The 2019 ceremony of the World's 50 Best Restaurants will be held at the Sands Theatre within the iconic Marina Bay Sands in Singapore on Tuesday 25 June. The event will be preceded by a full programme of associated events and activities for international culinary professionals and food lovers alike. Singapore will be the first city in Asia to host the world’s biggest annual gathering of chefs, restaurateurs, producers, media and VIPS, reflecting the city-state’s global reputation as an exciting and diverse foodie hotspot. William Drew, Group Editor of The World’s 50 Best Restaurants, said: “We couldn’t be more excited to host our upcoming edition of The World’s 50 Best Restaurants programme in Singapore, culminating in the gala awards in the iconic Marina Bay Sands integrated resort on Tuesday 25th June. The venue, and the host location as a whole, offers everything from street food and heritage dining to upscale celebrity chef establishments. The rich diversity of cuisine … [Read more...]
Vicky Lau to organise series of charity events for International Women’s Day
HONG KONG: Vicky Lau, one of Hong Kong’s leading female chefs and chef of Michelin starred TATE Dining Room, as well as best female chef of Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants 2015, has unveiled a series of culinary events that will take place on Friday 8 March 2019 to coincide with the International Women’s Day. Proceeds from the events will be donated to the Women’s Foundation, a non-profit organisation dedicated to improving the lives of women and girls in Hong Kong through groundbreaking research, impactful community programs and education and advocacy of the empowerment of the female voice. Vicky Lau uses visual artistry from her previous life as a graphic designer and is considered one of the top chefs of Innovative French Chinese fine dining in Hong Kong, Her innate creativity is evident in the seasonally-evolving tasting menu of “Edible Stories”, each course designed by the chef to evoke emotions and stir the imagination with an intriguing play on flavours and textures. Her … [Read more...]
Massimo Bottura and Lara Gilmore to open a 12 room Italian inn this spring
Massimo Bottura and Lara Gilmore of Osteria Francescana fame will be opening a 12 room inn in Modena called Casa Maria Luigia. The house, in the middle of the Reggio Emilia countryside, is just 20 minutes away from the Osteria Francescana, one of the world’s most famous restaurants and currently no 1 on the World's 50 Best Restaurants list So far, Massimo and Lara have welcomed a few hosts for private evenings but the inn is set to welcome the first guests in spring and will offer Lambrusco, Parmiggiano Reggiano and the hospitality that the couple with their team is famous for at the Osteria Francescana. The inn is being designed according to their tastes. The house, named after Massimo’s mother will have a tennis court, a swimming pool, a music room and will serve breakfast and a light lunch. What will make the place special is the collection of art books and records that will be made available for guests. Massimo and Lara will showcase their passions for contemporary art, classic … [Read more...]
When tomatoes met Wagner premieres at Berlinale
The humorous and uplifting story of two ingenious Greek cousins and five village women, who tackle the world market with their homegrown tomatoes, premieres at the prestigious Berlin International Film Festival (7-17 February 2019). The quirky and inspiring tale of how a village used organic farming to overcome the Greek financial crisis, screens at the Berlinale’s popular Culinary Cinema section, which offers food for thought with films about the pleasures and dark sides of food. This year, the 13th Berlinale Kulinarisches Kino under the title "A Taste for Balance" from February 10 to 15, features 10 documentaries and two fiction films about the relationship between food, culture and politics. Top chefs Angela Hartnett, Sebastian Frank, Haya Molcho, Kiko Moya, and The Duc Ngo will serve menus inspired by the films while Yotam Ottolenghi will present his new book. Filmmaker Mariana Economou’s documentary – whose last film, ‘The Longest Run’, was nominated by the European … [Read more...]
Peck, classic Milanese establishment, opens venue in new high-rise district of Milan
Peck, a temple of classic cuisine that has been open in Milan since 1883 has opened its doors at the CityLife Shopping District, the largest urban shopping district in Italy, adding a new location to the historic shop and restaurant in the centre of Milan. The new Peck, is opening a new space to explore a new concept in food and beverage and merge all its historic distinctive features in a single place from deli shop, restaurant, wine bar and cocktail bar. A temple of haute cuisine, Milanwhich been open in Milan since 1883, has opened its doors at the CityLife Shopping District, the largest urban shopping district in Italy, adding a new location to the historic shop and restaurant in the centre of Milan. Peck brings to the new vertical city - under the skyscrapers designed by internationally renowned architects - all the flavours, aromas and expertise that have made it the benchmark for high-quality foods and a well-known brand all around the … [Read more...]
Line up for Fine Wines and Food Fair in Vila Vita Parc announced
The line-up for the Fine Wines & Food Fair, one of Europe’s biggest gastronomy events, which will take place at VILA VITA Parc from 5 to 13 May 2019, has just been unveiled. VILA VITA Parc, a resort in the Algarve, Portugal, will host a stellar repertoire of world-renowned chefs, wine makers and gourmet producers. The fair, which takes place every 2 years, puts guests face-to-face with the chefs and producers, providing a unique experience for a selection of privileged guests. Besides the already famous Kitchen Party, a series of exclusive dinners will be hosted by world renowned chefs at the Ocean and Atlântico Restaurants. While the full programme has not been announced, chef Jan Hartwig of Atelier in Germany, Dieter Koschina of Villa Joya in Portugal, Jacob-Jan Boerma of De Leest in the Netherlands, Christian Bau of Victor's Fine Dining in Germany, Annie Feolde of Enoteca Pinchiorri and Andreas Caminada of Schauenstein have all confirmed their participation and … [Read more...]
Island Social Club to open at Curio Cabal showcasing British Caribbean culture
Island Social Club, a contemporary social space that shares modern British Caribbean culture through food and drink, founded by two Caribbean Londoners, Marie Mitchell and Joseph Pilgrim, is set to launch on 7 February. With a menu inspired by previous Island Social Club projects, Rumshop and Rotishop, a nightly combination of Rum and Roti sits alongside a curated events programme, which together re-roots British Caribbean culture in Hackney. Island Social Club will become a hub not just for Marie and Joseph’s individual and combined projects, (Pop’s Kitchen, Rumshop, and Rotishop), but a hub for exploring and engaging with today’s British Caribbean culture. In the evenings, from Tuesday to Saturday, Curio Cabal will transform into a social club with a simple modern British Caribbean restaurant and Rum bar, inspired by Marie and Joseph’s shared curiosity for the complex history of Caribbean Brits. Marie heads the kitchen serving a menu centred on … [Read more...]
Surprises abound as shortlist of World Restaurant Awards announced
There were a number of surprises when the first ever shortlist of the World Restaurant Awards, an award created by IMG in partnership with Joe Warwick, Creative Director and Andrea Petrini, chair of the Judging Panel was announced. The awards, the first of their kind in the restaurant world will be announced in Paris at the Palais Brongniart on 18 February. Female chefs continue to make their mark with the ‘Arrival of the Year’ shortlist for new restaurants including Pía León’s Kjolle in Lima; and Chiho Kanzaki’s Virtus in Paris. Historic destinations such as La Mère Brazier and Restaurant Paul Bocuse, both in Lyon, and the long-running Peter Luger Steakhouse in New York feature on the ‘Enduring Classic’ shortlist, which recognises restaurants open for at least 50 years Restaurants celebrated for a particular dish featureon the ‘House Special’ shortlist which includes roast goose from Yat Lok in Hong Kong, a ‘hot dog’ from Porto’s Cervejaria Gazela, and grilled unagi … [Read more...]
Significant changes for World’s 50 Best Restaurants list
After years of criticism about the opaque voting system and also issues relating to gender, the World's 50 Best Restaurants have announced changes as to how voting this year's awards will take place. Competition is always healthy and it seems like the new World Restaurant Awards which will be announced in February this year has forced some needed changed at the World's 50 Best Restaurants list. For the first time ever, and following in the footsteps of the World Restaurant Awards, they have announced a gender balanced voting panel with 50% of the 1,000 voting panel comprising of female voters. Probably the greatest change is the introduction of a Best of the Best group which is made up of former no 1 restaurants on the list who will no longer be eligible in the annual ranking. The restaurants that will be promoted to the Best of the Best group from June 2019 include the now-closed el Bulli, The French Laundry, The Fat Duck, El Celler de Can Roca, Eleven Madison Park, current … [Read more...]
Aulis Hong Kong is open, Roganic to open next month
Aulis Hong Kong, the brainchild of renowned British chef Simon Rogan, has opened for soft launch in the heart of Causeway Bay, Hong Kong. As Simon Rogan’s first international restaurant venture, Aulis is a branch of his revolutionary chef’s table and development kitchen, bringing a taste of two-Michelin-starred L’Enclume to Hong Kong. In February, Simon and his team will open their second Hong Kong venture Roganic – mirroring Simon’s one Michelin starred London restaurant of the same name. The 12-seater Aulis arrived in Asia after the successful launch of Aulis Cartmel within L’Enclume in the Lake District in 2016. This followed with the opening of Aulis London in 2017 as a standalone development kitchen for Rogan’s London-based team of chefs at Roganic, which opened in January 2018. Roganic achieved a Michelin star only nine months after opening with Head Chef Oli Marlow at the helm. With five restaurants already to his name, including 2 Michelin Starred L’Enclume, 1 … [Read more...]