January food news: editor’s picks
O5Tea, Vancouver, Canada
While tea has been the new coffee for a few years now, at Vancouver's O5Tea bar, it's the new cocktail. Here patrons can perch on high stools and sip rare brews with tinctures at a Christian Woo-designed bar made of torched and oiled re-claimed Douglas fir. In a West Coast infused ode to Zen modernism - complete with ambient lighting by Molo Design, black stained pine walls and polished concrete floors - patrons can enjoy a variety of naturally sourced terroir based teas, which are almost as international as the Mexican/Japanese/Canadian/Russian team that runs the place. Come for a late night sip, and you may even get to brew chai yourself from the other side of the bar.
2208 West 4th Avenue, Vancouver, BC; tel: 1.604.558.0500; www.o5tea.com
Writer: Hadani Ditmars
O5Tea, Vancouver, Canada
While tea has been the new coffee for a few years now, at Vancouver's O5Tea bar, it's the new cocktail. Here patrons can perch on high stools and sip rare brews with tinctures at a Christian Woo-designed bar made of torched and oiled re-claimed Douglas fir. In a West Coast infused ode to Zen modernism - complete with ambient lighting by Molo Design, black stained pine walls and polished concrete floors - patrons can enjoy a variety of naturally sourced terroir based teas, which are almost as international as the Mexican/Japanese/Canadian/Russian team that runs the place. Come for a late night sip, and you may even get to brew chai yourself from the other side of the bar.
2208 West 4th Avenue, Vancouver, BC; tel: 1.604.558.0500; www.o5tea.com
Writer: Hadani Ditmars
Tumi Mixology Set
With the holiday hangovers finally fading we are ready to look a glass of vodka in the face again, especially on hearing that the vodka wizards at Ketel One have teamed up with luggage-makers Tumi to create a limited edition mixology set. One part travel, two parts cocktail, the sleek black case is crafted by hand in Italy from ballistic nylon, leather, nickel hardware and Poplar wood. Housed inside are two bottles of Ketel One along with a generous collection of bar accessories including a beech-wood cutting board, shaker, ice bucket, vermouth spritzer and martini glasses. And we can recommend quenching your thirst with the Tumi Jet Set Sipper, a refreshing concoction of vodka, ginger beer, cranberry and limejuice with a splash of orange bitters.
Mixology set, $3,995, www.tumi.com
Writer: Jessica Klingelfuss
Aquim Chocolate Boutique, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Rio de Janeiro saw the opening of its first high-end retail destination, Village Mall, in the up-scaling Barra da Tijuca neighbourhood last December. With it came an assortment of lavish shops - Louis Vuitton and Gucci to name but two - and one that caught our eye: the first deluxe chocolate boutique from our favourite equatorial chocolatiers, Aquim. After collaborating with architect Oscar Niemeyer to create the 'Q0' chocolate bar, which comes presented in an exclusive chocolate box of which no more than 150 batches are produced annually, Aquim's success in the field of chocolate was sealed. To coincide with the opening of their first stand alone chocolate shop, Aquim have launched a brand new range of 'Q' chocolates with ambitious plans to have them reach European shores later this year.
Rua Garcia D'Ávila, 149 loja B - Ipanema, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil: 21 2523 5090: www.aquimgastronomia.com
Writer: Romy van den Broeke
Aquim Chocolate Boutique, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Rio de Janeiro saw the opening of its first high-end retail destination, Village Mall, in the up-scaling Barra da Tijuca neighbourhood last December. With it came an assortment of lavish shops - Louis Vuitton and Gucci to name but two - and one that caught our eye: the first deluxe chocolate boutique from our favourite equatorial chocolatiers, Aquim. After collaborating with architect Oscar Niemeyer to create the 'Q0' chocolate bar, which comes presented in an exclusive chocolate box of which no more than 150 batches are produced annually, Aquim's success in the field of chocolate was sealed. To coincide with the opening of their first stand alone chocolate shop, Aquim have launched a brand new range of 'Q' chocolates with ambitious plans to have them reach European shores later this year.
Rua Garcia D'Ávila, 149 loja B - Ipanema, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil: 21 2523 5090: www.aquimgastronomia.com
Writer: Romy van den Broeke
Bread by the Kitchen Myth Busters
Biržų duona is one of Lithuania's oldest, largest and most innovative bakeries. In keeping with its national notoriety, the bakery teamed up with food visionaries Virtuvės mitų griovėjų - or, for those of you with rusty Lithuanian, the Kitchen Myth Busters - to invent a new range of bread. Three loaves made the cut - white, dark and sandwich bread - each of which are packed full of sunflower, pumpkin and flax seeds forming some downright delicious dough. The loaves come encased in minimal green and white packaging, courtesy of local graphic designer, Edvardas Kavarskas, who was inspired by the bread itself and wanted the packaging to be reflective of its simple and honest origins. There is a website dedicated to the bread, which gives a run-down of the ingredients and a host of bread-based recipes for those looking to use their loaf a little differently. Think black bread pie with chicken and broccoli.
www.vmgduona.lt
Writer: Romy van den Broeke
Bread by the Kitchen Myth Busters
Biržų duona is one of Lithuania's oldest, largest and most innovative bakeries. In keeping with its national notoriety, the bakery teamed up with food visionaries Virtuvės mitų griovėjų - or, for those of you with rusty Lithuanian, the Kitchen Myth Busters - to invent a new range of bread. Three loaves made the cut - white, dark and sandwich bread - each of which are packed full of sunflower, pumpkin and flax seeds forming some downright delicious dough. The loaves come encased in minimal green and white packaging, courtesy of local graphic designer, Edvardas Kavarskas, who was inspired by the bread itself and wanted the packaging to be reflective of its simple and honest origins. There is a website dedicated to the bread, which gives a run-down of the ingredients and a host of bread-based recipes for those looking to use their loaf a little differently. Think black bread pie with chicken and broccoli.
www.vmgduona.lt
Writer: Romy van den Broeke
Cereal magazine
Anyone brave, or foolish, enough to launch a magazine in this galloping digital age deserves an ovation. Especially when it looks as slick as the first (quarterly) issue of Cereal. Printed on thick stock, completely free of ads, and feeling more like a beautifully designed art catalogue than your quotidian magazine, Cereal's point of departure is its focus on the factual and historical aspects of food and travel. Which explains the structure of its content where articles are grouped in quirky themed chapters. The first issue print run of 3000 - which includes features on the Nordic Food Lab in Copenhagen, the Westonbirt Arboretum and a recipe for a matcha cake - has been so successful that the second issue will be tripled.
Newsstand price: £10. www.readcereal.com
Writer: Daven Wu
Cereal magazine
Anyone brave, or foolish, enough to launch a magazine in this galloping digital age deserves an ovation. Especially when it looks as slick as the first (quarterly) issue of Cereal. Printed on thick stock, completely free of ads, and feeling more like a beautifully designed art catalogue than your quotidian magazine, Cereal's point of departure is its focus on the factual and historical aspects of food and travel. Which explains the structure of its content where articles are grouped in quirky themed chapters. The first issue print run of 3000 - which includes features on the Nordic Food Lab in Copenhagen, the Westonbirt Arboretum and a recipe for a matcha cake - has been so successful that the second issue will be tripled.
Newsstand price: £10. www.readcereal.com
Writer: Daven Wu
Cereal magazine
Anyone brave, or foolish, enough to launch a magazine in this galloping digital age deserves an ovation. Especially when it looks as slick as the first (quarterly) issue of Cereal. Printed on thick stock, completely free of ads, and feeling more like a beautifully designed art catalogue than your quotidian magazine, Cereal's point of departure is its focus on the factual and historical aspects of food and travel. Which explains the structure of its content where articles are grouped in quirky themed chapters. The first issue print run of 3000 - which includes features on the Nordic Food Lab in Copenhagen, the Westonbirt Arboretum and a recipe for a matcha cake - has been so successful that the second issue will be tripled.
Newsstand price: £10. www.readcereal.com
Writer: Daven Wu
Cereal magazine
Anyone brave, or foolish, enough to launch a magazine in this galloping digital age deserves an ovation. Especially when it looks as slick as the first (quarterly) issue of Cereal. Printed on thick stock, completely free of ads, and feeling more like a beautifully designed art catalogue than your quotidian magazine, Cereal's point of departure is its focus on the factual and historical aspects of food and travel. Which explains the structure of its content where articles are grouped in quirky themed chapters. The first issue print run of 3000 - which includes features on the Nordic Food Lab in Copenhagen, the Westonbirt Arboretum and a recipe for a matcha cake - has been so successful that the second issue will be tripled.
Newsstand price: £10. www.readcereal.com
Writer: Daven Wu
Chivas 18 by Pininfarina
A deluxe Scotch whisky label and a classic Italian car brand might seem like an unlikely coupling, but the limited edition Chivas 18 collection designed by Pininfarina proves to be right on the money. Both companies share a rich heritage in craftsmanship and a solid standing in the global luxury markets, which has fed into this collaboration. Three products have been designed to unite their legacies. The first, a whisky case with a lush metallic blue exterior and wood lining, is based on a streamlined drop. The second case echoes the first in design cues, but also includes a solid wood inlay and the interior is amplified to house an additional two specially designed glasses. Last and by no means least is the Chivas 18 Mascherone, a sculptural shelf unit, inspired by and named after the special wooden frame pioneered by Pininfarina to refine shapes in automobile bodywork. It is crafted in oak and assembled by hand. Only five have been produced globally, but more will be made upon request for any dedicated collectors out there.
The Pininfarina-designed cases start from £105. The Chivas 18 Mascherone shelving unit is price on application. All are available from end of February at selected outlets. www.chivas.com; www.pininfarina.com
Writer: Jessica Klingelfuss
Chivas 18 by Pininfarina
A deluxe Scotch whisky label and a classic Italian car brand might seem like an unlikely coupling, but the limited edition Chivas 18 collection designed by Pininfarina proves to be right on the money. Both companies share a rich heritage in craftsmanship and a solid standing in the global luxury markets, which has fed into this collaboration. Three products have been designed to unite their legacies. The first, a whisky case with a lush metallic blue exterior and wood lining, is based on a streamlined drop. The second case echoes the first in design cues, but also includes a solid wood inlay and the interior is amplified to house an additional two specially designed glasses. Last and by no means least is the Chivas 18 Mascherone, a sculptural shelf unit, inspired by and named after the special wooden frame pioneered by Pininfarina to refine shapes in automobile bodywork. It is crafted in oak and assembled by hand. Only five have been produced globally, but more will be made upon request for any dedicated collectors out there.
The Pininfarina-designed cases start from £105. The Chivas 18 Mascherone shelving unit is price on application. All are available from end of February at selected outlets. www.chivas.com; www.pininfarina.com
Writer: Jessica Klingelfuss
Chivas 18 by Pininfarina
A deluxe Scotch whisky label and a classic Italian car brand might seem like an unlikely coupling, but the limited edition Chivas 18 collection designed by Pininfarina proves to be right on the money. Both companies share a rich heritage in craftsmanship and a solid standing in the global luxury markets, which has fed into this collaboration. Three products have been designed to unite their legacies. The first, a whisky case with a lush metallic blue exterior and wood lining, is based on a streamlined drop. The second case echoes the first in design cues, but also includes a solid wood inlay and the interior is amplified to house an additional two specially designed glasses. Last and by no means least is the Chivas 18 Mascherone, a sculptural shelf unit, inspired by and named after the special wooden frame pioneered by Pininfarina to refine shapes in automobile bodywork. It is crafted in oak and assembled by hand. Only five have been produced globally, but more will be made upon request for any dedicated collectors out there.
The Pininfarina-designed cases start from £105. The Chivas 18 Mascherone shelving unit is price on application. All are available from end of February at selected outlets. www.chivas.com; www.pininfarina.com
Writer: Jessica Klingelfuss
Free Company Dessert Bar, London, UK
New boys on the chopping block, the Free Company have been causing a stir amongst London foodies since they launched in September last year, popping up at London Fashion Week events among others across the capital. A defining moment for the trio - Oxford graduates David Boycott and Josh Rhodes, and Billy Stock (who met Boycott when working at Salt Yard) - was the opening of their Dessert Bar pop-up at Store Street Espresso, near Goodge Street Station, last December. The two-day pop-up event, in collaboration with food events company Live and Let Dine, showcased a range of mouth-watering desserts - our favourite was Banana and Pop Corn: comprising brown butter puree, banana ice cream, lime, pop corn glass and frozen corn - each of which was accompanied by a cup of mellow coffee. The sweet-toothed will be pleased to learn that the Dessert Bar pop-up is returning to the same location - with an evolved menu - on the last weekend of this month, and every weekend, fortnightly, until further notice.
Store Street Expresso, 40 Store Street, London, WC1E 7DB; www.fcfood.co.uk; www.storestreetbloomsbury.co.uk
Writer: Romy van den Broeke
Free Company Dessert Bar, London, UK
New boys on the chopping block, the Free Company have been causing a stir amongst London foodies since they launched in September last year, popping up at London Fashion Week events among others across the capital. A defining moment for the trio - Oxford graduates David Boycott and Josh Rhodes, and Billy Stock (who met Boycott when working at Salt Yard) - was the opening of their Dessert Bar pop-up at Store Street Espresso, near Goodge Street Station, last December. The two-day pop-up event, in collaboration with food events company Live and Let Dine, showcased a range of mouth-watering desserts - our favourite was Banana and Pop Corn: comprising brown butter puree, banana ice cream, lime, pop corn glass and frozen corn - each of which was accompanied by a cup of mellow coffee. The sweet-toothed will be pleased to learn that the Dessert Bar pop-up is returning to the same location - with an evolved menu - on the last weekend of this month, and every weekend, fortnightly, until further notice.
Store Street Expresso, 40 Store Street, London, WC1E 7DB; www.fcfood.co.uk; www.storestreetbloomsbury.co.uk
Writer: Romy van den Broeke
Quarter Bag by Tobl Design
South Korea's coffee industry has grown at an exponential rate since Starbucks hit the market back in 1999, leaving the once prominent tea-drinking culture trailing behind. Designer Wonkook Lee of Tobl Design Company has stepped in to cater for this boom, devising a handy new set of accessories called 'quarter bags'. The coffee cup holders, designed in muted colours, are crafted from one hundred percent recycled wood pulp and are manufactured using few resources to keep their carbon footprint to a minimum. What's more, the adhesive-free carriers easily slot together to form multiple cup holders for those bulk buying.
www.tobldesign.com
Writer: Romy van den Broeke
Quarter Bag by Tobl Design
South Korea's coffee industry has grown at an exponential rate since Starbucks hit the market back in 1999, leaving the once prominent tea-drinking culture trailing behind. Designer Wonkook Lee of Tobl Design Company has stepped in to cater for this boom, devising a handy new set of accessories called 'quarter bags'. The coffee cup holders, designed in muted colours, are crafted from one hundred percent recycled wood pulp and are manufactured using few resources to keep their carbon footprint to a minimum. What's more, the adhesive-free carriers easily slot together to form multiple cup holders for those bulk buying.
www.tobldesign.com
Writer: Romy van den Broeke
Quarter Bag by Tobl Design
South Korea's coffee industry has grown at an exponential rate since Starbucks hit the market back in 1999, leaving the once prominent tea-drinking culture trailing behind. Designer Wonkook Lee of Tobl Design Company has stepped in to cater for this boom, devising a handy new set of accessories called 'quarter bags'. The coffee cup holders, designed in muted colours, are crafted from one hundred percent recycled wood pulp and are manufactured using few resources to keep their carbon footprint to a minimum. What's more, the adhesive-free carriers easily slot together to form multiple cup holders for those bulk buying.
www.tobldesign.com
Writer: Romy van den Broeke
Salt Yard Cookbook
The latest cooking guide to catch our eye is this elegantly designed compendium, Salt Yard: Food & Wine from Spain & Italy. The inaugural and self-published book from London's tapas pioneers, Salt Yard Group - Sanja Morris, Ben Tish and Simon Mullins - contains a collection of recipes and literary contributions from design critic, Stephen Bayley and food journalist, Kevin Gould. These essays broach humorous topics such as the suspected inner-workings of a waiter's mind, and the intriguing relationship between sex and food - enough to make you want to read it and we've not even got to their award-winning grub yet. Recipes for favourites such as their truffled macaroni cheese and mini Iberico pork burgers are divulged, alongside drool-inducing photographs from food shutterbug, Jason Lowe. The in-house production even extends to the charming cover, designed by one of their multi-talented barmen, Pedro D'Almeida.
£30, www.saltyard.co.uk
Writer: Romy van den Broeke
Salt Yard Cookbook
The latest cooking guide to catch our eye is this elegantly designed compendium, Salt Yard: Food & Wine from Spain & Italy. The inaugural and self-published book from London's tapas pioneers, Salt Yard Group - Sanja Morris, Ben Tish and Simon Mullins - contains a collection of recipes and literary contributions from design critic, Stephen Bayley and food journalist, Kevin Gould. These essays broach humorous topics such as the suspected inner-workings of a waiter's mind, and the intriguing relationship between sex and food - enough to make you want to read it and we've not even got to their award-winning grub yet. Recipes for favourites such as their truffled macaroni cheese and mini Iberico pork burgers are divulged, alongside drool-inducing photographs from food shutterbug, Jason Lowe. The in-house production even extends to the charming cover, designed by one of their multi-talented barmen, Pedro D'Almeida.
£30, www.saltyard.co.uk
Writer: Romy van den Broeke