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HAPPA has a new menu and you must try it!

Köchin/Autorin/Gastronomin and Nina Petersen are a fantastic female duo that I knew of already for a while, yet never had the chance to eat there. As I started working for Weinhandlung SUFF , I was handed their beautiful account and over that past months I have closely worked with Nina, building the w**e and alcohol-free pairing for their autumn menu. I am so happy to have had the full dining experience after all our tests, thoughts, love and effort.

Sophia’s cuisine keeps on challenging the eating habits of our society through her plant-based zero-waste philosophy and we tried to do the same with the w**emakers we poured in the glasses: female, organic, vegan.

Nina walked us through the menu and the pairing at the beginning of the evening, and then each course and w**e was served at the same time for all the guests in both rooms, reminding me very much of my own popup dinners which I (sometimes) miss very much.

Thank you so much, Nina and Sophia for trusting me and us, working with you is a real pleasure and I cannot wait for all the menus to come!

This week, I had the chance to dine at the already legendary Restaurant Tim Raue for the second time in my life, and I was delighted to attend one of the Herr Raue Reist dinners.

Throughout the series, tim raue hosts once a month a dinner with a menu inspired by his travels and experiences around the world, accompanied by a carefully curated beverage pairing.

This time, we travelled to Japan. Unlike my usual pairing experiences, this was a full immersion into Sake, thanks to talented sommelier Raphael Reichardt , who had selected some of the most interesting and exquisite sakes from the UENO GOURMET portfolio.

I also met the lovely importer and Sake Samurai Yoshiko and was lucky enough to sit next to her during dinner, absorbing as much information as possible about a beverage world that hasn’t occupied me nearly as much as w**e over the years.

The food was, as always, impeccable: a mix of Tim Raue classics and new experiments. We were lucky enough to have Tim in the room, explaining the dishes himself, while Yoshiko guided us through the sake experience and Marie-Anne Wild made us all feel welcome and at home in her home.

Of course, I couldn’t resist exploring the w**e bible that is the Tim Raue w**e list and choosing a Burgundy to enjoy alongside the sake pairing. This eventually resulted in more than seven w**e glasses on the table in front of me, but honestly, that’s nothing new in my dining experiences. 😄

A big thank you to the entire Tim Raue team for the impeccable service and wonderful experience. And a huge thanks to Die Schneiderei - Atelier für Texte und Konzepte for this amazing invitation.

If you’re looking for a different kind of experience, or simply want to discover Tim Raue’s cuisine, Herr Raue Reist is a wonderful way to do it. The next journey takes us to Paris on 27 October, and I hope to see some of you there.

Looking forward to coming back. 🥂🇯🇵

July dump, fashionably late ♋️

My month, year after year 🦀. Soaking up the glorious weather, the wonderful people in my life, the city I chose 10 years ago. And as usual endlessly eating and sipping w**e.

The month when hardly a couple of days went by without going to the boat. The months I worked and studied almost every single day. The month to appreciate my privileged life, but also how much I worked over the years to be surrounded by all of this. A month to reflect on all the human connections I built, broke, and revived.

The month of feeling grounded again in my life, both body and soul. The month completing my 37th spin around the sun, including 1 that was by far the most challenging so far.

July, I would relive every single day of you.

Holiday mode loading…

I passed my D1 (W**e Production) exam!!!

I would like to share with you a bit of this joy, but also how much work there is behind. It was not easy to balance studying, work and private life but I managed. How?

I studied every single day with just a few exceptions. I did the bare social minimum, I luckily had my husband make me eat, i stood up almost every day at 6AM, studied before work, in my lunch break, after work, after sport, in the plane, in the car, in the bus and sometimes in bed till my eyes shut down. And don’t get me wrong, I love doing it. But i do feel I am non stop at 220V.

What happened after the exam? I had maybe a cheat month (which I now regret a bit) to really arrive in my new job, finish some Pointer projects, and enjoy some family time. And after that, I went right back to it, but with a pinch of summer gratitude, enjoying my fav season in the world despite the amount of information that I need to stuff my head with.

I have been prepping for the next WSET Global challenge: D2 (W**e Business), D4 (Sparkling) and D5 (Fortified). Theory and tasting. Found a tasting buddy in Berlin which makes it all more fun. I am in constant exchange with my Greek colleagues, and we hold each other accountable almost everyday, which truly boosts confidence and enthusiasm. Not to mention the amazing set of learning skills that my school in Athens WSPC Konstantinos Lazarakis MW has equipped me with. And I keep on studying everywhere: on the balcony, at the airport, in the train, in the garden, on the boat, with a glass of w**e or not next to me :) Sometimes I look up from my papers and I see the beautiful sunsets, or my husband swimming, or my bestie studying as well.

So here’s a collection of all these studying moments and hopefully memories I will cherish forever.

24h to remember at Forsthaus Strelitz

It was great to be far away from the big city and enjoy a bit of peace, excellent ingredients, great attention to detail in the kitchen and in service, balanced pairing with some home made ciders and fruit w**e next to w**e bangers, exciting w**e list with enough space to (re)taste old time favs and try new things, and the clearest star-lit sky (with even a few shooting stars) I have seen in a while.

To say more would be redundant, you‘ll have to set foot there and meet these people in person.

Thank you for having us in your small corner of paradise!

an evening well spent a couple of weeks ago at Matthias , with amazing w**es carefully selected by Michael Stiel , wonderful hosting by Janine Woltaire , the unique menu of Silvio Pfeufer and the best company, my husband. Not to mention it was also my 37th spin around this beautiful Globe which I still hope we will get to save.

Drank Domaine Trapet , Azienda Agricola Foradori and other magical sips, tried both vegetarian and omnivore menus, fell in love with the cobia fish dish and its vegetarian sister may turnip with a touch of rhubarb.

Cannot wait to return! Grateful to have been able to experience this and NOT taking it for granted.

**eanddine