Jock Zonfrillo, the Scottish chef who opened Orana in 2013 as a way of researching Australia’s indigenous cuisine has announced that the restaurant will close for good. “With the lease ending in a couple of months and with the current restrictions meaning we cannot break even, our closure has become permanent,” he said. "The current uncertainty in the tourism and hospitality industry means that it is not the right time for Orana 2.0. The plans we had started discussing have been put on hold,” he said. “My journey doesn’t stop here.  I’ll continue trying to make a difference through food projects outside the resaurant. And while these may be uncertain times, they need to be a time of understanding, tolerance and positivity for our industry and I’ll do whatever I can to help,” Zonfrillo said. The Scottish chef said that the ‘seven years of Restaurant Orana had moments of despair, perseverance and celebration.’ “We got a lot wrong but we also got a lot right. We achieved more … [Read more...]

RIMINI: Al Meni, the food festival created by Massimo Bottura and his Osteria Francescana team in Rimini returned at the end of September for its seventh edition. But unlike previous editions that were held in June in the world famous 8 1/2 circus tent in front of the Grand Hotel in Rimini where film director Federico Fellini spent a lot of his time, this year's edition was not just held in September but also also moved to the city centre from just in front of the sea. Originally intended to be a big food festival to celebrate the 100 years from Fellini's birth, this year's event took place in a smaller format because of the uncertainties created by the COVID-19 pandemic. "It was not an easy task," said Enrico Vignoli, the man behind the organisation of the event and one of Massimo Bottura's right hand men. "The COVID-19 pandemic created a lot of uncertainties. There was always the risk that we would have to cancel the event but we worked as if it would take place. And it … [Read more...]

BARCELONA: Albert Adrià has decided to temporarily close all his restaurants in Barcelona due to COVID-19 which has proven to be lethal for the restaurant sector. Albert has a gastronomic empire in the city with five restaurants including four that have a Michelin star. These are Tickets, Enigma, Pakta and Hoja Santo.  Albert, who rose to fame together with his brother Ferran at el Bulli created these group of restaurants in the same area of Barcelona and he called them “a gastronomic amusement park with differentiated concepts in the same neighbourhood.” The restaurants are highly sought after particularly by foodies who are curious to get a glimpse of the past el Bulli magic but have succumbed to lack of tourism. A small notice on the website says the restaurants will be closed until further notice. Catalan newspapers have reported that the absence of tourists have made a dent in this empire but while staff are concerned about their future Albert Adrià told Spanish media … [Read more...]

René Redzepi, chef of Copenhagen restaurant Noma has won the Best Chef top 100 award that was announced in the first ever virtual show on September 23. The event, which had to take place in Rotterdam but was cancelled because of the COVID-19 pandemic features chefs from 31 countries and includes 34 new names. Spain is the top performer with its 15 chefs in the list. Last year’s winner Bjorn Frantzen placed second while chef Dan Barber (who also won two additional awards) placed third. The full list can be found here. This annual awards gala has always been a global event with chefs from all over the world, travelling from far away to attend the hottest culinary gala. To guarantee everyone’s safety and taking the current COVID regulations into account, this year the world’s leading culinary platform decided to go back to their roots, presenting their Top100 through an online show and hosting hybrid conferences like Area Talks and Food Meet Science. “We decided not to … [Read more...]

El Celler de Can Roca, the famous restaurant of the Roca brothers in Girona has announced that they will be closing the restaurant until further notice after some members of staff tested positive. This is not the first top restaurant in Spain that has been forced to close temporarily because of COVID-19 but goes to show the plight of restaurants as they try to resume their normal activities. Considered to be one of the top restaurants in the world, the restaurant announced in a statement that the closure was a voluntary decision taken in accordance with ethical responsibility and a commitment to the people of their team and the people who had made a reservation in the coming days. "During internal control procedures to track COVID-19, we have found positive cases that do not allow us to have the peace of mind to continue to offer work in appropriate conditions. The family is fine, the whole team is fine and the positives are mild asymptomatic," the restaurant said. They … [Read more...]

COPENHAGEN: Christian Puglisi, chef and owner of Copenhagen restaurants Relae, Manfreds, Baest, Mirabelle Bakery and Mirabelle restaurant among other initiatives has announced he is closing two restaurants Reale and Manfreds at the end of the year. This is the second major announcement coming from the Danish capital in the past week. Last week Kristian Baumann and René Redzepi announced the closure of the highly acclaimed Restaurant 108. The chef of Italian origin who made a huge impact on the Danish scene with his sustainable approach announced the decision to close the two restaurants at the end of this year.  “We came, we saw (we didn’t use tweezers) and we conquered,” he said. “In 10 years, Reale and Manfreds have changed a neighbourhood, made an impact on the global culinary scene and fought to take organic agriculture seriously. We created countless memories, emotions and unforgettable experiences for myself, visiting guests and staff alike,” he said. “I can … [Read more...]

50 Kalo, a pizzeria by Ciro Salvo in London has remained at the top of the 50 Top Pizza Europe when the list was unveiled in an online event organised by Barbara Guerra, Albert Sapere and journalist Luciano Pignataro. The event had to take place on 28 April in Milan but the event had to be cancelled because of the pandemic.  The list awards the best pizzeria in Europe outside of Italy. Ciro Salvo, who made a name for himself with 50 Kalo in Naples, Italy thanked his team for their work which made this award possible. “I want to thank all the 30 members of staff who work in London who are really fulfilling our concept of a pizzeria that focuses on everything from the product to the service. We try to do better and better,” he said. He is the third generation of a family of master pizza makers in Italy.  Enopizzeria Via Toledo by Francesco Calo in Vienna placed second (a new entry), while Bijou in Partis by Gennaro Nasti placed third. Baest in Copenhagen and La … [Read more...]

COPENHAGEN: The first two months of the Game and Forest season have been opened for reservations at Noma. The website is accepting reservations for tables in October and November. But the announcement comes with an important caveat and one which shows how difficult it still is for ‘destination’ restaurants that mainly depend on international travellers to fill their seats at the restaurant. The restaurant warned guests that they expect travel restrictions for people travelling outside of Denmark to continue. The Game season will run from 13 October to 19 December. The restaurant is taking reservations only up to the end of November. “As we are expecting significant travel restrictions in the coming months we will be making frequent use of our waiting list when we reopen.” Most of the bookings and availability are for tables of 4 or larger. Currently Noma is open for the summer season which runs until 3 October. Last week the chef of Noma, René Redzepi, who also … [Read more...]