96 of the world's best chefs share their favorite food experiences: Shopping local markets, the perfume of durian, Andean mountain cooking, oyster omelets with Sriracha sauce and warm milk straight from the cow -- these are some of the world's best chefs' favorite food experiences. On the eve of the 2016 World's Best Restaurant awards, we asked chefs from the world's current top 100 eateries to nominate an all-time favorite culinary experience that they'd recommend to traveling foodies. Why did I fall in love with fermentation: Growing up in a house void of inspiration, I always looked outward for my involvement, expression and stimulation through food and creativity. I grew up in the mountains of New Mexico and then in my teens moved to a larger city where I quickly embraced the best of both cultures. Take it with a pinch of salt – the food marketing myths we’ve swallowed whole: What came first, the chicken-is-healthy study or the eggs-are-unhealthy study? Nutritional advice is … [Read more...]
Nigella’s top 10 cookbooks and the paths of culinary influence
Nigella Lawson is one of the best-loved figures in the world of food. The sheer quality of writing in her books conveys an enthusiasm for good food that is both inspirational and inimitable. How to Eat, which launched her career, is a milestone of culinary writing, ranking at #20 on the 1000 Cookbooks all-time list. The book changed our approach to food and went on to influence a generation of food writers. But what of those who came before? We are not ashamed to admit that we were thrilled when Nigella agreed to share her own top 10 cookbook list with us, offering a glimpse of her influences. Nigella was keen to emphasize that the books she selected had proved their worth over time: “There are many more recent books I value, but these are the ones I have been cooking from over decades” Below we analyse her selections, and the strands of our collective culinary heritage which each represents. Nigella’s favourite cookbooks “A beautiful beast of a book, … [Read more...]
SummerFest celebrates the start of summer in Cadzand
For many days, there has been no respite to the rain in Northern Europe and the rainy weather was threatening to cause havoc with the Summer Fest, the festival to launch summer organised by Inspired Events and Syrco Bakker (chef of Pure C). The dark clouds and rain of the previous days made way for the sun and the event was organised on a glorious spring day which created the perfect setting for a celebration to welcome summer around dance, art, music, food and drink. A very good crowd turned up for the second edition of the Summerfest organised by Syrco Bakker, chef of Michelin star Pure C. Among the guests at the Summer Fest were Sergio Herman (The Jane and Pure C), Gert de Mangeleer from Hertog Jan, Andreas Caminada from Schauenstein and Sven Elverfeld from Aqua. Belgian butcher Hendrik Dierendonck was also present showcasing his renowned butchery and cookery skills as he showcased his dry-aged beef. The event had started the day earlier with a lunch at Pure C which … [Read more...]
Weekly roundup of great reads on food and wine #79
Peek Inside Bordeaux’s New Cité Du Vin, The Disneyland For Wine Lovers: Earlier this week, the French city of Bordeaux solidified its reputation as the Mecca of the wine world, with the opening of its long-awaited, 10-story, $9 million monument to viticulture, La Cité du Vin, or City of Wine. How to Rank the Restaurant Rankings: In a crowded field, choosing a best-of list on which to base your reservation can be a maddening exercise. Here’s a handy breakdown of the restaurant rankings currently carrying weight. Festa a Vico: Three days of food immersion in the bays of Naples: Vico Equense, a small town in the greater bay of the Naples metropolitan area, beautifully located on a tuff cliff, from 29th till 31st of May transformed itself into a big restaurant with hundreds of chefs cooking on the streets and thousands of food lovers enjoying their creations. This will happen in the occasion of the twelfth edition of Festa a Vico. What is Festa a Vico? The whole … [Read more...]
Unique 16 hands dinner at the Ferme d’Achêne in the Namur province
A unique 16 hands dinner is being organised by Roland Swinnen in the Province of Namur on 18 and 19 June. Eight chefs will be cooking together in what is a first for the Namur region. Called Enjoy the Pleasure, the event is an opportunity to taste dishes of eight chefs in a seven course meal. The chefs taking part in this event are Gregorio Clavello (Au Gré des Saisons, Achet), Ludovic Vanackere (L'Atelier de Bossimé, Loyers), Régis Alexandre (Le Comptoir du Goût, Ciney), Olivier Brucknet (L'Olivier 4, Dave), Simon Denis (Le Comptoir de l'Eau Vive, Erpent), Grégory Gillain (L'Agathopède, Namur) and Frédéric Rolland (Rolland-Warnon, Hamois). There is one thing that these chefs have in common. For them, gastronomy is pleasure. They love to surprise their guests with new creations but also to return back to the basics and focus on simplicity. Their mantra is to cook with integrity and to use good quality produce. This event takes place at the Ferme d'Achêne, a farm built in 1641 … [Read more...]
Grant Achatz: ‘Alinea – it is a bit of a mind game’ – Chef’s table review
When Grant Achatz came up with the name Alinea, it was because he liked the definition - the beginning of a new train of thought. And that is exactly what he has done a few weeks ago when Alinea 2.0 reopened after months of refurbishment. He was asked why he was ripping apart a restaurant that worked so well. "Why fix something that is not broken? But Alinea is the beginning of a new train of thought. We have to just create a clean slate. Can we eliminate what we have been doing over the past 10 years and start afresh," he says. That is exactly what they are doing. Netflix second season of Chef's Table starts with Grant Achatz. The American chef is known to be one of the most inventive chefs in the business today and one of the many chefs who got 'inspired' by Ferran Adria of el Bulli. Alinea, the restaurant in Chicago does not need any introduction. It has three Michelin stars and has been a permanent fixture in the top places of the 50 World's Best Restaurant lists. The … [Read more...]
Weekly roundup of great reads on food and wine #78
The Eater guide to the whole entire world: Tapas at the bar in Barcelona, perfect roast goose in Hong Kong, dinner in a vineyard outside Melbourne, and brunch on a terrace in São Paulo — when we travel now, we travel to eat. But global restaurant-hopping goes beyond that perfect iconic essential dish: Restaurants and bars are an opportunity to slip into daily life and experience a city's unique rhythm. We tapped dozens of local experts to open the doors to the best, the coolest, the weirdest, the most inspiring culinary experiences a traveler can have — in short, these maps are exactly what we want to have at our fingertips when we step off a plane. Don’t see your next destination on this list? Sit tight. We’ll be adding many, many more. Cheesed-off Italy wants pay-out over US soap opera gag: Producers of Italian hard cheese Grana Padano have told those behind the long-running US soap-opera, The Bold and the Beautiful, to pay damages after their product was the butt of a cheesy … [Read more...]
Weekly roundup of great reads on food and wine #77
Heston Blumenthal: from brink of bankruptcy to giant of gastronomy: "When I was 15, I went to a restaurant in Provence with my folks. I could hear the legs of lamb being carved and the clink of glasses, I could smell the lavender. The waiters’ feet crunched on the gravel and the crickets sang. I went into a multi-sensory wonderland, and I was hooked.” It was this moment, 35 years ago, that convinced Heston Blumenthal to become a restaurateur. Alinea 2.0: Reinventing One of the World's Best Restaurants: "Did that work?" Nick Kokonas asks from the atrium of the recently renovated Alinea. It's Tuesday afternoon. The restaurant reopens on Friday night, after undergoing a five-month, seven-figure facelift. And its owner can't find the light switch. "I'm still learning where everything is," he says as the lights turn on over the service station in one of the four dining rooms — each of which has totally different decor and an entirely new menu. Meanwhile, Grant Achatz is fixed to … [Read more...]
Weekly roundup of great reads on food and wine #76
Empty tables after Paris and Brussels terrorist attacks: — Les Bouquinistes has long been a favorite luxury restaurant of Paris visitors. Set on a quay along the Left Bank, founded by Guy Savoy, a three-Michelin-star chef, it offers a warm welcome, a contemporary setting, a creative menu, prices that are not stratospheric and drop-dead views of the Seine and Notre-Dame. But on a recent Thursday evening, this 50-seat food emporium was empty except for one couple at a table in front and a small group celebrating a birthday in a back room. 16 incredible dishes from the world's best female chef: Chef Dominique Crenn of Atelier Crenn and Petit Crenn was recently named the world’s best female chef by The World's 50 Best Restaurants. The San Francisco restaurateur and chef is the only female chef in the United States to earn two Michelin stars. She is internationally renowned for her "poetic culinaria," which means that she likes to tell a poetic story through food. Overfishing … [Read more...]
Culinaria to change format. Named Autumn it will be held in October
Culinaria, the culinary event that is normally held in Brussels in May is changing format. The event will not be held in spring. Called Autumn, instead of Culinaria, it will be held between 18 October and 30 October. Cedric Allard of Culinaria Agency, the organisers of the event, has announced that this year the event will not be held in spring but rather in "Autumn" and the event will be completely new though they hope that it will still whet the appetite of foodies as previous events. Culinaria was an event that brought together some of Belgium's best chefs and used to take place at Tour et Taxis in Brussels for five days in May. It provided foodies with a unique opportunity to savour dishes prepared by many of Belgium's best chefs in one menu. Culinaria also featured workshops by international chefs. The organisers said that the event will still bring together chefs, bartenders, artisans, producers and creators. The event that takes place over 10 days will allow people … [Read more...]