The Kupfergrube is a great vineyard site. This steep terraced slope with a wall-like appearance standing behind the estate house of Gut Hermannsberg is majestically framed by a handful of other great vineyards in the Middle Nahe Valley. Even a superficial glance is enough to make clear that remarkable wines with charismatic personalities must grow there. This is the reason why Gut Hermannsberg only releases its Rieslings from the Kupfergrube when they reach five years of age. “These wines need far more time than all our others,” explained winemaker Karsten Peter, “to drink them earlier than this would be a mistake.” The decision to move to this “Very Late Release” strategy was taken by the Reidel family last year. “The 2017 Kupfergrube has such a complex structure it was clear that it’s full potential wouldn’t be reached after just two years of maturation,” explained estate co-director Jasper Reidel. It was therefore decided to shift from releasing the estate’s dry Kupfergrube GG … [Read more...]
Archives for September 2019
Ana Ros auctioning three chef jackets in aid of little Kris
Ana Ros, chef of Slovenian restaurant Hisa Franko is auctioning three of her most coveted chef jackets in aid of Mali (little) Kris, a 19-month-old Slovenian boy who was born with a serious disease called spinal muscular atrophy. Hisa Franko has already made a donation but the chef has announced that she will auction these three jackets through their Facebook page to raise funds. The boy only has four months to get revolutionary care from the US which would help to cure the disease. Slovenians have already pooled in resources and raised 2.3 million euros in funds that will allow Kris to get treatment. Each of the jackets that are being auctioned are unique and have important stories. One of them is Ana's JRE jacket which is a symbol of the first organisation that recognised her talent as a chef and which gave her the Talent of the year title in 2015. Another comes from 2018 when Ana was a member of the jury in the finals of the San Pellegrini young chef 2018 in Milan and the … [Read more...]
Inside a war bunker: today turned into Hubert Stockner’s cheese bunker
BRUNICO: It is a warm summer day in the hills of Alto Adige but we are warned to take the warmest clothes we can get. We are set to visit a wartime bunker in the hills on the outskirts of this buzzing town in South Tyrol. This bunker is today called the Genuss Bunker (literally translated as pleasure bunker). As you walk into a narrow door, a strong whiff of cheese greets you. The first room is the tasting area, a small space with a long table which can take up to 20 people. Walk past this room and you are in Ali Baba's cave for cheese lovers. for Hubert Stockner has converted a war bunker in this border region in Italy into the perfect spot where to age cheese. The perfect conditions of the bunker make his cheese extremely special. Inside the nearly 300 metre cave, the humidity is nearly 100% and the temperature is constantly at 10C making this the ideal natural conditions for the ageing of cheese. The result is something special. Hubert Stockner’s passion is cheese. … [Read more...]
Bjorn Frantzén wins the The Best Chef Award Top100, followed by chef Joan Roca and chef David Muñoz
BARCELONA: Chef Björn Frantzén has been won the Best Chef Top100 Award for 2019 followed by Joan Roca (winner of the previous two editions) and David Muñoz in third place. The 2019-list includes chefs from 24 countries worldwide and features 15 new entries among which is Disfrutar, the restaurant in Barcelona which made the highest jump. The winners of The Best Chef Awards 2019 The Best Chef Top100 Award : Björn Frantzén of restaurant Frantzén in Stockholm, Sweden. The second place was for Joan Roca (Spain), who won the award in 2017 and 2018, the third place went to David Muñoz (Spain). Last year, Björn Frantzén took the fourth place after David Muñoz (third place), René Redzepi (second place) and Joan Roca (first place).The Best Chef City Gourmet Award winner: Disfrutar with Mateu Casañas, Oriol Castro and Eduard Xatruch (Barcelona, Spain). This category of award recognized the … [Read more...]
The #50BestTalks Paris gender fiasco
The world food bubble descended on Paris on Monday 16 September for the #50BestTalks and what a fiasco it turned out to be. The most common question in food circles over the past weeks was whether you would be in Paris for the event as if being there or not separated the wheat from the chaff. What was meant to be a celebration of Mauro Colagreco and his number 1 position in the list (he will enter the hall of fame and will no longer be eligible to compete for the number 1 position following the change in rules earlier this year) turned out to be an embarrassment for the organisers who were criticised for organising a panel discussion without a single woman in the panel. Conscious of the fact that next year's award will be held in Antwerp, Belgium and also the fact that the organisation has been often criticised for the very small number of French restaurants in the list, the World’s 50 Best might have decided to organise an event in Paris to give its voters the possibility to … [Read more...]
Gelinaz! to return on 3 December: “Here I am, Here I am staying”
With a cryptic message “Hey what do you expect, J’ y suis, j’ y reste (Here I am, here I am staying), Andrea Petrini has announced the return of GELINAZ! on 3 December. No details have been announced to date other than the food world can expect a GELINAZ! event on 3 December and this will also involve chef Antonia Klugmann of Italian restaurant L’Argine a Venco in Venco. She also said the same thing as Andrea Petrini, the founder of GELINAZ!, a collective of chefs that have grown over the years to include most of the most avant-garde people in the industry today. The last time that GELINAZ! made an appearance was in Austria in summer 2017 when Andrea Petrini and Alexandra Swenden organised GELINAZ! DOES UPPER AUSTRIA, an event that was organised at Helmut and Philip Rachinger’s restaurant Mühltalhof. There 23 chefs were divided into 7 teams who had to work on 3 matrix dishes with clearly defined ingredients. In Austria, chefs were put together to collaborate, spend time … [Read more...]
Norbert Niederkofler and Jorge Vallejo cook the mountain at AlpiNN
BRUNICO: On the outskirts of the buzzing small town of Brunico, in South Tyriol, 2,300 metres above sea level lies a stunning restaurant, AlpiNN which is Norbert Niederkofler’s second restaurant in the region. The Italian chef rose to fame for his restaurant St Hubertus, which entered the 3 Michelin star hall of fame in 2017. At Alpinn, he has taken the Cook the Mountain philosophy not just in his cooking but also in the way that the restaurant has been designed. Together with Mexican chef Jorge Vallejo of restaurant Quintonil, Norbert Niederkofler and his team organised a unique four hands dinner in this incredible location. This was the first such even which will see other internationally renowned chefs visit the mountain restaurant. Together, the two chefs created a harmonious menu that respected the region and its produce. The Mexican chef, together with his assistant Eliana, got some ingredients specifically from Mexico. One was the mole of San Pedro Atocpan which … [Read more...]
Breakfast for charity to be organised on Brussels car free day
BRUSSELS: On 22 September, during the annual car free day, Thon Hotel Brussels is organising a breakfast for charity on Rue de la Lot in one of the city’s busiest streets. From 10.30am to noon, a long table will be set up to cater for more than 800 people. The continental breakfast will be free for all with donations being accepted for three partner associations, GoodPlanet Belgium, the Red Cross and Birds Bay. The car-free day in Brussels is organised on an annual basis and gives residents of the Belgian capital city the chance to enjoy their city free of cars, buses and traffic jams. This day is therefore conducive to the organization of exceptional events in places usually not accessible on foot or by bike. This is why Thon Hotels Brussels took the opportunity to organize a breakfast on one of the most crowded avenues in the capital. The table will be installed between 35 and 77 Rue de La Lot and bike parking will be available. Coffee, croissants, orange juice and … [Read more...]
Incredible VIVA: 8 chefs to cook at VIVA Viviana Varese in Milan
MILAN: An incredible line up of chefs will cook at Incredible VIVA, a series on dinners that are being held at VIVA Viviana Varese, a one Michelin star restaurant that is housed in Eataly, Milan. The chefs ranging from Tim Butler to Pia Leon, Adeline Grattard and Mauro Colagreco will be coking as guests of Viviana Varese in the coming months. The Italian chef teamed up with Anna Morelli, a friend and publisher of one of Italian food magazine Cook Inc to bring guests to cook at the Milan restaurant. “I wanted to create an event that was different from a four hands dinner. What we will do is let the chefs create a whole menu for the evening and my team and I will be at their disposal. When Adeline Grattard will come to cook, it will be her menu and we will help her in terms of staff and in buying ingredients. Think of the restaurant as VIVA Adeline Grattard or VIVA Mauro Colagreco for that evening,” Viviana Varese told Food and Wine Gazette. The first chef to cook at … [Read more...]
Gut Hermannsberg celebrates 10 years of terroir and Riesling
Together with guests from around the world Jens Reidel and Dr. Christine Dinse celebrated the dramatic return to form of their famous wine estate on the Nahe. In 2009 they purchased the former “Königlich-Preussische Weindomäne” – Royal Prussian Wine Domaine – in Niederhausen, later the Nahe State Domaine and renamed it Gut Hermannsberg. Since then they pushed the quality winery back to the very top. Today Gut Hermannsberg is one of Germany’s leading wine producers. Breathtakingly beautiful “It’s the most beautiful place in the world,” Michael Prinz zu Salm-Salm said in his speech at the 10th anniversary celebration at Gut Hermannsberg on Friday, 30th August, “and we are all happy, that this wonderful place shines again.” Gut Hermannsberg stands on a hilltop in the Nahe Valley with breathtaking views over the estate’s steep vineyards that all produce GGs (Große Gewächs / “Grand Crus”), volcanic cliffs and the river. The estate gets its name from the … [Read more...]