Issuu

N°39 02/24

LUXEMBOURG’S FOOD & LIFEST YLE MAGA ZINE

CHEF PORTRAIT

ANNE KNEPPER: RETHINKING FINE DINING

SEASONAL MENU

COLOURFUL SUMMER PICNIC AT L A K E ECHTERNACH

BRAINFOOD

W E TA L K T O E X P E R T P R O F. DR. MICHAEL HENEK A (LCSB)

13 € LU X E M B O U R G EUROPE: 14,50 € WORLD: 18,40 €

GRANNY’S RECIPE

Nancy gets her love of cooking and baking from her grandmother. It wasn’t just helping her grandmother in the kitchen that Nancy enjoyed as a little girl, but also their conversations about baking and culinary traditions, family traditions and cultural history. Her grandmother was always encouraging her to try out different recipes and techniques. This enabled her to develop a sense of independence and to learn to take responsibility. It also helped her gain a better understanding of Luxembourgish culture and how it influences our daily lives. Fridays were always meat-free days at home, so ‘Bouneschlupp mat Paangecher’ (green bean soup with pancakes) was regularly on the menu. Grandmother and granddaughter would have lots of fun and laughter flipping the pancakes – a skill that Nancy has still never really mastered! Nancy is passionate about culture, a passion that has led to her becoming politically active at European level. She has a solid understanding and appreciation of the importance of culture, which, in today’s day and age, is more important than ever: Culture is an important pillar of coexistence, the pillar of a strong society, of a strong Europe! Perhaps it was those conversations in the kitchen with her grandmother that sowed the seed for this passion. Who knows...

RECIPE NANCY BRAUN PHOTO ENIA HAECK

BOUNESCHLUPP M AT PA ANGECHER SERVES 4 For the bean soup • 500 g green beans • 500 g potatoes • 1 onion • 1.5 litres of vegetable stock • 2 sprigs of savoury • 1 bay leaf • Salt & pepper • 1 dash of milk

1 HOUR For the pancakes

• 200 g flour • 60 g butter • 4 tbsp sugar (to taste, but not essential)

• 500 ml milk • 4 eggs • Salt

The bean soup

The pancakes

1 Clean and wash the beans and cut into 0.5 cm

1 Warm a little milk with butter to melt it.

pieces. Peel and finely dice the potatoes. Finely chop the onions. 2 Add a little butter to a pot and sauté the onion until translucent. Then add the beans and potatoes and mix well. 3 Add 1.5 litres of vegetable stock and the savoury and simmer for 20 minutes. 4 Season the soup with salt and pepper and add a dash of milk.

2 Combine the sifted flour with the milk and butter

mixture, add the sugar and the rest of the milk as well as the egg yolk and mix. 3 Beat the egg whites with salt until stiff and fold into the batter. 4 Heat a little oil in a pan and add the batter in spoonfuls. Bake the pancakes one after the other on both sides until they are golden brown (and feel free to flip them!).

REGIONAL & SEASONAL

With summer just around the corner, chef Fred from the Becher Gare restaurant has come up with a creation that celebrates the freshness of local produce. This vibrant composition, rich in colour and texture, is a real foretaste of sunny days, the promise of a taste experience that awakens the senses and radiates all that is sublime about the season.

RECIPE FRÉDÉRIC VUILLEMIN PHOTOS MARC DOSTERT

VEGETABLE GARDEN WITH OURDALLER HEMP HUMMUS SERVES 2

• 250 g hulled hemp seeds • 50 g tahini (sesame paste) • 100 ml olive oil • Salt • Pepper • ½ lemon, juice • 2 cloves garlic • Raw vegetables according to taste and season

40 MINUTES + REST 1 Cook the hemp seeds in plenty of

salted water for 10 minutes. 2 Drain and place in a blender, adding

the salt, pepper, olive oil, lemon juice and tahini. Blend until smooth. 3 Set aside in the fridge for at least 4 hours. 4 Cut the raw vegetables into thin strips using a mandoline slicer. Arrange the hummus on the plate and arrange the raw vegetables artistically. Drizzle with olive oil.

CHEF PORTRAIT

ANNE KNEPPER

NEW RU LES IN T HE K I TCHEN Anne runs her kitchen in a way that defies convention on multiple fronts – and that’s without doubt a good thing. Just 27 years young, she is head chef and co-owner of Public House, the fine dining restaurant in the Casino Luxembourg contemporary art gallery in Ville-Haute. Her methods are both unconventional and fresh, her outlook both single-minded and positive. Here is a portrait of possibly the most interesting young talent on Luxembourg’s gastronomic scene. TEXT CHAREL HEINEN PHOTOS RAMUNAS ASTRAUSK AS

hat’s the real secret to being a good chef? Is it creativity, perfection or teamwork skills? While all those things are no doubt vital, what makes a really good chef stand out from the crowd is personality. And Anne Knepper has this in spades. Her open, relaxed style and idealism is reflected in everything she does.

THE PUBLIC HOUSE VENTURE Probably every chef in the world dreams of becoming a head chef and opening their own restaurant. For most, it remains just that: a dream. Anne, on the other hand, ticked both items off her bucket list at the tender age of 26. As is so often the case, luck also had a part to play in this story. The wheels of fate were set in motion when Anne was invited to serve as guest chef for one of the popular chef’s nights at the Bonne Nouvelle bar. “Davide and Mathias, the owners of the Bonne Nouvelle, had never met me before that,” she reminisces. “But the three of us hit it off instantly.” That was back in July 2022, when Anne was still working at Casamadre in Copenhagen. Opportunity then came knocking in

CHEF PORTRAIT

March 2023: “They told me that premises had become available in Casino Luxembourg, and we immediately started making plans.” The move back to Luxembourg proved not to be a difficult choice: “It would have preyed on my mind if I’d gone back to Copenhagen and let this opportunity slip.” It wasn’t long before Public House opened its doors: “It was initially planned as a 1-week pop-up restaurant, which was then extended to 9 months, and now it’ll be here for at least 3 more years.” The name derives from the official title given to those British watering holes most people simply refer to as ‘pubs’. But if that conjures up images of a cosy little hostelry with dark wooden floorboards, think again. There’s more of a bourgeois feel about the historic interior with its high ceilings, Baroque stucco decoration and frescoes, which all manages to stay on the right side of kitsch. “We were really lucky to get this space!” enthuses Anne. The décor also includes a personal touch: Dried wild shrubs and what appear to be freshly picked flowers adorn the windowsills and bar in wine bottles rather than vases. Near the entrance, there’s a little guest book in which customers can add a few complimentary words about the place or offer their witticisms.

LEARNING THE ROPES Born and bred in Luxembourg, Anne initially focused on her academic studies, completing an economics degree at HEC in Lausanne. However, her first taste of work in the financial sector left her feeling that this world was not for her. Then came an epiphany while working part time in the kitchen of a small restaurant during a semester abroad in Munich: “The first time I set foot in the kitchen, I realised this was where I belonged.” Eventually, her long-held passion for cooking and experience of working in a commercial kitchen gave her the courage to make a radical life change.

“ WE’ RE SURROUNDED BY SO M ANY A M A ZING P R O D U C T S . I ’ D L I K E T O P R O V E W H AT FA N TA S T I C THINGS CAN BE MADE WITH THEM!” ANNE KNEPPER

R E P O R TAG E

VISIONARY SHIF TS IN

A G R I C U LT U R E S

ustainable agriculture is becoming an increasingly significant objective in Luxembourg’s farming sector. As the entire world faces the challenges of climate change and resource scarcity, both companies and individuals in the Grand Duchy are proving that sustainable practices can be not only feasible but also profitable. This includes everyone from small, independent actors moving forward with their idealism, to well-established names reinventing themselves, and committed pop-ups that are already crafting the models of tomorrow. In our “Behind The Scenes” reportage, we explore the exciting developments in sustainable agriculture. We visited three local actors who are pioneering with innovative approaches, showing what sustainability in practice can look like.

R E P O R TAG E

GR EEN V IN ES, CLE A R V ISIONS With around 170 members, Domaines Vinsmoselle is the largest winegrowers’ co-operative in the country and has been synonymous with wine and crémant made in Luxembourg for over a century. At the end of last year, the co-operative took a major milestone step, announcing a comprehensive sustainability concept, developed in collaboration with certification body FAIR’N GREEN.

TEXT CHAREL HEINEN

omaines Vinsmoselle’s new sustainability concept encompasses a number of aspects, including maintaining and safeguarding soil quality, promoting biodiversity, protecting species, plants and the climate, water management and resource efficiency. “Switching to sustainable practices inevitably entails costs for our winegrowers,” admits André Mehlen, General Manager of Vinsmoselle. It will therefore come as no surprise that the decision was not initially met with a great deal of enthusiasm. “We had our work cut out trying to win over our members. But it’s the only responsible direction we can take, if we’re to safeguard the future of our viticultural tradition in Luxembourg,” says Mehlen. “So it makes sense to implement appropriate concepts now, to avoid panic, and consequently rash decisions and solutions later down the road.”

A LIT TLE GREEN L ABEL FAIR’N GREEN pursues a holistic approach that goes far beyond the sustainable practices covered by comparable certification bodies. “The concept is based on three pillars: people, environment and climate,” explains Mehlen. This model, developed by winegrowers for winegrowers, ensures that the entire production process – and not just the working methods in the vineyard – is designed to be sustainable. “For us, this means our winegrowers using organic fertilisers and no herbicides. And us as

a distributor ensuring our production processes are as resource-efficient and climate-neutral as possible,” he adds. The aim is to continuously develop and improve: “FAIR’N GREEN doesn’t expect its partner winegrowers to make any radical changes. Rather it’s a partnership through which we benefit from practical support and assistance to help us transition smoothly to more sustainable cultivation.” An example of the kind of assistance provided by FAIR’N GREEN is its list of common pesticides, categorised by level of toxicity and featuring suggestions for less harmful alternatives. FAIR’N GREEN’s advice and support helps winegrowers gradually and sustainably improve their practices, securing them ecological and economic advantages in the long term. André Mehlen is, however, also keen to stress that agriculture and viticulture in Luxembourg are not lagging behind other countries in terms of sustainability. Backed by the Luxembourg Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Viticulture, which has been awarding subsidies such as landscape conservation premiums for years now, the foundations for sustainable practices have long been in place in Luxembourg. But the success of these practices very much depends on consumer acceptance: “It’s essential that the customer is on board,” says Mehlen. “The aim is ultimately for consumers to make a conscious decision to purchase sustainable products.” This is an area in which further work is needed to educate people.

“ T H E A I M I S U LT I M AT E LY F O R C O N S U M E R S TO M A K E A C O N S C I O U S D EC I S I O N TO P U R C H A S E ANDRÉ MEHLEN S U S TA I N A B L E P R O D U C T S .”

F E AT U R E

In collaboration with

Just one mention of mustard and Bertrand instantly sprang into action. He enthusiastically developed four quick and easy recipes for our readers, which made the KACHEN team’s mouths water at the photo shoot!

RECIPES BERTRAND DUCHAMPS PHOTOS ENIA HAECK

RILLE T TES OF SARDINES & TUNA IN A TOM ATO SERVES 4 15 MINUTES

• 4 large tomatoes • 1 small tin of tuna in olive oil (100 g) • 1 tin of Bertrand sardines with Menton lemon

• 2 fresh cheeses (Carré Frais Ger vais organic)

• 1 shallot, chopped • 1 tsp Luxembourg mustard + 1 tsp Dijon mustard

• 1 tsp mild curry powder • 4 turns of a black pepper mill • 1 tbsp wild garlic, basil or tomato pesto

1 Mash the tuna and sardines with a

fork, keeping the oil from the tins, then add the other ingredients. 2 Add a little oil to taste until you reach the desired consistency. 3 Cut off the tops of the tomatoes, scoop out the insides with a spoon and then fill with the rillettes. Serve with toasted rye bread.

STEP BY STEP

FOR HOT SUM M ER N IGH TS W I T H L AT I N A M ER IC A N F L A I R Ceviche is a Peruvian dish with a history dating back over 2,000 years. As with many old and traditional dishes, numerous variations and preparation methods have developed over time. Although our journalist Charel Heinen comes from Burglinster not Lima, he is a big fan of Latin American cuisine and has his very own ceviche recipe. His version is fruity and light, with a hint of spiciness. It’s very easy to prepare, keep in the fridge and bring out when needed - perfect for sultry summer days and nights on the terrace with good friends and a few cocktails!

RECIPE CHAREL HEINEN PHOTOS ENIA HAECK

CE VICHE A L A CARLOS SERVES 2 50 MINUTES

• 180 ml freshly squeezed lime juice • 60 ml freshly squeezed lemon juice • 60 ml freshly squeezed orange juice • 450 g raw prawns • 180 g Roma tomatoes • 1 mango • 1 avocado • 1 jalapeno or chilli pepper (depending on how spicy you like it) • ½ red onion • 1 bunch of fresh coriander • Salt, pepper and cumin, to taste To serve • Mini tortillas, tostadas or tortilla chips

Cocktail pairing: Pisco Sour • 60 ml pisco • 30 ml lime juice • 20 ml syrup • Egg white • A few drops of Angostura Bitters • Shake, strain and enjoy!

116

STEP BY STEP

1 Combine the citrus juice in a bowl.

2 Cut the prawns into small pieces.

Pour half of it into a separate container and set aside.

4 Meanwhile, finely dice the Roma

tomatoes, mango, jalapeno and red onion. Finely chop the coriander.

7 Season to taste with salt, pepper, cumin

and the remaining citrus juice. If you like it extra spicy, you can also add a little Tabasco or hot sauce.

3 Add the prawns to the bowl with

the citrus juice. Make sure they are completely covered. Leave to marinate in the fridge for 30 minutes.

5 After 30 minutes, remove

the prawns from the fridge and drain off the juice.

8 Cut the avocado into small cubes

and add to the mix.

6 Add the chopped ingredients

to the prawns and mix well.

9 Serve with some briefly fried mini

tortillas, tostadas or tortilla chips. ¡Buen provecho!

117

DO IT YOURSELF

ICE ICE BABY

FLOW ER-POW ER COCK TA IL HOU R

Be the ‘host with the most’ and brighten your cocktails with these floral ice cubes!

TEXT KIRSTY VON BOCH

t’s often the small details that make a big impression, and these pretty cubes are no exception. Frozen flowers suspended in ice take your cocktails up another notch! And why stop there? You can use berries and herbs as well, or experiment with other edible, foodsafe ingredients to make your drinks extra special. We suggest using flowers that have not been treated with pesticides. These are usually found in the vegetable section, not the flower section, of your supermarket. Violas, primroses and pansies are some examples that will work well. If you have fancy moulds, such as extra-large cubes or spheres, you can get really creative! Our method of freezing the blossom in just a few drops of water first, will help it to stay in place. It’s a small extra step, but will yield better results.

158

DO IT YOURSELF

FLOR AL ICE CUBES • An ice cube tray • Boiled water, completely cooled

• Edible flowers, herbs or fruits 1 Boil the water and cool

completely. 2 Place a few drops of cooled

water in each well of the ice tray and place the flowers face-down in the tray. Freeze for 1 hour. 3 Once the flowers have frozen in place, top up the ice cube tray with cooled water. 4 Freeze for at least 6 hours before amazing your guests with these beauties!

159