epicure March 2019

I f you are crazy about at least one of the 3Cs - chocolate, cheese and coffee - this issue is for you. My relationship with these three gems goes something like this: The older I get, the more I appreciate the flavour complexity of cheese. As for the other two must-haves, an oft-quoted saying goes, “Coffee makes it possible to get out of bed, but chocolate makes it worthwhile”. Whether your taste buds pick on sweet, salty or bitter flavours, we've got the feature story to satisfy your palate. When it comes to chocolates, the majority of cocoa producers still come from West African countries like Ivory Coast and Ghana. In recent years, Southeast Asia has emerged to garner a slice of the cake; the chocolate market is said to…

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The London Coffee Festival Expect a crowd of 30,000 thronging the grounds of Old Truman Brewery to visit more than 250 exhibitors at the The London Coffee Festival, billed as Europe’s largest annual gathering of java aficionados. Over the four-day event from 28 to 31 March, caffeine seekers can sign up for the Home Barista workshops conducted at the La Marzocco Kitchen to learn how to pull the perfect espresso, and head to The Tasting Room for tasting workshops on coffee, chocolate, wine, whisky and beer. The world’s top latte art specialists and baristas will battle it out for the coveted Coffee Master title and top prize of £5,000 (S$8,754) as they attempt to pour the perfect glossy rosetta and milky coffee using Ozone coffee. A new highlight of the nine-year…

CHEESE Ossau-Iraty is known as the grandfather of Basque cheeses – it’s believed that it is one of the first intentionally made cheeses in Europe, dating back to 3,000 BC. Hailing from the Basque region of France, this cheese is named for the two picturesque regions in the Southwestern Pyrenees Mountains – Ossau is located in the valley of the Bearn and Iraty in the beech forests of the Pays Basque. The cheese is made from sheep’s milk, which comes from the famed Brebis sheep that graze in the valleys of Ossau and Iraty. Ossau-Iraty is ivory in colour with a natural dry thick rind that ranges from an orange-yellow to a dark brownish gray. COFFEE El Aguacate is a 30-member, smallholder collective in the District of Santa Barbara in Nariño. Beside growing…

Share with us your career thus far. I was previously sales director responsible for IFA distribution in Singapore at Standard Life International. Prior to that I worked at Zurich Life Singapore as head of expatriate sales before leaving in 2013 to join Standard Life. I bring with me 18 years of experience in the life insurance industry. I’ve been brought in to expand Asia Hansard International’s IFA business through my existing networks, increase focus on our product proposition and ensure high quality service delivery to our partners. Tell us about a recent meal you had overseas that bowled you over. I recently ate at a wonderful Vietnamese fusion restaurant in Hong Kong called Chôm Chôm. It has a lively bar and kitchen and is situated on a street corner in Soho. The menu…

Simple Cake: All you need to keep your friends and family in cake is an ode to Odette Williams’ family and friends. With 50 easy recipes and inventive decorating ideas, Williams presents recipes for 10 different cake bases, 15 toppings, and endless decorating ideas to yield a sweet treat--such as Milk & Honey Cake, Coconut Cake, Summer and Chocolatey Chocolate Cake. Published by Ten Speed Press. Available from bookdepository.com, $31.45 In The New Pie: Modern Techniques for the Classic American Desserts, Chris Taylor and Paul Arguin—both doctors as well as winners of the 2017 National Pie Championship—share their passion for creating classic pies with a decadent twist. Turn the pages and discover a birthday cake cream pie with a chocolate ganache and candy coating, as well as a banana pudding cream…