Calm, cool, collected earns chef a big win

If Ryan Manaut ever tires of his gig as banquet chef at Oahu Country Club, the 25-year-old could find much success in Zen training.

Manaut took top honors at a national competition in New Orleans and was named Best Young Chef Rotisseur of 2012 by the U.S. chapter of the Confrerie de la Chaine des Rotisseurs, the world’s oldest food and wine organization.

His winning formula: Stay calm.

"I went in with basic knowledge and no practice," said the Gros Bonnet graduate, who was nominated for the contest by a club member who is also a member of the chaine. "I was thrown into the regionals a month beforehand, and I had two months before the nationals. I’m trained at classic cuisine, so I tried to stay stress free and classical."

The competition involves a mystery basket of ingredients from which the chefs must produce a three-course meal for four in three hours.

Manaut’s minimalist menu included five-spice roasted duck, artichoke hearts, glazed carrots and potato purée with red-wine gastrique and a dessert of quenelle pineapple with berry compote semifreddo.

Manaut goes on to Berlin in September for the international competition. The chaine is arranging for him to be mentored by a local chef or two.