10 years after opening his first boutique shop, Benoît Nihant, the bean to bar Belgian chocolatier, has opened his second shop in Brussels in the Fort Jaco area in Uccle. The elegant store, which opened in August was officially inaugurated last week and marks a shift from the more classic store in Ixelles with its modern lines and white, black and gold colours. The large photos which adorn the shop show you part of the process to turn cocoa beans into the end product. Known as the bean to bar process, this Belgian chocolatier, who has his workshop in Awans, close to the Belgian city of Liege, has been producing his own chocolate from the beans he procures for the past six years. Benoit Nihant is one of only very few chocolate makers worldwide who starts his chocolate making process buying his beans directly from different plantations worldwide. He has recently also invested in his own plantation in Peru. In an interview with Food and Wine Gazette he had said it was not an easy … [Read more...]
Black Pig Restaurant (Valletta): Where innovation meets seasonality
Time passes and with it some say also comes nostalgia. While there are certain things which take you on a trip down memory lane, there are some memories which are best forgotten. Go back to the 1980s and early 1990s and my memory of most restaurants in Malta is of them serving the same thing. With friends we remember the ubiquitous tortellini with fresh cream, ham and mushrooms or the shrimp or prawn cocktail from those retro years or a steak diane. Everyone seemed to serve the same things. There were few speciality restaurants which were really worth the detour because they were doing something completely different. Maybe they specialised in fish or were serving French classics. At the time, these restaurants were doing something different to what was the norm. Maybe it was hard at the time to go against the current but with the benefit of time, they managed to not only survive but to be successfully copied. What used to be specialised those days is now mainstream. That … [Read more...]
Air Republic, Sergio Herman’s new project in Cadzand taking shape
Sergio Herman has used his Instagram feed to name his latest project Air Republic. The restaurant, that was announced in December 2015 is set to open in autumn of this year. Writing on his Instagram feed with a photo of him looking at the new restaurant that has been purposely built he said "Air republic in coming between Belgium and Holland. You feel it... the air and the vibe is always different! Every single day. Herman is one of the most talented chefs who decided to stop cooking full time in 2013. He has, however, not rested on his laurels created the successful The Jane with Nick Bril in Antwerp and Pure C in Cadzand with Syrco Bakker. After the success of The Jane in Antwerp and Pure C in Cadzand, Sergio Herman is opening a new harbour restaurant, pavillion and takeaway in Cadzand. The restaurant is set to open in a few weeks time. The seaside resort in the Netherlands has been made popular by his restaurant Pure C. It will now welcome the new harbour restaurant, … [Read more...]
‘I’ve spent a lot of time travelling to find what I wanted to do after Noma’ – Yannick Van Aeken (Humphrey)
When a young Belgian chef decided to open Humphrey in Brussels earlier this year, it immediately attracted the interests of those in the know. Young Belgian chef Yannick Van Aeken had been known in food circles particularly since he was sous-chef at Rene Redzepi's Noma for many years. He has also worked at Victor Arguinzoniz's Asador Extebarri, another restaurant that is considered to be among the best in the world and whose chef is clearly one of the top barbecue masters. So the expectations have been high not less because when we interviewed Kobe Desramaults earlier this year he named Van Aeken as one of two Belgian chefs to watch. With that pedigree, it is obvious that there is a lot of attention as to what Yannick is doing at Humphrey. But the young Belgian chef does not let this go to his head. He's opened the restaurant at a rather difficult time for Brussels just before the March terrorist attacks. "It is going well since we opened. Since the Brussels attacks, it has … [Read more...]
SummerFest celebrates the start of summer in Cadzand
For many days, there has been no respite to the rain in Northern Europe and the rainy weather was threatening to cause havoc with the Summer Fest, the festival to launch summer organised by Inspired Events and Syrco Bakker (chef of Pure C). The dark clouds and rain of the previous days made way for the sun and the event was organised on a glorious spring day which created the perfect setting for a celebration to welcome summer around dance, art, music, food and drink. A very good crowd turned up for the second edition of the Summerfest organised by Syrco Bakker, chef of Michelin star Pure C. Among the guests at the Summer Fest were Sergio Herman (The Jane and Pure C), Gert de Mangeleer from Hertog Jan, Andreas Caminada from Schauenstein and Sven Elverfeld from Aqua. Belgian butcher Hendrik Dierendonck was also present showcasing his renowned butchery and cookery skills as he showcased his dry-aged beef. The event had started the day earlier with a lunch at Pure C which … [Read more...]
Frites Atelier Amsterdam: New Sergio Herman chain aims to create best ‘fries’ in the world
There is no stopping Sergio Herman, one of the world's most talented chefs. After deciding to stop cooking full time at the end of 2013 when he closed his three Michelin star restaurant Oud Sluis in the Netherlands he has now decided to put his name on a new project with the aim of creating the best 'french fries' chain in the world. After opening Pure C in Cadzand (Zeeland, the Netherlands) and The Jane (Antwerp, Belgium), Herman will launch a new concept called Frites Atelier. The aim behind the new chain is to turn the humble potato and the common fast food into something good. Herman has been researching potatoes to find the best varieties that he will use for the chain and the sauces that will accompany the fries will change according to the seasons. The five first sauces are expected to be basil, pepper, truffle, bearnaise and mayonnaise. The first shop will open in the Hague in July and four others are expected to open in the major cities of the Netherlands including … [Read more...]
Bean to bar chocolatier Benoît Nihant: ‘Our motto is to have fun every day’
Benoît Nihant is one of only a few chocolatiers worldwide who starts his chocolate making process from the beans he procures in different plantations worldwide. Known as bean to bar production, this Belgian chocolatier, who has his workshop in Awans, close to the Belgian city of Liege, has been producing his own chocolate from the beans he procures for the past six years. It was not an easy journey because he had to start from scratch not only to find the raw material but also the machines he uses in his workshop. Finding the right quality of beans can be a challenge particularly since farmers are used to dealing with large corporations though he acknowledges that it has now become easier. A mechanical engineer by education, he decided to follow his passion and quit his corporate job together with his wife just before they turned 30. Together, they set up Benoît Nihant and today they are reaping the rewards of their work by being recognised as one of the elite chocolatiers in the … [Read more...]
Sra Bua by Tim Raue: Showcasing the purity of flavours
Tim Raue is a Berlin institution. Famous for his two Michelin star restaurant by the same name, Raue also has another two restaurants in the German capital. One is La Soupe Populaire which serves primarily German and Prussian dishes and the other is the Sra Bua by Tim Raue which is located at the Kempinski Hotel Adlon. On a recent visit to Berlin, and given it was a Monday, the only Tim Raue restaurant that was open and which I could therefore visit was Sra Bua. It turned out to be a very good choice. You might ask why a German chef would open a restaurant whose culinary concept focusses on Thailand and Japan. And you would be right to ask that question. But Tim Raue's flagship restaurant is the answer. Because while it is non unusual for Asian chefs, especially Japanese, to serve French style cuisine in Europe, very few Europeans are well known for their 'Asian cuisine'. Raue is the exception. His two-Michelin star restaurant is known for the bold flavours. He loves to … [Read more...]
Q&A with Maarten Van Steen (Villa Bardon)
Maarten Van Steen, chef of restaurant Villa Bardon in Sluizeken, Gent serves Maltese-style cuisine in his restaurant. It couldn't be different given his wife Anna comes from Malta and he spent two years cooking on the Mediterranean island where he learned all about Maltese food and Mediterranean culture. Maarten is constantly experimenting making liquors like limoncello and even Maltese sausages. But as he told us in an interview, he would also love to get the mother dough from a Maltese baker which would enable him to make Maltese bread at his restaurant. (If you are reading this and happen to know a baker in Malta who can help Maarten get mother dough please let us know). Here is our question and answer session with Maarten. What do you miss most about Malta when it comes to food? The freshness of the fish is something that I really miss. In Malta, you get fish so fresh it goes from the sea to your plate. It is not something that can be done here even if we have the North … [Read more...]
A final food pilgrimage to In De Wulf
When Kobe Desramaults announced that his restaurant In de Wulf would closed its doors in December 2016 in October last year we knew that the clock was ticking and it was either now or never. The list of places to visit is endless but with closure of the restaurant looming, it was becoming more and more urgent to find the time to visit this restaurant in Dranouter, on the Belgian border with France. You could say that the restaurant is in the middle of nowhere but that is all the more alluring given what this Flemish chef has created. In De Wulf comes with a huge reputation given that the Flemish chef had created one of the top destinations in the world for foodies (it was number 1 in the top 100 European list of Opinionated about Dining in 2014 and 4th in 2015). The restaurant, which has a Michelin star disappeared from the 51-100 list in the World's Best Restaurant list last year but is an incredibly special place to visit. What we experienced was an exceptional … [Read more...]