Shiqin Chen, La Rei, Il Boscareto, Piedmont, Italy

Shiqin Chen set out on his career path as chef when he was still a boy.  Born in 1980 in Shanghai, his desire to travel spurred him to visit Europe where, by mere chance, he attended a course at the Italian Culinary Institute for Foreigners.  The course introduced him to the cuisines of France and Spain.

Various internships followed, allowing Chen to refine his skills in some of Italy’s best Michelin-starred restaurants, from Il Pescatore in Canneto sull’Oglio to the Antica Corona Reale in Cervere, where he acquired ten years’ experience working alongside Chef Gianpiero Vivalda.

After proving his worth in the kitchens as a highly skilled chef, he joined La Rei, the gourmet restaurant of Il Boscareto Resort & Spa.  Chen is now an expert in Piedmontese cuisine, but gives it a new twist with his own unique style.

We caught up with Chef Chen to ask him a few questions about the upcoming Festival.

What are you most excited about with regards to participating in this year’s World Gourmet Festival?

I’m looking forward to sharing the philosophy of Piedmontese cuisine with guests at the Festival.

What is the one dish you’ll be preparing that visitors to the festival shouldn’t miss?

Carnaroli risotto with yellow pumpkin cream, goat milk, amaretto and traditional balsamic vinegar.

Describe your cooking philosophy.

La Rei Il Boscareto Resort & SPA’s culinary philosophy focuses on top quality raw materials, professional expertise, respect for traditions, and a pinch of innovation and creativity.  All of this, combined with a professional approach and a commitment to quality.

The menu offers interesting variations inspired by the freshness and availability of the ingredients. The flavours I create are refined and I avoid extreme combinations.

Are there any key ingredients you’ll be bringing with you from home?

Black truffle.

What do you never travel without?

I never travel without my chef jacket.

Igor Macchia, La Credenza, Piedmont, Italy

Igor Macchia’s passion for food began many years ago.  After many years spent experimenting and creating his own personal style, both as a chef and pastry chef, he embarked upon a co-ownership of La Credenza in 2005, and was awarded his first Michelin Star the following year.

Igor also managed to find the time to nourish another great passion of his: the culture of the East.  He travelled through China and Japan, India and Indonesia, Cambodia, Vietnam and the Maldives, not only to promote his culinary art, but also to learn more about these Asian cultures.  The result is his original blend of colours and tastes, textures and shapes that are evident in his most creative and ambitious recipes.

Igor took the time to tell us why he’s excited about being part of this year’s World Gourmet Festival, what he’ll be preparing, and what he never travels without.

What are you most excited about with regards to participating in this year’s World Gourmet Festival?

I’m really excited to come back to Thailand because last year I spent a month travelling around this beautiful country taking photographs for my restaurant’s cookbook. I had a really great time here experiencing the Thai food and hospitality.  Now is my turn to pay back that hospitality and food to the Thai people.

What is the one dish you’ll be preparing that visitors to the festival shouldn’t miss?

The lamb marinated in coffee, sweet corn ragout and aromatic cress.  It’s a real signature dish in my restaurant – the matching between the coffee and sweet corn is really unusual, but it’s just amazing. I’m Italian and, as you know, we love coffee, even for cooking!

Describe your cooking philosophy.

Simple, modern and fresh.  I don’t like to put too many ingredients in one dish as it confuses people.  If a guest orders lamb, I want them to taste what they ordered.  At the same time, I don’t want them to feel too heavy after the meal.  I think dinner is just the beginning of a good night out.

I also travel quite a lot around the world and I have the chance to discover new ingredients and methods that I like to combine with an Italian style, keeping in mind that I am still an Italian.

Are there any key ingredients you’ll be bringing with you from home?

I will bring some Pariani hazelnut oil with me.  It’s an amazing oil made with hazelnuts from a small Italian producer.  The taste is just so crazy and so nice!  To get 1 litre of oil, the producer needs to use almost 5 kg of fresh hazelnuts.  This is an ingredient that is really traditional in my own region in Italy, since Piedmont is a big hazelnut producer.

What do you never travel without?

My staff, my computer and my Italian roots! Without my staff, I could never have the chance to travel so much.  When I’m not in my restaurant, they’re the ones working hard to give guests the best service, and when they travel with me, they assist me and support me a lot. My computer is becoming more and more important to keep me connected wherever I am in the world.  I’m managing a restaurant in Taiwan and I couldn’t do it without my laptop.  Any my Italian roots always travel with me, reminding me who I am and where I come from. I hope that guests who will join the World Gourmet Festival will experience this Italian feeling too.

Michael Mina, MICHAEL MINA, San Francisco, USA

Born in Cairo, Egypt and raised in Ellensburg, Washington, Michael Mina has had a long love affair with the kitchen, creating memorable dining experiences for guests from a very early age. Michael’s epicurean journey began in 1987 at the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park.

At the start of his career, Michael was presented with the opportunity of a lifetime with the Executive Chef of the Bel Air Hotel in Los Angeles, George Morrone.  The two were asked to develop a concept and create a menu for an upscale seafood restaurant in San Francisco – the city Michael had dreamed of calling home one day.

Michael’s culinary and business vision led to the founding of his company, Mina Group, with partner Andre Agassi in 2002. Under the auspices of Mina Group, he has opened 18 concept restaurants and a lounge concept including MICHAEL MINA, CLOCK BAR, RN74, BOURBON STEAK, ARCADIA, STONEHILL TAVERN, SEABLUE, NOBHILL TAVERN, STRIPSTEAK, and AMERICAN FISH.

Michael has been honoured with numerous accolades, including the Michelin two-star award and San Francisco Chronicle’s four-star award for the original MICHAEL MINA at San Francisco’s Westin St. Francis on Union Square, Michelin’s one-star award for MICHAEL MINA in Las Vegas, and induction into the American Gaming Association’s Hall of Fame in 2007.  Additionally, he is an esteemed member of Bocuse d’Or USA and the CIA Society of Fellows.  He has been a featured guest chef at the James Beard House numerous times; cooked for three U.S. presidents: Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama; and has been a guest speaker at C.I.A. in Hyde Park and at other culinary institutes in California.

We caught up with Michael Mina to find out what he’s looking forward to at this year’s Festival.

What are you most excited about with regards to participating in this year’s World Gourmet Festival?

I’m most excited about the ability to travel, to expose my team to new flavours, and to expose the guests at the Festival to my food.

What is the one dish you’ll be preparing that visitors to the festival shouldn’t miss?

Our Tuna Tartare is world famous but hasn’t been done often outside of the US before.  It combines all of my favourite flavour experiences – sweet, spice, acid, salt and richness in one bite! (our president Patric will personally be preparing each one tableside throughout the month of September all over Asia).

Describe your cooking philosophy

My cooking philosophy is marrying different components to create something which is more than the sum of its parts. Combining, richness, acidity, spice, salt is something almost every dish in Thailand does magically and the people understand these flavors.

Are there any key ingredients you’ll be bringing with you from home?

I prefer to surrender to the ingredients and let them speak to me whenever I am visiting another country.  I find I learn so much more and have a more authentic experience when I choose to cook with local products and learn about them.

What do you never travel without?

I love technology and therefore never travel without my iPad – it’s gotten me out of some tough situations!