With great creativity, tireless work and dedication, Bahraini female chef Tala Bashmi has won the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Best Chef award for the first time.
According to Arab News, the 33-year-old female chef feels responsible for modernizing Bahraini and Gulf cuisine as head chef at Manama's Gulf Hotel.
Tala Bashmi grew up in Bahrain and began her kitchen career at the Gulf Hotel, before completing a degree with advanced hotel training in Switzerland.
After training as a chef in Switzerland, Tala returned to Bahrain in 2014 to take up responsibilities as head chef at the Gulf Hotel and is committed to reinventing Gulf cuisine.
"I have always felt there is room for improvement in Middle Eastern and Gulf cuisine," says the Bahraini chef.
Tala Bashmi said that I want to take these dishes to the highest level in terms of taste and technique and participate in the competition at the global level.
I was not allowed to cook for the first two years of my training session, only the preparatory stages of cooking, says the Bahraini female chef.
Mentioning a special tip for amateur cooks, the Bahraini chef said that she offers them a recipe to prepare delicious fish at home.
They say that you should not be hasty in cooking anything, when you are in a hurry, you burn the food.
Don't compare your strengths and accomplishments with your speed. High speed is not beneficial for cooking.
The most important thing in the kitchen is the use of a knife to cut food. Always keep in mind that the knife or knife for use in the kitchen should always be of good quality and sharp. A substandard knife or knife is more likely to slip and cause injury.
Olive oil and good quality iodized salt can enhance any dish, he said. I am a firm believer in the fact that the simplest local ingredients can make a dish delicious.
He said that one should be very gentle, kind and forgiving with one's staff in the kitchen and I am lucky that the chef I worked under taught me all this so I now follow them. I am
I don't like to put my staff down, everyone works differently, I want my team to feel happy, comfortable and confident when they come into the kitchen.
