Tuesday night fairgoers were serenaded by Bryan Adams muzak and dined on trays of satay along the beach at the Hilton Hotel on the Corniche to celebrate the arrival of celebrity chefs sponsored by the Gourmand World Cookbook Awards. Among those mingling in the crowd as trays of savories and sweets were circulated were Edouard Cointreau – “chief of the chefs” and director of the World Cookbook Awards, Juergen Boos, president of the Frankfurt Book Fair, Rana Idriss, general manager of Beirut publisher Dar Al-Adab, and Rochele Mitchell, sales manager of Dorling Kindersley, as well as a coterie of French oil executives who happened to be visiting the hotel.
The chefs too circulated. The star of the evening was easily Chef Wan, who was busy explaining the nuances of Malaysian cuisine. It’s easy to see how he’s become one of the best known chefs in Asia. The Malaysian ambassador’s wife, who was among those gathered, confirmed his celebrity in his homeland and is a big fan. I, for one, am keen to see what he whips up during his cooking demonstrations on Thursday.
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