When “American Gourmet” owner Eric Azagury is not selling Belon oysters (flown every day from France) and mega Alba truffles to mega yacht chefs, he travels the world and painstakingly selects the most exclusive and rare products for his shop. I am lucky enough to have met many passionate people throughout…

Speaking of über ingredients, these green peas were served at the Foodies documentary reception at Maria Cristina hotel, organized by Jon Warren from San Sebastian gourmet tours. When someone says “you must try those peas”(not Iberico ham or other gourmet food, served at the cocktail), you better do. Think of…

Ibai (Calle de Getaria, 15, 20005 San Sebastián, Spain; tel. +34 943 42 87 64 ) is one of those little known, “gem” restaurants, foodies dream to discover one day. With no Michelin stars and hard to book, Ibai is considered by some, as one the best, if not the…

Summer is not really the season to make cheeses with black truffles, but one shop in Saint Tropez does it right no matter if it’s hot or cold outside. The tiny fromagerie behind the fish market produces one of the best brie cheeses with black truffles I’ve ever had and…

Elaborate show and luxurious presentation is often a huge part of 3 Michelin stars restaurant experience and the price you pay for it. I recently read somewhere that people find expensive food better tasting. The simply poached asparagus with crushed egg condiment at Alain Ducasse Monaco was without doubt an excellent…

This might be as well the best croissant I’ve ever had. The perfect croissant is a balance of crispy, crunchy, fluffy, satisfyingly chewy and very buttery. At Blé Sucré, they’ve achieved the balance. Maybe that’s not surprising, considering that owner Fabrice le Bourdat is a celebrated pastry chef with a…

Love how Alex Croquet, the master boulanger from Wattignies (and the inspiration of Hedone’s chef Mikael Jönsson) is making this clementine tart. It seems so effortless for him. The link of the video is here Alex Croquet: :56 Rue Faidherbe, 59139 Wattignies, France; tel. +33 3 20 95 01 29

There is gelato and then there is Il Massimo del Gelato (Via Lodovico Castelvetro, 18, 20154 Milano, Italy), a small, independent gelateria, 1o minutes drive from the city center. Fresh fruit sorbets like orange, mango, passion fruit and various ice cream are excellent and turn out to be identical to…

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…

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…