It’s impossible to discuss Azurmendi without mentioning the ultrasound. Employed to alter the texture of food, this is just one of the cutting-edge techniques that chef Eneko Atxa has pioneered since his first restaurant opened in 2005. And it’s far more than a mere headline grabber. Indeed, the Basque native’s philosophy has always been about [...]
Originally from Newcastle in Australia, Chef Brett Graham trained with British stalwart Phil Howard at The Square before opening The Ledbury in the west London suburb of Notting Hill in 2005. The airy restaurant is redolent with discreet luxury, as is the menu, which features truffles and foie gras alongside humbler ingredients that are accorded [...]
A former stonemason and gardener, whose family hails from the Basque country, Inaki Aizpitarte seems an unlikely candidate to spearhead a mini-revolution in the Parisian restaurant scene. The chef opened Le Chateaubriand in 2006 and soon became a leading figure in what has been dubbed the city’s ‘bistronomie’ movement, which saw a new generation of [...]
At Nahm, Thai culinary tradition overrides the affectations of swanky top-level dining. The Metropolitan Hotel by Como may be plush in the extreme, but the cooking here is rustic, gutsy and entirely free of pomp. David Thompson hails from Australia, of course, but the Thais have embraced this farang with open arms, and the chef [...]
Heading a new wave of Russian chefs that is embracing the vast country’s amazing natural produce, chef Vladimir Mukhin claims to have borscht running in his veins. The famous beetroot soup certainly flows at his Alice in Wonderland-themed restaurant on the 16th floor of the Smolensky Passage building. The Russian staple is given a modern [...]
A visit to Ultraviolet is a surreal experience: part glamorous James Bond lair, part mind-bending psychedelic trip. Guests meet at chef Paul Pairet’s central Shanghai restaurant, Mr & Mrs Bund, to be driven by minibus to a secret location in the city where the entrance, via an industrial lift cage, is revealed. Inside a white [...]
Billed as the world’s most isolated restaurant, Fäviken, in the north of Sweden, has captured the imagination of the world’s media and intrepid foodies in equal measure. Housed in an 18th century barn on a 24,000-acre hunting estate, the restaurant can only accommodate 12 diners each night with guests staying in spartan rooms on site. [...]
Grant Achatz’s famed Chicago restaurant is well known for its brave and unconventional approach to food, with dishes served in all manner of creative ways, but there’s more to Alinea then culinary pyrotechnics. As the meal at this slick, moody restaurant progresses over a number of hours, the expertly trained service team is able to [...]
Famed the world over for its truffles and elegant wines, Alba is the foodie capital of Piedmont – a region that itself lays claim to being the gastronomic heartland of Italy – and is, therefore, the perfect location for Enrico Crippa’s chic modern Italian restaurant. The chef makes full use of the natural resources at [...]
British-born Luke Dale-Roberts spent much of his career working across Europe and Asia before settling in his adopted home of South Africa. And his travels are certainly reflected in the food he serves at The Test Kitchen in Cape Town, where menus comprise an eclectic mix of international flavours, ingredients and cooking techniques. Rooted in [...]
