GENT: Two chefs and two restaurants in the Flemish city of Gent, Belgium, have teamed up to offer a four hands takeaway menu this weekend. Sebastian Sandor of Heritage Restaurant and Ignace Wattenberge of Lys d’Or are getting together (not literally) to serve guests in Gent as more and more restaurants try to find innovative ways to reach customers during the COVID-19 lockdowns. Their restaurants are currently closed because of the lockdown in Belgium with no date yet set for the restaurant reopening. The two chefs will prepare a four course menu which includes shrimp with white asparagus and elderflower, monkfish with chicory and a green sauce, a shoulder of lamb with aubergine, morels and shallots and a dessert of strawberries, basil, white chocolate and yoghurt. The four-course menu costs EUR 45. Both chefs have experience in top restaurants in Belgium and focus on fresh, local and seasonal ingredients. … [Read more...]
(30) Ana Ros calls for transparency, information
KOBARID: Ana Ros, chef of Hisa Franko in Kobarid was one of the first to take the risk of opening the booking system for her restaurant in Slovenia as from 1 June despite not knowing whether this would be possible or not. And customers responded. She has an almost fully booked restaurant despite the fact that they don’t know whether the restaurant can reopen or not or whether customer can fly in to Slovenia or not. But like many others around the world, she is now calling for some clarity as to the future. “We are not being given any information, we do not know anything regarding opening dates or plans. There is no transparency with regard to decisions,” she said on Instagram. After saying that “it was time to start singing ‘Bella ciao’ and fight for our rights and our businesses,” she had to take to Instagram again to clarify that it was sad that people misunderstood her post. “My post was not political. The post from yesterday is a wake-up call to all people who work in … [Read more...]
What Next: What if the future of a restaurant is more than just a restaurant?
BRUSSELS: A few days ago, I received an email from a reader of the newsletter which we send out every Sunday morning. A long email with personal reflections on how the restaurant and wine world has changed in just a few weeks. Go back to February and few if any could possibly imagine what we have been through over the past weeks. There were many questions without any answers. They were all pertinent questions as to what the future of the food and wine world would look like. As a former news journalist, my reaction every time there is a crisis is to read as much as I can. You could call me a news addict or junkie. And over the first few days I had what could be described as writers block though in reality it was not writers block but rather a feeling of pointlessness. But as time went by, I tried to delve into depicting best practices from around the world. It is a small way of raising awareness, of giving ideas to restauranteurs and people in the restaurant business and also … [Read more...]
(29) Gennaro Esposito on how we will dine in the coming months: “A dinner should not be a Russian Roulette”
Italian top chef Gennaro Esposito has warned that when restaurants reopen after the COVID-19 lockdowns, changes will be significant to the point that it will require a lot of goodwill from customers to go to restaurants. “It is only right to ensure that a restaurant reduces the risk for its staff and customers. A dinner should not become a Russian Roulette,” he said. The Italian chef was interviewed on Il Mattino after he came up with a proposal on how to reduce the risks of diffusion of COVID-19 in restaurants. He set up BrotherinFood with colleagues in his region to propose ways of how eating out can be as safe as possible when lockdowns are removed. He has faced criticism from some colleagues for his proposals. In the interview with journalist Luciano Pignataro, he said “Many of my colleagues have not understood that this is a global pandemic and reopening restaurants is not an act of courage. It is, of course, important on a commercial and entrepreneurial level, but also … [Read more...]
(28) Kadeau announces it would reopen in June after ‘working tirelessly to find our way back to life’
COPENHAGEN: Kadeau have announced they will reopen the restaurant after being one of the first serious casualties in the restaurant world when they filed for bankruptcy. Kadeau Bornholm will reopen in June while Kadeau in Copenhagen will reopen after the summer break, the restaurant group announced on their Instagram page. "Finally some good news from our side. Ever since we shut down almost two months ago, we have been working tirelessly on finding our way back to life," the restaurant group said. "We cannot wait to welcome you back." The restaurant group said that times were still uncertain and extremely hard for the industry and encouraged customers to visit their favourite restaurants when they reopen. "No one should have to live the same nightmare we just did." Customers who had bought gift cards and prepaid reservations will be accommodated by the team at Kadeau. Kadeau in Copenhagen had two Michelin stars while the restaurant in Bornholm had one. The … [Read more...]
(27) Belgian Michelin star restaurant offers drive-in service
SOHEIT-TINLOT: In the Belgian countryside in Soheit-Tinlot, chef Christophe Pauly of Michelin star restaurant Le Coq aux Champs is turning the restaurant into a Drive-In restaurant enabling customers to collect set menus without exiting their car. “The principle is to let customers pick up the day’s menu without getting out of the car. It might look simple but it requires a lot of organisation,” said Christophe Pauly. Having to close the restaurant because of the COVID-19 crisis he has now decided to return back to the kitchen to share his two passions, cooking and sharing. Inspired by the Olivier Nasti in Alsace, the chef from Liege is ready to start offering his first drive-in service on Friday 8 May. Christophe will ensure that the menus he creates follow the strictest rules of hygiene and security for everyone. Ordering is simple and fast, and payments are encouraged online. There are also set times to pick up the food while allowing for the circulation of cars … [Read more...]
(26) How Bottura’s second restaurant Franceschetta delivered 450 meals in Milan
MODENA: If you can imagine it, you can create it. That’s the motto of Massimo Bottura and his team in Modena. The chef of world famous Osteria Francescana, Franceschetta 58, Casa Maria Luigia and Food for Soul among others is known for thinking outside the box. That has also been the mantra of his team that works behind the Italian chef. On 1 May, his team, created what they termed 'Mission Impossible' delivering 450 boxes of kits with dishes from Franceschetta 58 to Milan. At 5am, the team, clad in masks, gloves met in Via Stella at the more illustrious Osteria Francescana which made Massimo Bottura world famous. Their task was to finish off the work and pack the boxes with ingredients and instructions. These would end up in many homes in Milan. The idea was to offer a takeout possibility not just to the people in Modena but also to Milan for a day. It is something that Massimo’s team will repeat soon. At the 8.45am, having prepared all the kits and packed them into … [Read more...]
(25) Bar Bulot, L.E.S.S offer takeaway in Bruges, Antwerp and Ghent
BRUGES: Bar Bulot and L.E.S.S., the two restaurants owned by Gert de Mangeleer and Joachim Boudens have moved to takeaway from the beginning of May amid the COVID-19 crisis. They are, however, extending their coverage testing not just takeaway in their city Bruges but also in Antwerp and Ghent. With no date yet set for the reopening of restaurants in Belgium, Gert and Joachim have shifted to delivery for the time being. At both restaurants, one in central Bruges and one in the former building which housed their first ever Hertog Jan which brought them three Michelin stars, they are offering two different menus with signature dishes from the two restaurants. Gert De Mangeleer and Joachim Boudens opened L.E.S.S. in its new location in one of the main Bruges squares last year and the head chef Ruige Vermeire clinched a star for the restaurant in less than a year. Bar Bulot opened late last year after a successful summer pop-up. The two operated Hertog Jan which they closed … [Read more...]
‘Restaurants, gastronomy are going to be completely different after this crisis’ – Christophe Hardiquest
BRUSSELS: If one thing is certain for Christophe Hardiquest, it is the fact that restaurants will be completely different to what we know them when they reopen after the lockdown. “Gastronomy is going to change completely for different things and different reasons. Chefs will need to be creative and rethink what they do completely. At the moment we have a coronavirus crisis but after this there is going to be an economic crisis and we need to think things differently,” he told Food and Wine Gazette in a phone interview. Hardiquest is chef of two Michelin star restaurant Bon-Bon in Brussels and one of the most internationally recognised chefs in Belgium but he does not see a return to two or three Michelin star experiences anytime soon. For two weeks after the Belgian government announced a lockdown and the closure of restaurants, the Belgian chef took a break. “I needed to take a rest for a couple of days. It was necessary. I've now been back in the kitchen trying out new … [Read more...]
(24) Christophe Hardiquest in new collaboration with Rob
BRUSSELS: Christophe Hardiquest, chef of two Michelin star Brussels restaurant Bon-Bon had to adjust over the past few weeks. After taking a two week rest following the forced closure of the restaurant, together with Rob The Gourmet market, the Brussels foodie supermarket par excellence, he started to prepare food for hospital staff on a daily basis using produce that was about to expire. Now, his sous-chef Adrien Cunnac has also joined helping Rob's prepare food for the homeless using the same material. This has led to a new collaboration and something that Christophe wants to retain even after the lockdown. "This week, I am proposing three different dishes at Rob The Gourmet Market . One is stuffed tomatoes with oxtail and olives (see picture), the second dish is quinoa meatballs with red beet and lovage (all local ingredients) in a tomato sauce and the third is a classic of his from around 15 years ago which is home made pasta (Cannelloni) stuffed with a garlic, parsley, … [Read more...]