Abu Dhabi chefs cook up world’s largest meat stew

abu dhabi — A group of 70 chefs created a world record on Saturday by cooking a mammoth pot of chicken Margouga. The dish, which weighed 4,770kg, was cooked at Al Bahar Beach on the Abu Dhabi Corniche and has bagged the Guinness World Record for the largest meat stew.

The record was set by chefs from World Food Abu Dhabi and Etihad in-flight catering. The previous record in the same category stood at 4,087.62kg.

The attempt was made as part of the Abu Dhabi Food Festival.

“Here we are looking at the world’s largest meat stew cooked. The guys from World Food Abu Dhabi and Etihad have broken the current record,” declared Kevin Southam, the official from Guinness World Records, after weighing the pot with the help of a crane. “Everything you attempted is valid. One of the criteria is that the food has to be of the same proportion as a regular meat stew. And it must be prepared in a hygienic way. It is also important that food is distributed and not thrown away.”

Organisers said preparations began the previous night for marinating the chicken. “But most of us were here by 7am to cut the vegetables. Cooking was almost finished by 2pm,” said Uwe Michael, president of Emirates Culinary Guild.

He said they wanted to cook an Emirati dish to break the record. “Margouga is a traditional Emirati dish. The main ingredients are carrots, baby marrows, chicken, onion, garlic, tomatoes and chicken, in addition to Emirati spices.

“The stew will be distributed by the Red Crescent and will go to the labour camps. Nothing will be wasted.”

Joanne Cook of Purple Kitchen, one of the organisers, said a custom-made pot, tonnes of ingredients and 15 gas burners were what it took to break the record.