1. Are you also of the idea that women are “cooks” and men are “chefs”?
No. Anyone can become a chef as long as they really want to.
2. Who can cook better, you or your mum?
Definitely me.
3. Which famous personality would you love to cook for?
I would love to cook for my first executive chef at the Four Seasons Hotel in Venezuela.
4. If you could, would you change the design of a chef's hat?
I would not change the design but would make the hat a little shorter.
5. A dish you dislike cooking but have repeatedly prepared?
None. If I don’t like it, I don’t cook it. I always try to find a way to be happy and comfortable with what I’m cooking in the kitchen.
6. Memorable experiences in the kitchen, disastrous or otherwise.
Once when I was working in Banqueting, I had just finished a 17- to 18-hour shift and was about to go home when the head chef approached me for another.
7. Three valuable lessons you've learnt in the kitchen?
The art of perfection; How to pay attention to time; A passion for cooking
8. Tips you would like to share with readers.
1) Be patient. It’s never perfect on the first try
2) Be careful with salt and pepper
3) Add a bit of butter
9. A kitchen utensil you can't live without.
My finestrainer.
10. Food you can't live without.
Demi-glace. I use it often.
11. An overused ingredient.
Garlic.
12. The quickest meal to prepare?
I am happy to eat tuna out of a tin with crackers.
13. And the longest?
I don’t spend too much time making one thing.
SPICE OF LIFE
Name: Ruben Rebuffo
Age: 27
Nationality: Venezuelan
Designation: Sous Chef and acting Head Chef
Location: Pachanga Restaurant, Hilton Dubai, Jumeirah
Favourite cuisine: Latin American cuisine with a twist —Langostinos al ajillo confitado. See recipe.
Interesting facts: It is not easy to find a chef with such passion and such good knowledge of cooking at such a young age.
ON THE FOOD COURT: A chef’s aces
Breakfast: Langostinos al ajillo confitado
- 180g langoustine
- 5g garlic
- 10ml white wine
BLACK BEAN MASH
- 40g black bean
- 10g meat
- 5g onion
- 5g bell pepper
- 5g garlic
- 5g coriander
- 5g salt
- 5g pepper
GARLIC CONFIT
- 10g garlic
- 5ml olive oil
- 5g sugar
- AJI SALSA
- 20ml tomato juice
- 5g salt
- 5g pepper
- 20g bell peppers
Dice onion, bell pepper, meat, coriander and garlic. Keep in fridge.
Take langoustines and remove shell; store in fridge. Cook black beans until grains are tender.
For black bean mash: Sauté onion, garlic and meat. Add cooked beans. Process half of beans in a blender and pour into the remaining beans. Mix and finish with coriander.
For Aji salsa: Sauté mixed bell pepper. Pour in tomato juice, reduce for two minutes and season with salt and pepper.
For garlic confit: Fill aluminium container with olive oil, add peeled garlic clove, sugar; cover with aluminium foil. Cook garlic until it gets tender.
For langoustine: In a high-fire pan, cook langoustines for two minutes on each side. Add chopped garlic and pour in some white wine. Reduce for two minutes.
Dinner: Penne Carbonara al Maiz
- 500g penne pasta
- 20g onion
- 5g garlic
- 1ml sweet corn cream
- 200g beef
- 30g Parmesan cheese
- 150ml heavy cream
- 1g egg yolk
- 5g salt, pepper
Dice onion, beef and garlic. Heat pan, add olive oil and butter. Then add onion, garlic and beef, and sauté.
Add cream and sweet corn cream. Stir, letting the sauce reduce, season with salt and fresh peppercorn.
Let sauce rest for three minutes, add egg yolk, whisk sauce to avoid scrambling of egg. Mix sauce with penne pasta, garnish with Parmesan cheese.
Fave lunch: Crab sticks salad
- 50g king crab flesh
- 5g onion
- 5g spring onion
- 2g eggs
- 5g flour
- 5g breadcrumbs
- 5g white sesame seeds
- 5g black sesame seeds
- 3g salt
- 3g pepper
PALM HEARTS ESCABECHE
- 5g onion
- 5g palm hearts
- 5g coriander
- 5ml olive oil
- 3ml lemon juice
- 3ml white vinegar
- 3g salt
- 3g pepper
TOMATO CARPACCIO
- 50g plum tomato
- 5g rocket salad
For palm hearts escabeche: Chop onion, coriander, palm hearts. Mix all ingredients and keep in fridge.
For tomato carpaccio: Boil water. Cook tomatoes, place in container with ice water. Remove skin, slice. Season with salt, pepper, olive oil, lemon juice.
For crab sticks: Mix crab flesh with onion, spring onion, olive oil, salt, pepper and lemon juice. Shape the mixture and freeze for two hours.
To bread the sticks: Pass crab sticks through flour, then through raw-eggs liquid and mixture of breadcrumbs, white sesame seeds and black sesame seeds.
Heat olive oil to 150°C. Cook sticks for four minutes. Then bake in at 180°C for five minutes.
Take rocket salad mixed with the palm hearts escabeche and rest on tomato carpaccio. Garnish with crab sticks.
Dessert: Pear pochada
- Poached pear
- 30g pear
- 20g sugar
- 100ml apple jus
PEACH VANILLA SAUCE
- 10g peach
- 3ml vanilla essence
- 5g sugar
- 10ml orange juice
Take two pears and remove skin. Keep in water with lemon juice and cover with foil.
Pour apple juice into a pan and bring to boil. Cook pear in the apple juice with sugar for about 20 minutes or until flesh gets tender.
For peach vanilla sauce: Peel peach and cut into dices. On a medium fire, pan-cook peach.
Add a few drops of vanilla essence and pour in orange juice. Cook for a few minutes and blend to make a sauce. Let sauce rest in fridge. Serve with ice-cream.
