Chef Rene Redzepi – Jumping Seven Places up the Culinary World

By: Matthew Goudge

Blumenthal and Adria should watch out, Chef Rene Redzepi is steadily gaining his momentum. Jumping seven places up El Pellegrino World’s Best 50 Restaurants list is no small feat. The restaurant also received the Chef’s Choice 2009 award. One can say that this is just as well as people could expect. After all, people are flocking to Noma these days. It is the most popular restaurant in Denmark. The genius behind this is none other than its chef and owner, Chef Rene Redzepi.

Let’s Get to Know the Chef

Noma’s chef is considered to be one of the most influential chefs in the world. His cooking practically defines Nordic cuisine. With his modern style of cooking, one can say that he has redefined how people perceive this form of European cuisine. As the head chef of Noma, he has managed to earn Michelin stars for the restaurant.
Chef Rene Redzepi is a traditionalist when it comes to his cooking. He has always been fascinated with traditional Nordic cuisine. He loves the different flairs and flavors of various regions. Although he continually draws ideas from cultural cooking, he manages to give these traditional cuisines his own unique style. Over the years, he has adopted modern techniques, and this shows in how he prepares his dishes. You can say that he is a fairly innovative and inventive chef – just as you would expect from the chef and owner of one of the world’s best restaurants.

How He Got Into Cooking

Noma’s chef had a classic culinary education and training. In 1993, he started working inside the kitchens of Pierre Andre, a restaurant in Copenhagen. After a stint in this restaurant, he moved from one dining establishment into another. He did not work in just any restaurant; he worked in some of the best restaurants in the world. He slaved away in the kitchens of Le Jardin Des Sens, the French Laundry and the famous El Bulli. With his experience, it is not really surprising that he and his restaurant, Noma, has managed to land the third spot in this year’s El Pellegrino World’s 50 Best Restaurants list.
Now, Noma is the testament to the amazing skills of its owner and chef, Rene Redzepi. Over the years, this restaurant has continuously received awards and accolades from all over the world. If you are looking to try genuine Nordic cooking, you should definitely try Noma. You will be surprised at the selection of dishes they have to offer. It is surprising how Redzepi manages to unearth even the long-lost Nordic recipes. Needless to say, Noma doesn’t fail to meet expectations.           

About the Author:

Chef Matthew, the owner of ProChef360 Blog, is an expert in culinary arts.
He is after all an outstanding chef, having had worked in some of the finest resorts, hotels and restaurants in the world.
His interest, however, in social media was awakened when he started his own websites.

He endeavored to discover the secrets behind generating huge traffic and leads for his websites.
He studied the secrets behind generating sales by piggy-backing on high-traffic social media sites.
Over time, he has developed 77 techniques on how to generate huge amount of traffic through the use of social media.

Over the years, he took it upon himself to learn everything he can about social media.

Articles Source:http://lifestyle.ezinemark.com/chef-rene-redzepi-jumping-seven-places-up-the-culinary-world-7d2e3f2f2b8c.html
           

Chef David Chang – The Rebel Who Offers Affordable Gourmet Food

Chefs have their favorite ingredients.  It is also inevitable that they would develop a penchant for cooking specific dishes.  There are chefs who develop a liking for organic ingredients and dishes.  There are those who develop preference for meat dishes.  Now, Momofuku Ssam Bar’s chef, David Chang, certainly likes his meats.  He is what you would call a meathead chef.  If you love veggies, you probably wouldn’t like his cooking much.  You will likely spend considerable minutes frowning over his menu before you would promptly leave.  However, to people who love meat dishes, this chef is a culinary god.

Don’t get him wrong though, he does use other ingredients and he also prepares fish and vegetable dishes.  It’s just that he loves preparing and cooking meat dishes.  He is a genius at it.  He should be.  His restaurant Momofuku Ssam Bar wouldn’t have won the 31^st spot in El Pellegrino World’s 50 Best Restaurants if he is a mediocre chef.  You can probably liken Chef Chang to Fergus Henderson.  Like the world-famous chef, Chang is also adept at creating thick and savory dishes.  His culinary creations can be addicting.  He loves experimenting with fusion cuisine, and he is quite good at mixing ingredients and culinary techniques.

Chef David Chang knows how to respect cultures and take the best from them.  He is an expert on this.  After all, he is a Korean who grew up in Washington D.C.  It is fairly common for him to draw inspiration from his Korean background.  He combines Korean traditional cooking with modern cooking.

Before the creation of Momofuku Ssam Bar, Chef Chang indulged in modest cooking.  This changed after he opened his restaurant.  The operation took on a larger scale.  Demands were bigger and the stakes were even bigger.  Now, he has a world-class operation.  Accordingly, he has to push his limits.  He has to test deeper waters, and he needs to be more ambitious than ever.  All his past efforts have certainly paid off.  Landing the 31^st spot wasn’t easy, but he managed to do so anyway.  It’s just fitting for a culinary rebel.

Chef David Chang has definitely something to offer to his customers.  Not a huge fan of haute cuisine and expensive menu, he carved out a middle ground where he offers gourmet but affordable food.  His restaurant is definitely something else.  It is not McDonalds, but the food is certainly affordable.  This is certainly surprising.  We can only conclude that Momofuku Ssam Bar’s chef has more surprises up his sleeves.

Image Source:  koreanbeacon.com ; bonappetempt.com

Top Chef Winners – Where Are They Now?

On the 25^th of February, Hosea Rosenberg was declared winner of Top Chef.  This was the fifth season of this world-famous show.  It doesn’t matter if you are residing outside the United States; you probably know what the show is.  It’s hard not to know.  It’s even harder not to take notice.  These winners end up with $100,000.  But does this mean that he or she is bound to join the ranks of Ferran Adria and Alain Ducasse anytime soon?  Where are the other winners?  What has happened to them?

Harold Dieterle (First Season Winner)

Harold was the winner of the first season of Top Chef.  Many would agree that he is the most successful of all the show’s winners.  Using the money he won from the show, he opened his own restaurant in New York, the Perilla.  Over the last two years, this dining establishment has received steadily good reviews.  He has been able to keep his business running since 2007.  Curiously, he has shunned the limelight since he won the title.  He refuses to attend reunions, and he deliberately avoids association to the show.

Ilan Hall (Second Season Winner)

Prior to being Top Chef second season winner, Ilan was working at Casa Mono.  After winning the prize, he left the restaurant and went on a culinary exile.  He worked and traveled abroad before he finally settled in Los Angeles.  He worked as a private chef before he finally opened his own restaurant, The Gorbles.

Hung Huynh (Third Season Winner)

Prior to joining Top Chef, Hung Huynh worked as Guy Savoy’s executive sous chef.  After leaving the show, he accepted an executive chef position at Solo, a Mediterranean restaurant located in New York.  He was supposed to be the temporary chef, but his temporary position has seemingly lasted for more than six months now.  However, he does intend to set up his own restaurant where he would offer Asian-Mediterranean cuisine.

Stephanie Izard (Fourth Season Winner)

Stephanie has followed in the footsteps of the previous winners.  She intends to open her own Chicago restaurant, The Drunken Goat.  It is scheduled to open in November of this year.  She intends to offer moderately-priced Mediterranean cuisine.

Top Chef has more seasons to go.  We can only wonder what will happen to the next winners.  Will they live up to the expectations?  What about Hosea Rosenberg?  Will he open his own restaurant?  Will any of these winners join the ranks of the culinary masters one day – or will they always just be the “once-upon-a-time” Top Chef winners?