Sugar sugar.
The festive season is all about the desserts and who better to talk to than award-winning Executive Pastry Chef Sumeda Palihakkara of Conrad Abu Dhabi Etihad Towers and Lindt Master Chocolatier Matthew Müeller, both of whom will be running a serious of masterclasses.
Executive Pastry Chef Sumeda Palihakkara
Having been creating sweet delights for 11 years at Conrad Abu Dhabi Etihad Towers and for a total of 25 years in the Arab Gulf region alone, self-confessed chocolate lover and award-winning Executive Pastry Chef extraordinaire Sumeda is certainly no stranger to the sweet stuff.
If you have ever tasted the scrumptious, Signature New York Cheesecake in the hotel’s The Lobby Lounge, it will come as no surprise that the cake is among the bestsellers and the recipe is in fact famous across Abu Dhabi, thanks to Sumeda and his culinary team.
Naturally, the festive season is one of the busiest times of years for hotels, including at the Conrad Abu Dhabi Etihad Towers. Sumeda reveals that on the sweet festive menu this year are traditional favourites such as English Christmas cake, Christmas pudding, mince pies, German Stollen and Italian Panettone.
“The star for this festive season are cookies,” says Sumeda, who reveals there will be five different types available at all outlets until 8 January. Not only that, the little ones can learn the skills of the culinary trade at the Conrad Abu Dhabi Etihad Towers Christmas Market. Sumeda will be helping the little ones to assemble a rather festive Gingerbread House while parents enjoy a rather sumptuous, sweet-filled afternoon tea.
And Sumeda’s top tip for cake making? “Always keep it simple according to the equipment that you have at home and follow simple recipes.”
Matthew Müller, Lindt Master Chocolatier
Lindt Master Chocolatier Matthew Muller is in town and will be showing you how to craft a master batch of chocolate when he hosts LINDT Chocolate making classes at Swiss Winter Wonderland at The Lobby Lounge from 9 to 11 and 16 to 18 December. You will even get to delve into the LINDT Pick and Mix Station with no less than 11 different flavours of Lindor truffles.
You know you are in good hands when you find out that Matthew graduated from the top culinary schools in Italy and Switzerland, not to mention starting his career as an apprentice at Celebrity Chef and restaurateur Jamie Oliver’s London restaurant, Fifteen. His career includes working at well-known internationally awarded restaurants and hotels, like the five-star Cape Grace Hotel in Cape Town, The Wolseley and Ritz Carlton in London.
“This year, we’re excited to collaborate with the Conrad Hotel Etihad towers for the very first time to bring a truly European holiday tradition to the desert,” says Matthew, who at The Christmas Market at Conrad Abu Dhabi Etihad Towers will be offering festive themed chocolate masterclasses for both children and adults.
Clearly it takes years of experience and training to become a LINDT Master Chocolatier and to bring this passion for premium chocolate to life. So, who better to ask than Matthew to share ways to create chocolate delights?
Matthew Müller’s favourite quick go to recipe
Two-ingredient Lindt Excellence Mousse au Chocolat
Melt 100g LINDT Excellence 70% tablet, whip up 300g double cream until soft peaks appear. Combine the two, refrigerate and enjoy. The beauty of this recipe is that it can be substituted with any LINDT Excellence tablet, my favourite is Excellence Mint or Sea Salt. What’s yours?
To find out more or book your place at Conrad Abu Dhabi Etihad Towers, please call 02 811 5555
