As we prepare to drive to Cologne for Chef Sache (more tomorrow on this event with some of the greatest chefs in the world), we have been following the discussion taking place at the Salone del Gusto and Terra Madre in Torino Italy about fast food and cooking for children and we tend to agree with pretty much all that has been said. A panel discussion was held together with Carlo Petrini, founder of the Slow Food Movement, Alice Waters and Jamie Oliver. These three personalities are campaigning on a daily basis so that everyone can have access to healthy and nutritious food cooked in an eco-sustainable way. We have a moral obligation to feed children food that is good for them Alice Waters said at the panel discussion that "We have a moral obligation to feed children food that is good for them." Apart from being a chef of the world-renowned Chez Panisse, Waters is an activist that created the Edible Schoolyard Network. Founded in 1994, Waters built a garden in an unused plot of … [Read more...]
Megavino – the biggest wine event in Belgium this weekend
The 16th edition of the biggest wine event in the Benelux opens in Brussels this weekend. Starting from Friday 24th October to Monday 27th October, Megavino is a must for any wine lover. Last year there were 368 exhibitors from 32 wine producing countries. The event welcomed over 27,000 visitors including around 5,000 professionals. The event is held at the Brussels Expo. This year, the wines of Portugal will be the guest of honour though visitors will be able to taste wines from most of the wine regions in the world. Another eye catcher is the pavilion of Madeira, an autonomous island of Portugal in the Atlantic Ocean which will be present for the first time at this event. Spain, last year’s guest of honour, will be well represented with the most important Belgian importers and about 24 bodegas from different Spanish regions presenting their wines for the first time on the Belgian market. There will also be the Cava Institute and the region of Navarra with a real tapas … [Read more...]
The new Rotterdam indoor food market
The new Rotterdam food market is set to become a destination for foodies around the world. Inspired by some of the best food markets in the world, it is being called the food walhalla of the Netherlands with 96 booths selling daily fresh products. It is open seven days a week under one roof in a shopping hall that is underneath what is being considered as the biggest artwork in the world. This indoor market opened its doors earlier this month. It is the first covered market hall in the Netherlands and the facility is expected to attract between 4.5 and 7 million visitors each year. The stunning architectural design in the shape of a horse shoe has a steel cable facade which is the largest of its kind in Europe. A colourful mural depicts a composition of produce on the hall's barrel shaped ceiling. It has been designed by architects MVRDV and is located in the city centre of Rotterdam. The roof is shaped by an arch of 228 apartments. This combination of market and housing is the … [Read more...]
Weekly roundup of great reads on food and wine #6
Food waste was one of the main subjects of the recent dispatches from the Mad Feed site. This week, Mad Feed released an evocative take on the subject. Massimo Bottura, the Italian chef of Osteria Francescana writes about the relationship between food waste and traditions and memories. It is the ninth essay in the series which was published for the Mad Symposium, Bottura touches upon the issue of food waste, speaking about a recipe he has created called Bread is Gold which evokes memories of his childhood. In the essay he also touches upon a project that he is working on together with some of the world's best chefs in May to turn the food waste that will be generated at the Milan Universal Expo into meals for poor people. He writes about the most valuable lesson of an Italian kitchen which is to make the most of nothing and to never throw anything away. "A ragu is nothing other than a sauce made with scraps of meet or fish or vegetables," he writes. It is a great essay and … [Read more...]
Chef Sache, the Cologne avantgarde cuisine festival taking place next weekend
The Cologne Avantgarde Cuisine Festival will take place on Sunday 26th October and Monday 27th October at the Palladium in Cologne, Germany. For those still undecided whether to attend, this year's lineup proves to be extremely interesting. Having seen two of the chefs (Jonnie Boer of De Librije and Quique Dacosta) taking part at Chef's Revolution in Zwolle a few weeks ago, we would recommend finding the time to go to Chef Sache in Cologne, Germany. But apart from the Dutch and Spanish chef there is also an interesting line-up which includes Eneko Atxa, Mauro Colagreco, Virgilio Martinez, Kobe Desramaults, Andree Kothe, Joachim Wissler and Christian Humbs. Among them they have an impressive 20 Michelin stars. These top chefs will provide insights into their work with inspiring shows explaining their philosophy behind their cuisine. There will also be an exhibition which showcases innovative products and ideas as well as two wine tasting sessions of German and Spanish … [Read more...]
What happens when you take children to a fancy restaurant
In New York, the New York Times has performed a great culinary experiment by inviting six young children to eat at famous French restaurant Daniel. The menu served to them normally costs $220. The menu was prepared by star chef Daniel Boulud whose goal was for the children to discover lots of flavours, lots of layers and lots of textures. There is much debate about children and restaurants but this entertaining video gives great insight to how young children perceive fine dining. Caviar did not seem to be to their liking but the rare Wagyu Beef Rib-Eye was a big success as they all said it was excellent. The children also loved a nonalcoholic cocktail. "This is, like, the only good course," said one seven year old. The video was shot by Spellbound director Jeffrey Blitz for The New York Times. … [Read more...]
A review of Massimo Bottura’s great book Never Trust a Skinny Italian Chef
It is no secret that I have been waiting for the publication of Massimo Bottura: Never Trust A Skinny Italian Chef for the past months. Published on 6 October by Phaidon, I have to say that this book went way beyond my expectations, despite the fact that the anticipation was high. For those who are not familiar with Massimo Bottura, this Italian chef is considered to be the most avant garde Italian chef in the world. His restaurant, Osteria Francescana has three Michelin stars and is at the moment considered to be the third restaurant in the world in the World's 50 Best Restaurants awards. In 2011, he was also given the Chef's Choice as the best chef in the world by his colleagues. The book, Never Trust a Skinny Chef, which I read from start to finish in two days, is an exceptional read. Having had the pleasure to meet Massimo and listen to him explain his philosophy of cooking, reading his book was actually like listening to him explain the creative process that has gone into … [Read more...]
Weekly roundup of great reads on food and wine #5
This weekend I am busy reading a fabulous book that arrived in the post, Massimo Bottura: Never Trust A Skinny Italian Chef. I hope to review as soon as I finish it, probably tomorrow. It is a splendid book written by the most avant-garde Italian chef and one of the leading chefs in the world. It is not a cookbook but rather a journey into the philosophy of this incredible chef. More about this when I review the book. In the meantime, there has been lots to read during the week. From a Hong Kong auction setting a record price for the highest price ever paid for a lot of wine (Romanee Conti) which sold for more than $1.6 million to a very interesting article by Jancis Robinson on winemakers which are making a u-turn as they become disaffected with the wines they made in the past and move to start using less oak and instead go for more traditional approaches such as clay jars, fewer new barrels and in larger sizes. I have read a lot of books about neuroscience and how our brains … [Read more...]
The incredible story of Isabel Soares who combats food waste by selling ugly fruit
Food waste is a very important problem and a major issue our societies face globally. A lot of awareness raising is needed to get people across the supply chain to realise what is happening. From the farmer to the consumer, it is essential that we combat food waste together. Food and Wine Gazette is very new on the block and for the time being we have a very small audience. But just like Isabel Soares, the Portuguese entrepreneur who is serving 420 families with food which would otherwise be thrown away, we want to do our little part and raise awareness about the issue. The story of Isabel Soares is an incredible one. She recounted this at the Mad Food symposium that took place last month and the video of her presentation has just been uploaded on Mad Feed. Since starting less than a year ago, she has saved 41 tonnes of food from going to waste. Nearly single-handedly, she is serving 420 customers, has a waiting list of over 2000 customers and gets her produce from over 30 … [Read more...]
Weekly roundup of great reads on food and wine #4
This was the week that MadFood, a symposium held last month in Denmark released a talk by American cook Chris Costentino in which he emotionally describes the pain of becoming a 'television celebrity'. If you haven't watched the video or read an extract of his talk, I would urge you to read it. While speaking to young chefs, his lessons are valid for anyone thinking of going on TV and particularly reality TV. There is a lot of food for thought in his words. Given we are on the subject of Copenhagen, the New York Times this week had in interesting feature about what to do for a weekend in this Danish city. Copenhagen is famous for what is currently considered to be one of the greatest chefs in the world Rene Redzepi of Noma. But it is also the standard-bearer for New Nordic cuisine, a movement sustained by a society that encourages homegrown talent using local ingredients. This is one of the cities we really want to visit and this article clearly explains why with a lot going for the … [Read more...]