 Since a couple of months, it is legal and possible to buy insects for food in Zwitzerland. You can actually jump into a supermarket and buy some mealworm patties or locust falafel. Can you imagine? Some years ago, when I went to the famous NOMA restaurant in Copenhagen, I had the pleasure to eat ants and crickets, So I am ok about eating bugs.. yeah BUGS!  Mealworm Snacks I was invited by Visit Zürich to their food week called Food Zürich. And one of the events I signed up for was the "Essento Dinner - Insekten Genuss" by Pfefferbeere. An Insects Dinner, A full 5 course dinner just using insects. That sounds exciting, right? The dinner was in a beautiful building, looked like we were in the theater backstage: Raw walls, props, paintings. A very used Atelier. Beautiful. Waiting for us was a table serving Marius Blanco 2016 and 3 kinds of insects: Mealworms with salt, crickets and locust with curry powder. They were exquisite and super crunchy. like chips or popcorn.  It was an open kitchen, so we could see the guys from Pfefferbeeren work. The first course was pickled quail egg with mealworm "soil", watercress and balsamic pearls. It was a perfect combination of soft and crunchy. The soil was delicious, but it was weird to see the little parts of the worms while eating them. Still, mouth-watering. Our Sommelier of the evening, Thierry, paired this dish with a swiss wine Chasselas Cru de Champrevéyres, Neuchâtel. Delicately fruity, flowery and silky.  While we were finishing our wine, the kitchen was already busy. They were making little nests that would hold the mealworm and locust soup and next to it, the black mealworm panisse over rape butter. This was absolutely my favorite dish of the evening. The little "brownies" were salty and crunchy outside and soft like melted cheese inside. I wish i had a bucket full of those while watching a movie... just WOW. We had the same wine as pairing, the sommelier chose this wine because it is so versatile that fits this two courses. a really good match.  And now... There was loads of smoke coming from the plating table. I had to run quickly there to see the magic happening. It reminded me the time I had dinner at the chefs table in Maaemo. loads of Nitrogen making a thick mysterious mist.  This course was kohlrabi ravioli filled with peas cricket and a forest berries gel. I loved the idea of not using pasta to make this ravioli. I will definitely try to recreate this at home. Stay tuned! The wine pairing for this course was Tremenda from Alicante. Beautiful wine, intensive, with a hint of berries... very elegant.   Some logs starting to arrive and the kitchen was filled with rosemary scent. The grilled locust pinchos were sticking of the logs. There were 3 kinds of beauties: BBQ, Tahini and rosemary. My fave was BBQ. On the side: rosemary potato boats, hazelnut-mayo-salsa and quark. They were served all together in the table, so I am showing you the potato boats still in the pan ;)  The wine of choice was a Petit Verdot from Alicante as well, a strong and intensive wine. My favorite of the night. you could taste a flavour of dark berries in this one.   The cooks started looking like mad scientists and it was time for dessert. Nitrogen clouds started filling the room and we all started making pictures, videos, instagram stories and just going Ohhh-Ahhh. This was ice cream in the making.  Meanwhile the Barolo di Villa a very sweet but delish Recioto della Valpolicella appeared in the table and we couldn't wait for the dessert. It was a brownie with flower pollen and mealworms with a cricket covered in caramel on top. A mealworm-nut ice cream next to it. When we turned around there was spider webs made out of cotton candy and sweet crunchy locusts where hanging from them.  A delicious perfect evening that wasn't missing meat, it tasted marvellous and even tho it was weird to see little legs and heads, it was adventurous and exciting. I cant wait until there is legal to buy insects in Germany.
Thanks again Visit Zurich for let me be part of this gorgeous event! #sponsored
1 Comment
"Sei du und ein Bisschen Côtes du Rhônes" (Be yourself and a bit Côtes du Rhônes)
I was so happy when I got the invite to the last Food Clash Canteen at Berlin Food Week 2016 Hosted by Côtes du Rhônes. A 5 course dinner paired with their awesome wines.
The evening started with a welcome speech from the super charismatic Carine Patricio, our sommelier, while we enjoyed the aperitive Lirac. 
What a great Line-Up
Salat Nizza - Brasserie Colette by Tim Raue
Suddenly all the people on stage started plating the first course: "Salat Nizza" a signature dish from Brasserie Colette. It is a Tuna sashimi with green beans drizzled a delicate sardines mayonnaise. Made by Dominik Obermeier from Brasserie Colette by Tim Raue.
The pairing for this course was a Rhônes wine: Condrieu, a white wine with notes of violet and peaches. 
St. Jacques - Morsch
Once we finished the entree, the cooks started waltzing on stage, preparing the next entree: "Saint Jacques, Red beets and fermented Elderberries" by Laurens Friedl.
This Kreuzberger, started his career in the 2-michellin-stars "Fischers Fritz" followed by the 3-michelin-star "Bareiss". Now he is in "Morsh" making beautiful dishes like this one... My favorite of the night, that was paired with strong dry red wine Grenache Noir "Rasteau". 
VAU VAU VAU... Remember whenI visited VAU Earlier this year? Sadly the oldest Michelin Star restaurant closed its doors 2 months ago, But we all got to enjoy a course by VAU´s KoljaKleeberg: "Confit Cod in a Porcini Fond with lemon and Marjoram" paired with a Rhône´s "Saint-Joseph".
Lamb & Ratatouille - Le Faubourg
French Flair was brought by Felix Mielke, Head Chef at Sofitel´s Le Faubourg, With his "Lamb and Ratatouille with Peperoni, Black Garlic, Miso and Hazelnuts" that was perfectly paired with "Côte-Rôtie"
And while we were waiting for the dessert to be plated, we jumped in the photobooth and made some funny pictures, had some more wine and posted some funny snapstories and instastories. I was sitting in the best table of all! <3 
Once we returned to our table, the awesome Anna Plagens was ready plating the dessert: "Bisous Plutonien", a Crème Brûlée with Cardamom, Orange and Arlette Croustillante.
Anna is one of the owners of my favorite pastry shop in Berlin: Du Bonheur. This tiny super cute place is just 1 minute walk from my office and it got me soooo hooked on their beautiful french delicacies. it was paired with a "Gigondas" from Rhônes and coffee from Kaffekirsche. 
Here you can check the video from the evening. Sadly it was a bit dark and hard to film... but you can get a peek of that amazing meal! Thanks Côtes du Rhônes, Berlin Food Week and ff.K for this great experience!
 Sriracha glazed Wings Korean style, sweet and spicy - Our Favorite of that day America has the Olsen Twins, and Berlin Food scene has the Power Twins Sophia & Maria. From collaborating with Mit Vergnuegen to This is Jane Wayne and much more! But we were all wondering: When are they going to start something on their own? And after months of planning and thinking, together with Kai, IN SEARCH OF was born. But IN SEARCH OF is more than a food blog, but lifestyle, travel, Fashion, Fitness, you name it! When my partner in crime Ailine, told me about the event, I was like woooohhhooo! Death by Burrito with the twins.. best thing to do on a sunny saturday afternoon in Berlin. We went for some shopping first and walked our way to the PopUp Restaurant.  Sophia & Maria or Maria & Sophia... More pictures on their Facebook Page We got way too early, but that meant: more dränks! We were very excited about This Mexican Asian Streetfood fusion. The menu this day was brought to us by Berlin's streetfood legend Truong Phuong aka Monsieur Dope (District Mot),Diana Quach (DQ, UrbanHunger) and Roberto Delucio (Kantine Kohlmann) And I have to say, from now on I will make only wonton nachos! they were delicious! As the hunger was huge after shopping, we ordered everything on the menu, besides the corn. And it was indeed enough food for us 2. Our favorites were The Sriracha Wings and The Peking Duck Carnitas, though all the food was very good!  Guacamole & Sesame Wonton chips with avocado and pickled onions  Kimchi Quesadillas - Homemade Kimchi, 4 cheeses, pico de gallo and Coriander cream  Sunglasses Weather  Party Party Punch (passion fruit, lime & ginger) for me and Flower Power(Hibiscus Tequila, agave and lime) for Ailine  Hoisin Shrimps Tacos & Shaking Tenderloin Beef Tacos  Beautiful Sunny day in Kreuzberg Berlin  Peking Duck Carnita Nachos  Check out their Facebook Page for further events. But as you see in this poster, the next event is this weekend with Gourment Vegan followed by Caribbean Food the 16th of April, Oyster Bar (yummieeee!) the 23rd-24th April and ending with an Open Air on May 1st!
Dont miss it and add them to your Calendar! Ahoi! |
Categories
All
Archives
June 2021
AuthorsI am Andrea, or as my friends call me, Jinx. I am a foodie living in Berlin, eating my way through life. Here are my recipes, cooking events, dining experiences and more... |
RSS Feed
