When I was young the way to eat sea urchins (rizzi in Maltese or ricci in Italian) was to break them open at the beach, rinse them with sea water and then scoop out the custard-like orange gland and enjoy the sweet and briny flavour either on fresh bread or else just scooping them out with a spoon and eating them. They used to be abundant and we would have them for lunch. They were served soon after they were picked and needless to say, freshness here is of the essence. In recent years, spaghetti ai ricci has become ubiquitous in Maltese restaurants. At first you could find it only in fish restaurants but it has now become considerably more common. Every chef has his own version though in my view, the simplest method is the best. For a recipe you can take a look here. While this is a dish that I continue to crave everytime I am in the Mediterranean and in particular my home country, Malta, I still think that the freshness of the sea urchin is somehow ruined by the hot pasta … [Read more...]
Dierendonck, one of Belgium’s best butchers to open in Brussels
Hendrik Dierendonck, one of the most well known butchers in Belgium with shops and a restaurant in the Belgian coast has announced this morning on his Facebook page that he will be opening an Atelier in Brussels. He wrote it is the start of a new adventure, a dream come true. "The artisanal approach, terroir and passion are the focal points of our butcher shops and these are the values that I have picked up from my father Raymond Dierendonck," Hendrik said. The new atelier in Brussels will follow on this approach and will be open in autumn. It will replace the Jack O'Shea shop close to Place St Catherine that closed abruptly in the past weeks. He thanked his entire team because he said he would not be able to do this without their support. Just before summer this year, Hendrik Dierendonck was in Brussels collaborating on a number of one off pop-up events. Dierendonck raises the Belgian Red breed in their own farm. This is an extremely rare breed of cattle and a … [Read more...]
Big blow to Brussels culinary scene as Jack O’Shea butcher shops and restaurant close indefinitely amid bankruptcy speculation
Jack O'Shea one of Belgium's best butchers that used to sell meat to some of the best restaurants in Brussels and beyond has closed its doors indefinitely. According to Belgian newspaper La Derniere Heure, the three butcher shops in Brussels and the Chop House restaurant closed indefinitely this week. They said that the chain faces significant financial problems and a bankruptcy could be on the horizon for the company. Jack O'Shea made a name for himself when he opened his first shop in the European district of Schuman in Brussels in 1998. A long-time proponent of nose to tail cooking he opened the Chophouse restaurant restaurant last year was part of a strategy to eliminate waste. A 10th generation Irish butcher, O'Shea expanded his business in recent years opening a butcher shop in central Brussels together with the Chop House restaurant and also opened a butcher's shop instead of Slabbinck, a famous poultry butcher who had died tragically in a traffic accident in … [Read more...]
Weekly roundup of great reads on food and wine #86
How to rain proof your barbecue: Planning a barbecue but worried about the weather? Don’t be put off: follow these tips for great grilling come rain or shine. Plus: recipes you can cook in the oven or over coals. Picking up the baton as the world’s best chef: There’s a persistent clicking sound inside the kitchen of the Hôtel de Ville. It takes a while to locate it and then, I realise… it’s coming from the chef, Franck Giovannini. The at-times frantic clicking on and off of a pen is the only sign of the adrenaline below the surface in this boyish-looking 42-year-old. He’s leading a lunch service at the restaurant in the Lausanne suburbs, which is adorned with three Michelin stars and 19 Gault&Millau points. Last year it was also named best in the world in a new French ranking. But what must it be like to take on the mantle as the world’s top chef at a restaurant where the previous two star cooks died prematurely? Five Star mayor of Turin to create Italy’s first ‘vegetarian … [Read more...]
Lineup for this year’s Chef Sache taking place on 25 and 26 September announced
The 8th edition of Chef Sache, the avantgarde Cologne culinary festival will take place on Sunday 25 and Monday 26 September in Cologne with a very interesting line-up of world class chefs. This year's theme is winds of change and features some of the world's top chefs who will showcase their ideas. Among the chefs that have been announced for this year's edition of Chef Sache are Albert Adria of the Adria empire which includes Tickets, Pakta, Bodega, Hoja Santa, Niño Viejo and Enigma in Barcelona Spain, Jonnie Boer (De Librije) and Poul Andrias Ziska from Koks in the Faroes Islands which has been considered as the best Nordic Restaurant. On Monday, chefs on stage will include Andre Chiang from Restaurant Andre in Singapore, Andreas Döllerer from Restaurant Döllerer in Golling, Austria, Alexandre Gauthier from La Grenouillère, Jordi Roca, the pastry chef and one of the three brothers who create magic at El Celler de Can Roca and Joachim Wissler of Restaurant Vendôme in … [Read more...]
Air Republic, Sergio Herman’s new project in Cadzand taking shape
Sergio Herman has used his Instagram feed to name his latest project Air Republic. The restaurant, that was announced in December 2015 is set to open in autumn of this year. Writing on his Instagram feed with a photo of him looking at the new restaurant that has been purposely built he said "Air republic in 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 who 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 The Jane in Antwerp and Pure C in Cadzand, Sergio Herman is opening a new harbour restaurant, pavillion and takeaway in Cadzand. The restaurant is set to open in a few weeks time. The seaside resort in the Netherlands has been made popular by his restaurant Pure C. It will now welcome the new harbour restaurant, … [Read more...]
Weekly roundup of great reads on food and wine #85
The importance of distraction by Andoni Luis Adoriz: I’ve always been easily distracted. When something doesn’t motivate me, or bores me, I drift away; my mind escapes and ends up somewhere else. At school, I was one of those students who barely passed. I did poorly even in subjects that are impossible to fail, such as gymnastics, and in religion, which even atheists manage to effectively negotiate. My mother thought that I was a kid without a passion. She perceived that I might be doomed to failure and felt the obligation to do something so that I would not die of hunger. And what better place to eat every day than a kitchen? That’s how I ended up in this profession, triggering an internal struggle within myself, between my desire to please my parents and my eagerness to find my place in the world. The secret code of unleashing the world's most amazing flavours by David Chang: My first restaurant, Momofuku Noodle Bar, had an open kitchen. This wasn’t by choice—I didn’t have enough … [Read more...]
Gaggan Anand: The chef who reinvented Indian food and who thinks India is ready to conquer the world – Chef’s Table Review
Gaggan Anand is the man who has revolutionised Indian cuisine. With his progressive take, he has brought Indian food to the limelight, breaking perceptions and searching deep to reinterpret Indian cuisine by looking for its traditions. The Indian chef, who has set his base in Bangkok, Thailand has made a name for himself with his restaurant Gaggan, voted the best Asian restaurant in the World in 2015 and 2016 and 23rd in this year's World's 50 Best Restaurants list. He was on the brink of disaster at least two times in his career, first when he nearly lost everything when his partner in business ran away and then when riots broke out in Bangkok, just as he was about to open Gaggan. His story is an inspiring one for those who are looking for the secret to success. Gaggan has not only followed his passion but he has done so amid hard work, sacrifices including not being able to go to his brother's funeral and also a persistent goal to be the best Indian chef. This episode in … [Read more...]
‘I’ve spent a lot of time travelling to find what I wanted to do after Noma’ – Yannick Van Aeken (Humphrey)
When a young Belgian chef decided to open Humphrey in Brussels earlier this year, it immediately attracted the interests of those in the know. Young Belgian chef Yannick Van Aeken had been known in food circles particularly since he was sous-chef at Rene Redzepi's Noma for many years. He has also worked at Victor Arguinzoniz's Asador Extebarri, another restaurant that is considered to be among the best in the world and whose chef is clearly one of the top barbecue masters. So the expectations have been high not less because when we interviewed Kobe Desramaults earlier this year he named Van Aeken as one of two Belgian chefs to watch. With that pedigree, it is obvious that there is a lot of attention as to what Yannick is doing at Humphrey. But the young Belgian chef does not let this go to his head. He's opened the restaurant at a rather difficult time for Brussels just before the March terrorist attacks. "It is going well since we opened. Since the Brussels attacks, it has … [Read more...]
Weekly roundup of great reads on food and wine #84
Charcoal grilling tastes better than gas. It's just science: The statistics I just made up don’t lie: More people will die this summer from fighting each other over gas grilling versus charcoal grilling than all other causes combined. Americans, you see, have themselves some assertive opinions about their grilling. How did Denmark become a leader in the food waste revolution: A six-year-old sniffs asparagus suspiciously as his father grapples with a grapefruit and several women admire a selection of cabbages, in search of a bargain. “Everyone pays 20 kroner (about £2) for a reusable bag to fill with whatever they like,” says Bettina Bach, 31, of Bo Welfare, a social housing project in the Danish city of Horsens that runs the food waste pop-up shop. Wylie Dufresne: Wisdom of a New York Chef: Last year I seemed to bump into Wylie Dufresne (one of my favorite people) all over the place in Chicago, New York, and Los Angeles, far from his NYC base. I ran into him again in Mexico City … [Read more...]