First published on 18 Jun 2012. Updated on 18 Jun 2012.
Some of the world’s most exciting young chefs descend on Shanghai this month for three days of masterclasses, dinners and an epicurean party at the Time Out
-backed Omnivore World Tour.
Global food festival Omnivore is a gourmet’s fantasy line-up of masterclasses, celebrity chef dinners and a massive foodie party called Omnivorious. The Omnivore World Tour, created by Luc Bubanchet, travels to major cities around the world inviting young and renowned chefs who represent what they call the ‘Young Cuisine’, led by such culinary stars as Thierry Marx, Michel Bras, Ferran Adria and Heston Blumenthal. The idea, according to Bubanchet, is ‘to share culinary inspirations, experiment with innovative techniques, confront other cultures and help create a movement that better envisions the future.’
The Young Turks
The festival brings European chefs and local chefs together in each city it visits. In Shanghai, the local stars include Stefan Stiller, Franck Pécol and Paul Pairet. Other names familiar to Shanghai diners include Michelin-starred twins Jacques and Laurent Pourcel and Gordon Ramsay protege Scott Melvin, who set up Table No. 1.
Former Bar Rouge bar manager Sebastian Bonnefoi, who has co-authored a book on mixology with the Pourcel twins and gone on to launch his own cocktail academy, will also be participating, as will Le Cordon Bleu Paris graduate Weimar Gomez. The Columbian chef worked around the world at top tables including Paris’ three Michelin star Guy Savoy before joining the Four Seasons Hotel in 2000; he’s now in charge of the Four Seasons Pudong’s menus.
The international guest stars are headed up by David Toutain and Jean-Fran?ois Piège. Toutain has worked with superstars throughout his career, including Alain Passard and Pierre Gagnaire. Last year he launched Agapé Substance, a ‘gastronomic laboratory’ where the menu is a ‘blind taste’ – a piece of paper with only a list of ingredients which the chef transforms into ten dishes for your dinner.
Piege, a young and celebrated chef who worked for years at Alain Ducasse’s restaurants including the three Michelin star Plaza Athenee, launched his own restaurant Thoumieux in 2009, which he calls a ‘cosy haven’. Within months of opening, Thoumieux picked up two Michelin stars.
William Ledeuil and The Young Turks complete the stellar line-up. Ledeuil’s Michelin-starred Ze Kitchen Galerie, opened in 2001, is lauded for the chef’s artful incorporation of Asian flavours including spices such as galangal, ginger and wasabi with his classical French technique. Ledeuel was awarded ‘chef of the year’ in 2010 by the renowned Gault Millau Guide.
After working at celebrated restaurants, including The Fat Duck and NOMA, thirty-something chefs James Lowe, Isaac McHale and Ben Greeno joined together in 2010 to form The Young Turks, a collective focused on pop up cooking events that showcase ‘a new approach to British cooking that focuses on small producers.’ The collective emphasises youth and creativity, with the trio stating that ‘we are young and ambitious, have worked in some of the best kitchens in the world, and now we want to do things our way.’
Jean-Francois Piege
The Omnivore team of chefs will offer 45-minute cooking demonstrations showing off their latest techniques and concepts at SIRHA (www.sirha-shanghai.com), the gourmet food tradeshow held from Tuesday 12-Thursday 14 June at the Pudong Expo site. Scott Melvin of Table No. 1 tells us his masterclass will demonstrate how he uses the sous-vide (water bath) method in the kitchen, illustrating with four dishes including crab with pear and cauliflower and marinated hamachi. Masterclass seats are open to all, but spaces are limited.
Win! Get tickets to the masterclasses with our competition.
The title of these collaborative dinners was coined by the famously crude-speaking David Chang of Momofuku. Omnivore’s three Shanghai F**king Dinners bring together the visiting European and Shanghai-based chefs for unique ‘four-handed dinners’. These meals are individually priced and must be booked directly with the hosting restaurant.
The centrepoint of the Omnivore Festival is the Omnivorious party, when all the participating chefs, the ‘Young Cuisine Brigade’, join together at the River South Art Centre for a gastronomic Bacchanalia. The chefs will be cooking party food, mixologists will be pouring drinks and DJs will be spinning tunes throughout the night.
To sign up, visit www.omnivore.com or enter our competition to win tickets
Tuesday 12 June
Masterclass: Franck Pécol of Franck, Shanghai 10.30-11.15am
Masterclass: Paul Pairet of Mr & Mrs Bund and Ultraviolet, Shanghai 11.30am–12.15pm
Masterclass: David Toutain of Agapé Substance, Paris 3–3.45pm
Masterclass: Stefan Stiller of Stiller’s, Shanghai 4– 4.45pm
F**king Dinner: Jacques Pourcel and William Ledeuil Maison Pourcel (6215 8777). Time and price tba.
F**king Dinner: Paul Pairet and The Young Turks Mr & Mrs Bund (6323 9898). Time and price tba.
Wednesday 13 June
Masterclass: Scott Melvin of Table No. 1, Shanghai 10.30–11.15am
Masterclass: Jean-Francois Piège of Thoumieux, Paris 11.30am–12.15pm
Masterclass: William Ledeuil of Ze Kitchen Galerie, Paris 12.15–1pm
Masterclass: Isaac McHale and James Lowe of The Young Turks, London 3–3.45pm
Masterclass: Cocktail Architects of Urban Bar, Shanghai 4–4.45pm
Omnivorious Party 8pm-late
Thursday 14 June
Masterclass: Franck Pécol 10.30–11.15am
Masterclass: Jacques Pourcel of Maison Pourcel, Shanghai 11.30am–12.15pm
Masterclass: Weimar Gomez of the Four Seasons, Shanghai 3–3.45pm
Masterclass: Cocktail Architects of Urban Bar, Shanghai 4–4.45pm
F**king Dinner: Franck Pécol and Jean-Francois Piège Franck (6437 6465). Time tba.
WIN! Time Out is giving away 40 tickets to the Omnivore World Tour. See competitions for details