Weekly roundup of great reads on food and wine #56

The shocking events in Paris on 13 November have led to the postponement of the launch of the Belgium and Luxembourg Michelin guide for 2016 due tomorrow. We will keep you updated when the results are announced. Last week, Gault Millau announced the results for Belgium and Sang-Hoon Degeimbre of L’Air du Temps was awarded chef of the year for 2016.

If you have missed the news, we have also written about the latest case of food fraud, this time linked to the fraudulent sale of extra virgin olive oil that is anything but.

Virgilio Martinez, chef of Peruvian restaurant Central believes that the potato is not a humble ingredient. He says that while it is said that there are over 3,000 varieties in Peru, he has seen at least 400. He and his team employ more than 50 techniques to prepare potatoes. Read about it here.

We have come across this video of Gordon Ramsay refusing a dish he was served at a restaurant. We would have done the same. Check out why here.

Fine Food Dude who writes on the Hong Kong scene is baffled how restaurants like Amber and Caprice have not been awarded three stars this time round. It is worth a read, also for the list of Hong Kong restaurants awarded by the guide.

Dave Chang has written a great piece about Corey Lee and why he considers him to be one of the best chefs in the world. Read an extract from the book Benu by Corey Lee here.

The Thrillist has a list of the most overpriced food on restaurant menus according to chefs. You may think twice before ordering truffles or oysters again in a restaurant.

Wylie Dufrense writes an  article about the importance of a chef being a leader of a team. He sees the role of a chef as a coach, a manager or a leader. He says cooks need to be treated differently. “A great coach realises that you’ve got to get to each person differently.”

Here is a list of six Rioja wineries to visit.

Tim Atkin writes an interesting article about two contrasting global wine consultants Michel Rolland and Alberto Antonini. They have radically different views and according to Atkin you need to taste the wines that the two men make in Argentina to understand what he means.

The Wall Street Journal takes a look at how millennials are changing the world of wine. It quotes a young sommelier saying that fellow youngsters are more willing to buy the narrative of the wine rather than the wine itself.

Would you choose to go to a restaurant because of a sommelier? Jancis Robinson says she has been told that in New York, some diners are choosing a restaurant on the basis of who the sommelier is.