To understand what is truly happening in the Belgian gastronomy scene today you would need to at least visit five restaurants, one in Brussels, three in Flanders and one in Wallonia. The restaurants of Christophe Hardiquest (Bon Bon in Brussels), Peter Goossens (Hof Van Cleve, Kruishoutem), Gert de Mangeleer (Hertog Jan, Zedelgem), Kobe Desramaults (In de Wulf, Dranouter - the restaurant will close next month and the chef opens a new restaurant in Gent next year) and Sang-Hoon Degeimbre (L'Air du Temps, Liernu) have over the past years left a significant mark on Belgian cuisine. Any foreigner visiting Belgium or looking to learn about Belgian cuisine would discover five chefs and restaurants with a distinct culinary style and a cuisine that is varied, territorial and innovative. But Belgium's culinary scene does not stop here. It is also home to The Jane in Antwerp, for example, a restaurant owned by Sergio Herman and Nick Bril which has been fully booked since the first day … [Read more...]
Childhood memories and food – a new series
Childhood memories are the source of inspiration of many a chef. Some chefs can be at their most creative when they recreate dishes out of their childhood memories or the flavours that they remember from when they were young. Memories and storytelling are what makes us human beings. We are the stories that we tell ourselves and others and our memories have a way of stirring our emotions and connecting us to our history and to where we come from. Recalling our earliest childhood memories is not always easy. How often are our memories real and how often are they the stories that we have been told by our families and friends. This is particularly true for our earliest childhood memories. What is your first memory? And are you sure it is your memory or is it a story that you have been told? An old photo may trigger a memory, or else it may trigger the memory of your mother or father explaining the context to you. I recall my mother say that whenever she used to try and give … [Read more...]
La Paix: Respect for ingredients and slow cooking at its best
La Paix in Anderlecht has been on my to do list for many years now. But the opening times (Monday to Friday lunch and Friday evening) meant that it was never easy to visit this restaurant and that was the case until a few weeks ago. The restaurant is located in a Brussels neighbourhood that is most famous for its football team and the 'Abattoir'. With a location opposite the most famous meat market of Brussels, there is no question that the restaurant La Paix, a brasserie since 1892 is famous for its meat. I've known and read about chef David Martin and had tried a few of his dishes in previous events around Belgium but had never actually visited his restaurant until a few weeks ago. That was indeed a pity as I discovered when I visited for lunch in September. It is one of those places which keeps getting mentioned whenever I meet chefs and ask them where they like to eat so a visit had been on the cards for a while. It is a case of better late than never. It is a restaurant … [Read more...]
Humphrey Restaurant (Brussels): A welcome addition to the Brussels restaurant scene
Many of today's most influential chefs have one thing in common. They have all spent time working in Ferran Adria's kitchen. Massimo Bottura, Rene Redzepi, Grant Achatz to mention just a few of the most creative chefs around have spent time with the Spanish genius of el Bulli fame. Most of these chefs have gone on to develop their own style, their own philosophies and their own cuisine. There is no question that being mentored by a great chef has a lasting impact on your cooking style and also your philosophy, even if you depart from that approach. The new generation of chefs is also moving around from one restaurant to another gaining as much experience as possible benefiting from the 'globalisation' of haute cuisine. Just like the previous generation developed their own style and approach to cooking, the new generation is also making good use of the experience they have gained to take completely new directions. Chefs who were inspired by the inventiveness of Ferran Adria … [Read more...]
11 tips on how to avoid a tourist trap
If you travel to any major city or tourist destination in the world, you are bound to encounter more tourist traps than you can handle. And while you might be smug to think that you will be able to spot a tourist trap once you see one, this is not so evident in places which are extremely busy with tourists and which have a bad reputation when it comes to food. Places which welcome many tourists each day are bound to take many short-cuts including with the quality of the produce they serve. Although online crowd-sourcing guides such as Tripadvisor or Yelp may serve as a deterrent compared to the past, they cannot always be relied upon. When you have no control of time on a trip, then you need to be particularly careful if you want to eat well since you might not have time to book a restaurant before hand. That was very much in evidence on a recent very short trip to Venice. While it has a bad reputation when it comes to food, particularly because of the large amount of tourists … [Read more...]
Black Pig Restaurant (Valletta): Where innovation meets seasonality
Time passes and with it some say also comes nostalgia. While there are certain things which take you on a trip down memory lane, there are some memories which are best forgotten. Go back to the 1980s and early 1990s and my memory of most restaurants in Malta is of them serving the same thing. With friends we remember the ubiquitous tortellini with fresh cream, ham and mushrooms or the shrimp or prawn cocktail from those retro years or a steak diane. Everyone seemed to serve the same things. There were few speciality restaurants which were really worth the detour because they were doing something completely different. Maybe they specialised in fish or were serving French classics. At the time, these restaurants were doing something different to what was the norm. Maybe it was hard at the time to go against the current but with the benefit of time, they managed to not only survive but to be successfully copied. What used to be specialised those days is now mainstream. That … [Read more...]
A contemporary take on Maltese cuisine at Michael’s in Valletta
Maltese chef Michael Cauchi needs no introduction in Malta. Famous for his former restaurant Il Re Del Pesce, today the chef works together with his son Daniel at Michael's in Valletta. When I was younger (and still living in Malta), the chef was a household name on this small Mediterranean island. He used to be on television showcasing his fish dishes, for which he was renowned even at a time when food was not as in vogue as it is today. Since that time, he has worked in various kitchens on the island but none more important than Aziamendi's 100 day pop-up restaurant two summers ago. Michael and his son Daniel were involved with Eneko Atxa and his team who set up the pop-up restaurant in a historic building in Valletta known as L’Hostel De Verdelin, after Fra Jean Jacques De Verdelin, a nephew of Grandmaster De Verdalle. On a recent visit to this restaurant, we really loved the freshness of the food, the clean flavours, the presentation and also the restaurant itself with … [Read more...]
Bruxelles Ma Belle
This is the article I would never have wanted to sit down and write. Since Tuesday, the day the Brussels attacks took place, I have had what you may call a writer’s block or rather this feeling that whatever I write on the subject of food and wine would be pointless. After all, food and wine is the subject of celebration, of enjoyment of life and of community. It’s not the first time I’ve experienced this feeling. Go back to November, the Paris attacks and the subsequent Brussels lockdown and I have this feeling of deja vu. On Tuesday evening, as I sit on the sofa after what may probably be described as the longest day of my life, I have no intention of writing. I am glued to the television, something I normally have no time for. But this time is different. My city, the city I have called home for nearly 11 years has been hit and wounded. I’m not in the mood to write about food and wine even though I have a number of articles that are waiting in the pipeline. I’ve had this … [Read more...]
Sra Bua by Tim Raue: Showcasing the purity of flavours
Tim Raue is a Berlin institution. Famous for his two Michelin star restaurant by the same name, Raue also has another two restaurants in the German capital. One is La Soupe Populaire which serves primarily German and Prussian dishes and the other is the Sra Bua by Tim Raue which is located at the Kempinski Hotel Adlon. On a recent visit to Berlin, and given it was a Monday, the only Tim Raue restaurant that was open and which I could therefore visit was Sra Bua. It turned out to be a very good choice. You might ask why a German chef would open a restaurant whose culinary concept focusses on Thailand and Japan. And you would be right to ask that question. But Tim Raue's flagship restaurant is the answer. Because while it is non unusual for Asian chefs, especially Japanese, to serve French style cuisine in Europe, very few Europeans are well known for their 'Asian cuisine'. Raue is the exception. His two-Michelin star restaurant is known for the bold flavours. He loves to … [Read more...]
Senzanome (Brussels): Possibily the best Italian meal outside Italy
Italian restaurants outside Italy can sometimes be hit and miss. While many tend to be good, they are not exceptional. Italian restaurants, especially those outside Italy tend to adapt to the culture of the country they are based in making them far less authentic. Senzanome is the flagship Italian restaurant in Belgium and especially in the Belgian capital Brussels. Giovanni Bruno, of Sicilian origin, has been cooking since the 1980s and has taken over from his parents who opened the restaurant in 1991. Since 1997, he has been at the helm of the restaurant and achieved an unexpected Michelin star in 2004. It has since then gone from strength to strength and was voted the best Italian restaurant outside Italy in 2011 and 2012. That is no easy feat given the number of Italian restaurants that exist worldwide. I've been wanting to try this restaurant for a very long time despite the fact that I had heard mixed reviews about the restaurant. Some really raved about the restaurant … [Read more...]