Food may come as an afterthought when you are modelling but for Charlotte Collard it was another story. A former model turned digital entrepreneur, she has lived in cities like New York, Los Angeles and London to mention a few before returning back to her roots in Belgium where she lived for 18 years before leaving to New York to pursue her modelling career. She has today established herself as a TV presenter and also set up a digital food business as well as a big presence on Instagram. “I’ve always loved cooking. My grandfather lived in Canada when I was young and he had a very big house with a lot of land and all the vegetables and fruits would come from the garden. He would smoke trout from the pond, he would hunt, he taught us how to bake bread waking us up at 5am. Everything was homemade so I learned to cook when I was very young.” Charlotte created a digital food business three years ago. “When I moved to Zurich in 2009 after leaving New York I decided to create a … [Read more...]
‘There will be a crash point if we don’t act now’ – Roberto Flore
The future will happen whether we like it or not and it is therefore essential to take action. “People are afraid of the future because they feel that they are not in control,” Roberto Flore who runs the DTU Skylab Foodlab in Copenhagen said at the European Food Summit. “We should design utopias or positive futures rather than speak of dystopia,” he said. Technologies, he said, need to be human centric. “We need to find people who can help to create and design machines. We do not have this concept at the moment. Machines are toady designed with efficiency but they are not efficient. They are only driven by numbers. There will be a crash point if we do not act now. The question is how can we design machines with social efficiency in mind, a machine that benefits society. Maybe we will fish less but we may be able to have fish available for more people,” he said. The former Italian chef who took over the DTU Skylab Foodlab last year after having headed the Nordic Food Lab (run … [Read more...]
Fourth edition of Foodfest to be held in Cadzand in June
The fourth edition of FoodFest, the event organised by Cadzand, the Netherlands by Sergio Herman, Syrco Bakker and Iman Soomers will be held on 2 and 3 June. The event which used to held at the former Strandkerk in Cadzand will move to the platform Maritiem Plaza next to restaurant AIRrepublic with a breathtaking view of the North Sea and the Royal Yacht Club of Cadzand-Bad. This year's festival will take place over two days unlike previous events that took place just on a Monday. For this year's edition the organisers are teaming up with the founders and creators of WECANDANCE, elrow Town Antwerp & Fire Is Gold: Wim Van der Borght & Bart Roman, CEO’s of Atmosphere Architects. WECANDANCE (Electronic beach festival in Zeebrugge) will provide the music line-up at FoodFest. A number of international chefs are expected to take part in the Foodfest though these have not yet been announced. They will also feature in lunches and dinners at … [Read more...]
The Belgian conundrum: This is not Belgian cuisine
At the European Food Summit organised in Slovenia last week between Saturday 16 March and Tuesday 19 March, I used the country I know second best (after my home country Malta) to make the point that collaboration today is key. Why is Belgium not so well known as a gastronomic destination? Has it been a missed opportunity as interest in food peaks globally? Food can unite, it can also divide as very well able presented by colleague Georges Desrues. The following is my speech at the conference: Speech I would like to thank Ana and Andrea for inviting me to speak today. It is an honour and a pleasure to be here. I am not a Belgian, this is not about Belgian cuisine. I am not even a food writer if you go and look at my LinkedIn Profile. So why am I here and how did a Maltese who left a tiny island in 2005 for professional reasons that have nothing to do with food end up here. More importantly what observations can I make that are relevant to you. I'll use … [Read more...]
Gastronomic imperialism: ‘Diversity is being killed by quest for success’ – Andoni Luis Aduriz
Spanish Andoni Luis Aduriz, chef of one of the most innovative restaurants in the world, Mugaritz, has warned that guides, lists and social media are all contributing to a lack of diversity in gastronomy to the extent that if chefs and restaurants want to be successful they need to follow a particular model and be the same. “Isn’t this colonialism, isn’t this imperialism?” In a passionate presentation at the European Food Summit held in Ljubljana, Slovenia, the chef said that in the past, guides like Michelin or Zagat served as the mediators between what was going on in the kitchen and what came out to the public. “These guides were written or printed to connect the public to chefs. The end result, however, has been that certain models were established,” Andoni said. “Michelin in Europe defined the quality and the way that a restaurant needed to operate to be eligible for a star. If you don’t follow a certain approach and meet all the criteria you are not considered and are … [Read more...]
Collaboration is key, we cannot exist in a vacuum are main themes of European Food Summit
Chefs, food writers, scientists, winemakers convened in Ljubljana, Slovenia for the European Food Summit to discuss not just the state of food today but also the importance of making connections, thinking outside the box, thinking beyond the confines of borders and to listen to what nature is telling us. Slovenian chef Ana Ros and Andrea Petrini, the conference curator came up with a very interesting lineup of speakers to tackle a wide range of topics. Andrea Petrini conference curator set the mood for the conference with a video which showcased beautiful images of gastronomy. It started off like a tourism video but turned darker as he tackled issues like issues like migration, riots, climate change and sustainability among others. In his concluding remarks he pointed to the fact that while we speak about sustainability, this conversation and the actions that need to be taken are just the start. Andreas Caminada called on the industry to stop whining and start taking responsibility … [Read more...]
SAN chef Toshiro Fujii to open Toshiro restaurant in Brussels
BRUSSELS: Toshiro Fujii, known as Toshi, who has worked for more than 10 years with San Degeimbre at L'Air du Temps as his sous-chef and who has been at the helm of the SAN group of restaurants in Brussels and Gent for the past four years will open his own restaurant together with chef Sang Hoon Degeimbre this month. This will be the third Brussels restaurant of Sang Hoon Degeimbre though this time he will be partnering and supporting Toshiro in creating and developing his own identity and cuisine. The restaurant will open its doors on 26 March in Saint Gilles instead of restaurant INADA which closed following the chef's retirement. Inada was a well known restaurant run by Japanese chef Inada who cooked French cuisine with a Japanese twist. Toshi has been running the SAN restaurants in Brussels and Gent since the first San restaurant opened in the Saint Catherine area in 2015. The Japanese chef from Kyoto worked in various kitchens in the south of Belgium after leaving … [Read more...]
Sergio Herman becomes first international mentor of Fundazion Uccelin
CADZAND: Sergio Herman has become the first international mentor for Fundazion Uccelin, a foundation set up by Swiss chef Andreas Caminada to support new talents and help them gain experience internationally both in kitchens, in front of house and with artisans and producers.. "When I created the Foundation, there was nothing like it. This industry has given me a lot and I wanted to give back by helping young talents find their way through facilitating training." he told Food and Wine Gazette. In Cadzand, at Air Republic, one of Sergio Herman's restaurants, the Swiss chef announced that he was welcoming the Dutch chef as the first mentor to support this initiative. "We are very happy and thankful that Sergio has taken the time to engage with the Foundation. He was one of the first chefs to support us when we organised a charity event and he is the first international mentor. With his experience and knowledge, Sergio is a perfect ambassador for our industry," Andreas … [Read more...]
MAD Symposium to set up gastronomic academy in Denmark
The Danish Government and MAD, the Symposium set up by chef René Redzepi have announced the setting up of a gastronomic academy in Denmark. The Prime Minister of Denmark, Lars Løkke Rasmussen, and the Danish Minister of Environment and Food, Jakob Ellemann-Jensen, have declared that they will support MAD (food in Danish) with a commitment of DKK 25.2 million (USD 3.8 million) over the next four years. Rene Redzepi said we want to make the academy a place to learn all the things we don't seem to learn when we are becoming cooks. Melina Shannon di Pietro who runs the MAD Symposium said the work begins now. "With this new funding we will begin planning and designing the Academy and its course of study. Later this year, we’ll be hosting two intensive pilot programs to begin shaping our curriculum with an eye on the future, when we will accept applicants for immersive courses focused on topics such as leadership and management, environmental sustainability, and how to run a … [Read more...]
What’s on the menu at the new LESS eatery in Bruges
LESS Eatery (Love, Eat, Share, Smile) by Hertog Jan*** is the new concept created by Gert de Mangeleer and Joachim Boudens in the centre of Bruges following the closure of their flagship 3 Michelin Star restaurant Hertog Jan at the end of last year. The new all-day eatery serves food from morning till late in the evening. A lot has been written about this new opening. Here we look at what's on the menu. The day starts with breakfast that is served between 8.30am to 11am. Sweet dishes includes homemade Danish pastry which Gert has been perfecting in recent months to granola and Greek yogurt. There also are savoury dishes like eggs benedicts or artisan baguettes with savoury or sweet toppings. When the breakfast service finishes, there is a transition to lunch which is served from 12 noon till 2.30pm. Bites and drinks are served in between breakfast and lunch and also in between the lunch and dinner service. Among the bites available one can choose a selection of … [Read more...]