Sergio Herman, the Dutch chef who closed one of the best restaurants in the world, the Oud Sluis, is set to open his third restaurant in the seaside resort of Cadzand-Bad in Zeeland, the Netherlands. The Japanese inspired bar and restaurant called Blueness will be housed inside the refurbished and extended Strand Hotel which also houses his restaurant Pure C led by chef Syrco Bakker. Last year, the Dutch chef who lives in Belgium also opened AIRrepublic, a restaurant located in a pavilion in the newly build marina of Cadzand within walking distance of the hotel and Pure C. The two restaurants in Cadzand both have a Michelin star. The new restaurant will be housed in the hotel lobby of the Strand Hotel. The opening of the renewed Strand Hotel will take place this summer though the exact date is not yet known. During Phase 1, the new Strandhotel will have 30 hotel rooms and 4 suits. The new hotel lobby and bar will be merged. The bar will be open daily and will have a … [Read more...]
Esenzi to open in Malta later this year with Tim Butler at the helm
British entrepreneur Mark Weingard has the ambition to turn a new restaurant that is set to open in Valletta, Malta later this year into one of the world’s most spectacular restaurants and also one of the best in the world. The chef at the helm is Tim Butler, who is also chef and co-owner of Esenzi in Phuket. Esenzi will open in a new boutique hotel being currently refurbished on St Barbara Bastions which is considered as Malta’s best street with a spectacular view of the Grand Harbour. Mark Weingard has set an ambitious target of November for the opening of the restaurant. The 23 room hotel, Iniala, is scheduled to open around March next year. Tim Butler, the chef and co-owner of the restaurant told Food and Wine Gazette in an interview he has been visiting Malta every month since January to build his knowledge of local produce and to get a feel of the clientele and their habits. He is also experiencing the huge change taking place in Valletta with the constant openings of hotels … [Read more...]
Tim Butler in series of charity dinners in Malta
A series of dinners by Tim Butler, chef of Thailand restaurant Esenzi have been organised at the Maltese president’s summer residence at the Verdala Castle to raise money for charity over the past few weeks. The dinners are also a way for the chef to assess the local’s response to his cuisine as he is set to open a Maltese version of his signature restaurant Esenzi in Phuket while researching on Maltese produce, suppliers and also receive feedback from Maltese customers for his Asian inspired cuisine. Held in a majestic dining room in a palace built by the Knights of St John in 1586, Tim and Mark Weingard, the Englishman who has been investing heavily in Malta in the past few years and who will open the boutique hotel Iniala on the St Barbara bastions where the restaurant will be based welcomed a group of international food journalists for what was probably the first ever food related press visit on the island of Malta. Tim used Maltese produce from the sea and combined it … [Read more...]
Massimo Bottura reclaims top spot in World’s 50 Best Restaurants list
Massimo Bottura, chef of acclaimed Modena restaurant Osteria Francescana reclaimed the no 1 spot in the World’s 50 Best Restaurants list 2018 when it was announced in Bilbao. El Celler de Can Roca, the restaurant of the Roca brothers placed second while Mauro Colagreco of Mirazur in Menton clinched third place. Eleven Madison Park, the restaurant which clinched top spot in 2017 placed fourth. After winning the award, Massimo Bottura said his first thoughts were with his teams in Modena and Florence but also Refettorio, the soup kitchen in Paris who sent him a photo saying they were all routing for him. “We built this together,” he told the audience. “I am not going to disappoint you. I will use this spotlight to show that chefs in 2018 are much more than the sum of their recipes. We can have a loud voice for change,” said the Italian chef. His wife Lara Gilmore said that it was an honour to win the award adding that all those present were winners because this was one of the … [Read more...]
8 restaurants drop out of World’s 50 Best list including classics as 13 new restaurants get into 51-100 position
At least eight restaurants have dropped out of the World's 50 Best list according to a preliminary list of restaurants from 51-100 of restaurants published by The World's 50 Best Restaurants list. These include classic restaurants who have graced the list for many years like Amber in Hong Kong, De Librije in the Netherlands, Vendome in Germany and Hof van Cleve in Belgium. Other restaurants that have dropped places in the list include the Copenhagen restaurant Relae, Paris restaurant L'Astrance, Australian restaurant Brae and Argentinian restaurant Tegui. Among the newcomers to the list is the new restaurant by Albert Adria Enigma, the restaurant of Kristian Baumann and René Redzepi 108 in Copenhagen, Atelier in Munich, Alo in Toronto, Leo in Bogota, L'Effervescence in Tokyo, SingleThread in Healdsburg, Nobelhjart & Schmutzig in Berlin, Le Coucou in New York, A casa do Porco in Sao Paulo, Elkano in Getaria, Don Julio in Buenos Aires and Suhring in Bangkok. Two Belgian … [Read more...]
Massimo Bottura brings together 24 chefs for Al Méni in Rimini on 23 and 24 June
It is sometimes called the G8 of international cuisine. On 23 and 24 June, close to the sea in Rimini, Massimo Bottura, chef of Osteria Francescana, will organise the fifth edition of 'Al Méni' an open air food festival where 12 chefs from Emilia Romagna and 12 up and coming international chefs join forces to serve top cuisine at 'street food' prices. Among others, there will be top Polish chef Adrian Klonowski, the Indian rising star Garima Arora or Tekuna Gachechiladze, the star of Georgian popular cuisine. 'Al Méni' is dialect in the region for hands and comes from the title of a poem by Tonino Guerra. Bottura came up with the idea for the festival 5 years ago. It is held under a circus tent inspired by the great Italian film director Federico Fellini in the square that is named after Fellini. It is aimed to be a celebration of the cuisine and produce of the region. The commune of Rimini turned the idea into an event. The chefs that are taking part come from all corners of … [Read more...]
Ana Ros, Emmanuel Renaut, Peter Goossens and Arnaud Lallement to cook at Bon Bon
Christophe Hardiquest, chef of two Michelin star Brussels restaurant Bon Bon has announced the line up that will complete his Bon Bon Origins collaborative dinner series this year. Ana Ros, Emmanuel Renaut, Peter Goossens and Arnaud Lallement will cook together with Christophe in separate events that take place from July to October. Christophe Hardiquest, chef of the two Michelin star Brussels restaurant Bon Bon launched Bon Bon Origins out of the desire to rediscover traditional Belgian recipes that have stood the test of time but deconstructing them and bringing them to life again in a contemporary way, he will be organising collaborative dinners with different chefs that are focused on their own terroirs. Since the beginning of this year he has organised three dinners already with Belgian chef Gert de Mangeleer of Hertog Jan, Portuguese chef Jose Avillez of restaurant Belcanto and the French Alexander Couillon of La Marine in Noirmoutier. The first of the remaining … [Read more...]
Taking the doughnut to the next level: Niko Romito opens Bomba in Milan together with Autogrill
If Niko Romito has his way, he will revolutionise street food in Italy by turning the 'humble doughnut' or bomba as it is known in Italy into a protagonist of Italian street food. The chef of 3 Michelin star restaurant Reale in Castel di Sangro has opened a new 'fast food' concept in Milan together with Autogrill on 7 June. Called "Bomba" this is the first in a series of outlets that are set to open not just in Italy but also internationally. The 'bomba' is a doughnut that is being served in both a savoury and a sweet format at Bomba. Niko Romito has gone back to his father's roots. It was his father who made the 'bomba' at the pastry shop in Reale at Rivisondoli which made typical pastries from Abruzzo. His father turned that pastry shop and bakery into a trattoria before it was taken over by Niko and his sister who turned it into the best restaurant in Italy. In 2014, Niko launched the first 'Bomba' in Naples in a high-end supermarket. Here, they made not just the doughnuts … [Read more...]
New restaurant and noodle bar by the Bun team in Antwerp
Huibrecht Berends and Hoa Truong, the duo behind Bun Vietnamese Street Food, the popular food bar in Antwerp have announced new plans to expand their business and bring more authentic Vietnamese food to the Flemish city of Antwerp. Their current Bun Vietnamese Street Food restaurant which is on Sint Jorispoort will be turned into a Vietnamese noodle shop from 12 June 2018. Hoa Truong and Huibrecht Berends have announced that they will also be opening a new bar and restaurant in summer on Volkstraat in Antwerp. Hoa and Huibrecht told Food and Wine Gazette that the Bun Bar and Restaurant in Volkstraat will open in August and will have 35 covers in the restaurant and 20 at the bar. "The restaurant will have an open kitchen, we will be serving the same style cuisine but they will no longer serve big bowls of noodles at the restaurant. Our idea is to have more smaller dishes and main courses to share. Our new restaurant will enable reservations and have all the comfort of a … [Read more...]
Noma to open bookings for Game and Forest season on June 6
Bookings for the Game and Forest season which starts on 2 October and runs till 22 December at noma will open tomorrow June 6 at 4pm (Central European Time). This is the only period of the year when René Redzepi will be serving meat at noma. Since the restaurant reopened in a new location in February, the restaurant has been working with three fixed seasons. The first focused on seafood and the vegetable season will follow when the restaurant reopens after a short break later this month. Redzepi said that meat will be playing a key role during this season and they will serve anything that they can get their hands on from a teal to goose, a leg of moose, reindeer tongue or wild ducks. The restaurant has assured their Instagram followers that they will spare their friendly duck neighbours who are constantly featuring on their Instagram stories. The Game and Forest Season also pays homage to everything that grows in the forest from berries to mushrooms, nuts and also wild … [Read more...]