When Grant Achatz came up with the name Alinea, it was because he liked the definition - the beginning of a new train of thought. And that is exactly what he has done a few weeks ago when Alinea 2.0 reopened after months of refurbishment. He was asked why he was ripping apart a restaurant that worked so well. "Why fix something that is not broken? But Alinea is the beginning of a new train of thought. We have to just create a clean slate. Can we eliminate what we have been doing over the past 10 years and start afresh," he says. That is exactly what they are doing. Netflix second season of Chef's Table starts with Grant Achatz. The American chef is known to be one of the most inventive chefs in the business today and one of the many chefs who got 'inspired' by Ferran Adria of el Bulli. Alinea, the restaurant in Chicago does not need any introduction. It has three Michelin stars and has been a permanent fixture in the top places of the 50 World's Best Restaurant lists. The … [Read more...]
Archives for May 2016
Weekly roundup of great reads on food and wine #78
The Eater guide to the whole entire world: Tapas at the bar in Barcelona, perfect roast goose in Hong Kong, dinner in a vineyard outside Melbourne, and brunch on a terrace in São Paulo — when we travel now, we travel to eat. But global restaurant-hopping goes beyond that perfect iconic essential dish: Restaurants and bars are an opportunity to slip into daily life and experience a city's unique rhythm. We tapped dozens of local experts to open the doors to the best, the coolest, the weirdest, the most inspiring culinary experiences a traveler can have — in short, these maps are exactly what we want to have at our fingertips when we step off a plane. Don’t see your next destination on this list? Sit tight. We’ll be adding many, many more. Cheesed-off Italy wants pay-out over US soap opera gag: Producers of Italian hard cheese Grana Padano have told those behind the long-running US soap-opera, The Bold and the Beautiful, to pay damages after their product was the butt of a cheesy … [Read more...]
Christian Puglisi announces the start of a next chapter for himself and Relæ
Chef Christian F. Puglisi has announced the start of a new chapter for his restaurant and himself. Chef of world famous Danish restaurant Relæ which he opened in 2010 on a rough, run down stretch of one of Copenhagen's most crime-ridden streets, the restaurant has been serving impeccable, intelligent, sustainable and plate-centric food of the highest quality in a setting that was devoid of pretention and frills of conventional high-end restaurant dining. Today, the chef has announced that he is leaving the kitchen in the hands of his creative sparring partner Jon Tam. Instead, Puglisi will be focusing on the "Farm of Ideas" an experimental organic farm that will supply all his restaurants with the produce and freshest ideas. Writing on his Tumblr page, Puglisi said now was the time for change. "I have loved being able to work creatively. It has been my privilige to create myself a space where I could establish what I feel is my own cuisine, Relæ’s cuisine. Cooking vegetables … [Read more...]
Manresa’s David Kinch is first guest chef for Mirazur’s 10 year anniversary celebration
David Kinch, chef and owner of the three-Michelin star Manresa restaurant in Northern California, is the inaugural guest chef at chef Mauro Colagreco’s 10th anniversary celebration of Mirazur restaurant on Friday May 27. He will be the first of a list of ten illustrious chefs to cook at the restaurant throughout the year. Kinch brings the famed contemporary California cuisine of Manresa to Mirazur for one evening. Longtime friends and colleagues, Kinch and Colagreco have collaborated several times in the past at Manresa and Mirazur. “I could not be more excited to celebrate this milestone with him,” says Kinch. “It is rare for us to bring the restaurant on the road and we are looking forward to taking over the kitchen at Mirazur and creating the Manresa experience for the restaurant and its guests.” Kinch has forged a distinctive culinary path putting him at the forefront of new contemporary California cuisine. His philosophy is fostered by the terroir, or “sense of place” of … [Read more...]
WY welcomes Isabelle Arpin as new chef at the Mercedes House in Brussels
Isabelle Arpin, the Michelin star chef of restaurant Alexandre in Brussels (which also received 16 of 20 from Gault&Millau) will be taking over the kitchen of WY (Welcome You) at the Mercedes House in the Sablon area of Brussels. The French chef, who succeeded Alexandre Dionisio at Alexandre when he moved to La Villa in the Sky has already started work on the menu of the restaurant but will formally take over in around 2 weeks, Gault&Millau announced today. The news that the chef was leaving Alexandre has been going around Brussels circles and now has been confirmed. Before Alexandre, Isabelle, worked at Auteuil in Ostende. She studied finance before deciding by chance that she would take cooking as her career. WY which is known as the Mercedes-Benz and Smart showroom of central Brussels was the first ever car showroom in the world to earn a Michelin star under Bart De Pooter. … [Read more...]
Alain Passard is Opinionated about Dining’s top European choice for 2016
Alain Passard’s restaurant L’Arpege has been voted the number one restaurant in the newly released top 100 plus European restaurants 2016 list released by Opinionated about Dining on 23 May 2016. The chef who mentored some of the top chefs in the world including Pascal Barbot, Magnus Nilsson and Mauro Colagreco, is known for fostering the vegetable-oriented minimalist cuisine movement. Eneko Atxa, chef of Azurmendi, who was number 1 on the list last year placed second followed by Belgian chef Kobe Desramaults (the latest chef to be interviewed by Food and Wine Gazette here) who placed third. Fourth was Magnus Nilsson with his restaurant Faviken and fifth came Noma’s Rene Redzepi. Four Belgians are in the top 50 positions of the list. San Degeimbre of L'Air du Temps is in 29th position, Gert De Mangeleer of Hertog Jan is in 34th place while Peter Goossens of Hof Van Cleve was in 44th place. There are 10 French restaurants and 1o Spanish restaurants in the top 50. The … [Read more...]
Weekly roundup of great reads on food and wine #77
Heston Blumenthal: from brink of bankruptcy to giant of gastronomy: "When I was 15, I went to a restaurant in Provence with my folks. I could hear the legs of lamb being carved and the clink of glasses, I could smell the lavender. The waiters’ feet crunched on the gravel and the crickets sang. I went into a multi-sensory wonderland, and I was hooked.” It was this moment, 35 years ago, that convinced Heston Blumenthal to become a restaurateur. Alinea 2.0: Reinventing One of the World's Best Restaurants: "Did that work?" Nick Kokonas asks from the atrium of the recently renovated Alinea. It's Tuesday afternoon. The restaurant reopens on Friday night, after undergoing a five-month, seven-figure facelift. And its owner can't find the light switch. "I'm still learning where everything is," he says as the lights turn on over the service station in one of the four dining rooms — each of which has totally different decor and an entirely new menu. Meanwhile, Grant Achatz is fixed to … [Read more...]
Jock Zonfrillo: A 16 year old journey to discover the taste and origins of Australian cuisine
A trip by Scottish chef Jock Zonfrillo to Australia changed his life and the fate of Australia's indigenous cuisine. He was on a sabbatical from Restaurant Marco Pierre White that won a third Michelin star but that trip to Sydney was the turning point to an amazing journey of discovery. "I went back to Europe after this trip and kept thinking and thinking and asking myself why Australia was the only country I had visited where I could not taste anything about the culture of the country. There was no taste of original flavours of the country. There were good restaurants but they were French or European, not Australian." Zonfrillo moved to Australia in 2000 and has been there since then going on a journey that has led him to open world renowned restaurant Orana in 2013 which means 'welcome' in some aboriginal languages. While working at Restaurant 41 and Magill Estate Restaurant in Adelaide he set off to try and discover the history and taste of Australian food. And to do that … [Read more...]
A blind wine tasting: France vs the rest of the world
There is nothing like a blind wine-tasting to get you out of your comfort zone. And if you do not know what wines are being served, it makes it all the more difficult particularly since you have no indication whether the organisers are pulling out any tricks to make it even more difficult. On a recent visit to Malta, we participated in a blind wine tasting with the theme being France vs the rest of the world. The event was organsed by R,W&R, Amateur Wine Appreciation Group at the Commando restaurant in the idyllic village of Mellieha in the Northern part of this Mediterranean island. At the end of the evening the outcome was a 2-2 draw between France vs Rest of the World. But as they say comparisons are odious and it was more about the fun of testing our palates and finding the wines we loved without any influence whatsoever. The only hints we received before the tasting - there would be four flights of three wines served. These would be Alsace wines, Oaked Chardonnay, … [Read more...]
Q&A with Kobe Desramaults (In De Wulf): Technology is not always better
Belgian chef Kobe Desramaults does not need much introduction. Chef of top foodie destination In De Wulf and owner in Gent of De Vitrine and De Superette, here he reveals his more personal side in a quick question and answer session when we interviewed him recently. See the fully story here. What are the trends today which weren’t around when you started? For many years, there has been a strive to use technology in the kitchen. I followed sous vide very closely. I did it all myself and I am not going to judge it but I believe in a certain different type of cooking. for example, recently we had a one year old lamb which was aged for three weeks. We cooked the shoulder on a very slow fire. The end result when you carve it cannot be achieved with a normal oven. Technology does not always mean better. But what worked in the past is also not necessarily better. It is important that we have the knowledge so we can be selective. That is technology. You should choose what you want to … [Read more...]