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...]
La Buvette: Is this one of Brussels best kept secrets?
La Buvette has been on my radar for quite some time. Nicolas Scheidt, the young French chef of this restaurant in St Gilles, Brussels, was nominated as "a future great chef" for Brussels and its surroundings in the Gault&Millau guide. That should be enough of an indication of the quality of the restaurant. For one reason or another, it was difficult to find the right time to visit this restaurant. I recall one time we tried to go on a Monday evening only to find out it was closed. On another occasion it was closed for holidays. An attempt for lunch also did not materialise because the restaurant was closed. It is always a risk when you go to a restaurant with high expectations but in this case, I walked out of the restaurant wondering how could it be possible that it took me so long to visit this restaurant. If you go to La Buvette you need to know that there is no a la carte menu. What they offer are two menus (one called Large and another XL). The difference between the … [Read more...]
Brussels: Pei et Mei is worth a visit
Pei et Mei in the Brussels dialect roughly means boy and girl. It is also the name of a restaurant opened earlier this year in the Sablon area of Brussels by Gauthier De Baere and Melissa Triantopoulos, who on the Brussels scene don't really need an introduction because Gauthier worked under Alain Troubat of Stirwen in Place Jourdan and Le Fourneau and Melissa is the daughter of Evan of the Gril aux Herbes in Wemmel. The Sablon is probably one of my favourite areas in Brussels so this new restaurant is a very welcome addition to this hub of Belgian gastronomy (I am also including the chocolatiers and patissieres here). It came highly recommended, at least from the reviews that I had read earlier and it clearly did not disappoint us. We were told when we booked a table that if we were to be more than 15 minutes late we should inform them, otherwise they would give away the table. It may be a bit archaic but it is a fair approach and one which is a middle of the road approach to … [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...]
Sang Hoon Degeimbre (L’air du temps) – a self-taught chef
Sang Hoon Degeimbre of two Michelin star L'air du temps in Liernu, Belgium describes himself as Korean born, a Belgian man and citizen of the world. This is another great story of a chef who followed his passion. He started working in restaurants as a sommelier and as he himself says, the first time he cooked in a restaurant was on the opening night of his own restaurant. A self-taught chef, Sang Hoon's story is an inspiring one of someone who fought against all odds to follow his passion and open a restaurant. But his restaurant is not just a run of the mill restaurant. Sang Hoon is known for his innovative dishes and a trip to the restaurant is considered a culinary pilgrimage. It has always been my wish to dine at his restaurant since my arrival in Belgium but for some reason or another this has never materialised. After listening to his story at Chefs Revolution in Zwolle last month, I am sure that the time has come to visit this temple of experimentation very … [Read more...]
Saveurs Toscanes: A feast for fans of Tuscany
Saveurs Toscanes which took place last weekend at the Arsenal in Brussels was a feast for lovers of Tuscan food and wine. It was great to visit the many stands with producers that made the trip from Tuscany and meet some cheese, wine and meat producers who we had been meeting over the years since the event started taking place. Tuscany, for lovers of food and wine, is one of Italy's richest regions. For wine, you will find appellations such as Chianti Classico, Brunello di Montalcino and Rosso di Montepulciano. All were well represented at this event and I must say that most of the wines that I tried were good, even those from very small producers who are not known in the wine guides. Tuscany is also home to wines called "Super Tuscans" which are exceptional table wines that do not follow the norms, i.e. do not necessarily use the indigenous Sangiovese grape. These wines have become cult wines and among them is a small producer Chiappini who has vineyards in Bolgheri neighbouring … [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...]
Jonnie Boer: An obsession for the finest local ingredients creates the ‘De Librije spirit’
To say Jonnie Boer, chef of De Librije, the three Michelin star restaurant in Zwolle takes his produce seriously would be an understatement. When he took the stage at Chef's Revolution in Zwolle he wanted to place the limelight on his suppliers. "It is always the chefs that are in the limelight but in reality what the dish is about are the producers and their products. "So I want to pay tribute to the men and women who have been supplying our restaurant with quality ingredients over the past years." Jonnie knows his produce incredibly well and also knows how to showcase it to reach its best potential. He was championing local seasonal ingredients 20 years ago before it became fashionable to do so to the extent that he recalls how he was ridiculed for trying to serve Dutch lamb as if there was something wrong with it. His wife, Therese heads up front of house and is a trained viticulturist and wine specialist. They have been open since 1992 He presented the first dish on stage … [Read more...]
What influence do food guides and bloggers have on the culinary world?
Love them or hate them food guides and bloggers have a way of influencing us. Whether it is a word of mouth recommendation, a food blog, a tweet or photo on Instagram, a review on trip advisor or a guide book (Michelin, Gault Milau or Gambero Rosso for example), the way we make our choices these days is very much influenced by what we read. It was therefore incredibly refreshing and thought-provoking to listen to Fulvio Pierangelini speak about how he hated the internet and food blogs. "I reached my limit when I said that food bloggers are to gastronomy what peodophiles are to love." That might sound like a very harsh statement but it is one which epitomises the love/hate relationship that chefs and restaurant owners have with guide books and food blogs. Here was one of the best chefs in the world, who had one of the most important restaurants in Europe hitting out at the internet, which had probably helped make him successful in the first place. He said (you can read about this … [Read more...]