For many days, there has been no respite to the rain in Northern Europe and the rainy weather was threatening to cause havoc with the Summer Fest, the festival to launch summer organised by Inspired Events and Syrco Bakker (chef of Pure C). The dark clouds and rain of the previous days made way for the sun and the event was organised on a glorious spring day which created the perfect setting for a celebration to welcome summer around dance, art, music, food and drink. A very good crowd turned up for the second edition of the Summerfest organised by Syrco Bakker, chef of Michelin star Pure C. Among the guests at the Summer Fest were Sergio Herman (The Jane and Pure C), Gert de Mangeleer from Hertog Jan, Andreas Caminada from Schauenstein and Sven Elverfeld from Aqua. Belgian butcher Hendrik Dierendonck was also present showcasing his renowned butchery and cookery skills as he showcased his dry-aged beef. The event had started the day earlier with a lunch at Pure C which … [Read more...]
Weekly roundup of great reads on food and wine #79
Peek Inside Bordeaux’s New Cité Du Vin, The Disneyland For Wine Lovers: Earlier this week, the French city of Bordeaux solidified its reputation as the Mecca of the wine world, with the opening of its long-awaited, 10-story, $9 million monument to viticulture, La Cité du Vin, or City of Wine. How to Rank the Restaurant Rankings: In a crowded field, choosing a best-of list on which to base your reservation can be a maddening exercise. Here’s a handy breakdown of the restaurant rankings currently carrying weight. Festa a Vico: Three days of food immersion in the bays of Naples: Vico Equense, a small town in the greater bay of the Naples metropolitan area, beautifully located on a tuff cliff, from 29th till 31st of May transformed itself into a big restaurant with hundreds of chefs cooking on the streets and thousands of food lovers enjoying their creations. This will happen in the occasion of the twelfth edition of Festa a Vico. What is Festa a Vico? The whole … [Read more...]
Matthieu Chaumont (Hortense): The man who introduced a cocktail culture in Brussels
The cocktail bar scene in Brussels was pretty non-existant before Matthieu Chaumont, the owner and cocktail master of Hortense opened his bar in Place Sablon in 2012. Although the cocktail bar scene in Belgium is pretty vibrant particularly in the Flemish cities of Antwerp and Gent, Brussels did not have a proper cocktail bar like the one created by Matthieu four years ago. He attributes this to the fact that there was no cocktail culture in Brussels despite the presence of a large expat community for a very long time. "For example, I don't remember my parents ever drinking a cocktail. When they would go out, they have a tendency to order a glass of wine or beer but I have never seen them drinking a cocktail," he tells me. Matthieu has over the past four years worked to change this trend and he seems to be managing thanks to a receptive audience which is now becoming more and more interested in exploring new things. "In our first year, our crowd was mainly composed of expats but … [Read more...]
Unique 16 hands dinner at the Ferme d’Achêne in the Namur province
A unique 16 hands dinner is being organised by Roland Swinnen in the Province of Namur on 18 and 19 June. Eight chefs will be cooking together in what is a first for the Namur region. Called Enjoy the Pleasure, the event is an opportunity to taste dishes of eight chefs in a seven course meal. The chefs taking part in this event are Gregorio Clavello (Au Gré des Saisons, Achet), Ludovic Vanackere (L'Atelier de Bossimé, Loyers), Régis Alexandre (Le Comptoir du Goût, Ciney), Olivier Brucknet (L'Olivier 4, Dave), Simon Denis (Le Comptoir de l'Eau Vive, Erpent), Grégory Gillain (L'Agathopède, Namur) and Frédéric Rolland (Rolland-Warnon, Hamois). There is one thing that these chefs have in common. For them, gastronomy is pleasure. They love to surprise their guests with new creations but also to return back to the basics and focus on simplicity. Their mantra is to cook with integrity and to use good quality produce. This event takes place at the Ferme d'Achêne, a farm built in 1641 … [Read more...]
San Degeimbre creates menu for new temporary rooftop restaurant in Brussels
After the successful opening of San Degeimbre's restaurant San in Rue de Flandres in central Brussels, the two starred Michelin chef of L'Air du Temps has created a menu for Orangery, a new rooftop restaurant that opened on 1 June and which will remain open until 30 September. In the heart of Brussels, the new restaurant can be found at the top floor of Parking 58 at 1 Rue de l’Evêque. The location has been known among Brussels insiders as the car park from which you can get a stunning view of Brussels from its top floors. The menu, created by Degeimbre, will change every 15 days. The owners of the parking have created this temporary restaurant with a breathtaking view. The restaurant is open for lunch from Monday to Friday. A temporary bar, Skybar 58 will be open on the weekends. The rooftop also houses a stunning garden from which to savour either the four-course lunch menu, the cocktails served in the evening at the bar, or to soak in the 360 views of Brussels. … [Read more...]
Grant Achatz: ‘Alinea – it is a bit of a mind game’ – Chef’s table review
When Grant Achatz came up with the name Alinea, it was because he liked the definition - the beginning of a new train of thought. And that is exactly what he has done a few weeks ago when Alinea 2.0 reopened after months of refurbishment. He was asked why he was ripping apart a restaurant that worked so well. "Why fix something that is not broken? But Alinea is the beginning of a new train of thought. We have to just create a clean slate. Can we eliminate what we have been doing over the past 10 years and start afresh," he says. That is exactly what they are doing. Netflix second season of Chef's Table starts with Grant Achatz. The American chef is known to be one of the most inventive chefs in the business today and one of the many chefs who got 'inspired' by Ferran Adria of el Bulli. Alinea, the restaurant in Chicago does not need any introduction. It has three Michelin stars and has been a permanent fixture in the top places of the 50 World's Best Restaurant lists. The … [Read more...]
Weekly roundup of great reads on food and wine #78
The Eater guide to the whole entire world: Tapas at the bar in Barcelona, perfect roast goose in Hong Kong, dinner in a vineyard outside Melbourne, and brunch on a terrace in São Paulo — when we travel now, we travel to eat. But global restaurant-hopping goes beyond that perfect iconic essential dish: Restaurants and bars are an opportunity to slip into daily life and experience a city's unique rhythm. We tapped dozens of local experts to open the doors to the best, the coolest, the weirdest, the most inspiring culinary experiences a traveler can have — in short, these maps are exactly what we want to have at our fingertips when we step off a plane. Don’t see your next destination on this list? Sit tight. We’ll be adding many, many more. Cheesed-off Italy wants pay-out over US soap opera gag: Producers of Italian hard cheese Grana Padano have told those behind the long-running US soap-opera, The Bold and the Beautiful, to pay damages after their product was the butt of a cheesy … [Read more...]
Christian Puglisi announces the start of a next chapter for himself and Relæ
Chef Christian F. Puglisi has announced the start of a new chapter for his restaurant and himself. Chef of world famous Danish restaurant Relæ which he opened in 2010 on a rough, run down stretch of one of Copenhagen's most crime-ridden streets, the restaurant has been serving impeccable, intelligent, sustainable and plate-centric food of the highest quality in a setting that was devoid of pretention and frills of conventional high-end restaurant dining. Today, the chef has announced that he is leaving the kitchen in the hands of his creative sparring partner Jon Tam. Instead, Puglisi will be focusing on the "Farm of Ideas" an experimental organic farm that will supply all his restaurants with the produce and freshest ideas. Writing on his Tumblr page, Puglisi said now was the time for change. "I have loved being able to work creatively. It has been my privilige to create myself a space where I could establish what I feel is my own cuisine, Relæ’s cuisine. Cooking vegetables … [Read more...]
Manresa’s David Kinch is first guest chef for Mirazur’s 10 year anniversary celebration
David Kinch, chef and owner of the three-Michelin star Manresa restaurant in Northern California, is the inaugural guest chef at chef Mauro Colagreco’s 10th anniversary celebration of Mirazur restaurant on Friday May 27. He will be the first of a list of ten illustrious chefs to cook at the restaurant throughout the year. Kinch brings the famed contemporary California cuisine of Manresa to Mirazur for one evening. Longtime friends and colleagues, Kinch and Colagreco have collaborated several times in the past at Manresa and Mirazur. “I could not be more excited to celebrate this milestone with him,” says Kinch. “It is rare for us to bring the restaurant on the road and we are looking forward to taking over the kitchen at Mirazur and creating the Manresa experience for the restaurant and its guests.” Kinch has forged a distinctive culinary path putting him at the forefront of new contemporary California cuisine. His philosophy is fostered by the terroir, or “sense of place” of … [Read more...]
WY welcomes Isabelle Arpin as new chef at the Mercedes House in Brussels
Isabelle Arpin, the Michelin star chef of restaurant Alexandre in Brussels (which also received 16 of 20 from Gault&Millau) will be taking over the kitchen of WY (Welcome You) at the Mercedes House in the Sablon area of Brussels. The French chef, who succeeded Alexandre Dionisio at Alexandre when he moved to La Villa in the Sky has already started work on the menu of the restaurant but will formally take over in around 2 weeks, Gault&Millau announced today. The news that the chef was leaving Alexandre has been going around Brussels circles and now has been confirmed. Before Alexandre, Isabelle, worked at Auteuil in Ostende. She studied finance before deciding by chance that she would take cooking as her career. WY which is known as the Mercedes-Benz and Smart showroom of central Brussels was the first ever car showroom in the world to earn a Michelin star under Bart De Pooter. … [Read more...]