When I was a little boy, I was member of a scout organisation and one of my favourite memories is harvesting chestnuts. Sometimes we made an animals out them but mostly we harvested them for wild animals living in the nearby nature reserve as we were working closely with the forest guard and once a…
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Last week, we were strolling through the wet markets in Singapore and came across a citrus fruit which had a skin that made me think of a brain. We got so excited and made jokes about it until the shopkeeper asked “Do you know what is it?” We froze and looked at each other, laughed…
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Originally from France, Antoine has lived in Indonesia for over 20 years. Chef Antoine researched and developed the cuisine concept behind Kaum Restaurant, which I worked on the opening in Hong Kong. He loves his batik shirts and his nickname is the Chef in Batik! Let’s learn a little more about Antoine… Was there a…
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I was introduced to quince when I was living in London and it became one of my favourite fruits. Mmm…poached quince and vanilla as a dessert..this is stuff of dreams! After moving to Asia, I realised I hadn’t had one recently until I had a quince presented to me in the form of tea during…
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Recently on a business trip to Bali I was introduced to a pod with an interesting shape, weird in texture but with a surprisingly fruity, sweet and sour flavour. This fascinating sticky, fleshy and juicy pod came from the tamarind tree. It has been said that people either love it or hate it. Have you…
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Lately, I have been invited to create beverage programs to compliment Chinese cuisines and although I have lived in Asia and come across the Chinese style of dining I still have a lot to learn about the culture. Living in Singapore for almost six years has definitely exposed me to the culture in more depth…
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I love apples! All kinds of apples! So when I moved to Asia I was amazed when I found a large brown-ish fruit with the look and texture of an apple. I originally mistook it as a type of pear however with more research I found that it originates from East Asia, mostly associated with…
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I am sure that we all know the condiments commonly used in cooking and seasoning that are also present at pretty much every dining table called salt and pepper. Recently, I was looking at one of the two mills sitting at the table and asked my son “what do you know about them?” – well…
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On my recent trip to Europe I had breakfast in Dubai and the local specialty was fresh dates with cereals and milk. It was a little bit unexpected to me, but as you know I love to look at different cultures, their history and traditions to explore. As I nibbled on fresh dates I realised…
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My earliest childhood memories have always been associated with a lot of food, games at the local shows, fairy tales and of course gifts. Having said that I also have a lot of memories about tropical fruits. As you know, I am originally from the Czech Republic and because of that we did not get…
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