Ao Yun, the first Grand cru from the Himalayas has released its 2017 vintage on 22 March. Ao Yun was born from a dream that began in 2008 to create a unique, world class fine wine in China. It is the first wine of its kind and brings a new region - Yunnan to the world winemaking map. The 2017 vintage boasts a concentrated yet fresh and velvety blend that symbolizes the wine that is made in a challenging climate. "Despite the challenging climate, the vintage is a reflection of the work we carry out in the vineyard and in our winemaking," said Maxence Dulou. "We managed to harvest powerful but ripe grapes and transformed them into a concentrated but fresh and velvety wine." The winery said that this was the most challenging vintage since the first in 2013. It started with a dry and warm winter which was followed by a cool spring that delayed growth in the vines. The summer was cool and too wet but in autumn a crucial window opened with a month of higher than average temperatures. … [Read more...]
Archives for March 2021
Time to change at Jordnær: two families, one mission – well-being
Tina and Eric Kragh Vildgaard of restaurant Jordnær, a two Michelin star restaurant created inside a humble three-starred hotel in the suburbs of Copenhagen have been reflecting a lot over the past months during the time that restaurants have been closed because of the COVID-19 pandemic. As the Danish government announced the date of the reopening of restaurants on May 6th, the restaurant will open only four days a week and in particular not on the weekend making it one of the only restaurants in Scandinavia, if not the only one to take this road. This is not being done out of necessity but a deliberate choice to seek a better and healthier balance between work and personal/family life that results in a happier, more motivated, well-rested and creative team. “We have 6 kids and they are getting older and older. They always participate in all kinds of activities during the weekends and we never get to be there because we chose to be in this industry. So why not try it?." … [Read more...]
Viewing Italy through a new culinary lens – Laura Lazzaroni on the New Cucina Italiana
Laura Lazzaroni may not win a lot of friends when she says that it is time to metaphorically kill the ‘nonna’ or grandmother philosophy. But she has a point. She writes about it in the introduction to her new book The New Cucina Italiana: What to Eat, What to Cook and Who to Know in Italian Cuisine published by Rizzoli New York. “I meant it to be shocking to get the point across. Of course we all love our nonne (grandmothers) and they are extremely important. Our younger generation of chefs are respectful of tradition but they’re also emancipating and moving away from the stereotype. What grandmothers have done was fantastic particularly when it came to the craftsmanship of their hands, for example making fresh pasta. But, if we have to be honest, some things were not that great because they either did not have the technology or they did not understand the chemical reactions happening within ingredients. We also need to remember that for many young chefs in Italy today, the … [Read more...]
The New Cucina Italiana: a book that takes us to Italy at a time when we cannot travel
What do you think of when you think about Italian food? Some might think about pizza, spaghetti al pomodoro, cacio e pepe or carbonara. Or even of dishes that have been created outside Italy but which have little to do with what Italians really eat. But that is far from what a new movement of Italian chefs are working on. For those like me who follow the Italian scene rather closely some of the names of this movement may sound familiar. For others, these are chefs that are still under the radar but who are slowly but surely establishing themselves as the new frontier of Italian cuisine. Niko Romito, for example needs no introduction internationally. Paolo Lopriore, on the other hand, has worked under the international radar for a very long time even if for many young chefs in Italy today, he is a guiding light. I’d heard about him in passing but rarely delved into depth about what he has meant for Italy. At Spessore a few years ago, all the young chefs were raving about this … [Read more...]
Gucci Osteria da Massimo Bottura to open in Tokyo later this year
TOKYO: There is still no date set for the opening of Gucci Osteria Tokyo, a contemporary Italian restaurant created by one of the world's leading luxury fashion brand Gucci and world renowned chef Massimo Bottura. This will be the third outpost for Gucci Osteria. The first one was opened in January 2018 in Florence, Italy at the Gucci Garden. The second in Beverly Hills, Los Angeles opened in February last year. The third restaurant will open in Ginza later this year. It will be located on the top floor of Gucci Namiki - Gucci’s latest flagship store which will open on the 29th April - Gucci Osteria Tokyo will be curated by three-Michelin star chef Massimo Bottura in collaboration with Karime Lòpez, Head Chef of the original Gucci Osteria in Florence that was awarded its first Michelin star in the 2020. The restaurant will have its own dedicated entrance from street level. This will be the third global outpost for Gucci Osteria, the first of which opened in January 2018 at the … [Read more...]
Side by Sight: Three restaurants in collaboration with The Hotel Brussels
Three chefs from the L’Air du Temps group of restaurants which have restaurants in Brussels have teamed up with The Hotel Brussels to offer safe dinners at the hotel given that the restaurants in Belgium remain closed. From March 25 to April 24, chefs Valerie Borriero of San Sablon, Toshiro Fujii of restaurant Toshiro and Kevin Perlot of restaurant VerTige will take turns taking over the kitchens of The Hotel Brussels to share the values and vision of their Brussels restaurants. Every Thursday, Friday and Saturday, they will each offer a 4-course menu with wine pairing that can be enjoyed in the comfort of a room that has been transformed especially for the occasion into a private restaurant. Guests will upon arrival receive two keys. While one opens the door to their room, the other gives them access to one of the Deluxe Panorama Room which offers breathing views over the Belgian capital. The event called Side by Sight will start of March 25. The first chef will be Kevin … [Read more...]
Ta’ Betta Winery: ‘The ride of a lifetime’
What makes two professionals, highly respected in their fields put all their life savings into a project to create a boutique winery in Malta making top quality wines? How do they find the time to manage a wine business despite their professional commitments? That’s the story of Dr Astrid Camilleri, a gynaecologist and Prof. Juanito Camilleri a former University rector and former CEO of a mobile operator who have set up the Ta’ Betta Winery in Malta with the aim of making fine wines with personality that have ageing potential. “It’s a long story,” Astrid tells me. It is not a problem for me. It is a beautiful albeit windy summer evening at Ta’ Betta winery, a gem of a place the two have created over many years of hard work. You could call it their life or passion project but it has turned out to be much more than that. “We met in Cambridge while we were studying. I had started working there and Juanito was reading for his PhD. We got to know each other and we got married within 2 … [Read more...]
A taste of Sicily in your home as restaurant delivers across Europe
A Sicilian restaurant is sending a taste of Sicily directly to the homes of people in Europe and further afield. Il Consiglio di Sicilia, a happiness-driven restaurant and an acclaimed seafood restaurant in Donnalucata in Ragusa has launched two new special deliveries called Let’s Cook Together and Chilled Out. Roberta Corradin said that this is a time of instability and isolation for so many. “We are really missing our guests at least as much as they are missing us. What this pandemic has shown us is that the care and the love we feel for each of them has actually come to define us. We want to send more than food to the table of our guests and friends. We want to share with them the joy in our hearts,” said the co-owner of the restaurant and wife of chef Antonio Cicero. Antonio on the other hand said: “We are part of a community that relies on us and on which in turn we rely on them. It is a passionate, cheerful and supportive community. The purpose of these boxes is not just … [Read more...]
That sense of lost liberty – Valentino Cassanelli
If there is one thing that has been taken from many of us over the past year, it is the feeling of liberty. That feeling of being able to take the car, train or aeroplane and visit places that are a bit further away than your place of residence. Valentino Cassanelli, chef of Lux Lucis is no exception. He is dreaming of that day, some time soon, when he will be able to just take the car and discover those parts of Italy he has not really explored yet, like Sicily for example. “I would like to regain that sense of liberty. I want to be able to discover some places or rediscover others. All this lockdown has made me think of the places that I don’t know really well. I know Italy but I want to delve deeper,” he tells me. The Italian 37-year-old chef, who grew up in Spilamberto, a small town in the countryside outside Modena also relishes a trip to London to see how the city has changed during this pandemic, what has happened to certain neighbourhoods and what new restaurants will … [Read more...]
The curious case of the postponed Michelin announcement in Malta
VALLETTA: Michelin works in mysterious ways. We all know this particularly when it comes to transparency or lack of it. But when it comes to announcing the awards it is normally done with a lot of anticipation and much fanfare. So it came as a bit of a surprise today that the Michelin Guide today skipped the Malta announcement. Restauranteurs and chefs were told last month that the results for 2021 would be announced on 9 March. Malta was one of the few places in Europe which kept restaurants open after summer but last week they were ordered closed because of the COVID-19 crisis. Chefs and restauranteurs were hoping for a bit of good news to boost their morale particularly since the closure came as a surprise given the previous week their opening hours were extended. Some restaurants, we are told, had prepared their communication teams for the 11am announcement. But it was not to be as they were informally informed by the Malta Tourism Authority that the event had been … [Read more...]