The right ingredients to raise funds

A beautiful new recipe book, Feast Your Senses, was recently published by the executive chef of Hilton Malta, Joe Vella, in aid of charity.

The hardbound book, with its 170 mouth-watering recipes, has already paid for a lifter for the Hospice Movement's van. Further proceeds will now go towards a €22,000 kidney machine for St Luke's Hospital Renal Unit to be donated to Lifecycle.

Mr Vella, 43, said in a recent interview that friends had for long been pushing him to publish a recipe book but it was only after his father needed the assistance of the Hospice Movement and a friend required the services of the Renal Unit that he decided to take the plunge.

That was a year and a half ago. The book has now been out for about two months and already more than 900 copies have been sold. Regular guests at the hotel are snapping up copies, available from the hotel's patisserie, and sending them abroad.

About half of the recipes in the book have been created for Hilton Malta, where the menu changes every two months. It is Mr Vella's job to come up with new recipes.

While he also provides recipes for a number of magazines, those in the book had to be in much more detail. All were tried and tested before publication. They include first, mid and main courses, desserts, sauces and tips.

Mr Vella started working with the Tumas Group, as a chef, 25 years ago.

He began as a commis at the Corinthia when he was 15, moving on to the Topaz and later to the Dolmen, where he was appointed executive chef.

When the new Hilton was built, he was asked to plan and design its kitchen and after he had done so he asked his employers to transfer him there should the opportunity arise.

That move came five years ago. He began as an executive sous chef and became the hotel's executive chef eight months later.

At the Hilton he sometimes has to cook for 2,000 people. Guests, he said, expected to pay more but they also wanted value for money. So standards had to be retained - each plate is checked individually.

At home, he usually leaves the cooking up to his wife Julie. But he has surely been an influence on his children Kurt, 17 and Janice, 14, with Kurt wanting to follow in his father's footsteps.

Mr Vella also recently led the Maltese national team of chefs in the World Culinary Grand Prix in Scotland, where the Maltese team won the Hot Kitchen award.

With good explanations, beautiful pictures and easy-to-prepare recipes, the book has gone down well.

His ambition now is to publish a book that would include the contribution of all 66 chefs at Hilton Malta. He would like it to be sold worldwide with the proceeds also going to charity.

A copy of Feast Your Senses can be obtained from the Patisserie at the Hilton Malta against a donation of not less than Lm15.

The book is produced by Miranda Publishers and published by Promotion Services.