CHEF’S COMPETITION FOR INNOVATION

At Crowne Plaza Vientiane, we are constantly striving for excellence in all that we o­ffer. And to help us with this, we are committed to encouraging our staff­ to be the best they can be.

Our flagship restaurant, 3 Merchants, leads the way in contemporary dining. By changing our menu every few months, we bring you modern food that takes fine dining in Vientiane to a new level.

We are committed to continuing to provide dishes that will delight you and your guests and it was with this in mind that we instigated the chef’s competition. A monthly contest to challenge our chefs to research food and cooking styles that are outside their comfort zone, and results in the creation of dishes that are extraordinary, both in taste and execution.

Each month the chefs are given a theme and their challenge is to explore the food from a particular region. They have four ingredients they will work with, some of which they might never have prepared before. They can add other ingredients but these four items must feature in the dish. Points are then awarded for the flavour of the food, the use of the ingredients they have been given, their creativity, and their presentation.

Our first competition winner, Cedric, was delighted to be creating a Middle Eastern dish. He pushed himself to design a dish that would showcase some of the extraordinary flavours found in the region and served a pan-fried tenderloin of lamb, marinated in harissa, rolled in fresh mint, and served on cumin and yellow lentil puree with pomegranate syrup. He succeeded in pushing himself to off­er a dish that was both delicious and beautiful.

For the second contest, Raymart pulled out all the stops to research and produce an extraordinary take on Indian food. He had eaten very little food from this region before the competition, so he talked with friends from the country, researched online and visited Indian restaurants to try a range of dishes from both the North and South. He wanted to add his own twist to the food to take it to the next level so practised playing with the ingredients and experimented with spice combinations until he had a dish of chicken biryani filo parcels, on a pureed beetroot pachadi with yoghurt and sa­ron, served with sautéed beetroot and coriander chutney. The judges were impressed both by the amazing flavours of the food, but also by the outstanding presentation of the dish.

Thongphan, who specialises in Thai and Chinese dishes had never eaten Mexican food before the next competition. By creating a dish that was so di­erent from the food he had tried in the past, but with ingredients which were very familiar, he had to push himself to explore his creativity. His pumpkin tortilla, filled with chicken, a corn and mint salad, and served with a lime and yoghurt dressing, has motivated him to learn more about creating dishes from other cultures.

By encouraging our chefs to leave their comfort zones and explore new ingredients and new cultures, we are inspiring them to create dishes our guests will love, not just now but long into the future. And we will continue to support them as they push themselves to create extraordinary dishes for you.