The life of a passionate chef is not always easy, particularly when he or she needs to fight against tradition and a dining scene that is not necessarily ready for a new approach. Tradition and habit may be the hardest things to fight against because few people may understand what you are trying to do. Then there is also the business side of running a restaurant. Do you follow the crowd or do you try to persist in creating something different even if that comes at a huge expense? Andrew Borg, the chef patron of Black Pig Restaurant in Valletta, the capital city of Malta, not only had to fight tradition and habits, but also against a bank manager in order to convince him that he did not want to open a takeaway instead of a fine dining restaurant. That restaurant, unfortunately closed last month. A few days ago, Andrew announced that he had closed his restaurant and that he would be taking a sabbatical before coming back with a new exciting project next year. The intention to … [Read more...]
A different way to use sea urchins
When I was young the way to eat sea urchins (rizzi in Maltese or ricci in Italian) was to break them open at the beach, rinse them with sea water and then scoop out the custard-like orange gland and enjoy the sweet and briny flavour either on fresh bread or else just scooping them out with a spoon and eating them. They used to be abundant and we would have them for lunch. They were served soon after they were picked and needless to say, freshness here is of the essence. In recent years, spaghetti ai ricci has become ubiquitous in Maltese restaurants. At first you could find it only in fish restaurants but it has now become considerably more common. Every chef has his own version though in my view, the simplest method is the best. For a recipe you can take a look here. While this is a dish that I continue to crave everytime I am in the Mediterranean and in particular my home country, Malta, I still think that the freshness of the sea urchin is somehow ruined by the hot pasta … [Read more...]
First craft beer masterclass organised in Malta by Lord Chambray
Lord Chambray organised the first ever Craft Beer masterclass in Malta in collaboration with Lorenzo Dabove, one of the world's renowned craft beer experts who is considered as one of the most important expert on Belgian beers and who is known worldwide for promoting lambic beers and craft beers. We attended this masterclass in Malta a few weeks ago. Dabove said that the craft beer revolution, that had swept through the United States to Italy and many other countries has now reached Malta. "Lord Chambray is the southernmost craft brewery in Europe. We can now say that there are craft breweries from the Lapland to Malta". There are now over 1,000 micro breweries in Italy, 3,000 in the United Kingdom and 5,000 in the United States. The tasting started with a wheat beer or White Beer, the Blue Lagoon. Wheat beer originated from the Belgian village of Hoegaarden and has been made since the Middle Ages. In the 19th century, the village had 13 breweries and 9 distilleries. In 1957, … [Read more...]
Malta’s first craft brewery Lord Chambray starts to export its beer
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...]
A contemporary take on Maltese cuisine at Michael’s in Valletta
Maltese chef Michael Cauchi needs no introduction in Malta. Famous for his former restaurant Il Re Del Pesce, today the chef works together with his son Daniel at Michael's in Valletta. When I was younger (and still living in Malta), the chef was a household name on this small Mediterranean island. He used to be on television showcasing his fish dishes, for which he was renowned even at a time when food was not as in vogue as it is today. Since that time, he has worked in various kitchens on the island but none more important than Aziamendi's 100 day pop-up restaurant two summers ago. Michael and his son Daniel were involved with Eneko Atxa and his team who set up the pop-up restaurant in a historic building in Valletta known as L’Hostel De Verdelin, after Fra Jean Jacques De Verdelin, a nephew of Grandmaster De Verdalle. On a recent visit to this restaurant, we really loved the freshness of the food, the clean flavours, the presentation and also the restaurant itself with … [Read more...]
Houston, we have a problem: The Maltese are the fattest in Europe and something needs to be done about it
"Houston. We have a problem." It is not every day that my country makes it to the international headlines given it's one of the smallest countries in the world. But recently it has done so for all the wrong reasons and not for something I am proud of. According to the 2015 European health report published by the World Health Organisation (WHO), the Maltese have tipped the scales as the fattest population in the European Union. 68.5 per cent of men and 59.6% of women over the age of 18 were found to be overweight by the WHO study. You might ask why this should be of any concern to Food and Wine Gazette. Alas it does because obesity is one of society's greatest problems and has implications way beyond the food world. But the problem also lies in lack of education, awareness and a certain naivety which the food industry banks on to profit from the masses. We recently read that the Maltese government had announced measures to disallow tuck shops at school from selling soft-drinks. … [Read more...]
Food memories and nostalgia – what has happened to that juicy Maltese tomato?
Nostalgia has a way of playing tricks with us. Many times we crave for the things we really enjoyed in our past only to be disappointed when we experience the real thing. It could be a city we visited and loved, a restaurant that is revisited or even a product we used to crave many years ago but which if you are objective is really disappointing. Food memories play a very important role in building our identity. What we eat ends up shaping who we are and who we really want to be with. Food is about sharing moments and experiences. It is also about our past memories. If there is one thing I crave for whenever I am away from Malta, it is the glorious and ripe Maltese tomato. Grown in abundance under the Mediterranean sun, its taste is unbelievably good. And if there was one thing that I could not get used to when I arrived in Belgium, nearly 10 years ago, it was the fact that I could not really find tomatoes that could compare to what I had experienced in the past. Things … [Read more...]
A perfect day in Valletta (Malta)
The starting point has to be Valletta. It is the capital city of Malta, the country where I was born and lived for over 30 years. It is known by locals as il-Belt (the City in English). It is a city built by gentlemen for gentlemen and for many years, especially after World War II, it stood in neglect abandoned by a nation which is once again discovering its glory at all times of day. Unlike other capital cities around the world, Valletta is a small peninsula with a population of just under 7,000 though more and more people are returning to live in what is considered as a World Heritage City. While Valletta has always been busy during the day with tourists and locals alike who go there for various administrative reasons, the city would fall silent after sunset as offices, museums and shops closed. But the city has been transformed over recent years and is becoming a hub of activity in the evening, away from the hustle and bustle of other busier areas on the island such as Sliema/St … [Read more...]
A postcard from Malta: Food and Wine Gazette is back
It is incredible that we are already in 2015. Food and Wine Gazette started off in September of 2014 and we are back after taking a two and a half week break from writing about the things we like most - food and wine. During our break, partially forced by the fact that we were staying in a house without internet access, we have been able to reflect a lot about the coming months of Food and Wine Gazette which we hope will be as exciting as the first few months have been for us. At first we were slightly worried because this was our first break from writing. We had been systematically posting content nearly on a daily basis since our launch. But as time went by, we started to relax more and more and are now back with lots of energy and ideas. Instead of writing, we have been extremely busy doing another thing we are passionate about, that is cooking and trying new wines. Inspired by some of the chefs we met on our journey so far, the books we have read about food and wine over the … [Read more...]
Malta: 10 things to see in Valletta
Valletta, Malta's capital city is known by locals as il-Belt (the City in English). Walking around over the past few days with the eyes of part-insider part-tourist, I noticed that Valletta, which is undergoing heavy restoration, has never looked better. There are a few things which I do on every visit to the island of Malta. A visit to Valletta is one of them no matter how short the visit is. Whether its to get a perfect espresso, to meet up friends or bump into people that you have not met in a while, Valletta is the perfect melting pot. It is a city built by gentlemen for gentlemen and for many years, especially after World War II, it stood in neglect abandoned by a nation which is once again discovering its glory at all times of day. Unlike other capital cities around the world, Valletta is a small peninsula with a population of just under 7,000 though more and more people are returning to live in what is considered as a World Heritage City. While Valletta has always … [Read more...]