Culinary Travel
- Street Food GPS Locator Software
- Do You Eat With Your Eyes?
- International Best Pesto Winner
- 17th World Pizza Championship
- Classes For Budding Sushi Lovers
- 42nd Vinitaly Wine Fair in Verona
- World-Wide Mustard Competition
- Outstanding Scottish Restaurants
- Free Southern Cuisine Cookbook
- A Thousand Days in Tuscany
Street Food GPS Locator Software
Posted by
Maddalena Delli
Maddalena Delli
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!
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!
Posted by
Maddalena Delli
Maddalena Delli
Research confirms a link between how food looks and how it tastes, but how does an emphasis on presentation in restaurants dominate what we choose to eat?
One of the highlights of the NewcastleGateshead EAT! Food Festival in North East England is the Dans le Noir? experience: a restaurant in utter darkness where highly skilled blind waiters, completely at ease in this environment, will guide diners to the tables and serve the whole meal in complete obscurity.
Love it or hate it, this is guaranteed to be an unforgettable evening: how do you interact without eye contact? And how do you pour the wine without spilling it? Yet without your sight, the other four senses of taste, smell, touch and sound will be heightened, making this an intense and truly extraordinary experience.
In fact, scientific research has proved there's a link between how food looks and how it tastes, and restaurant chefs and food packagers are obviously well aware of how important it is to guide what we choose to eat through an emphasis on presentation.
The EAT! Festival organizers thought this intriguing relationship worthy of further investigation and are hosting a Debate in the Dark, scheduled for Wednesday May 7th 2008 at 6pm (Northern Stage).
Guest speakers at the Eat! With Your Eyes round table are:
Love it or hate it, this is guaranteed to be an unforgettable evening: how do you interact without eye contact? And how do you pour the wine without spilling it? Yet without your sight, the other four senses of taste, smell, touch and sound will be heightened, making this an intense and truly extraordinary experience.
In fact, scientific research has proved there's a link between how food looks and how it tastes, and restaurant chefs and food packagers are obviously well aware of how important it is to guide what we choose to eat through an emphasis on presentation.
The EAT! Festival organizers thought this intriguing relationship worthy of further investigation and are hosting a Debate in the Dark, scheduled for Wednesday May 7th 2008 at 6pm (Northern Stage).
Guest speakers at the Eat! With Your Eyes round table are:
- Anya Hurlbert MD PhD, Institute of Neuroscience, University of Newcastle upon Tyne
- Ian Brown, Senior Lecturer in Food Studies, Northumbria University
- Fabrice Roszczka, Directeur Général, Dans le Noir
International Best Pesto Winner
Posted by
Maddalena Delli
Maddalena Delli
The 2008 Golden Pestle for Best Pesto Sauce in the World was awarded to American chef James D. Bowien, trained by Paolo Laboa at the Farina Restaurant in San Francisco
Last week I told you about the World Pizza Championship in Salsomaggiore Terme. Meanwhile, on 19 April 2008 another international contest saw the world's top 100 pesto makers pound for their lives at the second Mortar Made Pesto Championship in the Ligurian city of Genoa, the hometown of pesto sauce.
Against all odds, the Golden Pestle award flew halfway across the globe to San Francisco in California, where James D. Bowien - a young American chef of Korean origin - works as sous chef at the Farina Focaccia & Cucina Italiana Restaurant.
Only 100 entrants out of 315 were selected for the final, and just 17 of them were not Italian - coming from Japan, Lebanon, the USA, Scotland, England, Ireland, France, Germany and Sri Lanka - so James D. Bowien's triumph was no easy feat. In fact, second and third best were amateur cook Mauro Canepa and veteran Alfonsina Trucco, both Genoese.
Chef Bowien learnt how to make pesto from Paolo Laboa, executive chef at Farina's and a trueborn Genoese, but the winning touch seemed to be his oriental flair for perfection: his pesto impressed the panel of 30 experts as the finest, smoothest, silkiest pesto concoction presented by the entrants.
The difference was all in the recipe and the touch of the pounder, because all entrants are allocated the same set of fine ingredients found in the true traditional recipe for the perfect Genoese pesto sauce: Genoese basil, Reggiano Parmesan cheese, Fiore Sardo ewe's milk cheese, Ligurian extra virgin olive oil, Vessalico garlic, sea salt, Italian pine nuts.
By the way, if you wish to enter the 2010 championship throw away your mixer, grab a good old-fashioned wooden pestle and marble mortar and start pouding!
Against all odds, the Golden Pestle award flew halfway across the globe to San Francisco in California, where James D. Bowien - a young American chef of Korean origin - works as sous chef at the Farina Focaccia & Cucina Italiana Restaurant.
Only 100 entrants out of 315 were selected for the final, and just 17 of them were not Italian - coming from Japan, Lebanon, the USA, Scotland, England, Ireland, France, Germany and Sri Lanka - so James D. Bowien's triumph was no easy feat. In fact, second and third best were amateur cook Mauro Canepa and veteran Alfonsina Trucco, both Genoese.
Chef Bowien learnt how to make pesto from Paolo Laboa, executive chef at Farina's and a trueborn Genoese, but the winning touch seemed to be his oriental flair for perfection: his pesto impressed the panel of 30 experts as the finest, smoothest, silkiest pesto concoction presented by the entrants.
The difference was all in the recipe and the touch of the pounder, because all entrants are allocated the same set of fine ingredients found in the true traditional recipe for the perfect Genoese pesto sauce: Genoese basil, Reggiano Parmesan cheese, Fiore Sardo ewe's milk cheese, Ligurian extra virgin olive oil, Vessalico garlic, sea salt, Italian pine nuts.
By the way, if you wish to enter the 2010 championship throw away your mixer, grab a good old-fashioned wooden pestle and marble mortar and start pouding!
Posted by
Maddalena Delli
Maddalena Delli
On 21-23 April the town of Salsomaggiore Terme in Italy hosts the 2008 Campionato Mondiale della Pizza with contestants from more than 20 different countries
The World Pizza Championship (Campionato Mondiale della pizza) is a yearly event held in Salsomaggiore Terme, a Spa resort in the province of Parma in Northern Italy.
The 17th Championship runs on April 21 through 23, 2008 and awaits more than 450 entrants (mostly male and aged around 35) from over twenty different countries. Outside Italy, the contest is particularly popular with US American and Japanese pizza makers.
Prizes will be awarded in 10 different categories:
The 17th Championship runs on April 21 through 23, 2008 and awaits more than 450 entrants (mostly male and aged around 35) from over twenty different countries. Outside Italy, the contest is particularly popular with US American and Japanese pizza makers.
Prizes will be awarded in 10 different categories:
- Classic Pizza Dough
- Classic Pan Pizza
- Presentation
- Neapolitan Style Pizza S.T.G.
- Gluten Free Pizza
- Fastest Pizza Man
- Largest Pizza
- Free Style
- Acrobatic Team
- Special Award
Classes For Budding Sushi Lovers
Posted by
Maddalena Delli
Maddalena Delli
At Loews Lake Las Vegas' SushiSKool, Kids Learn the Etiquette of Ordering and Eating Sushi Under the Guidance of Master Sushi Chef Osamu "Fuji" Fujita
Among the many children’s activities available at Loews Lake Las Vegas Resort, the SushiSKool program held on Saturdays from Memorial Day through Labor Day at the Sushi Bar at Marssa restaurant aims to cultivate the next generation of Sushi-Savvy gourmets.
Aimed at children aged 5 through teens and priced at $20 per child, this one-hour class is designed to teach budding young sushi lovers the basics of sushi etiquette: ordering sushi, handling chopsticks, eating different types of sushi. Participants will sample gari (pickled ginger), wasabi (Japanese horseradish), shoyu (soy sauce) and sip ocha (green tea) while mastering the finer points of chopstick strategy.
For further sushi fun beyond the class, kids will take home a "Sushi Savvy" gift bag including a SushiSKool t-shirt, Chef Fuji’s Guide to Sushi, chopsticks, a CD of photos from the class and a discount card for dinner in Marssa.
Osamu "Fuji" Fujita is the Corporate Sushi Chef for Loews Hotels and he can be found behind the sushi bar at Marssa at the Loews Lake Las Vegas Resort serving innovative dishes such as Omaka Se, Tamari Scallop, or Cajun Albacore Tataki. A third generation sushi chef whose father was the personal chef for the Emperor of Japan, Chef Fuji began his career as an apprentice in Tokyo.
Aimed at children aged 5 through teens and priced at $20 per child, this one-hour class is designed to teach budding young sushi lovers the basics of sushi etiquette: ordering sushi, handling chopsticks, eating different types of sushi. Participants will sample gari (pickled ginger), wasabi (Japanese horseradish), shoyu (soy sauce) and sip ocha (green tea) while mastering the finer points of chopstick strategy.
For further sushi fun beyond the class, kids will take home a "Sushi Savvy" gift bag including a SushiSKool t-shirt, Chef Fuji’s Guide to Sushi, chopsticks, a CD of photos from the class and a discount card for dinner in Marssa.
Osamu "Fuji" Fujita is the Corporate Sushi Chef for Loews Hotels and he can be found behind the sushi bar at Marssa at the Loews Lake Las Vegas Resort serving innovative dishes such as Omaka Se, Tamari Scallop, or Cajun Albacore Tataki. A third generation sushi chef whose father was the personal chef for the Emperor of Japan, Chef Fuji began his career as an apprentice in Tokyo.
42nd Vinitaly Wine Fair in Verona
Posted by
Maddalena Delli
Maddalena Delli
From April 3rd through 7th 2008 Verona Fiere hosts wine and food tastings alongside events defining the latest scenarios for Italian wine marketing and exports
Anyone who's anyone in the wine business - producers, traders, restaurateurs, sommeliers and humble wine lovers - from Italy and beyond will be flocking to Verona for the 42nd Vinitaly wine expo this week. About 4,300 exhibitors from around thirty countries attract 150 thousand professional visitors from over 100 different countries.
Running from April 3 to April 7 at the VeronaFiere trade and exhibition centre, this year's Vinitaly focuses on the new commercial scenarios for Italian wine such as:
For those unfamiliar with Italian geography, the city of Verona (best known as the hometown of Romeo and Juliet) lies inland from Venice in the Italian north-east region of Veneto.
Later this year, catch the following Vinitaly events internationally:
Running from April 3 to April 7 at the VeronaFiere trade and exhibition centre, this year's Vinitaly focuses on the new commercial scenarios for Italian wine such as:
- domestic wine consumption in Japan;
- the impact of the dollar/euro exchange rate on Italian wine exports to the USA;
- the influence of the tourism industry on wine consumption in China;
- Russian consumers from the large-scale distribution to top quality cuisine;
- Brazil as the next frontier for Italian wine exports.
For those unfamiliar with Italian geography, the city of Verona (best known as the hometown of Romeo and Juliet) lies inland from Venice in the Italian north-east region of Veneto.
Later this year, catch the following Vinitaly events internationally:
- 9-10 June 2008 Vinitaly Russia - Moscow
- 12 June 2008 Vinitaly Russia - St Petersburg
- 27 October 2008 Vinitaly U.S. Tour - Chicago
- 29 October 2008 Vinitaly U.S. Tour - New York
- 30 October 2008 Vinitaly U.S. Tour - Washington D.C.
- November 2008 Vinitaly Japan - Tokyo
- November 2008 Vinitaly China - Shanghai
World-Wide Mustard Competition
Posted by
Maddalena Delli
Maddalena Delli
19 winners were chosen by a panel of food writers and chefs among 400 mustard varieties from Canada, France, Japan, New Zealand, South Africa, Sweden and the U.S.
Part of the 15th Annual Napa Valley Mustard Festival, the 2008 World Wide Mustard Competition saw entries from Canada, France, Japan, New Zealand, South Africa, Sweden and the United States.
Nancy Bartush, owner of Silver Spring Gardens in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, received the Grand Champion Award of The Napa Valley Mustard Festival World-Wide Mustard Competition for their Silver Spring Deli Style.
Food journalists and chefs sampled over 400 mustards and awarded nineteen category gold medals:
Nancy Bartush, owner of Silver Spring Gardens in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, received the Grand Champion Award of The Napa Valley Mustard Festival World-Wide Mustard Competition for their Silver Spring Deli Style.
Food journalists and chefs sampled over 400 mustards and awarded nineteen category gold medals:
- Sweet Hot: LissEllas S-Special
- Honey: Rothschild Raspberry Honey Mustard Pretzel Dip
- Dijon: Grey Poupon Dijon
- Coarse Grained: Boetje's Dutch Style Stone Ground Mustard
- Classic Hot: Temeraire Dijon
- Pepper Hot: Noyo Reserve IPA Sweet Fire Mustard
- Horseradish/Wasabi: Inglehoffer Hot Horseradish Mustard
- Herb/Veggie: Le Cordon Bleu Herbes de Provence Mustard
- Garlic: Obester Wine Garlic Mustard
- Fruit: Aunty Lilikoi's Passion Fruit Wasabi Mustard
- Spirit: Aviator Porter Smoky Mustard
- American Yellow: Raye's Down East Schooner Mustard
- Deli/Brown: Silver Spring Deli Style *** (also overall Grand Champion)
- Exotic: Brownwood Farms BBQ Mustard
- Salad Dressing/Sauce: SchoolHouse Kitchen Balsamic Vinaigrette Basico
- Hot Sauce: Stonewall Kitchen Habañero Mango Hot Sauce
- BBQ Sauce/Marinade: Ole Ray's Classic Gold BBQ Cooking Sauce
- Organic: True Natural Taste Organic Dijon Mustard
- Label/Packaging: Pommery Moutarde Royale (Cognac Mustard)
Outstanding Scottish Restaurants
Posted by
Maddalena Delli
Maddalena Delli
Who's the winner of the Informal Dining Award? And which is the Scottish Inn of the Year? Ever heard of the EatScotland scheme? Read on and find out!
A few weeks ago, I wrote about the winners of the 2008 Scottish Restaurant Awards. The article proved quite popular, so I thought you might be interested to read more about a few other outstanding restaurants in Scotland which have been the recipients of different accolades of late:
The Burts Hotel in the picturesque Borders town of Melrose is the winner of the Informal Dining Award 2008. A family run hotel, The Burts has long been praised for its excellent fare by guests, food guides and critics alike. Head Chef Alasdair Stewart uses only the finest (and if possible locally sourced) ingredients, changing the menu to reflect the Scottish seasons.
The renowned West Lothian Champany Inn restaurant in Linlithgow - run by Clive Davidson and his wife Anne for the past 25 years - has joined the elite list of Scottish restaurants to be awarded a Michelin star.
Another family run hotel in the Scottish Borders, the Buccleuch Arms Hotel in St Boswells, was also recognised for its excellence and was awarded the Scottish Inn of the Year 2008.
Besides, The Tullibardine Restaurant at Blair Castle and The Victorian Kitchen at Glamis Castle have recently achieved the influential EatScotland seal of approval for excellence in food and high standards in service. EatScotland is a food quality assurance scheme which assesses the presentation, quality and service of food in eating establishments throughout Scotland.
The Burts Hotel in the picturesque Borders town of Melrose is the winner of the Informal Dining Award 2008. A family run hotel, The Burts has long been praised for its excellent fare by guests, food guides and critics alike. Head Chef Alasdair Stewart uses only the finest (and if possible locally sourced) ingredients, changing the menu to reflect the Scottish seasons.
The renowned West Lothian Champany Inn restaurant in Linlithgow - run by Clive Davidson and his wife Anne for the past 25 years - has joined the elite list of Scottish restaurants to be awarded a Michelin star.
Another family run hotel in the Scottish Borders, the Buccleuch Arms Hotel in St Boswells, was also recognised for its excellence and was awarded the Scottish Inn of the Year 2008.
Besides, The Tullibardine Restaurant at Blair Castle and The Victorian Kitchen at Glamis Castle have recently achieved the influential EatScotland seal of approval for excellence in food and high standards in service. EatScotland is a food quality assurance scheme which assesses the presentation, quality and service of food in eating establishments throughout Scotland.
Free Southern Cuisine Cookbook
Posted by
Maddalena Delli
Maddalena Delli
The culinary travel section of the Travel South website offers foodies a free e-cookbook with a dozen authentic Southern recipes
The Travel South website is giving away a 28-page booklet in pdf format with delicious recipes from the Southern US when you sign up for their monthly Travel South Enews newsletter, featuring lots of great Southern Travel ideas and collectable authentic Southern US Recipes by famous Southern Chefs (you may also check previous issues online before you sign up).
This colorful cookbook features the following recipes:
This colorful cookbook features the following recipes:
- Alabama Easy Fruit Cobbler (Alabama)
- White River Fried Trout (Arkansas)
- Tangy Key Lime Cookies (Florida)
- Peach State Bread (Georgia)
- Hot Brown Recipe (Kentucky)
- White Chocolate and Coconut Bread Pudding (Louisiana)
- Shrimp Casserole (Mississippi)
- Moravian Molasses Cookies (North Carolina)
- Shrimp & Grits (South Carolina)
- Southern Fried Catfish (Tennessee)
- Cream of Peanut Soup (Virginia)
- Hot Pepper Butter Glaze (West Virginia)
Posted by
Maddalena Delli
Maddalena Delli
Marlena de Blasi was a chef, food and wine consultant and restaurant critic before becoming a bestselling travel writer, and her style betrays her culinary passion
Over the past few years I've read just about every English-language travel narrative about Tuscany – and several about Italy – I've come across during my book-buying sprees in charity shops around Britain (call it silly, but I simply love giving a second chance to discarded books...).
Many travelogues about Tuscany have become bestsellers in recent years, and as a travel writer and journalist, I find it helpful (and usually entertaining) to see my homeland through foreign eyes.
My most recent reading is Marlena de Blasi's A Thousand Days in Tuscany, a book that's as much about food and wine as it is about places and people. In her A Thousand Days in Venice (which I haven't read yet), the author wrote about falling in love with a Venetian man, whom she marries. In A Thousand Days in Tuscany, the couple start a new life together in a village farmhouse “on a forgotten patch of earth where Tuscany, Umbria and Lazio collide”.
Marlena de Blasi was a chef, journalist, food and wine consultant and restaurant critic before writing this. And sure enough, it does show! The narrative, that may indeed feel a bit verbose at times, certainly reaches its best when the author is talking of food, or else when she tells about things, places and people as though they were food or wine, evoking their colors, smells and taste.
But one thing I deem worthy of special mention is that for once the recipes she inserts between chapters are for the most part perfectly legit traditional Tuscan recipes, unlike the recipes published by Frances Mayes in her Under the Tuscan Sun and Bella Tuscany, which bear little or no relation to the Tuscan culinary tradition.
Many travelogues about Tuscany have become bestsellers in recent years, and as a travel writer and journalist, I find it helpful (and usually entertaining) to see my homeland through foreign eyes.
My most recent reading is Marlena de Blasi's A Thousand Days in Tuscany, a book that's as much about food and wine as it is about places and people. In her A Thousand Days in Venice (which I haven't read yet), the author wrote about falling in love with a Venetian man, whom she marries. In A Thousand Days in Tuscany, the couple start a new life together in a village farmhouse “on a forgotten patch of earth where Tuscany, Umbria and Lazio collide”.
Marlena de Blasi was a chef, journalist, food and wine consultant and restaurant critic before writing this. And sure enough, it does show! The narrative, that may indeed feel a bit verbose at times, certainly reaches its best when the author is talking of food, or else when she tells about things, places and people as though they were food or wine, evoking their colors, smells and taste.
But one thing I deem worthy of special mention is that for once the recipes she inserts between chapters are for the most part perfectly legit traditional Tuscan recipes, unlike the recipes published by Frances Mayes in her Under the Tuscan Sun and Bella Tuscany, which bear little or no relation to the Tuscan culinary tradition.
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