Romanian chefs fit Euro-Toques principles regarding the tradition, yet they lack plate presentation

The Romanian traditional cuisine is extremely tasteful and appreciated internationally, but it is necessary for it to be well presented in the plate, the founder of Euro-Toques Romania, Dumitru Burtea, now a honorary president of the association and life member of World Association of Chefs Societies (WACS) told AGERPRES.

Dumitru Burtea, who is also the initiator of the National Association of Chefs and Confectioners in Tourism (ANBCT) added that the professional chefs in Romania embrace more and more the Euro-Toques International objectives which is looking for the promotion of each country's cuisine and makes sure that no country goes farther from its traditional dishes, and yet at the same time wishes the health in the plate, too.

So, in order to promote the Romanian cuisine and rearrange it on the plate, Euro-Toques Romania began to organise more and more events in the field, so that the foreigners started to wonder by the frequency of these presentations and festivals.

"We are looking to giving the Romanian cuisine another presentation, by using the ingredients at hand. I wouldn't call it a reinvented cuisine, I'd rather call it in keeping with the tradition, but in a different manner of presenting the dish on the plate. In the past years, together with the Euro-Toques members, with the current chairman Radu Zarnescu we have organised many events. Our colleagues from abroad are wondering how is it that we organise so many events - the rescue of the sustainable fish, cuisine lessons, traditional dishes' presentation, etc. And here is why: so we could teach the others that the stew, the cabbage rolls and all of the traditional products must be exposed in pots that should highlight the meal. A dark-colour meal - a sauce, meat, ingredients - must stay on a light-colour plate. (...) We have a tasty cuisine, it is just not that well presented," said Dumitru Burtea.

The ANBCT president Stefan Bercea used to say on the occasion of the GastroPan International Exhibition that took place in April at Targu Mures that in Romania the chefs still have a fear in using the spices, although the using of those is quite a state of the art event.

Gianny Banuta, a member of the National Committee for the Culinary Heritage Preservation and member of the World Association of Chefs Societies, agreed with Bercea, specifying that many people, even chefs, do take the condiment for the spiced.

To demonstrate the importance of the spices and the quickness one could prepare a fine dish, Gianny Banuta has made a perch fillets with mango and chili and coriander tartar sauce, a ginger carrot puree, a raspberry sauce with cloves and a frisee salad.

"We've got this fillets perch that we marinate with olive oil, bio if possible, we add put lemon peel, thyme, salt, freshly milled pepper and orange peel. It is fried in a pan on both sides for one minute each, after which it is sprinkled with clarified butter," Gianny Banuta presented one of the simplest fish recipes.AGERPRES(RO - author: Dorina Matis, editor: Antonia Nita; EN - author, editor: Maria Voican)