MILAN: A campaign in aid of the Luigi Sacco hospital in Milan has been launched. Proceeds from aprons sold during a digital campaign "Italia Keeps on Cooking" will be donated to the hospital, which is one of the organisations where the intensive therapy department is actively involved in the fight against COVID-19. The campaign is called Italia Keeps on Cooking and is an evolution of a campaign called Milano Keeps on Cooking. It is a digital campaign that was created by Alessia Rizzetto PR & Communication team, a Milan based PR agency specialized in food & beverage. The campaign has now been extended to the whole of Italy following the lockdown caused by the health emergency that has impacted Italy really badly. “Feeling very close to those working in the food and hospitality industry, we thought of creating a digital campaign which, while sharing social media posts portraying the representatives of these categories wearing aprons with the claim ‘MILANO KEEPS ON … [Read more...]
The Michelin Guide is a big deal for Malta. Here’s why
VALLETTA: The news that Malta has three one Michelin star restaurants will change the gastronomy landscape on this small Mediterranean island for ever. This is a big deal for Malta and its culinary sphere. Whether you love or hate Michelin and what it stands for, there is no question that to date this remains the most authoritative guide for restaurants worldwide. Before Michelin, there was one restaurant guide in Malta but this was survey driven and therefore did not carry the weight that Michelin or any of the other established world guides has. Restaurants, chefs and owners were more focused on getting a high ranking on Tripadvisor, also important, but by no stretch of imagination as important in terms of driving food enthusiasts to the island. Malta relies heavily on tourism and food over the past years has become a very important driver of tourism destinations. There are many people who centre their travel experience around food experiences worldwide and competition … [Read more...]
Puglisi hits out at Michelin for greenwashing
COPENHAGEN: The Michelin Guide has introduced a new emblem that aims to showcase sustainable restaurants. But chef Christian F. Puglisi, of restaurant Relae, in Copenhagen, is not impressed. The Italian chef has accused the guide of just picking the phone to determine whether a restaurant is sustainable or not. "It is disrespectful towards the ones in this industry taking the current issues seriously. It is hurting the credibility of our restaurant scene to announce leaders to be 'setting the standard for the rest of the world to follow". "There is one word for this practice and this is greenwashing," he said. Michelin has introduced the Green emblem from the announcement of the Michelin stars in France. Over 50 restaurants in France have received the Green clover. In the Nordic countries, 26 restaurants have made the grade. Puglisi said that at first he thought that this initiative was very interesting. But then he asked himself, how did we end there? "I tried to rewind to … [Read more...]
Villa Maria winery releases documentary: Vintage, the untold story
World-renowned New Zealand winery, Villa Maria has teamed up with American filmmaker, Colin West, to create a feature length documentary that tells a story of winemaking that has never been told before. The documentary-style film, named Vintage, follows Chief Winemaker Nick Picone, Marlborough Viticulturist Stu Dudley, Chief Viticulturist Ollie Powrie and Viticulture Cadet Jess Marston through Villa Maria’s 2019 harvest, capturing the process through their own unique lens. Set in the windswept coastal vineyards of Marlborough and the sun-soaked landscape of Hawkes Bay, Vintage shows how they cope with unforeseen challenges, vastly varying climates, frost-filled early mornings and 24-hour days. “For the first time ever in New Zealand, a winery is capturing the entire vintage process - it’s a peek behind the curtain of the all-consuming harvest period that we, as winemakers, live and breathe,” says Villa Maria’s Chief Winemaker, Nick Picone. “Vintage is fast paced and chaotic - … [Read more...]
Grapes and Heroes: Save the walls in Cinque Terre crowdfunding initiative launched
RIOMAGGIORE, ITALY: Four women, Alessandra, Karin, Amy and Claudia have joined forces to save the walls of the Cinque Terre. Together a number of wine growers from the Cinque Terre, they hope to raise funds through a crowdfunding campaign called Grapes and Heroes. With the funds, they aim to rebuild stone dry walls that over the centuries have been crucial in maintaining the balance of this incredibly fragile landscape. Storms in one of the wettest November and a final torrential storm in December 2019 were the straw that broke the camels back. These walls are the backbone of the Cinque Terre, keeping the steep hillside erect and safeguarding the villages below. The Cinque Terre, five picturesque villages that dot a dramatic stretch of coast along the Italian Riviera, became a Unesco World Heritage Site in 1997 thanks to its unique, man-made terraced landscape. “At this rate, the number of walls that collapse will always be greater than those we can rebuild. What makes … [Read more...]
New experiences in restaurant design: IYO Aalto, unexpected story of contemporary Japan in Milan
MILAN: There is the contemporary idea of Japan in the project that the Italian architect Maurizio Lai has developed for IYO Aalto. This is the second restaurant of the group after IYO Taste Experience. The latter is the only Japanese restaurant in Italy awarded a Michelin star. Subtle references to tradition give way to a contemporary and pure design language, conceiving a place where essential materials and light merge to form a different narrative. Maurizio Lai has created a restaurant where the founding values of IYO are transferred to the space. IYO Aalto offers a dual experience, in an environment designed right down to the smallest detail. There is Tokyo's Edomae zushi culture, in a traditional Sushi Banco, and a boundless and contemporary cuisine in the elegant Gourmet Restaurant. The 320 square meters space embraces the open kitchen, the wine cellar, the exclusive Sushi Banco and the Gourmet Restaurant. Natural materials – walnut, porphyry, brass, leather – were … [Read more...]
A trip to Japan as Kawate, Shimizu are first guests of Gert De Mangeleer for Chef’s Invitation
Susumu Shimizu (left) with Gert De Mangeleer (centre) and Hiroyasu Kawate of Florilege (right). Photo by Piet De Kersgieter BRUGES: Without a shadow of doubt, LESS Eatery in Bruges was among Belgium’s most exciting restaurant openings last year. The restaurant of Gert de Mangeleer and Joachim Boudens has been designed in a way that gives the restaurant a certain buzz that could fit well with a metropolitan city such as New York or Tokyo. They decided to open it in Gert’s hometown. After clinching a star within less than a year under the helm of young Ruige Vermeire, Gert de Mangeleer is inviting chef friends from around the world to cook at the restaurant and allow his young team to learn new techniques. The first such event called Chef’s Invitation took place last week in Bruges on Wednesday 29 and January 30. The first two chefs to cook were Hiroyasu Kawate of Florilege (not his first time cooking in Belgium) and Susumu Shimizu of Anis, both restaurants in … [Read more...]
A chance to be mentored by Manu Buffara
BERLIN: Creative practitioners and cultural producers working in all creative fields anywhere in the world are being encouraged to apply with projects that could benefit from the expertise of one of the mentors in this edition, and from that mentor’s unique approach to material and knowledge production. In its fifth edition, Forecast selects six different mentors every year, all accomplished in their respective fields, who determine the nature and content of every iteration. The mentors in Forecast’s fifth edition are chef Manu Buffara (Brazil), curator Koyo Kouoh (Cameroon), writer and researcher Evgeny Morozov (Belarus), visual artist and theater director Markus Öhrn (Sweden), musician Du Yun (China), and photographer and filmmaker Tobias Zielony (Germany). The deadline for applications is March 1, at 11:59pm CET. The selection process is two-tiered. First, the mentors carefully review all proposals and invite three candidates each to a workshop with the mentor and … [Read more...]
Third edition of Fruto to focus on water and food as health
The third edition of Fruto, Dialogues on Food will focus on water and food as health. Conceived by Alex Atala and Felipe Ribenboim, the annual seminar takes place in São Paulo, from January 24th to 26th, at Unibes Cultural, and will be livestreamed on its official social media pages The seminar continues to be a platform for engagement and mobilisation for dialogues about food, sustainability, and the challenges and solutions for now and years to come. For the first time, the event will be open to the general public, free of charge, on Sunday (26th). FRUTO was created by chef Alex Atala and cultural producer Felipe Ribenboim, with the support of Instituto ATÁ. It emerged from the need to discuss the world's food supply and problems surrounding it. The goal is to spread the message that the greatest link between nature and culture is the kitchen. The main topics of discussion will be 'water' and 'food as health,’ but subjects such as recycling and reusing will be also … [Read more...]
Face to face with snake soup in Hong Kong
HONG KONG: No one spoke a word of English when we walked in to She Wong Lam, one of the last remaining snake butchers in Hong Kong. We are early. She Wong Lam serves soup normally from 11am till 4pm but Andrea Petrini had promised us a breakfast that starts with what he called a ‘snake cappuccino’. We fill the small room which has been serving snake for more than 125 years. The air is heavy. Some say there is an intense smell of snake. If I had to be honest, I cannot really smell it. But there are cages with snakes at the entrance to the restaurant all marked as poisonous. Before we sit at table, three men who are working inside the shop show us the snakes that are in the wooden boxes that fill the shop. One opens a few of these drawers to show us the different varieties of snake which will eventually be butchered at the back of the shop. There is every variety of snake and on every box there is a mark that they are poisonous. Now, this is definitely not the place for anyone … [Read more...]