Kazakhstan's Abdrakhmanov: A Favorite at Embassy Chef Challenge 2012

On February 12, each participant received a basket of ingredients and was asked to make a specific dish. This year's primary ingredient was beets and the others were mostly Danish, in honor of last year's winner. The Kazakh chef made chicken fillet, veggie soup and salad. 

The March 8 event was attended by 600 guests including chefs from Switzerland, Japan, Norway, China, Georgia, Hungary, South Korea, Morocco, Sri Lanka, Iraq, Jamaica and the Commonwealth of the Bahamas. 

The event was held at the Ronald Reagan building. Guests appreciated the dish offered by Abdrakhmanov, Tartlets with Cream of Shrimps and Red Caviar, the News Bulletin of the Kazakh Embassy to the US reads.  

According to the Chef, this dish symbolizes the openness of the Kazakh cuisine, which is helped by the country's location on the Silk Road, as well as Kazakhstan's role as a bridge between East and West. 

Despite being the largest landlocked country in the world, equidistant from the world's oceans, Kazakhstan lies at the crossroads of East-West Silk Road trade routes where different goods, foods and spices have been exchanged for thousands of years. Due to this exposure to other cultures, Kazakhs have been very open to different dishes and culinary techniques. The special cultural significance of the chef's dish is that it embodies our multicultural interests. 

Immediately after the opening of the festive evening on March 8, a long queue of guests quickly  appeared near the Kazakh table. They wanted to try "seafood from continental ??Kazakhstan." This high interest in the Kazakh dish continued until the end of the event.

Guests had an opportunity to talk to Ambassador Idrissov, Embassy officials and staff member in the traditional Kazakh dress and learn about the economic development, diverse culture, and tourist attractions of Kazakhstan. In addition, a documentary film about the achievements of Kazakhstan and informative signs were on display. Guests were given colorful calendars, books and magazines.

According to the jury of eight judges, the first part of the competition was won by the Norwegian chef. The Chef of the Bahamas won the "People's Choice" award. The Embassy Chef Challenge 2012 was won by the chef from Hungary, who scored the highest points from the judges following the two parts of the competition. 

This was Abdrakhmanov's second year in the Challenge. Last year, his competition entry, the lamb shashlyk, received high praise from the judges and the U.S. media. 

"Although we would all like to win, participation in this prestigious competition is very important and useful, since it allows us to help our American friends better understand Kazakhstan's culture and cuisine as well as enable us to meet with our colleagues from other Embassies in Washington DC, share experiences and mutually enrich our skills to cook new dishes," the chef said. 

Abdrakhmanov is a graduate of the Almaty Technological University and has been chef for the Kazakh mission since 2010. Prior to that, for about 10 years, he worked as a chef of the restaurant "Zhalyn" in Almaty.