The second Low Food gathering will take place on 4 July Vuurtoreneiland, the Netherlands. Participants will be invited for a day of great stories, speakers and delicious food. Following the success of the Low Food Symposium that was organised in the Amsterdam in January, the Low Food Session is a one day gathering which will bring internationally respected speakers and food that showcases the best of Low Food. Low Food is an initiative of Joris Bijdendijk, Joris Lohman and Samuel Levie. Low Food is an open platform for new ideas and insights. Low Food believes that food culture lies not in the past but in the future. LowFoodSession will be a one day gathering with internationally respected speakers and food that showcases the best of Low Food. The event will focus on the hand that feeds you and how diversity is vital for the future of food. "We want to ask the question whether a genuinely forward-thinking culinary movement can exist if it doesn’t embrace human diversity at its … [Read more...]
Archives for May 2019
Pop-up at Souvenir in Gent this summer
Why should a restaurant stay closed when the chef is on holiday? At a time when costs of property and rent are very high globally, wouldn't it be a good idea to give promising staff the potential to flourish? That is what chef William Sigurdarson and his wife Joke Michel have decided to do this summer. They will keep the restaurant open in July while they are away. During July, chef Radu Iliescu will take over the kitchen of Souvenir in Gent, Belgium as he showcases his talent in the setting of Souvenir. They have called the pop-up Radu takes over. The lunch menu will be set at EUR 33 for arrivals between 12 noon and 2pm while the dinner menu will cost EUR 44 for arrivals between 6.30pm and 9.30pm. The chef will also prepare snacks and extra dishes to pimp up the menu for guests who wish. Bookings can be made online or else you can just walk in and get available seats. The Icelandic chef made a name for himself at Souvenir in Ypres before moving to Gent to open the … [Read more...]
New book about Wine in Austria to be launched in December
A new book called Wine in Austria: the History was unveiled recently during this year's edition of the Austrian wine Summit. This is the first time that an academically substantiated and comprehensive volume on the history of viticulture in Austria from prehistoric times to this present day will be published. The book includes an individual chapter devoted to the life and work of Dr Friedrich Zweigelt.More than two and a half years of work went into creating the 500-page book, which was commissioned by Willi Klinger and came to fruition under the academic aegis of Professor Dr Karl Vocelka. It will be published by Brandstätter Verlag in December. Mr Klinger said: “More than thirty authors worked to research and write about the long and rich history of Austrian wine in all its facets in this handsome volume. Grape varieties, cultivation and cellar techniques, the role of wine in religion and traditions, the emergence of the Austrian winegrowing regions and the successful … [Read more...]
Cadzand Foodfest to take place on 2 and 3 June
The full line up for the fourth edition of Foodfest which takes place in Cadzand on June 2 and 3 have been announced. The event is organised by chefs Sergio Herman and Syrco Bakker with Iman Soomers. The event will be held on 2 and 3 June in Cadzand at the Martiem Plaza platform next to restaurant AIRrepublic. Four international chefs will cook together with Sergio and Syrco. On Sunday 2 June for lunch, Norbert Niederkofler of Italian 3 Michelin star St Hubertus will cook with Vicky Cheng of VEA Hong Kong. The dinner will feature Quique Da Costa of three Michelin Star restaurant by the same name as well as Jordy Navarra of Toyo Eatery who will cook together with Syrco and Sergio. At AIRrepublic, Nicolai Nørregaard will cook together with head chef Nicolas Misera and chef Joao Rodrigues of Portuguese restaurant Feitoria on Sunday and Monday. There will also be 12 Belgian and Dutch NorthSeaChefs participating in the two-day event. On Sunday, Syrco Bakker of Pure … [Read more...]
North Sea Chefs Netherlands launched following success of Belgian project
North Sea Chefs - The Netherlands was launched on 21 May 2019 at a dinner organised at Pure C in Cadzand. Following the example of Belgian colleagues who founded North Sea Chefs in 2011, a group of Dutch chefs have now joined forces to raise awareness about unknown and unrecognised North Sea fish and by-catch with a view to ensuring sustainable North Sea fishing. North Sea Chefs wants to set an example of how chefs can proactively put the issue of sustainability on the agenda outside the kitchen walls and raise awareness for fishermen, ship owners, sellers, chefs and even customers. The first North Sea Chefs Netherlands are Sergio Herman and Syrco Bakker of Pure C, Thijs Meliefste of Meliefste, Soenil Bahadoer of De Lindehof, Jannis Brevet of Inter Scaldes, Nicola Misera of AIRrepublic, Benny Blisto of BAK, Jef Schuur of JEF, Jonnie Boer of De Librije, Arnout van der Kolk of Restaurant C, Hendrik & Kamiel Buysse of BLEND, Guillaume de Beer & Freek van Noortwijk of … [Read more...]
A former Augustinian convent becomes a modern-day sanctuary at August in Antwerp
In Antwerp, the people behind renowned boutique hotel 'Hotel Julien' have launched a new hospitality project: August. On the recently developed Military Hospital site, a former Augustinian convent has been converted into a modern-day sanctuary for both Antwerp residents and foreign visitors to enjoy. August re-envisions its historical central function with an open restaurant and a bar, a bespoke hotel with dedicated wellness area, an open air swimming pool and secluded gardens. August consists of 5 different buildings, seamlessly blended together under the guidance of renowned Belgian architect Vincent Van Duysen in his first-ever hotel project. The restaurant and bar are curated and managed by star chef Nick Bril. Created with a deep respect for its heritage, August is a modern-day sanctuary, echoing the sacred soul of historical Belgian architecture whilst intertwining a contemporary modernism. Situated in a luscious green corner of the former Military Hospital site in Antwerp, it … [Read more...]
Riccardo Camanini’s magical Cacio e Pepe
Go back a few years and few people would have known what Cacio e Pepe was. A staple of modern Italian cuisine, its simplicity was such that it was rarely if ever served in restaurants, especially those outside Rome where the dish seems to have originated. It was one of those comfort food dishes that many would eat at home when they lacked inspiration or ingredients. But, over the past few years, the Cacio e Pepe or ‘cheese and pepper’ as one would translate it from Italian, has become not just fashionable and trendy but also extremely common. The ingredients used to make this simple pasta sauce are water, cheese (pecorino Romano) and lots of pepper. Hunting for the best Cacio e Pepe or comparing one to the other may be difficult though of course the quality of the cheese used can make the difference. It’s akin to searching for the Holy Grail, you seem to be on the right track but it remains elusive. That changed in February when the Cacio e Pepe of Lido 84, the restaurant of … [Read more...]
‘If you do something you love, you will never work a day in your life’ – Christophe Hardiquest’s in conversation with 10-year-old
What does a 10-year-old ask a chef? How does the conversation go? Most importantly what can one learn from a conversation between a beginner, in this case and someone who is on top of his game. For a school project, my 10-year-old son had to present to his class a topic related to food. It could have been anything from the food pyramid to wine making. He decided to choose to speak about the Michelin guide and top chefs. Without any prompting his decision was clear from the start. Talk about following in someone's footsteps. He asked me whether it would be possible to interview a chef as part of his project. Christophe Hardiquest, of Brussels 2 Michelin star restaurant Bon Bon kindly accepted. On a late spring afternoon, we headed to the leafy Brussels commune Woluwe St Pierre to meet with the chef who has a 19.5 Gault & Millau score, the highest in Belgium together with Peter Goossens. And this time, I took the back seat as I sat behind the camera to record the … [Read more...]
Recipe by Valentino Cassanelli: Linguine with ginger, veal and cocoa nibs
Serves 6 For the veal: 1 veal head 2 onions, roasted 2 cloves 1 bay leaf salt White vinegar (80 g /litre or water) Place the veal head into a sauce pan and roast for 45 minutes at 190 ° C. Make a broth by adding roasted onions, cloves and a bay leaf. Add the water and white vinegar to cover and simmer for 4 ½ hours, adding the tongue 45 minutes before the end. Once everything is cooked, remove the meat, discarding any excess fat and nerves. Roll it up until you have a cylinder of roughly 6cm and cut the meat into 3cm pieces. Warm the meat up in the broth before serving. For the linguine 280 g durum wheat linguine 40 g ginger, juiced1 clove of unpeeled garlic 5 g Extra virgin olive oil 600 g vegetable stock 20 g butter 15 g Parmesan Salt to taste Ginger as needed Brown a clove of unpeeled garlic with a little extra virgin olive oil. Remove the garlic and add the vegetable stock and ginger until it starts to boil. Add the linguine until cooked and season with salt. … [Read more...]
Root cause: Can you imagine a world without wine?
Can you imagine a world without wine? This is the story behind Root Cause, a recently published book by Steven Laine. Corvina Guerra is a flying winemaker who dreams of one day settling down in her native Italy on her family’s vineyard. On a visit to a vineyard in Italy, Corvina makes a startling discovery: Phylloxera, a menacing plant that devastated vineyards in Europe more than a hundred years ago, has infested the vines. After reporting her findings to her company, Universal Wines, Corvina is charged with investigating the spread of the bug. Nicknamed Philomena by the media, the aphid is soon discovered in vineyards around the world. To aid in her investigation, Corvina recruits a wine expert in London, Bryan Lawless. In pursuit of its origins, Corvina and Bryan embark on a thrilling globetrot on which they uncover that Philomena is being intentionally spread. The deeper Corvina and Bryan search, the more they become convinced that Universal Wines holds the answer to … [Read more...]