The issue of children in a restaurant is always a very touchy subject. It is a sore point both for parents, restaurant owners and patrons alike. Earlier this year, there was a great controversy on the subject when renowned American chef of Alinea Grant Achatz tweeted that guests at his three-star restaurant had taken an eight-month old baby along to dinner. At one point the baby proceeded to cry and the chef said he could hear him from the kitchen. He did not kick them out but he did say that he was considering changing his policy vis-a-vis children in his restaurants. So when is it legitimate for a restaurant to say it does not accept children under a certain age? What is the definition of a child-friendly restaurant? When is it acceptable to take children to a restaurant and when should it be prohibited? What is the rule for high-end restaurants? Is there a particular age when a child should not be accepted in a restaurant? Where should you draw the line? Should parents with … [Read more...]
Weekly roundup of great reads on food and wine #14
We are just back from the amazing German town of Monschau and its splendid Christmas market. It was snowing throughout the day which adds to the charm and we made our way back home well stocked with mustard. But its now time for our weekly roundup of great reads on food and wine. As Christmas day is approaching fast, there seems to be a lot of writing about Christmas lunches or dinners. Both the BBC and the Guardian feature the two-Michelin starred chef Tom Kerridge. This chef is a television personality in the UK and his recipes are always exceptional so you might be tempted to try some of the these. These are his tips for a traditional Christmas from turkey to brussels sprouts. On the Guardian, there are 10 Christmas dishes prepared by Tom Kerridge. Since we are on the subject of recipes, here are 10 of the best recipes with wine. We have written about a Sicilian winery Azienda Agricola COS earlier this week. If you have missed it, take a look at this post because it … [Read more...]
Tenute Dettori: Letting nature do the work to produce stunning wines
When I visited Vini Birre Ribelli I must admit that the wines of Tenute Dettori caught me by complete surprise. The winery from Sardegna produces only 45,000 bottles. I had read about their wines a few years ago and knew that they were good but had never come across their wines or tasted them. The tasting therefore was all the more surprising. Paolo Dettori explained the story of this winery to us as we tasted his exceptional wines. There is minimal intervention both during the grape growing and also in the wine making process. At one point I asked him whether he used oak for any of his wines and he said quite strongly and proudly that the wines only make contact with cement/glass and are never aged in oak. The winery prides itself with being as much in tune with nature as possible. Electrical energy in the winery is only used for de-stemming and for the bottling equipment. The pruning, grape stems and pomade are all returned to the earth. They have also reduced the weight of the … [Read more...]
What we’ve been drinking last month (November)
There is a certain allure to a blind wine tasting. Last weekend, when I visited Vini Birre Ribelli I was discussing with a friend what a humbling experience I had at a blind tasting dinner last month. We were a group of wine lovers who went to eat at a restaurant in Brussels (Ventre Saint Gris) which lets you to take your own wines on a Tuesday evening. It is a perfect way to try different wines from the cellar which you might not necessarily try in a restaurant. As an avid wine lover, I think I know my wines. I would think that it is easy to recognise a Riesling from a Chardonnay or a Pinot Noir from a Cabernet Sauvignon to give some examples. So it was an incredibly humbling experience to go to this blind tasting and find that I could actually not even recognise two Pinot Noir wines (together with many friends around the table). Neither could I spot the two Syrahs (a Hermitage and a Cote Rotie) despite the fact that Syrah is also an extremely distinct grape. Many wine … [Read more...]
Behind the scenes at L’ Air du Temps with Sang Hoon Degeimbre
When I went to Liernu in the Belgian countryside some 50 kilometres outside Brussels to interview Sang-Hoon Degeimbre I was asked to stay for a 'light lunch' after the interview (read our interview here). Little did I know that I would be served with the 'business' lunch menu being currently served in the restaurant up to the end of December. I had previously eaten at L'Air du Temps and had listened to Sang Hoon's presentation at Chef's Revolution in Zwolle so I was familiar with his story. But after also interviewing him, I knew this was going to be a unique experience. First the table was literally inside the kitchen and I could just stand up and take photos and observe the calm buzz of a 2 Michelin star kitchen. Second the dishes were presented in most cases by Sang-Hoon himself who explained them to me. What struck me was the calm inside the kitchen despite the number of people that were preparing the lunch. But then I remembered what Sang-Hoon had told me earlier during the … [Read more...]
Azienda Agricola COS: A Sicilian winemaker with a difference
Azienda Agricola COS, founded in 1980, is one of Sicily's most well known wineries. Few, however are aware that their wines are natural wines which are extremely low in sulphites and are mainly aged in amphoras (see above photo) like in the old days. I met one of the winemakers of COS, Giusto Occhipinti, at the Vini Birre Ribelli fair organised in Brussels for the first time this weekend, tasting all their wines and discovering what makes them different from other winemakers in Italy and the world. This was the first stand I visited and what was immediately distinct is that unlike common practice they recommend that you start the tasting with the red wines to be followed by their two white wines, because as they say, the white wines are made in a similar fashion to the red wines and hence have a distinct character. But before I report on the tasting, a bit about the story of this Sicilian winemaker from Vittoria, a small Sicilian village in the South East of … [Read more...]
Excellent line-up of wine makers at the first rebel wines and beers fair in Brussels
The first ever Rebel Wines and Beers fair was organised at Tour et Taxis on Sunday (7 December) with the second day of the fair taking place on Monday (8 December). We visited the fair this morning and met with a number of wine producers all of which are producing 'natural wines' or wines which are made with minimal chemical and technological intervention in growing grapes and making them into wine. All the wines we tasted at the fair (around 50 in total) had minimal use of sulphites at bottling. We heard some very interesting stories from the wine makers on how they make the wine and why they produce it in this manner. At the stand of Sicilian winemaker Azienda Agricola Cos we tasted the whole range of wines produced by this Sicilian winery. Unlike convention, they recommended we started the tasting with red wines which was then followed by the white wines since these are produced with the skins on, similar to the way in which red wines are made. Although we were familiar with … [Read more...]
Vini Birre Ribelli – coming up in Brussels tomorrow and on Monday
Vini Birre Ribelli (The Rebel Wines and Beers Fair) is the first edition of a natural wine and beer fair being organised at Tour et Taxis in Brussels on Sunday 7 December and Monday 8 December. It brings together many special producers of beer and wine such as Jean Van Roy from Cantillon, the legendary Brussels anti-conformist brewery as well as many Italian and French natural wine makers. In total 81 "rebel" wine growers and 13 brewers will be taking part in the first edition of this fair. All these producers are part of a movement which is gradually changing the world of wine. The organisers have said that they want this fair to be a meeting place for sharing and discovery among two inter-connected worlds - natural wines and rebel beers. What joins these two worlds is the philosophy of the producers who fight for their ideals. The fair opens tomorrow from 10am to 8pm. There will be a number of events, including two debates tomorrow afternoon. There are French wineries … [Read more...]
Weekly roundup of great reads on food and wine #13
Japan seems to be attracting great chefs at the moment. Three Michelin star chef Heinz Beck has opened a restaurant in Tokyo just in time for the festive season. Beck is German-born and has been based in Rome for 20 years. He is the only chef to have three Michelin stars at La Pergola, in the Italian capital city. On the other hand, preparations are in full swing for the opening of Noma in Tokyo next month. Rene Redzedpi, the world famous chef was in Japan to source produce for the restaurant. He has been interviewed about the experience of opening a pop-up restaurant in Japan. He speaks about the overwhelming response they have received to date and also about the interesting produce he has found in Japan. It is very interesting and worth a read. Jose Andres has written a fantastic article on National Geographic about Changing the Way We Eat Meat. He says that while a piece of meat like a steak is a beautiful thing to eat, he believes that we should be thinking about eating … [Read more...]
Top 10 books on food and wine for Christmas
As the Christmas season approaches it's always great to receive tips on what to buy, particularly if you are at a loss. For a food and wine lover there is nothing like receiving a good book for Christmas. Here is a list of some of our favourite books on food and wine. We are sure you will not be disappointed. We have reviewed some of the books in more detail so if you are interested you can take a look in the Book Review section on Food and Wine Gazette. Here are our top 10 books on food and wine: 1. Massimo Bottura: Never Trust A Skinny Italian Chef: The top book of the year must be Massimo Bottura's Never Trust a Skinny Italian Chef. This is a fantastic book about food, cooking and creativity. It is not your run of the mill recipe book and unless you are a really dedicated cook, you are unlikely to replicate most of these creations. But what the book does is bring you the stories behind the dishes of one of the world's most famous restaurants. It's also a wake up call to follow … [Read more...]