Celebrity Life

By Andy Hayler Hotel de Ville has an illustrious culinary history, gaining three Michelin stars under Fredy Girardet, Philippe Rochat and then Benoit Violier. Following the latter’s tragic death in January 2016 the leadership of the kitchen has transferred to Benoit’s long time right-hand man, Franck Giovannini. Franck has worked in the kitchen here for... View Article

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By Andy Hayler Scran and Scallie (food and scallywag, it would seem, but why choose this for a name?) opened in 2013, the casual sister to Kitchin. The rather bizarre tourist brochure language continues into the menu, with “yer mains” and “sit ye doon yer welcome” just some of the linguistic crimes being committed. Despite this... View Article

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By Andy Hayler The state bird of California is the quail. It could be worse: in Minnesota it is the loon. The speciality of quail here explains the rather esoteric name of this restaurant, which opened on New Years Eve in 2012 and quickly became a cult success. It ticks all the “too cool for... View Article

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By Andy Hayler This Italian restaurant opened in 1989, with its maître d’ being the co-founder Giancarlo Paterlini. The other co-founder is the chef Suzette Gresham, who grew up locally and worked at the San Francisco hotel Donatello before opening Acquarello. The restaurant was granted a Michelin star in 2007 and a second in 2015.... View Article

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By Andy Hayler Nuance opened in 2008, situated in the little town of Duffel near Antwerp, noted mainly for its invention of the heavy woolen cloth that is used to make the familiar duffel coat. Just in case any visitors had missed this connection, there is a large status of a figure in a duffel... View Article

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By Andy Hayler The Chancery has been running since 2004. It is tucked way in a quiet street off Chancery Lane, with smart décor but fairly small tables. From summer 2014 its new head chef has been Graham Long, who after rising to the position of senior sous chef at Pied a Terre, moved to... View Article

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Sushi evokes an almost religious zeal in some people, who will vigorously debate the various aspects that influence what makes a great sushi restaurant. It starts with the rice, which has iconic status in Japan, and indeed the very word sushi means “seasoned rice”. Trainee sushi chefs typically spend two years perfecting their technique in... View Article

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In the run up to The Elite 100 Restaurants 2015, Andy Hayler discusses which regions will dominate fine dining and restaurant awards in years to come. Food has its fashions, as can be seen by the changing trends in dining over the years. France ruled the culinary roost for decades, even when its chefs were... View Article

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In the run up to next year’s awards, food critic Andy Hayler picks out his five favorite meals from restaurants that made the Elite 100 2014. Each year Elite Traveler polls its readers for their favorite restaurants, and produces a Top 100 list driven by the votes of paying customers. From a personal perspective, here... View Article

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In the run up to the Elite 100 Restaurants 2015, Andy Hayler looks at why Japan performs so well in the world’s leading food guides and what makes it such a superb fine dining destination. The city with the most Michelin stars in the world is not Paris but Tokyo, and in 2011 Japan overtook France... View Article

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In the run up to the Elite Traveler Top 100 Restaurants 2015, Andy Hayler picks out some of his favorite restaurants, including Sonnora.  It seems odd to describe a three star Michelin restaurant as hidden, and yet Sonnora seems invisible to social media and is about as far from foodie fashion as it is possible... View Article

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In the run up to the Elite 100 Restaurants 2015, Andy Hayler picks out some of his favorite hidden gems. There are a few restaurants in the world with pretty views in interesting locations, but none is more striking than the setting of Michel Bras in Hokkaido, the northernmost of the four main islands of... View Article

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