On 1 June, one of Belgium’s most talented chefs Kobe Desramaults returns to cook after a sabbatical following the closure of his Gent restaurant Chambre Séparée. He will be cooking at Stazione Vucciria in Finale di Pollina. That will be temporary until he and his new business partners Franco Virgo and Stefania Milano, restaurant entrepreneurs in Sicily that are slowly putting the Italian island on the food map look for a new place in the Madonie mountains also in Sicily. The news that Kobe Desramaults would be settling in Sicily does not come as a surprise. In the past months, anyone following the Belgian chef on social media and particularly Instagram could see that he was spending more and more time in Italy and more particularly Sicily and he was particularly fascinated about the produce on the Sicilian island in particular the fish market of Catania. At Stazione Vucciria, a stone throw away from the sea, Kobe will present his distinct Nordic cuisine using Sicilian products. … [Read more...]
Eneko Atxa of Azurmendi opens Eneko Basque in Brussels
BRUSSELS: Eneko Atxa, chef of 3 Michelin star restaurant Azurmendi and Eneko, a chain of restuarants that serves traditional Basque food in Spain as well as internationally has opened a new restaurant in the Belgian capital, Brussels. Eneko Basque in Brussels brings Eneko's cuisine to Belgium. The Spanish chef's cuisine is a perfect trilogy of flavour, texture and aesthetics and is rooted in traditional Basque cooking. The flavour of home-cooked dishes are presented in innovative textures and techniques through various dishes. Eneko Atxa who was born in 1977 has five Michelin stars in total among them the flagship Azurmendi with a focus on innovation and sustainability. His passion and sensitivity, his cultural roots, his connection with the surrounding land and its products define the gastronomy of Eneko Atxa. Apart from restaurants in Spain, Eneko also has restaurants in London, Tokyo, Lisbon and now Brussels. The range of Eneko restaurants has been growing organically … [Read more...]
‘Good and better things are coming’ – the Torres twins behind Cocina Hermanos Torres
BARCELONA: Twin brothers Javier and Sergio Torres have known from a very young age that they would cook and work together. Even when they were training to become chefs and getting experiences in some of the world's best restaurants, the two had everything planned to the last detail. They knew that four hands were better than two and that if they set their mind to learning different things, they would end up with a sum that is greater than its parts. Today, just four years after opening their dream restaurant Cocina Hermanos Torres; an industrial factory turned into a sleak, modern “kitchen with tables” they are ready to take the world by storm. They've been known in the Spanish food world for very long. When they opened their new restaurant in 2018 to great acclaim they directly clinched two Michelin stars and recently were awarded a green Michelin Star for their sustainable approach to fine dining. Many chefs say they have been inspired by their grandmother. It is a bit … [Read more...]
Spanish chef Paco Morales takes a bit of Andalucia to Copenhagen for one-month popup
Spanish chef Paco Morales of the highly acclaimed Noor restaurant in Cordoba will be opening a pop-up restaurant at the Tivoli Gardens in Copenhagen between 2 July and 28 July. Paco has been riding the crest of the wave over the past few years after opening his restaurant Noor or Light as it is translated into English. Constraining himself to exploring his city’s glorious past by limiting the scope of space and time he will be taking his ‘gastro-archeology’ to Denmark mixing dishes from his world-famous restaurant Noor with more down-to-earth versions and playful tapas from his second restaurant in Cordoba el Bar. For this pop-up, Paco will prepare a unique menu which will contain both Andalusian and Danish ingredients as well as more classic gourmet ingredients like caviar, lobster, tuna and marrow. “I have managed to put Cordoba on the gastronomic world map. Now it is my ambition to bring the beauty and ideas from my vision further out into the world. Tivoli is the … [Read more...]
Reale reopens with vegetable tasting menu
CASTEL DI SANGRO: When Reale reopens on March 23, Niko Romito will present a tasting menu that represents the chef’s journey into his research of the vegetable world. The choice to reopen Reale with a tasting menu dedicated to vegetables is a response to a creative process born 20 years ago. Vegetables have often featured on his menus and some vegetable dishes such cauliflower or mushroom have become iconic. The Italian chef is now taking his continuous research to extract the best flavour out of very ingredient into a full menu which ennobles simple ingredients through creativity and intuition. “This year more than ever, I realised that vegetable dishes are those in which our creativity is expressed in a way that is powerful but also spontaneous. This is the origin of the new vegetable menu. We offer a table of colours, tastes and flavours which has hues that other ingredients lack. The keystone is preparation. It is the creative process that guides the transformation of the … [Read more...]
Brussels restaurant La Canne en Ville to move to new spot after three years
BRUSSELS: One of Belgium's most promising young chefs Kevin Lejeune has announced that restaurant La Canne en Ville will move to a new place in April. In 2018, he took over a popular family restaurant, La Canne en Ville, a neighbourhood restaurant in the an area close to Chatelain in the Brussels capital. He gained a star soon after despite keeping the same decor and style of a neighbourhood restaurant. In April, he will move to the the Steingenberger Wiltcher's Hotel. He will still propose a creative cuisine in a larger dining room with a new ambiance and decor. This follows a collaboration that took place between the chef and the hotel during the lockdowns. At the time, he proposed Michelin starred dinners in the hotel rooms thus creating a private restaurant for guests. The new restaurant will be accessible from one of the most prestigious streets in the Belgian capital, Avenue Louise. With this move, the young chef wants to have a central place in the city, attract … [Read more...]
Growing in Strength – Brace in Copenhagen Turns Five Years Old
COPENHAGEN: It’s been a bumpy year, and the year has only just begun. In fact, it’s been a bumpy few years. The Coronavirus pandemic has caused catastrophic ripples, devastating small and large restaurants through the hospitality industry. Such an effect makes a birthday even more celebratory – proof that you’ve weathered the storm. For Brace, the Michelin Green Starred restaurant in Copenhagen, turning five years old, is both a cause for celebration and an opportunity to reflect on what has been. Opening in February 2017 under the guidance of Italian Nicola Fanetti, Brace burst onto the Copenhagen dining scene, promising Nordic-Italian cooking. Fanetti, a young chef from Malonno in Lombardy, had already spent a number of years in Copenhagen kitchens, working at Era Ora, followed by Noma and Quadri. However, eager to go it alone, he opened Brace with the ambition of blending cultures, showing guests how Italian and Danish culinary traditions can harmonise. Moving with the seasons … [Read more...]
Mads Refslund launches 12-month pop-up restaurant at Soneva Fushi in the Maldives
Acclaimed Danish chef and restaurateur, Mads Refslund, has launched a new pop-up restaurant at Soneva Fushi, the award-winning luxury resort in the Maldives. Located at Fresh in the Garden, a treetop dining destination that overlooks the resort’s extensive organic island gardens, the pop-up is based on Mads Refslund’s signature concept of Fire and Ice. “I always find inspiration in nature so to have the opportunity to cook among the treetops of Soneva Fushi is very inspiring,” says Mads Refslund. “The key focus of the pop-up concept at Fresh in the Garden is ‘Fire’ and ‘Ice’, showcasing our natural instinct for how to work with nature’s bounty. The menu is evenly split: in ‘Ice’ items are untouched by heat, allowing them to reveal their pure beauty that nature has provided; in the contrasting ‘Fire’, cooking over live flame is used to enhance the ingredients. Together, the two sides create harmony and balance." The 12-month pop-up will offer guests at Soneva Fushi a rare … [Read more...]
Da Gorini: A highly personal interpretation of the terroir
SAN PIERO IN BAGNO: In an unspoilt part of Emilia Romagna there a small village called San Piero in Bagno. The whole commune has just around 6,000 inhabitants. It's just over 100 kilometres away from Bologna and Modena where we've spent a few days and the contrast is astonishing. There are no Ferrari's or Maserati's driving past in this sleepy village despite the fact that this is Italy's region that is known for its fast cars and its slow food. What there is instead, is this sense of peace, of time standing still, of authenticity, stunning landscape and exceptional produce. Just outside the village, as you exit the motorway there is a small bar and trattoria were truckers normally stop called Alto e Savio. It is mentioned in many Italian guides including Osterie d'Italia. There are absolutely no frills here but the service is not only fast, it is also welcoming and for very little you eat excellent regional cuisine. It's as if this is a prelude to what one can expect in the centre … [Read more...]
Redzepi: Making Noma the best place to work is the next goal
ANTWERP: As René Redzepi walked into the auditorium of the Flanders Meeting and Convention Centre in Antwerp he was anxious. Not because there was a possibility that he could end up on the podium of the World’s 50 Best Restaurants list for the fifth (and last) time but rather because events like these have not happened for many months now and restaurants in part of the world are still struggling with COVID-19 outbreaks. He had come prepared with a speech even if he said he was not aware that his team would clinch the top spot in the list. “Given we were second last year, we had to be prepared,” he said. Eleven years since he clinched the first title for Noma in 2010 he attributes that success not to his creativity or to his leadership but to the 79 members of the team who work to make it happen. On stage, he paid tribute to the members of the team who could not be present in Antwerp as they were serving guests at the restaurant in Copenhagen. “A lot of things passed through my … [Read more...]