Maria's Mexican restaurant Chef de Cuisine at Fairmont Hotel and Towers in Heliopolis, Victor Garrido has a year of experience as Chef Instructor at University (Americana de Acapulco) as part of the culinary programme teaching international cuisine. He specialised in developing history, ethnic ingredients methods and origin of distinctive dishes.

Garrido feels fortunate to have had the experience hosting and preparing several banquets with kosher requirements at Fairmont Mayakoba and today in his new post in Cairo.

1. What is the state of Egyptian gastronomy in hotels versus the street?

Let’s think in terms of variety and hygiene. 

Hygiene:It is well-known that food hygiene is not the strongest point in the city facilities when talking about tourism. But if you are willing to take the risk, you will enjoy every bite of your hawawshi grilled at the sidewalk shop. Hotel staff do care and apply food safety standards.

Variety:The big hotel chains have the possibilities to get almost whatever a chef needs. Even hotel chefs face some issues, but at least you are able to create your Special of the Day or enrich your menu with certain items you cannot find in a regular market.

 

2. What is your favourite restaurant in Egypt? (other than yours!)
So far: The Fish Market in Alexandria.It is so Mediterranean and simple on its own.

The food is amazingly fresh… I  know is an old-fashioned practice to have the huge fish and shellfish on ice display, but it gives you the chance to choose. And, of course, we will not look for the bigger fish: what we need is a crystal-clear set of eyes and a fresh sea spray smell [not murky]. All this is complimented by a tremendous assortment of 10 oriental mezza items: babaganough, hummus and such! Couldn’t miss fresh shamy bread baked beside your table in a cute brick oven.

 

3. Do you have suggestions for gourmet-ifying Egyptian food?

In my personal and humble opinion, 3 things.

High quality products and consistency in the delivery.

I know Egypt does not produce a great variety of vegetable and animal products because we are not in a tropical environment that provide the proper conditions to have the best of the land.

But Chefs here face this issue even with imported products due to availability or importing restrictions. So we do not rely upon always having these products available, such as baby vegetables, micro-greens, tropical fruits, octopus, soft shell crab or king crab. It’s a lottery for us. So, we need to keep it simple and basic.

Think, imagine, combine and eat crazily!

Every day I ask my colleagues or staff to stop thinking that if they have something sweet with any spice or chilli that it will cause a headache. In Mexico we eat mango with chili powder when we are just 5 years old - or even younger.

They are afraid just to think about chicken in mole (a chocolate-based sauce with chilies),  fig and balsamic marmalade, chipotle-spiced strawberry cheesecake ….  Never say NO. Taste first!

Break the rules and customs!

At this moment what comes to my mind is:

Canapé of Mini Tammeya and lobster medallion with coriander aioli.

King crab and konefa rolls, orange & horseradish marmalade

Pan-roasted fish fillet over chunky hummus with tomato comfit and arugula salad

Spicy chicken “meat balls” over brothy koshary

Spicy tuna hawawshi and citrus tahine

 

4.      What are the most important skills of a modern-day chef?

Easy and effective communication: These days it is very important to have direct contact with the guest. Your presence on the floor is so important and it is necessary to be effective and clear with your staff to transfer the right meaning.

Computer and accounting skills:  I never imagined I would be involved with numbers like I am now. Average Check, Sales of the Day, Revenue, Forecasting, Budgeting, Staffing Guides, Costing and Pricing…If you guys think you will be away from math…you are so wrong.

Patience and perseverance
Sometimes it looks like you are the only one who understands what you’re saying – only you know what you want.

Don’t get me wrong, but from 5 - 8 years with all these thousands of schools and institutes, our career is full of I-don’t-know-what-study Chefs without passion, love and commitment to the career and service.

You just need to be there, check and repeat as many times as it needs to be done in the right way.

 

5. What are the newest trends in gastronomy?

I need to update but… I think the 3 following are the stronger trends

Molecular Gastronomy: Which applies chemical, technological or physical methods to transform the original state or structure of foods.

Sous Vide Cooking: Low-temperature cooked items in high vacuum paquets to preserve their organoleptic  properties.

Japanese and Latin cuisineand their methods ceviches are becoming popular: Mexican, Peruvian and Jamaican. Simple BBQs, citrus-marinated ceviches, dried chilies and orange and herbs marinades. Simple and lovely.

 

6. What is being appreciated around the world and what is being opened here in Egypt?

Fresh Seafood: specifically, those that have never being frozen

Organic products

Care about the endangered species such as: Chilean sea bass, dolphins and wild lobsters

Vegetarian options: Now many people are going green

Still a long way to bring innovative and cuisine to Egypt’s restaurant tables that could be accepted 100 per cent

 

7. How much do you rely on molecular gastronomy?

Not that much, I just have read some books as El Bully cookbooks (Ferran Adria), The Big Fat Duck (Heston Marc Blumenthal) and some others. You are able to do lovely presentations and give food a 360-degree twist.. to the point you won’t realise what is on your plate. It’s a complex gastronomy, which I respect and still unknown to me.

It’s also a matter of the market and what your guest demands. For example, in a Resort Restaurant in Mexico’s tropical zones guests are looking for fresh jumbo-sized, spiced grilled shrimps with a Tequila and citrus butter sauce: a chilled beer Michelada (imagine this and your table just five steps away from the white sand and warm beach water). You don’t need a 24-hour roasted beef with kalamata caviar with reggiano foam, do you??

Throughout my career in resorts like this, we did not have the need to prepare and serve food this way.

But sure I will investigate and take a look of it.

  

8. What are the newest trends in the restaurant business?

Healthy food. Let’s talk about Fairmont: you will find our Life Style Cuisine Plus Menus available in all the outlets worldwide.  From five years or so, the company has been pushing the Culinary division to read and learn more about diseases or complications in the health for these two decades, such as hypertension, diabetes and the different food allergies. Investigate and understand the different diets, such as vegetarian, vegan, macrobiotic. The number of guests who need this kind of diet are growing; or they just simply decided to be healthy starting from what they eat.   

 

9. Who is your favorite chef?

It’s a hard question. They are actually 2 chefs:

Chef Jose Socorro, The Fairmont Acapulco Princess Banquet I had the pleasure to work under him as one of his chefs de partie. I learn from him by watching and listening at a distance, while slicing 70 kilos of beef fillet. Everything, based on calculations and numbers he was always able to take the best decisions and defend them with knowledge and assuring every banquet service went spectacularly.

One day he asked me to count 3600 pieces of shrimp inside the cooler to make sure every guest got three pieces in a paella for 1200 people.

On TV?

Definitely Spanish Chef Jose Andres, who hosts the programme Vamos a cocinar con Jose Andres. Fresh, simple and innovative food. Using Spanish and Latin ingredients presented in funny ways.