The last masterclass for this year’s World Gourmet Summit was definitely a class of its own. Featuring five known chefs who have carved their names on the culinary map individually, came to the class with an abundant of knowledge. Kicking off in the morning was Chef Antonella Ricci, the beautiful Italian chef who runs the one-Michelin-starred Al Fornello Da Ricci takes everyone to a trip of her hometown and prepared dishes close to her heart. Chef Paul Pairet who came in later on, showed everyone what it truly meant by being creative and thinking out of the box with his whimsical cooking methods that please the eyes and satisfy the entire body. Chef George Calombaris then stepped in for an hour re-emphasizes ”quality over quantity” with his simple yet decadent Greek-inspired dishes that has gotten everyone in Melbourne going head over heels. French-born Chef Vincent Pouessel from the famed Aureole in Las Vegas then showed everyone on how to create a classy meal from using the simplest yet finest ingredients through the easiest method. Last but not least, the masterchef herself, the petite yet mighty in experience, Anne-Sophie Pic blew the audience away with her humility and style through her chic cuisine that made her well-known world over.

Salty breeze, warm sand, bright moonlight and a sky that was brilliantly littered with bright stars – oh what a way to end off World Gourmet Summit 2008 and not to forget a bottle of ice crisp-cold Paulaner beer on hand to cool the heat down. Some 300 strong guests made their way to the Sapphire Pavilion on Siloso Beach, Sentosa for the closing event where it saw a plethora of fine dining done in barbecue style. The music was jamming and everyone let themselves loose to the snazzy music, just catching up and not to forget, enjoying the delights that had been prepared. On top of the fine food, guest cocktail maestro Tomoyuki Kitazoe was flown in delighting everyone with his mad concoctions that got everyone dancing on their toes. It was night full of laughter and joy and there couldn’t be a better way to end off a stupendous and marvellous culinary event.

Three-Michelin-starred Anne-Sophie Pic’s dinner presented on 25 April at the Grand Hyatt Singapore was iconic to say the least. The petite French chef, used to serving a maximum of 40 guests a night, was initially overwhelmed by the extremely enthusiastic response her event received. Serving over 130 guests that evening, Chef Pic performed at her peak in the kitchen, refusing to let the stress of the diners’ high standards make her lose control over her signature dishes. Chef Pic operated with extreme precision in the kitchen, overseeing each and every plate (even the desserts!) as it was sent out of the kitchen. Guest feedback for the evening was positive, with high praises reserved mainly for her foie gras brulee appetiser and signature line caught sea bass.

It was a small and intimate affair with about 20 participants in a Highland Park tasting event with head of brand education Gerry Tosh. Each participant was very lucky to be delighted with five whiskeys of different ages but the one they had been most enthralled had to be the 40 years old. A type that even Tosh tasted recently and he reveals that Singapore was very lucky to be the first country out of Scotland to have the inaugural privilege of tasting it. Tosh was very insightful in his content and gave a really clear overview on the right technique to drink whiskey. Unlike wine connoisseurs who give their wine a swirl before taking whiff, Tosh strongly attest against it and that real whiskey lovers will never but ”toddle” the liquor instead. It was an honest and enriching class and it definitely turned non-whiskey drinkers to be a fan immediately.

The WDA Symposium that was held at the Singapore Tourism Board Auditorium was indeed a success. Eager students from various hospitality schools came down early and filled the gaps in the room and waited patiently for the members of the panels to make their way. The students were all there to find out from Chefs Emmanuel Stroobant, Paul Pairet, Peter Thornley and Sam Leong on what does it takes to become a successful chef and how did they exactly get there. Each of the chefs had their own story. All of them had their own trials and tribulation on getting to be where they are right now but key similar factors that all of them had to drive them to their successes now were passion and pure ardent hard work. But it wasn’t at all a serious event, the students were delighted by the antics of each chef as they relate to the students on the funny instances they each went through in their journey to becoming a great chef. By the end of the symposium, the students left with a great impression and hopefully that it could drive them even further in wanting to be as great as they want themselves to be.

World Gourmet Summit guests at St. Regis were treated to an unforgettable night of gastronomic extravaganza with Hommage a Beaucastel - a wine tasting event with Pierre Perrin - ushering in the evening. Featuring eight wines from chateau de Beaucastel, the wine tasting began with a detailed presentation from Perrin on the types of grape varietals used. A ’backbone’ of 30% grenache and 30% mouvredre is found in the wines, with a mixture of other varietals including syrah and cinsault added to create that unique taste and quality associated with Beaucastel wines. Dr NK Yong praised the 1970 Chateau de Beaucastel in particular, commenting that the ”freshness and liveliness of the fruit is very impressive, considering that the wine is over thirty years as not many Bordeaux remain that fresh at that age.” The vintner dinner that followed, featuring the cuisine from one-Michelin-starred Vincent Pouessel from Las Vegas, was fully booked by more than 100 enthusiastic guests. Much compliments were given for the roasted rack of Colorado lamb, served with stuffed campari tomato, braised Flageolet beans, nicoise olives and rosemary jus, that was perfectly paired with the 1989 Chateau de Beaucastel wine.

Wildlife, fine dining and entertainment – all part of the World Gourmet Summit 2008 Wildlife Safari on Thursday, 24 April, which featured the cuisine of Bracu Restaurant’s Chef de Cuisine, Peter Thornley and the Singapore Zoo’s executive chef, Kelvin Low. Guests were taken to three different venues – the white tiger enclosure, a tram that brought them on a tour of the Night Safari and finally, Ulu Ulu Restaurant, enjoying the delicious cuisine prepared by the two chefs along the way. Hosted by Gold 90.5 FM’s Hamish Brown, the event proved to be a great success, with guests partaking of great food and learning about the different animals in the zoo at the same time. Also, both chefs took the time to address the guests at each dining venue, introducing their cuisine and sharing some insight on why and how they prepared each dish. All in all, the safari was enjoyable and informative.

A continuation from his first flour making workshop, Chef Carlo Marengoni went a step further to make two pasta dishes: mallefante alla molisana and paccheri with orange and cherry tomato molise. The two dishes were chosen specifically because they are native to the Molise region of Italy. Teaching the audience how to make simple pasta sauce with different types of pasta served no challenge to Chef Carlo. The result was a informative and interesting session.

The flour workshop, even though it was early in the morning, succeeded in waking up members of the culinary class. Chef Carlo Marengoni of Ristorante Bologna of Marina Mandarin Singapore was informative about his pasta dough as he was expressive. ”You need to feel passion for the ingredients. Some say this makes the pasta even better.” And show love he did, when he patiently explained to the audience how to mix and knead the pasta dough. Making it simple for everyone, Chef Carlo used a rolling pin instead of a pasta machine, which went to show that anyone could make pasta within the comfort of their own kitchen.

Working with truffles, Chef Stig of mezza0 at Grand Hyatt Singapore incorporated this with foie gras and citrus fruits in two dishes – scallops, citrus carpaccio and truffle puree as well as oxtail and goose liver terrine with truffles and horseradish. Beginning with the citrus carpaccio, Chef Stig taught the class how to combine the flavours with truffle.

Hailing from the Hotel de Mikumi in Tokyo Japan, Chef Kiyomi Mikuni comes to Singapore to share his expertise with various members of his culinary class. His dishes today are simple, yet extremely tasty. Making tartar of tuna tataki with poached quail egg with vinaigrette of avocado oil and soy sauce with yuzu flavour, Chef Kiyomi moves on to consommé of sea bream, a simple yet tasty stock.

From Verbania in Italy, Chef Marco was hosted at the DOMVS, the Italian restaurant in Sheraton Towers Singapore. Cooking risotto with bettelmatt raclette and twice-cooked eel with citrus, veal reduction sauce and lime effervescence, Chef Marco exchanges his knowledge with the class about working with eel and the sous-vide method of cooking eel.

Chef Roberto Galetti’s culinary class was held at the brand new Unilever Foodsolutions kitchen along Mohammed Sultan Road. The first dish he demonstrated was the homemade fettuccine noodles with fresh tomato and basil sauce. Making the fettuccine from scratch, Chef Roberto detailed good pasta techniques and helpful hints when working with dough. His sauce was simple, yet effective. The second dish was the pan fried seabass fillet with Italian herbs and porcini mushroom risotto. Chef Roberto started off by making vegetable stock and making the risotto. He explained what makes good risotto as well as teaching the class how to fillet a whole fish. For dessert, Chef Roberto made gratinated sweet moscato wine sabayon with fresh berries. Chef Roberto demonstrated how to whip the sabayon in the bain marie so that the eggs are fluffy but not overcooked. He explained the correct texture of the sabayon and gratinated it with a culinary torch until the surface is golden browned. The next challenge for the students in the class was to recreate the three dishes Chef Roberto demonstrated. The four attendees paired up into two teams and when they were done cooking, sat down to taste their own food. Chef Roberto headed the discussion, pointing out what was good, and what could have been done for a better result. Altogether it was a great learning experience.

No expense was spared for the Highland Park whisky dinner event, held at the Sentosa Pavilion on the 22nd April. Simply titled ’A Taste of the Highlands’, the evening saw guests arriving at the Sentosa Pavilion where rows of dark Highland Park banners, complete with burning torches greeted them. With the scent of burning peat lingering in the air, the guests were invited to proceed to a mini ’maze’ indoors, where they were taken on a tour of the whisky making process in Highland Park. Each stop within the maze showcased different aspects of the process; from the hand-turning method of regulating barley malt temperature, to the sherry oak casks used, guests were shown examples of the key steps involved in whisky making. Following that, guests were ushered into a private dining area, where Gerry took them through the 18 year olds, 25 year olds and 30 year old whiskies that were paired with dishes such as the kurobuta pork cheek on spinach cheese tart with pinot noir sauce, and the soft poached organic egg with chorizo, truffle and sauce periogourdine. From his point of view, Gerry seemed to have enjoyed the overall experience, even joking that this event has seen the ’largest gathering of ’alcoholics’ by far.’

By seven at night, the foyer was almost packed to the brim with guests. Everyone was in high spirits drinking away their 2007 Hunter ”s Sauvignon Blanc and mingling as they know that for the next few hours they will be delighted by a six course menu that has Pebeyre truffles as its signature ingredient. Such exquisite event deserves a classy reception where all guests looked sharp and elegant setting adorned each table. Dinner was accompanied by live-jazz music and strings of bossa nova tunes. Mr Jean-Pierre Pebeyre who had brought in the truffles from France was at the dinner and took time to say hello to some of the guests. He was very proud of his products indeed and each guest was in praise of them. Each course saw truffles done in the smartest way and it was all thanks to the creative minds of Chefs Brian Cleere and Stig Drageide from the Grand Hyatt Singapore.

Men want to be like him and women…well, they want to eat him. Everyone knows who Curtis Stone is and it was certainly a crowded event where guests of all ages (women mostly) flood the banquet room of Pan Pacific Hotel Singapore. Together with the beautiful Sonia Couling, Curtis Stone entertained the crowd with his charms and games. The ladies cooed and swooned at every moment they can get of him. Together with Chef Joseph Martin, Curtis Stone had prepared a menu where the duo combined both creativities to create dishes of many delights and fabulous flavours. Curtis Stone truly warmed the night with his antics. It was an evening filled with laughter and to all the ladies who were lucky enough to get kiss and a hug from Curtis, it will be one where they will remember for forever at least.