A Creative Forum of Recipes, Life and Family

Ingredients for 5 pax….

30ml of olive oil

50gr of unsalted butter

1000gr of beef brisket or chuck steak

50g of all purpose plain flour

700ml of apple juice

3 large onions, thinly sliced

500ml of beef stock

10gr of Brown sugar

10ml of strong balsamic vinegar

5gr of fresh chopped rosemary

1 cinnamon stick

2gr of freshly ground nutmeg

Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Method

Apart from the fact that I work and live in the Middle East (Dubai) so I hardly use alcohol when I cook, I have three small girls whom love sitting around the table and enjoy a home cooked meal. Being a Chef and a father at the same time it gives me great pleasure to cook for them things they enjoy best and I try to convene my passion and love for both, them and food through the dishes I prepare when I am at home. Beef, especially braised is one of their favourite and I try to cook a braised cut of meat whenever I have adequate time. I am a great believer in secondary cuts of meat, because if cooked correctly they will give you a fantastic finished dish. I always by the meat in one large piece and then cut it or dice it myself. This process helps me cut it as I need it and rid of excess fat. Plus it is a ritual to start the cooking process. When ever Braising always use a heavy bottom sauce pan this will help with an even distribution of heat. Add the oil and butter to the pan and whilst waiting to get hot, season the meat well, this will impart flavour at the beginning and release the flavours later during the slow cooking process. Add the meat to the pot and brown nicely. Add the onions to the pot and brown them lightly in the fat used to brown the meat. Add the rosemary, cinnamon and nutmeg and stir to combine. Remove the onions and set aside. Add the flour to the pan and stir over low heat until the resulting roux is a golden colour. Pour in the apple juice the stock, sugar and vinegar. Season to taste and bring to the boil, stir and simmer over a very low flame for 15 minutes or until slightly reduced and thickened Preheat the oven to approximately 175 degrees celsius. Place the meat and onion in the dish, Strain the sauce through a very fine sieve over the meat mixture, then cover and cook in the oven for about 2 hours or until the beef is tender and the sauce has reduced and slightly thickened even more, remove from the oven, place the meat on a chopping board and slice to the thickness desired. Place a large quenelle of potato mash in the middle of a semi deep bowl, place some brisket over it and dress with some jus

GREAT FOOD, AMAZING ATMOSPHERE AND STUNNING VIEWS

West 14th on the PALM JUMEIRAH

Chef Rob had this to say about his new role as Chef De Cuisine for West 14th

New restaurants are so much fun, if you’re a chef that is! The concept is started in someone’s head, ran through the mill a few times to get a consensus, plans, drawings on bar napkins and an endless amount of chatter gets you to a point where you are finalizing menu’s, looking at staff levels and getting ready for the launch parties and soft openings. Now as much as I love designing, picking out lamps and looking at paint swatches as I did @ the Glass Door in San Diego, I have missed that boat here in Dubai. My sole focus is getting the culinary side of things in line and ready for opening.

With a huge amount of help and support from Peter Drescher, Jan Kaiser, David Bedinghaus, Salvatore Silvestrino, Tim Tate, Dara Pinke and all the folks at Movenpick, West 14^th New York Prime is poised to open on time and with a phenom staff from hotels with names like Fairmont, the Atlantis and Ritz-Carlton.

Our focus @ West 14^th is steak and for us, only the best meat will do. Most steakhouses and restaurants use commodity beef, or beef with branding names like Angus, Certified Angus, grass fed, corn fed, grain fed, etc. At West 14^th, we have taken a different approach and one that brings our customers closer to the product that we choose to use.

Most beef used in restaurants and steakhouses is sources by, and purchased by name, aka Certified Angus ribeye. But do you know where it really comes from? Are the cows free to wander pristine pastureland or are they on a factory farm? Are they weak and pumped full of antibiotics and hormones or are they strong, healthy animals? 99.9% of all restaurants you dine at will have no idea where their beef comes from, was it raised on pastureland, on a cramped farm or…They can tell you that it is prime Angus beef, but that doesn’t really offer you any information other than it is a well marbled piece of meat, and we think you deserve more.

We @ West 14^th have decided to source our beef from one company, who own the cattle farms that our beef is raised on. Much like buying the best carrots from Rainbow farm or the best live basil from Arches Acres because they are the best at these products, we have chosen Rastelli meats/Pureland as our beef supplier because they own the ranches, raise the cows, nurture the cows and then bring them to market and ship the final products to us here in Dubai. They are not just a packing house or brand, but an actual producer. What that allows us to do is to offer you a superior product out the door, a product that we can honestly tell you where it’s from (Texas, btw) its true flavor profile and how ethically it was raised.

Farm to table is what we are about, finding the best ethically and organically raised products at the source and getting them to you in pristine condition. If you are looking for something different, for a dining experience that is a cut above every other restaurant here in Dubai, then come join us here on the trunk of Palm Jumeirah @ West 14^th New York Prime.

Here is a little information on what Pureland represents.

Pureland Black Angus Beef was created by Rastelli Food Groups breeders for the discriminating customer who wants the highest standards in beef products.

Unlike other Angus programmes, Pureland Black Angus beef ’s depth of cattle selection goes well beyond the appearance alone. Pureland Black Angus beef believes that high quality, consistent beef begins with superior Black Angus genetics. This is why Pureland Black Angus beef has gone to great lengths to ensure that all the cattle chosen for the programme are genuine Black Angus, not just black cattle.

Rastelli’s Pureland Black Angus cattle are:

• USDA Verified
• Angus Heritage verified by independent scientific testing
• AnguSure Verified
• Highest Quality USDA Prime, USDA Upper 2/3 Choice,USDA Choice & Select
• Custom processed
• Food professional preferred
• Ideal marbling in every cut
• Naturally aged to perfection
• Owned by Rastelli’s and fed only at our feed yards,which are certified for humane treatment
• Fed 100% vegetarian diet (with no animal by-products)

Pureland Black Angus Beef provides a strict certification programme from producer to you.

All cattle are individually identified prior to slaughter. A USDA representative then inspects each animal to ensure product quality control is true to the Angus Heritage.

The Pureland Black Angus Beef difference goes well beyond hide, colour and appearance:

• A full line of premium grades
• A total focus on Black Angus genetics
• A trade marketing support programme utilising quality POSM tailored to the Food Service and Retail markets

Creating Magic……………………..by Chefs Sal and Rob

About 12 months ago I was contemplating my future with the Fairmont Singapore and a possible jump in rank, I was stuck as i was not sure on what do when Craig Sends me a message!!!!!!!!!!!!! Sal I have an opportunity you should consider,  I will get David Bedinghaus our cluster chef to call you……………i got off the phone and I thought to my self where is Craig Cook and who is he working for??????????. Three days later Chef David called me and after 1 hour plus on the telephone i did not know much more about the job or who i was being asked to join……………………..The following week chef called me again and after 45 minutes of conversing, the name Movenpick came up and also the position on offer………………..within 1 week Sean Murphy had contacted me and we were on the way to sign a contract……………..the position offered was of Exec. Sous Chef and my post would be at IBN BATTUTA GATE HOTEL DUBAI……….a Moroccan Themed Hotel named after the great Muslim traveler Ibn Battuta.

As the project had been delayed my initial time to be spent in the office got extended from a possible two months to almost 10 months by the time we actually move into the hotel.

With everything that’s been going on and not going on I have been stuck in the pre-opening office so I haven’t managed to cook as much as I would have liked.  For the most part, I’ve barely survived by cooking one or two dishes every night for my wife and I and a few extra special dishes on the weekend as the children like a great home cooked meal go and figure, all this wonderful junk food and they want to eat spaghetti al pomodoro, Roast of prime Rib or Pizza which they are experts helping me make it. Oh,  the other time I get to enjoy what i love best is when people leave the company and I usually volunteer to cook, Chef David who had resigned was leaving us on the 20th of May and so I did as I normally would do, I volenteered Chef Rob Conaway and my self to cook for the entire office, 35 pax…………………..yes it is almost a banquet…………………. I started by making Cajun style Meatballs, Rob started to de-bone 10kg of Beef Ribs

Beef Ribs…………………………..recipe

Ingredients

10kg Beef Ribs

300ml of Balsamic Vinegar

50gr Black freshly ground pepper

20gr of Cajun spices

30gr brown sugar

2 Garlic cloves Crushed

60gr Tomato Paste

5 litres of Beef Stock or Water

80ml olive oil

2 Onion brown or red diced small

2 Carrots diced small

60gr BBQ sauce

Salt to taste

Method

Remove the meat off the bones and season well with Cajun spices, salt and crushed black pepper, place a large braising pot on the stove and add the oil. Add the de-boned ribs and brown off nicely without burning, remove from the pot

Add the garlic, onion and carrots and cook until fragrant, add the brown sugar and continue to cook for a minute or two.

Add the balsamic vinegar and let evaporate for about 5 minutes. Add the tomato paste and combine well, return the meat to the pot and cover with beef stock or water, let simmer for about 2 hours.

Check the meat for tenderness and if almost done remove from liquid and keep warm. reduce the stock for about 20 minutes and then strain. Add the BBQ sauce and return the meat to the pot and simmer for a further 15 minutes.

you can serve the ribs braised or flash roasted in a hot oven fo no longer than 5 minutes.