Magnus Nilsson is a very busy man. His day job involves running one of the world’s most sought after destination dining restaurants, Fäviken. He has been featured in television series like Chef's Table and the Mind of a Chef but that’s not all. He has also written what some would consider to be the bible of Nordic cuisine called the Nordic Cookbook. It has taken him around all of Scandinavia, meeting people, researching old recipes and taking over 8,000 photographs during the three years it took him to work on the cookbook. He did all this in his free time writing over 700 recipes in the process. Some might wonder how he manages to do all this in a world where time seems to be so precious but as Magnus tells Food and Wine Gazette, “for me, it is important to do a lot of different things because like that you do not get tired of doing just one thing. It is a way to keep feeling motivated really," he said when I caught up with him during the GELINAZ! DOES UPPER AUSTRIA. As one of … [Read more...]
Recipe: How to make braised duck with taro
With this easy to follow the recipe on Braised Duck with Taro, you will be cooking in no time with fun and excitement. Introduction: Section 1 I really love Asian cuisine, maybe because I find their food very tasty and delectable. And there is one particular dish that I have been craving for since I have tasted it, the braised duck with taro in it. I’ve tasted in once during a Thanksgiving party together with my whole family. My father-in-law cooked it. It was mouthwatering and very delicious so I decided to ask for the recipe and make one for myself. It is easy to do actually once you have the necessary ingredients. Things That You Will Need To make a delicious braised duck with taro we will be needing specific ingredients that you could easily find. The quantities and measurements of these ingredients are very important, any less amount or more of these will impact the overall taste of your cooked food. So here they are and let’s check it one by one. 1 whole duck … [Read more...]
Heinz Reitbauer: GELINAZ! was a great opportunity to show the world what Austria has to offer
A quiet revolution has been going on in Austria in the world of food and that is being led by chef Heinz Reitbauer who has slowly but surely climbed up the rankings of the World's 5o Best Restaurants list to reach 10th place with his Vienna restaurant Steirereck which is housed in a monolithic glass cube. "We cannot imagine how important for Austria it is that GELINAZ! came to our country. It gives us a chance to show to a lot of people, to chefs and the whole world the products we have, the current state of gastronomy in Austria and what we are thinking about Austrian food. We have been working with our producers to build something for many years and now we have the chance to showcase it," Reitbauer told Food and Wine Gazette in an interview. "The quality of the products and the standard of cooking is very high wherever you go," says the most representative chef of Austria at the moment. "Maybe our wines are known better than our cuisine because you can nearly always find … [Read more...]
Tokyo meets Alba in unique four hands dinner between Enrico Crippa and Zaiyu Hasegawa at Piazza Duomo
When Zaiyu Hasegawa went to Alba the first time it was just a very short visit lasting less than 5 hours. He had been at an event in Milan and couldn't resist a visit to the temple of the white truffle. Little did he know that some time later he would be invited to cook with one of his idols Enrico Crippa, chef of the three Michelin star restaurant Piazza Duomo in Alba. Collaboration and sharing knowledge is one of the secrets to success in life. And when this happens in the kitchen of one of the best restaurants in the world, then magic is bound to happen. That was the case of the four hands dinner between Crippa and Hasegawa in Alba last week. That this would be a match made in heaven was to be expected. The Japanese chef of Den is known for his playful style of modern kaiseki. He also has access to produce grown in his sister's garden which supplies his restaurant. On the other hand, Enrico loves Japan and Japanese culture and has worked for three years there in the past so … [Read more...]
Interview with Poul Andrias Ziska: The young chef who has put the Faroe Islands on the world culinary map
For some people food has become the first thing that they look out for in a destination. Countries that have ignored this are now realising that they can attract a certain type of gastronomic traveller if they can up their game. For those chefs or destinations that are looking for inspiration as to how it can be done, they should look no further than Poul Andrias Ziska, a 26-year-old chef from the Faroe Islands whose restaurant KOKS has won its first Michelin star. This young talented chef has shown what can be done with passion, with fresh food and with what nature can provide you in one of the most remote islands in Europe. Other than for its football team which competes in the European championship, its sheep and its reputation for amazing seafood, few would have heard to these islands at least from a gastronomic map until Poul put them on the map. In the tiny hamlet of Kirkjubour, on the Faroe Islands, Poul was already a household name among foodies serving a 17-course … [Read more...]
Bon Bon’s Christophe Hardiquest to open summer bistro in Brussels
Christophe Hardiquest, two Michelin star chef of the highly regarded Brussels restaurant Bon Bon is realising his dream of opening a bistro even if this will only be for two months. Having decided to close his two Michelin star restaurant in July and August to modernise and refurbish the kitchen completely, Christophe together with his wife Stephanie have decided to take over Chez Marie, a restaurant that has been closed for over two years in the area of Flagey in Brussels. The bistro, called Mon Bistro d'été by Christophe Hardiquest will be serving classics away from the constraints of fine dining restaurants though you can expect a very high quality given that he will be moving together with his team and will be at the helm of the bistro for the two months. This is part of his Brussels project which started last year with a reflection on how to interpret Brussels and Belgian classics. In an interview with Food and Wine Gazette last year, Christophe had said that "it is also … [Read more...]
Cooking on the film set of The Dinner was more challenging than cooking in a restaurant – Jae Song
It is not often that a chef has to create a menu for an important dinner where the focus is not the taste but rather the visual aspect and the consistency. While in a restaurant you have to work with one dish at a time, for a movie there need to be a series of dishes that are exactly the same and which are served in rapid succession as a scene is shot repeatedly. “It is like serving 50 people when in reality there are 12,” chef Jae Song told Food and Wine Gazette about the experience of creating a meal for the film The Dinner which is being released next month.. Jae Song and Paul Yee were the brains behind the food creations of the meal for the film. It is based on Herman Koch’s international bestselling novel The Dinner. Directed by Oren Moverman, this is a dark psychological thriller that features a fierce showdown between two couples during the course of an ornately prepared meal at a fancy restaurant. When Stan Lohman (Richard Gere), a popular congressman running for … [Read more...]
Eleven Madison Park: Cool, fun, simple and innovative
Eleven Madison Park, the restaurant of chef Daniel Humm and Will Guidara has a worldwide reputation. It has won all the accolades from Michelin's 3 stars, four stars in the New York Times, not once but twice and is now ranked as the third-best restaurant in the world. With such a reputation it is difficult to go wrong. The restaurant team and its chef are known for innovation but that innovation does not necessarily come from the cooking which is impeccable but is neither showy nor using the latest tricks to hide behind produce that might not always be exceptional. It rather comes from a boldness to be different and from creating a sense of fun in what some might consider to be the stiff world of high gastronomy. Note: This is a spoiler alert. If you intend visiting Eleven Madison Park anytime soon, you might want to skip reading this as the element of surprise might be ruined. What strikes you when you book a table at the restaurant is that there is the Tock booking … [Read more...]
Rasmus Kofoed: You need to look for what is not obvious
Michelin inspectors have arrived at a restaurant in the Danish capital Copenhagen. Usually they would get away with anonymity but this time, Rasmus Kofoed and his team know that the persons dining at table are from the Michelin guide. How they realised is a story that has yet to be told but on that day, somehow, the staff at Geranium, the three Michelin star restaurant in Copenhagen knew they were serving Michelin inspectors. The tension must have been palpable. Not knowing that you are being inspected may keep you on tenterhooks every day but there is probably no feeling more intense for a chef to know that he is being tested on the spot particularly when so much is at stake. They serve razor clams and when the plate returns back to the kitchen, the chef and cooks realise that the edible clam shell has been left intact. So they ask the service team to send another set of razor clams to tell them that the shells are edible. Rasmus Kofoed tells Food and Wine Gazette in an … [Read more...]
Einsunternull: Forget everything you have previously tasted, seen, smelt, felt and appreciated
You know that you are in for a ride when the restaurant website tells you to forget everything that you have previously tasted, seen, smelt, felt and appreciated. Einsunternull does just that. The Berlin dining scene may be dominated by Tim Raue, the German chef who features in the third Netflix season of Chef's Table but that should not deter you from exploring what is on offer in this vibrant city with a increasingly interesting dining scene. There are many restaurants worth trying and not necessarily easy to make a choice. I decided to try the intriguing restaurant which was recently awarded a Michelin star despite the fact that the owner and chef ran away from a two Michelin star because they wanted to have the freedom not to use luxury ingredients. The restaurant named Einsunternull (or one floor below in English) is called like this because its dining room (for the evenings) is housed in the cellar. Lunch is however served upstairs in a space next to the open kitchen … [Read more...]