What better way to get to know part of the GELINAZ! crowd than with a casual lunch at O' Boufés, the casual restaurant of chef Konstantin Filippou and his wife Manuela. The duo hosted chefs and journalists for a lunch on Wednesday before the welcome dinner at the world renowned Vienna restaurant of Heinz Reitbauer, Steirereck and the transfer to Muhlathof in Neufelden where the GELINAZ DOES UPPER AUSTRIA took place. Chef Konstanin Filippou and his wife Manuela own two restaurants in Vienna, the causal O' Boufés and their flagship restuarant called Konstanin Filippou which gained a Michelin star soon after it opened its doors. The O Boufés was opened two years ago and is next door to their flagship restaurant and has been an integral part of their story. Serving pure and simple food that is characterised by great ingredients and good taste the cooking style at the O Boufés clearly reflects Konstantin's multicultural background (he is half Greek having a Greek father and … [Read more...]
Archives for August 2017
GELINAZ DOES UPPER AUSTRIA: how 23 chefs revisited 3 matrix dishes
23 chefs, 7 teams, 3 matrix dishes with clearly defined ingredients, 14 courses. It may sound simple but it definitely is not. Chefs are meant to collaborate, to spend time together, to learn from each other and to exchange ideas. Its a bit like summer camp but it is also stressful and tiring. That is what the GELINAZ! DOES UPPER AUSTRIA dinner was all about. It is not the first time that chefs have been asked to revisit matrix dishes. And it will definitely not be the last. So what was served in Neufelden earlier this month when 21 top chefs were hosted by father and son duo Helmut and Philip Rachinger at the idyllic Mühltalhof restaurant and hotel? The dishes may have looked simple: what's not to like about a simple fresh water dish, a goulash and venison but the end result was far from simple. The chefs were grouped in teams of three or four people and they have one dish to reinterpret. There are seven teams in all. Three teams must reinterpret the venison dish, two the fish … [Read more...]
Sang Hoon Degeimbre first chef to cook at Mary Pop-in
Mary Pop-in, a Brussels based pop-up restaurant will be inviting chefs from Michelin star restaurants to cook a six-course vegetarian dinner using food that has been saved from waste. Called Masterchef Monday, the first guest of Mary Pop-in, an initiative of Eatmosphere, will be the chef of two Michelin star restaurant L'Air du Temps, Sang Hoon Degeimbre. "We love to work with top chefs like Sang Hoon. They have no limits and do not have preconceived ideas. Their approach to food waste is different and they actually value certain products in their way of cooking. They have the authority, the creativity and the possibility to raise awareness among the general public. Sang Hoon has been using a no waste philosophy for a long time and is using all sorts of modern and also old techniques such as fermentation to follow this approach," said Steven Desair, the founder of Mary Pop-in and Eatmosphere. "He respects nature. If you would like to take part in this event, then book quickly on our … [Read more...]
Japan meets Belgium at Hertog Jan: Gert de Mangeleer to reciprocate with visit to Japan next month
Gert de Mangeleer, the chef of three Michelin star restaurant Hertog Jan in Zedelgem, Bruges on Thursday hosted three Japanese chefs for a unique four hands lunch and a six hands dinner. The event, organised with the support of Visit Flanders and Arts Flanders Japan, aimed to raise awareness of this Belgian region by introducing the chefs and a few Japanese and international media to some of Gert and Joachim Boudens favourite suppliers and fellow chefs. The three chefs that cooked at Hertog Jan together with Gert were Yusuke Takada from La Cime in Osaka cooked lunch with Gert. On the other hand, the dinner was a collaboration between Zaiyu Hasegawa of restaurant Den in Tokyo which holds 11th place in Asia’s 50 Best and 45th place in the World’s 50 Best Restaurants) and Hiroyasu Kawate, chef of Florilège, 14th in Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants together with Gert. Inspired by the unique garden at Hertog Jan which supplies 95 per cent of the herbs, fruits and vegetables that are used … [Read more...]
The beauty of raw prawns
I have never been an early morning person. But I still remember the days when my father used to wake me up early to go fishing with him. I used to relish the time with him. I used to love the anticipation and the preparation that went into the fishing. My father would prepare the fishing bait which either consisted of bread with fermented cheese that had been left in jars in full sunshine and stank really badly or else freshly brought shrimps or gambli as they were more commonly known in Maltese. My attention span when I was young and fishing would not really last long unless I was actually catching fish and to be honest I did not get the point of it until many years later. My father doesn’t even really like fish until this day. But, there is something therapeutic about fishing. You are alone, surrounded by nature sitting or standing in silence.The best time to fish is either at sunrise or at sunset and when it gets dark but to get the best spots you needed to go early. Today, … [Read more...]
Three top Japanese chefs to cook at Hertog Jan
Three top Japanese chefs are currently in Belgium and will cook with Gert De Mangeleer, chef of Belgium three Michelin star restaurant Hertog Jan. The three chefs are Yusuke Takada from La Cime in Osaka (a 2 Michelin star restaurant), Zaiyu Hasegawa of restaurant Den in Tokyo which holds 11th place in Asia’s 50 Best and 45th place in the World’s 50 Best Restaurants) and Hiroyasu Kawate, chef of Florilège, 14th in Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants. They arrived in Belgium on Monday and have been guests of Gert De Mangeleer and Joachim Boudens who have taken the chefs in tow in Bruges and its surroundings together with a few Japanese and international media. They have been introduced to a few of Gert and Joachim’s favourite suppliers and fellow chefs of both top restaurants as well as brasseries, brewers, chocolatiers from Flanders. The experience and inspiration that the chefs will have gained during this culinary trip will be put into practice on Thursday 24 August. The Japanese … [Read more...]
GELINAZ! DOES UPPER AUSTRIA: Magic happens outside the comfort zone
What makes chefs drop everything and travel across continents, sometimes with very little sleep in between, to push boundaries and challenge themselves outside the comfort of their kitchens and teams? Why do they leave their usual environment, their homes, their families and risk their reputation to participate in an event where you can always expect the unexpected? The answer is GELINAZ! It is a the collective of chefs that is co-curated by Andrea Petrini and Alexandra Swenden and which likes to promote itself as being beyond food and evil. They organise events ranging from impromptu dinners to chefs swapping restaurants for one day, retreats and also the most recent (before last Sunday’s event) being a chef shuffle at the same time as a gathering of 20 chefs called Brussels Headquarters. This was held at Christophe Hardiquest’s Bon Bon where they cooked 4 consecutive services from 12 noon to 3am. This time, they charted new territories with GELINAZ! DOES UPPER … [Read more...]
Building bridges: GELINAZ! gang jump into river to create floating bridge
The GELINAZ! gang yesterday afternoon braved the cold waters (for some at least) of the river in front of the Mühltalhof in Neufelden, Upper Austria to symbolically build a bridge across the river which shortens the distance between the restaurant of father and son duo Helmut and Philip Rachinger and the art gallery of Joachim Eckl called The Heim.Art* Station just across the river. Joachim Eckl said that the building of the bridge was not only just functional, i.e. to enable the chefs and guests to cross from one spot to the other but also symbolic as the chefs were here from all corners of the world to exchange ideas, experiences and work together in a unique setting. The Austrian artist, who likes to call himself a 'social engineer' is currently working on realising "Draw the Danube - Build a Bridge' - a project based on the collaboration of 2000 people along the whole stream of the Danube. Preparations were going ahead in full swing yesterday. The teams have started to exchange … [Read more...]
3 matrix dishes presented by Helmut and Philip Rachinger for GELINAZ! event
The father and son duo Helmut and Philip Rachinger yesterday evening presented the three original upper Austrian Matrix recpies for the GELINAZ! DOES UPPER AUSTRIA event that takes place on Sunday. From a Goulasch and bread of potatoes to wild caught freshwater fish and foraged ingredients from the forest and summer venison, the 22 chefs that will join the Rachingers have already started work and brainstorming to see what and how they will prepare their deconstructed and reconstructed dishes. René Redzepi and Magnus Nilsson (freshly shaved for the occasion after having stopped shaving since June) arrived in the afternoon. Meanwhile, Mauro Colagreco who missed the early morning flight to Austria arrived late in the evening with the slow train to the idyllic Mühltalhof in Neufelden. The last remaining chef to arrive will be Lima based Virgilio Martinez who is set to arrive this morning to join the rest of the group. David Chang with his team composed of Lukaz Mraz, May Chow … [Read more...]
GELINAZ! event in Austria starts with lunch at Konstantin Filippou
The GELINAZ! DOES UPPER AUSTRIA event started with a lunch hosted by the chef of Michelin starred Vienna restaurant Konstantin Filippou at his second restaurant O'Boufe. Among the chefs that were present for this first lunch were Momofuku Ko in New York, Ana Roš of Hiša Franko, Kobarid in Slovenia and voted the World's 50 Best Female chef for 2017, SLOVENIA – W50BR 2017 Best Female Chef, May Chow of Little Bao, Hong Kong and the ASIA50BR 2017 Best Female Chef, Antonia Klugmann, L’Argine di Vinco, Cividale, Italy, Colombe Saint-Pierre, Chez Saint-Pierre, Le Bic, Canada and Bo Songvisava of Bo.lan, Bangkok, Thailand. The chefs are in Austria for a four day Austrian discovery which started on August 16th and ends with a final show on Sunday August 20th at the restaurant of father and son duo Helmut and Philip Rachinger, the Mühltalhof. In total 24 chefs will be taking part in the event. These hail from all corners of the world and will work in teams of three or four around 3 … [Read more...]