Birmingham chefs turn culinary ambassadors in Latvia

BIRMINGHAM chefs Andy Waters and Aktar Islam turned culinary ambassadors for the city by taking part in a series of masterclass demonstrations in Latvia.

The duo showed off their skills in a series of workshops at the Délice Restaurant Week in Riga. Held for the first time in the city, the Restaurant Week’s theme was ‘surprise products of Latvia’.

As members of the Birmingham Chefs’ Alliance, former Edmunds chef Andy, now at the Queen’s in Belbroughton, and 2011 Great British Menu winner Aktar, head chef at Lasan, were invited by Riga City Council to give demonstrations to future chefs from the Riga Food Vocational School and also meet existing chefs from the region to share knowledge and create new ideas.

Andy said: “I am truly happy for the opportunity to visit Riga with Aktar, meet the chefs from Latvia and work together with them in the kitchen. Basically the ingredients in English and Latvian cuisine are similar, and brought together, new ideas occur providing traditional meals with new nuances in taste and texture.”

Linda Pukite, project coordinator for the foreign affairs office at Riga City Council, said: “On behalf of the city of Riga it is a great honour to welcome such remarkable chefs as Andy and Aktar. It was a great experience for our professionals and we really hope the relationship between the chefs from Birmingham and Riga will develop further.”

Birmingham is a partner of Délice, an international network of cities on gastronomy and good food which offer a place to think and exchange, promote the culinary traditions and help the professionals to meet.