NY restaurants - under threat? Des Gunewardena, the chairman of D&D Restaurants (the old Conran group), was in even more ebullient form than usual when I bumped into him recently over lunch in the newly opened second branch of Blacklock in the City of London. His mood, he explained, was primarily due to the fact that he had recently returned from New York. 'They may have Trump', he observed, 'but the city is so confident and positive that they set an example to us all.' With that, he moved on to enjoy some well-grilled meat with his long-standing lawyer. José Andrés and World Central Kitchen Have Served 130,000 People in Puerto Rico: José Andrés and team have surpassed the 100,000 meal mark. Over a week since arriving in Puerto Rico to help those affected by Hurricane Maria, Andrés and his nonprofit World Central Kitchen have served a total of 130,000 meals out of mobile kitchens, restaurants, food trucks, and the Coliseo de Puerto Rico, the island’s largest arena — smashing a … [Read more...]
Archives for October 2017
Gert De Mangeleer reflects on ‘roller coaster’ trip to Japan to cook with Zaiyu Hasegawa, Hiroyasu Kawate and Yusuke Takada
Ask any chef whose been to Japan to speak about the quality of produce there and their eyes light up. Gert de Mangeleer, chef of Belgian top restaurant Hertog Jan is no exception. He's a regular visitor to the land of the rising sun, drawing lots of inspiration from the culture and cuisine and he could not say no when he was asked to reciprocate a visit of three Japanese chefs who visited his restaurant in Zedelgem in late August. In the span of two weeks in September, the Belgian chef cooked at three different top-end restaurants in Tokyo and Osaka. “It was a bit of a roller coaster experience because in two weeks I cooked at three restaurants and also cooked at the Belgian embassy. But it is also a great experience which inspired me in many ways,” he told Food and Wine Gazette. The Belgian chef started his trip to Japan in Tokyo cooking at the restaurant of Zaiyu Hasegawa, Den before cooking at Hiroyasu Kawate’s restaurant Florilège. He then made his way to Osaka where he … [Read more...]
Mauro Colagreco has some advice for GELINAZ! – to keep doing things differently
Mauro Colagreco may have arrived late to Neufeulden for GELINAZ! DOES UPPER AUSTRIA but he has clearly not lost his cool or his smile. He's missed his early morning flight which meant that he had to make his way to Upper Austria. I was looking forward to seeing him again. I had met him a few years earlier. He was actually the first chef that I had ever interviewed for Food and Wine Gazette. I had seen him on other occasions including at the GELINAZ! Brussels Headquarters event. The Argentinian-born chef is a fan of GELINAZ! despite his incredibly busy schedule. "It is a small family and I am among friends. Such an event gives me the opportunity to meet new people. For established chefs, it is a way to meet people that we do not know and to see the new generation that is coming behind us but which are rising very fast," he said. Mauro said that to top it all it is always organised in a magnificent setting making it all the more special. "It is a way to get us out of our daily … [Read more...]
“Winters are getting shorter. I don’t know how this will impact food but it is not good” – Magnus Nilsson
Magnus Nilsson is a very busy man. His day job involves running one of the world’s most sought after destination dining restaurants, Fäviken. He has been featured in television series like Chef's Table and the Mind of a Chef but that’s not all. He has also written what some would consider to be the bible of Nordic cuisine called the Nordic Cookbook. It has taken him around all of Scandinavia, meeting people, researching old recipes and taking over 8,000 photographs during the three years it took him to work on the cookbook. He did all this in his free time writing over 700 recipes in the process. Some might wonder how he manages to do all this in a world where time seems to be so precious but as Magnus tells Food and Wine Gazette, “for me, it is important to do a lot of different things because like that you do not get tired of doing just one thing. It is a way to keep feeling motivated really," he said when I caught up with him during the GELINAZ! DOES UPPER AUSTRIA. As one of … [Read more...]
‘Noma delay could be a good thing for us’ says René Redzepi
René Redzepi, chef of noma, said the delay of noma 2.0 could end up being a good thing for the restaurant. Over the past few months, they have travelled the same journey they did 14 years ago when they opened noma in search of inspiration, new ideas and new ingredients. "To have a month more to be able to work on the new menu is a good thing," Rene said. After their pop-up experience in Mexico, the chef and his team embarked on a journey over the summer months (see stunning video below). The Danish chef said that they had gone back in time to the opening of noma 14 years ago and have covered the same journey they embarked on when they opened the restaurant. In the process, they have visited the Faroe Islands, Iceland, Greenland, Sweden, Norway and the whole of Denmark. "We have been from farm to farm, butcher to butcher, fisherman to fisherman simply trying to see what's out there. Nothing beats meeting new people, meeting new friends and discovering new ingredients," René … [Read more...]
Weekly roundup of great reads on food and wine #121
José Andrés, a naturalized U.S. citizen, has become the face of American disaster relief: Unlike the president, Homeland Security or the Federal Emergency Management Agency, José Andrés has no responsibility to respond to natural disasters, and yet the Washington celebrity chef has become a reliable presence in disaster zones, deploying his Chef Network to help feed thousands of displaced people. Andrés was among the first responders in Haiti and Houston, and now he and his crew from World Central Kitchen are on the ground in Puerto Rico, improvising ways to feed countless residents who are stranded without electricity, drinking water and food in the wake of Hurricane Maria. With little ability to speak with the outside world, Andrés has used his Twitter feed to keep followers updated on his progress in the U.S. territory. A Battle to Save the World’s Favorite Treat: Chocolate: The trees of the International Cacao Collection grow here in an astonishing diversity of forms, … [Read more...]