Chef Andrew Mitchell s BIOGRAPHY Egyptian-Canadian Chef Andrew Mitchell adds a new flair to Middle Eastern cuisine
How it all started My fascination with food started when I was ten years old. Both my parents were great cooks. We always had good tasting hearty food. I always took control of the BBQ and considered myself savvier when it came to food than anyone I knew. The interest I had for food and cooking lead me to take it professionally and I went to culinary school at age nineteen. We were taught the basics of food, nutrition and the various cooking techniques. It was here that my passion for cooking developed further.
Chef Andrew conquers the World After I got my diploma from the culinary school and finished my apprenticeship at the Royal York Hotel, I set off on my long adventure traveling around the world. I began in Australia, where I worked for a catering company and began to learn the tricks of the trade first hand. The company was called Mustard, the leading catering company in Australia. Mustard catering was selected to cater the Rugby World Cup and the Olympics because of its high quality operation. During the year and a half I worked there I was exposed to the catering business where I learned the fundamentals of menu planning, service and operation for catering events. My next career move in Australia was as a Sous-Chef in a restaurant called The Blue Muscle. My main focus at the blue muscle was the sauces. I quickly learned how to create sauces that complete dishes and make them unique and tasty. I worked closely with Chef (Ben Abyss) who became my mentor throughout my time at the blue muscle. I began to explore the menu on my own time always trying to tweak the dishes by adding new ingredients and taking some out to give them my own touch. The exposure and experience I gained at this restaurant is what really put me were I am now.
Chef Andrew conquers the World Part two I traveled throughout South East Asia tasting the best local foods in each country I went to, learning the local ingredients that are used and the dishes and cooking techniques from each place I visited. My travels inspired me to begin to draw connections between the ingredients used in different parts of the world and how new tastes are created. My creativity began to soar as I began to make my own dishes with a combination of ingredients from different areas of the world to create unique dishes. I fell in love with fusion and that is the technique that I continued to use in my kitchen. The next trip I took was to France, where I stayed with a friend of mine and was lucky to have his mom there who took me around to all the specialty shops to taste all the top quality foods in each area of France. It was in France that I learned about wine and how to pair wines and food together to give an enhanced experience while eating. After France a new stage of my life began, when I moved to Egypt, where I had spent time as a child. Rediscovering the Arabic tastes & flavors Rediscovering the Arabian foods and spices etc further stimulated my creativity in the kitchen as I now was combining methods, spices and food from all over the world to make things that are unique.
Back to my roots of Cairo When I was back in Cairo I was put in touch with a family who were opening a country club and needed a Chef to roll out the operation. As Executive Chef of the Seasons country club I had to help set up the operation and use all that I had learned to assist in the set up of the business and begin to build a name for the club. Within one year our team was able to build up the reputation of the club as one of the top caterers for weddings and private functions. Soon enough I was being hired by royalty on private yachts and found my-self becoming a popular Chef in the market. I agreed to open a small bistro with the owners of the club as one of the outlets in the venue. This was a dream come true and my first step in the direction I was always dreaming of going. Alto s bistro was a concept that combined everything I learned over the years. The menu was eclectic and combined various foods, and tastes created by fusing different types of cuisine together. The food was hearty, tasty and made with the highest quality products in the market. The outlet gained immediate recognition within the first 6 months of opening and had become a busy outlet 5 days a week. The next step was to build on the success of my first restaurant and open new outlets around the Middle East.
PR & press releases
Article by Cairo Scene
Article by Cairo Scene Continued
Chef Andrew in Dubai I first started coming to Dubai to film cooking shows for Fatafeat Channel in 2007. I ve been coming for about 2 months a year ever since. I always enjoyed my time in Dubai and loved the diversity in the population and restaurant choices. Towards the end of 2013 while filming my new show Sawa Bil Matbakh I took a life changing decision to leave Egypt once and for all and set-up my own boutique F&B company. I quickly established Optimum Retail Consultancy Services and got started. Today we have clients from all over the GCC region and plan on expending our portfolio in the near future.
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