We introduce today Tobias Fetz, the executive chef at the Spanish Court Hotel. With a total of 18 years of very impressive culinary experience under his belt, Fetz was a member of the Swiss Culinary Team; the winner of three gold medals at the Culinary Olympics in Innsbruck, Austria; and has appeared on the Food Network as well as on TVJ’s Grace Kitchen.

Fetz garnered experience at a number of hotels: The Dhahran International Hotel, Saudi Arabia; Frankfurt Marriott Hotel, Germany; Park Hyatt, Dubai; Intercontinental Hotel, Warsaw; and Little Beaver Creek Ranch, Canada.

His restaurant experiences are pretty impressive too: The 3* Michelin El Bulli restaurant (rated as the best restaurant in the world); 1*Michelin Restaurant Gupf in Switzerland;

2* Michelin Restaurant Stromberg in Germany;

3* Michelin Restaurant Girardet, Switzerland; and the 3* Michelin Restaurant Laurent, Paris.

Fetz is in the kitchen with us this week and prepares a Yam Souffle with a Chicken Valentino.

Bon Appetit!

Yam Souffle

Ingredients:

10 ounces yams, peeled, cut into chunks

Milk (small amount)

1 tsp butter

Salt and pepper to taste

2 tsp parsley, chopped

2 tsp onions, chopped fine

1/4 of a beaten egg

Method:

Boil the yams until soft; drain, mash them with milk, butter, salt, pepper, parsley, onion and egg. Fill buttered ramekins. Bake at 375oF for 15 minutes or until knife inserted in centre comes out clean.

Chicken Valentino 

Ingredients:

4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves

1 tsp dried Italian seasoning

2 tbls grated Parmesan cheese

1 (6-ounce) jar roasted red bell peppers, drained

1/4 cup chopped fresh chives

4 tbs shredded mozzarella cheese

salt and pepper to taste

2 tbs olive oil

Method:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Slice a chicken breast in half lengthwise, leaving the halves attached on one side: opened and laid flat, the chicken breast should resemble a butterfly. Place between two sheets of plastic wrap and pound flat. Repeat with remaining chicken breasts.

Combine Parmesan cheese with Italian seasoning and chives, and sprinkle over chicken breasts. At one end of each breast, place 3 strips of roasted pepper. Top with 1 tablespoon shredded cheese. Roll each breast up, starting on the side with the peppers and cheese. Insert a toothpick in each roll to prevent unrolling. Place in prepared baking dish. Season rolls with salt and pepper to taste, and drizzle with olive oil.

Bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes. Set oven to broil, and continue cooking for 5 to 10 minutes. Remove from oven, slice to display the colourful filling, and serve.