Culinary Students Prove Their Mettle At Poultry Competition

Competitors pose with judges at the U.S. Poultry Competition finale.

At the judges’ table – Q&A with one of the competing teams.

Competitors get cooking!

Head judge Edmund Toh providing feedback to the teams.

Carefully slicing the duck.

Seven teams took part in a U.S. Poultry Competition on August 6 at the Shatec Institutes. Comprising two members per team, the students represented the May intake of the Culinary Arts Diploma program. To prepare, they began their groundwork four months before the competition, learning everything from conceptualization to proportion, taste, color, texture and presentation. Judges Margaret Say, Chef Edmund Toh and Chef Jacob Ng commended the young competitors on their high standard and level of creativity. The top three winning dishes were: U.S. Duck, Sweet Potato Mash and Red Wine Reduction; Pan-Seared U.S. Duck with Betutu Sauce and Deconstructed Pergedil; and U.S. Chicken Roulade. USAPEEC and Shatec organized the event with funding from the United Soybean Board.

The top three winning dishes (L-R): U.S. Duck, Sweet Potato Mash and Red Wine Reduction; Pan-Seared U.S. Duck with Betutu Sauce; U.S. Chicken Roulade.

USAPEEC Masterclasses Delivered By Industry Chefs

Chef Petrina whips up the Mexicana Cheese Shell Pasta.

U.S. Chicken Thigh Ang Chow.

U.S. Sous Vide Chicken Breast.

Students plating Chicken Tikka under the watchful eyes of Chef Vik.

Fifty-three students from the culinary arts program were treated to two masterclasses featuring U.S. poultry on July 13 and 27 at the SHATEC Institutes. Chef-owner Petrina Loh of Morsels and Chef Vik of Picotin Waterboat House imparted their professional industry knowledge and insights, while demonstrating the different methods and techniques for cooking poultry. Both chefs explained the step-by-step process to preparing dishes like U.S Chicken Thigh and Chow (rice wine) Mexicana Cheese Shell Pasta, U.S. Sous Vide Chicken Breast and U.S. Chicken Tikka. Healthy cooking with healthy ingredients like U.S. poultry, its high quality and safety standards were brought into focus as part of the masterclass training sessions. USAPEEC and SHATEC organized the classes with funding from the United Soybean Board.

Thumbs up for USAPEEC’s series of poultry masterclasses at SHATEC.

Wines To Pair With Poultry

In many cultures, winemaking and culinary experiences have evolved over many years. Many pairings that are considered "classics" today are the result of a region's cuisine and wine growing up and merging together in. Many old wine adages such as white wine with fish, and red wine with meat are no longer observed. That’s because the subjective nature of taste makes it possible to drink any kind of wine with any kind of food – to have an enjoyable experience.

Many people though tend to opt for the same wine with every meal. When matching wine with food, it’s important to understand the key features of the dish in order to work out the ultimate pairing.

Poultry is one of the most popular meats consumed around the world, and they vary considerably from dry and delicate to oily and rich. Both red and white wines go well with poultry which means you have a variety to choose from. For instance, white wines go well with white meats, and light aromatic and medium-bodied red wines work better with darker chicken and poultry.

Whether you’re a connoisseur, a fried chicken lover, or simply believe that roast chicken and a good bottle are the ultimate combination, here are some wine pairing suggestions to get you started.

The flavors of foods and wines have evolved together over the centuries.
(Photo: Yummly)

Riesling pairs well with spicy Asian foods like Thai chicken curry.
(Photo: Shaun Myrick)

Chicken

Chicken blends with so many different seasonings, side dishes, and accompaniments. The meat itself is a bit of a hybrid, part lean white meat, part rich dark meat. It’s a flexible protein to pair with wine. Roast chicken can be paired with both white and red wines, however a popular option is a quality, oaked chardonnay. When roasted, chicken gets a lovely crispy skin and tends to have a slightly smoky flavor to it, and this goes perfectly well with the smoky and toasty flavors of an oaked chardonnay. It complements beautifully with the richer parts of the chicken and can stand up to any herb or citrus flavoring in the dish.

Alongside beef, pork, fish and seafood, chicken is a mainstay of many Asian cuisines but while it is ubiquitous in noodle, rice and dumpling dishes, it can be tricky to pair at times. For sweet and sour dishes, you may want to consider chenin blanc. This wine has an awesome acidity and inherently sweet flavor which will balance the heat in the food. For spicier dishes like Thai chicken curry, riesling is a good choice because of its off-dry styles with some residual sugar.

Duck

Duck is much fattier than chicken or turkey and has a richer, gamier taste. It can be cooked in many styles and is often prepared with fruit sauces or significant herbs and seasoning. With poultry able to absorb these flavors easily, the way it’s cooked should be the key factor when choosing a wine pairing. Roast duck, while having characteristically strong gamy flavors, is a tender and delicate meat, so a light red is a good choice. Do take into account the need for acidity to balance out the fatty meat. Pinot noir and roast duck make quite a pair!

Thai red duck curry is a magnificent match for gewürztraminer, a wine filled with inherent notes of ginger and pepper spice. It also carries a light sweetness, which helps to balance the hot spices you’ll find with Asian curry dishes. Duck à l’Orange is particularly fruity, so it requires a wine with a brilliantly fruity flavor profile to match. Look no further than a beaujolais to partner this dish. Beaujolais reds are made from gamay grapes containing wonderful red fruit flavors of cherry and raspberry. Its noticeable acidity will cut through the fattiness of the duck, while the low tannin ensures that it doesn’t overpower the tender meat.

Duck à l’Orange and a glass of beaujolais make a perfect pair.
(Photo: Asian Inspirations)

Red wines like pinot noir are recommended most often to stand up to the full flavors of turkey meatballs.
(Photo: Food52)

Turkey

No longer regarded as just a festive bird, turkey is now a popular item in both Asian and Western cuisine, all year round. It’s quite a lean meat and has a tendency to lose moisture when cooked. The end result can often be slightly drier than other meats. Having a bottle to compensate for this is key.

Turkey meatballs in tomato sauce simply begs for a pinot noir pairing not only because it’s a light red, but because the mushroom notes of the wine complements the tomato meatball sauce so well.

If you're going to drink wine with your meal, it's best to get the pairing correct. Afterall, a good relationship is one where the food and the wine complement one another and work in harmony.

Beyond the Plate – Whimsical and Magical

As consumers become accustomed to having digital experiences integrated into their everyday lives, the food service industry is also discovering many innovative ways to increase customer engagement and enliven their bars and restaurants with technology designed to give patrons the ultimate dining experience.

While the act of eating, is in itself, a multi-sensory experience, the notion that enjoying food and drinks transcends taste and involves all of the five senses is gaining wider global acceptance. An increasing number of high-end restaurants are experimenting with smells, sounds, storytelling, and other elements to manipulate the perception of flavor. From dining in the dark to carefully orchestrated culinary operas, and musical food pairings to high-tech taste pods, sense-stimulating experiences are all the rage.

Just as well as today’s adventure seeking diners are hungry for enhanced dining experiences that play on all their senses, it’s no different in Asia where these amazing concept spaces are creating waves with their unique and interactive dining experiences.

Soul Coffee features floor-to-ceiling immersive backdrop projections that change every few hours.
(Photo: The Smart Local)

4D immersive Soul Coffee, Singapore: Touted as “mysticism meets modernity”, Soul Coffee is a café like no other. From the moment you step in and walk through the mist walls, you’re transported into a totally different dimension. With its massive wall projections that change every few hours, the entire café offers a truly 4D immersive experience with its enchanting scenery of the four seasons, and outer space and underwater themes, with just the right music to set the mood. The whole experience at Soul Coffee is interesting with the different concepts and menu offerings that range from their very own signature coffees and desserts to astrology mocktails and tarot readings in “hidden” rooms. And there’s more. When you order Pourover Coffee, you will be served by George, an AI Humanoid Robot Barrista. Using two six-axis robotic arms to “manually” “hand-pour” brewed coffee for customers, there are very precise steps to the brewing process - from grinding to brewing and pouring. It’s a delight to watch!

At Koral Restaurant, diners enjoy gourmet food while nestled within an aquarium.
(Photo: DetikFood)

Insta-worthy Koral Restaurant, Bali: Picture perfect and Instagram worthy, this Bali restaurant draws its design inspiration from the tropical characteristics of Bali and the great Majapahit empire. The interior features teakwood ceilings and walls made from traditional red clay bricks, and elegant black and white Tegel tiles, popular among the royal court. The large windows and a glass-roofed tunnel give diners an incredible view of the underwater world where tropical fish swirl in a magical kaleidoscope of colors. According to the owners, the approach to dining at Koral is ‘bistronomy’, which brings dishes one might expect at a fine dining level but with an atmosphere and ambience that is relaxed and comfortable – a perfect setting within the confines of the dreamlike aquarium, complete with a spellbinding soundtrack that captures the magical mystery of aquatic life.

Le Petit Chef combines sensational cuisines and cinematic animations to create a unique dining experience.
(Photo: Skullmapping)

Cinematic Le Petit Chef, Philippines: The world’s smallest chef of French origin takes patrons on a two-hour unique dining adventure featuring sensational cuisines and cinematic entertainment, alongside stunning views of Manila. Housed at the Grand Hyatt, the restaurant beckons guests to experience the best of theatre and dining combined in an immersive culinary journey with an exquisitely curated 6-course set menu. Get ready to feast your senses as Le Petit Chef comes to life from the virtual realm for an animated whimsical performance. Using 3D projection mapping, the innovative dining experience delivers the story of a small, animated chef onto diners’ plates, where he proceeds to ‘cook’ their food. With the help of overhead projectors, the dining table transforms into an immersive theatre where the tablecloth, plates, and utensils become backdrops for the little chef to show off his culinary prowess.

What of the future?

It’s true – a good meal should speak for itself, yet what was once the simple pleasure of eating is increasingly becoming a curated, playful, often tech-aided spectacle that takes dining beyond the plate to new levels of enjoyment. And we want more!

Sugar’s Not Just For Sweets

Cookies, cakes, brownies, muffins, ice cream, gelato, pudding. You name it, we all love it. And based on how many daily tempting encounters we have with sweets, it’s hard to walk away!

Sugar gets a bad rap but it isn’t all bad. It provides our bodies with calories which we can then convert into energy. Children need this energy to fuel their rapid growth. Sugar also helps us store fat, which can be drawn on later should we need it. The operative word here is to consume in moderation.

How is sugar produced? All green plants produce sugar (sucrose) through photosynthesis, a natural process that turns sunlight into energy. Glucose and fructose are converted by the plant into sucrose, the basis for all food energy. Table sugar is obtained from sugar cane and sugar beets due to their high sucrose content. The extraction and purification process produces a variety of sugars such as granulated, coarse and fine sugar; specialty sugar that includes brown, icing sugar, organic sugar, golden syrup, and molasses; and others like raw sugar and evaporated cane juice.

Taste, Versatility and Health

Sugar is a versatile ingredient and contributes many functional properties to food products beyond its sweetening properties. Sugar interacts with other ingredients to enhance or lessen certain flavors; adds bulk to foods which impacts mouthfeel and texture; and aids in the fermentation of products like yoghurt, vinegar, sour cream, wine, beer, bread, cheese, soy sauce, and sauerkraut. Taste remains a very important driver in consumer purchase decisions. However, due to the high prevalence of health issues like overweight and obesity in children and impaired glucose tolerance and diabetes in adults, achieving great taste in calorie reduced and no-added-sugar products can be challenging. Stevia-based sweeteners are growing in popularity but there are many other potential ingredients that can help manufacturers achieve sugar/calorie reduction targets.

Sugar is a versatile ingredient that goes beyond its sweetening properties.
(Photo: Photomix)

Sugar aids in the fermentation of products like yogurt.
(Photo: Julia Filirovska)

Functions and Applications

Caramelization or browning occurs when sugars come into contact with high heat.
(Photo: Max Griss)

Caramelization: Caramelization is fundamental to the formation of color in several food products and is not possible without the addition of sugar. The process is a complex group of reactions that takes place when sugars, either dry or in concentrated aqueous solutions, are subjected to high temperatures to form unique brown colors and flavors in baked products and other food products like sauces, candies, breads, jams, and dessert wine.

Egg protein coagulation: The success of many cooked foods (savory and sweet) depends on the coagulative properties of proteins, particularly the irreversible coagulative properties of egg proteins. In un-shortened cakes, sugar molecules disperse and delay coagulation of the egg proteins during baking. As the temperature rises, egg proteins coagulate or form bonds among each other. The sugar molecules raise the temperature at which bonds form between these egg proteins by surrounding the egg proteins and interfering with bond formations. Once the egg proteins coagulate, the cake sets, forming the solid mesh-like structure of the cake.

Stabilizes meringues: Besides adding sweetness, sugar helps to stabilize the meringue’s structure. When sugar is beaten into an egg-white foam, it dissolves in the protein film on the surface of the air bubbles. This sugary syrup film prevents the proteins from drying out and tightening up too fast. Once you add sugar, you can beat the egg whites without worrying too much about their getting lumpy or overbeaten. The proportion of sugar to whites determines the meringue’s texture. The more sugar there is in a meringue, the more water can be drawn out and evaporated, and the drier and stiffer the meringue will be.

In meringues, sugar and egg whites work in tandem to create an array of foams that are stable and airy.
(Photo: Katerina Holmes)

Preservative in fresh foods: In some foods, sugar acts as a preservative. For example, the sugar is converted by fermentative yeasts to ethanol in wine, beer, and other fermented drinks, or converted to organic acids like lactic acid in fermented foods such as sauerkraut, kimchi, pickles, sourdough bread, yogurts, miso, and tempeh. In these cases, the alcohol or acid produced are both preservatives themselves.

Creaming butter and sugar together adds pockets of air to aerate the batter for baking.

Creaming: Creaming butter and sugar together adds pockets of air that aerate the batter. This air puffs up cakes and other treats as they bake, giving them a lighter and more appealing texture. The air is added by beating room temperature butter with sugar on high speed. The sugar crystals become dispersed and suspended in the butter, creating tiny spaces that trap air. The longer you beat the butter and sugar, the lighter and more aerated the mixture becomes.

Texture: Sugar easily binds with water, which accomplishes two main things. Firstly, it locks in moisture, keeping baked goods from drying out; and secondly, it inhibits the development of gluten which keeps cookies, cakes, and sweet breads softer. Variances in sugar type will create different outcomes. Brown sugar lends more moisture than white sugar because of the presence of molasses. Sugar also creates crunch in baked goods. In the oven, moisture evaporates from the surface of your treats which allows the exterior sugars to recrystallize and brown.

We all need sugar as the main source of energy. We cannot completely remove sugar from our diet because it functions much more than just imparting sweetness. Long-term excessive sugar intake may lead to lifestyle diseases - so be sure to consume sugar within its recommended level.

Record Demand For Food & Drink Apps

A recent report by united data AI company, data.ai revealed that the food & drink mobile apps market is growing at a rapid scale, with global downloads hitting 1.7 billion during the last year ending March 2022, and growth in consumer time spent on the apps, up by 65% year on year (YoY). Growth in the food & drink downloads indicates that the market is ripe for user acquisition while growth in total sessions indicate that consumers are forming habits and relying on these apps more than ever to access appetizing food - restaurant-quality or home cooking ready – with the tap of an app.

The report looked at seven Food & Drink subgenres, including Cooking & Recipes, Food Delivery & Carryout, Grocery Delivery, Ratings, Reviews & Reservations, Restaurants & Bars, Ultrafast Delivery, and Other Food & Drink. It features data across iOS and Android users to illustrate the landscape and provides granular insights on the rapidly growing Food & Drink mobile app market.

Report Highlights:

• Skyrocketing growth across Southeast Asia: Growth in this region drove global sessions up to 54% YoY and represented a large opportunity for food & drink apps. Comparing data from April 2020 - March 2021 and April 2021 - March 2022, six Southeast Asian countries were listed as the top 25 markets by total time spent on Food & Drink apps. Thailand saw an increase of 70% while Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam, and the Philippines saw an increase of more than 100% (130%, 145%, 150%, and 180%, respectively). Indonesia grew by the largest margins among Southeast Asian countries. Globally ranked as the fourth highest growth in usage of Food & Drink apps, the country’s time spent YoY grew by 380%, from 88 million hours to 423 million hours.
• The market’s biggest subgenres - food & grocery delivery: Food delivery & carryout apps remain the largest share of total downloads and sessions, representing 57% of total Food & Drink downloads globally in Q1 2022. Sessions in these apps grew 30% YoY to top 47 billion global sessions. Grocery delivery apps represented 25% of all downloads in Q1 2022. They experienced phenomenal growth at 40% YoY. Engagement grew even faster, with total sessions up 70% YoY to 8.6 billion globally.
• Strongest user growth in ultrafast delivery: Ultrafast delivery apps were the standout subgenre by growth in metrics. In comparison to data in Q1 2021 and Q1 2022, applications in this subgenre saw a spike in growth at +266% in downloads and +213% in sessions YoY.
• Spotlight on anti-waste & food sustainability apps: High growth was seen among apps that seek to end food waste by selling unsold food at discounted prices from stores and restaurants. Such apps saw a surge in downloads during Q1 2022 amidst rising macroeconomic uncertainty. For instance, sustainability app OLIO was ranked second in the top 10 breakout apps in Singapore.

Click for full report: https://www.data.ai/en/insights/market-data/the-state-of-food-and-drink-on-mobile-2022/

Consumers are relying more on food & drink apps to access appetizing food with just a tap.
(Photo: Cardmapr nl)

Grocery delivery apps experience phenomenal growth at 40% YoY.
(Photo: Rodnae Productions)