com The terrace offers an airy atmosphere VP, F&B strategy and development for EMEA working above him, Pintore says he is committed to working with UAE- based suppliers to get locally produced ingredients whenever possible. "We aim to get the best available ingredients in the market, from fruit to vegetables, seafood to cheese and a wide range of local organic products. For example, we offer Dibba Bay oysters sourced from the nearby Gulf of Oman, local organic tomatoes, local organic chicken, and micro herbs grown in a vertical farm. "At the same time, we feel fortunate being located in the centre of the world to be able to work with some of the most reputable suppliers from the east and west, who are able to source top quality ingredients from every corner of the world." Pintore leads a brigade of 18 chefs representing 10 nationalities and he is proud that the "multicultural and nurturing environment empowers each team member to learn from each other and hone their skills for continuous development". Both Pintore and Halasz will be hoping that 2020 proves to be more of a bull market than a bear market for their restaurant.caterermiddleast.com January 2020 36 MIX MASTERS Industry Icons Some drinks transcend their humble creation to become truly globally renowned. Three bartenders talk us through some such cocktails and discuss why they have become so popular PISCO SOUR Bogdan Bobulescu, head bartender at the Pisco Bar and Lounge at Coya Dubai Invented about a century ago in the Peruvian capital Lima, the pisco sour has become synonymous with the country. Unsurprisingly, it plays a key role in the menu at Coya. “As one of the most popular Peruvian classic cocktails, it was an absolute necessity to include pisco sour in Coya’s Pisco Bar and Lounge cocktail menu. Rather than offering the standard recipe, however, we came up with our very own take that offers a balance between the sweetness and citrusy fl avour of the cocktail. It is then fi nished with the Coya name sprayed on top with Angostura bitters, making this cocktail a brand signature.” Ingredients: Coya blend pisco Fresh lime juice Simple syrup Egg white Angostura bitter Method: The meth- od of preparing pis- co sour begins with a dry shake for the egg white to expand and create a smooth foam and texture. This is followed by a wet shake (with ice), which helps the drink to cool down, aerate and dilute for a perfect bal- ance. The cocktail is then strained into a pre-chilled glass.Mix Masters 37 January 2020 caterermiddleast.com NEGRONI Mariano Ricciari, assistant bar manager, Luna Sky Bar Also 100 years old, the negroni is an Italian classic that has become ubiquitous in the past decade. And sorry Bond, it’s stirred, not shaken. “It’s one of the top three selling cocktails around the Four Seasons DIFC, specifi cally in Luna and The Churchill Club. It’s a very simple drink but it also has a complex side. Campari is a unique component but if you change the sweet vermouth or the gin it’s a different experience and fl avour. I believe it’s one of the drinks where all bartenders get inspired to try and make a twist, but at the same time there is no substitute for the negroni.” Ingredients: Gin Campari Sweet vermouth Orange peel Method: Stir the gin, Campari, and sweet vermouth in a mix- ing glass with ice to combine the ingre- dients, then strain into an old fashioned glass with ice. Gar- nish with orange peel.Mix Masters caterermiddleast.com January 2020 38 MAI TAI Emerson Ordonez Opena, bartender , Trader Vic's Created at Trader Vic's 75 years ago, the mai tai now accounts for more than two millions cocktail sales for the brand each year. “It's a perfect combination of simple quality ingredients, a fun name that’s easy to remember, which has a story behind it, and a touch of escapism that transports the drinker to whatever their version of paradise may be. The mai tai is meant to be savoured and enjoyed which by nature instills a sense of relaxation. We work hard to protect the integrity of our signature cocktail, ensuring that we stick as close to the original recipe as possible. We are happy to be able to serve the best mai tais at every location." Ingredients: 1/4 lime squeezed 3/4oz lime juice 1/4oz rock candy syrup 1/2oz orgeat syrup 3/4oz orange curacao 2oz Trader Vic's Royal Amber rum Mai tai glass Method: Pour all the in- gredients into a shaker, add crushed ice and shake. Garnish with lime peel, sprig of mint leaves, and a straw.Ingredient Focus 39 January 2020 caterermiddleast.com FROZEN OUT Is it true that ‘fresh is best’? And how can frozen food brands change this perception? Caterer Middle East asks the industry “We only serve ‘fresh’ food” has become a slogan of many restaurants, but what does it mean? Is it actually something to brag about, or has it become an overused and insignifi cant term like ‘organic’? And with the uptake of the reasoning that the best food is always fresh, the obvious conclusion therefore is that frozen food must be worse. For many frozen food sellers in the industry, this is categorically wrong. “One of the biggest misconceptions in the seafood industry is that the freshest seafood comes from the ‘fresh’ counter. More often than not, products frozen- at-sea are often fresher than seafood purchased from a fresh counter,” argues Hanaa Bechache, regional sales manager at Clearwater Seafoods. Bechache says the brand has developed state-of-the-art harvesting and processing techniques for freezing products to lock in freshness, taste, and texture. For example, the brand’s sea scallops are shucked and fresh-frozen on board Clearwater factory vessels within one hour of catch. The benefi t of freezing pre-rigor is that it locks in freshness, fl avour, texture, and product purity so when it is defrosted it is as though it was freshly caught. Susan Hannah is senior vice president of Pacifi c Valley Foods which exports frozen potatoes, vegetables, fruits, and other products. For Hannah, it’s vital that frozen food companies win the PR war and alter the perception of their foods. She says: “It is a process to get both the consumers and foodservice clientele to change their mind set that frozen offers many benefi ts they will not get from fresh. The processing methods and quality standards have greatly improved over the years to create products that are on the same par (or better) than fresh.” Hannah believes that in the fast-paced modern world, the advantages of frozen food speak for themselves. ”For the convenience factor alone, frozen can’t be beat. As economies become more industrialized and people’s lives much busier, they are turning more and more to foods that will help save time. We can expect that the frozen food industry will continue to see growth in the Middle East.” Frozen also allows for long-term portion control, with restaurants able to monitor their usage and use products over a signifi cantly longer term. For example, Clearwater’s sea scallops are each individually frozen separately from each other to allow chefs to only take and use the exact amount they need. Bechache believes this also helps to ensure freshness. “Unlike seafood purchased from ‘fresh’ counters, Clearwater’s sea scallops do not sit on ice for days at a time absorbing additional liquid that increases the raw weight of the product and later purges during cooking.” Growth in the frozen food sector is expected to continue in the region, but more education is required to ensure all operators understand both the benefits and disadvantages of fresh and frozen food. Clearwater's Canadian sea scallops Pacifi c Valley frozen fruits and vegetables are available all year roundNext >