?Michelle Loubon
German chef Karsten Ulloth was in town for the Oktoberfest Bavarian Food Festival at Hilton Trinidad, St Ann's, last month.
During the formal ceremony, Ulloth poured beer from a keg.
Looking on were Hilton Trinidad's general manager Ali Khan and sales and marketing manager at Hilton Trinidad Darlene McDonald.
Ulloth, who boasts 39 years of culinary experience, explained there was an art to pouring beer.
Turning a flute glass sideways, Ulloth said, "You have to open it slowly. Tilt it slightly. Pour it gently. You have to pour the beer. If you pour it quickly, you will end up drinking foam. Foam is not tasty. You want to taste the beer."
Between swigs of beer, he also spoke about the exotic cuisine he prepared at Munich City Hotel.
"I can prepare alligator steaks from the tail," he said.
He was intrigued to learn locals also enjoyed curried caiman, a delicacy.
However, alligator steaks were not on the menu he had prepared for German food connoisseurs.
Instead, Ulloth prepared simple German dishes for the gourmands.
As expected, sauerkraut (cabbage) and sausages topped the menu.
"Bavarian foods are simple. Mostly cabbage. A lot of pork and veal. We don't have fish. We have lots of salads...rye bread and Russian dressing," said Ulloth.
Ulloth's English was clumsy but, helped by executive chef Carlos Gomez and Mc Donald, he was able to trudge along.
Ulloth was pleased to learn the sausages were going like hot cakes.
Earlier on, he had prepared them with spices, including fresh herbs like basil plucked from Gomez' garden, outside Pool Garden Terrace Restaurant.
Ulloth explained he had also marinated them in caraway seeds to bring out the flavour. Coils of sausages sizzled on a massive platin.
Gomez and his Thai assistant Sombat Mekhawong moved dexterously while dishing out the pork, lamb and beef sausages.
"Notice, they don't have rice on the menu. They eat a lot of potatoes," interjected Mc Donald.
Ulloth also made use of a spice made famous by local cooks.
"I sprinkled a lot of nutmeg over the dishes...especially over the potato dumplings," he gushed, before taking a swig of beer.
Gomez, too, had a tale to tell.
He said South Indian chef Bindan Prakash and sous-chef Sombat Mekhawong had tried to assist but made a "hot mess."
In typical Trini picong style, he said, "When I got back from the television station, this crazy Bindan was trying to help Ulloth with his English. Sombat, too. Sombat has been here 11 years and he can't speak English. I had to intervene. Dios Mio! (holding his head)"
Although the language barrier posed a problem, he said he appreciated the the architecture of the Magnificent Seven Buildings.
He boasted he even made a trip around the circumference of the Queen's Park Savannah in Port-of-Spain.
LEFT: ?Potato dumplings sprinkled with nutmeg entice German gourmands.
RIFGT: ?A delicious dish of stuffed breast of veal laid out for Bavarian food connoisseurs.
