Enrico Crippa, chef of Piazza Duomo in Alba, one of the most acclaimed restaurants in the world has decided that he will stop serving an a la carte menu when the restaurant reopens after the summer holidays on 22 August. The Italian chef said in a letter that he wanted to communicate a very important step in his career and also that of the restaurant Piazza Duomo. “After a long period of reflection and careful considerations, I have decided that the time are ripe to offer three set menus eliminating from 22 August the a la carte menu that has always been available at the restaurant which has three stars and constantly features in the World’s 50 Best Restaurants list. “This choice comes from a long time observing how clients tastes have shifted over the years. Most of the times, people come to the restaurant to choose a tasting menu that is proposed to them. Only a tiny percentage of clients chose from the a la carte menu,” Enrico said. “My aim is to maximise my focus on the … [Read more...]
Archives for July 2019
Two pizzerias top 50 Top Pizza Italy 2019
Francesco Pepe of Pepe in Grani in Caizzo, who has been the winner of the previous two editions of 50 Top Pizza has been joined this year in top position by Francesco Martucci of I Masanielli. After the announcement of the European list last month, it was now the time for the Italian list to be unveiled in Naples on 23 evening. 50 Top Pizza is an online list created by Barbara Guerra, Albert Sapere and Luciano Pignataro. Ciro Salvo of 50 Kalò in Naples, which won the top place for its pizzeria in London placed third. Pier Daniele Seu was nominated as the Pizzaiolo of the year. His pizzeria in Rome, Seu Pizza Illuminati placed eighth in the list, the first pizzeria in Rome. The young pizzaiolo of the year went to Lorenzo Sirabella of Dry in Milan. While Campania, the home of Italian pizza claimed 18 spots in the list, the number of Italian regions represented in the top 50 is 14. Lazio has 7 in total, Lombardia 6, Veneto 4, Emilia Romagna 3, Piedmont, Tuscany and Sicily … [Read more...]
‘Vespertine is like my creative dungeon’ Jordan Kahn
Like most people living in cities, Jordan Kahn, chef of Vespertine was driving around trying to avoid traffic when he spotted an empty building under construction. “That's what you do when you are in Los Angeles." He decided to stop the car and looked at ‘this thing and it was very emotional’. He had no idea what triggered his desire to stop. That evening, he finished work at his previous restaurant Red Medicine and after service, at around 3am, he went back to Culver City where today the restaurant is located. “Service had finished at 2am so it must have been around 3am. I jumped over the construction fence, broke open the hinge of the plywood door and trespassed in this empty building. I did not fully know why I was there, I did not think this was the place for a restaurant but there was this gravity pulling me. I could not shake it away,” Jordan told Food and Wine Gazette. He returned (and trespassed) to that spot every day for the next five months. “Slowly all these … [Read more...]
World’s 50 Best Restaurants 2020 will be held in Antwerp, Belgium
ANTWERP: The next edition of the World's 50 Best Restaurants in 2020 will be held in Antwerp, Belgium. The Northern city of Antwerp, less than 50 kilometres from Belgium's capital Brussels will be hosting the award ceremony. The news had been in the air for the past few months but now it has been confirmed by the World's 50 Best Restaurants. Although no date for the event has been announced, it is likely to take place in early June to coincide with the UNWTO World Forum on Food Gastronomy, taking place in Bruges. These food-focused events will see the world's top chefs converging in Belgium. Antwerp is the second largest city in Belgium after Brussels and is known for its design, art and architecture, fashion, jewellery as well as its food. Food lovers, it’s time to brush up on your Flemish. The annual gastronomic fiesta of events that is The World’s 50 Best Restaurants will be hosted in Flanders in 2020, culminating in the famous awards ceremony in the fine city … [Read more...]
Gert de Mangeleer to cook at HAKU in Hong Kong
HONG KONG: On 22 and 23 August, Belgian chef Gert de Mangeleer will cook at HAKU Hong Kong with Agustin Balbi in a special four-hands collaboration series. The event takes place over two nights with guests being able to experience an 11 course menu that highlights the chef's shared love for pure and organic flavours with a special focus on choosing sustainable premium ingredients. “When chef Gert and I first met in Milan, we were already following each other’s work for a while. We had a great conversation over dinner and realised we had a lot in common when it came to our views and philosophies around food,” said Agustin Balbi. “A collaboration dinner has been on the agenda ever since, and we are excited to finally present this dinner series in Hong Kong.” Gert, who rose to fame by achieving 3 Michelin stars at Hertog Jan, which closed in December last year will be presenting a number of signature dishes as well as some experimental dishes that have been created for the … [Read more...]
Cyrus Todiwala to open first restaurant outside London
LONDON: Renowned celebrity chef, Cyrus Todiwala best known for appearing on The Incredible Spice Men and BBC1’s Saturday Kitchen, has announced he will be opening his fifth restaurant alongside Café Spice Namasté and Mr Todiwala’s Kitchen, in his first move outside of London. In late August, Todiwala will be launching Tandem, a celebration of authentic Indian cuisine and cocktail mixology located in a picturesque and decorative Grade II listed building in the heart of Leicester city. The restaurant and bar will offer accessible luxury, with the memorable interior taking inspiration from both Portuguese and Goan influences. The heavily anticipated restaurant will seat 150 diners, but the structure and striking interior will allow for an intimate experience with five distinct spaces, including an exclusive chef’s table for executive dining and a stunning rooftop terrace. Having teased the launch on BBC1’s Saturday Kitchen, Todiwala said: “I have always wanted to expand my … [Read more...]
Maxime Gilbert to host Vincent Thierry at Écriture on 12 August
HONG KONG: Le Comptoir’s 2-Michelin-Star contemporary French restaurant, ÉCRITURE, will host award-winning chef Vincent Thierry of CHEF’S TABLE, The Dome at Lebua for a special collaboration dinner on Monday, August 12. Joining forces with Écriture’s own Maxime Gilbert, the two pioneering French chefs will present an exclusive 9-course joint menu featuring creative French cuisine available for one night only. A native of the Loire Valley – known as the ‘Garden of France’ and renowned for its wine, goat’s cheese and fresh produce – Chef Vincent sums up his cooking ethos as “classic French cuisine with simplicity and unpretentiousness”. He chooses only the best, preferably organic products, following an 80/20 principle; 80% of the produce is sourced in Thailand, with the remaining 20% consisting of premium imported products that cannot be found locally. Vincent honed his skills in Michelin-star kitchens across France before being selected by the celebrated Le Cinq Four … [Read more...]
Under the circus tent at Al Meni in Rimini
The heavens opened at around 3pm on Saturday a few hours after the official opening of the Al Meni, an annual event organised in Rimini under a giant coloured circus tent sent between the sea and the Grand Hotel that evokes a great master of world cinema, Federico Fellini. Heavy rain, thunderstorms welcomed the opening day of the seventh edition of Al Meni, a festival that is organised annually in the Emilia Romagna city of Rimini in June. “In a world where walls are being built, and in a place where we were surrounded with walls 1,000 years ago, we want to break the walls and say to everyone tat you are welcome here. We love to have you here, we love to host you here, come and enjoy yourself. This is what Al Meni is about,” Massimo Bottura said at the opening of the event before flying to Singapore for the World’s 50 Best Restaurants ceremony. The Italian chef was not there for the evening session where a thunderstorm and torrential rain forced the street market to close … [Read more...]
Douro Boys Cuvée 2017 and Vintage Port 2017 to be released at October auction
Imagine a wine that is the result of a blend of the best barrel of red wines from five different winemakers and a port from the the best casks of vintage Port from the exceptional 2017 vintage. The Vale do Douro was an unknown river valley ‘somewhere in western Europe’, when João Ferreira Álvares Ribeiro, Jorge Roquette, Dirk van der Niepoort, Cristiano van Zeller & Vito Olazabal teamed up in 2003 as the ‘Douro Boys’. They wanted to make their native wine region better known in general, to introduce their red wines to the world at large, and to reposition the Port wines on the market. They have accomplished all of this. Today, the Douro Valley figures as an indispensible section on any sophisticated wine list. To celebrate their fifteenth anniversary, each of the five estates Quinta do Vallado, Quinta do Crasto, Niepoort, Quinta Vale D. Maria and Quinta do Vale Meão has sacrificed its best barrel of red wine and their best cask of vintage Port from the exceptional 2017 … [Read more...]
A taste of the sea at new pop-up Bar Bulot in Bruges
The sea is very much the focus of the new pop-up restaurant opened by Gert de Mangeleer and Joachim Boudens in the original Hertog Jan and recently Bistro L.E.S.S. The pop-up is Bruges' new hotspot for summer. The pop-up restaurant opened a few days ago in time for the summer season. Following the successful opening of the new L.E.S.S eatery in the centre of Bruges, Gert and Joachim are offering a taste of the sea this summer in the Flemish city of Bruges. Under the guidance of chef Pieter Lefevere and host Maxime Depreitere (both former Hertog Jan), the restaurant will remain open till the end of September before the place undergoes refurbishment before the opening of a new concept to create a typical Flemish bistro before the end of the year. This is another concept that they have worked on since closing their flagship three Michelin star restaurant Hertog Jan in December last year. The concept again focuses on sharing and simplicity. On the menu, guests can choose from a … [Read more...]