Celebrity Life

Blessed with sunshine, virgin land and ample ground water, southern Bosnia is breaking into the olive oil market, winning medals and helping put the country on the map for "liquid gold".

"When I started to plant olive trees, I was told: 'You're crazy'," recalls Dragan Mikulic, 65, who runs a 50-hectare orchard in Ljubuski, in Bosnia's southern Herzegovina region. After little over a decade, he has become one of the top olive growers in the Balkans.

Wedged between high mountains to the north and the Adriatic Sea to the south, the grove's 7,000 trees stand in perfect rows beneath sunny skies.

"Look at this sun. It's like this all the time. The water coming down from these mountains passes through here, on its way to the sea," Mikulic says. "The soil consists of 30-percent sandy earth in which the trees breathe, and 70-percent stone, rich in minerals. It's all here."

[caption id="attachment_211770" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Workers harvest olives at an olive plantation near the south-western Bosnian town of Ljubuski. (Image: Elvis Barukcic/ AFP)[/caption]

But it wasn't that easy at the start. Recalling the "madness" of the early days, he describes having to use "tons of explosives" to break up a rocky patch of scrubland and turn it into a flat surface where he could plant the trees.

'God's tree'

"We chose the olive because it is, as we say here, the tree of God," adds Mikulic, whose oil in recent years has won 32 gold medals in competitions in Italy, Croatia and Bosnia.

Other producers have now followed in his footsteps. Officially, 776 tons of olives were harvested in Bosnia last year, 27 percent more than the previous year.

The industry is still small compared to neighbouring Croatia, the regional leader. But "with a gracious climate, uncontaminated soil and water", Herzegovina has "unimaginable possibilities for the development of olive growing", says Miro Barbaric, an agriculture expert from the Bosnian Agro-Mediterranean Institute.

[caption id="attachment_211773" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Olives that will eventually be turned into olive oil. (Image: John Cameron/ Unsplash)[/caption]

Access to underground water has only been possible over the last 15 years thanks to new drilling techniques. But it is key to the growth of this new crop in the region, once home mainly to tobacco.

Due to the lack of rain, the olive trees need between 150 and 200 litres (40 to 53 gallons) of water per day, according to Mikulic, who has drilled two boreholes in his olive grove and installed a drip irrigation system.

His neighbour Jure Susac, a 66-year-old winegrower who also has olive trees now, says he drilled a borehole nearly 300 metres (984 feet) deep. "I know that the olive loves a lot of water. I have plenty of it. The pump never stops working," Susac says.

[caption id="attachment_211771" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Bottles of extra virgin olive oil displayed in the house of Bosnian olive farmer Jure Susac. (Image: Elvis Barukcic/ AFP)[/caption]

"And, voila," he adds, pointing to the bunches of plump green olives on the trees "in excellent health" in his orchard, just a few days before the October harvest.

Susac has also won medals for his trees, the majority of which are bearing olives this year. Hailing the turnout as "exceptional", he hopes to squeeze out more than 500 litres of oil from them.

In every competition he entered with his oil, he won the gold medal, Susac says. "We are now often ahead of the Croatians."

(Main and featured image: Nazar Hrabovyi/ Unsplash)

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In case you haven't heard, paprika is the It ingredient of the year.

The mildly spicy condiment is set to spice up our lives with global market growth of nearly 5.8 percent by 2026, according to researchers in the US, who foresee an increased appetite for it. As well as being used in food, the spice is likely to make its way into some unexpected products, like day creams and medicines.

Some of paprika's medicinal virtues are already known, such as its power to unblock sinuses or to clean the pores of the skin. However, the spice appears to have many other properties, from anti-oxidant to anti-inflammatory and even anti-depressant. Manufacturers are increasingly looking to these qualities, with a slew of new cosmetics in the pipeline, according to a report from Research & Markets. According to the analysts, demand for paprika is set to grow in the coming years, especially due to the recently discovered anti-bacterial and anti-fungal properties of the ingredient.

[caption id="attachment_211803" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Paprika alongside other spices. (Image: Pratiksha Mohanty/ Unsplash)[/caption]

And when it comes to food, consumer demand for spicy flavours is also likely to drive demand for paprika. In 2019 alone, the global paprika market accrued almost US$458.1 million. The spice could also find use as a natural colouring agent for new foodstuffs.

Where does paprika come from?

Whether for marinades, adding flavour to a bowl of cooked rice or for tandoori chicken, paprika is a spice-rack essential. But did you know that the spice is made from a type of pepper originating in the Americas? Its mildly spicy taste was introduced to Europe by Spanish colonists.

[caption id="attachment_211802" align="alignnone" width="1024"] The global market for paprika is expected to grow by almost 6 percent by 2026. (Image: Stefan Tomic / iStock.com)[/caption]

However, paprika is now also made in Hungary, where it is used to season traditional dishes like goulash. The Hungarian population developed a taste for paprika during the Napoleonic wars, when it was used as a substitute for pepper, an inexpensive way to add flavour to dishes.

In Serbia, the ingredient is celebrated every fall in the village of Donja Lokošnica, in the south of the Balkan country, where life revolves around these little red peppers.

(Main and featured image: Stefan Tomic / iStock.com)

The post Why Paprika is the Next ‘It’ Ingredient to Add to Your Pantry appeared first on Prestige Online - Hong Kong.

Truffle season has commenced.

The “White Diamonds of Alba” have finally made their way from Piedmont onto the menus of the city’s top eateries for that added extravagance to simple dishes. The musky and earthy aromas of the prized white truffles are only available in Hong Kong for two months of the year, so there's no time like now to get a whiff and taste of this season’s most exciting dishes.

With the season upon us, we explore Hong Kong to discover the most flavoursome dishes in honour of the rare white truffles.

Castellana

[caption id="attachment_211618" align="alignnone" width="800"] Uovo di Montagna, organic egg white meringue with raw yolk.[/caption]

Price: Options of four and seven-course menus start from HK$1,580 and HK$1,980 respectively.

Where better to indulge in Piedmont’s most coveted white truffles than at the city’s most authentic fine dining Italian restaurant with a focus on Piedmont cuisine. Castellana has launched a new Alba white truffle menu featuring scrumptious highlights such as Tonno Rosso (Japanese tuna marinated with fennel seeds and beetroot juice), Uovo di Montagna (a meringue made from organic Italian Dolomite mountain egg white that's bedecked with its raw yolk to resemble a sunny side-up egg) and Fassona beef that's prepared terrine-style and served with rhubarb, mushroom juice, onion casserole, and fontina cheese gratin. Every dish comes topped with three grams worth of freshly shaved truffle. The menu is available for lunch and dinner from Mondays to Saturdays.

Castellana Restaurant, 10/F, Cubus, 1 Hoi Ping Road, Causeway Bay, Hong Kong; +852 3188 5028

DiVino

[caption id="attachment_211620" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Homemade egg tagliatelle with white truffle shavings.[/caption]

Price: Dishes start from HK$300.

Back by popular demand is DiVino’s “no menu, no limitations, and no rules” approach to devouring truffles, where customers get to choose exactly how they want to savour their truffles. Whether it's scattered over a hearty pasta, sprinkled on a succulent steak, or incorporated in a dessert, the options are endless. For those who can't decide, the Italian wine bar will offer suggestions from a repertoire of signatures specifically created to spotlight the white truffle. These include beef tenderloin carpaccio paired with slow cooked organic egg cream, mâche salad, Grana Padano shavings and white truffle; and a dessert of warm Franciacorta sabayon, bourbon vanilla ice cream with white truffle petals.

DiVino, 73 Wyndham Street, Central, Hong Kong; +852 2167 8883

Giando Italian Restaurant

[caption id="attachment_211621" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] Tagliolini Al Tartufo Bianco.[/caption]

Price: Dishes range from HK$488 to HK$528.

White truffles take centre stage at Giando, which has rolled out several new dishes such as Tagliolini Al Tartufo Bianco — a homemade egg tagliolini soaked in chicken broth and cloaked with shaved white truffle — and potato gnocchetti covered in cheese fondue and white truffle. If you're an avid home cook yearning to get your own supply of the prized delicacy, Giando's sister supermarket Mercato Gourmet currently has fresh truffles in stock.

Giando Italian Restaurant, G/F, Starcrest Block 1, 9 Star Street, Wan Chai, Hong Kong; +852 2511 8912

Nicholini’s

[caption id="attachment_211623" align="aligncenter" width="768"] Pan-fried cod fish with carrot purée and white truffles.[/caption]

Price: Tasting menu ranges from HK$1,1688 to HK$2,020. A la carte dishes on the white truffle menu (served during dinnertime) are priced from HK$300.

An institution when it comes to white truffles in Hong Kong, Nicholini’s autumn menu has returned year after year for its spot on delivery of Piedmontese dishes. This year, chef Riccardo has created a dinner tasting menu available in four, five and six courses and showcasing delectable options such as foie gras with Jerusalem artichokes, risotto with sausage and Barolo-veal sauce, and pan-fried cod fish with carrot purée — all deliciously crowned with shaved white truffle. Many of these special dishes are available a la carte, while the option to order truffles by the gram gives diners the freedom to enjoy as they please.

Nicholini’s, Level 8, Conrad Hong Kong, 88 Queensway, Admiralty, Hong Kong; +852 2822 8801

Zuma

[caption id="attachment_211625" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Zuma's seared toro with caviar, wafu sauce and Hana Hojiso.[/caption]

Price: From HK$280

When thinking of Italian white truffles, the first cuisine that comes to mind isn’t usually Japanese. However, the team at Zuma has found innovative ways to bring regional flavours and textures together. A selection of six inventive white truffle dishes are created using fine Japanese techniques and ingredients. Tantalising truffled highlights include seared toro with caviar, thinly sliced sea bass with yuzu and truffle oil, and wild mushrooms on Kamameshi rice infused with truffle butter.

Zuma, Level 5 & 6, Landmark, 15 Queen’s Road Central, Central, Hong Kong; +852 3657 6388

LPM Restaurant & Bar

[caption id="attachment_211626" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Burrata with white truffle shavings.[/caption]

Price: Dishes are HK$838 each, Delicatesse cocktail is HK$110.

French Mediterranean spot LPM Restaurant & Bar embraces white truffle season with five new a la carte dishes and a cocktail — all incorporated with the earthy delicacy. These include a fluffy burrata garnished with white truffle, as well as rigatoni, gnocchi and linguine in cream sauce laced with truffle oil and speckled white truffle shavings. Wash these down with Delicatesse, the eatery's rendition of an Old Fashioned comprising Diplomatico Riserva Rum, East India Sherry and nut bitters, and elevated with truffle honey and a dash of date balsamic vinegar.

LPM Restaurant & Bar, 23-29 Stanley Street Shop 1, 1/F, H, Queen's, Central, Hong Kong; +852 6401 8247

Carbone

[caption id="attachment_211629" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Truffle fettuccine.[/caption]

Price: HK$138 per gram. Dishes start from HK$498.

Another hotspot for white truffles in Hong Kong is Carbone, where guests get to select their preferred pieces, and decide if they want to savour the fungi whole or by the gram. The beloved delicacy stars prominently in several a la carte offerings: Freshly shaved over fettuccine, fluffy eggs on brioche, Carpaccio Piemontese and steaks, as well as turned into a butter for tortellini with sheep milk's ricotta and parmesan.

Carbone, 9/f LKF Tower, 33 Wyndham Street, Central, Hong Kong; +852 2593 2593

Associazione Chianti

[caption id="attachment_211627" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Carne Cruda.[/caption]

Price: From HK$108.

Over at Associazione Chianti in Wan Chai, guests can opt for Alba white truffle shavings to be added to dishes such as Carne Cruda (Tuscan steak tartare) and steaks. For the latter, the beef is prepared with truffle butter instead of the usual house-rub, before being bedecked with white truffle tableside. The restaurant has also introduced new concoctions such as tagliatelle with butter and diners' preferred amount of white truffles (the chef recommends two grams), and creamy truffle polenta with mixed mushrooms.

Associazione Chianti, 15 Ship Street, Wan Chai, Hong Kong; +852 3619 3360

Cucina

[caption id="attachment_211631" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Taiyouran scrambled egg on toasted bread with seared Hokkaido scallops and white truffle.[/caption]

Price: From HK$288 to HK$588.

Indulge in six luxurious truffle dishes during lunch and dinner at Cucina, which is offering the delicacy until 10 January 2021. Its Taste of Luxury repertoire introduces truffle into the likes of Taiyouran scrambled egg with seared Hokkaido scallops, tagliolini with butter and Parmigiano cheese, and potato flan with soft-boiled egg and cheese fondue. Leave some room for dessert: The restaurant serves up an intriguing, aromatic white truffle ice cream with hazelnut sponge and truffle mascarpone.

Cucina, Level 6, Marco Polo Hongkong Hotel, Harbour City, Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon, Hong Kong; +851 2113 0808

LucAle

[caption id="attachment_211630" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Rossini's beef tenderloin.[/caption]

Price: HK$480 to HK$788.

LucAle has put together a special white truffle menu of four a la carte dishes, each boasting at least five grams of the treasured ingredient. Expect to tuck into mouthwatering options of beef tartare with horseradish mayonnaise, egg tagliolini, pumpkin cream with slow-cooked egg, and a decadent beef tenderloin teamed with foie gras. All of these dishes are generously showered with truffle shavings. For maximum enjoyment, add on the restaurant's recommended wine pairings, which are carefully curated to complement the earthy fragrance of the white truffles.

LucAle, Shop A, 100 Third Street, Sai Ying Pun; +852 3611 1842

The post 10 Best Hong Kong Restaurants Serving White Truffles This Season appeared first on Prestige Online - Hong Kong.

People’s understanding of the phrase “expensive food” varies widely. For some, it means salmon, for others truffles and in Japan it might mean luxury fruit. [...]

The post Expensive Foods Only Rich People Can Afford appeared first on Most Expensive Thing.

Chef Angelo Agliano hits his stride with the bright flavours of Italy's Mezzogiorno and other worldly influences, at Tosca Di Angelo.

Operating in fits and starts during Hong Kong’s lengthy pandemic restrictions and navigating diner-number fluctuations during 2019 were just some of the challenges for Angelo Agliano, director of Tosca di Angelo, who took the helm of the Ritz-Carlton Hong Kong’s Italian restaurant last January.

“I brought six of my previous team to work with me,” recalls the Sicilian. “I knew I was going to make a lot of changes and for those staff who are already there, it’s always hard when a new chef comes in and does things differently. I wanted to have the support of those who knew my way of cooking.” Challenges were duly met, according to the Michelin inspectors: the restaurant was awarded one star for the 2020 guide for Hong Kong and Macau.

[caption id="attachment_211209" align="aligncenter" width="766"] Chef Angelo Agliano. (Image: Tosca di Angelo)[/caption]

Adding Agliano’s name to that of the restaurant makes it quite clear to diners that the restaurant has morphed into something significantly different from previous incarnations under other chefs. The menu’s transformation was inevitable: Not only does Agliano have Mediterranean culinary experience that started at the age of 14 but, for more than two decades, he’s also worked in top-tier restaurant kitchens across Europe, and – in recent years – in Hong Kong and Taiwan, developing a deep understanding of local preferences in the world of elevated dining.

Agliano’s skillset includes pointers from Japanese sushi chefs for preparing seafood. “My parents and grandparents went fishing in Sicily and cooked with seafood, but when I studied how Japanese chefs use their knives to slice tuna, I knew I had start again.”

[caption id="attachment_211214" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Tosca di Angelo's interior. (Image: Tosca di Angelo)[/caption]

Working for the late Joël Robuchon in France, Agliano helped lead the launch of L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon dining rooms in Hong Kong and Taiwan. In 2016, after seven years with Robuchon, Agliano deemed it time to launch his own restaurants, first in Taipei then here in Happy Valley. The local dining room Locanda dell’Angelo was, he says, “cosy, with my original Sicilian recipes that were quite traditional in style. When I started at Ritz-Carlton, I was still going there once a week for a while before friends of mine took it over.”

One bright lunchtime this September, the day before Hong Kong’s Covid dining restrictions were relaxed from two diners per table to four, the amuse-bouche of ricotta mousse, topped with Sicilian tomato gazpacho, paired beautifully with a deep gold-hued, bone-dry Vigne Olcru Veuve 2014 pinot noir blanc de noirs. This wine also holds up well against two of this restaurant’s starters with some robust elements: blue lobster – slightly poached with Sicilian peach, cherry-tomato confit and Kaluga Caviar; and the chef’s signature lean delicately-flavoured Fassona beef carpaccio with light mustard, 24-month-aged Parmesan cheese, artichoke and arugula.

[caption id="attachment_211208" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Risotto with sea urchin. (Image: Tosca di Angelo)[/caption]

One of Agliano’s most-talked-about signatures is his risotto with Hokkaido sea urchin. Although the Mediterranean species of this shellfish is occasionally used in pasta dishes, Tosca di Angelo’s version is something completely different. For a start, the Japanese variety is far plumper, sweeter and creamier, with less zinging minerality than its European cousins.

“This dish, for me, is the best that I have made from a combination of ingredients from Italy and Asia,” he enthuses. Agliano concocted its first prototype in Hong Kong while at L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon. “When Robuchon tasted it, he told me that we must have this on the menu.”

Agliano uses a touch of fresh wasabi, and a garnish of either local choy sum or gai lan green vegetables for some bitterness in the flavour balance. “Rice, though, must be from Italy,” he adds, with a smile. “I’ve tried Japanese rice and all other kinds, but it’s just not the same – what can I say? I’m Italian.”

The most unadulterated Sicilian dish on the menu is Mediterranean red-star grouper in Matalotta fish soup with olives, capers and cherry tomatoes. “It comes from memories of my grandmother making this on Sundays for our family,” says Agliano. “But first, I cook it in a Japanese way – with a bamboo steamer over jasmine tea and spices like cloves, star anise and cardamom. In the soup, my ingredients are all from Sicily: Green olives, capers, the tomatoes; the stock comes from the head and bones of the fish.”

[caption id="attachment_211210" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] Matalotta fish soup with Mediterranean red-star grouper, olives, capers and cherry tomatoes. (Image: Tosca di Angelo)[/caption]

Dessert-minded folk: If you’re not excited by the prospect of tiramisu, challenge yourselves – you’ll be rewarded. The contrast of texture within the layered glass bowl is enjoyable, as crunchy biscuit plays against decadent creaminess. And instead of a big kick of fortified Marsala wine, the alcohol content is subtle. The biscuit crunch and a super-light mascarpone top layer, dusted with hand-grated chocolate (rather than powder) are all down to this being an à-la-minute dessert, rather than pre-made. It’s served with an espresso granita. For a much lighter sweet finish, consider the mixed fruit salad with yuzu sorbet and blood-orange coulis.

The cheese trolley also deserves a mention, laden with both cow’s- and sheep’s-milk varieties; from creamy to hard and blue, at least half are Italian and the rest are French.

So how does Agliano sum up his cuisine now and in the future? “I always see French cuisine as ‘square’ – Japanese cooking is like that, too: very ordered and careful,” he reflects. “Italian chefs are more like a circle – we don’t like to measure quantities or look at timings too much. I’ve worked in French and Italian restaurants and in Asia, so I have a mixed way of thinking in my kitchen. I don’t want people I work with to feel like machines; I want them to be creative and feel part of the team – and make everything as if they’re serving it for their family. That’s one of the things I took from my time with Robouchon.

[caption id="attachment_211212" align="aligncenter" width="783"] To-die-for tiramisu. (Image: Tosca di Angelo)[/caption]

“I want people to have a dynamic experience here,” he says. “It took us a year to really find our way with our menu. We had to open and close a few times since the beginning of the year. But from April when we re-opened we’ve been full and had very positive feedback from customers who hadn’t been here for a few years.”

Other pandemic responses included re-jigging a substantial take-away menu as demand increased; and launching a Cook at Home programme – to send chefs from the restaurant to prepare and serve a Tosca di Angelo-level meal at a requested residence – which has proved so popular it’s set to continue.

“I really want to transmit something exciting to those who eat my food,” says Chef Angelo of his wider aspirations for this restaurant, “and also to the chefs in my kitchen.”

The post Chef Angelo Agliano Serves Up Bold, Beautiful Italian Flavours at Tosca Di Angelo appeared first on Prestige Online - Hong Kong.

Cafe culture has long been associated with life in France but in many countries, cafes are more than places to have a libation and socialise. They have been the birthplace of major iconic cultural works.

JK Rowling penned Harry Potter in Edinburgh’s Elephant House, Hemingway wrote A Movable Feast at Paris’ Closerie des Lilas, while inspiration for international hit Garota de Ipanema (The Girl From Ipanema) came from a Brazilian girl passing by a Rio de Janeiro bar leading to the beach.

Here, we gather 5 fascinating and iconic cafes and restaurants that inspired today’s most renowned works.

The Elephant House: Harry Potter, by JK Rowling

[caption id="attachment_211118" align="alignnone" width="960"] (Image: The Elephant House)[/caption]

Without the Elephant House pub in Edinburgh, Scotland, the Harry Potter saga may not have seen the light of day. Most of the early novels of the saga were penned in this Scottish pub with a red facade. JK Rowling sat in the back room overlooking the Edinburgh castle, drafting the characters and the whole universe that became an international blockbuster when first published in 1997.

Closerie des Lilas: A Movable Feast, by Ernest Hemingway

[caption id="attachment_211117" align="alignnone" width="1024"] (Image: Closerie des Lilas)[/caption]

This autobiographical tale by Ernest Hemingway came out after the writer’s death. The novel narrates the first few years that Hemingway spent in Paris during the 1920s. It offers readers a trip through the City of Lights and its most iconic neighborhoods from rue Mouffetard, to Brasserie Lipp and the Les Deux Magots café in Saint-Germain-des-Prés.

But it’s in the Montparnasse neighborhood that Ernest Hemingway actually wrote A Movable Feast at Closerie des Lilas, a café-restaurant where painters like Renoir and Monet gathered in the mid 19th century. On a side note, Closerie des Lilas is also where F. Scott Fitzgerald asked Hemingway to read The Great Gatsby before publication.

Café de Flore: Being and Nothingness, by Jean-Paul Sartre

[caption id="attachment_211119" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] (Image: Café de Flore)[/caption]

If Parisian Café de Flore had been shut down, would French philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre have produced all of his iconic texts? In an upper room of this historic Saint-Germain-des-Prés café, the French writer outlined drafts of Being and Nothingness, published in 1943. Not far from Sartre, at a table that faced him, his partner Simone de Beauvoir drafted what would go on to become her first hit novel, She Came to Stay.

Place du Forum: Café Terrace at night, by Vincent Van Gogh

[caption id="attachment_211121" align="aligncenter" width="768"] (Image: Bérangère Chatelain)[/caption]

It’s a must see for every tourist visiting Arles in the south of France. Located on the Place du Forum, just next to Nord Pinus hotel, Van Gogh made this cafe immortal in 1888. At the time, it was called “The Terrace.” The Dutch painter set his easel on the northeastern corner of the Place du Forum and depicted the warm end-of summer atmosphere of this welcoming French café.

Veloso: Garota de Ipanema, by Antonio Carlos Jobim and Vinicius de Moraes

[caption id="attachment_211122" align="aligncenter" width="819"] (Image: Veloso)[/caption]

The most well-known bossa nova tune was written in 1962 in a Rio de Janeiro café called Veloso. Music composer Antonio Carlos Jobim and poet Vinicius de Moraes regularly met there. They both drew inspiration from a young Brazilian woman who used to pass by the bar’s terrace.

Garota de Ipanema became an international hit thanks to Stan Getz and Joao Gilberto’s adaptation in English two years later. The Girl from Ipanema, sung by Astrud Gilberto, is one of the most played songs worldwide, and the legend started in a carioca bar.

The post Iconic Cafés and Restaurants That Inspired Some of the World’s Most Renowned Works appeared first on Prestige Online - Hong Kong.

Chocolate might soon become a guilt-free indulgence.

From vegan to lactose-free and sugar free alternatives, a growing number of artisan chocolate-makers in France are crafting the chocolate of tomorrow when removing the very ingredients that usually satisfy our taste for sugar and fat. And they're replacing these with natural ingredients such as fruit, avocado oil and soy milk.

It took Meilleur Ouvrier de France (Best Craftsman in France), Nicolas Cloiseau, nine months to develop his 100 percent plant-based collection. That was back in 2018, when the head chocolatier of France's La Maison du Chocolat was the first big name to shake things up in the chocolate world. The starting idea was simple: To concoct a chocolate selection every bit as delicious as those usually hailing from La Maison du Chocolat, but without using even a hint of cream or butter in the ganaches.

[caption id="attachment_211086" align="alignnone" width="1024"] La Maison du Chocolat unveiled its first collection of plant-based chocolates in 2018. (Image: La Maison du Chocolat)[/caption]

Accompanied by a nutritionist, Nicolas Cloiseau developed recipes for five ganaches that only use natural ingredients to achieve the perfect taste and texture of a chocolate. As for sugar, Chef Cloiseau looked to honey and maple syrup to deliver just the right hit of sweetness.

[inline_related_article article_id="211048,210418"]

Fruit, plants, infusions

When crafting the chocolate of tomorrow, chefs above all draw on the rich flavours and aromas of nature to help them perfect the taste and texture of a ganache. Nicolas Cloiseau uses enough quantities to round out his creations to perfection, reaching up to 74 percent in treats such as his squash seed praline. Whether as pulp, juice or nectar, fruit is used in all kinds of ways and is often matched with spices. Turmeric, for example, is combined with mango to bring an acidic hint to a dark ganache, while aloe vera is twinned with green apple, and pomegranate is combined with raspberry and aronia berry juices. Perhaps the most unusual addition is propolis, a resinous substance produced by honeybees and used to build and maintain the hive.

At Paris-based Edwart Chocolatier, Edwin Yansané also works with fruit purées, as well as infusions. His debut vegan selection features hibiscus and pepper, as well as fresh, just-roasted coffee.

"The ganaches were a real challenge! With my team, we had to get really creative to find and work with a plant-based base capable of holding all the flavours, even the most subtle," explains the Edwart Chocolatier founder. His box of 25 chocolates costs €28 (HK$256).

[caption id="attachment_211088" align="alignnone" width="819"] The first vegan selection from Edwart Chocolatier. (Image: Edwart Chocolatier)[/caption]

From soy milk to avocado oil

To replace cream — since no butter was used in his creations — chocolate-maker Edwin Yansané decided to use soy milk to get a creamy and silky consistency. The young artisan carried out various tests with coconut milk, oat milk, almond milk and plant-based mascarpone.

For his part, Nicolas Cloiseau is working on another idea in the form an upcoming vegan chocolate selection. Unveiled back in January, the collection uses avocado oil to replace animal fats in the "La Vie en Vert" collection, due early 2021. The range includes concoctions featuring Burgundy blackcurrant, passion fruit and raspberry purée. The box is priced €27 for 16 chocolates (HK$247).

Playing with proportions

To make a lactose-free chocolate spread, Pierre Chauvet decided to increase the percentage of hazelnuts in his product to obtain sufficient oil and an adequate emulsion. The chocolatier, based in Aubenas in France's south-eastern Ardèche region, chose to use 60 percent hazelnuts compared to the usual 43 percent.

"The more you increase the proportion, the greater the creaminess," explains the chocolate-maker. Indeed, since the nut already contains fat, all you have to do is prepare a praline — i.e., caramelise the nuts (almonds, hazelnuts, pecans) then blend them up. Then, after a few seconds, an oil rises to the surface transforming the powder into a paste.

[caption id="attachment_211087" align="aligncenter" width="769"] 'Délices d'Arthur' chocolate spread by Pierre Chauvet. (Image: Pierre Chauet/ AFP)[/caption]

"Generally, we would use soy lecithin to make lactose-free options. But I didn't want to use that. And, in these recipes, you only use 10 to 25% nuts," explains Pierre Chauvet, who kept costs down by using hazelnuts from the Middle East rather than from Italy's Piedmont region. The spread costs €7.90 per 110g jar (HK$72).

La Maison du Chocolat also made use of the hazelnut and its oil content to perfect the texture of its first plant-based collection. Alongside this, Nicolas Cloiseau uses chicory fibre, also being put to use in the "La Vie en Vert" collection.

Pierre Chauvet isn't stopping at the lactose-fee spread, and is now working on a range of lactose-free ganaches. "Instead of milk, we add water, coconut milk, couverture chocolate, cocoa. Everything still needs to be gauged," explains the chocolate-maker.

Indeed, it seems that the chocolate of tomorrow still has plenty of surprises in store.

(Main image: La Maison du Chocolat; Featured image: Tetiana Bykovets/ Unsplash)

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Vegan eggs are all set to join the ever-growing ranks of plant-based foods.

With World Egg Day taking place on October 13, an Indian start-up is making headlines with a food innovation that may shock some purist fans of traditional omelettes. It has created a vegan egg, made exclusively from vegetable proteins. And to top it all off, this 'egg' is...liquid.

The egg is one of the most commonly consumed foods in the world. Internationally, 145 eggs are consumed per capita per year, according to the FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations).

[caption id="attachment_211049" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Several innovators are looking to create vegan eggs. (Image: Guido Kirchner/ DPA/ AFP)[/caption]

With changes in eating habits and the growing success of the flexitarian diet, this staple food has not escaped notice from researchers and innovators looking to produce an alternative without animal protein. The worldwide success of meatless patties designed to imitate beef, made famous by American start-ups Impossible Foods and Beyond Meat, has inevitably created interest in making versions of other foods without animal proteins. In India in particular, a young company has made a vegan egg its flagship product.

Evo Foods has developed a recipe based on vegetable protein to make an egg without animal protein. The start-up recognises that the texture of its innovation is softer than that of an ordinary egg. And a major difference: The 'egg' is totally liquid. The process involves the extraction of proteins from legumes, which are then fermented before being injected with texture agents. The 'egg' can be kept in the refrigerator for six months.

[caption id="attachment_211051" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] An omelette made with Evo Foods' vegan eggs. (Image: Evo Foods)[/caption]

The vegan eggs, which have already gathered American investment, are to be launched in the United States in April 2021.

Is it just another food innovation? Not necessarily. In France, where vegans represent only 0.5 percent of the population according to estimates by the firm Xerfi, there are also efforts underway to create eggs without any involvement of a chicken. Two female biology students have made 50 or so attempts to create an 'egg' from ingredients of vegetable and mineral origin. Code name for their project: The Merveilloeufs.

(Main image: Erol Ahmed/ Unsplash; Featured image: Joseph Gonzalez)

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Young butcher Victor Dumas is convinced that his fellow French counterparts wield their knives unlike any other, and is hoping the UN will agree they deserve pride of place at the UNESCO global culinary table.

Dumas, 21, has been touring France for the past year in a campaign to win recognition of his skills from the UNESCO cultural agency, which curates a list of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

"There's a really distinct way of carving in France," he told AFP in Paris, where he met with chefs as well as fellow butchers known for their dedication to using everything from "nose to tail".

[caption id="attachment_210705" align="alignnone" width="1024"] French butcher Victor Dumas at work. (Image: Antoine Bouthier/ AFP)[/caption]

Travelling to Belfast for the World Butchers' Challenge in 2018, where he took third prize in the apprentice category, made him realise the French had elevated the age-old craft of carving up animals to an art.

"In a beef carcass, we're going to come up with 40 different cuts... whereas others aren't going to make the most of the meat" and settle for just five or six pieces, Dumas said.

He wants French butchering to be honoured alongside Chinese calligraphy, Tinian marble-carving and Kazakh yurt construction on the UNESCO list. The distinction would bring a welcome boost as the number of French artisan butchers has been dwindling, in part reflecting a social shift towards eating less meat.

But Dumas does not think his profession is in danger. "People will always need to eat, and more and more are seeking out quality -- we saw this during the virus lockdown," when getting dinner on the table every night suddenly became a preoccupation for millions.

[caption id="attachment_210706" align="alignnone" width="1024"] An array of meats. (Image: Kyle Mackie/ Unsplash)[/caption]

A butcher's calling

Dumas says he knew his destiny when he was just five, recalling the "human contact and sharing" when neighbours would join his family-butchered animals at their farm in the rolling hills east of Lyon in southeast France. His job was to crank the hand grinder for making sausages.

"When we would kill a pig, it was our annual party," he said. "It was incredibly festive, and in one day we would fill the entire larder."

He began his studies at 15 and is now apprenticing to learn the secrets of charcuterie and other pork delicacies in Aix-les-Bains in the French Alps.

These days, wearing his crisp white jacket embroidered with "Victor a l'Unesco", the butcher can carve and mount a rack of lamb, the quintessential centrepiece of a fancy Sunday lunch, in under 10 minutes. He is already preparing to compete in the world championships in California next year, when he also aims to officially submit his UNESCO application.

[caption id="attachment_210708" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] Butcher Victor Dumas is determined to achieve UNESCO recognition. (Image: Victor Dumas/ Facebook)[/caption]

"Victor represents all the butchers who adapt according to tastes and seasons," said Mathieu Pecqueur, head of the Culture Viande industry body.

"The French art of preparing meat is recognised in countries worldwide," added Dominique Langlois, president of the Interbev meat and livestock association.

"In China, where French beef has just entered the market, we're being asked to help train people," he said, referring to Beijing's recent lifting of a longstanding ban in the wake of the "mad cow" disease scare. He hailed Dumas's campaign, vowing to support the UNESCO bid "for the next several years if we have to."

(Main and featured images: Victor Dumas/ Facebook)

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