I've written about Jack O'Shea Chophouse before to say it was set to open in central Brussels in September. Unfortunately because of delays related to works, the chophouse is still closed. But after a long wait, Jack O'Shea himself told us yesterday that the chophouse will finally be opening in the coming days. It is a soft-opening for the time-being but Jack O'Shea's chophouse is set to become one of Brussels top foodie destinations in the New Year and will add to the already interesting restaurant scene in the Place St Catherine area. There is no question that the quality of the meat at Jack O'Shea. Together with Dierendonck, he is one of Belgium's best butchers. The meat which you get from this butcher whether it is a Wagyu beef t-bone steak, an Angus beef ribeye, an aged t-bone steak or just sausages from his large range (which includes mustard and spinach, Italian, beef and guiness, chorizo), are all exceptional. With such quality of ingredients and a hot grill, all you … [Read more...]
Archives for December 2014
Weekly roundup of great reads on food and wine #15
We are fast approaching Christmas and for those regulars who like this weekly round-up of links to interesting articles I come across on food and wine, I want to wish you a Merry Christmas and a great week ahead whether you are on holiday or busy working. The Italian culinary world was shocked with a news which saw Massimo Bottura reveal that he may be moving his exceptional Osteria Francescana to London. The news was revealed by Bloomberg in an interview with the Modenese chef and took even the journalist by surprise. Gambero Rosso, the Italian food and wine publication called this a 'shock'. Bottura said that it is something he has been discussing with his wine for the past six months. "The most important ingredient I have is my brain and my brain is going to be very easy to take with me to London, or New York, or Tokyo, or Hong Kong, wherever," he says. On that count he is right. There is no question that French cuisine is feeling the pressure at least in the media. The … [Read more...]
Foradori: A great winemaker from the Dolomites
When I met Elizabetta Foradori I had to admit that the wines I was trying were not familiar to me even though I had heard and read about the winemaker since Elizabetta Foradori is considered as one of the most influential female winemakers in the world. I met her at Vini Birre Ribelli in Brussels earlier this month. The winery has been established for more than 100 years in 1901 and was eventually bought by Vittorio Foradori in 1929. The first ever vintage of 'Foradori' was produced in 1960. Elisabetta took over the winery in 1984 after completed her studies at the S. Michele all'Adige's wine school and faced her first vintage. She worked to convert the winery to a biodynamic farming system in 2002 and in 2007 the winery joined VinNatur and started making natural wines. Foradori have been making use of biodynamic farming in their vineyards while diligently working with great care in the cellars for over 10 years. This has led to excellent results. Elizabetta is humble and easy … [Read more...]
Tim Raue: Bold character, bold flavours
It is not unusual for Asian chefs, especially Japanese to serve French style cuisine in Europe. But it is not really common to find a German who is well-known for his 'Asian' cuisine and also has two-Michelin stars for this. When Tim Raue took the stage at Chefs Revolution there was no question that his presentation reflected not only his bold character but also his bold cuisine. He kept the audience in awe as he recalled his story of how he moved from cooking a random mix of food to Asian food. In 2007 he won the Gault Millau chef of the year award but as he himself put it "I was cooking randomly from Spanish molecular cuisine to French inspired shit. But it was not me and I always believe that you need to find yourself in a plate." He says that after a lot of soul-searching to find what he liked he managed to create a unique style of cuisine which is bold with lots of flavours. "I have now found the right balance," he said. At 40 years he is one of the most prominent … [Read more...]
Bjorn Frantzen: An impressive feat preparing 19 dishes in 44 minutes
There is no question that one of the most impressive cooking performances I have ever seen was Bjorn Frantzen's show at Chef's Revolution in Zwolle organised by Jonnie and Therese Boer of De Librije earlier this year. Together with his team, they prepared 19 dishes which are normally take three and a half hours to prepare in just 44 minutes. He assured the audience that 'we have not trained for this before,' which made it all the more impressive. The Swedish chef who has two Michelin stars for his restaurant Frantzen in Sweden and is listed 23rd in the World's Best 50 restaurants said that he ends up traveling too many times to tell the restaurant story and what he really wanted to do was cook so he was trying a new experiment which is to showcase the dinner they prepared in the restaurant the previous Saturday. Frantzen serves one tasting menu of 19 dishes and it is changed every day according to what is fresh, local and seasonal. Anyone who follows this Swedish chef on Twitter … [Read more...]
Massimo Bottura – a phenomenal storyteller
http://vimeo.com/114152806 Massimo Bottura is a phenomenal storyteller. In the above video he speaks about a very old couple who went to celebrate a diamond wedding anniversary at Osteria Francescana and started crying when they tried one of his dishes. Bottura is the most inventive chef in Italy. Massimo Bottura: Never Trust A Skinny Italian Chef, which was published earlier this year (and has been reviewed by Food and Wine Gazette) has been featured even in The Economist last week because it is a unique book on food, creativity and emotion. I am sharing this video because in three minutes you can learn about Bottura's philosophy. In this short, well made film, the Italian chef explains how he was touched by the story of an 85-year-old couple who cried when they tasted his compression of pasta and beans obviously recalling their childhood. Pasta e Fagioli, as it is called in Italian is a very common rustic dish. Bottura obviously takes it to another level by creating a … [Read more...]
Are there times when it is not right to take a child to a restaurant?
The issue of children in a restaurant is always a very touchy subject. It is a sore point both for parents, restaurant owners and patrons alike. Earlier this year, there was a great controversy on the subject when renowned American chef of Alinea Grant Achatz tweeted that guests at his three-star restaurant had taken an eight-month old baby along to dinner. At one point the baby proceeded to cry and the chef said he could hear him from the kitchen. He did not kick them out but he did say that he was considering changing his policy vis-a-vis children in his restaurants. So when is it legitimate for a restaurant to say it does not accept children under a certain age? What is the definition of a child-friendly restaurant? When is it acceptable to take children to a restaurant and when should it be prohibited? What is the rule for high-end restaurants? Is there a particular age when a child should not be accepted in a restaurant? Where should you draw the line? Should parents with … [Read more...]
Weekly roundup of great reads on food and wine #14
We are just back from the amazing German town of Monschau and its splendid Christmas market. It was snowing throughout the day which adds to the charm and we made our way back home well stocked with mustard. But its now time for our weekly roundup of great reads on food and wine. As Christmas day is approaching fast, there seems to be a lot of writing about Christmas lunches or dinners. Both the BBC and the Guardian feature the two-Michelin starred chef Tom Kerridge. This chef is a television personality in the UK and his recipes are always exceptional so you might be tempted to try some of the these. These are his tips for a traditional Christmas from turkey to brussels sprouts. On the Guardian, there are 10 Christmas dishes prepared by Tom Kerridge. Since we are on the subject of recipes, here are 10 of the best recipes with wine. We have written about a Sicilian winery Azienda Agricola COS earlier this week. If you have missed it, take a look at this post because it … [Read more...]
Tenute Dettori: Letting nature do the work to produce stunning wines
When I visited Vini Birre Ribelli I must admit that the wines of Tenute Dettori caught me by complete surprise. The winery from Sardegna produces only 45,000 bottles. I had read about their wines a few years ago and knew that they were good but had never come across their wines or tasted them. The tasting therefore was all the more surprising. Paolo Dettori explained the story of this winery to us as we tasted his exceptional wines. There is minimal intervention both during the grape growing and also in the wine making process. At one point I asked him whether he used oak for any of his wines and he said quite strongly and proudly that the wines only make contact with cement/glass and are never aged in oak. The winery prides itself with being as much in tune with nature as possible. Electrical energy in the winery is only used for de-stemming and for the bottling equipment. The pruning, grape stems and pomade are all returned to the earth. They have also reduced the weight of the … [Read more...]
What we’ve been drinking last month (November)
There is a certain allure to a blind wine tasting. Last weekend, when I visited Vini Birre Ribelli I was discussing with a friend what a humbling experience I had at a blind tasting dinner last month. We were a group of wine lovers who went to eat at a restaurant in Brussels (Ventre Saint Gris) which lets you to take your own wines on a Tuesday evening. It is a perfect way to try different wines from the cellar which you might not necessarily try in a restaurant. As an avid wine lover, I think I know my wines. I would think that it is easy to recognise a Riesling from a Chardonnay or a Pinot Noir from a Cabernet Sauvignon to give some examples. So it was an incredibly humbling experience to go to this blind tasting and find that I could actually not even recognise two Pinot Noir wines (together with many friends around the table). Neither could I spot the two Syrahs (a Hermitage and a Cote Rotie) despite the fact that Syrah is also an extremely distinct grape. Many wine … [Read more...]