Tag Archive for: Food and Wine news
Michelin Guide to Spain & Portugal 2019 RESULTS ARE IN:
The 2019 Michelin Guide to Spain & Portugal has now been presented and spoiler alert: There’s a NEW Michelin 3* !!!!!
The gastronomic Oscars festival was presented this evening LIVE from Lisbon – Portugal – at the Carlos Lopes pavilion, under the culinary coordination of two Michelin-starred Belcanto chef, José Avillez.
This is the first time ever that the Michelin Guide to Spain & Portugal has been presented from Portugal but … Oh what a night!!!! A night that has left Michelin stars raining down all over Spain and Portugal!
This year a whopping 30 NEW Michelin Stars were awarded between Spain and Portugal!
1 NEW Michelin 3* Restaurant – awarded to Dani Garcia
*** ALL 11 Michelin 3* Restaurants in the 2019 Michelin Guide to Spain & Portugal
NEW: Dani Garcia, Dani Garcia (Malaga)
ABaC, Jordi Cruz (Barcelona)
Aponiente, Angel Leon (El Puerto de Santa María, Cádiz)
Akelarre, Pedro Subijana (Guipúzcoa)
Arzak, Juan Mari and Elena Arzak (Guipúzcoa)
Azurmendi, Eneko Atxa (Larrabetzu, Vizcaya)
Diverxo, David Muñoz (Madrid)
El Celler de Can Roca, Joan Roca (Girona)
Lasarte, Martin Berasategui (Barcelona)
Martín Berasategui, Martín Berasategui (Guipúzcoa)
Quique Dacosta, Quique Dacosta (Dénia, Alicante)
But, apart from 1 NEW Michelin 3 Starred Restaurant, for the Michelin Guide for Spain and Portugal 2019 there are:
4 NEW Michelin 2* Restaurants Spain and Portugal 2019:
- Cocina Hermanos Torres (Barcelona)
- Ricard Camarena Restaurant (Valencia)
- El Molino de Urdániz (Urdaitz, Navarra).
- Alma (Lisboa)
and 25 NEW 1* Michelin 1* Restaurants Spain and Portugal 2019:
- La Barra de Carles Abellán (Barcelona)
- Oria (Barcelona)
- Eneko Bilbao (Bilbao)
- Etxanobe Ateliar (Bilbao)
- Beat (Calpe, Alicante)
- Orobianco (Calpe, Alicante)
- Trivio (Cuenca)
- eMe Be Garrote (San Sebastián)
- Bagá (Jaén)
- LÚ Cocina y Alma (Jerez de la Frontera, Cádiz)
- Pablo (León)
- Ikaro (Logroño)
- Clos Madrid (Madrid)
- Corral de la Moreira Gastronómico (Madrid)
- El Invernadero (Madrid)
- La Tasquería (Madrid)
- Yugo (Madrid)
- El Xato (La Nucía, Alicante)
- Terra (S’Agaró, Alicante)
- A Tafona (Santiago de Compostela)
- El Molino de Alcuneza (Sigüenza, Guadalajara)
- Cancook (Zaragoza)
- G Pousada de Bragança (Tras os Montes)
- A Cozinha de Guimaraes (Minho)
- Midori de Sinra (Estremadura)
Congratulations to all our wonderful Michelin Star Chefs in Spain and Portugal !
In the run up to the Worlds 50 Best Restaurants ceremony to be held live from Bilbao, Spain, on June 19th 2018, the WINNER of the Miele One To Watch Award 2018 has now been announced as:
Single Thread in Healdsburg, USA
This Michelin 2 star restaurant in the heart of Sonoma Wine Country and at the hands of chef Kyle Connaughton and his farmer wife, Katina.
Single Thread is a farm, a restaurant and an inn. The farm is located on five acres between the Russian River and the historic San Lorenzo Ranch and supplies vegetables, fruit, herbs, flowers, honey, eggs, and olive oil to their restaurant kitchen.
In the dining room an eleven-course tasting menu can be enjoyed, showcasing the seasonal produce from the couple’s farm combined with Japanese technique.
The One to Watch Restaurant Award is sponsored by Miele, and is part of The World’s 50 Best Restaurants Awards. Previous winners of the One To Watch Award are:
2017 – Disfrutar, Barcelona – Spain
2016 – Den, Tokyo – Japan
2015 – Sepia, Sydney – Australia
2014 – Saison, San Francisco – USA
2013 – The Test Kitchen, Cape Town – South Africa
2012 – La Grenouillere, La Madelaine-sous-Montreuil – France
2011 – Frantzen/Lindeberg, Stockholm – Sweden
Other Individual Awards have been announced in advance and here are the following results that have already been revealed:
World’s Best Female Chef Award 2018
The Diners Club® Lifetime Achievement Award 2018
* * * * * Next up * * * * *
The countdown begins with the 51-100 list of The World’s 50 Best Restaurants 2018
In the run up to the Worlds 50 Best Restaurants ceremony to be held live from Bilbao, Spain, on June 19th 2018, the WINNER of The Diners Club® Lifetime Achievement Award 2018 has now been announced as Gastón Acurio:
Gastón Acurio is a chef, writer, business man and Peruvian cuisine ambassador.
50 year old Acurio began his career as a chef in 1989 in Madrid, after he abandoned a law degree to go to cooking school. A few years later, he moved to Paris to continue his training at Le Cordon Bleu, and there met his future wife, German-born pastry chef Astrid Gutsche. Together they inaugurated Astrid & Gastón in Lima in 1994 and since then Acurio has opened 34 restaurants in 11 worldwide countries dedicated to the different specialities of the Peruvian Cuisine.
The Lifetime Achievement Award is sponsored by Diners Club ®, and is part of The World’s 50 Best Restaurants Awards. Previous winners of the Lifetime Achievement Award are:
2017 – Heston Blumenthal
2016 – Alain Passard
2015 – Daniel Boulud
2014 – Fergus Henderson
2013 – Alain Ducasse
2012 – Thomas Keller
2011 – Juan Mari Arzak
2010 – Eckhart Witzigmann
2009 – Joël Robuchon
2008 – Gualtiero Marchesi
2007 – Alice Waters
2006 – Albert Roux and Michel Roux
2005 – Paul Bocuse
Other Individual Awards are being announced in advance such as:
World’s Best Female Chef Award 2018
Next up:
One to Watch Award 2018
In the run-up to the Worlds 50 Best Restaurants 2018 presentation, June 19th from Bilbao – Spain, the World’s Best Female Chef Award 2018 has now been revealed:
Clare Smyth – UK
Clare trained under world famous chef Gordon Ramsey and became the only female chef in the UK to head a Michelin 3* restaurant.
Now Clare heads fine-dining restaurant Core by Clare Smyth in the Notting Hill area of London, UK and combines her background of French cuisine with her passion for Great Britain’s produce to create a unique and British cuisine.
Previous holders of the World’s Best Female Chef Award:
- 2017 Ana Roš, Hiša Franko – Kobarid, Slovenia
- 2016 Dominique Crenn, Atelier Crenn – San Fransicso, US
- 2015 Hélène Darroze, Restaurant Hélène Darroze – Paris, France & Hélène Darroze at the Connaught – London, England
- 2014 Helena Rizzo, Maní – Sao Paulo, Brazil
- 2013 Nadia Santini, Dal Pescatore – Canneto sull’Oglio, Italy
- 2012 Elena Arzak, Arzak – San Sebastian, Spain
- 2011 Anne-Sophie Pic, Maison Pic – Valence, France
The prestigious 2018 edition of the World’s 50 Best Restaurants will be presented
on Tuesday 19th June!
The World’s 50 Best Restaurants 2018, sponsored by S.Pellegrino & Acqua Panna, will be presented this year from Bilbao, Spain. And what better place for the ceremony to be held than in the foodie mecca of the Basque Country :-)
The presentation of the much acclaimed Restaurant Magazine list moves back to Europe for 2018 after having been held for more than a decade in London, it moved to New York in 2016 and to Australia, to Melbourne, in 2017.
Prior to the countdown, on June 19th 2018, from number 50 to the World’s Number One Restaurant for 2018, various individual awards will be released and the 51-100 list of The World’s 50 Best Restaurants 2018 will be unveiled the week before so WATCH THIS SPACE.
Current TOP 3 World’s Best Restaurants:
- Eleven Madison Park – New York, USA
- Osteria Francescana – Modena, Italy
- El Celler De Can Roca – Girona, Spain
Further reading to whet your appetite in the run-up to The World’s 50 Best Restaurants 2018:
Full List of No. 1-50 plus all individual and continental awards for 2017
World’s 50 Best Restaurants 2017 No.51 -100
World’s Number One Restaurant over the years 2002 – 2017
We have many fine dining opportunities for you all over Spain, Portugal and/or SW France. Any of our sample private Gourmand Breaks Private Food, Wine and Cultural Tours gives you the chance of fine dining – contact us for your custom built quote!
Last month saw the announcement of the NEW Michelin Guide for Spain and Portugal 2014.
A new Michelin 3 star restaurant was awarded to Spain for 2014, along with two new Michelin 2 star restaurants, and various new Michelin 1 star restaurants.
In total, for 2014, there are 17 Michelin 2 Star restaurants in Spain. This year Martín Berasategui adds his “M.B” restaurant in Guía de Isora, Santa Cruz de Tenerife to the Michelin 2 star category where it joins his already awarded “Lasarte” in Barcelona.
Francis Paniego also joins the elite Michelin 2 star crew with his “El Portal del Echaurren” restaurant in Ezcaray, La Rioja.
* * All Michelin 2 Star Restaurants in Spain for 2014 (in alphabetical order):
Abac. Jordi Cruz (Barcelona)
Atrio. Toño Pérez (Cáceres)
Calima. Dani García (Marbella)
Casa Marcial. Nacho Manzano (Asturias)
El Club Allard. Diego Guerrero (Madrid)
El Portal. Francis Paniego (La Rioja)
Enoteca. Paco Pérez (Barcelona)
La terraza del Casino. Paco Roncero (Madrid)
Lasarte. Martín Berasategui. (Barcelona)
Les Cols. Fina Puigdevall (Girona)
M.B. Martín Berasategui (Santa Cruz de Tenerife)
Miramar. Paco Pérez (Girona)
Moments. Raül Balam (Barcelona)
Mugaritz. Andoni Luis Aduriz (Guipuzcoa)
Ramón Freixa (Madrid)
Santceloni. Óscar Velasco (Madrid)
Sergi Arola Gastro (Madrid)
Whereas Michelin 2 star restaurants are classed as “excellent cooking, worth a detour”, Michelin 3 Star restaurants are classed as “exceptional cuisine, worth a special journey” and there are just 8 of these Michelin star wonders in Spain for 2014. (See our blog post Michelin 3 Star Restaurants 2014 – Spain)
And, even though Barcelona, City, still does not have a Michelin 3 star restaurant it proudly boasts 4 Michelin 2 star restaurants and 19 Michelin 1 star restaurants.
Join us on an exclusively private tour like the Ultimate Luxury Gourmet Food Tour where you can experience Spanish Cuisine at it’s best, and fine dining in Michelin Star Restaurants, including the World’s Number 1 Restaurant – Celler de Can Roca.
It is certain that wines with funny or odd names exist in all corners of Spanish wine geography. In Catalonia we have Finca Malaveina (Bad Neighbour) from Castell de Perelada in Emporda. A Bodes em Convides (You Invite me to a Wedding) in Penedes, or Cap de Ruc (Head of a Donkey) from Celler Ranadelles de Cornudella de Montsant. A donkey is also the protagonista of La Senda del Burro (the path of a donkey) of Viñedos Propios Pajares in Leon. There is a saying that, “he who goes to a winery and does not drink wine arrives as a donkey and leaves as a donkey”.
“Thanks to our friends, we finally managed to do the bottling and now you can enjoy our most acid creation”; this is the surprising presentation card of a young wine from La Rioja of Spanish Winery, Gonzalo Gonzalo, which is sold at around 5 Euros a bottle and on which label you can see a pig with feathers.
Wine labels are the surprise situation for many different animals, for example, El Pero Verde (The Green Dog) a very successful verdejo from Spanish wine region, DO Rueda, fruit of the collaboration of Bodegas Angel Lorenzao Cachazo and Catalan Wine Merchant, Quim Vila from the famous Vila Viniteca. In collaboration with Bodegas Viscarra, Quim Vila also promoted the wine Venta Las Vacas (Villa of the Cows), DO Ribera del Duero. But clearly the prize goes to Cojón de Gato (Cats Balls)and Teta de Vaca (Cow’s Tit). We don’t even want to mention a brand of Alpujarras in Almeria, Tetas de la Sacristana (Tits of the Priest’s Housekeeper)!
Clearly if we go around the world we will find names which are repulsive to some extent, such as French Frog’s Piss or Le Vin de Merde (The wine of shit) On the label of this last one you can read Le pire cache le meilleur (the best is hidden in the worst)
They are many bizarre names of wines to suit each taste – The Australian Beach, The Fat Bastard from Languedoc-Russillon, the Californian Mad Housewife, or the Nappa Valley Cleavage Creek. Clearly those of a superstitious nature should abstain from tasting the Chilena Gato Negro (Black Cat) or Casillero del Diablo (Coffin of the Devil)
Let us at Gourmand Breaks customize a unique wine tour for you and your friends which includes a route of the Spanish wineries mentioned in this article !
Cooking with Spanish Chef, Ferran Adria, is as easy as downloading a new app launched by the chef in partnership with Spanish telecom giant Telefónica. The Spanish chef was head chef of the El Bulli restaurant in Roses on the Costa Brava and one of the worlds most high profile Spanish chefs. The app is called Adria en casa (Adria at home ) and will help users create menus eaten by the staff at elBulli. In total, the app includes 31 three-course meals from the legendary restaurant which closed last summer.
Spanish Chef Ferran Adrià has unveiled plans to establish BulliPedia – an online culinary bible of modern cuisine. We are excited to hear that at the Wired 2012 conference in London recently , the chef revealed more details of the project.
According to Eater, The BulliPedia website is finally live and in two months chefs Grant Achatz, Heston Blumenthal and Spanish chef Joan Roca will have access to the site so they can provide feedback. Described as the ”world’s first culinary Wiki,” the BulliPedia is still being developed. ”The goal is to have the site totally up and running by the end of 2014,” Adria told Eater. Read more