Lotao Press report (EN)

The nobility of rice for gourmets, or the LOTAO rice experience.

Young Berlin entrepreneur Stefan Fak trades in rare rice varieties from Asia and thanks to the finest spice mixtures gives back all its culinary prestige to the ancestral kernel.
Berlin, 2011. Seen from a typically European perspective rice has always played a secondary role as it is usually served as garnish for fish, meat or vegetable dishes. Besides it is often prepared with various sauces and condiments which totally spoil ist own distinctive aroma. The fact that approximately 120 000 types of rice exist around the world remains largely unackowledged in the West and our perception of it is heavily influenced by the bland, mass-market rices whose sole aim is to feed and be filling.
It doesn’t have to be so as LOTAO’s carefully selected rice specialities have brilliantly shown since February through their successful conquest of the German fine food market. Indeed, young entrepreneur Stefan Fak brought back from his travels around Asia six rare hand-picked rice varieties. For each one the ’risolier’ - the term he himself uses for ’rice expert’ - has created six refined spice mixtures which take the pleasure of rice cooking into an altogether higher culinary dimension.

Perfectioner or Elixir? Organic mixtures of the highest quality bring to the fore the unique character of each rice.

“In the ways we enrich our rice we make a clear distinction between Perfectioners and Elixirs depending on the qualities each type possesses“, says Stefan Fak. Perfectioners consist in organic spice mixtures whose origins can be traced back to old, orally transmitted Asian recipes. Elixirs are aromatic rice oil-based infusions enhanced with particular herbal flavours. They give prepared rice ist distinctively silky consistency and delightful shine.
“Each of our rice specialities has ist own history. For example the Wizard of Laos stems from three different rice varieties. During boiling its colour suddenly changes and turns into an alluring purple“, explains Austrian-born Stefan. According to the risolier, “the ’Magic Fruits’ Perfectioner, with extracts of figs, dates, pepper and tomato as well as sea salt enrich the Wizard of Laos rice which thus reveals the uniqueness of its aromatic, fruity nuances.“ The Perfectioner unfolds its taste in the rice when added shortly before serving. The homogenous texture of the rice remains intact, yet is enhanced through the bouquet of tangy spices.
The LOTAO Elixirs are compositions based on rice oil, which for centuries has been used, especially in Japan and Thailand, as cooking oil - and is in this respect akin to our olive oil. It is amongst other things rich in Vitamin E, which acts as a free radical scavenger. Elixirs too must be added shortly before serving. So for example Rising Sun Orange gets through the orange and chili extracts of the ’Essence of sweet Chili’ Elixir its slightly spicy, fruity taste notes. Likewise the dusky, smoked aromas of Oriental Sensation smoked metamorphose into something magical thanks to its Elixir’s refreshing mint. And Sparkling Volcano terra, the sparkling rice of warriors, unleashes its luscious, aromatic power only once its lemongrass and ginger flavoured Elixir has been added to it.
Stefan Fak discusses the tastiest combinations of enriched rice specialities with fish, meat and vegetable dishes in his blog, www.risolier.de. On top of various recipes he also gives further indications as to how Perfectioners and Elixirs can be used.
With their glossy, carefully made packaging The LOTAO products are striking and visually unique. The whole LOTAO range is available in the finest food halls: Käfer in Munich, Galeries Lafayette and KaDeWe in Berlin, OSCHÄTZCHEN in Hamburg as well on the www.lotao.com. Deliveries are also possible in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

For interview , sample and picture requests, please contact our press office. Furthermore our website, www.lotao.com, will provide you with all the relevant information regarding our rice specialities, product presentation and LOTAO’s philosophy.
About LOTAO (www.lotao.com)

Austrian-born Stefan Fak, 38, founded LOTAO GmbH in Berlin in 2010. LOTAO brings Asian rice specialities of the highest quality to the German-speaking market - and with all the ancient stories linked with rice throughout the centuries a certain philosophy of life too. On the specialist blog “Der Risolier“ visitors will also find a forum where a wide range of information about rice is available (www.risolier.de). LOTAO’s upmarket products have conquered the fine food market segment and are primarily aimed at select connoisseurs for whom the quality and origin of their food are paramount. LOTAO’s rice specialities are purchased under fair-trade agreements and all testing procedures for organic certification have been carried out.
 
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