When Gert de Mangeleer and Joachim Boudens announced they would be closing their flagship three Michelin star restaurant Hertog Jan in Zedelgem, Belgium at the end of this year many started to speculate as to which restaurant or restaurants would clinch the third Michelin star. The closure of Karmelit, the restaurant of chef Geert Van Hecke in Bruges in 2016 had already been seen as a blow to a country that takes gastronomy so seriously. But, after last year’s announcements that the guide had visited a number of restaurants many times with international inspectors including Brussels restaurants Bon Bon and Sea Grill as well as La Paix (at the time 1 star), many where speculating that this would be the year that Belgium would get a new 3 Michelin star restaurant if not more. But when the tyre company announced the publication of the new guide for 2019, there were no new announcements at the top end. The rumour mill doing the rounds had been mentioning in particular Christophe … [Read more...]
Archives for November 2018
British chef Simon Rogan to open 2 restaurants in Hong Kong
Renowned British chef Simon Rogan is set to open two new restaurants in Hong Kong at the beginning of next year. This is the first time that Rogan is venturing outside the UK. The first will be Aulis Hong Kong.which is his first ever overseas chef's table and development kitchen concept in the heart of Hong Kong in early January 2019. It will be followed by the opening of sister venue Roganic Hong Kong in early February 2019. Simon already has five restaurants to his name including the 2 Michelin starred L'Enclume in the Lake District, 1-Michelin starred Roganic in London and the 1 Michelin starred Rogan and Co. in Cartmel. His inaugural international dining destination Aulis Hong Kong will offer an up-close and personal experience with the season’s freshest produce in a multifunctional high-tech space. The 12-seater Aulis Hong Kong comes to Asia after the successful launch of Aulis Cartmel within L’Enclume in 2016. This followed with the opening of Aulis London in 2017 as a … [Read more...]
A tour of the world in 75 recipes: San book launched
Sang Hoon Degeimbre, Belgian chef of L’ Air du Temps in Liernu and creator of three successful San restaurants has launched a cookbook called San, Around the world in 75 recipes. The book is inspired by recipes of dishes that have been served in the San restaurants since the first one opened 3 years ago in Brussels. The concept behind the restaurant is to serve food in a bowl and to eat it with a spoon. The menu changes every month according to the seasons and the travels of San and his team and is always inspired by Belgium, Korea or cities around the world. Out of over 100 dishes that have been created at the San restaurant over the past three years, 75 recipes have been selected. The main criteria has been that of ensuring that the recipes could easily be replicated at home and where quantities of certain components of the dish are not impossible to make at home. The book is published by Racine and the photography is by Frederic Raevens. It is currently available in … [Read more...]
Arnaud Donckele from Le Vague d’Or places top in Le Chef’s 100 best chefs 2019 compilation
The awards season keeps on giving. Arnaud Donckele from the La Vague d'Or restaurant in Saint Tropez has been named the best chef in the world according to the Le Chef compilation of the 100 best chefs in the world for 2019. The second on the list Michel Troisgros also came from France while Jonnie Boer from the Netherlands placed third. The Le Chef list is compiled by asking two and three-starred chefs of Michelin restaurants to provide a list of five names they think best represent the cooking profession and the one name they would like to see at the top of the list. Five of the top 10 on the worlds best chefs list were from France with Yannick Alleno, Alexandre Couillon and Emmanuel Renaut all placing in the first 10 positions. The other chefs in the top 10 as can be seen from the list below are Seiji Yamamoto from Japan who has always been in the top 10 since the first edition of the list. The others are Paul Pairet, David Kinch and René Redzepi. The list was … [Read more...]
‘London opening at the Corinthia is a big deal for me’ – Tom Kerridge
Tom Kerridge, the first ever chef to clinch two Michelin stars for pub food at his restaurant The Hand and Flowers in Marlow has opened his first restaurant in London at the Corinthia Hotel. In London, it has been considered as one of the hottest openings of the year. "It is a big deal for me personally. I know it is massive but it is not daunting because I worked in London for 10 years before I opened the Hand and Flowers in Marlow," the British chef told Food and Wine Gazette in an interview at Tom Kerridge Bar and Grill. Tom is a household name in the UK and beyond. He became popular not just for his two restaurants in Marlow but also because of his programmes on the BBC apart from having authored many cookbooks. Over the past years, he has inspired many for taking matters in hand when he turned 40, cutting alcohol competely and eliminating carbs from his diet losing 12 stones or 76 kilogrammes in weight in the process. "It is a city I know well, a city I am comfortable … [Read more...]
Four new grape varieties permitted for Austrian quality wine
Four new white wine varieties are now permitted for Qualitätswein (quality wine) in Austria, via a collective amendment to Austrian wine law. Three of these are fungus-resistant new crossings known as PIWIs. Blütenmuskateller, Goldmuskateller, Muscaris and Souvignier Gris, all white grape varieties, were elevated to the status of Qualitätswein varieties during the summer through a collective amendment to Austrian wine law. This increases the total of Qualitätswein varieties in Austria to forty. The inclusion of the Goldmuskateller (Moscato Giallo) takes into account that, along with Muskat Ottonel and Gelber or Roter Muskateller, the Goldmuskateller, which is less susceptible to rot, also shows promise. Blütenmuskateller, Muscaris, and Souvignier Gris are three of the fungus-resistant grape varieties known as PIWIs. In addition to the two red PIWI varieties Rathay and Roesler, this is the first time that white PIWI wine varieties have been approved for the production of … [Read more...]
How to make the perfect Prosecco based cocktails for Christmas
From Snowballs to Mulled Wine, no Christmas party would be complete without a festive cocktail or two. This year, Prosecco DOC has chosen their favourite Christmas cocktails to suit any kind of occasion and every kind of guest. With such a variety of styles and flavours available, the versatility of Prosecco DOC wines will take you through the entire festive period. At this time of year, in the lead up to Christmas, the month of December officially transforms into party season. Whether it’s a casual family get-together or a glamorous office party, there’s a Prosecco cocktail to suit every mood. The Office Christmas Party The office party is all about having fun, but not too much fun. You want a cocktail that’s delicious and festive, but perhaps with a little less alcohol than your New Year’s Eve tipple of choice. Why not try the Uva D’Oro, made with fresh tomato juice, peach puree, fresh rosemary and basil, perfect with Millage Prosecco DOC Extra Dry or Prosecco DOC Santero … [Read more...]
Get ready for disruption in the wine industry: How Gary Vaynerchuk and Empathy Wines plan to cut the middlemen and sell the best $20 wine
Gary Vaynerchuk, also known as Gary Vee has created Empathy Wines with a radical new way of selling wine. With the aim of eliminating the middlemen, Empathy Wines wants to sell the best possible wines at a $20 price point for wines that would normally sell at double the price. Jon Troutman, CEO of Empathy Wines told Food and Wine Gazette that staring a wine brand is something that Gary has been thinking about for two decades. "Gary finally had the right executives in place to help him. Both Nate and myself have been working with Gary across his previous wine businesses and most recently at VaynerMedia." Empathy Wines itself started materializing about one year ago. It was born out of the team's proven ability to scale consumer brands and build equity in a digitally-native way, which VaynerMedia has specialized in from the start. Industry trends have also worked in their favor - wineries are now able to get licensing for shipping direct to consumers in 43 of the 50 states. The … [Read more...]
No new 3rd Michelin star for Belgium but David Martin finally clinches 2nd star
Belgium has gone down from three Michelin star restaurants to 1 restaurant in the span of two years. Following the closure of Karmelit, the restaurant of Geert Van Hecke in Bruges in 2016 and the announced closure of Hertog Jan by Gert de Mangeleer in Zedelgem next month, the only restaurant to retain 3 stars in Belgium is Hof Van Cleve. Despite speculation that there could be potential candidates for a third star, the Michelin guide decided to retain all 2 Michelin star restaurants at that level and at least reflect for another year as to who to elect to the highest echelon in the red guide. However, there was good news for David Martin of La Paix. After having been named the chef of the year by Gault & Millau just a few days ago, his restaurant was finally awarded with a second Michelin star. Another restaurant to clinch a second star was Table de Maxime in the Wallonian hamlet of Our. Young chef Maxime Collard is the chef working there and he owes his success to Geert … [Read more...]
Brussels: Apero meets philosophy at Notos restaurant each month
In our rushed and busy times, we often don't sit down to reflect a bit about questions that impact our life, our relationships or our future. Brussels Greek restaurant Notos has teamed up with Apostrophos to organise themed philosophy evenings merged with an aperitif. Every month, on a Tuesday different themes from Greek philosophy will be explored. These will be mixed with a Greek wine and some traditional Greek dishes served by chef Constantin Erinkoglou. The first event was organised in October and centred around Philosophy vs Democracy. The discussion was very topical focusing on populism, fake news and posing questions as to where truth has gone. The next event which will take place on Tuesday 20 November is titled: The odyssey, or how not to forget: How do we not forget and how are we not forgotten. This is the theme that will be explored. The event (in French) starts at 7pm and lasts an hour. The cost of the session is 28 euros per person which includes a glass of … [Read more...]