Here is a perfect summer recipe by Stéphane Diffels, chef of L'Air de Rien which was prepared by him for Flemish Food Bash. Although it might require some time to prepare, it is easy to assemble once you have prepared the different components of the dish. This is a perfect summer recipe and one which works very well. Diffels is the chef of L'Air de Rien, in the pretty village of Fontin, around 20 kilometres away from Liege takes inspiration from the regional produce. He was at Flemish Food Bash with all his team told me “we were coming all together to experience the festival and we only got to know at the last minute that we would participate." This is a restaurant worth discovering. Taking his inspiration from chefs like Sang-Hoon Degeimbre, René Redzepi and Kobe Desramaults, he has also been referred to as Wallonia's answer to the latter Flemish chef. The restaurant has no a la carte menu and the chef has created a 19 course menu (L’Air de Rien menu). The discovery … [Read more...]
Archives for July 2015
Unique dinner featuring chef Edwin Vinke in Amsterdam this October
Edwin Vinke, two Michelin star chef of De Kromme Watergang will be serving an exclusive dinner in the Lloyd Hotel and Cultural Embassy in Amsterdam on 9, 10 and 11 October 2015. The event, in its 10th edition is organised by Steinbesser. The dinner will be entirely plant-based (vegan) with all ingredients coming from biodynamic or organic agriculture sourced in the Netherlands. Edwin Vinke is owner and chef of the restaurant De Kromme Watergang and was awarded chef of the year in 2011 by Gault Millau. For this edition, Vinke will feature historical and curious flowers, herbs and vegetables. This promises to be a special challenge for a chef that takes his inspiration from the sea that surrounds the area of Zeeland in the Netherlands. In this edition, guests will be able to make use of the unforgettable cutlery created by Stian Korntved Ruud and Sarah Hurtigkarl, and the unique dishes made by Patricia Domingues, Matthias Dyer, Tatjana Giorgandse, Deborah Rudolph, Tala Yuan and Valentin … [Read more...]
Recipe (Riccardo Di Giacinto): Fregola with anchovies, butter and orange zest
Some of the best food memories come from simplicity - eating the crunchy part of baked pasta, mopping fresh bread with exceptional extra-virgin olive oil. The recipe prepared by Riccardo Di Giacinto at Flemish Food Bash had all the ingredients of simplicity. A certain type of pasta (or couscous) with butter and anchovies topped with grated orange zest cannot get much simpler. But the explosion of flavours in the mouth is something I will remember. It is not a combination I have tried before (anchovies go extremely well with olive oil but I had never before attempted them in a pasta dish with butter) and maybe it was for this reason that I was surprised. Food and Wine Gazette asked this Michelin star chef why he opted to bring a simple dish to Flemish Food Bash. "I wanted to bring a bit of Rome with me. In Rome, when you are feeling good and someone asks you how you are, you normally use an expression 'come burro e alici' whicih is like butter and anchovies. It means you are feeling … [Read more...]
Riccardo Di Giacinto: Enogastronomy could help Italy, Europe out of the crisis
Enogastronomy has the potential to take help Italy and Europe exit the current crisis, Roman chef Riccardo Di Giacinto, one Michelin star chef of Ristorante All'Oro in Rome said. "Communications have changed the world of gastronomy. But the world has also changed, interest in cuisine is at an all time high and I believe that food and wine could help bring us out of the crisis in Italy and Europe," Di Giacinto told Food and Wine Gazette when we caught up with him at Flemish Food Bash earlier this month. Di Giacinto has trained both in Italy and abroad, spending over 11 years away from Italy. He worked four years under Ferran Adrià of el Bulli fame and Marco Pierre White among others, before opening All'Oro in April 2007. "Experience abroad is always important because you meet colleagues and always take something back home with you. And I also hope that you leave something for your colleagues as well." The chef from Rome sees Italian cuisine today as being great, "in grande … [Read more...]
Weekly round-up of great reads on food and wine #42
While pasta is a simple dish to make, there are many ways to get it wrong. Here are 10 tips from Mario Batali on how to cook pasta. Andoni Luis Aduriz of Spanish restaurant Mugaritz was in San Francisco's Coi as part of the Gelinaz shuffle. Here is an interesting interview with this great Spanish chef. Read what he has to say about creativity. Fine Food Dude has an interview with Yanick Alleno chech of three Michelin star Pavillon Ledoyen and recently named the 2015 Chef of the Year by French restaurant guide Gault&Millau. Here is a list of recipes by Yotam Ottolenghi using cucumber. We must admit that we do not really use this vegetable as much as we should. These recipes may help change our mind. Paul Bocuse is one of the most important French chefs. He is a legend of French gastronomy. There is a restaurant by his own name and also the award Bocuse d'Or which has been instrumental in changing the ways we consider chefs creatives. Here is a very interesting review of … [Read more...]
What do you think if restaurants google you when you make a reservation?
What would you think if restaurants google you after you make a reservation? Two thirds of respondents to a survey in the United States said they would be fine with such a practice which exists. We have not come across any such statistics for Europe so we need to look at a recent survey carried out by OpenTable for a new e-book Technology and Dining Out 2015. 31 per cent said they found the suggestion creepy and intrusive. 40 per cent thought it was no problem and 24 per cent actually said it is a good thing.We can think of many reasons why this would be a good thing but wonder whether the figures for Europe would be similar particular given the difference in views on privacy in Europe. In today's world of social media where anyone has the potential to become a food critic by reviewing restaurants on sharing platforms, it would seem like standard practice for a restaurant to look for information about their clients. Moreover, it also helps to enhance a user experience. Just … [Read more...]
Recipe (Heinz Beck): Gnocchetti with smoked potato, peas and marinated shrimps
Purists in Italy will tell you that cheese and fish or seafood do not work together and they will probably be right. But like in everything in life, there are always exceptions to the rule. The further South in Italy you go, the least the rule becomes rigid and there are examples of Sicilian dishes for example which break this rule. I have also come across stuffed squid with smoked provolone from the Campania region in Italy which proved exquisite. When a three Michelin star chef of the calibre of Heinz Beck (see interview here) proposes a pasta dish which has as one of its main elements Grana Padano and then combined it with shrimps you need to stop and think. It is a dish that in a way challenges you. The German chef of La Pergola served this dish at Flemish Food Bash. The cheese was not added at the end but was rather integrated into the pasta with the potatoes which was probably the reason why it worked so well. Here is the recipe: Serves 4 Ingredients Pea … [Read more...]
Heinz Beck: Top-end cusine can and should also be healthy
Heinz Beck, executive chef of the only three Michelin star restaurant in Rome, is one of Italy's best chefs. Known for his healthy cooking, maybe unusual for a three-Michelin star chef, the German born Beck has been in Rome for the past 21 years. He was the only three Michelin star chef to cook at the Flemish Food Bash held earlier this month on the Belgian coast. We caught up with him for an interview just as the floodgates opened during the lunch service. Amid lightning, thunder and heavy rain, Beck had to improvise moving the space around to ensure that he and his staff didn't end up serving water-lodged pasta. I had to ask him whether these were the most difficult cooking conditions he had every encountered. He smiles and tells me it is not difficult, but different. He told Food and Wine Gazette that "these events are always very nice. Unfortunately we have a bit of a problem with the weather." Luckily, the weather conditions improved later in the day. Beck is a firm … [Read more...]
Weekly round-up of great reads on food and wine #41
It is rather exceptional that we start our weekly round-up with the printed word. It's not because we don't love print but rather because many seem to have given up on this medium. I could count myself as a news junkie but cannot remember the last time I bought a newspaper. I read considerably more books than the average reader and much as I love printed books, I cannot recall the last time I sat down and read a printed book from start to finish. The last time I tried to do so, I ended up buying the ebook version to be able to finish it on the go. Why do you need this background? Because, the latest issue of Fool, the magazine on food insanity brilliance and love is worth buying and reading. I got the latest issue yesterday and it is a superb read. It is called The Fusion Issue and has compelling content, excellent photography, excellent design and beautifully printed. There is a great interview with Inaki Aizpitarte of the famous Parisian restaurant Le Chateaubriand among others … [Read more...]
Gelinaz! shuffle: A crazy idea and excellent use of social media
Since the Gelinaz! shuffle was announced there was a lot of buzz surrounding the event, particularly on social media even if there were some who said they did not know the details behind the event. Many could have been sceptical that the event would be a success and few would have thought that the organisers would be able to keep the secret destinations of the chefs till the last minute. The aim was to have 37 chefs shuffle to other restaurants and cook in different time zones in a span of 23 hours on 9 July 2015. These chefs left the comfort of their homes and kitchens and went to other restaurants around the world. For example, Ben Shewry from Australia was cooking in Dranouter, Belgium, Massimo Bottura from Modena, Italy was cooking in New York and Fulvio Pierangelini, one of the founders of Gelinaz! was in Istanbul to give a few examples The fact that the identity of the chefs cooking in these restaurants was kept secret till the very last minute was an amazing feat in … [Read more...]