Around 10 years ago, I sat for a five session course on wine tasting. The sommelier who was organising the wine course presented us with a range of natural wines, a few excellent, most foul. The scope was not to convince us about the merits or not of natural wine but rather to allow us to spot the defects in a wine whether it was natural or not. Move 10 years and in 2018, most restaurants and wine bars worth their salt are offering many natural wines and biodynamic wines on their wine lists. But have we reached peak natural wine? What’s the difference when it comes to taste with biodynamic wines? Can they be both? And has there been improvement in natural wines. These were the questions we tried to explore at a wine tasting club I am a member of. Together with a friend, we selected 10 wines from philosophical European winemakers who in one way or another have a vision and who translate their vision into their wines. This was an atypical wine tasting moving where we compared … [Read more...]
Archives for October 2018
Influential wine writer James Suckling opens wine bar in Hong Kong
James Suckling, one of the top wine writers in the world has fulfilled his dream of opening a wine bar. The wine bar on the second floor of Staunton Suites in Staunton Street, Soho, Hong Kong has softly opened its doors and is welcoming people for a glass or bottle of wine. The brand new wine bar and restaurant is called James Suckling Wine Central and includes a personal selection of wines which have scored between 90 and 100 points by him or his team. "It’s been a dream of mine for many years to open a wine bar. I want to share my lifelong passion for wine with every single one of you in Hong Kong. I want you to know that whether you purchase a rare old bottle or a good-value wine by the glass at my restaurant, you can be assured of a great experience," he told readers of his newsletter. Opening James Suckling Wine Central has taken many months of preparation and careful planning. "But I felt it was something I had to do as a natural extension of the large-scale consumer … [Read more...]
CostardiBros in Amsterdam for one off pop-up dinner at Peroni Risotteria
Christian and Manuel Costardi, also known as the CostardiBros, rose to fame for their risotto. Two brothers that are often considered as twins despite an age difference of 9 years where in Ristorante Hangar in Amsterdam on 9 October for a one evening pop up with Peroni Nastro Azzuro. They brought with them a number of iconic dishes that have made them famous not just in Italy over the past few years. Their focus was on rice, serving two main dishes as well as a dessert using rice that is so popular in their region. They presented Diversamente Tonnato by CostardiBros, a dish that is their interpretation of Vitello Tonnato, one of the most famous dishes of Italian and piedmont cuisine. “This dish came about during the opening of our new restaurant in Torino inside EDIT. It is impossible to open a restaurant in Torino without serving vitello tonnato. However, the meat that is served in this dish never appealed to us so we decided to work on the meat and the sauce using a fillet … [Read more...]
Rodolfo Guzman to cook with Hans Neuner at Ocean Restaurant
A trip that Hans Neuner took to Chilean chef Rodolfo Guzman led him to discover how he could use cactus from the prickly pear for one of his dishes. It was an eye opener for Hans and led to the creation of an exceptional octopus dish. The Chilean chef will now be reciprocating that visit spending a few days in the Algarve discovering the produce, the fishermen and what the region has to offer. He will cook with Hans Neuner at the 2 Michelin-star Ocean Restaurant, located at VILA VITA Parc Resort & Spa, in Porches, Algarve and the dinner will take place on 17 November. Guzman is chef of Chile's Borago restaurant which was considered to be the second best restaurant in Latin America in 2015 and one of the World's 50 Best Restaurants in 2018. This is the second event that is taking place at the Portuguese restaurant this year following the visit of Christian Bau, from the 3 Michelin Star restaurant “Victor’s Fine Dining by Christian Bau”. Chef Hans Neuner will be welcoming … [Read more...]
The search for tattoo-free chef and tweezer-free kitchen is on as World Restaurant Awards categories are announced
The World Restaurant Awards which will be held for the first time in Paris on 18 February will have 12 big plate awards and 6 small plate awards that will change on a yearly basis in consultation with the judging panel. The awards, the brainchild of Joe Warwick who is the creative director and Andrea Petrini, the chair of the judging panel has a list of 100 judges which include some of the top names in the restaurant world as well as top international food writers from around the world. Joe Warwick is an editor, writer, broadcaster and co-founder of the World's 50 Best Restaurants. The third edition of his bestselling international restaurant guide ‘Where Chefs Eat’ has just been published. He says we should ‘Expect The World Restaurant Awards to be conducted with complete integrity and make everyone think about the full gamut of the world’s great restaurants – old and new, from luxury destinations to humble institutions – and what makes them so special.’ Andrea Petrini is … [Read more...]
Joan Roca tops list of The Best Chef Awards 2018
In Milan, Joan Roca came top of the Top300 list of the Best Chef Awards 2018, an event that started in 2015. The Spanish chef of restaurant El Celler de Can Roca placed in front of René Redzepi and David Munoz. The results were announced during a gala evening at the Teatro Vetra in Milan. In the presence of more than 300 chefs and industry professionals. Fourth place went to Bjorn Frantzen and 5th to Jonnie Boer. Niko Romito followed in 6th place, Alex Atala in 7th, Massimo Bottura in 8th, Yannick Alleno in 9th and Vladimir Mukhin in 10th place. Nick Bril, of Belgian restaurant The Jane placed 15th in front of Peter Goossens of Hof Van Cleve in 20th place and Gert de Mangeleer of Hertog Jan and Benoit Dewitte in 45th place. The category rankings look totally different from last year, with winners from Italy, Dubai, Puerto Rico, Sweden and the US. The 2018 list includes chefs from 41 countries worldwide. The full ranking of The Best Chef Awards 2018 is available via the … [Read more...]
Riccardo Camanini joins the ‘seven wonders’ of Italian cuisine
Riccardo Camanini, chef of Lido 84 has been working under the radar since he joined his brother at Gardone Riviera. In the latest publication of the Guida Espresso, one of the most influential food guides in Italy, if not the most influential he has won 'five hats' together with the new three Michelin star restaurant St Hubertus del Rosa Alpina of chef Norbert Niederkofler. They join the top five chefs of Italian cuisine, recognised by many guides including the Michelin Guide as well as World's 50 Best Restaurants among others. These are Casadonna Reale of chef Niko Romito in Castel di Sangro, Le Calandre of chef Massimiliano Ajamo in Rubano, Osteria Francescana of chef Massimo Bottura in Modena, Piazza Duomo of chef Enrico Crippa in Alba and Uliassi of chef Mauro Uliassi in Senigallia. While the promotion of St Hubertus del Rosa Alpina was to be expected given the restaurant was recognised with 3 Michelin stars, the recognition for Lido 84 came a bit as a surprise for a chef who has … [Read more...]