NEW YORK: Daniel Humm, chef of Eleven Madison Park in New York has reopened his three Michelin star restaurant kitchen and turned it into a commissary kitchen with the goal of producing thousands of meals each day for those who are working on the front lines and those who have been deeply effected by the current crisis. After closing the restaurant and creating an auction in aid of his staff, the award winning chef said he had been struggling with what do since since they closed the doors to their restaurants. “All our worlds have been turned upside down. We need to stay safe, we need to protect each other and the vulnerable.” “But I need to help New York City, it’s given so much to me, even if I can help just a little bit,” he said. To date, New York has been the hardest hit in the United States. “With our friends at Rethink Food NYC who have partnered with American Express we found the answer. We are blessed to have a beautiful and spacious restaurant and kitchen, we have … [Read more...]

MILAN: Milano Wine Week has launched a campaign in aid of two hospitals in Bergamo, the epicentre of the COVID-19 crisis in Italy. The Milano Wine Week is calling on the Italian and international wine world to support Policlinico San Pietro in Ponte San Pietro and Policlinico San Marco in Zingonia. The third edition of the largest wine event in Milan will take place from October 3 to October 11. The president of the event Federico Gordini said that while their aim is to rehabilitate the image of Italian wine in the medium and long term we can only be focused on the present. "This is why we have chosen to support two hospitals in the province of Bergamo, the epicenter of the emergency. All funds will be donated for the purchase of materials and equipment for the improvement of the intensive and sub-intensive care unit, disposable and sterile respiratory helmets and gowns for healthcare personnel. Donations are open can can be made through the Gofundme platform at the … [Read more...]

BANGKOK: Bangkok Top Table's Young Chef of the Year Deepanker “DK” Khosla of urban farm-to-table Haoma Bangkok has launched a fundraising campaign to feed the jobless and hungry. With Thailand’s tourism sector contributing 30% of total GDP, the hospitality industry is one of the country’s largest employers. Amid the coronavirus pandemic, up to 5 million hospitality workers are facing unemployment—and need help urgently. Chef DK and the Haoma team have launched a fundraiser that will go towards cooking and providing thousands of cooks and their families with a hot meals. The donation page for Chef DK’s #NoOneHungry campaign is located at https://gogetfunding.com/noonehungry-haoma-bangkok/.  “The mission of the campaign is to help those in need and those who do not have the means to survive. We want to give them a meal full of nutrition, and in return, we get a smile! Deepanker said he was inspired by an ancient Indian saying, “Ki ghar ka … [Read more...]

CHARLEROI: With not much to do after a government decree to close restaurants, a group of chefs from around Charleroi started Chefs Carolos Solidaires, a non-profit organisation, aimed at delivering food to staff working incessantly in hospitals. On the first day, the founder of the organisation, Constantino Longo, together with a group of chefs prepared some soup that was delivered for lunch in one of the hospitals in the Belgian city. But they were not aware that the response to this initiative would be huge. Since then, thanks to donations from various organisations and interest from other chefs, they have been delivering food made by chefs to staff in hospitals that have been hit by the COVID-19 crisis in various cities around Belgium. The chefs that have founded the association are Fabrizzio Chirico of La Table de La Manufacture urbaine, Alain Stennier of Le Substrat, Tienchin of Esprit Bouddha and Tolis Lalos of Fetavie. Others have in the meantime joined … [Read more...]

BRUSSELS: Karen Torosyan, chef-patron of Bozar Restaurant in Brussels has launched a take-away this week as all Belgian restaurants are closed due to a lock-down. The service from the Brussels 'pie-king' has proven to be successful with the Armenian-born chef announcing that he has sold out till 31st March. He is taking orders for next week and working on his preparations already. He launched the service last Tuesday saying this is what happens when he is alone in the kitchen. "You can come to pick up these from the restaurant by appointment and one person at a time," he said. Among the dishes he is serving are classics from his menu like Jambon persille, fromage de tete, his signature pate en croute with pork, duck and fois gras, as well as pots of rillettes of veal and pork and one with fois gras seasoned with piment d'Esplette. Details on his Facebook page. Karen explains that his Pâté en Croûte is 25 per cent fat and 75% lean meat when the original recipe calls … [Read more...]

NEW YORK: Daniel Humm and the team at Eleven Madison Park have set up an auction and donation page to help its staff whether the future. Daniel Humm said that 100 per cent of the proceeds will go directly to the team in New York city to help them through the uncertainty ahead. "Our biggest shared worry is the lack of clarity as to what the future holds - will this be days or weeks or months?," Daniel wrote in a newsletter. "We just don't know," he said. New York has been the hardest hit in the United States with cases increasing exponentially over the past few days. "It won’t be news to any of you that the past week has been unquestionably the most difficult in our lives, both personally and professionally.  While we always have and always will believe that we can overcome any challenge together, this crisis has impacted our team in a way that we never could have imagined. Over the years our guests — you — have been so much more than customers to us; you’re part of an … [Read more...]

COPENHAGEN: Have you ever dreamed of getting a reservation at noma but always ended up disappointed? Here is your chance to finally secure that difficult seat. In these challenging times for all sectors of the economy, the restaurant owned by chef René Redzepi is calling friends as well as future clients to buy vouchers which are redeemable against a future reservation at restaurant noma. These vouchers will be valid for two years and can be exchanged either for a visit at noma as well as for a future reservation or visit at any noma-branded pop-up restaurant or event in or outside Denmark. "We continue to face unprecedented difficulties both at noma and across our entire industry so we truly appreciate your interest in purchasing a voucher," the restaurant said. The value of the voucher may be applied to a reservation of any size, including the standard tables for 2, 4, 6 or 8 or for subsequent visits as a single diner on a shared communal table. The voucher can also be … [Read more...]

MODENA Every day, over the past days, Massimo Bottura has given Instagram viewers a glimpse of his family life in Modena as he prepared his family meals every evening at 8pm. It was his daughter’s idea two days into the lockdown in Italy to create a show that has been called Kitchen Quarantine. It shows how her family are dealing with the lockdown. Alexa is filming the show and also asking questions to her father in the Q&A that follows after the episodes. Massimo Bottura is chef of one of the most famous restaurants in the world, Osteria Francescana in Modena. The show is a mix of Italian and English. When asked why he communicates in English he said he wants to be able to communicate with the rest of the world because the coronavirus is something that is impacting the global community. The chef is always reminding viewers to wash their hands and also to stay at home. The evening show is not a masterclass but rather a glimpse of his family’s life as they deal … [Read more...]

COPENHAGEN: Matthew Orlando, the chef owner of AMASS restaurant in Copenhagen has hit out at the World’s 50 Best, Opinionated About Dining and 360 Sustainability Awards among others for not using their platforms to raise awareness about the plight of restaurants in the current crisis. “I believe that when times are tough, as they are right now, people and entities’ true colours come to the surface,” he said on his Instagram feed. “In a time when then the restaurant industry is reeling from circumstances beyond our wildest imagination, where are the lists and rating systems that make their living off us,” he said. The chef of Amass, who was former Noma Head Chef before opening Amass serving contemporary, organic cuisine with a strict focus on locally sourced ingredients asked how was it possible that ‘they can remain silent while the people that they use to justify their vanity are in danger of losing everything.” “Why are they not using their resources to at least bring … [Read more...]