‘Brèves de comptoir’ are authentic quotations collected from everyday life and particularly gossips at the bistro. Absurd borders on humour or poetry, news and sometimes philosophy. Mine are of course food oriented, a concentrate of what feed my life, what I swallow every day, what I read, hear, try, taste… In London and the world…

– A winemaker in Tuscany is about to release the first vegan wine. In the process the grapes are filtered through a number of substances called ‘the fining agent’ (crustacean shells, gelatin) The way it works : agents are either positively or negatively charged, and will then bind to the particles of opposite charge, resulting in an extraction of those unwanted particles from the wine. All of the unwanted elements from the wine can then be discarded. Complicated, I know… Because those wines are not suitable for vegan, some producers near Siena made the perfect vegan wine. They can trace the grape from vineyard to the bottle. To follow, this Spring : Fattoria Casabianca. http://www.fattoriacasabianca.it/en/

– The new stupidity in London is the owl bar, ‘Annie the owl’. People don’t know what to invent to be noticed. This one week pop-up is about to open and already a long petition about animal welfare has been signed, of course. The aim : the education about owls and their way of life. The profit from the ticket sales will go to the sanctuary working for the species conservation. I don’t know a lot about owls but what I know is that they should be in the country side, in a tree, not in a bar in Soho. There are a lot of ways to educate people on different subject, even to collect money and it doesn’t necessarily involve a cocktail.

This month’s ‘Brèves de comptoir’ are the must of the must on the category ‘the stupid news’ like the Yuzu egg. Japanese invented the egg that smells Yuzu to avoid the fishy smell that eggs can have. I would be worried having eggs that smell fish but as they affectionate Yuzu and use it a lot in their cuisine, they fed their chicken with it and corn and sesame seeds. The whole point (in addition to reduce the fishy smell) is to entice appetite. They have just created the onion that doesn’t make you cry, so whatever, when you have time to waste.

– The Clove Club will be the first restaurant making people to pay their food in advance. Ticketing is the way of avoiding no shows and so, empty tables. Not very classy and delicate for a first price at £65 a 5 courses menu. http://thecloveclub.com/

– The most expensive tea in the world is now on the menu at the Royal China Club in London. It will cost you a £180 for a pot that furnishes 4 small cups. Its leaves can reach £650000 a kilo. They are coming from the legendary bushes in Fujian province. The legend says that this tea cured the illness of a Ming dynasty emperor. The leaves are wiped with goat milk then picked and baked over charcoal, left for up to 80 years to gain flavours.

– Opening this summer the Adam Holcroft’s insect restaurant. In Pembrokeshire where you will be able to eat bug burritos and bamboo worm fudge ice-cream.

– ‘The Curious Canine Kitchen’ is a 2 days pop-up…. For dogs ! The 11th and 12th April you will be able to go to feed your dog with a 5 courses lunch including some 3 Michelin stars dishes kind of : blueberry chia pudding with gluten-free cinnamon quinoa. £20 for dogs, £8 for humans… Shoreditch. http://www.londonpopups.com/2015/04/the-curious-canine-kitchen-pop-up.html

– Not maple syrup but maple water. 46 vitamins and minerals, it contains more manganese than a cup of kale and half the sugar of coconut water. Seva. http://www.drinkseva.com/en/

– ‘Hop Theory’ bags are the new ‘tea bags’ to infuse in your beer. Orange peel and coriander seeds give more flavour to your light beer which is cheaper and less caloric than the craft beer but also a bit dull. Not on sale for now, it will be if they manage to raise enough money to start the project. If you want to donate : https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/915128700/hop-theory

– Disney world is about to put on its menu a steak at 115 dollars. The dry aged tomahawks are the ultimate bone-in ribeye, with an extra long bone for extraordinary presentation. Boasting a mellow taste that only comes from the longstanding dry aging process, these Tomahawk ribeyes are abundant in marbling and rich in flavor. The boathouse, Disney World.