Bermuda veteran chef Fred Ming now shares a cooking award along with the likes of famous restaurateurs Richard Sandoval and opera singer Placido Domingo.

Mr. Ming taught culinary arts at the Bermuda College for 23 years before retiring and is the author of two local cookbooks, 'Bermuda Traditions' and 'Bermuda Favourites'.

In February, he received a Cuisine of the Year Cordon D'Or Gold Ribbon in the International Culinary Academy Awards.

"My name was put forward as a recognised individual who has taught for many years and who has also worked to boost Bermuda cuisine," said Mr. Ming. "I have travelled to advertise Bermuda in different parts of the world."

Mr. Ming received a crystal globe and a plaque as part of his award.

The awards ceremony was held in May at the prestigious Don CeSar Hotel in Saint Pete Beach, Florida.

Mr. Ming started cooking four decades ago.

"Cooking was in our family," he said. "I had an aunt who worked at the Crow Lane Bakery. She was very good at cooking. I would say she made the best cakes in Bermuda."

Because he saw his grandmothers and aunts cooking as a kid, he thought it was 'women's work'.

A school trip to visit the Queen of Bermuda luxury cruise ship, changed his mind.

"We saw the galley and it was manned by men," he said. "My perception of cooking until then was that it was a woman thing."

In his twenties, he went to work on the Queen of Bermuda.

"My first job was in the laundry," he said. "I managed to get a transfer to the pastry department.

"I stayed there for a year. Then I was transferred to the kitchen, which I thoroughly enjoyed. I was making entrees for the passengers. That was the early beginnings of my livelihood."

Later he studied the culinary arts at the Hotel College as it was known before it became the Bermuda College.

After attending the Hotel College, he went off to England where he did an apprenticeship at the Savoy Hotel in London.

He then returned to the Bermuda College to pass on his passion for the culinary arts to other Bermudians.

He said as a young chef his main challenges were being taken seriously.

"When I was starting out, Bermuda relied heavily on a lot of foreign chefs," he said. "But I thought I would take it to another level.

"But with having a lot of chefs from different parts of the world in Bermuda, they have brought their own ideas. It has extended the horizon in terms of the kind of foods you will find in Bermuda."

He said in his early days of cooking it was also hard to find the right ingredients for gourmet cooking in Bermuda.

"Now the world has shrunk," he said. "You can get any conceivable thing in Bermuda; it's just a little costly.

During his career he has done a great deal to not only promote Bermuda cooking, but also Bermudian chefs.

"I have taken students to cooking competitions in Japan, Australia, Denmark, England and Portugal," said Mr. Ming.

"Those students are now working in various local establishments. The most interesting trip was probably to Japan.

"The Japanese have a very particular way of hosting. Everything has to be done a certain way.

"It was also interesting to see how they accented their various dishes. It was a learning exercise to see foods presented in a different way, and to get used to using different oriental spices and herbs. It was totally different from something like French cooking where everything is in a sauce."

He said the Japanese seemed more into healthy cooking using lots of fresh vegetables and herbs.

"My philosophy is when we go to these competitions, everyone is a winner," he said. "They come back with what they have seen other people do."

Mr. Ming, has won numerous awards during his career including Young Person of the Year award several decades ago, and Teacher of the Year and also a gold medal at a competition in the Caribbean.

In 2001, he was made a Member of the British Empire (MBE) on the Queen's Birthday honours list.

In 2004 he almost died in a bad road traffic accident on the way to judge a cooking competition.

He was in critical condition and was flown off the Island. After many months of recovery he was finally pronounced well.

Now and he and his wife, a former school principal, are enjoying their retirement.

When he learned of winning this award, he and his wife were on the Australia leg of a world cruise.

He said that travelling the world has shown him that there are unique things about Bermudian cooking.

"I still haven't found hash shark anywhere else," he said. "It is also unique to have a fish cake on a sweet bun. The two don't sound like a marriage but it has been in existence for years."

He said restaurants need to work to include more Bermudian dishes on the menu.

"A nice mussel pie and things of that nature is what people come to Bermuda for," he said. "They come here for local foods, like conch stew and things like that."

The first dish he ever got to make was fish cakes with his family.

"Everyone would have a Sunday morning fish breakfast," he said. "What was left over would become fish cakes. You would just put parsley in it, making sure that the potatoes aren't overcooked, so they can still grind it.

"My grandmother would put an egg yolk in it to unite it. Some folks would put a little hot sauce in it to give it an extra kick."

"Then you would take a nice big spoon and spoon it out. Roll it into balls. Dip it into flour and then shallow fry them."

Mr. Ming is on the American Academy of Chefs board.

"That is an elite area," said Mr. Ming. "You only have about 700 chefs in that. You have to meet a lot of requirements in order to get in.

"You have to win a gold medal, to be an author of a cookbook, and do several other things.

"I am responsible for trying to get members from Bermuda and the Caribbean."