We are just back from the amazing German town of Monschau and its splendid Christmas market. It was snowing throughout the day which adds to the charm and we made our way back home well stocked with mustard. But its now time for our weekly roundup of great reads on food and wine.
As Christmas day is approaching fast, there seems to be a lot of writing about Christmas lunches or dinners. Both the BBC and the Guardian feature the two-Michelin starred chef Tom Kerridge. This chef is a television personality in the UK and his recipes are always exceptional so you might be tempted to try some of the these.
These are his tips for a traditional Christmas from turkey to brussels sprouts. On the Guardian, there are 10 Christmas dishes prepared by Tom Kerridge.
Since we are on the subject of recipes, here are 10 of the best recipes with wine.
We have written about a Sicilian winery Azienda Agricola COS earlier this week. If you have missed it, take a look at this post because it introduces you to a great Sicilian winery. On the subject of Sicilian wines, there is an interesting article on Sicilian wines from Mount Etna. If you haven’t discovered them yet, now is the time to discover these lighter, more fragrant volcanic wines.
All our readers know that we are not really in favour of the points systems whether it is for wine or restaurants. If you are looking for a Wine App, you might consider Delectable. Here is an interesting post by David White who says that this wine app could revolutionise drinking.
To continue with wine, we have found an interesting interview with Alessia Antinori on wine and preserving a 600-year old family business.
Elena Arzak is one of the best chefs in the world. Richard Vines interviews this exceptional Spanish chef who says that restaurant kitchens will not be a man’s world forever.
Is wine pairing over? Riese may be the first water sommelier and he thinks that water is not just water and should be paired with food depending on acidity and salinization.
And to finish, you may want to read about what’s happening in the restaurant industry. We are introduced to Tock, which is being created by Nick Kokonas (of Alinea, the Aviary and Next) to fundamentally change the economic practices of restaurants while creating a virtuous circle for consumers, minimizing wait times, reducing no-shows, food waste, labour hours and food costs. We also read about Faviken, a Swedish restaurant which will close for 20 weeks each year to create dedicated time for research and creative work in the restaurant.
Check this link for an update on the UAE dining scene http://www.foodiva.net/2014/12/top-10-restaurant-and-food-trends-for-2015-uae/?c=1054