I proudly present to you: the first bottle of Sake I ever bought! A Honjozo Sake by the Urakasumi Sake brewery in Myagi, made of Manamusume rice polished to a remaining 65% of its size, and displaying 15% of alcohol. Got it? Read the rest of this entry »

We are still in Belgium, one day after our dinner at Pastorale, again in a small village. This time in Noville-sur-Mehaigne; you probably won’t know it, but your GPS will. It lies probably half an hour outside of Brussels, not far from Namur. From the German border, you should be there after one hour on the Belgian highway.

Lunchtime is near and we are awaited at l’Air Du Temps, the 2 star restaurant of chef Sang Hoon Degeimbre.  Again, I am glad to join my friends of Gastros on Tour for this meal. I am especially excited because it’s my first time at this restaurant I have already heard and read so much about. Read the rest of this entry »

Reet is a small and quiet village not far from the highway that links Brussels to Antwerpen. When driving through it, one wouldn’t expect a Michelin-starred restaurant nested here, but the proximity and nearly equal distance to 2 big cities naturally justifies its location, and I wouldn’t say that this village with its elegant brick houses is lacking charm.

It is within a former rectory which rather resembles a château-like mansion that Bart de Pooter and his wife Marie-Claire have found a home for their restaurant De Pastorale. This sounds very conservative at first, but one realizes quickly that this classic building is actually an elegant container for modernism. A first indicator of this dualism is given by a modern bronze statue at the entrance which emits a laughing sound once you pass by. Read the rest of this entry »

After a week in the Western Cape region of South Africa I am now back in Germany. It was my first time in this country and I can only say that I was very impressed. First of all by this incredible landscape full of contrasts: the mountains, the vineyards, the dunes, the rough shores and this climate where the warm sun is confronted to the ice cold waters of the South Atlantic.

This fertile land also translates on your dinner table. Numerous restaurants offer Read the rest of this entry »

I swear, this will be the last post about Omnivore Food Festival! I just had to publish some more impressions which didn’t fit in any of the other posts. Like things that happened all around OFF and afterwards.

Wagyu beef from Spain, offered by Parisian butcher Yves-Marie Le Bourdonnec (Calling himself “Le Boucher Bohème”, check this interview ) Read the rest of this entry »

I just got back from Deauville where I spent a great time at the 6th edition of Omnivore Food Festival. Great Chefs, great food, Great wine and great people to share it with – this all makes for superb memories. In the next couple of days I’ll try to post some of my impressions and start right away with the cooking presentations. But first of all, I have to thank Laurent for giving me the opportunity to join the party and greet all the fine palates I met – you know who you are.

… at the “restOFF”, lunch is being taken while sitting on straw bales

But what the heck is Omnivore? Read the rest of this entry »