Eggplant caviar with raw spring vegetables at Joël Robuchon – Hôtel Metropole Monte-Carlo, in my opinion, the best Robuchon in Europe thanks to the executive chef Christophe Cussac. It’s amazing how much the quality of a restaurant will depend on an executive chef when Michelin starred “chains” like Robuchon or…

Cherry blossoms are not only viewed and admired, but also used for cooking during their blooming season in Japan. The very short and almost ephemeral life of cherry blossoms can be an embodiment of many things – changes in nature, fragility of our lives and also seasonality in cooking, for…

Out of all these most amazing steakhouses and teppanyaki restaurants in Tokyo, Dons de la Nature ( Kawai Building B1F, 1-7-6 Ginza, Chuo-ko, Tokyo; tel. 03- 3563-4129) is considered one of the best. Tokyo chef and book author Yukari Sakamoto went there recently and kindly allowed me to republish her…

When Hedone’s chef Mikael Jonsson decided to bake his own bread, he didn’t just improvise, instead, the ingredients quality-obsessed chef did his bread baking training at Alex Croquet boulangerie in Wattignies, France. Michelin has described Alex Croquet as a bread-making genius, whose approach to baking is almost scientific. (Read the full…

In a country known for its breath-taking array of cheeses, it can be hard to know where to find the best or how to narrow down the selection. Luckily, Paris is home to some of the world’s best cheesemongers and affineurs, those talented men and women who find the most…

I finally had a chance to watch the final cut of the Foodies documentary. I think it’s really well done and will be interesting not only to all those who are interested in gastronomy. (And I am not saying this just cause I am in it :)) The official release…

A new brilliant dish by Joël Robuchon Monaco executive chef Christophe Cuissac. Emmental zephyr (something between soufflé and cream, literally melting in your mouth!) is married with black truffles sauce and it’s shavings. I hope this culinary masterpiece will be “exported” to other Robuchon locations around the world. Joël Robuchon(2*):…

If you have ever passed by rue Saint-Anne in Paris, you must have certainly seen people queuing outside the Kunitoraya udon noodles shop. Since a while already, the queuing and waiting no matter the meteorological conditions, has moved to the neighbouring rue Villedo, where there are now two Kunitorayas, at…

When I first visited L’Astrance (4 Rue Beethoven, 75016 Paris; tel. +33 1 40 50 84 40), it had just received it’s first Michelin star and was one of the most exciting, up and coming restaurants in Paris. Ten years forward and numbers of restaurants opened around the world by Pascal…

If I had to name my “cantine”, only one restaurant, where I’ve been mostly in the recent years, it would be Takara (14 Rue Molière, 75001 Paris). It’s a traditional Japanese restaurant located in Paris “Little Japan” where you can have anything from sushi to shabu shabu or sukiyaki. I…