RABIH FOUANY

Head chef, Intercontinental Phoenicia Beirut

What should an F&B manager of a restaurant or hotel look for when purchasing meat?

Meat quality is normally assessed by compositional quality and palatability factors, such as appearance, smell, firmness, juiciness, tenderness and flavor

What are the latest trends in cooking meat?

Injecting meat before smoking or barbecuing is trendy. Injecting brisket, short rib or any other large piece of meat is the method of delivering salt, fats, seasonings and other flavors straight into the core of the meat. This technique helps to tenderize the meat while smoking and slow cooking keeping the moisture locked in.

Cooking under ground level is also something we are seeing more and more. Mandi, a traditional Yemeni dish, is prepared by digging a pit, burning charcoal in it and layering spiced rice with marinated lamb, allowing it to slow cook for hours. The meat becomes very tender, light and juicy.

In an age of veganism, how do you explain consumers’ ongoing love affair with meat?

We all know that eating meat helped our ancestors survive. Today, we eat meat on most holidays. Some of us actually have genes that make us more likely to eat a lot of meat. Furthermore, eating meat is often part of our culture, history and psychology.

What is your favorite brand of meat?

Wagyu beef from Japan is deemed to be one of the best meats in the world. The marbled fat, diet of the animals and the way they are reared result in meat that’s unique in texture and taste.

Black Angus is a Scottish breed of cow, which is also famous for its deep marbling. In addition, my favorite beef cuts are ribeye and short ribs.