Renowned author Malcolm Gladwell came up with the concept that 10,000 hours of practice are needed to become world-class in any field. That principle seems to hold true for Restaurante Algarve in the sleepy village of Guia. Since the 1960s, the same family (through different generations) have been serving chicken piri piri using the same recipe. There were four generations of the family when we visited, the great-grandmother still supervising the cooking in the kitchen. You will not find much information about the restaurant online. It has been run pretty much in the same way since it opened. If you walk past the restaurant, you may even think twice before entering. It’s like time stood still. The decor is still very 1960s and 1970s, the tables give you the impression that they've remained the same from that time, but the family have been cooking the same chicken piri piri for many years and they have clearly perfected it. The restaurant serves chicken piri piri, a tomato salad, … [Read more...]
Zuma and the Blue Hill in New York
Zuma in Manhattan is a nightclub where people sit and eat, not dance. Like the best nightclubs - its a Japanese restaurant by the way - it is hard wired to spike sexual behaviour: The music pulsates, the lights are forgiving, the senses bathed in alcohol and the palate honeyed by its offerings. The absence of mirrors meant that I did not see even one unmuscled hunk of a man. They were mostly big and black and cool. The women were drawn from a broader group of the human pool and came in various styles of dress and undress. They all seemed hotter than the hotate, the really large Japanese scallops that Zuma serves grilled with pickled plum, shiso and mentaiko butter. I can only speak about the latter when I say they melted in your mouth. The lobster miso felt like comfort food and was a great combination of two soups I frequently have separately. Since black truffle was in season, we had the wild mushroom rice hot pot which comes in a wooden pot and ladle. The flavours were well … [Read more...]
Niko Romito and his meticulous work with vegetables: “Every bite has to be different”
What makes a chef serve a floret of a cauliflower in a three Michelin star restaurant as a centre piece without any additions except for a touch of olive oil infused in garlic? It is the knowledge that what he is serving has the necessary complexity and flavour to shine in a three star restaurant. That is exactly what Niko Romito has been doing since he started focusing on vegetables as centre-pieces. Is it the sense that he has attained perfection with a dish, one where the sum of its parts is greater than the whole? To get an understanding of what is happening at Reale in Castel di Sangro, in Abruzzo, Italy you need to look at the chef's work with vegetables. Because it is here that the philosophy of the chef boils down to its essence. “I have been focusing on vegetables for the past three years. I started with the artichoke, then I worked with the cabbage and now the cauliflower. But I do not have an idea which vegetable I will be working with next,” the chef told Food and … [Read more...]
Nacarat (Amsterdam): ‘To die for and believe me I really like living’
I dutifully followed my wife who was climbing up every floor of the Hudson’s Bay Department store on Rokin in Amsterdam. It felt like it was the Via Dolorosa. Then, in between the suede boots at a 70 per cent discount and the new collection of bright yellow bikinis that Ralph was offering while it was minus three outside, I saw a sign I could finally warm to. Restaurant, it said. I hunched my shoulders and overtook the spouse, shoving her to the side with all the grace of an American football player who is about to be reunited with the touchdown line. I thought I was heading towards one of those self-service oases that the weary shopper, or her husband, gets to visit when in a department store. The kind where you weigh the cucumber and potato salad, pay for it and grab your cutlery all in one svelte urban movement. No way. This was Tel Aviv Bauhaus meets New Amsterdam cool. The grand open kitchen running down the middle of the place is flanked by rows of tables for two which are … [Read more...]
Noma 2.0: A new star is born
Every season when football players return back from a few weeks break and start their pre-season training with their club they are not in their finest form. There might be a new coach, new players, new tactics to assimilate. The first few matches can be excruciating not only for the coach and players themselves but also for the supporters and journalists. The latter have to write about those friendly matches as if they are the final of the Champions League to sate the interest of the supporters. The reality, however, is that it is way to early to form an opinion or to pass judgement. If you have to watch a team like Real Madrid or Barcelona perform during the pre-season, it will be impossible to assess how they will fare that season on the basis of those early summer friendly matches despite the fact that the teams are born to be great. The lunch at the new Noma on 23 February forms part of that same category. The food and the service were excellent but this was the start of the … [Read more...]
Gregorio Rotolo: The radical cheese maker of Scanno, Abruzzo
Niko Romito, the chef of three Michelin star restaurant Reale in Castel di Sangro is driving us to the heart of the national park of Abruzzo to a formidable shepherd and cheese maker Gregorio Rotolo. It is a cold brisk morning in December just before Christmas when we stop to allow a pack of at least 50 deer to cross the road a few kilometres away from the idyllic mountain top village of Scanno. On the outskirts of this village, 5 kilometres away is the agritourism of Gregorio Rotolo, a cheese maker that is often considered a legend in this region. Gregorio makes cheese which he sells to the whole of Italy and outside but also serves visitors to the region traditional food and of course his products. He has been making unique award winning cheeses apart from other products such as sheep prosciutto since he was 12 years old. His grandfather was a shepherd. He is passionate about his terroir, his animals and his cheeses. “I am radical. I add nothing to the milk. Some defects can … [Read more...]
Niko Romito and his deceptively simple cuisine at Reale
Niko Romito never thought of becoming a chef. He had never even cooked before opening his restaurant and did not even know how to cook an egg. He cooked for the first time at Reale in Rivisondoli, Abruzzo, a village of less than 450 inhabitants. His father had opened it as a pastry shop in 1970 converting it into a restaurant 30 years later as the original Reale. He was neither passionate about cooking nor food and did not even come from a family of restauranteurs because the restaurant had only been open for 2 years. But as fate had it, while he was completing a degree in Economics and Commerce his father fell ill. He still needed to take 5 exams to complete the degree but when his father passed away he and his sister Cristiana took over the operation of the restaurant. The idea was to keep the operation going until they find a buyer. But they fell in love with the restaurant trade and the rest is history. Cristiana took over the front of house, something she still does … [Read more...]
Errotabarri: the mill making corn flour incessantly for 350 years
At the age of 76, Luis Azzilona is not thinking of retirement. His side hustle while he was working in research and development for a multinational became his full time occupation when he quit his job some years ago. But he has been passionately making corn flour for 35 years. He operates the Errotabarri mill that has worked incessantly for 350 years making corn flour in Gamiz and supplies Michelin star restaurants in the Basque region in Spain. His quest for asking questions and for improvising means that he has been able to find the secret to keep the water mechanism functioning till today telling us he has had to use parts from an aeroplane in one case to keep the mechanism running. It is a chilly morning when we arrive at the mill and as we enter what we notice is the smell of the dry corn being grinded into flour. It is a smell that is both homely and welcoming. Today, the water mill is one of only a handful of mills that are still operating in the region. Luis knows all he … [Read more...]
Pastorale: The Belgian restaurant serving over 150 wines by the glass
It is now possible to go to a restaurant in Belgium and choose to try wines like Sassicaia or a Chateau LafiteRothschild by the glass. Since April this year, wine lovers have a unique opportunity at 2 Michelin star restaurant Pastorle, in Reek a few kilometres away from Antwerp. Chef and restaurateur Bart de Pooter told Food and Wine Gazette the restaurant is now serving over 150 wines by the glass for their guests. Using the Coravin system which keeps the wines at their very best even after they have been opened means that this is a win win situation for the restaurant and guests. This is still relatively unique in the restaurant world though Bart said that he first saw the system in Paris. "I saw the system at the restaurant of Yannick Alleno who was serving around 120 wines by the glass." "We thought a bit more about it and decided to offer different possibilities of serving even 8cl and 12 cl so that guests can enjoy two to three glasses of wine and still be able to … [Read more...]
Niko Romito to cook at David Kinch’s Manresa for 15 year anniversary
David Kinch, chef of Los Gatos restaurant Manresa is celebrating the 15th year anniversary of the opening of the acclaimed restaurant with a visit by Italian three Michelin star chef Niko Romito of Reale. Together they will cook a collaborative 10-course menu that showcases the styles of both chefs. The dinners will be organised on November 11 and November 12. “Easily one of the best meals I had this year was at Chef Niko Romito’s three-Michelin star Reale in Castel di Sangro, Italy. His cooking is deceptively simple in the presentation and reveals thoughtful, emotional, and provocative ideas under the surface, a style I greatly admire,” says Kinch. “I’m honored that he’s agreed to join us in our kitchen as part of our 15-year anniversary celebrations at Manresa.” A self-taught cook with deep roots in Italy, Chef Romito put aside his interest in working in finance when he took the helm at Reale in 2000, turning his late father’s bakery into a restaurant that is now highly … [Read more...]