Parabere Forum, the non profit organisation that aims to raise awareness about women in the food and wine business has launched a crowdfunding campaign to raise 5,000 euros. After the success of the first two events that took place in Bilbao and Bari, Parabere will organise the third Forum in Barcelona in March 2017. Maria Canabal, president of Parabere Forum, a non-profit-organisation, will use the money to fund the publicity campaign for the third campaign. "In the first two editions which took place in Spain and in Italy we communicated through the forum with some of the world's best chefs. Today, the forum needs to widen its audience and communicate not only with female chefs but with all stakeholders within the food and wine industry globally," says Maria in the crowd-funding page. "For this reason, I need to communicate extensively on social media. This will help to make female chefs, farmers and entrepreneurs known." Parabere Forum needs to employ a webmaster from … [Read more...]
Weekly roundup of great reads on food and wine #99
Is Sugar Killing Us? At the risk of being a Grinch, the Christmas season is a pretty good time to consider the possibility that sugar is killing us. It is yet another holiday in which sweets play a primary role, with candy canes dangling on trees, cookies or Coca-Cola set aside for Santa and visions of sugar plums (which are not fruit but hard candies) dancing in children’s heads. AA Gill's last article: “More life with your kids, more life with your friends, more life spent on earth — but only if you pay”: AA Gill used to think that being an NHS patient was like travelling second class on a train, grittier than first class, but in the end everyone ended up at the same destination. But in his farewell piece he tells of his discovery of a drug not available on the NHS. The best thing I ate in 2016: If I tell you that the best thing I ate this year was in January, please don’t think that the rest of my eating year has been a disappointment: know that I would never allow that to … [Read more...]
12 year old chapter for In De Wulf comes to an end with last dinner
A 12-year-old chapter has come to an end for the talented and creative Belgian chef who rose to fame over the past years for a unique style of cooking that is pure, natural and has no classic dishes or traditional sauces. On Sunday 11 December, at In De Wulf in Dranouter, Kobe Desramaults and his team served their last dinner. Considered to be one of the most internationally recognised Belgian chefs, he managed to create one of the top destinations for foodies in the world in Dranouter, in the middle of no where on the Belgian border with France. (His restaurant was number 1 in the Top 100 European list of Opinionated about Dining in 2014 and 4th in 2015). He was also listed for some time in the World’s 50 Best Restaurants List. Sergio Herman, Kobe's mentor was present yesterday and posted on his Instagram feed: 'The last one. I know how it feels." Kobe told Food and Wine Gazette earlier this year that his only experience in a top level kitchen had been at Sergio Herman's former … [Read more...]
Childhood memories (2): The crunchy part of the lasagne
Lasagne used to be my favourite dish when I was young. Whenever my mother used to ask what I wanted for a special treat, birthday for example, my response always used to be the same. Mostly it was reserved for weekends, for celebratory occasions like Christmas or Easter or a birthday here and there. When it was served on midweek, it used to somehow lose its allure and I could never understand why. Today, I love to cook lasagne and there are many reasons for this. First it is the ultimate comfort food, it is therapeutic to make a ragu and wait for hours, process after process to get it right and extract the most possible flavour from the meat. Second, the children love it and there is always leftovers which works particularly well for a midweek treat. But why was lasagne less attractive when it was prepared during the week? Was it just memory playing tricks or was there really something to it? I couldn't pin it down to anything until I read Massimo Bottura's reasoning behind … [Read more...]
Sergio Herman’s AIRrepublic to open in spring 2017
AIRrepublic, the restaurant and terrace café created by Sergio Herman in Cadzand, Zeeland Netherlands will open in Spring 2017. The restaurant announced on its Facebook page that it was recruiting staff for the opening of the much awaited project in Cadzand. Earlier this year, Herman said "Air Republic is coming between Belgium and Holland. You feel it...the air and the vibe is always different! Every single day." Herman is one of the most talented chefs in the world. He decided to stop cooking full time in 2013. He has, however, not rested on his laurels created the successful The Jane with Nick Bril in Antwerp and Pure C in Cadzand with Syrco Bakker. After the success of his two restaurants, he set sights on opening this new harbour restaurant, pavillion and takeaway in the beach town on the North Sea. The seaside resort in the Netherlands was partially made popular by his restaurant Pure C. Sergio Herman is the former 3 Michelin star chef of Oud Sluis. He decided … [Read more...]
Notos celebrates 20 years of Greek cuisine in Brussels
Notos is this year celebrating 20 years of Greek cuisine in Brussels. To celebrate the occasion, a Greek traditional dish that was never served in the restaurant before, the Moussaka, was served over two weekends aimed at celebrating the 20th anniversary. Following the resounding success of the dish among clients and guests (including us), chef Constantin Erinkoglou has decided to start serving this iconic Greek dish on order both in the restaurant or to take home. The moussaka is an ancient dish that originates from the ancient Ottoman empire. Made with aubergine and lamb mince, it is one of the most traditional Greek dishes you can find. Its recipe varies depending on the family that makes it. Known for his modern and personal take on Greek cuisine, Constantin has decided to offer this traditional dish for tables of eight people or more both for lunch and dinner. The price for the take away mousakka is 16 euros per person and 21 euros in the restaurant. When he opened in … [Read more...]
Weekly roundup of great reads on food and wine #98
Osteria Francescana: does the world’s best restaurant live up to the hype? The entrance is a glass door in a pink wall on a cobbled street. A brass plate with the outline of a chicken is pinned to the wall; for some reason, I like this chicken. It comforts me, for chickens are normal. This is Osteria Francescana, which this year was named number one in the World’s 50 Best Restaurants awards. In 2015, it was second; it has been in the top five since 2011. It won its third Michelin star in 2012. It is also, according to Michelin, the best restaurant in Europe. Osteria Francescana is owned and run by a native of Modena, Massimo Bottura, and this is where he placed his restaurant. New rules for businesses who want to call their food 'artisan' or 'natural': THE FOOD SAFETY Authority of Ireland (FSAI) and the Advertising Standards Authority for Ireland (ASAI) have introduced new guidelines about food labelling. The rules were devised after consultation with the food industry and are aimed … [Read more...]
Dierendonck opens online store for Christmas, Brussels butcher shop to open in January
Hendrik Dierendonck, one of the most famous butchers in Belgium is opening a pop-up online store for the Christmas festivities to reach out to his growing fan base which for the time being has had to take the trip to the West Coast of Belgium to buy his renowned meat. Dierendonck, who is set to open a shop in the Belgian capital city, Brussels, has seen the opening of the shop delayed so he has decided to set up the pop-up webshop instead. Dierendonck told Food and Wine Gazette that they will be opening the webshop for the holidays "to offer a very select and pure variety of products which I will select. I also want to explore the potential of this market. We want to get in touch with people who cannot make the trip to the West Coast of Belgium. We have been receiving a lot of questions from people who do not live nearly as to whether they deliver their meet." The Belgian butcher said that since he was getting the feeling that their would be a delay with the construction of his … [Read more...]
Alain Passard is Chef’s choice for the list of top 100 chefs 2017
French chef Alain Passard was voted as the chef of the year by his peers in a list of 100 top chefs published by the magazine Le Chef. The list, in its third edition, was compiled taking into account the opinion of 534 chefs that have 2 or 3 stars around the world who had to answer the following question. "Who are the five international chefs that represent the values of the profession, have a unique cuisine and is worth visiting?" The first choices the previous year were Pierre Gagnaire and Michel Bras. This year, its the chef of L'Arpege, Alain Passard who is top of the list. There are only two women in the list, Anne Sofie Pic and Nadia Santini. Among the main chefs missing from last year's list are Joel Robuchon, Heston Blumenthal, Davide Scabin and Elena and Juan Mari Arzak, Guy Savoy and Corey Lee. The full list is the following: Alain Passard, L'Arpege, France Martin Berasategui, Rest. Martin Berasategui, Spain Pierre Gagnaire, Pierre Gagnaire, France … [Read more...]
The questions Michelin refuses to answer
Michelin is at the centre of criticism for its decisions relating to the publication of the Michelin guide in Belgium and Luxembourg. But, given the opportunity to set the record straight, it has refused to answer questions put by Food and Wine Gazette. Questions addressed to the company that publishes the Michelin Guide were left unanswered with Samuelle Dorol, the PR manager responsible for the Michelin Guides worldwide saying "Thank you for giving us the opportunity to react to your article but I have to decline. You are free to express your opinion regarding the selection which is something we fully respect." The questions sent to Michelin were not aimed at contesting the selections but rather at setting the record straight and giving the opportunity to Michelin, to give its side of the story and explain its policies on transparency, restaurant visits, how many inspectors it has, and whether it is true that some cities and countries pay for a guide to be published among … [Read more...]