If you've ever felt the dark side of ice cream calling for you, you'll love this Star Wars-themed trailer for Jordi Roca^[1]'s ice cream shop in Girona, Spain. 

Shot to promote the new ''dark ice cream'' at Roca's Rocambolesc^[2] gelateria, the video features Darth Vader and several Storm Soldiers hitting the streets of Girona.

We soon find out what the leader of the Dark Side has a craving for ice cream. Thus, he ends up at Rocambolesc where he is promptly served a ''dark popsicle'' crafted in his image. He holds up the ice cream and proclaims "I am your father'' (in Spanish, no less!).

Roca, who rose to fame as the pastry chef at the world's number two restaurant El Celler de Can Roca^[3], is known for being wildly creative and this cool video clearly illustrates his genius. Take a look:

References

1. ^{^} Jordi Roca (www.finedininglovers.com)
2. ^{^} Rocambolesc (www.rocambolesc.com)
3. ^{^} world's number two restaurant El Celler de Can Roca (www.finedininglovers.com)

Five legendary American chefs including Julia Child^[1] and James Beard^[2] are being recognized by the United States Postal Service. The agency will issue stamps featuring the iconic figures that forever changed cuisine in America.

Joining Child and Beard are Southern cuisine guru Edna Lewis, New York-based Peruvian chef Felipe Rojas-Lombardi, and Chinese chef, restaurateur and cookbook author Joyce Chen.

Here's a description of the stamps from the USPS:

"The five chefs honored on these stamps revolutionized our understanding of food. Seeing cooking as a source of delight, they invited us to feast on regional and international flavors and were early but ardent champions of trends that many foodies now take for granted. As they shared their know-how, they encouraged us to undertake our own culinary adventures."

The Celebrity Chef stamps will be issued September 24th. They are available for purchase here^[3].

Via The Daily Meal^[4]

References

1. ^{^} Julia Child (www.finedininglovers.com)
2. ^{^} James Beard (www.finedininglovers.com)
3. ^{^} here (store.usps.com)
4. ^{^} The Daily Meal (www.thedailymeal.com)

Marcus Wareing has announced plans to open a new restaurant which will operate as a West End eatery in the Seven Dials area of London. 

The new restaurant, called Tredwell’s, will be a large space of 5,500 sq ft and placed over three flours in a building that sits opposite Jamie Oliver’s Italian restaurant. 

Wareing will not be in the kitchen as he will continue to focus on developing his restaurant Marcus at The Berkeley Hotel. 

Stay tuned for more details of the venture as they’re announced. 

References

1. ^{^} Eat Out Magazine (eatoutmagazine.co.uk)

The British chef Heston Blumenthal will continue his relationship with the supermarket chain Waitrose by launching a line of hand crafted Easter eggs.

The egg will be made using dark chocolate and finished with an extra layer of sprayed chocolate. Inside the chocolate shell there are six mandarin ganache chocolates that look like mini bird’s eggs - they rest on a bed of straw made using edible vanilla paper.

Speaking about the new product, of which only 8,000 will be produced, Chris Moore from Waitrose said: ‘We've been working with Heston for over a year to create an egg that will really stand out from the crowd. There's nothing else quite like it.’

The eggs will cost £20 each as the supermarket hope to cash in on the same demand that saw thousands of people snap up special Blumenthal designed Christmas puddings.

Via The Daily Mail ^[1]

References

1. ^{^} The Daily Mail  (www.dailymail.co.uk)

The blogosphere is a buzz with exciting news that acclaimed Italian chef Massimo Bottura^[1] is opening a restaurant in Istanbul. 

The chef's new venture will be called Ristorante Italia di Massimo Bottura and will be located inside the Eataly complex at Istanbul's Zorlu Center, a luxury shopping mall in the affluent Besiktas area of the city, on its European shore, Caterer and Hotelkeeper reports.

A spokesperson for Bottura confirmed that the restaurant would not be modelled on the concepts of either of the chef's existing two Modena restaurants, but that it would be "a very smart" new dining concept aimed at the sophisticated clientele in the area, according to Caterer and Hotelkeeper.

Bottura rose to fame for his three-Michelin-starred Osteria Francescana restaurant in Modena, which ranks third on the World's 50 Best Restaurants^[2] list sponsored by S.Pellegrino^[3] and Acqua Panna^[4]. It is expected to open in early summer.

This would be Bottura's third restaurant, as the chef also owns Franceschetta 58, an informal dining spot he opened back in 2011.

Bottura recently received the prestigious World Gastronomy Award^[5] in Stockholm. We are currently reaching out to the chef for comments so stay tuned for updates as more details surface...

Via Caterer and Hotelkeeper^[6]

References

1. ^{^} Massimo Bottura (www.finedininglovers.com)
2. ^{^} World's 50 Best Restaurants (www.theworlds50best.com)
3. ^{^} S.Pellegrino (www.finedininglovers.com)
4. ^{^} Acqua Panna (www.finedininglovers.com)
5. ^{^} World Gastronomy Award (www.finedininglovers.com)
6. ^{^} Caterer and Hotelkeeper (www.catererandhotelkeeper.co.uk)