Latest news with #TheBestChefAwards
CairoScene
22-05-2025
- Entertainment
- CairoScene
Khufu's Mostafa Seif Wins Best Chef's 'Skillet of Distinction' Award
This marks the first time an Egyptian chef has won this award. May 22, 2025 Chef Mostafa Seif of Khufu's has been awarded the Skillet of Distinction by The Best Chef Awards, becoming the first Egyptian chef to receive the accolade. The award follows Seif's recognition last year as the first Egyptian to earn a one-knife 'Excellent' rating under the awards' updated tiered system. The Best Chef Awards, which moved away from its traditional top-100 ranking in 2023, now recognises chefs through one, two, or three 'knives,' denoting levels of excellence. Seif's one-knife placement in Dubai was the first for an Egyptian chef and signalled growing international attention to his work. At Khufu's - founded by Pier 88 Hospitality's Giovanni Bolandrini - Seif leads a kitchen grounded in technical discipline and regionally sourced ingredients. His cooking is rooted in Egyptian culinary traditions but avoids nostalgia or showmanship, favouring clarified broths, cured seafood, and slow-roasted meats that reflect a restrained, detail-oriented approach. In January, Seif participated in The World's 50 Best Signature Sessions in Abu Dhabi, where he co-hosted a dinner with Argentinian chef Sergio Cabrera at MouzMari. He also joined 50 Best Talks for a panel titled Memory on a Plate, exploring the role of food in cultural and personal memory. The Skillet of Distinction acknowledges Seif's consistency in the kitchen and his contribution to platforming Egyptian cuisine in international settings - through technique rather than adaptation.
South China Morning Post
24-04-2025
- Entertainment
- South China Morning Post
Taian Table Shanghai chef Christiaan Stoop on Chinese cooking, fine-dining, Hong Kong
Christiaan Stoop, the executive chef of three-Michelin-star Taian Table Shanghai, in mainland China, will be taking over the Mandarin Bar + Grill in the Mandarin Oriental, Hong Kong hotel for three days from April 24 to April 26. Advertisement The Dutch chef is known to serve tasting menus that blend French technique with global influences, such as pairing Hokkaido scallops with Iberico pork, and infusing delicate desserts with Chinese teas . He was awarded two knives, signifying 'world class' status, at The Best Chef Awards in 2024. On the tasting menu (HK$2,888/US$370) in Hong Kong will be signature dishes such as sea urchin on sourdough with brown butter; torched Carabinero prawns with sea asparagus and kumquat kosho, a Japanese seasoning; as well as confit toothfish with scampi and wild fennel in bouillabaisse sauce. It is a menu that speaks to his background in Michelin-star restaurant kitchens across Europe, such as De Librije and Restaurant Vermeer in the Netherlands, as well as big names like The Fat Duck in the UK. A dish of sea urchin on sourdough with brown butter. Photo: Taian Table Shanghai The award-winning chef credits the inspiration for his personal cooking style to his time at L'Atelier de Joël Robuchon in Paris. 'When I was a sous chef at Robuchon and working several stations for very good cooks, I saw maybe five different ways how someone cooks a lobster, and from that you can make your own decision,' he says. 'Like OK, of those five ways, which one do I pick? Which one works the best for me?'
