The Art Institute of Dallas’ Chef Director Larry Matson returned recently from China where he and ten other members of The Art Institutes Chefs team participated in the International Chef Master Challenge, held during the China International Gourmet Expo December 5-9, 2005 in the city of Guangzhou. The China Hospitality Association sponsors the event, which travels to different cities in China each year.

Chef Matson was invited to join the team of chefs by Bill Sy, Director of Culinary Arts at The Art Institute of Phoenix. The team also included Chef Michael Nenes, AVP, Culinary Arts General Manager, EDMC; Chef Walter Leible, The Art Institute of Phoenix, Team Coach; Chef Dieter Preiser, The Art Institute of Phoenix; Chef Manuel Catamaxca, The Art Institute of Houston; Chef Sarah Gorham, The Art Institute of Atlanta; Chef Christophe Bernard, The Art Institute of California, Los Angeles; Daryl L. Shular, The Art Institute of Atlanta, Joe Bonaparte, The Art Institute of Charlotte; and Gary Eaton, The Art Institute of Houston.

Each member of The Art Institutes team was asked to prepare several dishes representative of a different region or country, including Texas (and Tex-Mex), Germany, Switzerland, Russia, Spain, France, Morocco, Italy, and England/Ireland. In addition, one team member was in charge of creating a pastry display featuring desserts from each country. The team members were also in charge of decorating his or her own presentation table. Chef Matson was assigned the task of preparing dishes featuring the cuisine of Russia, and he prepared Borscht, a Pork and Beet Salad, Beef Stroganoff and Chicken Kiev, among other items. Each team member received a gold medal presented during a ceremony held at the conclusion of the event.

While in Guangzhou, Chef Matson and the other team members visited one of the city’s largest open-air markets, which is roughly the size of eight city blocks. In addition to the poultry, fresh produce and other things one might expect to find in such a place, Chef Matson said that there were also unusual items such as live turtles, rabbits and scorpions for sale. While touring the city, the team dined in a seafood restaurant which actually had live crocodiles on display for the diners to select from for their meals.

The trip to China also included a stop-over in Hong Kong, where Chef Matson and the others shopped in several different markets and sampled the local cuisine in some of the city’s restaurants.