Simply Abu Dhabi VI

while these accompaniments are great, the main thing is still the cod. When you taste it, it’s just incredibly delicate, and very, very delicious! When you realise Shaun Anthony’s background, then you can see how this passion for sourcing the very best from across the world has developed. Fluent in English, French and German, Anthony is a genuinely international figure, and he’s worked at some of the world’s best restaurants. He began his career in 1999 at Aurora’s Restaurant in Canada, following this with positions as Senior Chef de Partie at Restaurant Gordon Ramsay, London and as Private Chef to the Vaviloffs – the family of the former Russian Minister of Finance. Most recently, Anthony has been Chef de Cuisine at The Cliff, and has worked at The Sentosa Resort & Spa in Singapore and at the Napa Kitchen Restaurant in Shanghai, China. Incredible luxury Fish is the focus here, but it certainly isn’t all they do. In fact Anthony’s signature dish is something a little different. Make that very different: it’s foie gras parfait. For many people, foie gras in itself is quite luxurious enough. But showing his constant desire to find the very best in food, Anthony has taken things further. This was something that we did not want to miss out on. So Jordana ordered it and when the dish emerged, I have to say that we couldn’t quite believe our eyes. The parfait is served in a grape jelly, with an almond brioche crumble, together with an espresso soil, cinnamon mousse, marshmallows, and then – as it that wasn’t impressive enough – foie gras ice cream. It’s incredible! We both tasted this opulent dish and we were absolutely amazed. It’s like nothing in this world - the flavours are so refined, so complex and so well balanced. When we enquired about how it was made, we found that - naturally - every component of the dish is the result of hours of attention and care. The grape jelly, we were told, was made using top quality French grape, with cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg, agar agar and gelatine. And the foie gras itself? That gets dipped in the jelly and then refrigerated. The almond brioche begins life as an almond crumble, which is grated, then baked in order to create a really fine powder. The espresso soil is then made using a similar method with the best quality Kenyan coffee beans. And now for the really amazing part...the foie gras ice cream. It’s made by adding standard ice cream ingredients (milk, sorbitol and glycerine) to the luxurious goose liver, and then churning them together. Once all that’s been done, all that remains is to add some sea salt and fresh purple chiso, and prepare for your diners to be gobsmacked! Having tasted these dishes, I’m really excited about what Anthony can do at the Emirates. Since arriving at Sayad, his finesse and talent have been recognized with a ‘6 Stars and 7 Stripes’ award from the prestigious International Hotel and 4 1 S I M P LY A B U DH A B I

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