Anthony Bourdain, a cook, a writer, a traveller, a TV personality and producer, a foodie at a time when food was barely on the radar screen and one of the main instigators of today’s culinary travels is no more. He sadly took his life away in what is an apparent suicide. It’s hard to think that someone you have never met could impact you so much but that was the case with Anthony. His two seminal books Kitchen Confidential and A Cook’s Tour where what triggered an interest in me for food, food books and food writing. He was a cook when he wrote 'Don’t Eat before reading this', a seminal piece in the New Yorker which was the prelude for his career as an author and TV producer. In that article he gave tips on what to avoid in restaurants from doing the restaurant a favour by ordering a well done steak (they will serve you the worse piece of meat you can imagine), by avoiding the dish of the day (it is what restaurants needed to sell lest it is thrown away), the dreaded brunch or … [Read more...]
Archives for June 2018
Ana Ros, Emmanuel Renaut, Peter Goossens and Arnaud Lallement to cook at Bon Bon
Christophe Hardiquest, chef of two Michelin star Brussels restaurant Bon Bon has announced the line up that will complete his Bon Bon Origins collaborative dinner series this year. Ana Ros, Emmanuel Renaut, Peter Goossens and Arnaud Lallement will cook together with Christophe in separate events that take place from July to October. Christophe Hardiquest, chef of the two Michelin star Brussels restaurant Bon Bon launched Bon Bon Origins out of the desire to rediscover traditional Belgian recipes that have stood the test of time but deconstructing them and bringing them to life again in a contemporary way, he will be organising collaborative dinners with different chefs that are focused on their own terroirs. Since the beginning of this year he has organised three dinners already with Belgian chef Gert de Mangeleer of Hertog Jan, Portuguese chef Jose Avillez of restaurant Belcanto and the French Alexander Couillon of La Marine in Noirmoutier. The first of the remaining … [Read more...]
Taking the doughnut to the next level: Niko Romito opens Bomba in Milan together with Autogrill
If Niko Romito has his way, he will revolutionise street food in Italy by turning the 'humble doughnut' or bomba as it is known in Italy into a protagonist of Italian street food. The chef of 3 Michelin star restaurant Reale in Castel di Sangro has opened a new 'fast food' concept in Milan together with Autogrill on 7 June. Called "Bomba" this is the first in a series of outlets that are set to open not just in Italy but also internationally. The 'bomba' is a doughnut that is being served in both a savoury and a sweet format at Bomba. Niko Romito has gone back to his father's roots. It was his father who made the 'bomba' at the pastry shop in Reale at Rivisondoli which made typical pastries from Abruzzo. His father turned that pastry shop and bakery into a trattoria before it was taken over by Niko and his sister who turned it into the best restaurant in Italy. In 2014, Niko launched the first 'Bomba' in Naples in a high-end supermarket. Here, they made not just the doughnuts … [Read more...]
Karen Torosyan: “To evolve you need to compete with yourself not with others”
The evening that Michelin awarded Bozar Brasserie with a Michelin star was the day that Karen Torosyan knew that he would become the master of his own destiny. His fate changed that day, he knew he was about to make the investment of a life time. It was not the star that changed everything but rather the realisation that now was the moment to turn his dream of owning a restaurant into reality. Since he started cooking in Georgia at the age of 13, he always dreamt that he would one day own his own restaurant. “The moment we clinched a Michelin star it became clear in my head that I needed to become independent. This would be the final step in my career, to have a project with my wife, a project that we could call a family project,” Karen Torosyan, chef of Bozar Restaurant in Brussels told me in an interview. Earlier this year, the Armenian chef who was born in Georgia bought the Bozar restaurant from David Martin of La Paix and an investor. One of the first changes he made was … [Read more...]
New restaurant and noodle bar by the Bun team in Antwerp
Huibrecht Berends and Hoa Truong, the duo behind Bun Vietnamese Street Food, the popular food bar in Antwerp have announced new plans to expand their business and bring more authentic Vietnamese food to the Flemish city of Antwerp. Their current Bun Vietnamese Street Food restaurant which is on Sint Jorispoort will be turned into a Vietnamese noodle shop from 12 June 2018. Hoa Truong and Huibrecht Berends have announced that they will also be opening a new bar and restaurant in summer on Volkstraat in Antwerp. Hoa and Huibrecht told Food and Wine Gazette that the Bun Bar and Restaurant in Volkstraat will open in August and will have 35 covers in the restaurant and 20 at the bar. "The restaurant will have an open kitchen, we will be serving the same style cuisine but they will no longer serve big bowls of noodles at the restaurant. Our idea is to have more smaller dishes and main courses to share. Our new restaurant will enable reservations and have all the comfort of a … [Read more...]
Noma to open bookings for Game and Forest season on June 6
Bookings for the Game and Forest season which starts on 2 October and runs till 22 December at noma will open tomorrow June 6 at 4pm (Central European Time). This is the only period of the year when René Redzepi will be serving meat at noma. Since the restaurant reopened in a new location in February, the restaurant has been working with three fixed seasons. The first focused on seafood and the vegetable season will follow when the restaurant reopens after a short break later this month. Redzepi said that meat will be playing a key role during this season and they will serve anything that they can get their hands on from a teal to goose, a leg of moose, reindeer tongue or wild ducks. The restaurant has assured their Instagram followers that they will spare their friendly duck neighbours who are constantly featuring on their Instagram stories. The Game and Forest Season also pays homage to everything that grows in the forest from berries to mushrooms, nuts and also wild … [Read more...]
Great lineup of chefs for this year’s Flavour Fair in Vilvorde on 10 June
The third edition of the Flavour Fair organised by Big Green Egg Belgium and Luxembourg will be held at Kruitfabriek in Vilvorde on the outskirts of Brussels on Sunday 10 June, 2018. The Flavour fair offers an interesting list of chefs who will use their culinary talents to cook on the Big Green Egg. Among the chefs taking part are San Degeimbre of L'Air du Temps, Bart de Pooter of Pastorale, David Martin (La Paix and Ateliers de la Mer), patissier Joost Arijs, North Sea Chefs Broes Tavernier, Piet de Vos of Arto, Nicolas Decloedt of Humus Botanical GastronomyBruno Timperman of Bruut, Karen Torosyan of Bozar RestaurantJohan Yon and Olivier de Vinck of Kommilfoo, Sander Van de Walle of Sel Gris among others. Apart from the chefs who will cook for the guests taking part in the event, there will be a number of demonstrations as well as courses on different themes. Through tips from experts and chefs, guests will be able to improve their knowledge of cooking using the Green … [Read more...]
Carbonara king Luciano Monosilio quits Roman restaurant Pipero
Luciano Monosilio, known for his legendary spaghetti carbonara which is considered to be one of the best if not the best in Rome announced on Facebook today that he has quit Pipero, a restaurant he has been chef of for the past eight years. The chef from Albano said these past eight years had been intense starting at Rex than moving to the new restaurant at Chiesa Nuova. "I have grown professionally and also personally but the cuisine at Pipero was becoming smaller and smaller for me. Many have asked me over the past years whether I felt the need to be independent as happened with many of my colleagues. I don't hide the fact that I had thought about it but it was not the right moment." "Today, is different. I thank the people who helped me in this journey and I leave the restaurant with a lot of experience which I can use in the forthcoming adventures." Alessandro Pipero, the owner and front of house announced that the decision was taken jointly. He said the new chef will be … [Read more...]