STARTERS
Served as a complimentary amuse bouche, the Insider introducesthe people and products that made a difference in the year just gone: from the farmers and the growers to the innovators and innovations…
A Class Act Though they’ve been producing it for years, 2018 felt like a breakthrough year for Antonius (antoniuscaviar.com), a Polish caviar brand that suddenly found itself being served up on the tables of Warsaw’s flashiest addresses: the Raffles Europejski, for instance. Farming Siberian and Russian sturgeon in ponds of crystal clear water from the
Sling Your Hook! Somerset Maugham, Noel Coward, Rudyard Kipling: think of the Singapore Sling and it’s them one imagines – sat on rattan chairs, mopping their brows and sweating into hankies. Though inexorably associated with flouncy British toffs, this iconic drink has landed in Warsaw, and in its proper, official form. Served alongside a local
The Indian scene is heating up, and in one restaurant’s case, literally. Served with a legal disclaimer, head to Guru to ‘enjoy’ Poland’s first phaal, a weapons grade curry that represents the deadliest rung on the Indian ladder. It’s not too different from having a cobra writhing in your guts (and no, we don’t mean
It’s A Wrap Increasingly represented in stores and restaurants around Warsaw, Molino (molino.pl) have come to be recognized as Poland’s top authority on tortilla production. Blending Mexican techniques with local corn, this small-scale, family-run business proudly eschew all chemicals bar one: love!
Polish kimchi? And why not! The country’s love of cabbage has never been disputed, so the nation’s rediscovered appreciation of fermentation processes was always going to lead to creations such as this. No-one, though, has done it better than United Soil, a small firm that places emphasis on words such as organic and unpasteurized. For
Back To The Future Inspired by the glam inter-bellum, look to Atelier 1925 (ul. Polna 18/20, 1925.eu) for home and kitchen pieces that will sweep you back to the age of Lindbergh and Lempicka. Produced in Poland using traditional techniques, give your dine time the sophisticated signature of the Art Deco period with this firm’s
Rug Dealer! When he’s not cooking, you’ll find David Turkestanishvili holding court inside his Aladdin’s lair of rugs and carpets. Set in a basement nook behind his award-winning Rusiko restaurant (rusiko.pl), the chef’s obsession with Georgian ruggery is indulged inside a beautifully compact and chaotic store piled high with rug paraphernalia sourced from his home
Jar Heads! Two producers have thrilled the Insider this year: Basia Basia, whose natural jarred goodies focus on peanut butter with varying wacky slants (banana; white chocolate; hazelnut, etc.), and Concept Stu Mostów who, aside from brewing exciting rebel beers, have turned their hand to craft preserves such as beetroot ketchup; pear horseradish; hop-flavored mayo;
