Dubai Chefs Showcase their Skills in New York by Adding a European Twist to the All-American Classic Cheeseburger

• Dubai-based chefs and influencers brought a touch of French flair to New York by using a range of French cheeses to create the perfect cheeseburger;

• Chef Mohamed Chabchoul, Grand Millennium Business Bay; Dalia Dogmoch Soubra, renowned chef and blogger; Zahra Abdalla TV personality and food blogger; and Tiffany Eslick, editor at Spinneys magazine UAE, took part in a four-day cheeseburger journey in New York City

As part of a campaign launched by the French Dairy Board and the European Union, a quartet of Dubai chefs, authors and bloggers have visited New York City to undertake various workshops and masterclasses to replicate the original cheeseburger recipe, using a key ingredient, European Cheese.

French Cheese in New York

Synonymous with America, the cheeseburger dates back to the 1920s and 1930s when the first examples of cheese hamburgers and cheeseburgers appeared on menus. Back then, the cheese was already a central ingredient with toppings typically consisting of lettuce, tomato, pickle and raw onions with a selection of condiments.

Cheeseburgers have since moved on. The burger's doneness can be specified to suit a particular taste; toppings now include eggs, mushrooms, chilli, avocado, and sauteed onions; and the cheese covers everything from Comté to Fourme d’Ambert, and Camembert to Brie.

As part of the four-day cheeseburger journey, chefs including Chef Mohamed Chabchoul from the Grand Millennium Business Bay; Dalia Dogmoch Soubra, renowned chef and blogger; Zahra Abdalla, TV personality and food blogger; and Tiffany Eslick, editor at Spinneys magazine UAE, met with several of New York City’s leading chefs to learn the secrets of how to make the mouth-watering dish, a staple of the New York dining scene.

As part of the program, each chef was given insights into cheese pairing, courtesy of the French Cheese Board, while also being provided with the basics of making the perfect cheeseburger by Chef Stephen Parker at Black Tap Midtown. In addition, award-winning chef Harold Moore from the Charlie Palmer Steak Restaurant advised on creating a gourmet cheeseburger before a culinary tour of the city explained the history and heritage of the burger.

Marie-Laure Martin, International Project Manager from the French Dairy Board, said, “The cheeseburger is an institution in America - with almost a century of experience creating cheeseburgers, there is no one better to bestow the secrets of how to make it so tasty. As part of this programme, we wanted to combine our French cheesemaking expertise with that of American chefs and create the perfect cheeseburger!”

Each of the chefs has created their unique cheeseburger recipes, adding a Middle Eastern twist to the original recipes, which will shortly be available in their respective restaurants and blogs for anyone to try.