BERLIN: Creative practitioners and cultural producers working in all creative fields anywhere in the world are being encouraged to apply with projects that could benefit from the expertise of one of the mentors in this edition, and from that mentor’s unique approach to material and knowledge production. In its fifth edition, Forecast selects six different mentors every year, all accomplished in their respective fields, who determine the nature and content of every iteration. The mentors in Forecast’s fifth edition are chef Manu Buffara (Brazil), curator Koyo Kouoh (Cameroon), writer and researcher Evgeny Morozov (Belarus), visual artist and theater director Markus Öhrn (Sweden), musician Du Yun (China), and photographer and filmmaker Tobias Zielony (Germany). The deadline for applications is March 1, at 11:59pm CET. The selection process is two-tiered. First, the mentors carefully review all proposals and invite three candidates each to a workshop with the mentor and … [Read more...]
Third edition of Fruto to focus on water and food as health
The third edition of Fruto, Dialogues on Food will focus on water and food as health. Conceived by Alex Atala and Felipe Ribenboim, the annual seminar takes place in São Paulo, from January 24th to 26th, at Unibes Cultural, and will be livestreamed on its official social media pages The seminar continues to be a platform for engagement and mobilisation for dialogues about food, sustainability, and the challenges and solutions for now and years to come. For the first time, the event will be open to the general public, free of charge, on Sunday (26th). FRUTO was created by chef Alex Atala and cultural producer Felipe Ribenboim, with the support of Instituto ATÁ. It emerged from the need to discuss the world's food supply and problems surrounding it. The goal is to spread the message that the greatest link between nature and culture is the kitchen. The main topics of discussion will be 'water' and 'food as health,’ but subjects such as recycling and reusing will be also … [Read more...]
Face to face with snake soup in Hong Kong
HONG KONG: No one spoke a word of English when we walked in to She Wong Lam, one of the last remaining snake butchers in Hong Kong. We are early. She Wong Lam serves soup normally from 11am till 4pm but Andrea Petrini had promised us a breakfast that starts with what he called a ‘snake cappuccino’. We fill the small room which has been serving snake for more than 125 years. The air is heavy. Some say there is an intense smell of snake. If I had to be honest, I cannot really smell it. But there are cages with snakes at the entrance to the restaurant all marked as poisonous. Before we sit at table, three men who are working inside the shop show us the snakes that are in the wooden boxes that fill the shop. One opens a few of these drawers to show us the different varieties of snake which will eventually be butchered at the back of the shop. There is every variety of snake and on every box there is a mark that they are poisonous. Now, this is definitely not the place for anyone … [Read more...]
Paul Bocuse’s loss of three Michelin stars is no surprise
LYON: In Lyon, France's capital of gastronomy, the city is waking up to news that Restaurant Paul Bocuse will lose its third star when Michelin announces its results on Monday 27 January. The news was published exclusively by Le Point who called the news 'an electrochoc' and the effect of a bomb in gastronomy. The restaurant in Collonges-au-Mont-d'Or in Lyon had three stars continuously since 1965. But the news comes as no surprise because it has been rumoured since last year when Marc Haeberlin (L'Auberge de l'Ill), Marc Veyrat (La Maison des bois) and Pascal Barbot at L'Astrance all lost their three stars. Le Point said that Gwendal Pullennec, the Michelin Guide director was in Lyon yesterday morning to announce the decision to the restaurant team telling them the decision 'was taken collectively'. For many months now, there have been rumours going around about the increasing possibility that the restaurant would lose its three stars following the death of Paul Bocuse … [Read more...]
The 12 trends that are likely to shape the 2020s
At the risk of making a fool of myself, the start of a new decade is normally a time for establishing what will be the trends in the next decade. And in this case, here are a few thoughts on where I think the world of food and wine and gastronomy is heading in the next decade. Looking back, it is hard to believe that things we take for granted today did not exist a few years ago. It would be hard to believe today that Instagram did not exist at the start of the previous decade. Today, the social media app has become the most important tool for chefs and restaurants. It is a force for what’s good and what’s bad in the world of food today. Nordic cuisine was barely on the radar though the world was starting to learn about Rene Redzepi’s work at noma, Spain was just rising in the ranks of gastronomy thanks to the work of Ferran Adria which put the country in the spotlight. And then came the announcement that el Bulli would close in 2012. We had the rise and rise of the World’s 50 … [Read more...]
Norbert Niederkofler cooks the mountain at St Hubertus
SAN CASSIANO: Norbert Niederkofler loved the mountains but wanted to travel so he left South Tyrol to cook his way around the world. In 1993 he returned to the region and was given the opportunity to be chef at the pizzeria of the Hotel Rosa Alpina in San Cassiano at the base of the Dolomite mountains in 1994. At the time, the hotel restaurant was a humble pizzeria and signs of this are still visible in the restaurant kitchen of this 3 Michelin star restaurant. Norbert took this restaurant and slowly but surely has turned the St Hubertus into one of Italy's culinary meccas and one of the latest Italian restaurants to get the 3 Michelin star accolade. To get there, he’s had to change direction and that breakthrough came with the birth of his first son a few years ago. Prior to that, he had been cooking with some of the best ingredients he could get his hands on from langoustines to caviar and fois gras. "The birth of my son made me realise that I needed to change my ways," … [Read more...]
New book by René Sepul puts Wallonia in the spotlight
BRUSSELS: A new book written by food writer René Sepul and published by Sh-op Editions puts Wallonia, the French speaking part of Belgium, in the spotlight. La Wallonie, à pleines dents is the follow-up to the book Mange Wallonie published six years ago. "A lot has changed in the past six years in Wallonia. The book is a portrait of some of the positive developments in the region. Chefs have moved forward and are showcasing producers more and more," said René in his introduction to this book. The author said the choice of chefs and restaurants is subjective but offers a view of Wallonia today. The book portrays 30 different chefs from different gastronomic restaurants, brasseries and bistros as well as a café and wine bar. This deliberate mix is aimed to showcase what is on offer in this Belgian region. The book was published in the week when René's previous book La Bonne Addresse written together with chocolatier Pierre Marcolini on their favourite places in Brussels … [Read more...]
Michelin adds Malta to its list of restaurant guides
MALTA: Amid the largest political crisis to have ever hit the tiny Mediterranean island of Malta, Michelin announced the release of an online guide on Maltese restaurants. The guide will be available free of charge. The Michelin guide will be revealed on 26 February on Michelin's digital platform guide.michelin.com Malta joins 32 countries that will be covered by the Michelin Guide in 2020. Gwendal Pullennec, the International Director of the Michelin guides said "Our mission at the Michelin Guide has always been to highlight the best gastronomic establishments around the world to its readers. Today the Maltese culinary scene has talents that are worthy of discovery by foodies from around the world." Malta joins Slovenia which will is also being added to the portfolio of countries that are covered by Michelin. The latter is rumoured to have paid around EUR 1 million to have Michelin judge its restaurants. It is not known what the cost for Malta has been but it is likely to run … [Read more...]
GELINAZ stay at home shuffle: The tofu camembert that gave the game away
BRUSSELS: On November 17, an innocuous post was published on Inua's Instagram page. It was a repost from one of the restaurant chefs. "After 60 or so trials and variations (some of which were the worse things I've tasted in a very long time we've finally reached consistency in something we're pretty happy with." With it they posted a photo of tofu treated like camembert made with soy milk. Thousands of kilometres away, at Bon Bon Restaurant in Brussels, Christophe Hardiquest and his team were wrecking their brains on the matrixes they received from one of 148 chefs around the world. It was part of the GELINAZ! Stay in Tour Shuffle. "We have been working the whole month on the recipes. We were not used to certain produce, to certain ingredients and also to certain fermentations," Christophe Hardiquest told Food and Wine Gazette. He knew that the recipes came from Asia, that was evident from the ingredients and there also was a Nordic touch though though the penny really … [Read more...]
Valeria Piccini takes a touch of Tuscany to Angelo Agliano’s Tosca in Hong Kong
HONG KONG: Valeria Piccini and Angelo Agliano had never met before Valeria’s trip to Hong Kong. They had spoken briefly over the phone to plan a series of three four hands dinners. But you would not have noticed the moment they met on the 108th floor of the Ritz Carlton Hong Kong, the highest hotel in the world. Tosca, the restaurant run by Sicilian chef Agliano was hosting Valeria for the first in the series of events called Gems and Pearl which will see other female Italian chefs visiting Hong Kong next year. It was last Monday evening when Valeria arrived together with sous chef Guglielmo Chiarapini and Andrea Bertolino together with Agrodolce journalist and editor Lorenza Fumelli after a long flight via London. We sat down to sample Angelo’s cooking that evening and slowly get to know the team at Tosca. After a necessary visit to Macau on Tuesday, Wednesday’s morning start was not for the feint-hearted. The idea was to wake up early and go to Aberdeen market and then visit … [Read more...]