Life & Style | Food
Sugar and spice at Jumeirah Festival of Taste
A date with some of the world's best TV chefs left tabloid! in a wakeboarding spin. Yes, this year's Jumeirah Festival of Taste really did have it all.
- By Kelly Crane, Staff Reporter
- Published: 23:41 November 15, 2008
- Since Ainsley Harriott first appeared on TV in 1993, his flamboyant style has certainly made people want to try his recipes.
- Image Credit: Atiq-ur-Rehman/Gulf News
A gourmet sandwich class with Ainsley Harriott, wakeboarding with Kerry Heffernan and an interesting conversation with Jean-Christophe Novelli about his hate of the onion. Yes, this year's Jumeirah Festival of Taste really did have it all.
Challenged to a "wakeboard-off" against celebrity New York chef Heffernan, who seemed much more interested in the extreme sports on offer in Dubai than the food, I took the competition in my stride — that was until he popped up out of the water against the backdrop of the Burj Al Arab and looked like a pro.
"This place is just fantastic," he yelled from behind the boat on his first visit to Dubai. "I never want to leave."
Then it was a quick shower and change and up to the 18th floor of the building we had just been boarding behind for a quick meeting with Harriott — well, it was meant to be quick.
"I'm starving," he said as he scrunched up his face in his unique way. "Let's make sandwiches".
And before I knew what had happened, I was trying bits of Harriott's lunch with mustard, cold meats and mayo. "See how it changes the whole sandwich depending what you put on it — amazing."
A more serious Novelli looked over as we chatted and Harriott ocasionally spat a crumb my way — I didn't mind too much, he really is that lovable.
Mid bite he looks up, licks crumbs from his lip and says in a Caribbean accent: "As my mother always says, 'You should always have another string to your bow son.'
"Don't know what's next, but have lots of irons in the fire. Have no plans or desire to open up an Ainsley restaurant. I think if my name was above the door I would feel the need to be there every day and make it mine and I know that isn't realistic with everything else going on in my life. I like to meet people, shake their hand and ask how everything was — taking the rough with the smooth. So no restaurant for me."
'Part of everyone's [TV] life'
"I love doing the shows. They seem to have an appeal which never wears off. Even though other shows have come and gone, they seem to come back into fashion. Ready Steady Cook has been a part of everyone's life at some point. Old people, students, when you're sick from work, after school —everyone has watched a show. Even if it's on in the background as a kind of comfort it's still there.
"I'm really working on my line of products because they make life easier for people. Even I have Ainsley couscous every now and then. It's so simple."
He immediately launches into a full-on cooking demonstration with pretend pans and a stove.
"I like to spice up the couscous a bit by chopping some dates, dried apricots and toasted pine nuts and throwing them in. Some lemon juice and parsley make it something else again."
The charismatic, larger-than-life presenter of BBC Two's Ready Steady Cook was a blast and was also the MC for the final Festival of Taste ceremony at Bab Al Shams.
"My aim is to make cooking fun," he said.
An intrigued Novelli comes over and Harriott tucks into his next sandwich with potato wedges.
"My parents taught us about life, love and everything that goes with it and I consider myself very lucky," says Novelli. "My mother was a wonderful lady and a fabulous cook and had to keep my brothers and sisters and I happy which was no easy task.
"We are all very fussy and didn't make life easy. I hate onions and peas and yet mum always managed to keep us all satisfied."
Struggling
Novelli struggled at school and left at 14 to work at a bakery. He also worked at a local brasserie before doing his national service, which he hated.
"I was forced to leave school because I was far too intelligent. I think my professors were too worried I was too bright and that I had too many brains so they asked me to leave.
"But it couldn't have worked out any better to be honest. I was forced to get a job because I needed one and I took a job as a baker. At first I did the Mickey Mouse chores like cleaning and sweeping, but before I knew it I was learning all about the trade and industry. It was a poor part of France and I had to work hard."
When Novelli was 19, he worked at a chain of restaurants, PLM St Jacques, which was owned by the Rothschild family. He then became the private chef to Eli Rothschild's son.
At 22, Novelli moved to Britain and his reputation as a quality chef started to spread. Rick Stein introduced Novelli to Keith Floyd, and he became chef-manager of Keith Floyd's pub and restaurant, the Maltsters Arms in Totnes.
"Cooking is like love — there is no right age to start and no right age to stop. It's also like health — we must cherish and look after it at every stage.
"I think I have connected with people through cooking rather than speaking which is wonderful. That's why I settled in the UK and have found it so easy to travel the world doing what I love. Food really is a language in itself."
The Jumeirah Festival of Taste was a huge success feeding, educating and entertaining thousands of residents and visitors across the five-day event.
Ainsley Harriott: TV's funny man
Since Harriott first appeared on TV in 1993, his flamboyant style has certainly made people want to try his recipes. Ainsley's career as a chef and entertainer has been built up over the past 25 years.
At 16, he was made junior trainee in a West End restaurant and later graduated to commis chef. It wasn't long before he got itchy feet and toured Europe as part of a musical duo (his show-business talents were probably inherited from his musician/actor dad, Chester).
Once back in England, he teamed up with Paul Boross to form the Calypso Twins, gaining several TV credits, a record release and a prominent position on London's comedy circuit.
Jean-Christophe Novelli: From rags to riches
Novelli was born in Arras, France and came from a poor background. "Small treats become massive. I remember having orange juice once on Christmas Day," he said.
"I consider myself very privileged. I come from an extremely wealthy family — ridiculously wealthy in fact. I grew up in a family which was very rich, but had everything but money."
Kerry Heffernan:
He said, "This place [Dubai] is just fantastic. I never want to leave."
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