BlackBook In The Know
Global Gourmand
On our radar this quarter: three culinary artists; a Monagasque seafood fest; restaurants lighting up London; the best in French wine; nice ice in China; and the latest cookbooks
Fruits de mer
A troika of toques
s i m p ly j a pa n e s e The façade is scrupulously minimalist: there’s no name on the door. And Pedro Espina, chef and presiding genius at Soy (Spanish for ‘I am’) is as
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I ta l i a n i d e a l He’s an icon in the world of Italian cuisine, engaged in a constant pursuit for perfection, whether it comes to choosing ingredients and cooking or to the presentation of his dishes. Intransient and pure, two-Michelin-starred chef Carlo Cracco is currently Italy’s most acclaimed chef, boasting several television appearances and a tough-guy charm. From September, the most discerning of gourmands can sample his cuisine at his restaurant Cracco al Palazzo at the elegant Palazzo Parigi, a just-opened, fivestar hotel in the heart of Milan. palazzoparigi.com
kitchen reads
Renowned Italophile Michael White shares his knowledge on contemporary and classic Italian cuisine
Innovative and always interesting, Caines provides a lesson in just what can be created in a domestic kitchen
From the simple to the extravagant, traditional French fare explained, adapted and updated by the master chef
From pastries to tarts and petits fours, rising stars and established chefs contribute to 89 mouthwatering creations
CONTACT CENTURION SERVICE FOR BOOKING
illustrations anje jager; Photos Lotfi Maktouf (top right); book covers: courtesy of the book publishers
Canadian cool Since opening in Vancouver’s rapidly gentrifying Downtown Eastside in February, Pidgin has gained a firm following among the city’s food cognoscenti thanks to chef Makoto Ono’s thoughtful, globally inflected precision cuisine. A culinary whizz kid, Canadian-Japanese Ono is French-trained and cooked at Mirabelle and Vong in London before opening restaurants in Canada, Beijing and Hong Kong. Expect generous, often-Asian-inspired dishes like crispy duck with Chinese spicing, oranges and carrot cake; or humpback shrimp sashimi with citrus and celery. pidginvancouver.com
self-effacing as his Madrid restaurant. A martial arts expert, Espina returned from an eight-year exile in Japan with a wife, Tamayo, and the title of itamae (think culinary blackbelt). For the five years of Soy’s existence he has discreetly watched his legend grow. Yet what he offers is simple enough. Six tables. Japanese haute cuisine of rare excellence, with a hint of Hispanic fusion. And the humility of a genuine artist. Says Espina: “I learn every day. One must be honest. Everything superfluous must be eliminated.” Just so. soypedroespina.com
New on Monte Carlo’s waterfront is a cosmopolitan crossroads for fish and seafood: Canadian lobster, Mediterranean fish, Scottish salmon, Kamchatka crab and oysters from Brittany are all on the menu at La Marée (lamaree.ru.en), used in equally global recipes, from Russian soup, ukha e solyanka, to Tunisian cous cous and stroganina, an Eskimo dish made of frozen fish cut into very thin slices. As Tunisian Zitouni Abdessattar, the restaurant’s head chef says, of enjoying fish: “Let the freshness speak for itself.”
BlackBook In The Know
It’s an oenophile’s pipe dream come true: in Paris, historic Taillevent restaurant has created the “cinq de Curnonsky” pairing menu — a lavish €1,200 per-person repast celebrating five of the world’s greatest white wines. taillevent.com
sharing its cool love with China by opening up a maiden international store in Hangzhou. Whether it’s a Piggy in the Middle (satay gelato with crispy pork crackling) or a Mr Potato Head (peanut butter gelato with white chocolate potato crisps), Messina is renowned for its deliciously creative fare. Now, after the main man from Hangzhou’s City Hall popped into a Sydney store for scoop, its heading for China. The store is open now. gelatomessina.com
New London hotel restaurants to get excited about this winter …
At Ian Schrager’s Edition Hotel in NoHo, where Bohemia air-kisses Oxford Street, Jason Atherton gives Great British produce a modern twist in his 140-seat luxe brasserie, Berners Tavern (bernerstavern.com), while over in Holborn, Bjorn van der Horst (who made his name at The Greenhouse), has returned to don the whites at Rosewood London (rosewoodhotels. com), the city’s newest and swishest five-star hotel. Down in Belgravia, meanwhile, the talented Sophie Michell, whose grandmother cooked for the Queen Mother, is serving spanking fresh fish and shellfish at Pont St, the charming new restaurant at the stylish boutique hotel Belgraves (thompsonhotels.com). C ONTRI B UTORS : R o s i e B i r k e t t, D e l i a D e m m a , J e f f r e y T I v e r s o n , A l e x M e a d, Pa u l R i c h a r d s o n , J e r e m y Way n e
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Photos Clockwise from top left: thomas duval, Sarah Coghill, nikolas Koenig, PHILIP VILE (2)
Gelato king Messina is