First came the parent-and-toddler dining club at Michelin-starred restaurants — and now, kids can ditch the adults for a children-only meal at restaurants like Per Se, Del Posto, and Blue Hill, part of Danish culinary star Claus Meyer's new New York project Kid's Table. At the event, children aged 7 to 14 eat a three-course meal for $30, sans parents. Meanwhile, each restaurant incorporates rhubarb, lamb, and turnip in the dinner and treats the tots and teens like regular diners. You can read the story about how Meyer, the co-founder of Noma, is trying to bring in a new generation of food-aware people. How food became pop culture: Mario Batali writes that pp until the late ’70s/early ’80s, nobody in America thought of dinner as much more than something they did before they went out to a game or the opera or the movies. Gastronomy was only important to, maybe, a small group of people, and even then, it was a frippery. No one cared about consuming the information as well as the … [Read more...]
Mindjî, European festival of gastronomy organised by Generation W postponed to next year
The recent terror attacks in Belgium and the current economic climate have led to the postponement of Wallonia's European festival of gastronomy. Mindjî, was scheduled to be held at the Citadel of Namur between 3 and 7 June 2016 has been postponed to next year, Generation W said in a statement. The festival, the first European festival of gastronomy was scheduled to be organised by Generation W, a collective of chefs from Wallonia (the W representing the French speaking part of Belgium - Wallonia). The event would have showcased the artisanal, gastronomic and creative abilities of Wallonia bringing together chefs and producers from the region together with Flemish and European chefs. The event had to feature not only participants from the world of gastronomy but also academia as well as economic actors from the Wallonian region. The organisers said that it in the current climate it was too risky to organise the festival. They examined all options and possibilities, … [Read more...]
Second Food on the Edge symposium to be held in Galway in October
Food on the Edge, Ireland's top food symposium created by JP McMahon (photo above) will return in October this year after the huge success of the inaugural event in 2015. A great lineup of speakers has already been announced for this year's edition. This includes Massimo Bottura, the Italian chef from Modena who will deliver a presentation on the future of food, Daniel Burns, of Luksus in New York City, Shaun Hill, who owns The Walnut Tree in Wales and Tim Hollingsworth who recently opened the three Michelin star restaurant Otium in Los Angeles. Atsuhi Tanaka, Christian Puglisi, Danielle Barry, Luciana Bianchi, Magnus Ek, Virgilio Martinez and Margarita Fores have already confirmed their participation among many others. Last year’s event held in Eyre Square in the heart of Galway city in October, saw 40 of the best international chefs attend The Food On The Edge symposium listened to intently by over 350 people on each day. Audience members included food enthusiasts, chefs, … [Read more...]
Bishop’s Gin: Blending tradition with modernity
Bishop's Gin is a new London Dry Gin that has just been launched on the Belgian market. Created by Thierry Ponet, founder of Ponet Spirits and Matthieu Chaumont of Brussels cocktail bar Hortense, it is a gin that is steeped in tradition while being innovative at the same time. The gin with its distinct label designed by Stranger and Stranger is already competing for the best packaging in the World's Packaging Design Society. This new gin is the result of a collaboration and a discussion between master cocktail maker Matthieu Chaumont who was on the watch for a versatile gin and Thierry Ponet who wanted to revive his family's anestral genever craftsmanship. Ponet lived in London for 15 years before moving back to Belgium around two years ago. "Thierry wanted to relaunch the distillation activity of his family but we reflected that it would be better to create a gin rather than genever. The name Bishop's Gin comes from the fact that when they were looking at Thierry's family … [Read more...]
Weekly roundup of great reads on food and wine #72
Restaurants are struggling to make ends meet and rising rents and changes in labour laws in various countries have made it even harder. David Chang has a great article on the subject. Called the earthquake that is about to hit restaurants he says razor-thin does not even begin to describe just how slender the margins are in the restaurant business, and that’s if you’re one of the fortunate few that don’t go under in the first year. Anthony Bourdain has 3 Best Tips For Eating Great When Traveling Abroad: If you like traveling and you're an even bigger fan of food, then you might also be a fan of Anthony Bourdain. The restaurant chef turned author has become a popular TV personality in recent years, first with his show No Reservations on the Discovery Channel and now with Parts Unknown on CNN. At 6 feet 4 inches tall, Bourdain has a large and respected presence in the worlds of food and travel. The 58-year-old is known for his honest, no bullshit approach to exploring and telling the … [Read more...]
Malta’s first craft brewery Lord Chambray starts to export its beer
Malta's first craft brewery Lord Chambray is starting to export a newly released beer, Special Bitter, to Germany and Italy. Special Bitter, is the fifth beer in Lord Chambray's range of beers. Samuele Imperio, managing director of Lord Chambray told Food and Wine Gazette during the first ever craft beer master class organised in Malta that a new beer, the Special Bitter which is a traditional English style bitter is now available in Germany and Italy. The beer, which was tasted in Malta for the first time last week, is characterised by an optimal balance between the scents of malts and mild notes of hops. The choice of hops have been rigorously sourced from the English countryside and give the beer its character while remaining faithful to the traditional style. This bitter ale has a medium body and a moderate carbonation that guarantees that the beer is easy to drink. Hops is added during maturation to increase the bitterness of the beer. The end result is a … [Read more...]
A contemporary take on Maltese cuisine at Michael’s in Valletta
Maltese chef Michael Cauchi needs no introduction in Malta. Famous for his former restaurant Il Re Del Pesce, today the chef works together with his son Daniel at Michael's in Valletta. When I was younger (and still living in Malta), the chef was a household name on this small Mediterranean island. He used to be on television showcasing his fish dishes, for which he was renowned even at a time when food was not as in vogue as it is today. Since that time, he has worked in various kitchens on the island but none more important than Aziamendi's 100 day pop-up restaurant two summers ago. Michael and his son Daniel were involved with Eneko Atxa and his team who set up the pop-up restaurant in a historic building in Valletta known as L’Hostel De Verdelin, after Fra Jean Jacques De Verdelin, a nephew of Grandmaster De Verdalle. On a recent visit to this restaurant, we really loved the freshness of the food, the clean flavours, the presentation and also the restaurant itself with … [Read more...]
Italian chef Massimo Bottura launches Food for Soul to open soup kitchens around the world
World renowned chef Massimo Bottura has launched the Food for Soul organisation which is aimed at fighting food waste through creative management of daily food waste. He announced this project during the MAD symposium, organised yesterday in Sydney. Through Food for Soul, he will be supporting the opening of soup kitchens based on the Refettorio Ambrosiano model and also empowering communities around the world. Bottura is a visionary chef, who has dedicated much of last year to a project to feed Milan's poor during Expo Milan. The Refettorio Ambrosiano was a soup kitchen that was built in an abandoned theatre which brought together over 60 international chefs to cook using food leftovers from the Expo. During the 6 months of Expo, 100 volunteers washed dishes, mopped the floors and served over 10,000 healthy meals cooked from 15 tons of salvaged food. Long after Expo has left the city, the Refettorio Ambrosiano continues to serve meals 5 days every week to the homeless people of … [Read more...]
Chocolate maker Benoît Nihant seeking to expand in Brussels and beyond
Benoît Nihant, the bean to bar Belgian chocolatier is looking to expand with the opening of more shops without losing the artisanal approach that makes his chocolates so special. Having successfully opened a shop in the Belgian capital city, Brussels, and exported his chocolates to Asia, Benoît wants to open additional shops in Brussels and does not exclude openings in Antwerp and Gent though his focus for the time being is Brussels. He told Food and Wine Gazette he was actively looking for places in the area of Uccle, Waterloo and Stockel to go closer to where his customers are. His current store in Brussels is in Ixelles but it took him a long time to find it. "We had been wanting to open a shop in Brussels for a long time but we could not find a suitable place. We did not want to be near the Grand Place because it is the place where only the tourists go, we did not want to go the Sablon because that is more of a showcase, the rent is very expensive and it is why there are … [Read more...]
Bruxelles Ma Belle
This is the article I would never have wanted to sit down and write. Since Tuesday, the day the Brussels attacks took place, I have had what you may call a writer’s block or rather this feeling that whatever I write on the subject of food and wine would be pointless. After all, food and wine is the subject of celebration, of enjoyment of life and of community. It’s not the first time I’ve experienced this feeling. Go back to November, the Paris attacks and the subsequent Brussels lockdown and I have this feeling of deja vu. On Tuesday evening, as I sit on the sofa after what may probably be described as the longest day of my life, I have no intention of writing. I am glued to the television, something I normally have no time for. But this time is different. My city, the city I have called home for nearly 11 years has been hit and wounded. I’m not in the mood to write about food and wine even though I have a number of articles that are waiting in the pipeline. I’ve had this … [Read more...]