‘A Guide by Royal Palm Hotel’s Executive Chef, Guy Gorrie’

To become a top chef at a 5-star luxurious hotel like Royal Palm Hotel Umhlanga, you need to have the ability to create menus to suit every occasion and every season. Executive Head Chef Guy Gorrie shares his take on how to make a divine French onion soup that you can share with family and friends this cold winter.

“Winter comfort food at its finest, French onion soup is a hearty, complete meal in a bowl that needs no adornments other than a generous blanket of rich, creamy cheese and perhaps a slice of crusty bread. The key to making any French onion soup is properly cooking the onions. Instead of quickly sautéing them until browned, it’s important to cook them over low heat for a long period of time until they’re soft, boasting a deliciously sweet taste and deep golden, caramelized colour”, says Gorrie.

Ingredients:

• ½ cup of unsalted butter
• 2 table spoons of olive oil
• 4 cups of sliced onion
• 4 cans of beef broth
• 2 tablespoons of dry sherry
• 1 teaspoon of dried thyme
• A pinch of salt and pepper
• 4 slices of French bread
• 4 slices of Provolone cheese
• ¼ cup of Parmesan cheese
• 2 slices of Swiss cheese, diced

Method:

• Melt butter with olive oil in an 8-quart stock pot on medium heat. Add onions and continually stir until tender and translucent. Do not brown the onions.
• Add beef broth, sherry and thyme. Season with salt and pepper, and simmer for 30 minutes.
• Heat the oven broiler.
• Ladle soup into oven-safe serving bowls and place one slice of bread on top of each (bread may be broken into pieces if you prefer). Layer each slice of bread with a slice of Provolone, 1/2 slice diced Swiss and 1 tablespoon Parmesan cheese. Place bowls on cookie sheet and broil in the preheated oven until cheese bubbles and browns slightly.

Best served hot.

‘How to overcome workplace blues this winter’

Picture this: You’re fast asleep on a cosy bed, far away in dreamland when suddenly your alarm blares. Now you’re up, you peak outside and it’s still pitch black. You start to question whether your alarm malfunctioned, but no such luck! It’s just winter which now means having to crawl out of bed into the cold darkness. Winter days are much shorter which makes waking up in the morning a little harder since you won’t be hit by that morning sunshine you are probably used to. The challenge now is getting to work on time and actually having a productive day.

Events Coordinator at Royal Palm Hotel Umhlanga, Shireen Karamchand shares some tips on how to beat the workplace blues this winter.

• No matter what season, stick to a regular schedule. You should try go to bed at around the same time every evening and wake up at the same time every morning.
• Think of your work as a series of sprints and not a marathon. The average human’s attention span is usually about 2 hours or so until your brain function actually slows and your body starts to rapidly accumulate stress and strain. Try splitting up your workday into short sprints of 90 to 120 minutes each, with a 5-minute break in between.
• Give yourself daily manageable tasks to accomplish. According to one psychological theory, we all have an innate need to feel competent in order to also grow emotionally, have a sense of integrity, and maintain wellbeing. Set up an actionable list of tasks that you can check off once completed.
• Stay ahead of your game. It really doesn’t matter what career you’re in, keeping on top of your game should be a priority at all times. The key to this is being organized. Find a time management strategy that works for you and stick to it.
• Last but not least, exercise more and maintain a healthy diet. As you most probably know, the brain releases the ‘feel-good’ chemicals, serotonin and dopamine, after exercising. This is great because it helps with reducing anxiety and depression while boosting your wellbeing. Just 30-45 minutes a day of exercising is enough to change your whole outlook on winter.

“Back to work blues are a normal part of life but there are plenty of steps you can take to help beat them. Getting back on track can take a few weeks, so take it slow and steady while you transition back to a normal routine “she adds.