BRUSSELS: Gault&Millau announced today Maxime Collard of restaurant La Table de Maxime in Paliseul as the chef of the year for 2024. In front of an audience of around 1,800 restauranteurs, journalists and partners, Gault&Millau launched the 21st edition of the BeLux guide which sold 30,000 copies in pre-sale. CEO Marc Declerck said that Maxime brings out the best the region has to offer and while his cuisine is classic it is also creative. “In all his dishes we find excellent techniques, respect for the seasons, aesthetics and respect for original flavours. We have been following this chef for 15 years and for his consistency and exemplary couse we are happy to nominate Maxime Collard as chef of the year 2024,” he said. The young chefs of the year are Marius Bosmans (Restaurant Arden - Rochefort) for Wallonia, Niels Brants (Restaurant EssenCiel - Leuven) for Flanders and Georges Athanassopoulos (Restaurant Màloma Comptoir Culinaire – Brussels) for the Brussels … [Read more...]
The Best Chef Awards names Dabiz Munoz the world’s best chef for the third time in a row
Dabiz Munoz has been named The Best Chef for 2023 for the third consecutive year. The announcement was made at the Yucatan International Congress during an award ceremony where the identities of the top 100 names were revealed. The reign of Dabiz Muñoz (DiverXO, Spain) continued. The free-spirited chef who is used to breaking the rules and exploring the limits of creativity in every project he undertakes placed in front of this edition's number two who also hails from Spain. He is none other than Albert Adrià (Enigma, Spain), who also wins one of the special prizes, The Best Chef New Entry Award as he enters directly into that position in his successful return to the list. Ana Roš, body and soul of Hiša Franko (Slovenia), completes the podium by rising from ninth to third place. Eight of the top 10 names come from Europe, five from Spain, one from Slovenia and two from Denmark with the remaining two names hailing from the US and Chile respectively. The top 10 are the … [Read more...]
Rasmus Munk launches innovation centre Spora with aim to revolutionise food industry
COPENHAGEN: After establishing acclaimed restaurant Alchemist and putting it at the forefront of gastronomical innovation, Rasmus Munch has unveiled Spora. The investment in this research lab together with bioscience pioneers Claus Christiansen and Bente Christiansen will focus on changing the world through gastronomy. With a seed investment of EUR 1.5 million, Spora is the natural evolution of Alchemist. "By allowing the search for deliciousness to lead technology, instead of the other way around, we can play a pivotal role in developing nutritious, and sustainable products that people want to eat again and again – and that will drive global change. I firmly believe that we can harness the vibrancy and inventiveness of the restaurant and bring it out to the public," said Rasmus Munk. The chef is known for creating dishes that are otherwise considered inedible or waste from farmed butterflies, jellyfish, lamb’s brains, and pig’s windpipes. The restaurant is currently ranked … [Read more...]
Two month residency in Swiss Alps for Jordnaer
Eric Vildgaard and Tina Kragh Vildgaard of Danish restaurant Jordnaer will do a two months residency at the iconic Badrutt's Palace Hotel in St Moritz from 1 December to 4 February. "It is an honour for us to be able to cook in a historic, world-class hotel as renowned as Badrutt's Palace. We approach this next challenge with a lot of respect and excitement. It will be a type of fine dining cuisine that the Engadine has yet to see," said Eric Vildgaard. "Love can be shared and expressed in many ways and one of the ways I have found is through cooking. It allows me to convey a range of emotions to my guests. I approach my work through a personal lens drawing from life experiences to inspire and create dishes that are emotive, pure and low. Every plate served is with passion and love," he said. Eric and Tina's motto is "only the best for our guests," and this is precisely where the philosophy of the Jordnær restaurant coincides with that of Badrutt’s Palace Hotel. The cross-over … [Read more...]
Dennis Huwaë of Amsterdam restaurant Daalder for October pop-up in Copenhagen
Dennis Huwaë from Amsterdam restaurant Daalder will be changing location from October 13 to 5 November as he moves from the 'Venice of the North' to the Japanese Tower of the Tivoli Gardens in Copenhagen for a pop-up. Huwaë will take his cuisine which won him accolades to Copenhagen where he will be showcasing two tasting menus. Daalder is an unusual establishment that embodies the essence of modern Dutch cuisine with a twist. Chef Dennis Huwaë has created his own personal style, one that reflects his city, his Moluccan roots and his limitless and colourful imagination, reasons why he won as the Most Promising Chef by Gault & Millau in 2018, a Michelin star and ranked #64 of The Best Chef Awards Top 100 in 2021. “I never want to set boundaries for myself when it comes to cooking and I find it hard to limit what we do in Daalder to a specific type of cuisine or product. I think that my curiosity wouldn’t allow me to do that, doing only French … [Read more...]
Carlo Cracco to open restaurant in Rome at the Corinthia
ROME: Italian chef Carlo Cracco will be venturing to Rome for the first time in his career as he opens a restaurant that will serve breakfast to dinner at the Corinthia Rome hotel which is set to open early next year. This is also the first hotel in Italy for the Corinthia group. "Although the restaurant will be in a hotel, it will be a space that is open to everyone. And it will not be just a restaurant. We want to do the same as we did at the Galleria in Milan offering a service that starts with breakfast in the morning and ends late in the evening," Carlo Cracco said to La Repubblica. He said that he felt it was the right time to improve the quality of the offering in Rome. Carlo Cracco said he was of the view that post-COVID, there are huge opportunities for Rome restaurants. Carlo Cracco is an Italian chef famous for his flagship restaurant Ristorante Cracco in Milan in an iconic space inside the Galleria just off the Piazza Duomo. Carlo Cracco is also a very … [Read more...]
GELINAZ! and the next frontier: No more background music in restaurants
GELINAZ! has a habit of pushing barriers when it comes to gastronomy. It has always been way ahead of the curve in pretty much all events organised over the years. At a time when four-hands dinners became more common than mosquito bites on a late summer afternoon in the Mediterranean GELINAZ! came up with the stay at home shuffle. Now, GELINAZ! is ready to launch the next frontier in the world of gastronomy and that is for what many is an afterthought in restaurants: Music. GELINAZ! curator Andrea Petrini, a food writer par excellence has often contended that while restaurants give full attention to detail from food to service, wine flights to lights, aprons to the loos, music is often completely forgotten. And that is exactly what the next series of events is expected to tackle starting with the first in a few weeks time in France. The events are called GELINAZ! NAH BGM (aka No More background Music in restaurants). A first test of a new series of GELINAZ! events … [Read more...]
Central in Lima is World’s 50 Best Restaurants top restaurant for 2023
VALENCIA: Central, the flagship Lima restaurant of chefs Virgilio Martinez and Pía León was crowned the top restaurant in the World taking over from last year’s winner Geranium in Copenhagen which now goes to the Best of the Best hall of fame and makes it no longer eligible to compete for the list next year. But that is not bad news for the Peruvian gastronomy power couple who also have a second restaurant in the top 50 position at 28. For many years, Central has hovered in the top positions of the list but never made it until this year to the top. It placed second last year, confirming the recent practice that second-placed restaurants end up winning the award the year later. Central is an ode to Peru, with a menu that celebrates the unique biodiversity of the country’s indigenous ingredients – guided by its research arm, Mater Iniciativa – along with its traditions and history, whilst championing sustainability. Two Spanish restaurants placed second and third respectively. … [Read more...]
Charity dinner and auction at Brussels restaurant Racines to help region of Emilia Romagna
BRUSSELS: On Thursday 22 June, Racines in Brussels will be organising a fund-raising dinner in aid of the Emilia Romagna region which was hit by dramatic flooding last month. All proceeds from the dinner will go to there Don Pasquale Gentili association. The restaurant will be serving a four course menu inspired by the gastronomic culture of the region which will be prepared by one of the team members Mattia Zucchini, who hails from Emilia Romagna and chef Ugo Federico. The dinner costs 80 euros and will cover the personnel costs of the restaurants. All the rest of the proceeds will go towards the region. A Belgian wine importer of Italian wines Giampietro Faggionato, together with Villa Venti in Cessna and Paltrinieri in Modena will offer the wines for the wine pairing which is being sold at 45 euros for 4 wines and 55 euros for 5 wines. Apart from the four course menu, the restaurant is also proposing an extra dish of tortellini with a sabayon of Parmigiano Reggiano at a … [Read more...]
Le Coq aux Champs celebrates 20 year anniversary
Le Coq aux Champs, a restaurant in Soheit-Tinlot, Belgium celebrated its 20th anniversary this week. Christophe and Catherine Pauly said that despite the fact that many of their dreams have come true from a Michelin star to the title of Gault&Millau chef of the year, the publication of a recipe book, 4 hands dinners with exceptional chefs and many other achievements they still have the same feeling of the first day which is that “we still have a lot to do.” Over the past 20 years and 7,300 days they have been open for more than 10,000 services. “Our objective has remained the same which is to share our love of gastronomy, good food and exceptional produce. We want to constantly challenge ourselves, be creative and give our guests a great time during a dinner or an evening out,” they said. They said that their motivation and ‘fire’ remains intact from the day they started and they look forward to another 20 years. “We are more mature, have a greater knowledge of who we … [Read more...]