Riccardo Camanini's Cacio e Pepe. The restaurant Lido 84 has been named as one to watch The World's 50 Best Restaurants list has grown this year from 100 to 120. The list from 51 to 120 was announced today with a number of favourites falling from the top 50. These include Alex Atala's D.O.M., Niko Romito's Reale, Arzak in Spain, Maemmo in Oslo, the Ledbury in London and Nihonryori RyuGin in Tokyo. This year's World 50 Best Restaurants list which will be unveiled next week will not feature the likes of Massimo Bottura, Daniel Humm and Joan Roca. The chefs of Osteria Francescana, Eleven Madison Park and Celler de Can Roca are no longer eligible to feature in the list and will instead go into a 'hall of fame'. It still has to be seen what the impact on the top 10 will be. It is the first time that the 'back list' or the list from 51-100 is extended to 120. The organisation said this was due to the fact that their sponsor is celebrating the 120th anniversary. Whether that … [Read more...]
Two brothers from another sea: Kobus van der Merwe cooks in Willem Hiele’s ‘magical world’
Kobus Van der Merwe (left) with Margot Janse (centre) and Willem Hiele Thousands of kilometres separate South Africa from Belgium. But South African Kobus Van der Merwe, chef of Wolfgat and Belgian Willem Hiele, chef of the restaurant by the same name in Belgium have something that connects them to each other. It was therefore no wonder that Alexandra Sweden, who brought them together and introduced them through social media, termed them ‘Brothers from another sea’. Until a few months ago, the two chefs had not met despite a similar passion for the sea and ocean, for the people of their territory and their approach to cooking. Willem visited Kobus on a holiday earlier this year and there was instant chemistry. On Saturday, they cooked together for the first time at Willem Hiele’s restaurant in the Flemish seaside resort Koksijde. Kobus, whose restaurant, Wolfgat was recently awarded as ‘Restaurant of the Year’ and ‘Off-Map destination’ restaurant at the World Restaurant … [Read more...]
Bar Bulot, new seafood pop-up restaurant by Gert de Mangeleer and Joachim Boudens opens on 27 June
Gert de Mangeleer and Joachim Boudens Bar Bulot, is a new pop-up restaurant that will open in the location of the first Hertog Jan and bistro L.E.S.S. on 27 June. The concept, created by Gert de Mangeleer and Joachim Boudens of Hertog Jan has been created just in time for summer. It is a seafood restaurant that will be open till October before works on a traditional Flemish restaurant they intend to open in the same spot will start. Gert and Joachim hope to open the new restaurant by the end of the year. In the meantime, visitors to Brugge will be able to savour a taste of the North Sea and France at the new bar Bulot. Their new summer project will have an outdoor terrace which is the ideal place to escape the hustle and bustle of the city and enjoy time with friends and family. The restaurant will be entirely devoted to seafood. The Bulot team, led by chef Pieter Lefevere and host Maxime Depreitere (both former Hertog Jan), promises to bring the holiday atmosphere … [Read more...]
Antonia Klugmann ‘Today’s problem is speed. It is excessive’
Antonia Klugmann Antonia Klugmann’s cuisine is personal, so personal that when she is invited to a congress or event she closes her restaurant. Being in charge of a small operation in Venco, in Friuli Venezia Giulia on the border with Slovenia means she does not have the luxury of a large team that can work while she is not there. So the decision to become the first ever female judge on Masterchef Italy was huge. When she took the plunge, she decided to close the restaurant for three months. It was an experience that changed her life but one that she would do only for a year. Like others working in the creative sector, she fears losing her creativity and spending three months way from the kitchen was something completely new for her from the day she took a cooking career at 20 after three years studying law. Antonia Klugmann is chef of L’Argine a Venco, an acclaimed restaurant with a highly personal and unique cuisine that is worth putting on your bucket list. When I met … [Read more...]
Low Food Session: Diversity vital for the future of food
The second Low Food gathering will take place on 4 July Vuurtoreneiland, the Netherlands. Participants will be invited for a day of great stories, speakers and delicious food. Following the success of the Low Food Symposium that was organised in the Amsterdam in January, the Low Food Session is a one day gathering which will bring internationally respected speakers and food that showcases the best of Low Food. Low Food is an initiative of Joris Bijdendijk, Joris Lohman and Samuel Levie. Low Food is an open platform for new ideas and insights. Low Food believes that food culture lies not in the past but in the future. LowFoodSession will be a one day gathering with internationally respected speakers and food that showcases the best of Low Food. The event will focus on the hand that feeds you and how diversity is vital for the future of food. "We want to ask the question whether a genuinely forward-thinking culinary movement can exist if it doesn’t embrace human diversity at its … [Read more...]
Pop-up at Souvenir in Gent this summer
Why should a restaurant stay closed when the chef is on holiday? At a time when costs of property and rent are very high globally, wouldn't it be a good idea to give promising staff the potential to flourish? That is what chef William Sigurdarson and his wife Joke Michel have decided to do this summer. They will keep the restaurant open in July while they are away. During July, chef Radu Iliescu will take over the kitchen of Souvenir in Gent, Belgium as he showcases his talent in the setting of Souvenir. They have called the pop-up Radu takes over. The lunch menu will be set at EUR 33 for arrivals between 12 noon and 2pm while the dinner menu will cost EUR 44 for arrivals between 6.30pm and 9.30pm. The chef will also prepare snacks and extra dishes to pimp up the menu for guests who wish. Bookings can be made online or else you can just walk in and get available seats. The Icelandic chef made a name for himself at Souvenir in Ypres before moving to Gent to open the … [Read more...]
Cadzand Foodfest to take place on 2 and 3 June
The full line up for the fourth edition of Foodfest which takes place in Cadzand on June 2 and 3 have been announced. The event is organised by chefs Sergio Herman and Syrco Bakker with Iman Soomers. The event will be held on 2 and 3 June in Cadzand at the Martiem Plaza platform next to restaurant AIRrepublic. Four international chefs will cook together with Sergio and Syrco. On Sunday 2 June for lunch, Norbert Niederkofler of Italian 3 Michelin star St Hubertus will cook with Vicky Cheng of VEA Hong Kong. The dinner will feature Quique Da Costa of three Michelin Star restaurant by the same name as well as Jordy Navarra of Toyo Eatery who will cook together with Syrco and Sergio. At AIRrepublic, Nicolai Nørregaard will cook together with head chef Nicolas Misera and chef Joao Rodrigues of Portuguese restaurant Feitoria on Sunday and Monday. There will also be 12 Belgian and Dutch NorthSeaChefs participating in the two-day event. On Sunday, Syrco Bakker of Pure … [Read more...]
North Sea Chefs Netherlands launched following success of Belgian project
North Sea Chefs - The Netherlands was launched on 21 May 2019 at a dinner organised at Pure C in Cadzand. Following the example of Belgian colleagues who founded North Sea Chefs in 2011, a group of Dutch chefs have now joined forces to raise awareness about unknown and unrecognised North Sea fish and by-catch with a view to ensuring sustainable North Sea fishing. North Sea Chefs wants to set an example of how chefs can proactively put the issue of sustainability on the agenda outside the kitchen walls and raise awareness for fishermen, ship owners, sellers, chefs and even customers. The first North Sea Chefs Netherlands are Sergio Herman and Syrco Bakker of Pure C, Thijs Meliefste of Meliefste, Soenil Bahadoer of De Lindehof, Jannis Brevet of Inter Scaldes, Nicola Misera of AIRrepublic, Benny Blisto of BAK, Jef Schuur of JEF, Jonnie Boer of De Librije, Arnout van der Kolk of Restaurant C, Hendrik & Kamiel Buysse of BLEND, Guillaume de Beer & Freek van Noortwijk of … [Read more...]
Riccardo Camanini’s magical Cacio e Pepe
Riccardo Camanini's Cacio e Pepe is served at table Go back a few years and few people would have known what Cacio e Pepe was. A staple of modern Italian cuisine, its simplicity was such that it was rarely if ever served in restaurants, especially those outside Rome where the dish seems to have originated. It was one of those comfort food dishes that many would eat at home when they lacked inspiration or ingredients. But, over the past few years, the Cacio e Pepe or ‘cheese and pepper’ as one would translate it from Italian, has become not just fashionable and trendy but also extremely common. The ingredients used to make this simple pasta sauce are water, cheese (pecorino Romano) and lots of pepper. Hunting for the best Cacio e Pepe or comparing one to the other may be difficult though of course the quality of the cheese used can make the difference. It’s akin to searching for the Holy Grail, you seem to be on the right track but it remains elusive. That changed in … [Read more...]
‘If you do something you love, you will never work a day in your life’ – Christophe Hardiquest’s in conversation with 10-year-old
What does a 10-year-old ask a chef? How does the conversation go? Most importantly what can one learn from a conversation between a beginner, in this case and someone who is on top of his game. For a school project, my 10-year-old son had to present to his class a topic related to food. It could have been anything from the food pyramid to wine making. He decided to choose to speak about the Michelin guide and top chefs. Without any prompting his decision was clear from the start. Talk about following in someone's footsteps. He asked me whether it would be possible to interview a chef as part of his project. Christophe Hardiquest, of Brussels 2 Michelin star restaurant Bon Bon kindly accepted. On a late spring afternoon, we headed to the leafy Brussels commune Woluwe St Pierre to meet with the chef who has a 19.5 Gault & Millau score, the highest in Belgium together with Peter Goossens. And this time, I took the back seat as I sat behind the camera to record the … [Read more...]