COPENHAGEN: Kadeau became the first serious casualty of the restaurant world when the Kadeau Group filed for bankruptcy because of the COVID-19 crisis. Finans newspaper in Denmark reports that the group which includes the two Michelin star restaurants in Copenhagen and Bornholm among others has filed for bankruptcy on Tuesday morning. This is the first reported bankruptcy of a top restaurant group since the coronavirus crisis hit. Kadeau in Copenhagen had two Michelin stars while the restaurant in Bornholm had one. Apart from the two Michelin star restaurants, the Kadeau Group operated a hotel in Bornholm as well as a number of other restaurants in the country. All subsidiaries and activities have been included in the bankruptcy filing. Danish newspapers quoted the CEO of the Kadeau Group Magnus Klein Kofoed as saying that the restaurant had millions in debts over the past years with the group reporting a total loss EUR 1.4 million over the past three years. During … [Read more...]
Archives for March 2020
World’s 50 Best Restaurants in Antwerp postponed to 2021 – no list to be published this year
ANTWERP: The World's 50 Best restaurants event that was set to be organised in Antwerp, Belgium on 2 June 2020 will not take place. 50 Best announced today that they have cancelled the 2020 event and this will take place in 2021, circumstances permitting. The organisation announced that it will not release its annual list in ranked format this year. "50 Best have taken the decision to postpone the event programme in Antwerp until 2021 if the situation allows. Its destination hosts, Visit Flanders and the City of Antwerp look forward to welcoming the gastronomic community next summer, when we sincerely hope that restaurants will be underway in a process of rebuilding and recovery." Willam Drew, the director of content for The World's 50 Best Restaurants said: "Given the circumstances globally, in 2020, we will put all our efforts into helping the restaurant sector to fight for its future, as well as assisting in the work that chefs and restauranteurs are doing to help … [Read more...]
11: Karen Torosyan sells out his ‘take-out menu’ till 31 March
BRUSSELS: Karen Torosyan, chef-patron of Bozar Restaurant in Brussels has launched a take-away this week as all Belgian restaurants are closed due to a lock-down. The service from the Brussels 'pie-king' has proven to be successful with the Armenian-born chef announcing that he has sold out till 31st March. He is taking orders for next week and working on his preparations already. He launched the service last Tuesday saying this is what happens when he is alone in the kitchen. "You can come to pick up these from the restaurant by appointment and one person at a time," he said. Among the dishes he is serving are classics from his menu like Jambon persille, fromage de tete, his signature pate en croute with pork, duck and fois gras, as well as pots of rillettes of veal and pork and one with fois gras seasoned with piment d'Esplette. Details on his Facebook page. Karen explains that his Pâté en Croûte is 25 per cent fat and 75% lean meat when the original recipe calls for … [Read more...]
10: Auction launched in aid of staff of Eleven Madison Park
NEW YORK: Daniel Humm and the team at Eleven Madison Park have set up an auction and donation page to help its staff whether the future. Daniel Humm said that 100 per cent of the proceeds will go directly to the team in New York city to help them through the uncertainty ahead. "Our biggest shared worry is the lack of clarity as to what the future holds - will this be days or weeks or months?," Daniel wrote in a newsletter. "We just don't know," he said. New York has been the hardest hit in the United States with cases increasing exponentially over the past few days. "It won’t be news to any of you that the past week has been unquestionably the most difficult in our lives, both personally and professionally. While we always have and always will believe that we can overcome any challenge together, this crisis has impacted our team in a way that we never could have imagined. Over the years our guests — you — have been so much more than customers to us; you’re part of an … [Read more...]
(9) Italia keeps on cooking: in aid of Luigi Sacco hospital in Milan
MILAN: A campaign in aid of the Luigi Sacco hospital in Milan has been launched. Proceeds from aprons sold during a digital campaign "Italia Keeps on Cooking" will be donated to the hospital, which is one of the organisations where the intensive therapy department is actively involved in the fight against COVID-19. The campaign is called Italia Keeps on Cooking and is an evolution of a campaign called Milano Keeps on Cooking. It is a digital campaign that was created by Alessia Rizzetto PR & Communication team, a Milan based PR agency specialized in food & beverage. The campaign has now been extended to the whole of Italy following the lockdown caused by the health emergency that has impacted Italy really badly. “Feeling very close to those working in the food and hospitality industry, we thought of creating a digital campaign which, while sharing social media posts portraying the representatives of these categories wearing aprons with the claim ‘MILANO KEEPS ON … [Read more...]
(8) noma launches prepayment vouchers
COPENHAGEN: Have you ever dreamed of getting a reservation at noma but always ended up disappointed? Here is your chance to finally secure that difficult seat. In these challenging times for all sectors of the economy, the restaurant owned by chef René Redzepi is calling friends as well as future clients to buy vouchers which are redeemable against a future reservation at restaurant noma. These vouchers will be valid for two years and can be exchanged either for a visit at noma as well as for a future reservation or visit at any noma-branded pop-up restaurant or event in or outside Denmark. "We continue to face unprecedented difficulties both at noma and across our entire industry so we truly appreciate your interest in purchasing a voucher," the restaurant said. The value of the voucher may be applied to a reservation of any size, including the standard tables for 2, 4, 6 or 8 or for subsequent visits as a single diner on a shared communal table. The voucher can also be … [Read more...]
(7) Massimo Bottura and family launch Kitchen Quarantine on Instagram
MODENA Every day, over the past days, Massimo Bottura has given Instagram viewers a glimpse of his family life in Modena as he prepared his family meals every evening at 8pm. It was his daughter’s idea two days into the lockdown in Italy to create a show that has been called Kitchen Quarantine. It shows how her family are dealing with the lockdown. Alexa is filming the show and also asking questions to her father in the Q&A that follows after the episodes. Massimo Bottura is chef of one of the most famous restaurants in the world, Osteria Francescana in Modena. The show is a mix of Italian and English. When asked why he communicates in English he said he wants to be able to communicate with the rest of the world because the coronavirus is something that is impacting the global community. The chef is always reminding viewers to wash their hands and also to stay at home. The evening show is not a masterclass but rather a glimpse of his family’s life as they deal … [Read more...]
(6) How can big platforms remain silent? – Matthew Orlando
COPENHAGEN: Matthew Orlando, the chef owner of AMASS restaurant in Copenhagen has hit out at the World’s 50 Best, Opinionated About Dining and 360 Sustainability Awards among others for not using their platforms to raise awareness about the plight of restaurants in the current crisis. “I believe that when times are tough, as they are right now, people and entities’ true colours come to the surface,” he said on his Instagram feed. “In a time when then the restaurant industry is reeling from circumstances beyond our wildest imagination, where are the lists and rating systems that make their living off us,” he said. The chef of Amass, who was former Noma Head Chef before opening Amass serving contemporary, organic cuisine with a strict focus on locally sourced ingredients asked how was it possible that ‘they can remain silent while the people that they use to justify their vanity are in danger of losing everything.” “Why are they not using their resources to at least bring … [Read more...]
(5) How Alinea is bringing back staff after closing because of COVID-19
CHICAGO: It was something that Nick Kokonas and Grant Achatz never thought possible. That they would be selling an Alinea on the Go menu. But the closure of Alinea as well as other restaurants of the group which includes Next, The Aviary, Roister and St. Clair Supper Club meant that they needed to do something to bring back staff to at least work part time. What they have come up with are simple menus. Within a few days, they have managed to sell out over 2,000 meals which means that they will be able to bring back more staff members to work on the concept. Nick Kokonas, who is also the founder and CEO of Tock, a restaurant experience booking engine, is being transparent about all this and intends to open source his business plan to help other restauranteurs in this time of crisis. The menu for the first week for Alinea to Go was a Wellington Short Rib together with 50-50 mash and a creme brulee. "Our goal is to make profit," he said on Twitter, "so that we can share it … [Read more...]
(4) #UnitedWeDine: a Hong Kong initiative to support restaurants
HONG KONG: Over the past two months, the Hong Kong restaurant industry has been dealt a devastating blow, with once-thriving outlets struggling to stay afloat in a city that no longer dines out. Recording the first sweeping loss in annual revenue since 2004, Hong Kong’s restaurants are now in need of help and support. As a response to a declining industry that remains the heart and soul of the city, Hong Kong’s leading F&B experts The Forks & Spoons, Tatler Dining Hong Kong and On Air Collective, along with supporting media Tasting Kitchen (TK), Time Out Hong Kong, Foodie, The Loop, and WOM Guide have teamed up to launch #UnitedWeDine, a city-wide restaurant campaign that encourages all of Hong Kong’s food lovers to dine out and enjoy some of the best promotional offers. Restaurants participating in #UnitedWeDine Starting from 16th March until 30th April 2020, over 100 restaurants across Hong Kong will participate in … [Read more...]