If you ask a Dutch about their food culture they will probably tell you about their snert (the famous slow cooked pea soup) or the stamppot (vegetables mixed with mashed potatoes). Ask anyone not Dutch what they know about Dutch food and they might mention Gouda cheese or stroopwafels if you are lucky. But chef Joris Bijdendijk wants to change that. As the successful chef of restaurant Rijks in Amsterdam, he wants to create a small Dutch food movement that can serve to bring about the change and show the world that some great things are happening in the Netherlands. On 13 January 2019, the Low Food Symposium in Amsterdam will bring together some of the most successful initiatives that have sprung up in recent years and offer a platform for these new and promising developments. The Low Food Symposium is intended to be an annual event that brings together Dutch food pioneers who can be inspired and also learn from other pioneers in other parts of the world. Joris believes … [Read more...]
Serica (the Silk Road): Combining two cuisines at a new Milan restaurant
Chinese chef Chang Liu who has just turned 30 is the chef of a newly opened restaurant called Serica in Milan which aims to serve as a bridge between Chinese and Italian food. After three years working at the Michelin starred Yoji Tokojoshi which is known for Italian cuisine that is 'contaminated' with Japanese techniques, he has decided to open his own restaurant named Serica located in Milan, Italy. The young and talented Chinese chef has a range of experiences including at Daniel Boulud in Beijing, as well as an internship at Noma in 2014. The Chinese chef was also a finalist in Italy's Hell's Kitchen with Carlo Cracco. He won the Chinese San Pellegrino Young chef competition in 2016. He worked alongside Yoji Tokojoshi at his restaurant since 2015. The restaurant name is Serica after the ancient Latin name for the Silk Road which is the most important commercial road in human history that connected the Chinese Empire to Western Society through the exchange of goods, spices … [Read more...]
6 top chefs from Asia to cook in charity dinner at Hertog Jan
On Wednesday 19 December, just three days before the last service at Hertog Jan, 6 of Asia's top chefs will be guests of Gert De Mangeleer and Joachim Boudens and cook a dinner in aid of Music for Life. Together with Gert and the entire team of Hertog Jan, they will cook a special dinner that evening in aid of Music for Life 2019. Gert and Joachim announced the closure of their three Michelin star restaurant in Zedelgem on the outskirts of Brugge in January this year. They have decided to conclude the Hertog Jan chapter meaningfully. All the proceeds from the evening will be donated to the Alexine Clarysse Fund. For the evening, there are only 26 places available and these will be auctioned. This is a unique opportunity to experience a final dinner at Hertog Jan while at the same time supporting a charitable event. 2018 has been a very special year for Hertog Jan founders Gert de Mangeleer and Joachim Boudens. Later this month, on 22 December, they will close a chapter in … [Read more...]
British chef Simon Rogan to open 2 restaurants in Hong Kong
Renowned British chef Simon Rogan is set to open two new restaurants in Hong Kong at the beginning of next year. This is the first time that Rogan is venturing outside the UK. The first will be Aulis Hong Kong.which is his first ever overseas chef's table and development kitchen concept in the heart of Hong Kong in early January 2019. It will be followed by the opening of sister venue Roganic Hong Kong in early February 2019. Simon already has five restaurants to his name including the 2 Michelin starred L'Enclume in the Lake District, 1-Michelin starred Roganic in London and the 1 Michelin starred Rogan and Co. in Cartmel. His inaugural international dining destination Aulis Hong Kong will offer an up-close and personal experience with the season’s freshest produce in a multifunctional high-tech space. The 12-seater Aulis Hong Kong comes to Asia after the successful launch of Aulis Cartmel within L’Enclume in 2016. This followed with the opening of Aulis London in 2017 as a … [Read more...]
A tour of the world in 75 recipes: San book launched
Sang Hoon Degeimbre, Belgian chef of L’ Air du Temps in Liernu and creator of three successful San restaurants has launched a cookbook called San, Around the world in 75 recipes. The book is inspired by recipes of dishes that have been served in the San restaurants since the first one opened 3 years ago in Brussels. The concept behind the restaurant is to serve food in a bowl and to eat it with a spoon. The menu changes every month according to the seasons and the travels of San and his team and is always inspired by Belgium, Korea or cities around the world. Out of over 100 dishes that have been created at the San restaurant over the past three years, 75 recipes have been selected. The main criteria has been that of ensuring that the recipes could easily be replicated at home and where quantities of certain components of the dish are not impossible to make at home. The book is published by Racine and the photography is by Frederic Raevens. It is currently available in … [Read more...]
Arnaud Donckele from Le Vague d’Or places top in Le Chef’s 100 best chefs 2019 compilation
The awards season keeps on giving. Arnaud Donckele from the La Vague d'Or restaurant in Saint Tropez has been named the best chef in the world according to the Le Chef compilation of the 100 best chefs in the world for 2019. The second on the list Michel Troisgros also came from France while Jonnie Boer from the Netherlands placed third. The Le Chef list is compiled by asking two and three-starred chefs of Michelin restaurants to provide a list of five names they think best represent the cooking profession and the one name they would like to see at the top of the list. Five of the top 10 on the worlds best chefs list were from France with Yannick Alleno, Alexandre Couillon and Emmanuel Renaut all placing in the first 10 positions. The other chefs in the top 10 as can be seen from the list below are Seiji Yamamoto from Japan who has always been in the top 10 since the first edition of the list. The others are Paul Pairet, David Kinch and René Redzepi. The list was … [Read more...]
Four new grape varieties permitted for Austrian quality wine
Four new white wine varieties are now permitted for Qualitätswein (quality wine) in Austria, via a collective amendment to Austrian wine law. Three of these are fungus-resistant new crossings known as PIWIs. Blütenmuskateller, Goldmuskateller, Muscaris and Souvignier Gris, all white grape varieties, were elevated to the status of Qualitätswein varieties during the summer through a collective amendment to Austrian wine law. This increases the total of Qualitätswein varieties in Austria to forty. The inclusion of the Goldmuskateller (Moscato Giallo) takes into account that, along with Muskat Ottonel and Gelber or Roter Muskateller, the Goldmuskateller, which is less susceptible to rot, also shows promise. Blütenmuskateller, Muscaris, and Souvignier Gris are three of the fungus-resistant grape varieties known as PIWIs. In addition to the two red PIWI varieties Rathay and Roesler, this is the first time that white PIWI wine varieties have been approved for the production of … [Read more...]
Get ready for disruption in the wine industry: How Gary Vaynerchuk and Empathy Wines plan to cut the middlemen and sell the best $20 wine
Gary Vaynerchuk, also known as Gary Vee has created Empathy Wines with a radical new way of selling wine. With the aim of eliminating the middlemen, Empathy Wines wants to sell the best possible wines at a $20 price point for wines that would normally sell at double the price. Jon Troutman, CEO of Empathy Wines told Food and Wine Gazette that staring a wine brand is something that Gary has been thinking about for two decades. "Gary finally had the right executives in place to help him. Both Nate and myself have been working with Gary across his previous wine businesses and most recently at VaynerMedia." Empathy Wines itself started materializing about one year ago. It was born out of the team's proven ability to scale consumer brands and build equity in a digitally-native way, which VaynerMedia has specialized in from the start. Industry trends have also worked in their favor - wineries are now able to get licensing for shipping direct to consumers in 43 of the 50 states. The … [Read more...]
No new 3rd Michelin star for Belgium but David Martin finally clinches 2nd star
Belgium has gone down from three Michelin star restaurants to 1 restaurant in the span of two years. Following the closure of Karmelit, the restaurant of Geert Van Hecke in Bruges in 2016 and the announced closure of Hertog Jan by Gert de Mangeleer in Zedelgem next month, the only restaurant to retain 3 stars in Belgium is Hof Van Cleve. Despite speculation that there could be potential candidates for a third star, the Michelin guide decided to retain all 2 Michelin star restaurants at that level and at least reflect for another year as to who to elect to the highest echelon in the red guide. However, there was good news for David Martin of La Paix. After having been named the chef of the year by Gault & Millau just a few days ago, his restaurant was finally awarded with a second Michelin star. Another restaurant to clinch a second star was Table de Maxime in the Wallonian hamlet of Our. Young chef Maxime Collard is the chef working there and he owes his success to Geert … [Read more...]
New Alchemist in Copenhagen set to open early next year with 50 servings menu
A year after closing the former Alchemist, head chef and co-owner Rasmus Munk has revealed the features of the new 24,000 sq ft dream restaurant in Copenhagen. The new Alchemist is set to open its 100 sq ft bronze door early next year. The 27 year old chef opened the former Alchemist in 2015 with a vision of challenging the meal and serve more than just great food. When he designed the new Alchemist in 2016, his initial visions were accompanied by the dream of building a restaurant able to stimulate all the human senses to create complete sensory dining experiences. This was always the vision for Alchemist, but now, he feels, the surroundings are ideal. “We were very happy in Århusgade. But the relatively few square feet have also had their limitations. I’m looking forward to showing new and old guests Alchemist’s full potential,” Rasmus Munk said. The new restaurant is more than 20 times bigger than the old one. The dimensions of the historical building previously occupied by … [Read more...]