Cod with watermelon from an inventive chef
By Xiao Gao |
November 8, 2012, Thursday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
THE life of a chef is like a marathon, starting slowly, moving forward patiently, step by step, says Weimar Gomez, the Colombian executive chef at Four Seasons Hotel Pudong, Shanghai.
Before landing in Shanghai this year, Gomez - who is a runner - was chef de partie at the Four Seasons Hotel George V Paris known for its restaurant Le Cing with two Michelin stars. Before that, he worked at Guy Savory, a world-renowned three-star Michelin restaurant, in the same position.
"When I was in Paris, there's always one person approving everyone of my decisions and now I can approve them myself," the chef says.
The dining environment in Shanghai lured him to the city. "I see the future of Western food here. Locals have a passion of food, especially a strong willingness to take a bite of real French flavor," the chef explains.
Chef Gomez oversees three restaurants and one bar at the hotel but Camellia, the French restaurant, is the only one that strongly expresses his personality, he says.
Some dishes in Camellia are quite unexpected, such as the cod with watermelon in which the savory, creamy fish flavor alternates with a sweet and refreshing fruit taste.
It's both authentic and avant-garde French cuisine. "It's an example of my culinary style, a classical French foundation added with a modern touch," Gomez says.
His definition of modern involves flavors of fruits and spices from his native Colombia. The native of tropical Bogota grew up with an abundance of tropical fruits and locals frequently combined sweet fruit with salty food. He studied architecture in university in Colombia and to help pay his way he worked in a restaurant, opening his eyes to new possibilities.
"I realized that cooking is artistic and sensual - from smell, touch, taste to visual," the chef recalls.
He loves various herbs and fragrances. Coriander, cumin and cinnamon are his favorites, often mixed together and made into marinade.
"My style also comes from my understanding of food, which brings people happiness. Colorful fruit and fragrant spices give two direct touches, sight and smell, engaging people in sensory pleasures," the chef explains.
His fish soup also exemplifies his style. He uses French techniques in cooking the soup, but blends it with coconut meat and milk, among his favorites.
Gomez's cooking style coincides with culinary trends in Paris. Years ago, when Spanish chef Ferran Adria at El Bulli and others were innovating and introducing exotic elements, many French chefs persisted in their unchanged tradition.
"But now, Paris attracts more people from other places, and at the same time Paris chefs themselves are exploring food culture all over the world and adapting some elements, especially Japanese and Chinese, into classical French cooking," he says.
A foreign touch should enlighten French food but not overpower it, Gomez says, emphasizing that his focus is preserving the classics.
There are some impetuous young chefs in Paris who lack the basics, impressing the public with "claptrap," blindly using seaweed and soy sauce and destroying the authentic French flavor, he says.
Next to cooking, Gomez loves running.
"My job philosophy is 'do better today than yesterday'." His determination can cause nervousness. "Running is the way I shake stress out of my day," he says.
The chef is eager to present this cooking style and interpretation to customers. "It's total satisfaction by knowing guests understand my creations," he says.
Before landing in Shanghai this year, Gomez - who is a runner - was chef de partie at the Four Seasons Hotel George V Paris known for its restaurant Le Cing with two Michelin stars. Before that, he worked at Guy Savory, a world-renowned three-star Michelin restaurant, in the same position.
"When I was in Paris, there's always one person approving everyone of my decisions and now I can approve them myself," the chef says.
The dining environment in Shanghai lured him to the city. "I see the future of Western food here. Locals have a passion of food, especially a strong willingness to take a bite of real French flavor," the chef explains.
Chef Gomez oversees three restaurants and one bar at the hotel but Camellia, the French restaurant, is the only one that strongly expresses his personality, he says.
Some dishes in Camellia are quite unexpected, such as the cod with watermelon in which the savory, creamy fish flavor alternates with a sweet and refreshing fruit taste.
It's both authentic and avant-garde French cuisine. "It's an example of my culinary style, a classical French foundation added with a modern touch," Gomez says.
His definition of modern involves flavors of fruits and spices from his native Colombia. The native of tropical Bogota grew up with an abundance of tropical fruits and locals frequently combined sweet fruit with salty food. He studied architecture in university in Colombia and to help pay his way he worked in a restaurant, opening his eyes to new possibilities.
"I realized that cooking is artistic and sensual - from smell, touch, taste to visual," the chef recalls.
He loves various herbs and fragrances. Coriander, cumin and cinnamon are his favorites, often mixed together and made into marinade.
"My style also comes from my understanding of food, which brings people happiness. Colorful fruit and fragrant spices give two direct touches, sight and smell, engaging people in sensory pleasures," the chef explains.
His fish soup also exemplifies his style. He uses French techniques in cooking the soup, but blends it with coconut meat and milk, among his favorites.
Gomez's cooking style coincides with culinary trends in Paris. Years ago, when Spanish chef Ferran Adria at El Bulli and others were innovating and introducing exotic elements, many French chefs persisted in their unchanged tradition.
"But now, Paris attracts more people from other places, and at the same time Paris chefs themselves are exploring food culture all over the world and adapting some elements, especially Japanese and Chinese, into classical French cooking," he says.
A foreign touch should enlighten French food but not overpower it, Gomez says, emphasizing that his focus is preserving the classics.
There are some impetuous young chefs in Paris who lack the basics, impressing the public with "claptrap," blindly using seaweed and soy sauce and destroying the authentic French flavor, he says.
Next to cooking, Gomez loves running.
"My job philosophy is 'do better today than yesterday'." His determination can cause nervousness. "Running is the way I shake stress out of my day," he says.
The chef is eager to present this cooking style and interpretation to customers. "It's total satisfaction by knowing guests understand my creations," he says.
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