BRUSSELS: Thierry Theys, the chef of restaurant Nuance in Duffel was named chef of the year by the Gault & Millau Belgian guide to a digital audience on Monday, December 13. “With his sense of nuance - what’s in a name - this chef has reached new heights in 2021. His cuisine has a signature that is visible from the appetisers down to the desserts and coffee. Not a single detail is missing from the luxurious interior to the bread and butter selection,” the guide’s CEO Mark Declerck said when announcing the awards. He succeeds Christophe Pauly who was last year's Chef of the Year. This year’s young chefs off the year were Martin Volkaerts of L’Amandier in Genval for Wallonia, Martian Defauw of Rebelle in Kortrijk for Flanders and Francois Xavier Lambory of Stirwen for Brussels. The highest newcomer in Belgian and Flanders was Hertog Jan at Botanic with a score of 18/20. For Wallonia, two restaurants scored 16/20. These were Toma in Liege and Le Grand Verre in Durbuy. The … [Read more...]

Niko Romito, one of Italy's greatest contemporary chefs has fulfilled a dream of opening a restaurant in Paris. The restaurant called Il Ristorante Niko Romito has opened in the Bulgari Hotel in the French capital. "To open a restaurant in Paris is the dream of every chef," said the self-taught chef of Reale, a three Michelin star restaurant in Abruzzo. "If I could speak to those young guys who 20 years ago were beginning their adventure in a tiny village nestled in the Abruzzese mountains totally unaware of what they were doing and completely self taught I would say go for it, trust yourselves and believe in what you do always," Romito said. Romito said that dreams can become true thanks to endeavour, patience, passion and identity. "I am proud that guests of Bvlgari Hotel Paris can delve into my vision of Itlaian cuisine, into my professional and personal life story which is profoundly Italian. Together with my entire team we want to bring and share the most authentic values … [Read more...]

The ceremony for the The World’s 50 Best Restaurants 2022 awards will be hosted in Moscow, Russia in July 2022. This was announced by 50 Best earlier this week. The world’s most renowned chefs, restaurateurs and culinary icons gathered last month for the return of The World’s 50 Best Restaurants 2021 which was held in the Belgian city of Antwerp. It was the first in-person awards programme since 2019, representing an important milestone in the ongoing recovery of the restaurant sector. This will be the first time that the awards takes place in the city of Moscow. An extensive event programme hosted throughout the city will culminate in the awards ceremony in Moscow, as the much-anticipated reopening of the international restaurant sector continues and worldwide travel resumes once more. Visitors will have the opportunity to experience the superb restaurants, heritage and culture of Moscow, casting a spotlight on the city as an exciting and emerging culinary hotspot. William Drew, … [Read more...]

COPENHAGEN: Rasmus Kofoed, chef of Danish restaurant Geranium has announced that he will no longer be serving meat at the acclaimed restaurant in Copenhagen. "I have not been eating meat at home for the last five years so to no longer use meat on the new menu was a logical decision and a natural progression for Geranium." The Danish restaurant, which placed second in the World's 50 Best Restaurants list in Antwerp last month has long focused on vegetables, fish and shellfist as the star of the plate with only small quantities of meat being used. "The menu is a reflection of me and how I am evolving as a chef and human being," Rasmus Kofoed said. The restuarant is firm favourite to top the World's 50 Best Restaurants list next year given their placing this year and their constant progression. "I see this as a challenge to create new dishes which celebrate seafood from pristine waters and vegetables from local, organic and biodynamic farms which thrive in Denmark and … [Read more...]

Daniel Humm and Claridge’s will be parting ways at the end of the year. The London hotel has not accepted Daniel Humm’s decision to go plant-based at the restaurant Davies and Brook which has won accolades in the months it was open. David Humm said it was with sadness that he and the hotel management were announcing they would go separate ways at the end of the year. Over the last 18 months Daniel Humm as been taking the time to consider what his next chapter was. And that chapter is plant-based. He has turned his flagship restaurant Eleven Madison Park in New York into a plant-based restaurant and he wanted to do the same in London at Davies and Brook. “The future for me is plant based. This is our mission and what we stand by as a company and at this time this is not the direction that Clardige’s Hotel feels is right for them,” said Daniel Humm in an Instagram post. He said that standing behind this mission and what he believes in is more important and is unfortunately … [Read more...]

ANTWERP: The Italian dolce vita icon Martini, versatile Belgian lifestyle brand Serax and Italian caterer Franceso & Julia have teamed up to open an aperitivo experience store at Korte Gasthuisstraat in Antwerp between November 26 and December 31. The pop-up store has the theme ‘The World of Aperitivo’ and is aimed at offering ideas on how to welcome and surprise guests during the festive season. The store is a gift shop for the holidays and offers a wide range of festive accessories, Italian snacks as well as limited edition Martini gifts and drinks. The World of Aperitivo shop has all the ingredients to organise special moments or to purchase gifts and gift packages. These can be personalised on the spot. The shop offers workshops on how to organise the perfect apertivo. Various chefs will give visitors demonstrations and tastings will take place in the kitchen. It will also offer the visitor access to the world of Martini and the aperitivo moment. It is open every day … [Read more...]

LJUBLJANA: One of Europe’s most important culinary events, the European Food Summit, is back in Ljubljana this November after its premiere in 2019. Food, food, food. With a healthy dose of food-focused events from culinary walks and dinners to a gastronomy-oriented symposium, the European Food Summit (EFS) attracts some of the top names in the food world for what has become an important culinary event on the continent. Even though it’s a fairly new event, premiering in 2019, people have been talking about it ever since. It was not held last year (2020) due to the COVID pandemic, which saw the cancellation of most major events in Ljubljana, Slovenia, and beyond. The European Food Summit raises awareness of the global impact of food, and brings together great minds from around the world to create a better tomorrow.  Taking place between 6th and 8th November 2021, here’s what visitors to this year’s summit can expect. Gourmet Ljubljana Crawl Anyone … [Read more...]

Martini and Sergio Herman have created a ready to serve cocktail called Martini Spritzante. This cocktail was born from a collaboration with the Dutch chef, lover of Italian cuisine and the Italian brand. For this collaboration, Sergio Herman has developed a completely new flavour palette together with Martini master blender Beppe Musso. He worked on it during a trip to Pessione, Italy, the heart of Martini in Italy. The result is a balanced, fresh cocktail with a subtle bitter touch that comes into its own in combination with snacks normally served in an aperitif. "Italy has been deeply rooted in my heart since I started preparing my latest business Le Pristine three years ago," said Sergio Herman. "The combination of my Zeeland roots together with the Italian flair was immediately embraced by our guests. When the opportunity came to collaborate with one of Italy's most iconic brands, I didn't think twice," Herman said. "Together with the master blender, I have been able to … [Read more...]