Food for Thought with Alex Bielak- Belgian Delights, Canadian lists

Pierre Marcolini - Grand Cru chocolate bar

Funny how things turn out: In addition to the desired professional outcomes, my recent four-day business trip to Belgium was full of unexpected culinary references and delights.

First off, the Air Canada in-flight magazine was the annual food issue. I love the breadth of content and the writing, and look forward to it each year: As usual En Route Magazine featured their take on the year’s best new Canadian restaurants. The top ten included no less than 6 eateries in Toronto, and two each in Calgary and Montreal. I really have to wonder, despite a long list of contributors to the deliberations (and a 2010 top ten place for Quatrefoil in Dundas), whether restaurants outside of the major metropolitan areas get sufficient consideration. 

A similar list recently published by Macleans (The 50 Best Restaurants in Canada) had 12 restaurants in Toronto listed, with another two in Ottawa completing their list for ALL of Ontario! That may say something about the ascendance of Toronto as a

Food for Thought with Alex Bielak- Object of Desire #1

Object of Desire #1 – The Thermomix

Dear Santa,

Just saying, Christmas is coming and I feel I’ve been really nice. I’ll keep my list short: I want a Thermomix.

A couple of years back, one of my cooking buddies, Tom, gave me a great present. It was a book by René Redzepi, the chef behind the Noma cookbook. That might not mean much to you Santa, but Noma in Copenhagen had just been rated the top restaurant in the world in the prestigious San Pellegrino awards, knocking the iconic El Bulli off its perennial perch. It was clearly a well-merited award as they made it a hat-trick this year.

The book, “Time and Place in Nordic Cuisine” is a feast for the eyes. It’s filled with stunning photos and recipes calling for eclectic ingredients such as truffles from Gotland, hay (yes, you read that right – the reindeer would feel at home), complete chicken skins, Swedish goats butter and goosefoot leaves (whatever they are). The instructions are precise and many recipes call for processing in a Thermomix.