Malta's first craft brewery Lord Chambray is starting to export a newly released beer, Special Bitter, to Germany and Italy. Special Bitter, is the fifth beer in Lord Chambray's range of beers. Samuele Imperio, managing director of Lord Chambray told Food and Wine Gazette during the first ever craft beer master class organised in Malta that a new beer, the Special Bitter which is a traditional English style bitter is now available in Germany and Italy. The beer, which was tasted in Malta for the first time last week, is characterised by an optimal balance between the scents of malts and mild notes of hops. The choice of hops have been rigorously sourced from the English countryside and give the beer its character while remaining faithful to the traditional style. This bitter ale has a medium body and a moderate carbonation that guarantees that the beer is easy to drink. Hops is added during maturation to increase the bitterness of the beer. The end result is a … [Read more...]
Drinking wine at the right temperature – not always as easy as it sounds
Drinking wine at the right temperature is a necessity but many get it wrong even in the restaurant trade let alone at home. There is a myth that red wine should be served at room temperature, only that the room temperature is way too warm for your favourite glass of red wine. And even white wines are often over chilled when coming out of the refrigerator. Steve Parker, the creator of Kelvin has come up with a brilliant idea to serve wines always at their ideal temperature. We recently caught up with this UK based company to learn more about the product and also to raise awareness about serving wine at the right temperature, particularly since this is a mistake we have often encountered even in restaurants. Steve, the inventor used to live above a Majestic wine shop in the UK for a short period and became a regular customer and would often get recommendations from the manager for a particular wine. One day, he was recommended a particular Chardonnay from the manager, but having … [Read more...]
Lunch with Sergei Litvine (Villa Lorraine and La Villa in the Sky)
The owner of Villa Lorraine, Sergei Litvine, who took over the property in 2010 wants to restore the restaurant to its former glory. Passionate about cooking and gastronomy, this industrialist has taken over the restaurant as a way of following his passion and to fulfil his dream of owning a restaurant. But it is not any restaurant. Villa Lorraine, is one of the most famous restaurants in Brussels. It was the first restaurant to get 3 Michelin stars outside France in 1972. It held the three stars till 1984 before losing its sparkle during the 1990s and finally losing its one star in 2006. "It is my passion and was always my dream to own a restaurant. I never worked in the catering industry but rather in industrial food production which is completely different to the restaurant business. I have very fond memories of Villa Lorraine since the time that I used to come with my parents and even my grand-parents. There was an opportunity to take it over and I decided to buy it and … [Read more...]
Sergio Herman on food waste: Chefs need to lead the way
Sergio Herman is an inspirational figure for chefs and foodies alike. His work ethic and determination led him to the top of the culinary world making him one of the most recognised and talented chefs in the world. For his story, you may want to take a look at our more in-depth interview. When we meet chefs we like to ask a series of similar questions to try and get insight into what they look for when they eat out, what they like to eat, their mentors and their view on an issue on which we like to raise awareness - food waste. So we started this set of questions seeking Sergio's view of food waste. "Here at The Jane, we try to waste as little as possible. Trimmings which we don't use are turned into stews, served in the bar or to staff. We try to work with everything, maybe making chips with the trimmings from vegetables." "Sometimes I look around and see all the fish being used in restaurants around the world, I ask where is this all coming from. I worry because I think … [Read more...]
Sergio Herman: Seeing light at the end of the tunnel
When Sergio Herman stunned the culinary world in 2013 by announcing that he would close his famous restaurant Oud Sluis, few people could understand his decision. But, as he told Food and Wine Gazette, once he had achieved all his objectives he no longer felt motivated. "I could have gone on for another five or 10 more years but would it have been fun? For me the answer was no. I also wanted to find balance in life." He still works extremely hard and opening The Jane, a stunning restaurant in an old church in Antwerp with chef Nick Bril was no walk in the park. "It was very hard to set this up. I was here every day before its opening. But now I can say that after nearly a year open, I have more balance and I am seeing light at the end of the tunnel." Sergio is still present in his two restaurants The Jane and Pure C. "I quit Oud Sluis but I did not stop. It's still a hectic life but its completely different. This week for example, I am at The Jane three days, at Pure C on Friday … [Read more...]
Joachim Boudens (Hertog Jan): Time is one of today’s luxuries
Time is one of today's greatest luxuries, Joachim Boudens, co-owner of Hertog Jan, the three-Michelin stared restaurant in Zedelgem (Bruges) tells me as he gives me a tour of the restaurant. He takes me for a walk in the garden of Hertog Jan and although it is winter and therefore bare, you realise that this is really an integral part, if not essential, to the restaurant. "When people have finished lunch we tell our guests to take a walk in the garden. For dinner, some people come to the restaurant and you can see that they are a bit stressed because they have arrived a bit late or were stuck in traffic. You can feel this as soon as they walk into the restaurant. We normally tell them that it is a good idea to go for a walk in the garden. Sometimes they start to worry because they have arrived 30 minutes late. We tell them its fine, just go for a walk. After 10 minutes, they walk back in and look like completely different people. They are ready to relax and enjoy their dinner. One … [Read more...]
Kobe Desramaults: Using humble ingredients to create something special out of nothing
Kobe Desramaults, is a conscious Belgian chef with a conscious cuisine. He has a strong character and knows what he wants. His cuisine may appear simple because of its focus on pure flavours but there is a certain complexity to it. "When I am cooking I like to go back to the roots and try to extract as much flavour from the ingredients I use. When I go to eat somewhere the most important thing is memory. It is all about the food. And if you want to remember the food you eat, you cannot have many different flavours going on in a plate. You cannot have a 20 course tasting menu with each dish having six or seven flavour combinations, because you would go crazy and would not remember anything," he tells me when I interview him in Cologne at Chef Sache. "So what I like to do is to focus on one ingredient. The reason I do this is that when people read the menu, they can remember what they have eaten just by remembering that one ingredient. This is what I like in food and this is what I … [Read more...]