The FINANCIAL — Radisson Blu Iveria Hotel offers its guests menus prepared by Bastiaan Arts, its internationally experienced chef who has worked for several royal families and diplomats around the world over the course of his career.
Mr. Arts started his career in Holland. He graduated from college in the Netherlands, where he attended Middle Management School and has worked in a number of countries including the Netherlands, Germany, Egypt, the United Kingdom, Sultanate of Oman and Switzerland before arriving in Georgia.
According to Mr. Arts French food is his favourite national cuisine due to the culture of the cooking. He says that French cuisine is not just food, it is a culinary experience with aspects such as ambience, wine, cheese, whether and a great philosophy behind everything. Their techniques are fantastic. The Radisson Chef also enjoys Thai cooking because of its perfect simplicity and freshness. He has been in both countries and both have impressed him a great deal.
“Cooking is a very creative profession and gives a lot of freedom to develop one’s talents and creativity,” said Arts.
Mr. Arts especially enjoys cooking game in the Autumn in Europe. “It is great to cook and there are so many interesting colours which can be added to dishes to represent the season in the restaurant. Using seasonal ingredients also means that the flavours are exceptional,” he stated.
Mr. Arts has worked in many countries including Holland, Germany, Switzerland, Egypt and England. He says that he enjoyed Germany the most. “Both Germany and the Netherlands are very similar and I like the mentality there; it is where my roots lie,” he said.
The fusion of dishes has become quite popular in recent times. Fusion is a general term for combining various forms of cookery and is now a well established cooking technique.
According to Mr Arts, Asian fusion restaurants are probably the most popular, but there are also fusion concepts such as Tex-Mex and Pacific Rim cuisines. Australia has been a leader in developing fusion food concepts.
“Melbourne and Sydney are now considered some of the best cities in the world with regards to the quality and creativity of Asian-fusion restaurants. I have been involved in Asian fusion and Arabic fusion cuisine throughout my career. One of my favourite fusion combinations is Hummus, Parma Ham and Balsamic marinated Strawberries,” Arts said.
For Mr. Arts being a chef is directly linked with the qualities of dedication and awareness. He believes that chefs need to be alert to the opportunities in their surroundings. They should be trend leaders as well as trend followers, keeping up to date with the latest food products and techniques.
Mr. Arts describes his style of cooking as fresh and simple. “To become a well-rounded chef I have read a lot of culinary literature. I have always been very impressed by French cuisine, and I think it is one of the most complete cuisines in the world, with very refined techniques, which form the basis for many other cuisines,” he added.
Mr. Arts started by experimenting with dishes from chefs such as Paul Bocuse, the Haeberlin family in the Elzas who have three Michelin Stars, Gordon Ramsey, Cees Helder the Dutch three Michelin star chef, and a bit later Jamie Oliver and Tim Maelzer from Germany. These were the new generation of chefs who showed that simplicity with seasonality gives a top result.
“I started to adapt my style to a more simple technique, because I believe cooking should be something that anyone can follow and create at home easily. The above-mentioned chefs all use fresh, seasonal and locally-sourced produce combined with their travel and work experience in different cultures. This is a style that I have now adopted.”
“Georgian cuisine is fresh, seasonal and overall really great!” said Arts. He likes Georgian salad as it is simple, fresh and vibrant for him. Pork Shaslick and Beans in a clay pot are also favourites of his. He believes that the products which are available in season and which are popular in the country you are living in turn out to be the most useful.
“Our Apple Pie is a winner in all our outlets and has become the ‘signature dessert’ of Radisson Blu Iveria Hotel. In our banqueting department the Hot Smoked Salmon with Red Onion Compote and Hollandaise sauce is another favourite dish of our customers.”
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