"Belgium has some of the best chefs in the world and its cuisine is among the best in the world. But there is no one who has said it before. In France, gastronomy is part of their culture, they say it is part of their patrimony. When the French go abroad they say that they are ambassadors of gastronomy," says Peter Goossens in an interview with Food and Wine Gazette. Goossens, chef of top Belgian restaurant Hof van Cleve, is probably Belgium's most internationally known chef. And rightly so given the list of awards he holds. He's been awarded the highest achievements in all the top guides, has got near perfect scores for his cooking and has been representing Belgium in the World's 50 Best Restaurants since 2006 (this year he slipped out of the top 50 places for the first time) but still holds three Michelin stars and a near perfect score in the Gault Millau guide (19.5 out of 20). So when Goossens speaks, you need to take note of what he is saying because on top of the talent, … [Read more...]
Atsushi Tanaka: A Japanese chef conquering Paris
It is not easy to describe the cuisine of Japanese chef Atsushi Tanaka even if he has been described as the Picasso of the kitchen by his master Pierre Gagnaire. Even when asked he hesitates before he answers that his cuisine is French at its basic but with influence from his home country Japan and his travels to Spain, the Netherlands, Belgium and Scandinavia. "I wouldn't call my cuisine French. Yes, there is French influence but I have worked in Spain, Belgium, Netherlands and in Scandinavia (Copenhagen and Stockholm)," he tells Food and Wine Gazette. Probably the best way to describe his cuisine would be international. He agrees telling me he would describe it as an international contemporary and modern cuisine. This young Japanese chef is one of the many chefs that are establishing themselves in the heart of the world's culinary centre Paris and cooking French cuisine. These Japanese chefs have moved from their traditional Japanese cuisine and are making a name for … [Read more...]
Anthony Genovese (Il Pagliaccio): Italian cuisine is easy to understand
Italian cuisine is appreciated everywhere in the world because of the quality of its produce. "It is a cuisine that does not require specific emphasis on technique but rather allows the flavours and colours of the produce to speak for themselves. For this reason, it is also easier to understand at the first impact," says Anthony Genovese, chef of Roman restaurant Il Pagliaccio. The two Michelin star chef was born in France in 1968 from Italian parents and spent a long time in the South of France despite his Calabrian roots. After travelling from France to England, Japan, Malaysia and Thailand he ended up in Ravello at the Hotel Palazzo Sasso and Rossellini's restaurant where he got his first Michelin star. "It was normal to end up in Rome because it is a city I have always loved. When I was called to go there, I had no second thoughts. Unfortunately it did not end well because the restaurant closed. But being a stubborn Calabrian, I decided to stay and try again." An Italian … [Read more...]
Riccardo Di Giacinto: Enogastronomy could help Italy, Europe out of the crisis
Enogastronomy has the potential to take help Italy and Europe exit the current crisis, Roman chef Riccardo Di Giacinto, one Michelin star chef of Ristorante All'Oro in Rome said. "Communications have changed the world of gastronomy. But the world has also changed, interest in cuisine is at an all time high and I believe that food and wine could help bring us out of the crisis in Italy and Europe," Di Giacinto told Food and Wine Gazette when we caught up with him at Flemish Food Bash earlier this month. Di Giacinto has trained both in Italy and abroad, spending over 11 years away from Italy. He worked four years under Ferran Adrià of el Bulli fame and Marco Pierre White among others, before opening All'Oro in April 2007. "Experience abroad is always important because you meet colleagues and always take something back home with you. And I also hope that you leave something for your colleagues as well." The chef from Rome sees Italian cuisine today as being great, "in grande … [Read more...]
Heinz Beck: Top-end cusine can and should also be healthy
Heinz Beck, executive chef of the only three Michelin star restaurant in Rome, is one of Italy's best chefs. Known for his healthy cooking, maybe unusual for a three-Michelin star chef, the German born Beck has been in Rome for the past 21 years. He was the only three Michelin star chef to cook at the Flemish Food Bash held earlier this month on the Belgian coast. We caught up with him for an interview just as the floodgates opened during the lunch service. Amid lightning, thunder and heavy rain, Beck had to improvise moving the space around to ensure that he and his staff didn't end up serving water-lodged pasta. I had to ask him whether these were the most difficult cooking conditions he had every encountered. He smiles and tells me it is not difficult, but different. He told Food and Wine Gazette that "these events are always very nice. Unfortunately we have a bit of a problem with the weather." Luckily, the weather conditions improved later in the day. Beck is a firm … [Read more...]
Maxime Colin (Villa Lorraine): Bringing the best out of top quality ingredients
Maxime Colin, 27, is full of passion for top quality ingredients and you can see it in his face when he proudly displays a piece of Kobe beef. He speaks passionately about what makes Kobe beef so special, explaining the attention to detail the Japanese give to raising the cattle for what is considered the best meat you can buy. We met Maxime in the kitchen of Villa Lorraine which serves as the kitchen for both La Villa and La Brasserie. The Villa Lorraine, on the edge of the Bois de la Cambre in Brussels, houses two restaurants owned by Serge Litvine who purchased the restaurants in 2010 and is working to make it shine again. Villa Lorraine is a Brussels and Belgian institution having been the first restaurant outside France to get the coveted 3 Michelin stars in 1972. Maxime Colin has been head chef there since August 2014 and retained the 1 Michelin star that had been previously awarded to La Villa under Alain Bianchin in November 2013. He explained the philosophy behind … [Read more...]
Tim Raue: Western cuisine is too complicated
Tim Raue is one of the most prominent German chefs in Berlin if not the whole of Germany. His restaurant Tim Raue has made it to the 40th position in the recently published Opinionated About Dining list, moving forward from the 62nd place. The German chef is unique in his style and in his approach. His two Michelin star restaurant serving Asian inspired cuisine has been awarded 19 points by Gault Millau. His cuisine, as he himself says, reflects his character. We caught up with him a few months ago but had not yet published our interview and we feel this is the right time to bring to the fore this talented chef. But why would a European be cooking Chinese food in the German capital? "What I am looking for is basic, traditional Chinese dishes. What I love is that they are so pure and simple. In Western cuisine we are doing things which are so complicated and using too many techniques. At the end of the day, what I want to do is bring everything together. What I look for in a … [Read more...]
Stéphane Diffels: The hard route to finding one’s passion
It is often, these days, that we hear of people who quit their jobs to follow their passion. Then there are those who are restless because they are not sure what they want to do. They may be sitting in their jobs but they know this is not what they want to do. When they finally find what they really like and what they really want, they beat all the hurdles in their way and race ahead trying to gain lost time. The same can be said for Stéphane Diffels of L’Air de Rien. How do you spot the difference between a chef who has taken a more traditional route and one who has discovered the vocation for cooking at a much later stage? The signs are all in the cooking and in the way the chef speaks about food. Cooking in many ways can be technically flawless, but if there is no passion and if it is treated like any other job, it can be spotted from a mile away. In many ways, the difference between a memorable meal and a great meal could be boiled down to the passion of the chef in … [Read more...]
Interview with Gert de Mangeleer (Hertog Jan): Easy looking dishes but it only looks easy
When we visited Hertog Jan in Zedelgem a few weeks ago to interview Gert de Mangeleer and Joachim Boudens, we asked the three Michelin star Belgian chef our series of quick questions which we normally ask to get some insights into his mentors, the chefs he admires, food waste and social media among others. Gert de Mangeleer, 37, was the youngest 3 Michelin star chef in Belgium when he received the important accolade three years ago. For a more detailed account of his story you may want to read our interview here. You can also get Joachim Boudens, the co-owner of Hertog Jan story here. We started the questions with his perspective on food waste, particularly given the fact that the restaurant has its own garden which generates 95% of the fruit and vegetables that are used in the restaurant. “I consider food waste as a gain to our business. We try to waste the least possible. In a way, it is also why we created L.E.S.S. When we buy a lamb for Hertog Jan, we can use the best … [Read more...]
Sergio Herman on food waste: Chefs need to lead the way
Sergio Herman is an inspirational figure for chefs and foodies alike. His work ethic and determination led him to the top of the culinary world making him one of the most recognised and talented chefs in the world. For his story, you may want to take a look at our more in-depth interview. When we meet chefs we like to ask a series of similar questions to try and get insight into what they look for when they eat out, what they like to eat, their mentors and their view on an issue on which we like to raise awareness - food waste. So we started this set of questions seeking Sergio's view of food waste. "Here at The Jane, we try to waste as little as possible. Trimmings which we don't use are turned into stews, served in the bar or to staff. We try to work with everything, maybe making chips with the trimmings from vegetables." "Sometimes I look around and see all the fish being used in restaurants around the world, I ask where is this all coming from. I worry because I think … [Read more...]