Food in the western world is now cheaper than at any time in human history. But this comes at a cost. A cost to our health and also to our planet. Over consumption also means that 30 per cent of food bought in western European countries is thrown away. If you have only time to read one link, make it this one. Why do we have to distigust between 'real bread' and processed bread? To make bread you just need four ingredients - water, flour, salt and yeast. But have you ever looked at the ingredients in 'supermarket' breads? This is a short but interesting read about the difference between the two. It seems like this is the week for raising awareness. In the Netherlands, they have announced that they will start banning food ads for children under 13. The advertising code's age limit has been increased from seven years old to 12 years old. Have you ever wondered why in flight food tastes awful? There are a number of reasons for this. Although the food might not necessarily be … [Read more...]
Archives for January 2015
Sang-hoon Degeimbre announces series of four-hands dinners for 2015 at L’Air du Temps
Sang-hoon Degeimbre, chef of 2-Michelin starred L'Air du Temps, has announced a series of six four-hands dinners for 2015. The first will be with Danish chef Bo Bech of the restaurant Geist in Copenhagen and takes place on Thursday 12 February at L'Air du Temps. Bo Bech, is an award-winning Danish chef and restaurateur who trained under Alain Passard of L'Arpege. He is known for his delicate dishes and unique flavour combinations matching unusual flavours in a very simple style. Bech says that he likes to make food with pure ingredients and pure enthusiasm. It has a unique concept because the menu consists of light savoury dishes, slightly larger savoury dishes and sweets. They recommend that you choose a few dishes and if you want to try more dishes, you can simply order as you go. When I interviewed Sang-Hoon last year, he had told me that Geist was one of his favourite restaurants in the world so it will be a unique experience to enjoy a dinner prepared by Degeimbre and … [Read more...]
10 Sicilian wine producers to look out for
I am preparing a wine tasting for a wine club I form part of in September and the theme is Sicilian wines. I have therefore been researching a bit more than usual about the wine producers of Sicily and also tasting some more wines from this Southern Italian island which produces some stunning wines. This will hopefully be a new series for Food and Wine Gazette on wine producers in different wine regions and countries of the world who are worth looking out for because they produce consistently good wine. In part, this is also inspired by a conversation I had with a reader of this blog who asked how I go about purchasing wines I would be drinking. But that is another story. There are no secrets to buying or drinking great wine. It all boils down to knowing which are the wine producers that produce consistently good wines. A good indication of the quality of the wine is the entry level wine. It might not be stunning but if it is well made it will be enjoyable and you can rest … [Read more...]
What we’ve been drinking (December)
December is characterised by many long lunches and dinners with family and friends. There is a certain tendency in these cold winter months to switch to red wines, particularly full-bodied reds which are perfect companions to the typical winter dishes served over Christmas. But then, there is nothing like a good white wine to pair with fish dishes particularly when you have spent the Christmas period in Malta and the fish and shellfish are mouthwatering fresh. White wines Trimbach Riesling Reserve 2011: I tend to have a personal preference for German Rieslings although there are some Alsace winemakers which I consider at a par with Germany's best, if not better. Trimbach is one such wine house and this Riesling Reserve was excellent. It is a dry white wine with concentrated fruits while being light. It was ripe, supple and rich yet very dry. It had excellent minerality and a saline finish. This is a Riesling that can get better with age. Pascal Jolivet: Pouilly-Fume 2012: … [Read more...]
Weekly roundup of great reads on food and wine #16
This is our first weekly roundup for 2015 with some interesting articles from the food and wine world. From a 90-year-old who continues to make fresh pasta in an Italian trattoria, to the trends for 2015 and a controversy about whether prosecco served on a tap in a pub should be called prosecco or not, we hope you find something interesting to read. When I use fat in cooking, it is mainly butter or extra virgin olive oil. So I found this article about cooking real food with minimally processed unrefined fats and oils, one which reinforces my own thoughts. But it is worth reading It is essential for children to learn how to cook. Research continues to show that cooking is a path to good health. At a time when more and more people are not cooking at home, here are some tips about how to get children to start learning how to cook. It says that a child could be able to cook a meal within five weeks following these steps. Travel always brings out stereotypes and there might be … [Read more...]
2014 – A year of Food and Wine Gazette in review
Food and Wine Gazette was launched in September 2014. In four months, readers from over 110 countries have visited the website with most of the visitors coming from Belgium, followed by the United States and the Netherlands. Our top reads to date were the following: 1. Grant Achatz (Alinea): A genius of molecular cuisine 2. Carcasse: A restaurant by one of Belgium's best butchers, Dierendonck 3. A review of Massimo Bottura's great book Never Trust a Skinny Italian chef 4. Mauro Colagreco (Mirazur) showcases three great dishes using collagen 5. Interview with Sang Hoon Degeimbre: Creativity comes from constant questioning and keeping an open mind 6. Fulvio Pierangelini - an Italian chef in exile 7. De Superette (Gent): The bakery with a difference It has been a busy first few months with visits to Chefs Revolution in Zwolle and Chef Sache in Cologne as well as participation in a number of events in Brussels such as the Vini Birre Ribelli which focused mainly … [Read more...]
A postcard from Malta: Food and Wine Gazette is back
It is incredible that we are already in 2015. Food and Wine Gazette started off in September of 2014 and we are back after taking a two and a half week break from writing about the things we like most - food and wine. During our break, partially forced by the fact that we were staying in a house without internet access, we have been able to reflect a lot about the coming months of Food and Wine Gazette which we hope will be as exciting as the first few months have been for us. At first we were slightly worried because this was our first break from writing. We had been systematically posting content nearly on a daily basis since our launch. But as time went by, we started to relax more and more and are now back with lots of energy and ideas. Instead of writing, we have been extremely busy doing another thing we are passionate about, that is cooking and trying new wines. Inspired by some of the chefs we met on our journey so far, the books we have read about food and wine over the … [Read more...]