A visit to the UAE’s East Coast Culinary Competition in Fujairah

It was hard to tell who the bigger stars were at this year’s East Coast Culinary Competition in Fujairah: the chefs or the masterpieces they created. The third annual event was held on Monday and brought out the best from budding and experienced chefs alike. Chefs came from all corners of the UAE as well as from Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka, Croatia and Oman to compete in what’s quickly becoming a high-profile competition.

Most of the chefs competing at the event are employed at high-end hotels, but there were also groups from Bentley Bistro & Bar in Abu Dhabi, Emirates Flight Catering and the Sharjah Ladies Club. The event was open to the public and had 14 categories that chefs could enter.

A highlight for visitors to the event was the chocolate showpieces. The kitchen artists who visualised and executed the pieces had given close attention to detail. A crowd favourite was a white-chocolate pegasus, complete with defined muscle tone perfectly carved into the sculpture.

The gold-medal winner was a chocolate carving of two men balancing carefully over a crocodile

Creative showpieces

Some of the breads on display in the bread category included rhubarb with sunflower seeds, coconut and lemongrass skewers, purple potato and sweetcorn loaf and beetroot bread. The chefs’ bread-baking creativity would have been enough to impress, but all of the breads were displayed within larger-than-life showpieces that, though hard to believe, were, in fact, also made of bread.

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A visit to the UAE’s East Coast Culinary Competition in Fujairah