Renowned author Malcolm Gladwell came up with the concept that 10,000 hours of practice are needed to become world-class in any field. That principle seems to hold true for Restaurante Algarve in the sleepy village of Guia. Since the 1960s, the same family (through different generations) have been serving chicken piri piri using the same recipe. There were four generations of the family when we visited, the great-grandmother still supervising the cooking in the kitchen. You will not find much information about the restaurant online. It has been run pretty much in the same way since it opened. If you walk past the restaurant, you may even think twice before entering. It’s like time stood still. The decor is still very 1960s and 1970s, the tables give you the impression that they've remained the same from that time, but the family have been cooking the same chicken piri piri for many years and they have clearly perfected it. The restaurant serves chicken piri piri, a tomato salad, … [Read more...]
‘We are here to preserve what we have’ – Jorge Raiado of Sal Marim
Idyllic location for the Sal Marim salt pans in Castro Marim Jorge Filipe Raiado of Sal Marim knows his salt. Since taking over the salt business in 2007 he has been perfecting the art of flor de sal or (sea salt) in the idyllic surrounding of Castro Marim, a nature reserve in the Algarve. “We are here to preserve what we have,” he tells us on a visit to harvest salt together with Hans Neuner chef of the two Michelin star restaurant Ocean at the Vila Vita Parc in the Algarve. The salt pans have been there since the Romans with canals which bring in the sea water on a daily basis especially during the hot summer months. The sea salt is drawn into the salt pans and the water is allowed to evaporate. Most of the water goes to the bottom of the salt pans and becomes ordinary sea salt but some salt crystals float on the surface of the water forming a delicate crust of crystals which is collected by hand. This type of salt called flower of salt can only be collected when it … [Read more...]
It is time to rethink Italy again: Why Italians hope Bottura’s rise to the top can put the country in the culinary spotlight
Italy is not just heritage. Under the surface, there is a lot going when it comes to food. It is time to think of Italy again When Ferran Adria placed at the top of the World’s 50 Best Restaurants list successively he not only helped to make a name for himself and his restaurant el Bulli but he also lifted the fortunes of Spain and its gastronomy for good. Italians are now hoping that Massimo Bottura’s second top position in the space of three years will have a similar effect. Look at the world’s leading chefs today and most of them will have one thing in common. They have nearly all trained at the Adrias’ iconic restaurant el Bulli. No one has had an impact like the Spanish chef over the past years and one can say he has given chefs like Massimo Bottura and René Redzepi and many others the license to reinvent restaurants. There is maybe no one today who has the aura that Ferran Adria had though in a few years we may look at a number of today’s stars in the same … [Read more...]
Ana Ros: ‘Every ingredient is a challenge for a chef. The less valuable it is the bigger the challenge’
When Ana Ros, the Slovenian chef of Hisa Franko cooked at Christophe Hardiquest’s Bon Bon earlier this month she brought dishes with very bold flavours to reflect her style of cooking. “This is my character. I am very explosive. I cannot say that 100 per cent of my dishes are like this but 70 per cent of our dishes are very intense. They call me thunderstorm and I can be very emotional but this is how my kitchen is,” she told Food and Wine Gazette after the fourth Bon Bon dinner at the Brussels restaurants. “I don’t think the cooking is extreme because it is not extreme but it is strong. There is of course a risk that people don’t like it. For me, I prefer that 80 per cent love it and 20 per cent say never gain rather than staying in the middle.” That is understandable given that she has made it to the top of the game having been awarded best female chef last year and also featuring in Netflix’s popular food series Chef’s Table. Last month, for the first ever time, she made it … [Read more...]
Opening the senses to something new as Ana Roš cooks with Christophe Hardiquest at Bon Bon
Before she decided to take up cooking around 14 years ago, Ana Roš was heading to Brussels to work with the European institutions where she had just been offered a job. As fate had it her partner’s father was retiring from the restaurant he owned, the Hiša Franko and there was no one to take over his work expect Victor who would become her husband. On the spot and against the will of her father she decided to stay in Slovenia and build her career in the restaurant. Having knowledge of 5 languages, she did not start in the kitchen but soon she realised that this would be necessary. Yesterday (4th July) she was in Brussels again, this time not because of the offer she had received 14 years ago but rather on the request of Christophe Hardiquest, a chef she really admires after a dining experience she had at the restaurant before this visit. She was the fourth guest to cook at Bon Bon in the series of Bon Bon Origins dinners that chef Christophe Hardiquest is organising as he … [Read more...]
Christophe Hardiquest cooks rabbit with gueze at Brussels brewery Cantillon
Rabbit is the type of dish that you either love or you hate. It has a lot to do with culture. Belgium, like France, Italy and even Malta, the country I come from has a certain affinity to this dish. It is a lean meat with lots of nutritional benefits though in some places people are starting to lose the tradition of eating rabbit. Christophe Hardiquest, chef of two Michelin star Brussels restaurant Bon Bon has been on a mission to recreate a traditional rabbit Brussels recipe at his restaurant. Over the past months, he has been working and evolving dishes with rabbit and gueze, a traditional sour Brussels beer that has unique characteristics that are enjoyed by beer lovers from around the world. A gueze beer is a blend of lambics that have been produced during different years which produce a beer that is acidic and fruity with a delicate woody fragrance and a dry finish that lingers on the palate. The rabbit dish at Bon Bon has been evolving. He has served a rabbit tartare … [Read more...]
Second Bon Bon Origins dinner features José Avillez with Christophe Hardiquest
Brussels based chef Christophe Hardiquest, chef of two Michelin star restaurant Bon Bon welcomed José Avillez, chef of Lisbon restaurant Belcanto for the second Bon Bon Origins dinner organised a few days ago. Working together with young Belgian Chef Kevin Perlot, they created a harmonious menu focusing in particular on the sea as their playground. The Portuguese chef has been working since 2007 to the highest levels showcasing the huge Portuguese heritage that exists and that is very often forgotten amid the stereotypical dishes of the country. When he started, he wanted to show that Portuguese cuisine was not just about cod. In fact, in his two Michelin star restaurant, he only uses cod liver or cod’s head as a way to show that there is more to his country’s cuisine that just its tradition. Fundamentally, we are speaking about a country that introduced tempura to Japan but few people tend to know this, a country which has a rich tradition close to one of the largest … [Read more...]
Thomas Bühner returns to Villa Louise
Thomas Bühner, chef of 3 Michelin star resturant La Vie, in Osnabrück, North West Germany was recently a guest at Villa Louise for a dinner which forms part of the 'seventh' season. Villa Louise, an offshoot of asset manager Creutz and Partners has been inviting some of the world's best chefs to cook at their premises to collaborate, cook and share their creativity with their clients. This was not the first time that the German chef was guest of Villa Louise which today has accumulated 78 stars. Bühner is chef of one of the best restaurants in Germany and you can see why. At the dinner he focused on exceptional ingredients and worked perfectly with produce to ensure that the flavours are not only clean but also intensified. In 2001, he was awarded the Gault Millau “Rising Star of the Year” award and was voted “Chef of the Year” just five years later. Together with his wife Thayarni Kanagaratnam, he has been running Restaurant La Vie in Osnabrück since April 2006. For the … [Read more...]
Everything needs to change – René Redzepi’s aim to reinvent the restaurant goes way beyond the kitchen
'For things to remain the same, things will have to change'. That is probably one of the most famous quotes from The Leopard, a novel written by Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa. This is not what René Redzepi, chef of the world famous Noma has in mind. When he took the stage at Parabere Forum in Malmo last week he said that the problem is that everything needs to change. "My vision for Noma is not to be the best restaurant in the world but that it will be the best place to work in the world." The change he is looking for is not one that keeps everything the same but rather one that brings a fundamental shift in the restaurant industry. He is taking some of the most talked about issues in the world of work today such as equality, work life balance, the need to work in a comfortable and welcoming environment and improved working hours and in the process he is going through a reinvention not just from a culinary point of view but also from a restaurant management point of view. A lot … [Read more...]
Anchoas Royo: Making anchovies that are fit for three Michelin star Azurmendi
In a few weeks time, it will start to get busy for the small Basque anchovy producer Anchoas Royo located in the small fishing village of Bermeo in Spain. As the weather starts to get better, in the month of April, the boats will embark to catch the anchovies in the bay of Biscay. These are best between the months of April and June because the fish are bigger in these months. From here begins a long process of maturing the fish before they are ready to be sold on the market. After the fish reach the factory, they are salted and they will be allowed to mature for a long period before they are ready to be handled with care, one fish at a time and placed in the cans. The anchovies from Cantabria are known for their exceptional quality and you need to taste them to understand why these are sought after by food lovers around the world. “We are a very small company that gives a lot of importance to sustainability,” says Juan Carlos Royo Gabancho. “We only catch the fish we need … [Read more...]