LIERNU: When Sang Hoon Degeimbre was forced to close the restaurant, the first time and the Belgian government announced a lockdown amid the pandemic way back in March he did not hesitate to move to the countryside. He took one of rooms that normally welcomes guests and which would remain empty throughout the course of the lockdown in the Belgian countryside in Liernu and spent most of his time there. Returning to Brussels from time to time, where he normally lives, some 45 minutes by car away from the restaurant felt surreal to him. In the countryside, there was not much sign of the pandemic. He worked together with his farming team to prepare the garden for spring. At L'Air du Temps, the Korean born Belgian chef has a garden where he grows his own vegetables, herbs and fruits which serves not just his restaurant but also some of his other restaurants in Belgium. “Nature does not stop because of the pandemic. Life just goes on,” he told me he told me in an interview in … [Read more...]

The situation with COVID-19 evolves very rapidly. When I spoke to Alberto Landgraf a few weeks ago, the pandemic situation in Brazil was not as bad as it is today. They say a week is a long time in politics, you could say the same thing about the evolution of this pandemic. Alberto is the chef of Oteque, in Rio de Janeiro, one of the top restaurants in Brazil. Like many, Alberto is finding he has got much more time than usual which means that he has the time to think, to read and to re-examine everything. Personally he is not too concerned, he feels fine. And he is not afraid for his business and his fine-dining restaurant. He has more concerns for others in the industry and for the world in general because this pandemic is the biggest crisis we have had to handle for a very long time. “We are used to economic crisis from the past. In this case, it is not just an economic crisis but also a health crisis. But, we are seeing that despite all the shit that’s going on, there is … [Read more...]

Chef Valeria Piccini from Da Caino restaurant in Montemerano, Tuscany had never been to Asia when she got a call from Angelo Agliano to be the first of five female Italian chefs to cook at Tosca di Angelo at the Ritz Carlton Hong Kong. She immediately accepted because she is always of the view that she can always learn something from such events. But the shock of the first few days in a new continent and a new reality was very evident. “I am not used to the chaos of the city. I come from a tiny village where there are probably more chickens than people. It is chaotic but you could say the same about Rome, Florence or any other city in the world particularly when you live in the countryside,” she tells Food and Wine Gazette. Valeria is a self-taught chef having studied sciences and has a degree in chemistry. But she was born into a family of lovers of good food, her mother and grandmother used to cook for pleasure. And it was her mother in law that gave her the opportunity to … [Read more...]

HONG KONG: If Angelo Agliano’s parents had their way, he would not be cooking today. For five years, while he was at school he would go to work in a restaurant in the weekends and also during the evenings. “They were against me working in a restaurant but I finally won my battle because that is what I really wanted to do.” It was not his perseverance when he was young that marked his career. For that, you need to fast forward some years when at the age of 26 he was asked to cook for French legendary chef Joël Robuchon’s 60th birthday. It is an evening he still remembers very vividly and not because he had to change four times such was the stress. ‘I remember that evening when Philippe Gobert, who was director for the Robuchon group told me he was giving me this present of bringing 13 chefs who worked for Robuchon to the restaurant for a private dinner. At table, I was cooking for chefs that were responsible for around 30 Michelin stars. I thought to myself this was not a present … [Read more...]

Riccardo Camanini and his brother Giancarlo opened Lido 84 in Italy five years ago and it has been on my places to visit for at least three years, way before it became known. Today the secret is out about Lido 84 but till this day, the two brothers who own the restaurant, still cannot really understand the hype about their success. One thing strikes you when you enter the magical dining room of Lido 84. It is not the view of Lago Di Garda, which you would have soaked in by driving there or else walking from the car park. Neither are it the art pieces that have been very carefully selected by the Camanini brothers. It is rather a striking collection of books which even for a bookworm like me is nothing short of impressive. They are not there to add to the decor of the restaurant. They form an integral part of Riccardo Camanini’s way of working. “Saturday morning is a time of reflection for us. We wanted to create a space where our staff could take the time to read. I wanted … [Read more...]

Like most people living in cities, Jordan Kahn, chef of Vespertine was driving around trying to avoid traffic when he spotted an empty building under construction. “That's what you do when you are in Los Angeles." He decided to stop the car and looked at ‘this thing and it was very emotional’. He had no idea what triggered his desire to stop. That evening, he finished work at his previous restaurant Red Medicine and after service, at around 3am, he went back to Culver City where today the restaurant is located. “Service had finished at 2am so it must have been around 3am. I jumped over the construction fence, broke open the hinge of the plywood door and trespassed in this empty building. I did not fully know why I was there, I did not think this was the place for a restaurant but there was this gravity pulling me. I could not shake it away,” Jordan told Food and Wine Gazette. He returned (and trespassed) to that spot every day for the next five months. “Slowly all these … [Read more...]

Antonia Klugmann is chef of L’Argine a Venco, an acclaimed restaurant with a highly personal and unique cuisine in Venco, Fruili Venezia Giulia on the border with Slovenia. This is the second part of our interview with the Italian chef in the usual Q&A format. What is the best dish you’ve ever made? I hope that I still have to make it. The best dish you’ve ever eaten? I don’t know. I like so many things. Even a fruit that is perfectly matured and is eaten at its best can change your palate for ever. Do you cook at home? No. What do you like to eat when you don’t cook at home? I have been on a diet for around two years. So I like to eat soups, salad and meat but I don’t eat pasta and haven’t ate pasta for many months. This is a tragedy for me. But the way you think about your body also has an impact on how you feel. The way I eat has also impacted the way I cook in the restaurant. In my restaurant, I want to cook in a way that is healthy. For example, I … [Read more...]

Antonia Klugmann’s cuisine is personal, so personal that when she is invited to a congress or event she closes her restaurant. Being in charge of a small operation in Venco, in Friuli Venezia Giulia on the border with Slovenia means she does not have the luxury of a large team that can work while she is not there. So the decision to become the first ever female judge on Masterchef Italy was huge. When she took the plunge, she decided to close the restaurant for three months. It was an experience that changed her life but one that she would do only for a year. Like others working in the creative sector, she fears losing her creativity and spending three months way from the kitchen was something completely new for her from the day she took a cooking career at 20 after three years studying law. Antonia Klugmann is chef of L’Argine a Venco, an acclaimed restaurant with a highly personal and unique cuisine that is worth putting on your bucket list. When I met Antonia at her … [Read more...]