Cakes counter “shopping” at Arnaud Larher (93 Rue de Seine 75006, Paris), le meuiller ouvrier de France in 2007. Should add it to my favourite Paris pastry and chocolate shops lists…luxeat.com/blog/paris-pastry-shops-past-present-future/luxeat.com/blog/chocolate-shops-paris/

Croque-monsieur with ham from Desnoyer-Poujauran butcher, truffle salt and Comté cheese at Café Trama (83 Rue du Cherche-Midi, 75006 Paris;tel. +33 1 45 48 33 71) . Love it! (ask for extra crispy)

Cooking at the 2 Michelin starred French restaurant The Square ( 6-10 Bruton St, London W1J 6PU; tel. +44 20 7495 7100) is proper and solid, but I have a feeling, that if it were located in Paris, it would never get 2 Michelin stars. It seems that Michelin inspectors…

Australian born chef Brett Graham is the creative force behind what I think is one of London’s best restaurants since a while: The Ledbury (127 Ledbury Rd, Notting Hill, London W11 2AQ, tel. +44 20 7792 9090 ). His awards include two much deserved Michelin stars and a number 13…

What I love about Italian cuisine is its simplicity and its respect for ingredients. In that sense, one could draw many similarities to cooking philosophy in Japan. Here, at Armando al Pantheon trattoria in Rome (Salita dè Crescenzi, 31, 00186, Rome, Italy; tel. +39 06 6880 3034) anchovies and prunes on…

Massimo Bottura and his restaurant in Modena Osteria Francescana need no introduction. Holding three Michelin stars and positioned third on the San Pellegrino 50 World’s Best Restaurants list, Massimo Bottura might just be one of today’s most influential chefs. He likes to describe his work as “seeing tradition from 10…

My quest for exceptional cheese continues as this time I visited Marie – Anne Cantin (12 Rue du Champ de Mars, 75007 Paris, France) cheese shop on the left bank in Paris, who is one of the rare fromagers to carry very old Comté all year around. The 4+-year-old Comté…

They call it black gold: a 100 ml bottle of a 25­-year vintage can sell for over 100 €, yet most of the world’s supply is an imitation. We’re talking about modena balsamico, the carefully aged, syrupy vinegar that adds a deep mellowness and tart sparkle to everything from roasted…

Very old and very rare – 7.5 years old Parmigiano Reggiano, spotted on the cheese trolley of Le Calandre (3*) in Italy last week. (Does anyone know it’s producer?)