Cooks: Cuong Le Nguyen (team captain), Quan Le, Quan Trung Nguyen.
As the
chef in charge of Western cuisines at the 5-star Hotel Majestic, Mr. Cuong Le
Nguyen (46) is equipped with 25 years of experience in the field. Originally
from Hanoi, Mr. Cuong Le followed his family to Southern Vietnam to start a new
life and chose cooking to be his career path.
After
finishing high school, he began studying to be a Kitchen Manager at Saigon
Tourist Hospitality College. After graduation, he had opportunities to work,
practice and improve his specialized skills in many professional environments,
such as top hotels in HCMC before joining Majestic Hotel.
Dishes for the Contest:
To attend the 2015 Golden Spoon contest, the cooks from Majestic Hotel prepared
four dishes: Seaweed and Sweet Snail Salad;
Wallago Hot pot; Duck Breast Wrapped in Fried Sticky Rice; Bamboo Shoot Jelly.
Within the
above dishes, wallago hotpot is team 25 captain’s favorite. According to Mr. Cuong
Le, it’s a dish from his memories. It used to be made by his aunt at family
get-togethers. Ingredients for the dish include wallago, lemongrass, Indian
borage/Mexican mint and mẻ (a fermented ingredient typically made of cooked
rice or bún – a type of Vietnamese-style noodles).
Wallago is
a type of catfish most commonly found in Biển Hồ but can also be caught by
fishermen in big rivers in the Mekong Delta. With creativity, the cooks have
transformed the dish into a recipe worthy of a 5-star rank.
According
to one of the judges, culinary artisan Anh Thị Hoang Ho, she immediately paid
much attention to and anticipated the taste of this dish when she saw the cooks
preparing it at the kitchen skills round. “Fish hotpots are nutritious and
mouth-watering”, that’s her comment for team 25’s dish.
Unit:
Majestic Hotel
Address: No. 1 Đồng Khởi Street, District 1, HCMC
Tel.: (08) 3829 5517 - Fax: (08) 3822 9744
Email: majestic@majesticsaigon.com.vn
Website: http://www.majesticsaigon.com.vn/.
Majestic Saigon Hotel or Majestic Hotel is a 5-star hotel
with French architecture located near Bạch Đằng Wharf and at the beginning of
Đồng Khởi Street (the center of HCMC). It is one of the historic and renowned
hotels in Saigon. Having existed for nearly a century (1925-2012), Majestic
Hotel is a symbol of the luxury and splendor of old Saigonese.
That architectural beauty is still
preserved to date. At present, Saigontourist is the company in charge of this
hotel. Majestic Hotel’s restaurants and bars include: Cyclo Restaurant, Catinat
Lounge, Breeze Sky Bar, Serenade Restaurant, M.Bar, Prima Ballroom, Merry Pool
Bar & Fitness Center...