The all male panel which came under heavy criticsm The world food bubble descended on Paris on Monday 16 September for the #50BestTalks and what a fiasco it turned out to be. The most common question in food circles over the past weeks was whether you would be in Paris for the event as if being there or not separated the wheat from the chaff. What was meant to be a celebration of Mauro Colagreco and his number 1 position in the list (he will enter the hall of fame and will no longer be eligible to compete for the number 1 position following the change in rules earlier this year) turned out to be an embarrassment for the organisers who were criticised for organising a panel discussion without a single woman in the panel. Conscious of the fact that next year's award will be held in Antwerp, Belgium and also the fact that the organisation has been often criticised for the very small number of French restaurants in the list, the World’s 50 Best might have decided to organise an … [Read more...]

Massimo Bottura, the last no 1 before the change in rules Roger Federer has won 20 grand slams, Rafael Nadal 18. On the other hand Stan Wawrinka and Andy Murray have only managed three each. But they've all been told to go into a hall of fame never to compete in a Grand Slam title again. Of course that’s not the case. Liverpool, the winners of the Champions League this year are also eliminated from next year's champions league and so are the likes of Barcelona, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and Juventus. Their only problem is they've won the cup before. It is also imaginary. But this is the conundrum that the World's 50 Best restaurants finds itself in. As from this evening, the winner of the World's 50 Best, a newcomer unless it is René Redzepi's Noma who is eligible because he opened noma 2.0 in a new location after having closed down in the first will no longer be eligible to compete in the following year. Instead they will enter a hall of fame or a 'best of the … [Read more...]

Photo courtesy of ifeelslovenia.com At the European Food Summit organised in Slovenia last week between Saturday 16 March and Tuesday 19 March, I used the country I know second best (after my home country Malta) to make the point that collaboration today is key. Why is Belgium not so well known as a gastronomic destination? Has it been a missed opportunity as interest in food peaks globally? Food can unite, it can also divide as very well able presented by colleague Georges Desrues. The following is my speech at the conference: Speech I would like to thank Ana and Andrea for inviting me to speak today. It is an honour and a pleasure to be here. I am not a Belgian, this is not about Belgian cuisine. I am not even a food writer if you go and look at my LinkedIn Profile.  So why am I here and how did a Maltese who left a tiny island in 2005 for professional reasons that have nothing to do with food  end up here. More importantly what observations can I make … [Read more...]

In May 2014, less than five years ago, I made a promise to myself. A number of attempts at starting to write after a long journalistic hiatus had dismally failed. That promise was to show up and to write and to keep at it even if the odds might be heavily stacked against me. With the incessant support of my wife Giulia, I am proud to have reached a first major milestone. What you are reading is the 1000th article on Food and Wine Gazette. This website took off in September 2014 after weeks of brainstorming with Giulia as to what the name of the website should be. When we decided on Food and Wine Gazette, we took the plunge without necessarily knowing what direction the website would take. All we knew was that this would be a way for me to express my creativity and feed my curiousity for stories, people, food and places.  With no stretch of imagination on that September did I imagine that I would get to where I am today. One article at a time, most of them written after the … [Read more...]

Gert de Mangeleer (left) and Joachim Boudens (right) Silence reigns in the kitchen that used to be so hectic in Zedelgem at Hertog Jan, the three Michelin star restaurant of Gert de Mangeleer and Joachim Boudens. The kitchen has been empty since the last service on 22 December. On Instagram stories, Gert is maybe feeling a bit nostalgic after the holidays. The kitchen is completely empty and on a photo of the empty kitchen he writes ‘It’s oh so quiet’. The next post however shows that the two are not resting on their laurels. The new Bistro L.E.S.S. will open in the centre of Bruges in the coming weeks and the works are going on at full steam. Just under a year ago, Gert and Joachim shocked their Belgian and international followers when they announced the decision to close their flagship restaurant in December last year. Many could not understand their decision and some still cannot understand why they walked away when they were at the top. Some still wonder what made them … [Read more...]

The judging panel This is not another list, Joe Warwick and Andrea Petrini repeat as often as is necessary to point out why the World Restaurant Awards is different to what is already out there. Does the world need another list is often the question they are asked time and time again. We have become accustomed to lists from this year’s top books to the essential places you need to visit before you die, to the World’s 50 Best Restaurants list, the La Liste, a data driven list, the Best Chef’s list, the Chef’s Choice for chef of the year and so much more. It is exhausting to keep track but unfortunately it is what generates clicks, interest and buzz in the age of social media. So what’s different and what’s new with the World Restaurant Awards and why have some of the world’s top names in the restaurant world from Massimo Bottura to Elena Arzak, from René Redzepi to Clare Smyth, from  David Chang to Ana Ros, from Dan Barber to Helene Darroze and from Yotam Ottolengi to Manu … [Read more...]