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...]
The Gelinaz! band is back with another unique event
The Gelinaz! gang, a collective of chefs that was formed by Italian food journalist Andrea Petrini, is back with another unique event after the successful organisation of Gelinaz shuffle last year. 14 chefs will be teaming up in pairs in an event called Walk with Us London. The event, which has been a sell out, takes place on 28 February. The chefs will be randomly teamed-up. Each Gelinaz! chef-duo will create four dishes (two starters, a main-course and a dessert). They will interpret and remix two original four-course menus specially created for the event by Isaac Mchale of The Clove Club and James Lowe of Lyle's. The restaurant in which each chef-duo is placed will only be revealed on the evening of the event. The organisers have promised the service will be 'a little shaken-up'. "Expect the evening to be interrupted, to leave the premises and....Walk with Us!" Gelinaz have said. The organisers have said that because of the concept, they are unable to cater for dietary … [Read more...]
Syrco Bakker: ‘Working step by step to create a unique experience at Pure C’
Few people would imagine that Cadzand in the North Sea would be the place for a highly successful restaurant. Until a few years, it was a beautiful but rarely visited part of Zeeland. Situated in the Netherlands, just a few kilometres away from Belgium, the location may be idyllic but it is not only out of the way but barely known until Sergio Herman decided to open Pure C there. Pure C opened in 2010, nearly six years ago and overlooks Cadzand’s beautiful beach. Since then, it has made a name for itself among foodies. After all, this is the creation of former three Michelin star chef Sergio Herman. He entrusted the kitchen to Syrco Bakker, a young chef who had worked with him at his three Michelin star restaurant Oud Sluis which the talented Dutch chef closed in December 2013. “From Sergio I learned the drive, the attention to detail and constantly striving for quality. I worked at Oud Sluis for three years and it was amazing how he was developing and changing things so … [Read more...]
Sergio Herman announces new project in Cadzand for next year
Sergio Herman, one of the world's most talented chefs who decided to stop cooking full time in 2013, has announced a new project in Cadzand that is set to open next year. After the success of The Jane in Antwerp and Pure C in Cadzand, Sergio Herman is opening a new harbour restaurant, pavillion and takeaway in Cadzand. The restaurant is set to open on 16 September 2016. The seaside resort in the Netherlands has been made popular by his restaurant Pure C. It will now welcome the new harbour restaurant, pavillion and takeaway for boats as can be seen by the architects' impression published on Herman's Instagram feed. Sergio Herman is the former 3 Michelin star chef of Oud Sluis. He decided to close his world famous restaurant in 2013 to seek more balance in his life and to pursue other projects. Since closing his restaurant in this small village close to Cadzand he has focused on his two restaurants The Jane in Antwerp and Pure C in Cadzand but had told Food and Wine Gazette … [Read more...]
Old artisanal Belgian biscuit maker Maison Dandoy expanding
Maison Dandoy, the Belgian artisanal biscuit maker famous for its Speculoos has been slowly expanding its offer not only in Brussels, where it was created in 1829, but also outside the Belgian capital. After the successful opening of a shop in Tokyo in 2012, Maison Dandoy is opening a shop in the Belgian city of Antwerp on the Graanmarkt as well as a temporary pop-up store at the Stadsfeestzaal. The shops have been open since 23 November in time for the Christmas and New Year festivities. For the festivities, the Brussels based biscuit maker is offering two collections, Saint-Nicholas' sweets are for kids of all ages. There is also a Christmas pack called Holy days ask for devilishly good cookies. This biscuit maker has a very interesting history which started in 1829 with Jean-Baptiste Dandoy, a young baker. He was the brother of the mayor of Uccle at the time and set to create the biscuit firm which still carries his name today. It was originally opened in rue … [Read more...]
10 things we learnt from Peter Goossens (Hof van Cleve)
Belgian chef Peter Goossens is probably one of Belgium's most internationally known chefs. He has been in the World's 50 Best Restaurants list for many years and is one of only three Belgian chefs to have three Michelin stars. Just before summer we spent time with this high-performing chef. We have already published the interview but here are the 10 lessons we learnt from that morning. Doing great work is not enough, you also need to promote it: Peter Goossens uses the example of how fries were invented in Belgium but lack of communication meant that they are internationally known as 'French fries'. It is a bit mad to have allowed this to happen he tells us. And he is right. In many areas of life, many are shy to promote what they have done or are not good at communicating it. If you do not communicate, you cannot expect others to know what you are doing. To find the motivation you need to love what you do: How do you retain motivation when you have reached the top? Peter … [Read more...]
Lola in Brussels celebrates its 20th anniversary with book publication
Lola, one of the chic restaurants in Place Sablon, Brussels, is celebrating its 20th anniversary. For the occasion, it launched a book that tells the story of the restaurant and also presents recipes of some of the most classic dishes served at the restaurant. The brasserie Lola is the story of five people passionate about cuisine who launched the restaurant 20 years ago. The five friends, Caroline, Larbi, Henri, François and Laurent came together to create the restaurant which has become one of the highlights of this historic Brussels squares. They started off with Les Faste Fou, a place specialising in salads just off Avenue Louise in 1987. Lola, their second project, six years later, was more ambitious not only because of the location but also for its cuisine. A contemporary brasserie, it focuses mainly on seasonal ingredients. Its menu changes according to the seasons but it still retains many Belgian classics on its menu such as the 'croquettes des crevettes', the americain (or … [Read more...]
Brussels welcomes San
San, the new restaurant of two-Michelin star chef San Degeimbre, is ready to start welcoming guests from Monday 5 October. The restaurant is built around a simple concept, that of serving food in bowls. This concept has already been tried and tested for lunch at the two Michelin star restaurant L'Air du Temps in Liernu, Belgium. San's restaurant is a welcome addition to the Brussels scene and has long been awaited by foodies in the city, particularly after the announcement of its opening earlier this year. The Belgian-Korean chef is going back to his roots by serving dishes in a bowl, something which is very common in Korea. There will be no forks and knives but only spoons. 'When you are using a spoon, you are forced to pick up what's on the plate and thus mix flavours," San told Food and Wine Gazette. Indeed, the dishes served at a press dinner showcased this concept to perfection. The taste from each spoonful was different and the flavours lingered on for a long … [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...]
A visit to the new Rotterdam food market
Rotterdam had not been on our radar screen despite the fact that we had heard great things about the city. But when we read and wrote about the new Rotterdam food market opened in October last year we knew that a visit was a must. This Dutch city is often overlooked as visitors head to Amsterdam, the Hague and Delft instead. That may be set to change in future with the food market that could become a destination for foodies around the world. We will feature the city in our Perfect day series so do stay tuned but in the meantime here are our observations about the food market. For lovers of architecture, Rotterdam has a lot going for it. The recently opened food market, designed by architects MVRDV is the latest architectural gem to emerge in this city. Located in the city centre of Rotterdam the food market is designed in the shape of a horse shoe and has a steel cable facade which is the largest of its kind in Europe. A colourful mural depicts a composition of produce on the … [Read more...]