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VOL. 12.9

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By Sam Wilkinson
 

We'd leapt at the opportunity to meet the Cabana's famous Executive Chef Ronnie Macuja and to sample his cooking. We arrived at dusk and were greeted by the hotel's effusive Resident Manager Claude Sauter. Claude was understandably excited about Ronnie's latest feat: winning the New Asia cooking competition at the Asian Food and Catering Fair at the Bangkok International Trade and Exhibition Center for the second year running, chalking up an almost incredible 98 points out of 100.
 

Claude had promised that Ronnie would whip us up his award-winning dish: grass-fed New Zealand beef tenderloin with a confit of herbal potatoes and vegetable vinaigrette, crowned by a warm salad of rock lobster. After sumptuous starters he made good his promise. During this course, though, silence was dispensed with and we couldn't stop commenting on the food. The beef surpassed Argentinean Lomo in tenderness and texture. Taste-wise, it was richer. As we were finishing up, the great man appeared through the kitchen doors and took a seat with us.

As with most true champions, Ronnie is the essence of humility and politesse. He's so dedicated to his art that he spends over 12hrs a day in the kitchen, not only creating new dishes, but teaching and training newcomers in a 'hands on' approach to ensure that his staff reach his sky-high standards of innovation and creation.

He's seen the world, and in 1983 started his career at the Manila Hilton as an apprentice. In 1986 he went to New Zealand to work at the Hyatt Auckland as 1st cook and finally rose to Chef de Cuisine before moving on to Kuala Lumpar before another sojourn in New Zealand. Ronnie moved to Phuket Cabana in 1999 where he was rapidly promoted to Executive Chef in charge of all outlets.

In last year's competition, Ronnie was an unknown. This year, despite being champion, things didn't look too good for him when the Shangri La hotel scored 96 points out of a possible 100 ahead of him in the schedule. Ronnie decided to have a go, anyway and was amazed at the result.

I asked him how long it took to create the award-winning dish. "I didn't have any choice of time." He replied, "We were given an hour on the day of the contest to prepare the dish. I finished it in 45 minutes, which I think helped to boost my score."

The New Asia Cuisine com-petition is one of the highlights at the Bangkok International Trade & Exhibition Center. Chef Ronnie Macuja's cooking is one of the culinary highlights of Phuket Island.