To celebrate the Bailliage’s 40th anniversary, we welcomed and hosted international guests. We offered them an experience of life, culture and tastes of our country. Visits were arranged to cultural sites, the DAI museum, Tarek Rajab’s calligraphy museum, the Al-Hashimi Dhow and for traditional Kuwaiti cuisine, Dar-Hamad.

The presence of President Yam Atallah as our Inducting Officer was very special. Kuwait was the place that introduced President Atallah to the Chaîne des Rôtisseurs.

Also honouring our festivities were: Mohamed Hammam, Member of the Conseils d’Administration and Magistral, Chair of the Ordre Mondial des Gourmet Dégustateurs (OMGD) Committee; Karim Henein, Member of Conseils d’Administration and Magistral, Co-founder of Association Caritative de la Chaîne des Rôtisseurs (ACCR); Norbert Simon, Member of Conseils d’Administration and Magistral; Yves Leon, Member of the Conseil Magistral, together with many others. We were delighted to welcome everyone to grace our anniversary Gala event which took place on December 10th at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel.

After the Induction Ceremony Bailli Délégué Mohamed Najia, Member of the Conseil Magistral, presented 40th anniversary commemorative shields to honoured guests and participating hotels.

The Waldorf Astoria, a very new, stylish and graceful designed hotel was the perfect setting for this occasion and the Gala Dinner.

General Manager and Chaîne member Kemal Sirtikirmizi explained that the emphasis for our dinner was on sustainable, environmentally friendly produce. The hotel’s Executive Chef had personally visited local farms with which to partner.

We watched the preparations on an enormous screen, then savoured the outcome. An absolutely delicious, appetizing menu with beautifully presented dishes. The menu speaks for itself. A union of taste, healthy flavourful regional ingredients with impeccable attention to detail.

MENU

Artisanal bread and salted date butter
fermented tomato, roasted walnut
organic pomegranate reduction

Amuse-bouches
Salmon gravlax roulade
Apple and celeriac salad, pickled radish
Oscietra caviar, avocado cream

Cold starter
Quinoa salad
roasted beetroot, goat cheese crumbles
asparagus

Hot starter
Pumpkin ravioli
tarragon and labne foam
[Ed: labne is a Levantine fermented dairy product
that’s tangy like yogurt, spreads like cream cheese]

Zesty lemon sorbet

Main course
Slow cooked Kuwaiti lamb
eggplant jareesh
stuffed braised shallot, potatoes

Dessert
Saffron chiboust
almond sable, dry lime
mango mousse

Petits fours
“Chef Hats” chocolate

At the finale President Atallah spoke words of appreciation for the tremendous efforts of a very active Bailliage, loyalty of members, and the hotel’s dedication to make this a successful, unforgettable 40th anniversary celebration. His speech ended to passionate applause for the “flying Chef Hats” of the kitchen and service brigades.

Soumaya El-Azem
Chargée de Missions