Chefs do battle at Hilton Worldwide F&B Masters

The second annual Hilton Worldwide Middle East & Africa F&B Masters, held on October 17 at Hilton Abu Dhabi, brought together three teams from the chain’s hotels across the region to compete for the title of F&B Team of the Year via two live cooking challenges.

The entrants comprised teams of four people, each including one commis chef and one waiter, from Hilton Dubai Jumeirah Resort, Hilton Abu Dhabi and Conrad Pezula Resort & Spa, South Africa.

The day-long competition, judged by a panel of Hilton Worldwide senior executives, industry suppliers and media representatives, involved two elements: the creation of the original four-course meal that had won the teams their places in the final, and a surprise ‘black box’ cook-off.

The winning team was Conrad Pezula, who impressed the judges with their “farm to table” approach and creativity under pressure.

Hilton Worldwide MEA culinary director Knud Bundgaard, who orgnaised the competition and the grand finale, commented: “Scoring between the winner and second runner-up was less than a 10% margin, a clear demonstration of the quality and skills on show at the event. However, the team from Conrad Pezula excel in key areas such as presentation of dishes and their versatility with ingredients and this gave them a slight edge”.

He said the F&B Masters, open to a total of 56 Hilton Worldwide hotels across MEA, was “a great incentive for young chefs to push themselves that extra mile and to demonstrate what they can achieve”.

“I was very pleased at the talent on display at our F&B Masters event. I already knew how skillfull and energetic the finalist teams were, but to see them in action, particularly in pressurised circumstances, was a delight to observe. They all worked tremendously hard to be shortlisted and very much deserved their place in the spotlight at the main competition finals,” added Bundgaard.

A mixology competition ran alongside the cooking challenges with three beverage experts — from Hilton Ras Al Khaimah Resort & Spa, UAE, Hilton Dubai Jumeirah Resort, UAE and Hilton Seychelles Northolme Resort & Spa — vying for the title Mixologist of the Year.

The winner for the second year in a row was Giovanni Bavajee, mixologist at Hilton Ras Al Khaimah Resort & Spa.

“It’s a huge honour to be voted number one mixologist at Hilton Worldwide MEA, for the second time. This year’s event, particularly the mystery black box competition, was intense and challenging but hugely enjoyable and I am already looking forward to the third F&B Masters event next year,” said Bavajee.