Culinary Travel

The Glorious Twelfth Tradition

Aug 13, 2008

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On 12 August the grouse hunting season begins in the UK, and gourmet food suppliers compete to get the first game shot from Scotland to the tables of London restaurants

I'm just back from a short vacation on the Italian Riviera (more about that soon), and find my inbox flooded with press releases from various UK sources, all mentioning the Glorious 12th.

Intrigued and puzzled, I rush to check the meaning of the phrase.

I'm not sure how this may have escaped me till now (especialy since I've spent in the British Isles most Augusts over the past two decades!) but it refers to the date -- 12th August of course -- when the grouse shooting season begins.

Apparently, there is always substantial competition among gourmet food suppliers -- including Harrods' legendary Food Halls -- to get the first birds shot in the Scottish estates to the tables of restaurants in London and other major cities throughout the United Kingdom.

So, your humble foodie reporter is now one piece of information wiser, and just wanted to share the titbit. Sorry I'm 24 hours late alerting you for this year's big event... but at least anyone who cares for the taste of feathered game (not me, I'm afraid) now has 364 days to look forward to the next Glorious Twelfth!

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The Italian and French Rivieras

Aug 2, 2008

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Pesto or tapenade? That is going to be the main question for me over the next week while I visit the Italian and French Riviera looking for charming views and tasty bites

In a couple of hours' time, your faithful foodie reporter will be sitting at the weel heading for a few days in Sanremo, a bustling seaside resort on the Italian Riviera.

Mind you, don't expect to be seeing much of the beach there (or elseware for that matter).

Best known for its yearly music festival, Sanremo lies hardly half an hour's drive from the French border, and my plan is to hop on both sides of the line exploring seaside towns and quaint villages perchés, looking for picturesque views and foodie troves.

Meanwhile, if anyone's curious about this lovely stretch of land between sea and mountain, I strongly recommend they should read Annie Hawes' Extra Virgin (and sequels), possibly the best travelogue by a foreigner (a Londoner in this case) about relocating to the Italian countryside.

Forget Frances Mayes' overhyped Under the Tuscan Sun: Ms Hawes has a way with words you'll hardly find elsewhere, and I cannot seem to get tired of her prose.

Watch these pages for some tasty updates!

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The Beer Hunter's Library Bequest

Jul 25, 2008

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The Michael Jackson Collection will complement other special library collections on food and drink, one of the key areas of research excellence for Oxford University.

Oxford Brookes University Library’s impressive collection of food and drink related special collections, has been boosted by a donation from the estate of the late Michael Jackson, best known as The Beer Hunter or The Whisky Chaser (both registered trademarks).

A leading expert on beer and whisky, Jackson was a prolific journalist and lecturer, whose books on beer and whisky are translated in fifteen languages and have sold over three million copies worldwide.

Jackson died last year, and the executors of his estate have now donated the contents of his office to the University, including 1,500 books from his personal library on beer and whisky as well as 300 copies of his own books.

There is also much research material, hand-written notebooks, a selection of awards including four Glenfiddich awards for food writing, as well as photographs, press and book reviews.

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Culinary Arts Top Holiday List

Jul 13, 2008

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According to a recent UK study, eating and drinking is the activity that should occupy over 20% of the time in any perfectly balanced holiday pattern

Recent research conducted in the UK by 72 Point Ltd. on behalf of isango! -- a global travel experiences company -- showed that in order "to ensure you come back refreshed and energised, having made the most of your time away", out of a perfect two-week holiday you should ideally split your time as follows (activities listed in decreasing order):

Eating and drinking - 2.9 days
Visiting attractions - 2.7 days
Shopping - 2.3 days
Doing nothing and sleeping - 2.2 days
Soaking up culture - 2 days
Having sex - 1.2 days
Adventure/ nature - 0.7 days

While not saying that I subscribe to this pattern, for the purpose of this Culinary Travel column I think it's interesting (and encouraging) to note how yet again eating and drinking (i.e. culinary experiences) seem to top the list in most travel surveys. Of corse, if this is true for holidaymakers in general, it's even more so for epicurean travellers.

But after all, as we say in Italy, you don't grow old while sitting at the table... so what better way to make the most of your vacation?

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Top 10 Restaurants in Flanders

Jul 7, 2008

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The Flemish Tourist Authority has issued a list of the 10 best restaurants in Antwerp, Brussels, Bruges, Elverdinge, Ghent, Leuven, Mechelen, Ostend and Poperinge

I have fond culinary memories of Belgium (chocolate and mussels topping the list!) and have long been trying to recruit friends to go on a tour of Belgian beer-brewing Trappist abbeys, but unfortunately it's a few years since I last visited the country.

That is to say that I'm not pretending that the following list comes from my own experience (alas!), and I cannot vouch for its accuracy. Still the source seems reliable, because it was compiled by Tourism Flanders (the official Tourist Board for Flanders and Brussels, which should act as an impartial judge one would assume).

Purportedly, these are the ten best eateries in the region. Let me pass the list on "as is" and invite you to share your thoughts if you tried any of these (purportedly very fine!) restaurants:

Patrick De Vos "Zilveren Pauw" – Zilverstraat 41, Bruges
Dome – Grote Hondstraat 2, Antwerp
Pakhuis Brasserie – Schuurkenstraat 4, Ghent
Rouge Tomate – Avenue Louise 190, Brussels
De Blauwe Maan – Mechelsestraat 22, Leuven
Folliez – Korenmarkt 19, Mechelen
Pegasus Restaurant – Guido Gezellestraat 7, Poperinge
The Ostend Queen – West Helling, Ostend
Het Pomphuis – Siberiastraat z.n, Antwerp
Hostellierie St Nicolas – Veurnseweg 532, Elverdinge

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Culinary Time Travel in Tuscany

Jun 29, 2008

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Spanning three weeks in July, the annual Archaeological Nights (Notti dell'Archeologia) program offers over 300 themed events including historic dinners and tastings

The 8th annual Notti dell'Archeologia program in Tuscany runs from July 5th through 27th this year. Among its many themed events are special late night openings of archaeological sites and museums, exhibits, talks, guided visits, archeo-hikes and educational activities.

But this year's program also features a number of Roman and Etruscan dinners and tastings which provide intriguing opportunities for some culinary time-travel:

Etruscan Dinner at the Archaeological Museum of Colle di Val d’Elsa (Siena) on July 5th.
An anusual aperitif based on Etruscan and Roman ingredients will follow two talks hosted by the Municipal Archaeological Museum in Orbetello (Grosseto) on July 5th and 13th.
Three talks + dinner about The Tastes of Archaeology: Food, Customs and Conviviality in Ancient Times at the Archaeological Museum in Viareggio (Lucca) between July 8th and 12th.
At table with the Etruscans, a themed visit to the Archaeological Museum in Fiesole (Florence) will be followed by an Etruscan dinner in the Archaeological Park on July 12th.
Historical dinner in Piazza San Matteo at Montopoli Valdarno (Pisa) on July 12th.
Etruscan banquet with actors in period costume at Pitigliano's (Grosseto) open-air Archaeological Museum on July 12th.
Roman banquet featuring recipes from De re coquinaria by Marcus Gavius Apicius at 'I Lecci' Centre for Wine Culture in Montespertoli (Florence) on July 18th.
Talk and workshop about Ancient Roman Cuisine with tastings and demonstrations of Roman customs and recipes in Gavorrano (Grosseto) on July 23rd.
Roman games, shows and tastings of Roman recipes at the Museum of Rosignano Marittimo (Livorno) on Sunday 27th.

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The Guild of Food Writers Awards

Jun 14, 2008

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The British professional association of food writers and broadcaster announced the winners of their 2008 annual awards for outstanding achievement in food writing

The Guild of Food Writers is the professional association of British food writers, broadcasters, columnists and journalists. It was established in 1984 and has over 370 members.

Every year they present their coveted awards for outstanding achievement in several fields of food writing. This year, in addition to the existing eight awards, three new categories have been added for New Media, Restaurant Reviewer and Broadcast Programme.

Unfortunately there's no Culinary Travel writing category (maybe next year?), but you still may want to check these authors/titles for some fine food writing.

So, here's a list of the 11 winners for 2008:

Derek Cooper Award for Campaigning and Investigative Food Writing: Hattie Ellis, Planet Chicken: The Shameful Story of the Bird on Your Plate, Hodder & Stoughton
Michael Smith Award for Work on British Food: Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall and Nick Fisher, The River Cottage Fish Book, Bloomsbury Publishing
Jeremy Round Award for the Best First Book: Marwood Yeatman, The Last Food of England, Ebury Press
Food Book of the Year: Martin Jones, Feast: Why Humans Share Food, Oxford University Press
Cookery Book of the Year: Sarah Raven, Sarah Raven’s Garden Cookbook, Bloomsbury Publishing
Food Journalist of the Year: Bee Wilson, for work in The Sunday Telegraph’s Stella magazine
Evelyn Rose Award for Cookery Journalist of the Year: Shona Crawford Poole, for work in Country Living magazine
Restaurant Reviewer of the Year: Tracey Macleod, for reviews in The Independent magazine
Miriam Polunin Award for Work on Healthy Eating: Jill Dupleix, Lighten Up: A New Healthier Way to Cook, Quadrille
New Media Award: www.bbc.co.uk/food
Food Broadcast Award: The Food Programme: China Tea, BBC Radio 4

Finally, a special Lifetime Achievement Award went to Katie Stewart of BBC Homes and Antiques Magazine.

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Kiwi and European Coffee Festivals

Jun 4, 2008

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Coffee lovers and professionals on opposite sides of the world cannot miss the New Zealand Coffeefest in Auckland and SCAE's Worlds of Coffee trade show in Denmark

My latest article is on overview of the huge variety of classic and fancy coffee recipes served in Vienna, so it's a bit of an odd coincidence that my weekly blog (returning after a few weeks' silence due to technical issues with my internet connection -- but I digress!) is also going to feature coffee.

This weekend (June 6th to 8th), the annual New Zealand Coffee Festival (aka Coffeefest) returns to Auckland at the ex-Alinghi base, 135 Halsey Street, Viaduct Harbour. As usual there will be Coffee awards, a Latte Art competition, a trade show and plenty of opportunities for coffee lovers to indulge in gourmet coffee tasting.

However, if New Zealand sounds a bit far, you can still make plans to visit the This Wonderful Coffee 2008 event in Copenhagen, Denmark between June 19th and 22nd. This is the annual Worlds of Coffee meet-up, incorporating the SCAE World Speciality Conference, Exhibition, workshops, competitions and Barista Party. In case you are wondering, SCAE is short for the Speciality Coffee Association of Europe.

Its American counterpart, SCAA, (the Specialty Coffee Association of America) held its 20th Annual Conference and Exhibition at the Minneapolis Convention Center (Minnesota) at the beginning of May.

This reminds me that I'm running late for my mid afternoon espresso (the Italian equivalent of English tea?!).

Anyone care to join me for a humble cuppa?

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Street Food GPS Locator Software

May 10, 2008

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Italy still boasts a wealth of tasty regional varieties of street food traditionally sold at kiosks or small shops. Let the latest satellite technology guide you there!

Since Medieval times, roadside inns and taverns have been playing a significant role in food culture. Michelin star studded restaurants are all very well, but to this day the most genuine culinary experience in many ways still rests with the local sense of taste and place that comes from street food vendors.

When you connect a certain taste and smell with the look and feel of a place, the experience is much more likely to stay with you forever: from British Fish & Chips to Niçoise Pan Bagnat and Florentine Lampredotto rolls, I - for one - am a big fan of street food (aka local fast food if you like).

StreetFood is a recently founded association whose primary mission is mapping and promoting Italian street food specialties.

Their latest project is L'Imboccastrada, a specially designed software that enables users to build their own itineraries and download the info of their choice to several brands of GPS devices at no cost.

The name L'Imboccastrada stems from the Italian verb imboccare, meaning both to spoon-feed and to take a road/direction.

At this stage their database is still somewhat bare of info and listings, but I'm intrigued with the further developments of this project.

Watch this space, I'll keep you posted!

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