BRUGES: Visitors to Bruges this summer will be able to get a taste to Iceconic, a brand new ice-cream brand created by star chef Gert de Mangeleer. The first location of Iceconic is the 't Zand in Bruges where a pop-up store is open until the end of August. It may well be the 'Willy Wonka' of ice-cream as the chef and co-owner of the former 3 Michelin star restaurant Hertog Jan has created five ice-cream creations. Gert has given is personal take on the ultimate ice cream experience focusing on purity of taste as well as high quality of produce to create a combination of silky and light texture of the freshly churned ice-cream. Iceconic is a collaboration with Friesland Campina, known for its high quality dairy products and also a strong partner for professional end users with their brand Debic. Gert was asked to think of surprising flavour combinations and went into his food lab to create this new story. He has created three basic flavours, vanilla, yogurt and … [Read more...]
Archives for July 2020
‘Never renounce to books and to quality ingredients’ – Massimo Bottura
MODENA: Massimo Bottura needs no introduction. Known mostly for as the chef-patron together with his wife Lara Gilmore of Osteria Francescana in Modena, today he is the best known Italian face in the world of gastronomy. At a recent e-Class he explained his mantra to never renounce to books and to great quality ingredients. The e-Class was organised by the Italian Chamber of Commerce of the Benelux country as part of the True Italian taste initiative, which aims to showcase the exceptional produce that comes out of Italy. And it was fitting for Massimo Bottura to represent and showcase these ingredients. I’m given the opportunity to ask Massimo a question and I wanted to understand his take on Italian cuisine outside Italy. Over the past few years, the Italian offer outside Italy has improved considerably in all corners of the world. While pizza and pasta remain Italy’s most ‘exported food’ there is another, more sophisticated approach to cooking Italian food outside Italy. At … [Read more...]
Nature Chic, a dining room under the trees in Brabant Wallon this summer
Nature Chic is the name of a new concept created during the COVID-19 pandemic. Four people have joined forces to create a culinary experience in the middle of nature. John Paquot, the proprietor of the Ferme d’Odenge, Alain Bianchin, chef of Michelin star restaurant Alain Blainchin and Andre Poes, a sommelier and owner of Nectars du Sommelier and Mickael Williquet have joined forces to create this experience where nature takes centre stage and forms the dining room. During the summer months in Orbais, in the Brabant Wallon region of Belgium, Nature Chic will welcome guests next to a river in the heart of the Belgian countryside. The 'dining room' is open from Thursday to Sunday Under the trees, guests are welcome from 7pm for an aperitif in the middle of the vegetable garden. Champagne and seasonal cocktails are served together with the latest creations prepared from the vegetable garden by the team at Brigitin. At around 8pm, guests will be taken to their table for dinner … [Read more...]
Norbert Niederkofler launches Cook the Mountain – The nature around you book
BRUNICO: At the ALPINN restaurant, over 2,300 metres above sea level, chef Norbert Niederkofler has finalised a project that started in 2008. "Cook the Mountain" - The nature around you is the book he has been working on over the past 10 years. The chef, who became famous for his Cook the Mountain philosophy at St Hubertus said he is telling all the stories of the mountain culture, the mountain food, the producers, their way of working, sustainability, how they used to work in the old days and what they have been doing to recover and bring back these traditions for the next generation. Printed entirely on apple paper (made from apple waste) and in a fully recyclable box, the book will be on sale as from October. The chef has announced that the 400 page book is being sold from his website. The first 500 copies will be signed by the chef himself and will be numbered. "With this book, I want to motivate people to become part of this harmony that exists between nature, culture … [Read more...]
Al Meni to return in September
RIMINI: Al Meni, a food festival celebrated under a circus tent in the Italy city that gave the world Federico Fellini, will return in September. Usually held in June, the food festival created by Italian chef Massimo Botttura will be held from 25 to 27 September this year. Disrupted by a storm last year, which forced the closure of the street market on the first day of the festival, this year's edition had to be postponed because of the COVID-19 crisis. Massimo Bottura came up with the idea to create a food festival which has as its centre, the world famous 8 1/2 circus tent that inspired Fellini. The festival had grown to bring young chefs from Italy and around the world for a feast of gastronomy that celebrates the cuisine and produce from Emilia Romagna with the spontaneous atmosphere of a street party. It was developed into an event by the Municipality of Rimini, together with the passion and knowledge of the Chef to Chef Emilia Romagna Cuochi Association on the … [Read more...]
Who is going to take the mantle?
As cities came to a standstill, as airports closed, as streets become deserted and as people hibernated for the longest spring in our living history, many thought we were going to experience a revolution that would change the world we live in. There would be the pre COVID-19 world and the post COVID-19 world. The restaurants emptied, the kitchens became colder, the hustle and bustle of a busy kitchen came to an immediate halt. Now, as more and more countries start to reopen for business, the more things change, they more they have stayed the same. In the darkest moments of the COVID-19 crisis many thought that there would be considerable and even radical changes to the world of food and restaurants in particular. A few days ago while speaking with Andrea Petrini, one of the most influential food writers in the world, founder of GELINAZ!, an avant-garde chef’s collective he asked me “Where are the new ideas?” How are you is how the conversation started and he told me that he … [Read more...]
50 Best releases first ever e-cookbook to raise funds in support of global hospitality
The organisation behind The World’s 50 Best Restaurants has released its first ever e-cookbook, entitled Home Comforts: simple lockdown recipes from the world’s best chefs and bartenders, featuring the meals that the world’s most revered chefs are cooking for their families at home. Available for a $10/£8 minimum donation through the 50 Best Bid for Recovery donation site with immediate effect, the cookbook will raise funds to support the global hospitality community. The cookbook contains 50 unique recipes from an equal number of female and male chefs who have featured on recent 50 Best lists, alongside 25 cocktail pairings from bartenders behind The World’s 50 Best Bars. The result is a collection of simple and delicious comfort food creations, from Tokyo to San Francisco, split into categories of vegetarian, fish and seafood, meat and dessert. Whether it’s Alain Passard’s inspired vegtable based … [Read more...]