Mauro Colagreco, chef of world renowned French restaurant Mirazur has announced a series of 10 dinners featuring some of the best chefs in the world to celebrate the 10th anniversary of his restaurant in Menton. The lineup of chefs, all friends of the Argentinian-born chef, is impressive and fitting for the 10 year anniversary of the restaurant that is considered to be one of the best in the world. The first such dinner takes place on 27 May when David Kinch, the American chef of Manresa who was recently awarded a third Michelin star. Kinch has a unique contemporary style which mixes Japanese and Catalan influences with a very high level of creativity. On 30 May René Redzepi, chef of Noma, will be taking over the kitchen of Mirazur to cook with Mauro Colagreco. The third friend of Mauro to cook at Mirazur will be Brazilian chef Alex Atala of restaurant D.O.M. He will cook in Menton on 28 June. July 7 will be the turn of Japanese chef Narisawa Yoshihiro of Tokyo based … [Read more...]
First craft beer masterclass organised in Malta by Lord Chambray
Lord Chambray organised the first ever Craft Beer masterclass in Malta in collaboration with Lorenzo Dabove, one of the world's renowned craft beer experts who is considered as one of the most important expert on Belgian beers and who is known worldwide for promoting lambic beers and craft beers. We attended this masterclass in Malta a few weeks ago. Dabove said that the craft beer revolution, that had swept through the United States to Italy and many other countries has now reached Malta. "Lord Chambray is the southernmost craft brewery in Europe. We can now say that there are craft breweries from the Lapland to Malta". There are now over 1,000 micro breweries in Italy, 3,000 in the United Kingdom and 5,000 in the United States. The tasting started with a wheat beer or White Beer, the Blue Lagoon. Wheat beer originated from the Belgian village of Hoegaarden and has been made since the Middle Ages. In the 19th century, the village had 13 breweries and 9 distilleries. In 1957, … [Read more...]
Kobe Desramaults to reinvent dining experience with new restaurant in Gent
Belgian chef Kobe Desramaults may well be closing his renowned restaurant In De Wulf at the end of this year but he is certainly not stopping there. After announcing that he is closing the restaurant that became a world famous foodie destination, he wants to create a completely different restaurant from In de Wulf and has already found a location in the Belgian city of Gent. "I want to have the complete essence of what I did at In De Wulf but I will change the frame of the restaurant. Over the past months I have reflected a lot about what I like about my job and I will translate that into the new restaurant," he told Food and Wine Gazette. Desramaults is already present in Gent with his restaurant De Vitrine and his bakery/restaurant De Superette. "The new restaurant will have an open kitchen and we will be working with fire because the latter is something I really like. I also do not like cooking for a lot of people at the same time because that is not cooking. I want to be … [Read more...]
Five French chefs in top 5 places of OAD Classical and Heritage Restaurants list
3 Belgian restaurants in top 100 Opinionated about Dining has released the list of Top 100 Classical and Heritage Restaurants in the World. Michel Bras has won the top place with his restaurant Toya in the Japanese island of Hokkaido. French chefs have taken all the top five places of this newly released list, the first time Opinionated about Dining has classified the top 100 Classical and Heritage restaurants. This guide is based on dining surveys that factor experience of the respondents into the rating system is rather unique. The 2015 The top five chefs in the top five positions are Michel Bras, Michel Trois Gros, Alain Ducasse, Régis et Jacques Marcon and Michel Guérard. Three Belgian restaurants have made it to the top 100 list. These are Comme Chez Soi of Lionel Rigolet which placed 31st in the list, Karmeliet of Geert Van Hecke which placed 38th and Le Chalet de la Foret of Pascal Devalkeneer which placed 73rd. OAD said that Michel Bras Toya, located in the … [Read more...]
Chef’s table trailer released: It’s not about food, it’s about something more
Netflix has released the official trailer for Chef's Table Season 2 and the season promises to be as mouth-watering as the first. Just watching the trailer makes you want to sit down and binge watch. Unfortunately for food enthusiasts, they will have to wait till 27 May for the new season to be released. Using stunning visuals and in-depth interviews with chefs from various top restaurants in the world, it tells the stories and philosophies of the chefs behind these restaurants and explains what makes them tick. The documentaries feature the daily lives of these chefs from their diverse backgrounds to the evolution and craft of their chosen cuisine as well as their quests for sensory perfection. The documentaries are created by David Gelb and his team. The second season will be followed by a third season later this year and a fourth season in early 2017. The chefs featured in the second series are Alex Atala of restaurant Dom in Brazil, Ana Ros from Hiša Franko in Slovenia, … [Read more...]
Tensions rise as Brussels restaurants struggle to recover from bleak period
These are not easy days for Brussels. As the city tries to return back to normal after the terrorist attacks last month, restaurants in Belgium's capital city are facing tough times. While many have been putting up a brave face over the past few months, more and more Brussels restauranteurs are starting to feel the pressure following months of difficulties, and tensions seem to be rising. Only this weekend, Lionel Rigolet, chef of two Michelin star restaurant Comme Chez Soi said that "Brussels is dying," in Belgian newspapers l'Echo and De Tijd. And in a sign that tensions seem to be rising, the Brussels mayor Yvan Mayeur, was asked to leave a gastronomic restaurant in the city centre because the chef was angry with him. The pedestrianisation of the Brussels city centre in summer last year was heavily criticised by restaurant and shop owners in the city centre with many restaurants reporting considerable drops in turnover. But the situation is far more complex than this, … [Read more...]
Frites Atelier Amsterdam: New Sergio Herman chain aims to create best ‘fries’ in the world
There is no stopping Sergio Herman, one of the world's most talented chefs. After deciding to stop cooking full time at the end of 2013 when he closed his three Michelin star restaurant Oud Sluis in the Netherlands he has now decided to put his name on a new project with the aim of creating the best 'french fries' chain in the world. After opening Pure C in Cadzand (Zeeland, the Netherlands) and The Jane (Antwerp, Belgium), Herman will launch a new concept called Frites Atelier. The aim behind the new chain is to turn the humble potato and the common fast food into something good. Herman has been researching potatoes to find the best varieties that he will use for the chain and the sauces that will accompany the fries will change according to the seasons. The five first sauces are expected to be basil, pepper, truffle, bearnaise and mayonnaise. The first shop will open in the Hague in July and four others are expected to open in the major cities of the Netherlands including … [Read more...]
Mindjî, European festival of gastronomy organised by Generation W postponed to next year
The recent terror attacks in Belgium and the current economic climate have led to the postponement of Wallonia's European festival of gastronomy. Mindjî, was scheduled to be held at the Citadel of Namur between 3 and 7 June 2016 has been postponed to next year, Generation W said in a statement. The festival, the first European festival of gastronomy was scheduled to be organised by Generation W, a collective of chefs from Wallonia (the W representing the French speaking part of Belgium - Wallonia). The event would have showcased the artisanal, gastronomic and creative abilities of Wallonia bringing together chefs and producers from the region together with Flemish and European chefs. The event had to feature not only participants from the world of gastronomy but also academia as well as economic actors from the Wallonian region. The organisers said that it in the current climate it was too risky to organise the festival. They examined all options and possibilities, … [Read more...]
Second Food on the Edge symposium to be held in Galway in October
Food on the Edge, Ireland's top food symposium created by JP McMahon (photo above) will return in October this year after the huge success of the inaugural event in 2015. A great lineup of speakers has already been announced for this year's edition. This includes Massimo Bottura, the Italian chef from Modena who will deliver a presentation on the future of food, Daniel Burns, of Luksus in New York City, Shaun Hill, who owns The Walnut Tree in Wales and Tim Hollingsworth who recently opened the three Michelin star restaurant Otium in Los Angeles. Atsuhi Tanaka, Christian Puglisi, Danielle Barry, Luciana Bianchi, Magnus Ek, Virgilio Martinez and Margarita Fores have already confirmed their participation among many others. Last year’s event held in Eyre Square in the heart of Galway city in October, saw 40 of the best international chefs attend The Food On The Edge symposium listened to intently by over 350 people on each day. Audience members included food enthusiasts, chefs, … [Read more...]
Bishop’s Gin: Blending tradition with modernity
Bishop's Gin is a new London Dry Gin that has just been launched on the Belgian market. Created by Thierry Ponet, founder of Ponet Spirits and Matthieu Chaumont of Brussels cocktail bar Hortense, it is a gin that is steeped in tradition while being innovative at the same time. The gin with its distinct label designed by Stranger and Stranger is already competing for the best packaging in the World's Packaging Design Society. This new gin is the result of a collaboration and a discussion between master cocktail maker Matthieu Chaumont who was on the watch for a versatile gin and Thierry Ponet who wanted to revive his family's anestral genever craftsmanship. Ponet lived in London for 15 years before moving back to Belgium around two years ago. "Thierry wanted to relaunch the distillation activity of his family but we reflected that it would be better to create a gin rather than genever. The name Bishop's Gin comes from the fact that when they were looking at Thierry's family … [Read more...]