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...]
Virgilio Martinez (Central): ‘I find inspiration by listening. We need to listen more’
In today's fast world we do not listen enough. And that is a problem for people in all walks of life. Virgilio Martinez, chef of Central, the restaurant in Lima, Peru says he finds inspiration from people. "I find inspiration by listening. We don't listen enough but listening is very healthy. We listen too much to ourselves. As a chef, you sometimes start to take decisions without listening to people," the Peruvian chef told Food and Wine Gazette in an interview at Chef's Revolution in Zwolle recently. Virgilio is the chef of Central, the restaurant in Lima that is the 'Best restaurant' in Latin America and 4th restaurant in the World's 50 Best Restaurants list. The Peruvian chef is considered to be one of the most influential chefs in Latin America if not the world and is known for using modern cooking techniques to make the best use of Peruvian ingredients. He is also heavily influenced by the landscape and ecosystem. With Peru's dramatic changes in its terrain in a relatively … [Read more...]
Andy Hayler: The man who has eaten in all three Michelin star restaurants in the world
Andy Hayler is the only man in the world to have eaten in all three Michelin star restaurants. He first completed this feat in 2004 and then did it again in 2008, 2010, 2012, 2014 and this year. He has been reviewing restaurants on his website since 1994 making it one of the oldest in the world and the site is updated with several new reviews each week. Eating in all three Michelin star restaurants has become more complicated given that the number of such restaurants has increased from 49 in 2004 to 113 this year. While Andy does not like to term any one restaurant as the best he particularly likes the cooking at Michel Guerard's restaurant Pres des Eugenie in France because he likes that style of food, but there are many other fine restaurants that are objectively up there on a par. Other particular favourites include Schloss Berg in Germany, Le Calandre in Italy, Hotel de Ville in Switzerland and Mizai in Kyoto. He believes there are a number of two star restaurants that … [Read more...]
‘Social media can ruin a restaurant experience, it is like pollution’ – David Kinch (Manresa)
David Kinch, US chef of three Michelin star restaurant Manresa in Los Gatos, California is an avid book reader and therefore it does not come as a surprise when he says that the image on social media is like pollution. It is not that he is against social media. He tells Food and Wine Gazette in an interview that the restaurant is going to be over 15 years old and over 15 years we have seen the rise of social media. "I understand the power and potential of social media and I also understand that it is not going to go away. It is something we have to live with. Part of my job as a chef with my team is to harness the positive aspects of social media, spreading the notion of Manresa, our message and our story so people perhaps feel compelled to come and visit our restaurnant." "I have no problems with that. On the flipside, there is a lot of conversation that goes on in social media and in blogs that are public but do not necessarily have to happen in public. They would be much more … [Read more...]
Jock Zonfrillo: A 16 year old journey to discover the taste and origins of Australian cuisine
A trip by Scottish chef Jock Zonfrillo to Australia changed his life and the fate of Australia's indigenous cuisine. He was on a sabbatical from Restaurant Marco Pierre White that won a third Michelin star but that trip to Sydney was the turning point to an amazing journey of discovery. "I went back to Europe after this trip and kept thinking and thinking and asking myself why Australia was the only country I had visited where I could not taste anything about the culture of the country. There was no taste of original flavours of the country. There were good restaurants but they were French or European, not Australian." Zonfrillo moved to Australia in 2000 and has been there since then going on a journey that has led him to open world renowned restaurant Orana in 2013 which means 'welcome' in some aboriginal languages. While working at Restaurant 41 and Magill Estate Restaurant in Adelaide he set off to try and discover the history and taste of Australian food. And to do that … [Read more...]
Q&A with Kobe Desramaults (In De Wulf): Technology is not always better
Belgian chef Kobe Desramaults does not need much introduction. Chef of top foodie destination In De Wulf and owner in Gent of De Vitrine and De Superette, here he reveals his more personal side in a quick question and answer session when we interviewed him recently. See the fully story here. What are the trends today which weren’t around when you started? For many years, there has been a strive to use technology in the kitchen. I followed sous vide very closely. I did it all myself and I am not going to judge it but I believe in a certain different type of cooking. for example, recently we had a one year old lamb which was aged for three weeks. We cooked the shoulder on a very slow fire. The end result when you carve it cannot be achieved with a normal oven. Technology does not always mean better. But what worked in the past is also not necessarily better. It is important that we have the knowledge so we can be selective. That is technology. You should choose what you want to … [Read more...]
The Belgian chef giving a Maltese twist to his restaurant in Gent
A Maltese restaurant outside Maltese shores is not a common sight. And there is a reason. The island is small and few Maltese chefs have ventured out of Malta to cook Maltese-style cuisine in their own restaurants. Many Maltese chefs have gone abroad to train but most return to work on the island. It is even more unusual when that cuisine is replicated by a Belgian chef but there is a reason for this. Since 2011, Maarten Van Steen and Anna Vella Bardon have been serving Mediterranean style food with a Maltese twist at their restaurant Villa Bardon in Sluizeken, Gent. "It was always our dream to open a restaurant and Gent was a great location. As a chef I studied in the Flemish city of Bruges and was classically trained. Then I went to Malta for two years, (my wife Anna is from Malta) and it was here that I got to know Maltese food and Mediterranean culture," he tells Food and Wine Gazette. He loved the freshness of the fish and the purity of the flavours. "There are things … [Read more...]
Q&A with Peter Goossens: “We need to find a system to eliminate food waste also in supermarkets”
Peter Goossens, chef of Hof Van Cleve is the most internationally recognised Belgian chef having been in the 50 World's Best restaurants for many years. He has held three Michelin stars since 2005 and has received 19.5 out of 20 in the Gault Millau guide since 2004. After our long interview with him, here is the second part in a question and answer format. Who are the rising stars of Belgium? There are many great chefs in Belgium. Just at Hof Van Cleve we have trained so many chefs. We recently tried to compile a list and counted over 200 chefs that have worked at the restaurant. My sous chef Marteen Bouckaert will be opening a restaurant at the beginning of next year. Then there is Michael Vrijmoed and Tim Boury just to mention a few names. Over 70 chefs who worked at Hof Van Cleve are cooking in their own kitchens (at different levels). What's your view of guides and lists of best restaurants? Lists are very important because they help you to become internationally known. … [Read more...]
Interview with Peter Goossens: ‘Belgium has one of the best cuisines in the world but no one has said it yet’
"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...]