Japan seems to be attracting great chefs at the moment. Three Michelin star chef Heinz Beck has opened a restaurant in Tokyo just in time for the festive season. Beck is German-born and has been based in Rome for 20 years. He is the only chef to have three Michelin stars at La Pergola, in the Italian capital city.
On the other hand, preparations are in full swing for the opening of Noma in Tokyo next month. Rene Redzedpi, the world famous chef was in Japan to source produce for the restaurant. He has been interviewed about the experience of opening a pop-up restaurant in Japan. He speaks about the overwhelming response they have received to date and also about the interesting produce he has found in Japan. It is very interesting and worth a read.
Jose Andres has written a fantastic article on National Geographic about Changing the Way We Eat Meat. He says that while a piece of meat like a steak is a beautiful thing to eat, he believes that we should be thinking about eating differently. He says that consumption of meat has taken a turn that nature did not intend as raising cattle and production of meat has become over industrialised to the extent that it is sometimes cheaper to buy meat than a head of broccoli. He says we need to eat more vegetables.
Pop-up restaurants seem to be the next big thing. Heston Blumenthal is taking practically all his staff and opening The Fat Duck in Melbourne Australia in February next year. There is a great interview with him in The Age. This is a great profile of the British self-taught chef who has been at the forefront of molecular gastronomy for the past years.
Here at Food and Wine Gazette we take wine service rather seriously so much so that we have written about wine mistakes that restaurants make. One of the most interesting Twitter feeds on wine we follow is by Wine Wankers, a trio of Australian wine lovers. On their blog this week they write about 10 things you hate about wine service in restaurants and bars. From wine by the glass which has been open for days to really small wine glasses and waiters who don’t know anything about wine there are also some of our main hates. So well done to the Wine Wankers for compiling this list.
On a more serious note a name of a wine critic “Champagne Jayne” has landed her in trouble with Champagne lawyers accusing her of trademark infringement.
Chickens have been in the news over the past weeks. Last week the Guardian revealed that over 3 out of four chickens sold in the UK are contaminated with a potentially lethal food poisoning bug. This week it is the turn of the New York Times to reveal thanks to a whistleblower what what ‘humanely raised’ chickens endure on factory farm.
And finally, the world’s largest white truffle was discovered in Italy this week. Truffle-lovers are offering over $1 million for this rare ingredient according to the Daily Mail. This truffle is reported to be almost twice the size of the existing Guinness record holder. We just hope that the dog that unearthed it will be rewarded with a treat.
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