I've written about Jack O'Shea Chophouse before to say it was set to open in central Brussels in September. Unfortunately because of delays related to works, the chophouse is still closed. But after a long wait, Jack O'Shea himself told us yesterday that the chophouse will finally be opening in the coming days. It is a soft-opening for the time-being but Jack O'Shea's chophouse is set to become one of Brussels top foodie destinations in the New Year and will add to the already interesting restaurant scene in the Place St Catherine area. There is no question that the quality of the meat at Jack O'Shea. Together with Dierendonck, he is one of Belgium's best butchers. The meat which you get from this butcher whether it is a Wagyu beef t-bone steak, an Angus beef ribeye, an aged t-bone steak or just sausages from his large range (which includes mustard and spinach, Italian, beef and guiness, chorizo), are all exceptional. With such quality of ingredients and a hot grill, all you … [Read more...]
Tim Raue: Bold character, bold flavours
It is not unusual for Asian chefs, especially Japanese to serve French style cuisine in Europe. But it is not really common to find a German who is well-known for his 'Asian' cuisine and also has two-Michelin stars for this. When Tim Raue took the stage at Chefs Revolution there was no question that his presentation reflected not only his bold character but also his bold cuisine. He kept the audience in awe as he recalled his story of how he moved from cooking a random mix of food to Asian food. In 2007 he won the Gault Millau chef of the year award but as he himself put it "I was cooking randomly from Spanish molecular cuisine to French inspired shit. But it was not me and I always believe that you need to find yourself in a plate." He says that after a lot of soul-searching to find what he liked he managed to create a unique style of cuisine which is bold with lots of flavours. "I have now found the right balance," he said. At 40 years he is one of the most prominent … [Read more...]
Bjorn Frantzen: An impressive feat preparing 19 dishes in 44 minutes
There is no question that one of the most impressive cooking performances I have ever seen was Bjorn Frantzen's show at Chef's Revolution in Zwolle organised by Jonnie and Therese Boer of De Librije earlier this year. Together with his team, they prepared 19 dishes which are normally take three and a half hours to prepare in just 44 minutes. He assured the audience that 'we have not trained for this before,' which made it all the more impressive. The Swedish chef who has two Michelin stars for his restaurant Frantzen in Sweden and is listed 23rd in the World's Best 50 restaurants said that he ends up traveling too many times to tell the restaurant story and what he really wanted to do was cook so he was trying a new experiment which is to showcase the dinner they prepared in the restaurant the previous Saturday. Frantzen serves one tasting menu of 19 dishes and it is changed every day according to what is fresh, local and seasonal. Anyone who follows this Swedish chef on Twitter … [Read more...]
Massimo Bottura – a phenomenal storyteller
http://vimeo.com/114152806 Massimo Bottura is a phenomenal storyteller. In the above video he speaks about a very old couple who went to celebrate a diamond wedding anniversary at Osteria Francescana and started crying when they tried one of his dishes. Bottura is the most inventive chef in Italy. Massimo Bottura: Never Trust A Skinny Italian Chef, which was published earlier this year (and has been reviewed by Food and Wine Gazette) has been featured even in The Economist last week because it is a unique book on food, creativity and emotion. I am sharing this video because in three minutes you can learn about Bottura's philosophy. In this short, well made film, the Italian chef explains how he was touched by the story of an 85-year-old couple who cried when they tasted his compression of pasta and beans obviously recalling their childhood. Pasta e Fagioli, as it is called in Italian is a very common rustic dish. Bottura obviously takes it to another level by creating a … [Read more...]
Behind the scenes at L’ Air du Temps with Sang Hoon Degeimbre
When I went to Liernu in the Belgian countryside some 50 kilometres outside Brussels to interview Sang-Hoon Degeimbre I was asked to stay for a 'light lunch' after the interview (read our interview here). Little did I know that I would be served with the 'business' lunch menu being currently served in the restaurant up to the end of December. I had previously eaten at L'Air du Temps and had listened to Sang Hoon's presentation at Chef's Revolution in Zwolle so I was familiar with his story. But after also interviewing him, I knew this was going to be a unique experience. First the table was literally inside the kitchen and I could just stand up and take photos and observe the calm buzz of a 2 Michelin star kitchen. Second the dishes were presented in most cases by Sang-Hoon himself who explained them to me. What struck me was the calm inside the kitchen despite the number of people that were preparing the lunch. But then I remembered what Sang-Hoon had told me earlier during the … [Read more...]
Andree Köthe: Vegetables are not just a side dish
Andree Köthe is the chef of two Michelin starred German restaurant Essigbraetlein. He is known for keeping a very low profile. When the organisers of Chef Sache announched that Köthe would be presenting his philosophy and dishes at Chef Sache many food enthusiasts exclaimed "at last". I have to admit that I had heard very little about what many consider to be the German answer to Alain Passard before his presentation at Chef Sache. An internet search did not help because little is written about this very interesting chef in English and my German skills are pretty non-existant. The restaurant in Nuremberg, Germany, is called Essigbraetlein and looks like an ordinary Gasthaus or tavern from the outside. Until recently, the restaurant did not even have a website and is not even very active on social media. But behind this facade lies a 25-year-old story which Köthe started together with Yves Ollech. "My story is also his story and his thinking. He has a lot of ideas and courage so … [Read more...]
Carcasse: a restaurant by one of Belgium’s best butchers Dierendonck
Carcasse is the name of a new restaurant that has just opened the reservation system for the restaurant opening on 15 January 2015. It will be based in the Belgian coastal town of Koksijde as is the restaurant of one of Belgium's best butchers Hendrik Dierendonck. The butcher, which supplies some of the best restaurants in the country including In de Wulfe and Le Paix among others, as well as the Netherlands, will be welcoming guests from January. It is always exciting when a renowned butcher opens a restaurant, because you know that the quality of the meat will be second to none. The same is the case of Jack o'Shea in Brussels who is opening its chophouse in the Brussels centre in the coming days after a long wait since the announcement. We have tried Dierendonck's meat and it is exceptional, so we look forward to trying out Carcasse on our next visit to the Belgian coast. On Carcasse's website, Dierendonck says "we are about meat, but not just meat. The way in which animals are … [Read more...]
Sharing a cow: the new way to buy meat in Belgium and the Netherlands
There is a new way of buying meat in Belgium and this is called crowd butchering. Introduced in May, the inventor of 'crowd butchering' is a pilot David De Keyser who launched the website Deeleenkoe.be or Share a Cow. The concept is pretty simple. You commit to buy 10 kilograms of meat from a cow (or pig as there is also a site for selling pork) at 132.95 euros. For this you will get approximately 10 kilogrammes of beef including roast, rump steak, entrecôte, beef for a stew, hamburgers, mince, and shoulder steaks among others, all in packs of one kilo each. The cow will only be slaughtered once the whole cow is sold. The size of a cow varies but it generally weighs around 700 kilos which means that there is about 450 kilos of meat. The parts which are sold separately are the offal and the fillet because there is not enough for around 35 customers who purchase the cow. Although this might sound like a new concept, this in itiative has ancient roots because it was a practice … [Read more...]
Interview with Sang Hoon Degeimbre: Creativity comes from constant questioning and keeping an open mind
It was a crispy autumn morning last week when I visited L’Air du Temps for the second time in just a few weeks. This time I had come to interview Sang-Hoon Degeimbre, the chef of this two Michelin star restaurant in Liernu, around 50 kilometres outside Brussels. I was intrigued by his story, particularly because of the inventiveness of his cuisine and also after having listened to his presentation at Chefs Revolution in Zwolle. How could such an inventive and talented chef be self-taught? What was the driving force behind his creativity? I was also wondering what led Sang-Hoon to open the restaurant in Liernu, when he could have moved his restaurant closer to a main city. But driving to the restaurant, I realised that this question would be redundant because of the beauty of the Wallonian countryside and the purity of the air. “Sometimes when I come here early in the morning I just head to the garden and just look at the sunrise and the countryside and that is really something … [Read more...]
De Vitrine (Gent): Much more than just a bistro
There is something special about going to a restaurant and not having to worry about choosing what to eat. When we went to De Vitrine in Gent last Saturday we sort of knew there was no a la carte menu. Until a few years ago, this would have been a veritable nightmare with my phobia of cheese, but now that this has been overcome, it is to a certain extent a breath of fresh air. It removes the hassle of choosing and when you visit a restaurant which is good and where the choice is extensive, having a menu is to a certain extent limiting because you know that you will be missing something special. So going to De Vitrine, the brain child of Kobe Desramaults of Michelin starred In de Wulf in Dranouter and De Superette (the bakery in Gent) was on our to do list for our weekend in Gent. De Vitrine complements In De Wulf perfectly as Kobe himself told me at Chef Sache in Cologne (read our interview with him next week) because it allows him to apply his nose to tail philosophy by ensuring … [Read more...]