When Niko Romito clinched a Michelin star for his restaurant Reale in Rivisondoli, a village of only 450 residents in Abruzzo, the people in the region believed it was a miracle. “After we earned that first star, they told us we would never achieve a second star because the place was too small.” The restaurant was born as a trattoria, you opened the door and the first thing you saw opposite the door was the toilet. Just over a year passed and when Niko and his sister clinched a second star in 2009 no one could believe it. At the time, they were the only starred restaurant in the whole of Abruzzo. “There were only 450 residents in the village, they were used to having a trattoria. We were very far from the cities, we did not know about guides or the press. We worked and even our neighbours thought we were mad. Because when they came, they did not like it and wanted something different.” Niko said. Mention Niko Romito today and people will tell you he is one of the most influential … [Read more...]
Konstanin Filippou: Creativity starts with quietness
When it comes to the creative process Konstantin Filippou loves quietness. As chef of a fine dining restaurant of the same name in Vienna, Austria, he finds that it is best to concentrate and to trigger ideas either in the dead of night after a dinner service or else when he is completely quiet. While he enjoys music on his days off, in the kitchen, he does not even allow music to be played because it makes him nervous. “Creativity starts with quietness,” he told Food and Wine Gazette in an interview. That sense of quietness, of focus and of searching for answers and taking the time to think may be what has led this talented Austrian chef to retain his focus even when times were hard. So when Michelin called Konstantin Filippou’s name and awarded him two stars for his restaurant earlier this week it was the culmination of a dream he has laboured on quietly and within. In 2013, just when he had signed the lease for the restaurant in Vienna and signed to purchase the equipment … [Read more...]
Niko Romito and his meticulous work with vegetables: “Every bite has to be different”
What makes a chef serve a floret of a cauliflower in a three Michelin star restaurant as a centre piece without any additions except for a touch of olive oil infused in garlic? It is the knowledge that what he is serving has the necessary complexity and flavour to shine in a three star restaurant. That is exactly what Niko Romito has been doing since he started focusing on vegetables as centre-pieces. Is it the sense that he has attained perfection with a dish, one where the sum of its parts is greater than the whole? To get an understanding of what is happening at Reale in Castel di Sangro, in Abruzzo, Italy you need to look at the chef's work with vegetables. Because it is here that the philosophy of the chef boils down to its essence. “I have been focusing on vegetables for the past three years. I started with the artichoke, then I worked with the cabbage and now the cauliflower. But I do not have an idea which vegetable I will be working with next,” the chef told Food and … [Read more...]
Q&A with Nick Bril: ‘I get a good vibe in Antwerp. Being here is closer to my style of cooking’
Nick Bril runs The Jane in Antwerp considered by many to be one of the most stunning if not the most stunning restaurant in the world. We recently caught up with him to learn more about him, what drives him and how it feels to run a very busy restaurant. In this second part of our interview, we delve into what inspires him, who he considers to be his mentor, his move from the Dutch region of Zeeland to Antwerp and much more. You moved from Zeeland in the Netherlands to a city like Antwerp in Belgium, from nature to a buzzing city? How was the move? I am maybe more eclectic than Sergio (Herman) and Syrco (Bakker - Pure C). The latter is maybe following Sergio in the mindset of having Zeeland as a region. I am enjoying being able to go to Chinese supermarkets around me, to be able to buy Indian spices around me, having multicultural people around me. I can just go out of the place I live and by amazing merguez sausages from a Turkish butcher. Sergio and Syrco travel to get that … [Read more...]
Nick Bril: A chef and entrepreneur who knows exactly what he wants
Nick Bril is ambitious and driven. As a chef and entrepreneur he knows exactly what he wants though there is a certain inner struggle to determine when he will start to push the boundaries at The Jane, Antwerp. At 33, he has been cooking at the highest level for a long time having been the sous chef with his business partner Sergio Herman at Oud Sluis, a 3 Michelin star restaurant that closed at the end of 2013. He has experienced the trappings of the coveted three Michelin stars and is not in a hurry to get there though he aspires to get that accolade one day. “Ambition is one thing, money is another. The cost of running The Jane is high,” said Nick, the Dutch chef of The Jane, a two Michelin star restaurant created in a former military chapel and considered by many to be one of the most stunning and beautiful restaurants in the world. Having worked closely with Sergio he knows what it means to work at the top level day in day out. “When I speak to colleagues about the … [Read more...]
Q&A with Bart de Pooter: I have a collection of thousands of food photos
Bart de Pooter has no problem with clients taking photos in restaurants. He says he has got a collection of thousands of photos of food he has eaten in restaurants. Bart is in many ways a pioneer. He was the first Belgian chef to put his name to two Michelin starred restaurants in the country, he was one of the first chefs to venture to Asia when it was still not on the radar screen of world gastronomy like it is today. This is the second part of our interview in Q&A format. Who are the chefs that have inspired you most? Pierre Gagnaire, Albert Adria and his brother Ferran were all important. What is your best ever meal? That is a very difficult question because I don't have one. For me it is all about the experience. Sometimes, a dining experience can be so overwhelming that I will not go a second time because I fear that I will lose that experience. But I still remember my first experience in a three Michelin star restaurant at Alain Ducasse in Paris … [Read more...]
Bart de Pooter: A dinner that changed everything
Every person has a defining moment which makes you change paths or perspective. For Belgian chef Bart de Pooter that moment came at the dinner table of legendary restaurant el Bulli. He had been running Pastorale, a two Michelin star restaurant in a small village, Reet, close to the city of Antwerp for 26 years but that dinner changed everything. “When I went there and was served 26 courses, I felt very frustrated when I returned home because I realised that out of all those courses, I could maybe only create 3 dishes,” said Bart. He could not understand what had happened. Feeling lost, he went on a voyage of discovery looking at what made him and his restaurant unique. “I was a classic cook and quality was always important but then I became someone who wanted to translate his culture and create an identity.” Upon reflection and deep thinking he came up with Biotope or the habitat that has become his signature. Whether it is the vegetables, the produce or even the wood and … [Read more...]
Marvin Gauci: The Maltese chef and restauranteur eyeing overseas expansion
Marvin Gauci is one of the most successful Maltese restauranteurs and chefs. After opening four successful restaurants in Malta, of which one is his ‘flagship’ Tarragon where he made a name for himself, he has opened his first restaurant outside the Mediterranean island of Malta in the Hungarian capital city Budapest. Caviar and Bull, the second restaurant with the same name is housed in the Corinthia Hotel in Budapest. “If you would have asked me a year ago whether I would open a restaurant outside Malta, I would have told you that this was not possible,” the Maltese chef and restauranteur Gauci told Food and Wine Gazette. Today, he does not exclude opening further restaurants outside Malta. It all started around this time last year. The CEO of the Corinthia, a highly successful Maltese hotel chain with hotels in various cities across Europe and beyond told him that he needed a holiday. Two of Marvin’s restaurants, Caviar and Bull and Buddhamman are in the premises of a … [Read more...]
Q&A with Richard Ekkebus: The beauty of dining without a mobile phone
Richard Ekkebus, chef of Amber Restuarant has made a name for himself in Hong Kong where he has build the restaurant at the Landmark Mandarin Oriental from scratch. Following our in-depth interview which you can read here, this is our rapid fire question and answer with the Dutch chef. Your best ever meal? Michel Bras. It was with Pierre Gagnaire. We had a table of five as part of a team building. Is there something you don’t eat? There are things that for certain reasons I will not eat such as bluefin tuna or whale. But as a chef, I cannot judge until I try food so I am open to everything. I’ve tried monkey, I’ve tried whale and also insects. Any chefs that inspire you? Anybody who is passionate. There is community today that is very open and also happy to share. Do you cook at home? Never. My wife cooks really well and I love her cooking. I am the sommelier at home. I walk to the wine cellar, open a bottle and decant it. Your favourite dish? I have been … [Read more...]
Ana Roš: “I believe we should be our own heroes and find a way to express ourselves”
Serendipity is probably the word that would best describe Ana Roš's story to date. An unlikely chef who never got any formal training in the kitchen, she would probably have imagined herself as more of a diplomat or even a European Commission official. Truth be said, she was actually offered a job in Brussels which she turned down on the spur of the moment. 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. Little did she know that this decision would make her one of the most recognisable figures in the world of gastronomy, sought after in food congresses and events worldwide. Together with her partner and husband … [Read more...]