Joachim Wissler, German chef of Restaurant Vendôme, is considered to be one of the best German chefs if not the best. He heads the 3 Michelin star restaurant in the Schloss Bensberg hotel in Bergisch Gladbach, near Cologne. He is known for his blend of classical cuisine, creativity and modernity. The restaurant is number 12 in the World's Best 50 Restaurants 2014 and also the highest ranked German restaurant. He gave an excellent presentation at Chef Sache recently (more on this in the coming days) and also accepted to be interviewed by Food and Wine Gazette. In this interview he speaks about the importance he attaches to stories behind each dish. How would you describe your cooking style? I´ve had my apprenticeship in classic French cuisine. Over the years you change as a chef. You can hardly use terms like “avant-garde, modern or classic” to describe my style of cooking. My cuisine and style is part of me. I want to express memories, experiences and imaginations that … [Read more...]
Archives for November 2014
Apic – a great way to discover and share food photos
A permanent feature at two food events I visited recently was a photographic device which allows chefs to take photos with the touch of a button and creates archives of dishes. The Apic Base, considerably facilitated my work at these events. It allowed me to concentrate on the chef's presentation knowing that I could later download and use the photos from www.apicbase.com The co-founders behind Apic Base were present at Chefs Revolution in Zwolle and Chef Sache in Cologne and I got to speak to them about this very interesting and innovative invention which could revolutionise the way we look at food photography in the future. With the advent of social media and foodies who chronicle their lunches or dinners on sites such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter or Pinterest to give a few examples, Apic is an interesting device which ensures photos are consistent and simple to store. The two inventors of the machine are Julien Burlat, a Michelin star chef (of Dome fame) who owns two … [Read more...]
Kobe Desramaults (In de Wulf): A bold and unique cuisine
Kobe Desramaults of In de Wulf is considered to be one of the brightest young chefs in Europe and definitely one of the most high-profile Belgian chefs. His Michelin star restaurant in Dranouter, a village in West Flanders on the border with France is in the middle of nowhere. There is a reason why it is there, however, since it is the place he remembers from his childhood and also where his mother's restaurant was. The restaurant has become a major culinary destination. Desramaults won the best restaurant award in the OAD (Opinionated about dining) in 2014 and has become in a way similar to Noma in that this is a unique cuisine without cliches, classic produce or sauces. Desramaults was the first chef to take the stage at Chef Sache 2o14 . He showed how his cuisine focuses on all sorts of produce and it was no wonder that the presenter spoke about Kobe’s cooking as being a light cuisine for a conscious eater prepared by a conscious cook. The Belgian chef said that vegetables … [Read more...]
Weekly roundup of great reads on food and wine #8
While it might seem obvious that the average passenger on a cruise ship gains weight, it was indeed surprising to find out that the actual gain on average is nearly 1 kilo a day. Can you even start to imagine what this means? This week, I have found some very interesting articles which I hope you enjoy. Some are long reads so particularly good for a lazy weekend read. There is a very interesting article about champagne in The Guardian. The author argues that for many years no one cared about how champagne tasted. He argues that when it comes to celebrating a joyous occasion, many will opt for a champagne rather than any other sparkling wine just because it is a champagne. But he says that champagnes are becoming more complex and therefore the glass to be used should be revisited. While for a normal champagne a flute would be best, if a sparkling wine or champagne has complexity and depth it would be better to use a normal wine glass to let the aromas express themselves … [Read more...]