Corporate Bits | A parade of gastronomic flavors available at MGM

MGM Macau is ready to spice up the autumn month of September with a array of tasty choices, from the Cheese Feast at Aux Beaux Arts, Lu Cuisine at Grand Imperial Court and handmade Marzipan at Grande Praça.
From now until September 21, expert fromager Romain Olivier will greet guests with a smorgasbord of artisan French cheese. The fourth-generation cheese master’s artful menu showcases a selection of over 37 selected French cheeses, sourced from the cheese master’s cellar and air-flown in directly from France. The artisan cheeses have all been aged and treated specially for MGM Macau.  Some of the highlights include rare cheeses such as Crémet du Cap Blanc Nez, Roquefort des Frères Laur and Pavé de Roubaix. Olivier’s menu not only features a lavish cheese display, but also three cooked cheese dishes by Elie Khalife, Chef de Cuisine of Aux Beaux Arts: the famous Tartiflette, Warm Goat Cheese Croutons Salad with French Dressing and Cantal, and the Comté Cheese Soufflé served with green salad.
Lu cuisine, also known as “Shandong cuisine”, is one of the Four Major Culinary Traditions of China. From September 11 to 18, Chef Quhao will be joining Chef Chow Chung, MGM’s Chinese Cuisine Consultant Chef and Chef Louie Vong, Executive Sous Chef of Chinese Cuisine, to present an array of savory dishes at Grand Imperial Court.
And from now until September 30, world-champion pastry chef Stefan Lubinger from Austria brings the time-honored tradition of festive German marzipan creations to the Grande Praça.

Cotai Jazz & Blues Festival 2014 finalists and judges announced

Twelve finalists have been selected from a pool of international talent to enter the annual signature Cotai Jazz & Blues Festival competition at The Venetian Macao, Oct. 9-12, competing for a portion of a cash prize pool of HKD550,000 over the four-day festival. Coming back for the third year, this year’s edition is again supported by the Cultural Affairs Bureau and is admission-free.
The 12 finalists were selected from over 180 applications from highly skilled musicians representing 42 nationalities. Applications were received from the United States, mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Portugal, the Philippines, India, France, Brazil and beyond. Judges made their selections based on each band’s submitted CV and audition reel, paying attention to style, technique, musicality and performance. The impressive number of high-
quality submissions made the selection of finalists a challenging task for the judging panel.
The 12 finalists are: 3-0-3 Tango Fusion (Hong Kong); Skyline (Taiwan); Afro Jazz (Brazil); Soulmate (India); Budda Power Blues (Portugal); The Kandinsky Effect (France); Lowcal  (Philippines); The Moreira Project  (Mozambique); Old Style Sextet (USA); The Northern Governors  (Finland); Sister Sparrow & The Dirty Birds (USA) and Trio Ricardo Special  (Hungary)
The judges will watch each of the 12 bands perform in 30-minute sets for visitors over the four days of the Cotai Jazz & Blues Festival. Bands will be assessed on their style, improvisation, technique, musicality, performance and audience response, leading to a final round with six shortlisted bands playing a half-hour set each in the final showdown on the last day of the competition. Three winners and a special recognition award will be announced at a ceremony the same evening and will take home a share of the prize pool.