Recipes for success: Chef Clet Laborde offers advice and a tasty cheese balls recipe

Recipes for success: Chef Clet Laborde offers advice and a tasty cheese balls recipe
French-Brazilian chef Clet Laborde discovered his passion for cooking while preparing snacks and sandwiches for events during his hospitality studies. (Supplied)
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Updated 05 December 2024
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Recipes for success: Chef Clet Laborde offers advice and a tasty cheese balls recipe

Recipes for success: Chef Clet Laborde offers advice and a tasty cheese balls recipe
  • The executive chef of Sushi Samba Riyadh offers advice and a tasty cheese balls recipe  

DUBAI: French-Brazilian chef Clet Laborde discovered his passion for cooking while preparing snacks and sandwiches for events during his hospitality studies. “I enjoyed learning the ways that we do things and how we work in the kitchen that is very different from hospitality, from being a bartender or a server or a waiter,” he told Arab News.  

Encouraged by a mentor who recognized his potential during a culinary competition in Brazil, Laborde pursued formal training at the renowned Institut Paul Bocuse in Lyon, France. He went on to work with legendary chefs Yannick Alléno and Alain Ducasse in France, before expanding his horizons in Brazil and Peru. 

In January 2023, the chef moved to Saudi Arabia. “I really love this country. It is very nice. It is a safe place. It is a very good country to live in with the family and kids. So I am very happy to be here,” he said. He is now the executive chef of Sushi Samba Riyadh, where he crafts dishes that blend Japanese, Peruvian and Brazilian flavors. 

Here, the chef discusses mistakes, his favorite cuisines, and offers tips for amateur chefs. 

When you started out, what was the most common mistake you made?  

Organization is the most important thing in the kitchen. A very big mistake that is common in the beginning is that you don’t have everything ready to make the dish. We call it the “mise en place.” So, you don’t need to run around or be desperate to cook something very quick because you forgot something.  

Seasoning is another thing that comes with time. Every person — and every country — has a different palette. I’ve had the opportunity to work in Europe, Brazil, Peru and Saudi Arabia, and the palette of each country is completely different. So, you need to adapt the seasoning. A common mistake in the beginning is that we tend to put too much salt, or not enough. 

What’s your top tip for amateur chefs?  

The best tip that I can give is don’t get stressed out. If you make a mistake, you can always change and adapt the dish without destroying the idea behind it. For example, when you put too much salt in something, the most effective thing to kill the salt is to put a raw potato in the dish. Let’s say you are doing a stew, and you put too much salt, just put a raw potato inside. The raw potato is going to absorb all the excess salt, so your dish is going to be perfect again. Everything can be solved, everything can be adapted. 

What one ingredient can instantly improve any dish? 

I have two. The first is soy sauce — a good quality soy sauce can improve a dish a lot. The flavor helps you not use salt, and it can give flavor to the dishes very subtly. The other ingredient is mushrooms. They are very earthy products, but the mushroom has umami — a flavor that comes from the earth that is something very delicate in the palette.  

When you go out to eat, do you find yourself critiquing the food?  

I'm very critical and my wife — who’s also a chef — is too. So when we go out to eat, we see all the details in every dish. I think everybody that has this career will be the same. We are always looking to learn — even if that’s learning what not to do. 

What’s the most common issue you find in other restaurants? 

The seasoning. Like I said before, it’s something very personal — some people like to eat food that is more salty, less salty, more sweet, more spicy… But, in the kitchen, we always need to have a base flavor. When we add salt, it’s not necessarily to make the food more salty, but to increase the flavor of the product. So, if we don’t put enough salt, like on a steak or on a fish, the fish is going to be bland, so we’re going to lose this good flavor of the product.  

What’s your favorite cuisine? 

Peruvian. I lived in Peru for 12 years. The cuisine has a mix of cultures and flavors that you’re not going to find anywhere else. My favorite dishes would be ceviche and pollo a la brasa. We have both on our menu here. La brasa is a very traditional dish that the Peruvians eat normally every Sunday — like how the Italians sit together to eat pasta on Sunday, in Peru they eat chicken la brasa with fries and salad. It’s very traditional and it’s delicious.  

What’s your go-to dish if you have to cook something quickly at home? 

Stroganoff. It’s an Eastern European dish. It is very quick. You can do it with salmon, you can do it with chicken, you can do it with steak. It’s very versatile. You can do it with just vegetables too. All you need is paprika, ketchup, cream and the protein that you want. Everything sauteed together, and you serve it with rice. In 20 minutes, you have the dish done.  

What customer behavior most frustrates you? 

Fake allergies. It is very common. I understand that some people have very specific allergies, like nuts, peanuts, seafood or shellfish. But now, you have people saying I’m allergic to mango, I’m allergic to kiwi. I prefer them to be honest, and say, “I don’t like mango. Can you do the dish without mango?” We either say, “Sorry, we cannot,” or we can give you another option, and we can work with it. But don’t try to give allergies that don’t exist. It’s something that’s very stressful in the kitchen — to try to adapt to allergies that you know don’t exist. But you cannot say no to the customer.  

What’s your favorite dish to cook and why?  

There’s a dish I always make at home for my kids and my wife. They love it. It’s a flavor that can bring us back to Peru. It takes time, but it’s not complicated. You need to marinate your chicken for 24 hours minimum, and after that, you put your chicken in the oven, and it’s done. So it’s very easy to do, but it takes time. But it’s very easy and very tasty. 

What’s the most difficult dish for you to get right?  

A traditional French dish — fish in puff pastry. The whole fish is cooked inside the puff pastry. So to have the perfect cook of the fish, to not be dry, or raw, with the puff pastry cooked perfectly, is very difficult. It’s a dish that needs a lot of attention to detail and decoration.  

Are you a disciplinarian? Do you shout a lot? Or are you more laidback? 

I’m not laidback, but I don’t shout. I think the image that a lot of people have about me because I am French, is that I will shout. Some French chefs are very nasty with the employees. I’m the opposite of that. I lived this environment when I was in France. I know how it is to work for a person that screams at you, hits you or denigrates you in the kitchen in front of everybody. That’s something that I am against. I always try to have a healthy environment for my chef and for my team. Here in Sushi Samba, I have 56 cooks under my responsibility. I know all of them. I tell everyone, when you arrive in the kitchen, you need to say hi to everybody. This is what makes the bond within the team — everybody cares about everybody. My team knows that my door is always open to them. And if I have any issue with a cook or any problem in the kitchen, I never call the person out in front of anybody. I take the person out of the kitchen, we go to the office, we sit down, we talk and we try to solve the problem instantly.  

Chef Clet’s Brazilian cheese balls (Pão de queijo) recipe  

INGREDIENTS: 

Tapioca flour: 500g 

Water: 100ml 

Sunflower oil: 80ml 

Milk: 180ml 

Salt: 2g 

Eggs: 2  

Parmesan cheese: 250g 

INSTRUCTIONS:  

In a bowl, mix the tapioca flour, salt, and grated parmesan cheese. 

In a separate container, combine the warm water, milk, and sunflower oil. 

Gradually add the liquid mixture to the dry ingredients, mixing well. 

Add the eggs one at a time, stirring until the dough becomes smooth and homogeneous. 

Form small balls of approximately 30g each and place them on a baking tray. 

Bake at 180°C for 25 to 35 minutes, or until golden brown. 

Enjoy with salted butter or cream cheese. 

 


French Algerian model Loli Bahia celebrates Pharrell Williams’ fashion vision

French Algerian model Loli Bahia celebrates Pharrell Williams’ fashion vision
Updated 22 January 2025
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French Algerian model Loli Bahia celebrates Pharrell Williams’ fashion vision

French Algerian model Loli Bahia celebrates Pharrell Williams’ fashion vision
  • French Algerian model attends menswear show in Paris
  • Williams teams up with Japanese fashion designer Nigo

DUBAI: French Algerian model Loli Bahia continues to strengthen her ties with Louis Vuitton, months after walking for the brand, by showing support for its menswear creative director Pharrell Williams.

This week, Bahia attended the menswear Fall/Winter 2025/2026 show during Paris Fashion Week, which runs through Jan. 26.

Williams hosted the event in a rear courtyard of the Louvre Museum after dark, setting the stage for a vibrant fall-winter collection that reimagined streetwear.

Models strode around the set to marching music, parading chunky wool suits, short bomber jackets, leather bermudas and coats in pastels, autumn tones and psychedelic renditions of the brand’s signature logo patterns.

There were colorful speedy bags, lobster-claw charms, pearl embellishments, thick jewelry and utility pockets in suede leather.

Bahia shared highlights from the show on Instagram, offering her followers a glimpse of the night’s fashion and energy.

For this collection, Williams, who is also famous as a musician, teamed up with his longtime collaborator, Japanese fashion designer Nigo, currently creative director of another LVMH-owned label, Kenzo.

The pair have been active in street culture for decades, founding the label Billionaire Boys Club in 2003 and playing a role in streetwear’s rise to prominence with their blend of music and fashion.

In the front row, LVMH CEO Bernard Arnault sat between his wife, Helene Mercier, and NBA basketball player Victor Wembanyama, who was seen tapping his foot to the music.

The show was also attended by Hollywood stars Adrien Brody and Bradley Cooper, K-pop sensations J-Hope and Jackson Wang, and rap legends Travis Scott, J Balvin and Future.

Bahia last walked for Louis Vuitton in October, showcasing their spring/summer collection.

She graced the runway wearing a black jumpsuit with a relaxed, tailored fit and a deep V-neckline, allowing a metallic, iridescent top to peek through underneath. The shiny fabric of the top, visible on the sleeves and chest, contrasted with the matte texture of the jumpsuit.

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Beyond the runway, Bahia has also appeared in Louis Vuitton’s campaigns, including the Spring/Summer 2024 campaign released in February 2024.

In the promotional clip, she showcased the brand’s creations, pairing a vibrant orange Dauphine bag crafted from supple leather with an oversized blazer dress featuring multiple buttons.

The look was completed with white stockings and heels.


Omar Offendum reflects on identity ahead of Quoz Art Fest performance of ‘From a free Syria’

Omar Offendum reflects on identity ahead of Quoz Art Fest performance of ‘From a free Syria’
Updated 22 January 2025
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Omar Offendum reflects on identity ahead of Quoz Art Fest performance of ‘From a free Syria’

Omar Offendum reflects on identity ahead of Quoz Art Fest performance of ‘From a free Syria’
  • Syrian-American rapper blends classic hip-hop, Arab poetry
  • Trying to challenge ‘stereotypes’ of Arabs, Muslims, he says

DUBAI: Returning to the UAE after his debut performance in AlSerkal in 2009, Syrian-American artist Omar Offendum will take to the stage at the Quoz Arts Fest on Jan. 26.

Speaking to Arab News recently, the New-York based rapper said he was excited about performing in the Arab world, and being able to say he is “from a free Syria” for the first time.

Offendum is also a spoken-word poet and recently described himself as a theatrical storyteller.

“When I’m on stage, I’m not just singing songs or just reciting poetry, I’m bridging all of that with storytelling. And I find myself really comfortable in theater spaces now.

“As much as I love a big festival, I find what’s really unique about theater is people enter the space with the understanding that you are being sort of transported into an imaginary time and place,” he said.

Drawing inspiration from artists including Bob Marley, Sade, Sabah Fakhri and Feyrouz, Offendum’s music blends classic hip-hop and elements from traditional Arab culture.

“What was unique to me in my upbringing was that it wasn’t just musicians, it was poets. Nizar Qabbani, for me, was foundational. Every album I’ve made, there’s been translations of Nizar Qabbani’s work.

I’m always reciting his poetry on stage. I think what’s really special about being an artist is that when you do it with a desire to be authentic and genuine.”

Offendum’s music is often a form of social commentary reflecting on current or past events. He said sometimes “you need a spoonful of sugar to help the medicine go down” and his music does that.

“I think music speaks to a different dimension in our heart and in our mind. There’s emotion and there’s meaning in music just as much as there are in words,” he explained.

But success did not come easy for the Saudi Arabia-born rapper. Offendum said he faced many challenges as an Arab after moving to Los Angeles.

He recalled an experience where he was offered voice-over work that depicted harmful stereotypes of Arabs.

“My friend was shocked that I rejected a large sum of money but I said of course not. I’m actively trying to use my voice to change the perception of Arabs and Muslims in the media,” he said.

Offendum said he remains full of passion and drive. “The fact that I’m 43 and I’m still doing what I love and I’m excited and passionate about it ... tells me that I’ve made it.”

Although New York holds a special place in Offendum’s heart, he hopes to perform in his birthplace of Saudi Arabia and homeland of Syria.


Qatar exhibition explores relationship between AI and humanity

Qatar exhibition explores relationship between AI and humanity
Updated 21 January 2025
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Qatar exhibition explores relationship between AI and humanity

Qatar exhibition explores relationship between AI and humanity

DOHA: The Media Majlis Museum at Northwestern University in Qatar launched “Ai or Nay? Artificial vs. Intelligent,” a thought-provoking exhibition exploring humanity’s evolving relationship with machine learning. 

Running until May 15, the exhibition brings together over 20 works by international and regional artists.

Directed by Alfredo Cramerotti, the exhibition emphasizes interdisciplinary dialogue, he said. “For me, it’s important as a curator to combine arts with something else and have a foot in art and a foot in something like technology or media,” Cramerotti told Arab News.

Alfredo Cramerotti (L) is the director of the exhibition and Jack Taylor (R) is the curator. (Supplied)

“We’re embedded in an environment of communication, technology, and media and (in this exhibition) we bring in artistic elements… to tackle themes that are relevant for society now.”

On display are installations from international creatives such as Jan Zuiderveld (Netherlands), Patrick Tresset (France/Belgium), and Adnan Ayub Aga (UAE/Portugal), alongside interactive and visual works by Amr Alngmah (Yemen/Egypt), Farjana Salahuddin (Bangladesh), graphic designer Hind Al-Saad (Qatar), Hadeer Omar (Egypt) and Bilge Emir (Turkey/Germany).

“We thought, let’s bring in in different voices — from the region and internationally, from different sectors of society and cultures — to help us understand the different pinch points of AI to make the general public more aware of certain issues,” explained Cramerotti.

The exhibition brings together over 20 works by international and regional artists.(Supplied)

The exhibition also addresses the tension between digital and physical experiences, he added: “This hybridity is central to the show. It’s about being aware of how AI and information flows shape our identities and impact our lives.”

As an example, Cramerotti highlighted the work of Al-Saad and Omar, which features screen walls offering a glimpse into how AI works in our everyday lives.

“The idea of how computers see us is actually quite central, but it’s completely invisible — like facial recognition,” he said. “It is integrated in your life flow. You don’t notice it. But there is an incredible amount of ‘bio-politics’ behind it.”


Tiffany Trump stuns in Zuhair Murad gown during inauguration week

Tiffany Trump stuns in Zuhair Murad gown during inauguration week
Updated 21 January 2025
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Tiffany Trump stuns in Zuhair Murad gown during inauguration week

Tiffany Trump stuns in Zuhair Murad gown during inauguration week
  • Tiffany is married to Lebanon-born Michael Boulos
  • Married in 2022, they are expecting their first child

DUBAI: Tiffany Trump, the daughter of US President Donald Trump, turned heads this week in a dress by Lebanese designer Zuhair Murad at the Inaugural Candlelight Dinner, hosted at the National Building Museum in Washington, D.C.

Traditionally held on the eve of a US presidential inauguration, the black-tie event honors the incoming administration with an evening of celebration and speeches.

For the occasion, Tiffany, who is expecting her first child with husband Michael Boulos, chose a custom, chocolate-brown chiffon gown with an asymmetric one-shoulder neckline, and a cape-like sleeve that flowed dramatically.

The dress was cinched at the waist and highlighted by intricate draped detailing on the bodice.

On Monday morning, Tiffany and Boulos attended services at St. John’s Church in Washington, D.C., a longstanding tradition for incoming presidents and family members.

Later in the day, she joined her family at the swearing-in ceremony, which was held indoors at the Capitol Rotunda due to extreme cold weather.

She also attended the inaugural parade at the Capital One Arena and the inaugural balls that evening.

For the day’s events, she wore a velvet navy-blue coat cinched at the waist, accessorized with minimal jewelry and leather point-toed stiletto boots.

She wore a velvet navy-blue coat cinched at the waist, accessorized with minimal jewelry and leather point-toed stiletto boots. (Getty Images)

Tiffany and Boulos tied the knot in 2022. For her special day, the bride wore a custom-made Grecian-style gown by Lebanese designer-to-the-stars Elie Saab.

Tiffany chose her wedding dress as a nod to Boulos’ heritage. “It’s a Lebanese-American wedding, so we were so happy to have Elie Saab create the magic,” said mother of the bride Marla Maples at the time, according to People magazine.

Boulos is of Lebanese and French descent and grew up in Lagos where his father, Massad, runs Boulos Enterprises and is the CEO of SCOA Nigeria.

The family is also linked to the world of Hollywood through Michael’s brother Fares, who is an actor and appeared in a 2017 episode of “The Crown.”

Boulos and Tiffany were engaged in January 2021, the day before Trump left office following defeat in the 2020 election.


Camila Alves McConaughey shines in Elie Saab at Riyadh event

Camila Alves McConaughey shines in Elie Saab at Riyadh event
Updated 20 January 2025
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Camila Alves McConaughey shines in Elie Saab at Riyadh event

Camila Alves McConaughey shines in Elie Saab at Riyadh event

DUBAI: Lebanese couturier to the stars Elie Saab took to Instagram to give a shoutout to model Camila Alves McConaughey, who wore the label to the recent concert “Life is a Dream,” led by Hollywood giant Anthony Hopkins in Riyadh.

“@camilamcconaughey attended the ‘Life Is A Dream’ concert composed by Sir Anthony Hopkins with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra alongside her husband Matthew in an ELIE SAAB Spring Summer 2025 look,” the label captioned the Instagram post.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A post shared by ELIE SAAB (@eliesaabworld)

Alves McConaughey, who attended the event with her actor husband Matthew McConaughey, wore a striking yellow gown to the event, with flowing caped sleeves and a plunging neckline.

Meanwhile, US pop sensation Christina Aguilera, who performed at the Joy Awards ceremony over the weekend in Riyadh, also opted for an Elie Saab creation for the first part of her performance.

Aguilera took to the stage in a dramatic burgundy gown from Elie Saab’s Haute Couture Autumn Winter 2024 collection. The glittering gown saw Aguilera channeling old-school 1920s Hollywood glamour. The dress flowed into a feathered train, and she completed the look with a chiffon scarf, draped over her head and shoulders.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A post shared by ELIE SAAB (@eliesaabworld)

The same event saw Alves McConaughey opt for another yellow gown, this time from Oscar de la Renta.

As for the symphony concert, in a captivating blend of art and humanity, Hollywood icon Hopkins graced the Bakr Al-Shaddi Theater in Boulevard City, Riyadh, with a performance titled “Life is a Dream” as part of the Riyadh Season festivities.

Introduced by fellow actor Morgan Freeman, Hopkins opened his speech with the Arabic greeting, “As Salaam o Alaikum,” setting a tone of cultural respect and unity.

Hopkins shared his reflections on life and art, drawing from the words of Edgar Allan Poe: “I have always believed that all we see or seem is but a dream within a dream.”

Reflecting on his life, he described the path from “the son of a simple baker” in South Wales to a world-renowned composer and actor.

“My life, to me, is a profound mystery,” he said. “It’s impossible to understand or take credit for the blessings I’ve been given. That’s why I believe life is a dream, and this piece, ‘Life is a Dream,’ was inspired by my dreamy childhood in South Wales, my wonderfully supportive mother and my father, who was larger than life and worked tirelessly throughout his life.”