Category Archives: Food

Analysis, Food, Investigations, Online, Society, Technology, Videos

Delivery-Only Dining: ‘How Covid Accelerated Rise Of Ghost Kitchens’

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Ghost kitchens are kitchens designed for delivery-only businesses, without dine-in areas or customer facing storefronts. The pandemic has ravaged dine-in eateries, and companies that have focused on delivery could come out on top if the current trends continue. Watch the full video to see why ghost kitchens are taking over the restaurant industry.

Here are some of the top Ghost Kitchens:

Kitchen United

With a $10 million dollar investment from Google Ventures, Kitchen United has been one of the leanest (and fastest-growing) startups in the space. Founder Jim Collins has turned down hundreds of millions of investment dollars to focus on growing more organically. Currently, Kitchen United plans on conquering the global restaurant space — with 5,000 kitchens planned in the next four years.

All in all, Kitchen United offers a turn-key, light-capital model, delivering a complete, code-safe kitchen replete with appliances and cooking implements. All that’s left to do is to…cook.

CloudKitchens

The fastest-growing and most investor-friendly ghost kitchen startup, CloudKitchens, has already taken in over $400 million from investors. $150 million interestingly invested by its founder (former Uber superstar) Travis Kalanick. Like Kitchen United, CloudKitchens offers fully-equipped kitchens (branded as “smart kitchens”) for the delivery-only model. Honestly, you can’t ignore a project that Travis is a part of.

DoorDash Kitchens

Another not-so-surprising entry into the ghost kitchen space is DoorDash, which has already premiered locations in San Francisco and Redwood City. Currently, DoorDash’s model is focused on catering to high-delivery areas for established brands like Chic-Fil-A, but we’re sure they have plans in the works for new locations, as well.

For the time being, DoorDash Kitchens is still in the experimentation phase, with only a few locations. And, like others on this list, it provides everything a restauranteur would need for a single monthly fee.

UberEats

For the moment, we’ll set aside the possible conflicts associated with Uber’s ex co-founder Travis Kalanick — who’s also operating CloudKitchens. We’re sure that bridge will need crossing at some point if Uber expands its operations. For the time being, the ridesharing company has been keeping a low profile in the ghost kitchen space. To date, it has been testing ghost kitchens in a few markets, though it remains curiously reluctant to share the delicious details pertaining to its Paris operations.

Virtual Kitchen Co.

Another new entry is Virtual Kitchen Co. — which already operates several successful ghost kitchens. They plan to open 15 more kitchens over the next few years, driven by $15 million dollar Series A.  Again, Virtual Kitchen Co. offers a similar pricing structure: Restaurants can pay a monthly fee for everything.

The one small difference here is that Virtual Kitchen Co. seems to be targeting existing restaurants that want to enter the delivery space.

Culinary Arts, Food, History, Travel, Videos

Gastronomy: The History Of French ‘Haute Cuisine’

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This week, we’re putting the focus on French gastronomy as we spare a thought for France’s restaurant owners, staff and caterers, who are struggling through the Covid-19 crisis. We take a look back at the history of haute cuisine, from the first known recipe to the publication of the Michelin Guide. We also take you around the Château de Valençay, where fine dining was used as a political weapon in the 19th century. Finally, we check out a top culinary school in Paris, where budding chefs from around the world are absorbing the expertise of French masters.

Culture, Food, Travel, Videos

Culinary Travel: ‘Street Food’ In Dubai, UAE (Video)

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Dubai is a city and emirate in the United Arab Emirates known for luxury shopping, ultramodern architecture and a lively nightlife scene. Burj Khalifa, an 830m-tall tower, dominates the skyscraper-filled skyline. At its foot lies Dubai Fountain, with jets and lights choreographed to music. On artificial islands just offshore is Atlantis, The Palm, a resort with water and marine-animal parks.

This is our 2nd video from our STREET FOOD in DUBAI series. This time we are taking you to some of the BEST local restaurants and street foods that Dubai has to offer! We are starting the day with a delicious Egyptian hummus with beef and pine nuts and specialty foul (fava beans) at a shop called Foul w Hummus. They serve unlimited bread and a dish of pickles with the dishes. This restaurant has amazing quality food for a good price. Those that can’t afford the food can eat for free. After breakfast, we visited the Public Beach. It is a great place to view the Burj Al Arab, but also locals and tourists visit to swim, surf and enjoy the weather. It was especially nice in December, where it wasn’t too hot. For lunch, we visited a famous restaurant for seafood. Bu Qtair specialized in fish and prawns. The fresh fish and prawns are marinated in a mixture of spices and then are fried. They are served with rice and a curry. Next, we head to the Burj Khalifa (tallest building in the world) which is one of Dubai’s top attraction. The Burj Khalifa has unobstructed views over Dubai, but is quite expensive to enter. We recommend seeing it from the base, which is free and equally awesome. For dinner, we head to a restaurant which has a reputation for having the BEST Pakistani food in Dubai, Ravi Restaurant. There are many dishes to try, but we chose to try their dal fry, mutton Peshawari and chicken tikka. The naan served with the meal was DELICIOUS! Finally for dessert, we wanted to try an Emirati specialty – luqaimat. Luqaimat are small balls of dough which are fried until golden brown. You can get a variety of toppings, but the traditional topping is a thick date syrup and sesame seeds. These are served across the UAE, but we visited the shop in Global Village. This isn’t the most authentic version, but it was interesting to watch the women make this dessert.

Books, Charities, Culinary Arts, Food, Profiles

Cook Books: ‘Family Meal’ By Designers/Illustrators (Support NYC Restaurants)

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We were a website, and now we’re a cookbook. We’re a project by illustrators and designers to help raise money for New York restaurants and their employees. We’re 38 recipes from 38 restaurants for you to cook at home. And we’re a $20 donation for every book sold to New York City restaurants, through ROAR’s employee relief fund. 

You can read more here.

Adventure, Food, Travel, Videos

Journeys: Camping And Cooking In ‘High Atlas Mountains, Morocco’

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High Atlas, also called the Grand Atlas, is a mountain range in central Morocco, North Africa, the highest part of the Atlas Mountains. The High Atlas rises in the west at the Atlantic Ocean and stretches in an eastern direction to the Moroccan-Algerian border. 

The Atlas Mountains extend some 2,500km across northwestern Africa, spanning Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia, separating the Atlantic and Mediterranean coastline from the Sahara Desert. Actually a series of ranges with diverse terrain, climates and wildlife, the Atlas are dotted with Berber villages and riven with canyons and ravines. The highest peak is 4,167m Toubkal, which lies within Morocco’s Toubkal National Park. 

Culinary Arts, Food, Profiles, Travel, Videos

Profile: Chef Jonathan Brincat Of Restaurant Noni In Malta (Video)

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The MICHELIN Guide takes you to Malta to discover the treasures of the island: its chefs, its products and producers. Following the launch of the first MICHELIN Guide Malta in February 2020, we take a closer look at Noni, One-Star restaurant, and its chef, Jonathan Brincat. At the crossroads of cultures, the Maltese gastronomic scene is a reflection of its rich past which marries culinary influences from Italy, Mediterranean countries, North Africa, and Great Britain – not to mention contemporary trends.

At Noni, Chef-Owner Brincat passionately brings a modern approach to traditional Maltese and Mediterranean cuisine. The attentive staff are happy to make recommendations from the concise menu, showcasing quality seasonal products in well-balanced dishes, all cooked with an eye for detail.

Culinary Arts, Culture, Food, Travel, Videos

Culinary Travel: ‘Tagine At Ouzoud Falls’ In Azilal, Central Morocco (Video)

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We visited Ouzoud Waterfall in Azilal.

Ouzoud Falls is the collective name for several waterfalls that empty into the El-Abid River’s gorge. This popular tourism destination is located near the Middle Atlas village of Tanaghmeilt, in the province of Azilal, 150 km northeast of Marrakech, Morocco. ‘Ouzoud’ means “the act of grinding grain” in Berber.

Culinary Arts, Food, Travel, Videos

Food & Travel: Master Cheesemaker Olesya Shevchuck In Moscow

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The MICHELIN Guide takes you to Moscow, where we just dropped our luggage! Discover the variety of Russia’s culinary heritage and its authentic cuisine built around exceptional local products. Second stop at a cheese-making school in Moscow, where Olesya Shevchuck –Master Cheesemaker and Affineer– trains people to make cheese with their own hands.

Rich in history and secular traditions, the Russian culinary scene has seen some new trends emerge over the past 30 years, embodied by talented chefs who are devoted to highlighting the quality of the ingredients of local producers. Let’s discover some quality products and producers which make the gastronomic reputation of this mysterious and timeless capital city ! Here, Olesya Shevchuck explains us how to find our own favorite cheese and what we need to know to make them perfectly.

Culinary Arts, Culture, Food, Travel, Videos

Culinary Travels: ‘Village Food’ In The United Arab Emirates – UAE (Video)

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Welcome to the United Arab Emirates!! This is the start of our new FOOD series from this amazing and diverse country. We are leaving the big city of Dubai to show you the traditional food and culture of the Emirates, starting with a very special family meal, and ending with an awesome desert feast!

BIG thank you to our friends Omar and Salem for their help and hospitality. For our first Emirati family experience and food, we were kindly invited to the guest home of the Royal Al Qasimi family. We ate a delicious Arabic biryani, salads and Khabees (traditional dessert). This food is often what guests will experience when they are invited into a family’s home. After the meal, it is also common to enjoy a cup of Arabic coffee, which was rich with cardamon. The family was also kind enough to show us their vintage car collection, which included the original Land Rover from 1948. Thank you very much for the warm invitation and the wonderful gifts! Next, we explored the town of Ras al-Khaimah to see original architecture, old cafes and experience real Emirati lifestyle.

We visited the oldest cafe in the city, where locals from the mountains and locals from the coast would meet and exchange news and drink tea. We tried their sangini tea and it was very sweet. We also stopped at a traditional juice stall that serves mixed fruit juices with avocado. So refreshing! We then drove into the desert near Sharjah, to visit Omar’s family farm. Along the way we met a camel farmer who offered us tea and Omani halwa.

At Omar’s desert farm, we started cooking Majboos, an Arabic rice dish that is cooked with goat, vegetables, potatoes, dried fruits and tons of spices. The Majboos was then cooked for several hours over wood fire, which worked up a big appetite! The Majboos is served on a massive tray and shared with everyone. The goat was so tender and the rice soaked up all of the flavours of the spices. It was an extremely special experience and we are very grateful.