If there is such a thing as a Rock Star Chef then Hassan Kamal must surely fit the bill judging by the audience reaction at the Sharjah International Book Fair yesterday (Thursday), currently taking place the Expo Centre until 4 November.Exuberant, enthusiastic and a complete master in the kitchen, Kamal flew through a recipe for delicious Turkish Kunafa, very closely followed by Ottoman Kunafa, closely followed by being mobbed by the assembled crowd who were as keen on getting a selfie with the chef as they were on getting their hands on the crunchy and sweet dessert. Chef Hassan is well known as TV chef having been a feature of TV cooking shows in Egypt for 20 years, first with his “Min Kul Balad Akla” TV show and “Halo Ya Halo” on Egyptian TV Channel and for the past six years at Al Hayat TV.
As the interpreter did her best to keep up, Kamal blurted out the ingredients for Turkish Kunafa. “Remember when we’re dealing with Arab desserts, especially Egyptian, however much sugar or syrup the recipe says, you need to double it. We take our sweets sweet. Also you can flavour the cream with fruit juice, or milk,” he said. The ingredients for Turkish Kunafa first: melted ghee, kunafa, almonds, hazelnuts, cashews, sweetened strawberries, thick syrup, (doubled-up) and cream flavoured with juice. Pouring the ghee over the kunafa, the chef joked that it was very thirsty and would soak it all up. The ghee covered kunafa was then flattened with a base of the glass and a layer of nuts added, followed by a layer of cream. This triple sweet confection was then placed in the fridge to set the ghee while Kamal launched right in to the ingredients for Ottoan Kunafa.
This comprised: kunafa, mango, thick syrup, (double-up) and cream flavoured with juice, a few pistachios for decoration afterwards. The chef dished this up into a selection of small bowls for the audience. The packed cookery corner creaked under the strain as hordes of tiny hands grasped for a taste as the chef kindly swished the bowls out to the drooling visitors. This prompted an extended selfie session as his fans were thrilled to have the chef in person demonstrating his culinary skills. Once done it was time for a taste of the Turkish Kunafa which proved to be even more popular with the crowds prompting, for the first time ever in cookery corner, the attendant security guards to try and control the rush.As ever, it was the chef himself who proved to be a bigger hit with crowds and once the last of the kunafa was long gone, the chef remained, jovially posing with the crowds, kissing babies, shaking hands. Rock star chef indeed.