I dutifully followed my wife who was climbing up every floor of the Hudson’s Bay Department store on Rokin in Amsterdam. It felt like it was the Via Dolorosa. Then, in between the suede boots at a 70 per cent discount and the new collection of bright yellow bikinis that Ralph was offering while it was minus three outside, I saw a sign I could finally warm to. Restaurant, it said. I hunched my shoulders and overtook the spouse, shoving her to the side with all the grace of an American football player who is about to be reunited with the touchdown line. I thought I was heading towards one of those self-service oases that the weary shopper, or her husband, gets to visit when in a department store. The kind where you weigh the cucumber and potato salad, pay for it and grab your cutlery all in one svelte urban movement. No way. This was Tel Aviv Bauhaus meets New Amsterdam cool. The grand open kitchen running down the middle of the place is flanked by rows of tables for two which are … [Read more...]
8 energizing things to eat after morning exercise
After a morning jog or any workout session, our body needs specific nutrients to repair muscles and stabilize blood sugar levels and refill lost energy. You feel exhausted, tired and hungry post morning run. So, it is essential to eat a mix of foods that can improve recovery and boost up the energy level in your body. So, read on to know about the 8 foods to eat after a workout. 1. Greek Yogurt Greek yogurt also known as powerhouse of low fat protein has double the amount of protein and carbohydrates compared to regular yogurt. You can mix yogurt with cereal, oats and fruits because fruits pack micro-nutrients and vitamins which have been proven to fight muscle soreness. “Mix it with cereal or fruit,” recommends Dr. Louise Burke, head of Sports Nutrition at the Australian Institute of Sport and co-author of The Complete Guide to Food for Sports Performance: Peak Nutrition for Your Sport. 2. Milk Milk is another drink that can be our post-workout drink. Milk contains … [Read more...]
Noma 2.0: A new star is born
Every season when football players return back from a few weeks break and start their pre-season training with their club they are not in their finest form. There might be a new coach, new players, new tactics to assimilate. The first few matches can be excruciating not only for the coach and players themselves but also for the supporters and journalists. The latter have to write about those friendly matches as if they are the final of the Champions League to sate the interest of the supporters. The reality, however, is that it is way to early to form an opinion or to pass judgement. If you have to watch a team like Real Madrid or Barcelona perform during the pre-season, it will be impossible to assess how they will fare that season on the basis of those early summer friendly matches despite the fact that the teams are born to be great. The lunch at the new Noma on 23 February forms part of that same category. The food and the service were excellent but this was the start of the … [Read more...]
4 ways space design impacts restaurant and bar revenue
Most people eat with their eyes first. As such, food that look great on photos are really effective in enticing customers to order certain dishes. Bar and drinking establishment owners also use the same technique to encourage patrons to try new concoctions or beverages on their menu. Representatives from leading restaurant interior design companies say that you can also use this same principle on your restaurant or bar interior design to get more customers and ultimately, boost your income and profits. The interior design of a dining or drinking establishment is one of the key factors that influence customer satisfaction. And when guests like your interior, they tend to stay longer in your premises, order more, and you can count on them to return. These, in turn, translate to an increase in revenue. Here are some specific ways the interior design influences the income of restaurants, bars, and other drinking establishments: 1. Colors affect customer … [Read more...]
Gregorio Rotolo: The radical cheese maker of Scanno, Abruzzo
Niko Romito, the chef of three Michelin star restaurant Reale in Castel di Sangro is driving us to the heart of the national park of Abruzzo to a formidable shepherd and cheese maker Gregorio Rotolo. It is a cold brisk morning in December just before Christmas when we stop to allow a pack of at least 50 deer to cross the road a few kilometres away from the idyllic mountain top village of Scanno. On the outskirts of this village, 5 kilometres away is the agritourism of Gregorio Rotolo, a cheese maker that is often considered a legend in this region. Gregorio makes cheese which he sells to the whole of Italy and outside but also serves visitors to the region traditional food and of course his products. He has been making unique award winning cheeses apart from other products such as sheep prosciutto since he was 12 years old. His grandfather was a shepherd. He is passionate about his terroir, his animals and his cheeses. “I am radical. I add nothing to the milk. Some defects can … [Read more...]
Showcase of Belgium’s heritage, traditions and roots at first Bon Bon Origins dinner
Thursday 19 January, Restaurant Bon Bon, Brussels: A few days after the shock announcement that Hertog Jan, one of two 3 Michelin star restaurants in Belgium would close at the end of this year, chef Gert de Mangeleer was cooking his first ever collaboration dinner in Belgium as guest of Brussels chef Christophe Hardiquest. This was the first Bon Bon Origins Dinner, a series of dinners created by Hardiquest, chef of two Michelin star restaurant Bon Bon who has been going back to the origins researching stories and recipes that are part of Brussels and Belgian heritage. One such story from the previous century has made it to the first Bon Bon Origins dinner. Up to the 1950s, in the streets of Brussels, there used to be a man called the 'marchand de coco' who would walk with 40 kilogrammes on his back and serve a drink called the Kalichezap, a mix of lemon, almonds and liquorice among others. Today, chef Christophe Hardiquest has turned this drink into a dessert that is served in … [Read more...]
JAKIN(N): Eneko Atxa ‘cooking up the future’
On a perched hill in Larrabetzu on the outskirts of Bilbao, Eneko Atxa, the Spanish chef of acclaimed restaurant Azurmendi is ‘cooking up the future’. Using Jaki, the basque term for meal and Jakin, the term for knowledge he is building an ecosystem that builds around knowledge and meals. With his idea he wants to foster a sustainable, healthy and a fair society through gastronomy. Those are the three elements that are the pillars of his work. Eneko has taken up running recently and he intends to run a full marathon this year. “Running has really helped me to think. It is a way of arriving at the restaurant refreshed or of leaving the restaurant to go home and be able to clear my mind,” he told Food and Wine Gazette. "I'm so convinced of the importance of sport that I insist with the members of my team that they should take up any sport they love," he said. The Spanish chef considers running to be an integral part of his creative process and the place where he can think and … [Read more...]
A Scandinavian Christmas tale
It is Sunday 12 November and I’m sitting on the lounge soaking up the warm sun lapping my face as it makes its way through the window. Outside its 22°C and I’m wondering about the oddity of this weather only a month and few days away from Christmas. Not that I’m complaining but as much as I like the sun’s warmth and the light it emits, I long for the cosiness surrounding the colder months. As in recent years, this autumn was pretty mild in Malta. It is almost a cooler version of summer. It could be that distant memories start to fade, but I find that seasons have almost completely vanished with each passing year. Thank you global warming! Perhaps that is one reason why lately my festive mood is so slow to creep in. And then Christmas suddenly comes and goes. Ironically, as I meditated with the warm sun still washing my face, a thought crossed my mind: what if this year I stoke my Christmas spirit early enough by visiting Scandinavia - the land of ice and snow, of … [Read more...]
Errotabarri: the mill making corn flour incessantly for 350 years
At the age of 76, Luis Azzilona is not thinking of retirement. His side hustle while he was working in research and development for a multinational became his full time occupation when he quit his job some years ago. But he has been passionately making corn flour for 35 years. He operates the Errotabarri mill that has worked incessantly for 350 years making corn flour in Gamiz and supplies Michelin star restaurants in the Basque region in Spain. His quest for asking questions and for improvising means that he has been able to find the secret to keep the water mechanism functioning till today telling us he has had to use parts from an aeroplane in one case to keep the mechanism running. It is a chilly morning when we arrive at the mill and as we enter what we notice is the smell of the dry corn being grinded into flour. It is a smell that is both homely and welcoming. Today, the water mill is one of only a handful of mills that are still operating in the region. Luis knows all he … [Read more...]
Inside the txoko of Eneko Atxa, the Zelaieta Gane
It is nearly seven in the evening, the final guests are leaving Azurmendi, the 3 Michelin star restaurant in Larrabetzu and Eneko Atxa and his close collaborators are busy preparing food for the evening. He has invited a group of journalists to his txoko, the Txoko Zelaieta Gane, in Amorebieta-Etxano. It is one of the many closed gastronomic societies that are part and parcel of the Basque culinary culture. He phones his mother and she tells him that she is in the txoko and they are using it this evening. “But I am coming with a small group of journalists,” he tells her. He is a bit concerned because he knows his mother is not only an excellent cook but can also be critical like any loving mother can be. Sure enough when he arrives with the food that they have prepared she was not convinced. "Are you sure the journalists will like it. You need to add this and this," she tells him. It sounded worse than a Michelin guide inspection, Eneko tells us. To understand the Basque … [Read more...]