The Belgian city of Bruges will host the 2019 congress of the Jeunes Restaurateurs Europe (JRE), the new president of the Belgian association Olivier Massart announced. This is the second time that the event is being organised in Belgium, the first congress was held in Brussels in 2005. Massart, the chef of O de Vie in Juprelle said the congress will focus on the theme the Gift of Good Food - never ending passion and is expected to attract over 300 chefs together with their partners from all over Europe. The association JRE groups chefs between the age of 23 and 49 and has around 30 members in Belgium. The new president said that he will be following in the footsteps of his predecessor Steven Dehaeze who carried out sterling work over the past years while introducing new activities and introducing new members to the association. “I would like to thank him for his work,” he said at a press conference organised at Le Coriandre, a Brussels restaurant that forms part of the … [Read more...]
Two of the World’s best female chefs to cook in Berlin for first NEU dinner series
The brand new NEU dinner series will kick off on Tuesday February 27 bringing Ana Roš, the World's Best Female chef 2017 and Roman star-chef Cristina Bowerman to the German capital to cook a unique and collaborative multi-course dinner alongside Sebastian Frank, Berliner Meisterkoch 2017 and best European chef of the year 2018 as well as young chef-prodigy Lukas Mraz who featured in GELINAZ! last year. 60 diners will experience the collaborative work of these four chefs at the dinner hosted at legendary Anomalie Art Club in the Berlin district of Prenzlauer Berg. The first edition hinges around the the culinary cornerstones of the Amber Road - a historical trade route that started at the Baltic Sea and extended throughout Western Europe, tying all the common areas of the participating chefs’ kitchens together. Wines for the evening will be provided by partner Viniculture. By uniting cultures that for many centuries have been natural, geographical collaborators … [Read more...]
Nine top chefs to cook at Sven Elverfeld’s Aqua in Wolfsburg
Nine chefs of three Michelin star restaurants will be cooking in separate events at the restaurant of Sven Elverfeld, Aqua in Wolfsburg, Germany. The German chef of the the three Michelin star restaurant announced the events to celebrate 10 years of 3 Michelin stars on his Instagram page. The chefs are Jan Hartwig of Restaurant Atelier in Germany, Niko Romito of Reale in Italy, Andreas Caminada of Schauenstein in Furstenau, Switzerland, Rasmus Kofoed of Geranium in Denmark, Jonnie Boer of De Librije in the Netherlands, Norbert Niederkofler of Restaurant St Hubertus in Italy, Gert De Mangeleer of Hertog Jan in Belgoium, Paolo Casagrande of Restaurant Lasarte in Barcelona and Corey Lee of Restaurant Benu in the United States. "Unfortunately, we tried to get women from three Michelin star restaurants but we did not manage," he said with Maria Canabal, of Parabere Forum saying that unfortunately there are too few women at the helm of 3 Michelin star restaurants. "I hope there will … [Read more...]
Michelin Guide accepts decision of Sébastien Bras to hand back stars
Sébastien Bras who runs the three Michelin star restaurant Le Suquet restaurant in Laguiole, France has announced that the Michelin Guide has accepted his request to remove the restaurant from its 2018 selection for France. "I would like to thank them for accepting my decision," the French chef wrote on his Facebook page. "I will now open a new chapter in my professional life without the Michelin stars but with the same passion for cooking. We will continue, together with our team, to ensure that our customers experience the magic of the Aubrac in our restaurant with the same quest for excellence. We are actively preparing for the annual reopening of the restaurant on 5 April with a lot of entusiasm and we are also working on a number of different projects," he said. Sebastien Bras's Le Suquet restaurant in southern France held Michelin's three-star rating for 18 years. In September last year, he announced that he wanted to give away the three stars because he did not want … [Read more...]
The Jane Table by Nick Bril officially launched
Nick Bril, the chef and co-owner of The Jane, one of the world's most stunning restaurants last week launched The Jane Table, a private dining room in his office at PAKT, just metres away from the former military chapel where The Jane is based in Antwerp. "When I saw PAKT, memories immediately went back to a schnapps producer I visited in Copenhagen. The company was located in an industrial building on the 4th floor. I loved the place immediately and I got the same feeling when I saw this site which is industrial, rough and unique in the city. The management team of The Jane and he had their offices in the cellars of the restaurant and they immediately decided to rent the office space because this was an ideal place to be away from the busy service and the crowds of The Jane. The Jane Table is a collaboration between The Jane, bulthaup ligna recta Antwerpen and Electrolux. The idea is to organise small and private dinners in an industrial building on the PAKT site, situated … [Read more...]
Gregorio Rotolo: The radical cheese maker of Scanno, Abruzzo
Niko Romito, the chef of three Michelin star restaurant Reale in Castel di Sangro is driving us to the heart of the national park of Abruzzo to a formidable shepherd and cheese maker Gregorio Rotolo. It is a cold brisk morning in December just before Christmas when we stop to allow a pack of at least 50 deer to cross the road a few kilometres away from the idyllic mountain top village of Scanno. On the outskirts of this village, 5 kilometres away is the agritourism of Gregorio Rotolo, a cheese maker that is often considered a legend in this region. Gregorio makes cheese which he sells to the whole of Italy and outside but also serves visitors to the region traditional food and of course his products. He has been making unique award winning cheeses apart from other products such as sheep prosciutto since he was 12 years old. His grandfather was a shepherd. He is passionate about his terroir, his animals and his cheeses. “I am radical. I add nothing to the milk. Some defects can … [Read more...]
Sergio Herman to open Frites Atelier Amsterdam in Brussels and Gent
After the successful opening of Frites Atelier Amsterdam in Antwerp, Sergio Herman has announced that new shops will be opened in the Belgian capital city Brussels and in Gent. The dates and location of the successful chain of french fries has not yet been announced. Launched in 2016 in the Netherlands, Frites Atelier Amsterdam has shops in the Hague, Utrecht, Arnhem and Antwerp. A shop in Amsterdam is also set to open shortly. There seems to be no stopping Sergio Herman. After deciding to stop cooking full time at the end of 2013 when he closed his three Michelin star restaurant Oud Sluis in the Netherlands he has successfully launched new projects like The Jane, further developed Pure C, created Frites Atelier and opened Air Republic in Cadzand. Sergio Herman is also considering opening Frites Atelier Amsterdam at Brussels Airport and Amsterdam airport. While the French fries that are served at Frites Atelier Amsterdam may not be the same that the Belgians are used to … [Read more...]
Q&A with Bart de Pooter: I have a collection of thousands of food photos
Bart de Pooter has no problem with clients taking photos in restaurants. He says he has got a collection of thousands of photos of food he has eaten in restaurants. Bart is in many ways a pioneer. He was the first Belgian chef to put his name to two Michelin starred restaurants in the country, he was one of the first chefs to venture to Asia when it was still not on the radar screen of world gastronomy like it is today. This is the second part of our interview in Q&A format. Who are the chefs that have inspired you most? Pierre Gagnaire, Albert Adria and his brother Ferran were all important. What is your best ever meal? That is a very difficult question because I don't have one. For me it is all about the experience. Sometimes, a dining experience can be so overwhelming that I will not go a second time because I fear that I will lose that experience. But I still remember my first experience in a three Michelin star restaurant at Alain Ducasse in Paris … [Read more...]
Niko Romito and his deceptively simple cuisine at Reale
Niko Romito never thought of becoming a chef. He had never even cooked before opening his restaurant and did not even know how to cook an egg. He cooked for the first time at Reale in Rivisondoli, Abruzzo, a village of less than 450 inhabitants. His father had opened it as a pastry shop in 1970 converting it into a restaurant 30 years later as the original Reale. He was neither passionate about cooking nor food and did not even come from a family of restauranteurs because the restaurant had only been open for 2 years. But as fate had it, while he was completing a degree in Economics and Commerce his father fell ill. He still needed to take 5 exams to complete the degree but when his father passed away he and his sister Cristiana took over the operation of the restaurant. The idea was to keep the operation going until they find a buyer. But they fell in love with the restaurant trade and the rest is history. Cristiana took over the front of house, something she still does … [Read more...]
Showcase of Belgium’s heritage, traditions and roots at first Bon Bon Origins dinner
Thursday 19 January, Restaurant Bon Bon, Brussels: A few days after the shock announcement that Hertog Jan, one of two 3 Michelin star restaurants in Belgium would close at the end of this year, chef Gert de Mangeleer was cooking his first ever collaboration dinner in Belgium as guest of Brussels chef Christophe Hardiquest. This was the first Bon Bon Origins Dinner, a series of dinners created by Hardiquest, chef of two Michelin star restaurant Bon Bon who has been going back to the origins researching stories and recipes that are part of Brussels and Belgian heritage. One such story from the previous century has made it to the first Bon Bon Origins dinner. Up to the 1950s, in the streets of Brussels, there used to be a man called the 'marchand de coco' who would walk with 40 kilogrammes on his back and serve a drink called the Kalichezap, a mix of lemon, almonds and liquorice among others. Today, chef Christophe Hardiquest has turned this drink into a dessert that is served in … [Read more...]