-
Uffizi Galleries launches new cooking show on Facebook
Some paintings, such as Jan Davidszoon de Heem's "Still Life with Fruit and Ham," can whet your appetite. That's why the Uffizi Galleries have decided to launch a series of Italian-language videos, in which Florentine chefs present recipes inspired by some of the most mouthwatering artworks from their collection. Buon appetito! This new series, titled "Uffizi da mangiare" ("Uffizi on a plate"), will be posted every Sunday on the museum's website and on Facebook. Its inaugural episode finds TV personality and restaurateur Fabio Picchi pairing the contents of Giacomo Ceruti's "Boy with fish" wit...
Relaxnews
-
South African breweries adapt to survive alcohol ban
"This place is definitely not what it used to be," said Eben Uys, gently wiping the dust from the counter of his bar. Like more than 200 South African microbrewery and restaurant owners, Uys is fighting to keep his business afloat after a new ban on alcohol sales to combat the soaring numbers of coronavirus cases. But like some others he has managed to adapt to survive. The 36-year-old chemistry graduate runs trendy bar and restaurant Mad Giant Brewery in the smart district of Newtown, in the heart of South Africa's economic capital of Johannesburg. Today, his business is at a virtual standsti...
Relaxnews
-
Michelin bestows Covid-era restaurant stars despite closures
The Michelin Guide consecrated France's 30th three-star restaurant on Monday as it presented its awards for 2021 against the backdrop of the Covid-19 crisis, which has seen chefs forced to close their doors. The famous red guide had promised that no three-star chefs would be demoted as the health crisis rages, with food fans unlikely to book tables anytime soon. Many chefs fear French authorities will keep restaurants closed for several more weeks if not months, following a lockdown last spring and another imposed since October. As they hemorrhage money, some have pivoted to take-away or deliv...
Relaxnews
-
New York Times Cooking has had a blockbuster year
The year 2020 has had an undeniable impact on our eating habits. Our continuous presence at home has led us to spend more time behind the stove, where we have tried our hand at fermentation or banana bread. A craze for home-cooked meals that has greatly benefited New York Times Cooking. The US media giant wagered back in 2014 that it could lure home cooks to use its new site devoted to recipes over the popular specialist publications like Bon Appétit and Eater. Six years later, this mission has been accomplished. New York Times Cooking had nearly 600,000 paid subscribers in the third half of ...
Relaxnews
-
Michelin unveils Covid-era France picks despite criticism
The Michelin Guide reveals Monday its annual pick of France's top restaurants despite criticism over its decision to hold the awards while establishments remain closed in the Covid-19 pandemic. Three-star chefs can rest easy, however, after Michelin said none will be demoted as the health crisis rages. The industry bible's boss Gwendal Poullennec defended inspections that led to 57 new stars overall, even though restaurants remain shuttered after lockdowns imposed last spring and again since October. "It's an important decision to support the industry, despite the current situation and perhaps...
Relaxnews
-
Australian winemaker hits her stride in heart of Burgundy
Jane Eyre readily admits that while working as a hairdresser in Melbourne over twenty years ago, "I probably drank more gin and tonic" -- but a flair for coaxing top-notch wines from storied Burgundy vines has propelled her into the French wine firmament. "There's nothing like making your own wine," Eyre says while inspecting a glass of Savigny-les-Beaune premier cru aux Vergelesses, one of a half-dozen of her recent reds. French peers believe there's nothing quite like her wines -- this month Eyre became the first Australian, and the first woman, to win the Negociant of the Year award by the ...
Relaxnews
-
Edible insects move closer to European plates
The EU's food watchdog on Wednesday paved the way for diners across Europe to tuck into insects as it gave safety approval for human consumption of dried yellow mealworm. The move by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) is the preliminary step needed before officials can decide whether to allow the beetle larvae to be sold to consumers across the 27-nation bloc. The ruling is the first completed risk assessment of an insect food product application by the agency as it looks to approve a potential boom sector that could provide a sustainable source of protein. It could "pave the way for t...
Relaxnews
-
Furloughed chef keeps skills sharp by serving his kids fine-dining menus at home
SAN DIEGO — Nine months ago, Aron Schwartz was supervising 60 culinary workers and more than $15 million in annual food and beverage sales at a downtown San Diego hotel. Nowadays, the 45-year-old father of two is the self-described "lunch man," preparing multicourse fine-dining menus each day for his children, who are distance-learning from home due to the pandemic. After 14 years at the Marriott Marquis San Diego Marina Hotel, executive chef Schwartz was furloughed at the end of March and he hasn't worked since. To keep his cooking skills sharp and avoid going "stir crazy," the Carmel Valley ...
The San Diego Union-Tribune
-
France's Albert Roux, who shook up UK dining scene, dies at 85
French chef Albert Roux, who with his late brother Michel helped revolutionise Britain's dining scene with "Le Gavroche" restaurant in London, has died at 85, his family said Wednesday. Roux died Monday after being unwell for a while, the family said in a statement. His brother Michel passed away in March last year at 78. The brothers arrived in London in the 1960s and opened the signature restaurant in Mayfair in 1967, offering the highest standard of French cuisine at a time when British restaurant food had a lowly reputation worldwide. The restaurant, along with "The Waterside Inn" they ope...
Relaxnews
-
Pandemic overshadows Japan's New Year tuna auction
Tokyo's annual New Year tuna auction ended Tuesday without the usual jaw-dropping bidding war, with the country's "Tuna King" holding back on gunning for the top fish, citing the pandemic woes affecting the restaurant industry. The most expensive fish of the day -- a 208-kilogram (459-pound) bluefin caught off the northern Aomori region of Japan, known for its quality tuna -- was bought by another bidder for 20.84 million yen ($202,000). That is just a fraction of the millions of dollars that sushi businessman and self-proclaimed "Tuna King" Kiyoshi Kimura has shelled out in recent years to se...
Relaxnews
- More