News about René Redzepi seems to be coming out each week. Today comes the announcement that the non-profit foundation MAD (Danish for Food), created by Redzepi, will be partnering with Yale University to develop a new leadership institute for chefs. This comes in the wake of announcements that Noma, the award-winning restaurant run by Redzepi will close its doors in December 2016 as well as the announcement of the launch of VILD MAD, a resource for learning, tasting and exploring wild food. The programme, which will be piloted next spring at Yale, will help create and curate new discussions among leading chefs as their influence continues to develop past the walls of their restaurants. In an age when chefs have become celebrities and have helped to raise awareness on issues such as food waste, this partnership is significant because it recognises the positive influence chefs can have on issues like kitchen culture and sustainability among others. Redzepi, considered to be … [Read more...]
Au Grand Forestier: A new restaurant by the owners of a Brussels institution
The Au Vieux Saint-Martin is a Brussels institution that needs no introduction. Serving Belgian specialities since its opening in 1968, it can be found in one of Brussels most prestigious squares, the Sablon. The owners of the restaurant, Albert-Jean and his son Frédéric Niels, whose family have a long-standing tradition running restaurants, have recently opened a second restaurant, Au Grand Forestier in the south of Brussels in the commune of Watermael Boitsfort. It is one of those places which only locals or people in the know will visit. Set just next to the Forest des Soignes, you will find it hard to believe that you are only a few kilometres away from the Brussels city centre. A typical Belgian brasserie, it serves all the traditional Belgian dishes such as the steak tartare or 'Américain' with fries, or tomatoes stuffed with crayfish. This is an ideal place for tourists coming to Brussels and wanting to find a typical Belgian brasserie that is off the beaten track. … [Read more...]
Seventh edition of Chef Sache starts on Sunday
The seventh edition of Chef Sache, the avant garde Cologne culinary festival, will take place on Sunday 27 and Monday 28 September. This year's theme of the event is the culinary revolution currently taking place in the restaurant world. Some of the world's best chefs will be showcasing their ideas, while exhibitors will present their innovative products. Young chefs will also be present to show what we can expect from emerging talent. Among the chefs on stage, there will be Massimo Bottura of Osteria Francescana (Italy), Jock Zonfrillo of Orana (Australia), Grant Achatz of Alinea (United States), Mitsuharu Tsumura of Maido (Peru), Sven Elverfeld of Aqua (Germany), Eric Menchon of Le Moissonnier (Germany), Christain Bau of Victor's fine dining (Germany), Stefan Wiesner of Rossli (Swizterland) and Magnus Ek of Oaxen Krog (Sweden). Together, these actors are driving the revolution that is currently transforming the culinary world. Never before have traditional dining concepts … [Read more...]
Massimo Bottura: The day Italy beat France 2-0
When French president Francois Hollande went to Modena earlier this week he provocatively said that he had heard there was a restaurant there that could compete with the top restaurants in France and he wanted to see whether this was true. And according to Italian chef Massimo Bottura of the award winning Osteria Francescana he passed the test with flying colours. Speaking to Michela Scacchioli of La Repubblica he said Hollande had told him at the end of the evening that Italy had beaten France 2-0 this evening. "This is not cuisine, this is art." The French president went to dine at Bottura's Osteria Francescana together with Italian premier Matteo Renzi. Bottura made a name for himself, not just for his award-winning cuisine but also for a noble project to raise awareness on the issue of food waste by feeding Milan's poor, using scraps of food from the Milan Expo. The Italian chef said it was not a common feature to have a head of state eat in his restaurant in Modena. "It … [Read more...]
Noma’s closure: Redzepi reinventing the restaurant around three distinct seasons
René Redzepi's new urban farm which is set to open soon after the closure of the award-winning Noma will be a complete re-invention of the concept of a restaurant using three distinct seasons to showcase a true reflection of the landscape of that moment and the unique flavour of that point in time. The Danish chef has launched a video to explain the decision behind the closure of the restaurant (which we would urge you to watch). But if you don't have nine minutes, then read on to find out why Redzepi has decided to close Noma and build something from scratch. "It has taken us a long time to figure it out. We had been planning for the change for years. We are moving into an incredible new space as we continue to build our community and figure out what it means to be a cook in this region. To keep exploring food and flavor, in a new place where we can dream. A place where we can build a farm right in the city. Where we can grow our own food, a place where we can keep … [Read more...]
Hedone to close down and then reopen with no menu
This has been a week of big announcements in the restaurant world. René Redzepi, chef of Noma, announced he would be closing his award-winning restaurant Noma in December 2016 to reopen it as an urban farm. It might not have come as a surprise to those who follow this chef, but it still hit world headlines. A lot has been written but for those who want to know more you can read about it here. But there was also another surprise announcement about one of the most sought after restaurants in London, Hedone. Chef Mikael Jonsson announced he would be closing his restaurant for 10 days and will reopen it in a completely different format in October. The new Hedone will have no menu, will have just 22 covers instead of the current 40 and will be open for just six sittings every week. Jonsson, a lawyer by profession, is a self-trained chef who has risen to be one of the top stars of the international culinary scene over the past years. Some might consider this to be a PR gimmick … [Read more...]
Adria brothers cook together for first time in seven years at Bottura’s soup kitchen
The Adria brothers cooked together for the first time in seven years at Massimo Bottura's soup kitchen in Milan, the Refettorio Ambrosiano, today 2 September. Ferran Adria wrote on his twitter feed that he was supporting Massimo Bottura's amazing initiative while his brother Albert took to Instagram to say it was amazing how time flies and that it was the first time in seven years that he has cooked with his brother. Foodies around the world would probably have travelled thousands of kilometres and paid hundreds if not thousands to get a taste of Ferran and Albert Adria's cooking. They have not cooked together since they took different paths seven years ago. Instead, they joined forces with Italy's top chef Massimo Bottura to feed Milan's poor using 'waste' generated at the Milan Expo. Massimo Bottura wrote on his Instagram feed that they had cooked a chicken nugget that wants to be a soup to a group of children present at the Refettorio yesterday for lunch. The Italian … [Read more...]
Noma’s Redzepi launches VILD MAD, a resource for learning, tasting and exploring wild food
Rene Redzepi has billed it as one of his proudest moments he can think of. And it is called VILD MAD (in Danish) or Wild Food. It is a resource for learning about, tasting and exploring wild food and is being launched in Denmark, the home of Redzepi, one of the world's best chefs. VILD MAD is split into three parts. The first is a curriculum for school kids in Denmark. The project wants to encourage children of all ages to explore their local landscape and taste the abundance of flavours around them. "We aspire to see knowledge of natural food being taught in schools as commonly as reading, writing and mathematics. We believe that providing young children with a basic understanding of edibility and of the landscape will broaden their perception of flavour, connect them to their surroundings in a more profound way and enable them to understand nature's resources and flow." The second part of VILD MAD is a foraging and wild food school for all Danes. The aim behind the project … [Read more...]
Think twice before posting your photos of food in Germany
Chefs may privately hate it when customers take photos of their culinary creations. For every mouthwatering photo on social media like Instagram and Twitter there are dozens of bad shots taken with phones which do not do justice to the food being served. At the same time, they know this is a trend that they cannot really fight against and in general it has enabled a certain food culture to emerge and one which we are likely to look at years from now as the start of a food revival. Most chefs who speak to Food and Wine Gazette actually don't mind sharing their work on social media or even having people share photos of their culinary creations. There is obviously the issue of food becoming cold on the plate or else disturbing other clients in the restaurants and that is really something that should be avoided. We've heard stories of people standing on chairs in restaurants to take a photo of their dish to be able to share on social media. But in Germany, you may think twice … [Read more...]
Drinking wine at the right temperature – not always as easy as it sounds
Drinking wine at the right temperature is a necessity but many get it wrong even in the restaurant trade let alone at home. There is a myth that red wine should be served at room temperature, only that the room temperature is way too warm for your favourite glass of red wine. And even white wines are often over chilled when coming out of the refrigerator. Steve Parker, the creator of Kelvin has come up with a brilliant idea to serve wines always at their ideal temperature. We recently caught up with this UK based company to learn more about the product and also to raise awareness about serving wine at the right temperature, particularly since this is a mistake we have often encountered even in restaurants. Steve, the inventor used to live above a Majestic wine shop in the UK for a short period and became a regular customer and would often get recommendations from the manager for a particular wine. One day, he was recommended a particular Chardonnay from the manager, but having … [Read more...]