Steven Laine, author of Root Cause Can you imagine a world without wine? This is the story behind Root Cause, a recently published book by Steven Laine. Corvina Guerra is a flying winemaker who dreams of one day settling down in her native Italy on her family’s vineyard. On a visit to a vineyard in Italy, Corvina makes a startling discovery: Phylloxera, a menacing plant that devastated vineyards in Europe more than a hundred years ago, has infested the vines. After reporting her findings to her company, Universal Wines, Corvina is charged with investigating the spread of the bug. Nicknamed Philomena by the media, the aphid is soon discovered in vineyards around the world. To aid in her investigation, Corvina recruits a wine expert in London, Bryan Lawless. In pursuit of its origins, Corvina and Bryan embark on a thrilling globetrot on which they uncover that Philomena is being intentionally spread. The deeper Corvina and Bryan search, the more they become convinced that … [Read more...]
Gert de Mangeleer Unplugged, a collection of recipes to share in English released
Gert de Mangeleer, chef of three Michelin star restaurant Hertog Jan in Zedelgem, Bruges has just released his collection of recipes to share in a book called Unplugged in English. Originally published in Flemish, the book is now also available in English. “This is the first book in which I collected many of my favourite recipes. I never was really into sharing my recipes until now because my style of cooking evolves too much for that. Nor did I want to give people the impression that they could easily recreate the dishes we serve at Hertog Jan at home. Because they can’t. I cannot even do the things I do in my restaurant at home, because I neither have the kitchen equipment nor the team for it,” he says in the introduction to the book. Instead the book is accessible and presents a series of the tastiest dishes the Belgian chef has prepared for his family and friends in recent years. He says he gets inspiration for his dishes everywhere he goes and that is very visible in the … [Read more...]
Book review: Food from the fire by Niklas Ekstedt
It is perhaps not the best time to review a book about cooking food from the fire given that we are experiencing a bitter patch of winter cold and not everyone has the luxury to have wood fired ovens or a fire pit indoors. But for Niklas Ekstedt, the man behind the Stockholm restaurant by the same name and author of a recently released book Food from the Fire, cooking with fire is something he does every day, winter or summer. His restaurant in Stockholm, Sweden, opened in November 2011 with a fire pit, a wood fired oven and a wood stove. Plenty of people had told him that he had made things difficult for himself. Now, he has also installed a stone-age equivalent of a microwave oven, a smoker and extra fires burning as he continues to explore age-old techniques and to learn more about a lost art of cooking. The flavour that comes out of food that has been cooked with fire is different to what you get from normal cooking. But apart from the occasional barbecues we have lost the … [Read more...]
Book review: Grill, Smoke, BBQ by Ben Tish of Ember Yard
Summer and long days are still with us for a few more weeks and therefore the barbecue season remains in full swing even though personally, I love to fire up the barbecue even when it gets colder. There is nothing more satisfying that spending time outdoors, starting the fire and waiting for the charcoal to be ready to start the cooking. While cooking directly with fire is a very old technique that has been with us since many years and is the bedrock of our civilisation, memories of barbecue are not always necessarily optimal. Yes, there was the pleasure of starting the fire, people gathering around the grill but most of the food was far from memorable. There used to be overcooked meat, sausages of dubious quality (which still exist and are still popular with children), hamburgers and overcooked steak. If you might be lucky you could get tuna steaks grilled but these would also be dry as the tendency was to overcook things. But there are some that have taken cooking with fire to … [Read more...]
A review of Francis Mallmann’s book: Seven Fires – Grilling the Argentinian Way
"Fire has its own language, spoken in the realm of heat, hunger and desire. It speaks of alchemy, mystery and, above all, possibility. It is a slumbering voice inside me, the ever present beast within my soul, it is beyond words, beyond memory. It comes from a time long before I can recall." This is how the book Seven Fires: Grilling the Argentinian Way by Francis Mallmann and Peter Kaminsky starts. The Argentinian chef is an inspiring character who uses cooking to send a message of a certain way of living. He is known for telling people to cook by 'getting out of your chair, sofa or office and go outdoors.' The most influential chef in Argentina has been portrayed in a splendid documentary Chef's Table on Netflix which we have reviewed here. Mallmann has mastered fire like few others. He has been trained in French classics so he is a master of the art of intensifying, deepening and developing all the flavours and textures of his ingredients. But rather than rely on … [Read more...]
A selection of books on wine to read this summer
As summer approaches, I normally start to make a list of books I want to read or else re-read. I am constantly on the lookout for new books to read. While reading about food and wine is pleasant throughout the seasons, I love to delve into wine books during the summer season. I'm still trying to decide which wine books to read this summer but here is a list of books on wine which I highly recommend and which I have read over the past few years. 1. Huge Johnson: A Life Uncorked: I never get tired of reading this book. It is a great read from a great knowledgeable author. If you want to learn about different wines and wine regions, this is an excellent place to start. He gives you the inside tips on each of the main wine regions, lists and talks about some of the best winemakers in the world and gives you a written tour of these regions. If there is one book you should read, I recommend this. 2. Palmento: A Sicilian Wine Odyssey (At Table) is a great book on Sicilian wine. If … [Read more...]
Book Review: Cyprus A culinary journey
There is probably no better day to write this article on a book I really enjoyed reading. As I sit in the terrace in Brussels at 10.20pm in the evening, the temperature it is still light, the temperature is 29⁰C and humid. The only missing thing is a sea-breeze and the sound of the sea hitting the rocks which epitomises a hot Mediterranean summer. I have to admit that I still have to visit Cyprus though after reading Cyprus a Culinary Journey, I feel I know this Mediterranean island considerably better than I did before I started this 'culinary journey'. Our Cypriot friends and avid readers of this site gave me this book a few months ago and I have been wanting to write about it for quite some time. The book is edited by Marianne Salentin-Trager but it is the work of eight foodies from Germany who were in love with the island and who realised that there was no German cookbook on Cypriot cuisine. We went through the English version of the book though it is also published in … [Read more...]
Book review: Cooked – A Natural History of Transformation
There are very few times in today’s hectic world when we are able to just do one activity without being distracted by technology. Our attention span has decreased considerably, we barely have time to sit at table and eat let alone cook on a daily basis. Yet, never have food programmes on television been so popular and chefs been such household names. Speaking for myself, cooking is the place where I can relax the most. It is the place where I can focus on one small process after another. There is a certain element of relaxation that goes with chopping vegetables, hearing the sizzle of a grill or the gentle patience required as you constantly stir a risotto. I have just finished Michael Pollan’s brilliant book Cooked: A Natural History of Transformation, published last year and found it extremely interesting. Pollan has written a splendid book about cooking which should be a must read for anyone interested in food and its place in our history and culture. And while you might … [Read more...]
A unique look at stunning bars and restaurants
Let's Go Out Again is the name of a book published last month by Gestalten. It's a stunning book about architecture and restaurants, bars and unusual food places. The cover caught our attention because it features the restaurant The Jane by Sergio Herman and Nick Bril in Antwerp (Read our interview with Sergio Herman here). The book is edited by Robert Klanten, Sven Ehmann and Michelle Galindo. It looks at how interior designers and architects worldwide are working together with chefs and restaurateurs to create new concepts to make going to a restaurant a multisensory experience. In the interview with Food and Wine Gazette, Sergio Herman spoke about the detail they had gone into to make The Jane an eclectic experience for diners, making it simpler than his former restaurant Oud Sluis, but without compromising on quality or presentation. The location is all the more stunning and Sergio Herman defined it as a 'once in a lifetime project'. The dining experience has been changing … [Read more...]
Two Sicilian recipe books to make your mouth water
It is perhaps difficult to pinpoint an episode that really triggered my interest and passion in food and wine. Like every passion, it developed over time. But nothing has left its mark on my philosophy of eating and cooking more than an island neighbouring the island where I was born. Memories of Sicilian food do not just trigger a sense of nostalgia but in a way they mark my culinary roots. My love of cooking started with Sicilian food, and the philosophy I appreciate most in cooking, which is to showcase exceptional ingredients, comes from there. What strikes you most when you visit Sicily and eat Sicilian food is the simplicity of the cuisine. Here, most chefs will let the ingredients do the talking without intervening to complicate matters or enhance flavours. But its also a cuisine that can be complicated mixing sweet and sour flavours in one dish. Whenever I meet a chef, I like to ask what their best meal has been. While this question may sound simple, I'm not sure I … [Read more...]