History tells us that in the early 1800’s, French Missionaries, Brothers from the Order of Saint Mary, at the direction of France’s Pope Gregory XV1 in Lyon set sail for Nouvelle Zealandia, or Aotearoa (Land of the Long White Cloud) armed with their bibles, sacramental robes, rituals and seedling grape vines. Their destination, a collection of sparsely inhabited islands, … [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. … [Read more...]
A blind wine tasting: France vs the rest of the world
There is nothing like a blind wine-tasting to get you out of your comfort zone. And if you do not know what wines are being served, it makes it all the more difficult particularly since you have no indication whether the organisers are pulling out any tricks to make it even more difficult. On a recent visit to Malta, we participated in a blind wine tasting with the theme … [Read more...]
Syrco Bakker launches unique liqueur Hierbas de las Dunas in Belgium and the Netherlands
Hierbas de las Dunas, a new unique flavourful liqueur made from fresh organic dune herbs was officially launched this week in the Netherlands and Belgium. It is the creation of top chef Syrco Bakker (restaurant Pure C, Cadzand). The liqueur is made from 18 different types of herbs, flowers and plants from Cadzand's dunes. Usually liqueurs are made using only fresh … [Read more...]
First craft beer masterclass organised in Malta by Lord Chambray
Lord Chambray organised the first ever Craft Beer masterclass in Malta in collaboration with Lorenzo Dabove, one of the world's renowned craft beer experts who is considered as one of the most important expert on Belgian beers and who is known worldwide for promoting lambic beers and craft beers. We attended this masterclass in Malta a few weeks ago. Dabove said that the … [Read more...]
