The Asian Chefs' Summit kicks off: All 200 seats for 4 banquets at The Landis Taipei are fully booked

▲Treasured—Heirloom Tomatoes.

Reported and photographed by Huang Shiyuan, HowToTrip

The 2017 Asia’s Chef Summit officially kicked off today (19th), with four dining events taking place at Taipei’s Ambassador Hotel from the 19th to the 21st. Six chefs will collaborate in rotating teams to present eight-course lunch and dinner menus through a four-hands cooking style, each priced at NT$6,900 + 10%. All 200 seats across the four events have already been fully booked.

During this dining series, the chefs not only featured their signature dishes but also introduced new creations recently developed in their restaurants. Signature dishes include “Water Spinach Ravioli” by Asia’s Best Female Chef Margarita Fores, which replaces traditional spinach with water spinach and is filled with fresh crab meat, served with a citrus cream sauce that highlights the sweetness of the crab. Jason Tan, who has served as chef for multiple Singaporean state banquets, presented “Hokkaido Scallop, Sea Urchin, and Black Caviar,” incorporating local tropical fruits such as pomelo and caramelized citrus into the dish.


▲Water Spinach Ravioli.


▲Hokkaido Scallop, Sea Urchin, and Black Caviar.

Kirk Westaway, chef of Singapore’s Michelin one-star restaurant JAAN, brought his signature dish “Treasured—Heirloom Tomatoes.” This intricate dish involves hollowing out heirloom tomatoes, filling them with sun-dried versions of the same, then immersing them in tomato consommé and cooking them using the sous-vide method. The sun-dried tomatoes are later removed and replaced again with fresh tomato, using multiple cooking techniques to intensify the tomato flavor. It is also served with burrata cheese, basil, and tomato broth.


▲Lanyang Shrimp, Kumamoto Oysters, Seaweed, and Yams.

For new dishes, Thitid Tassanakajohn, chef of Thailand’s LE DU, presented a summer variation titled “Lanyang Shrimp, Kumamoto Oysters, Seaweed, and Yams,” featuring high-quality Taiwanese Lanyang shrimp. Clement Pellerin, chef of Paris 1930—which has been in Taiwan for four years—offered a dessert called “Lightly Pickled Autumn Persimmon with Pumpkin and Osmanthus Flavor.” The dish uses persimmons, the fruit most symbolic of autumn, lightly brushed with honey to preserve their natural taste. The leaf-like elements are made from pumpkin, resembling real dried leaves, showcasing the chef’s remarkable skill once again.


▲Lightly Pickled Autumn Persimmon with Pumpkin and Osmanthus Flavor.