What better way to get to know part of the GELINAZ! crowd than with a casual lunch at O' Boufés, the casual restaurant of chef Konstantin Filippou and his wife Manuela. The duo hosted chefs and journalists for a lunch on Wednesday before the welcome dinner at the world renowned Vienna restaurant of Heinz Reitbauer, Steirereck and the transfer to Muhlathof in Neufelden where the GELINAZ DOES UPPER AUSTRIA took place. Chef Konstanin Filippou and his wife Manuela own two restaurants in Vienna, the causal O' Boufés and their flagship restuarant called Konstanin Filippou which gained a Michelin star soon after it opened its doors. The O Boufés was opened two years ago and is next door to their flagship restaurant and has been an integral part of their story. Serving pure and simple food that is characterised by great ingredients and good taste the cooking style at the O Boufés clearly reflects Konstantin's multicultural background (he is half Greek having a Greek father and … [Read more...]
GELINAZ DOES UPPER AUSTRIA: how 23 chefs revisited 3 matrix dishes
23 chefs, 7 teams, 3 matrix dishes with clearly defined ingredients, 14 courses. It may sound simple but it definitely is not. Chefs are meant to collaborate, to spend time together, to learn from each other and to exchange ideas. Its a bit like summer camp but it is also stressful and tiring. That is what the GELINAZ! DOES UPPER AUSTRIA dinner was all about. It is not the first time that chefs have been asked to revisit matrix dishes. And it will definitely not be the last. So what was served in Neufelden earlier this month when 21 top chefs were hosted by father and son duo Helmut and Philip Rachinger at the idyllic Mühltalhof restaurant and hotel? The dishes may have looked simple: what's not to like about a simple fresh water dish, a goulash and venison but the end result was far from simple. The chefs were grouped in teams of three or four people and they have one dish to reinterpret. There are seven teams in all. Three teams must reinterpret the venison dish, two the fish … [Read more...]
GELINAZ! DOES UPPER AUSTRIA: Magic happens outside the comfort zone
What makes chefs drop everything and travel across continents, sometimes with very little sleep in between, to push boundaries and challenge themselves outside the comfort of their kitchens and teams? Why do they leave their usual environment, their homes, their families and risk their reputation to participate in an event where you can always expect the unexpected? The answer is GELINAZ! It is a the collective of chefs that is co-curated by Andrea Petrini and Alexandra Swenden and which likes to promote itself as being beyond food and evil. They organise events ranging from impromptu dinners to chefs swapping restaurants for one day, retreats and also the most recent (before last Sunday’s event) being a chef shuffle at the same time as a gathering of 20 chefs called Brussels Headquarters. This was held at Christophe Hardiquest’s Bon Bon where they cooked 4 consecutive services from 12 noon to 3am. This time, they charted new territories with GELINAZ! DOES UPPER … [Read more...]