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

Each time I go to Hedone (1*) each time I feel that it’s getting better and better. I don’t know how far a chef can go in search for perfection, but Hedone’s chef Mikael Jonsson is not far from it.

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…

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…

I first time heard of Le Calandre (Via Liguria, 1, 35030 Sarmeola di Rubano, Padova, Italy; tel. +39 049 633000) and it’s risotto from Andy Hayler’s FT.com interview, where he mentioned that there he had the best saffron risotto ever. If someone, who’s been to all the 3 Michelin around…

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…