Category Archives: chefs
France meets Japan: Delicious Fast Food
A Japanese housewife named Harumi Kurihara has changed my life a few years ago. I bought her book Everyday Harumi just out of curiosity but it turned into one of my cooking bibles (and I fully agree with this excellent blog entry published by The Huffington Post in 2010 already). The subtitle of Harumi’s book reads: “Simple Japanese Food for Family & Friends” and that is true: it is a simple – yet highly refined – cuisine that makes everybody happy, family […]
Categories: chefs, Dinner, good food, signature dish, World • Tags: Cooking, Food, Harumi
France: Where you want to eat…
I’ve been out of Paris over the week-end, we’ve visited a dog breeder’s farm in the Sologne region to find us a new flat coated retriever but our short trip happened to turn into a culinary excursion, too. We roamed close to Aubigny-sur-Nèr, that’s very close to the banks of the Loire, so close, in fact, that we had to fight some inundations on the way.
Categories: chefs, France, good food, Lunch, Michelin • Tags: Cooking Skills, Culture, Food, France, French food, Loire
A “green” cookpot à la Ducasse
I’ve heard a renowned French cook say recently that it was much harder to prepare high-class dishes only with vegetables. I thought he actually wanted to say: any high price for vegetarian food was justified. The three star chefs of Paris put price tags on carrot or celery salads nowadays that are nothing but shocking. Once in a Parisian gourmet temple, don’t be surprised to get a platter of raw vegetables for, say, 39 Euros (50 US$). You might find […]
Categories: chefs, Dinner, France, good food, nature, skills • Tags: Ducasse, Food, Vegetables
Chicken skills
Crisp on the outside, tender on the inside – everybody loves roast chicken but it’s a trickier task than many home cooks think. In the end it all depends on the correct positioning of the bird during the cooking process. I know a lot of people who simply put their chicken on the back, on a tray, in the hot oven and wait for an hour. Tsts…can’t work. The most probable result will be: the breast (or “white meat”, as our […]
Categories: chefs, Dinner, France, hero butchers, skills • Tags: Cooking Skills, Food, recipes
Are you sweet or salty?
I don’t know about your experiences but I’ve found out in life that most cooks, professionals or amateurs, have a clear preference when it comes to the above question. In many restaurants you can witness the consequences: Quite often, a talented pâtissier decides to open his own shop, just to learn that he can’t really deal with beef and lamb and salty things. Same is true the other way round: Being a great rôtisseur doesn’t mean necessarily that you can […]
Categories: chefs, Dessert, signature dish, Whatever Works • Tags: Food, Pastry, recipes
“Trancher Entrecôte”…in Oslo?
Yes, and ten times: yes! This is an experience, a real one, and I bow to Marcus Jacobsen who is the head chef up there at Thorvald Meyers gate 78 in Oslo, close to the quite dodgy city centre of the Norwegian capital. If you call yourself a foodie, well then, book a flight to Norway just to eat there: it’s worth it, it’s special, it’s good. There’s not much choice though once you’re there. The menu consists of one […]
Categories: chefs, Dinner, good food, hero butchers, World • Tags: Food, Norway, Politics
VIDEO: A full kitchen day in 3 minutes…
…makes a pretty edgy video as you will see. I found the clip thanks to a facebook friend’s recommendation and I thought you might like it, too. What you see is Alinea restaurant in Chicago, where young chef Grant Achatz is doing quite spectacular things with food. He has won so many awards in recent times, earned highest rankings and the food critics are all kneeling down, that he must do something right. Anyway: here’s a quick look behind the […]
Categories: chefs, poetry, World • Tags: Chefs, Culture, Food
Plus français et tu meurs, quoi…?
…that’s what French people say when they sit down in a bistro like Astier in Paris, a picturesque little restaurant complete with chequered tablecloth, l’ardoise (that’s a chalkboard) and even original Laguiole knives on display tucked on the wall. The experienced traveller could shy away and with good reason: beware, this could be a tourist trap as well! But don’t fear: here, at Astier, in a street named after Jean-Pierre Timbaud (who was a unionist and a freedom fighter once) you’re […]
What’s going on at “Le Baratin”…
…a bistro that has been all the rage in the past one or two years or so? Let me quote Meg Zimbeck first who once wrote about one of her preferred places: “In a city with so many incredible restaurants to try, repeat visits are a sure sign of love.” Well, I agree, and yesterday I’ve been dining out at Le Baratin high up in Belleville for the fourth time already, that’s a lot, yet last night my love story ended. […]
Categories: chefs, Dinner, Paris, Whatever Works • Tags: Food, Raquel Carena, Restaurants
When 3 stars aren’t sparkling…
…in Paris, a plush Grand Hotel only a stone’s throw from the Elysée Palace whose actual occupant Nicolas Sarkozy is said to be a regular costumer. This honour has caused the Bristol‘s chef Eric Fréchon some damage though. In 2009, when the Michelin guide finally awarded him with the maximum 3-star-listing, the decision was instantly blamed as biased, to say the least. François Simon, France’s most influential food critic, harshly rejected Michelin’s pick, claiming that Fréchon’s cooking wasn’t really where it’s at. […]
Categories: chefs, Dinner, Michelin, Paris, signature dish, skills • Tags: Eric Fréchon, Fine Dining, Food, Michelin
