June food news: editor's picks

Il Triangolo Dell'olio

There seems to be an eternal battle between the Italians and the Greeks for olive oil supremacy, and the stakes have now been raised by an Italian trio of producers. Two brothers, Giovanni and Paolo Bulgari, alongside their fellow olive grove owner Giulio Figarolo, joined forces to create a set of three specially blended olive oils, entitled Triangolo Dell'Olio. Each of the collaborators has a grove in a different rural area of Italy - Umbria, Lazio and Toscana - and they have blended their olives in different ratios to create the set. Using Frantoio, Moraiolo and Leccino olives in different proportions has meant that, although there are subtle differences between the oils, each blend is in harmony with the others in taste and smell, and they share notes of artichokes and almonds. The set comes either hidden inside an illustrated book or encased in the smaller 'Triangolino' box.

€90, Triangolo dell'olio 3 bott da 100cc; €35, Triangolo dell'olio 3 bott da 250cc; www.concarma.com (opens in new tab)

Writer: Rosa Bertoli

Sigmafocus Barbecue, from Focus

Sculptor Dominique Imbert's foray into functional design was something of an accident when he knocked up a fireplace to heat his chilly Cévennes workshop in 1967. Ever since, his studio, Focus, has been turning out beautiful fireplaces, including the internationally renowned pivotal fireplace, Gyrofocus, released in 1968. The Gyrofocus was bestowed the 2009 Pulchra Design Award for the 'World's most beautiful object.' Clearly on to a good thing, Focus has recently expanded the range of fireplaces, and debuted barbeques at Maison & Objet this year. Our favourite is the steel Sigmafocus BBQ, designed to be attached to an outside wall. When closed, it could pass for a piece of post-modern art; when open it serves as a stylish compact grill.

www.focus-creation.com (opens in new tab)

Writer: Romy van den Broeke

Sigmafocus Barbecue, from Focus

Sculptor Dominique Imbert's foray into functional design was something of an accident when he knocked up a fireplace to heat his chilly Cévennes workshop in 1967. Ever since, his studio, Focus, has been turning out beautiful fireplaces, including the internationally renowned pivotal fireplace, Gyrofocus, released in 1968. The Gyrofocus was bestowed the 2009 Pulchra Design Award for the 'World's most beautiful object.' Clearly on to a good thing, Focus has recently expanded the range of fireplaces, and debuted barbeques at Maison & Objet this year. Our favourite is the steel Sigmafocus BBQ, designed to be attached to an outside wall. When closed, it could pass for a piece of post-modern art; when open it serves as a stylish compact grill.

www.focus-creation.com (opens in new tab)

Writer: Romy van den Broeke

'Il Piatto Forte' exhibition at Fornasetti Store, Milan, Italy

This year, Fornasetti is marking its founder's centenary, and in celebration it is staging a striking showcase of the artist-cum-designer's way with plates. Il Piatto Forte (the name is an Italian idiom meaning 'speciality', and plays on the concept of food and dishes) presents almost three thousand of Piero Fornasetti's ceramic and porcelain plates from the 1950s and 60s. Table set ups and meals were Fornasetti's strong passions. The show amply demonstrates his rare decorative talent in this area, with pieces featuring the more literal illustrations of foodstuffs (such as brightly-coloured seafood, classic recipes or ironic anthropomorphic compositions with vegetables) alongside collections dedicated to Italian masks, architectural drawings, astronomy and animals. One of his most legendary and fondly remembered collections, called Giornali, was presented in Milan in the 1950s and featured a full set of newspaper-printed items, from table-cloths to cutlery. The exhibition also explores the process behind each item, showing original drawings and colour guides that Fornasetti used to make sure the final products matched his original vision. Visitors will also have the chance to vote for their favourite set; the most popular will be put back into production when the exhibition closes.

Il Piatto Forte runs from 13 June to the 14 September 2013

Corso G. Matteotti 1/A, 20121 Milan; Tel: 39.02 896 580 40

Writer: Rosa Bertoli

'Il Piatto Forte' exhibition at Fornasetti Store, Milan, Italy

This year, Fornasetti is marking its founder's centenary, and in celebration it is staging a striking showcase of the artist-cum-designer's way with plates. Il Piatto Forte (the name is an Italian idiom meaning 'speciality', and plays on the concept of food and dishes) presents almost three thousand of Piero Fornasetti's ceramic and porcelain plates from the 1950s and 60s. Table set ups and meals were Fornasetti's strong passions. The show amply demonstrates his rare decorative talent in this area, with pieces featuring the more literal illustrations of foodstuffs (such as brightly-coloured seafood, classic recipes or ironic anthropomorphic compositions with vegetables) alongside collections dedicated to Italian masks, architectural drawings, astronomy and animals. One of his most legendary and fondly remembered collections, called Giornali, was presented in Milan in the 1950s and featured a full set of newspaper-printed items, from table-cloths to cutlery. The exhibition also explores the process behind each item, showing original drawings and colour guides that Fornasetti used to make sure the final products matched his original vision. Visitors will also have the chance to vote for their favourite set; the most popular will be put back into production when the exhibition closes.

Il Piatto Forte runs from 13 June to the 14 September 2013

Corso G. Matteotti 1/A, 20121 Milan; Tel: 39.02 896 580 40

Writer: Rosa Bertoli

'Il Piatto Forte' exhibition at Fornasetti Store, Milan, Italy

This year, Fornasetti is marking its founder's centenary, and in celebration it is staging a striking showcase of the artist-cum-designer's way with plates. Il Piatto Forte (the name is an Italian idiom meaning 'speciality', and plays on the concept of food and dishes) presents almost three thousand of Piero Fornasetti's ceramic and porcelain plates from the 1950s and 60s. Table set ups and meals were Fornasetti's strong passions. The show amply demonstrates his rare decorative talent in this area, with pieces featuring the more literal illustrations of foodstuffs (such as brightly-coloured seafood, classic recipes or ironic anthropomorphic compositions with vegetables) alongside collections dedicated to Italian masks, architectural drawings, astronomy and animals. One of his most legendary and fondly remembered collections, called Giornali, was presented in Milan in the 1950s and featured a full set of newspaper-printed items, from table-cloths to cutlery. The exhibition also explores the process behind each item, showing original drawings and colour guides that Fornasetti used to make sure the final products matched his original vision. Visitors will also have the chance to vote for their favourite set; the most popular will be put back into production when the exhibition closes.

Il Piatto Forte runs from 13 June to the 14 September 2013

Corso G. Matteotti 1/A, 20121 Milan; Tel: 39.02 896 580 40

Writer: Rosa Bertoli

'Il Piatto Forte' exhibition at Fornasetti Store, Milan, Italy

This year, Fornasetti is marking its founder's centenary, and in celebration it is staging a striking showcase of the artist-cum-designer's way with plates. Il Piatto Forte (the name is an Italian idiom meaning 'speciality', and plays on the concept of food and dishes) presents almost three thousand of Piero Fornasetti's ceramic and porcelain plates from the 1950s and 60s. Table set ups and meals were Fornasetti's strong passions. The show amply demonstrates his rare decorative talent in this area, with pieces featuring the more literal illustrations of foodstuffs (such as brightly-coloured seafood, classic recipes or ironic anthropomorphic compositions with vegetables) alongside collections dedicated to Italian masks, architectural drawings, astronomy and animals. One of his most legendary and fondly remembered collections, called Giornali, was presented in Milan in the 1950s and featured a full set of newspaper-printed items, from table-cloths to cutlery. The exhibition also explores the process behind each item, showing original drawings and colour guides that Fornasetti used to make sure the final products matched his original vision. Visitors will also have the chance to vote for their favourite set; the most popular will be put back into production when the exhibition closes.

Il Piatto Forte runs from 13 June to the 14 September 2013

Corso G. Matteotti 1/A, 20121 Milan; Tel: 39.02 896 580 40

Writer: Rosa Bertoli

Todd Sauces, available from Harvey Nichols

Forget the predictable sweet table sauces and unimaginative relishes that dominate supermarket aisles. A new range of taste-bud challenging sauces from UK food brand Todds has launched just in time for the grilling season. The two BBQ sauces are works of genius; Cola-Leather, is intense and tannic, while Tobacco Moonshine is a sweeter sauce infused with the fiery Southern American spirit, moonshine. There's also Ink-Cayenne hot sauce that contains squid ink to make it look as dark and intense as its flavour. While the Marshmallow Smoke and Chewing Gum Tobacco ketchups contain notes of the titled ingredients, as well as an overwhelmingly smoky finish. The last of the range is the spicy Rootbeer Pickle hot relish, which contains root beer, dill pickles and jalapeno chillies, and is best served on burgers dripping with cheese. These curiously edible concoctions are all that's needed to spice up bland burgers and sapless sausages.

£7.50 each; Ink Cayenne Hot Sauce, £6; www.harveynichols.co.uk (opens in new tab)

Writer: Romy van den Broeke

Todd Sauces, available from Harvey Nichols

Forget the predictable sweet table sauces and unimaginative relishes that dominate supermarket aisles. A new range of taste-bud challenging sauces from UK food brand Todds has launched just in time for the grilling season. The two BBQ sauces are works of genius; Cola-Leather, is intense and tannic, while Tobacco Moonshine is a sweeter sauce infused with the fiery Southern American spirit, moonshine. There's also Ink-Cayenne hot sauce that contains squid ink to make it look as dark and intense as its flavour. While the Marshmallow Smoke and Chewing Gum Tobacco ketchups contain notes of the titled ingredients, as well as an overwhelmingly smoky finish. The last of the range is the spicy Rootbeer Pickle hot relish, which contains root beer, dill pickles and jalapeno chillies, and is best served on burgers dripping with cheese. These curiously edible concoctions are all that's needed to spice up bland burgers and sapless sausages.

£7.50 each; Ink Cayenne Hot Sauce, £6; www.harveynichols.co.uk (opens in new tab)

Writer: Romy van den Broeke

L'Obrador, Barcelona, Spain

The five outlets of Spanish artisanal bakery L'Obrador have each been given the Sandra Taruella Interioristas (opens in new tab) treatment. The latest revamp is L'Obrador de Sabadell, located just north of Barcelona's Eixample district, where the aim was to open up the oblong space by replacing walls with floor to ceiling, old-style steel sash windows. Allowing customers to peer into the bakery's workroom is a way to bring them closer to the handpicked ingredients, the craftsmanship and the different phases that each loaf goes through in the baking process. The white marble bar is ideal for those quick cortados, while the 'tasting area' and the patio offer a place to sit down for a bite. We are particularly taken with the toque blanche-shaped lamps from Marset suspended over the communal table.

Sant Antoni Maria Claret 10, Sabadell; Tel: 34.93 745 94 94; www.lobradordelmoli.com (opens in new tab)

Writer: Micha van Dinther: Photography: Meritxell Arjalaguer

L'Obrador, Barcelona, Spain

The five outlets of Spanish artisanal bakery L'Obrador have each been given the Sandra Taruella Interioristas (opens in new tab) treatment. The latest revamp is L'Obrador de Sabadell, located just north of Barcelona's Eixample district, where the aim was to open up the oblong space by replacing walls with floor to ceiling, old-style steel sash windows. Allowing customers to peer into the bakery's workroom is a way to bring them closer to the handpicked ingredients, the craftsmanship and the different phases that each loaf goes through in the baking process. The white marble bar is ideal for those quick cortados, while the 'tasting area' and the patio offer a place to sit down for a bite. We are particularly taken with the toque blanche-shaped lamps from Marset suspended over the communal table.

Sant Antoni Maria Claret 10, Sabadell; Tel: 34.93 745 94 94; www.lobradordelmoli.com (opens in new tab)

Writer: Micha van Dinther: Photography: Meritxell Arjalaguer

'N’ Sake by Japanese designers Nendo

We are used to Japanese design house Nendo (opens in new tab) extending its creative genius into all walks of life, from interiors and electricals, to fashion and jewellery. Its most recent offering is to the beverage industry, in the form of a sake bottle for long-established sake brewery Takagi Shuzo. The alcohol, entitled ‘N’, represents a career change for Nakata Hidetoshi, a former Japanese national soccer star, who has conceived the sake as a means of stylishly communicating Japanese culture to the world. Made from yamadanishiki and aiyama rice varieties, the liquor is of supreme quality, with the rice grains polished down to just 35% to ensure purity. Nendo’s bottle is a slender matt black flacon with slight indents down the side to help the grip when pouring the drink. The minimalist design was inspired by a stick of charcoal.

www.nakatasake.com (opens in new tab)

Writer: Romy van den Broeke

'N’ Sake by Japanese designers Nendo

We are used to Japanese design house Nendo (opens in new tab) extending its creative genius into all walks of life, from interiors and electricals, to fashion and jewellery. Its most recent offering is to the beverage industry, in the form of a sake bottle for long-established sake brewery Takagi Shuzo. The alcohol, entitled ‘N’, represents a career change for Nakata Hidetoshi, a former Japanese national soccer star, who has conceived the sake as a means of stylishly communicating Japanese culture to the world. Made from yamadanishiki and aiyama rice varieties, the liquor is of supreme quality, with the rice grains polished down to just 35% to ensure purity. Nendo’s bottle is a slender matt black flacon with slight indents down the side to help the grip when pouring the drink. The minimalist design was inspired by a stick of charcoal.

www.nakatasake.com (opens in new tab)

Writer: Romy van den Broeke

Shed, Healdsburg, USA

Shed, a venue inspired by good farming, cooking, eating and socialising, is housed in a structure of glass and recycled steel that mimics the shape of a traditional barn. Founded by local husband and wife team Cindy Daniel and Doug Lipton and designed by San Francisco-based Jensen Architects (opens in new tab), Shed is a modern reinterpretation of a grange, where people can gather to share food and ideas. Divided into sections titled Eat, Cook and Farm, the ground floor's open layout merges a café, a coffee bar, a fermentation bar, a larder and pantry (stocked with delicacies mostly from local producers), as well as a general store for hand-operated housewares, and farming and gardening tools. The space on the second floor brings people together for events that explore and educate in sustainable agriculture, food crafts and traditions.

25 North Street, Healdsburg; Tel: 1.707 431 7433; www.healdsburgshed.com (opens in new tab)

Writer: Micha van Dinther; Photography: Mariko Reed

Shed, Healdsburg, USA

Shed, a venue inspired by good farming, cooking, eating and socialising, is housed in a structure of glass and recycled steel that mimics the shape of a traditional barn. Founded by local husband and wife team Cindy Daniel and Doug Lipton and designed by San Francisco-based Jensen Architects (opens in new tab), Shed is a modern reinterpretation of a grange, where people can gather to share food and ideas. Divided into sections titled Eat, Cook and Farm, the ground floor's open layout merges a café, a coffee bar, a fermentation bar, a larder and pantry (stocked with delicacies mostly from local producers), as well as a general store for hand-operated housewares, and farming and gardening tools. The space on the second floor brings people together for events that explore and educate in sustainable agriculture, food crafts and traditions.

25 North Street, Healdsburg; Tel: 1.707 431 7433; www.healdsburgshed.com (opens in new tab)

Writer: Micha van Dinther; Photography: Mariko Reed

Shed, Healdsburg, USA

Shed, a venue inspired by good farming, cooking, eating and socialising, is housed in a structure of glass and recycled steel that mimics the shape of a traditional barn. Founded by local husband and wife team Cindy Daniel and Doug Lipton and designed by San Francisco-based Jensen Architects (opens in new tab), Shed is a modern reinterpretation of a grange, where people can gather to share food and ideas. Divided into sections titled Eat, Cook and Farm, the ground floor's open layout merges a café, a coffee bar, a fermentation bar, a larder and pantry (stocked with delicacies mostly from local producers), as well as a general store for hand-operated housewares, and farming and gardening tools. The space on the second floor brings people together for events that explore and educate in sustainable agriculture, food crafts and traditions.

25 North Street, Healdsburg; Tel: 1.707 431 7433; www.healdsburgshed.com (opens in new tab)

Writer: Micha van Dinther; Photography: Mariko Reed

Veganista, Vienna, Austria   

Officially Austria's first vegan ice cream store, Vienna's Veganista is the work of sibling team, Cecilia Blochberger and Susanna Paller. Ten years ago the entrepreneurial pair opened the first franchise of morally-conscious beauty brand, Lush cosmetics in Austria and Central Europe. After witnessing the exponential rise of the vegan food trend across the globe, the duo wanted to bring ethically sound icy treats into their own country. The ice creams, produced using either soy milk, rice milk, almond milk and oat milk in place of dairy, come in an array of flavours including basil, roasted coconut and maple pecan, as well as old favourites such as vanilla and chocolate. And the parlour itself is equally of note. Designed by Gabriele Lenz, the space is minimal with warm pastel walls and furniture - the perfect backdrop for the illuminated fridge of rainbow coloured ice creams. In keeping with their eco-friendly vibe, the cups and spoons are biodegradable. We would expect nothing less.

Neustiftgasse 23, 1070 Vienna, Austria; Tel: 43.664 150 33 66: www.veganista.at (opens in new tab)

Writer: Romy van den Broeke

Veganista, Vienna, Austria   

Officially Austria's first vegan ice cream store, Vienna's Veganista is the work of sibling team, Cecilia Blochberger and Susanna Paller. Ten years ago the entrepreneurial pair opened the first franchise of morally-conscious beauty brand, Lush cosmetics in Austria and Central Europe. After witnessing the exponential rise of the vegan food trend across the globe, the duo wanted to bring ethically sound icy treats into their own country. The ice creams, produced using either soy milk, rice milk, almond milk and oat milk in place of dairy, come in an array of flavours including basil, roasted coconut and maple pecan, as well as old favourites such as vanilla and chocolate. And the parlour itself is equally of note. Designed by Gabriele Lenz, the space is minimal with warm pastel walls and furniture - the perfect backdrop for the illuminated fridge of rainbow coloured ice creams. In keeping with their eco-friendly vibe, the cups and spoons are biodegradable. We would expect nothing less.

Neustiftgasse 23, 1070 Vienna, Austria; Tel: 43.664 150 33 66: www.veganista.at (opens in new tab)

Writer: Romy van den Broeke