Europe
What is the couvert in Portugal?
The first time we encountered a couvert was in Porto when it a waiter brought a tray of small dishes to our table. We weren’t sure if they were a complimentary amuse-bouche or we’d have to pay. […]
Food & drink
Food & drink
Tips for using Tripadvisor restaurant reviews
Whatever anyone thinks about the travel advisory giant, Tripadvisor is the best place for finding information about restaurants in any given location. However, there’s a right way to use it and lots of wrong ways. […]
Food & drink
7 steps to culinary enlightenment
If you’re the sort of person who, in culinary terms, likes and dislikes exactly the same things you enjoyed as a child, stop reading. This will be meaningless. On the other hand, if your palate has evolved over the years, then you might want to try this little exercise yourself. […]
Europe
Gastronomy in the Cloud at Nub, La Laguna
If we were in any doubt as to the importance of the cloud analogy to the restaurant, ‘snacks in the cloud’ dispelled it, providing six contrasting bites, two of which were placed on white clouds atop tall spikes […]
Europe
Choco frito, the taste of Setúbal
The obsession with choco frito is said to have started in the days when cuttlefish had no commercial value. So the fishermen who sailed the waters south of the Tagus, from the Sado Estuary down to Sines, tended to keep chocos for themselves […]
Food & drink
The origins of popular dishes around the world
You have to be extremely knowledgeable about gastronomy to jump into a culinary arena and fling cultural appropriation accusations around. Either extremely knowledgeable… or completely ignorant when it comes to food. […]
Food & drink
Food, travel and the enablers of mediocrity
We’re watching a cheesy Netflix series called Instant Hotel in which Australian couples who rent out their homes compete for the title of being owner of the best ‘instant hotel’. I’m a great believer in […]
Food & drink
Raising a glass to the vineyards of Europe
It was the second time in just over a week we’d stayed in a vineyard. Both cases prompted thoughts of many other visits to vineyards around Europe, visits that had formed long-lasting, warm and fuzzy (not just thanks to enthusiastic tasting) memories. […]
Europe
Picking at pies, upper crust countries and floppy failures
Although it’s believed the first pies originated in Italy, proper pies (i.e. ones made from butter/lard and flour) come from Northern Europe. […]
Food & drink
You say patata bravas I say batta harra, it’s all tapas
Tapas might be considered a Spanish ‘invention’ but it’s actually a sociable way of eating which is popular in many countries. […]
Food & drink
What’s wrong with a vegan sausage roll?
Does the idea of British bakery Greggs launching a vegan sausage roll incense or make sense? If the answer is the former, the big question is why? What’s your (I apologise in advance for this) beef? […]
Europe
The best and worst travel experiences in 2018
We’ve just returned from a short visit to Britain to deliver training sessions on these and so now can take the foot off the pedal and, before we look forward, take a moment or two to remember the best and worst travel experiences we’ve enjoyed, or not, during the last twelve months. […]
Food & drink
An irresistible parade of hot breakfasts in Scotland
On a road trip around Scotland in September we both dived head first into the cooked breakfast dark side. The use of local produce made it impossible to just say no. […]
Europe
Poets and palate-pleasers in Sanquhar
Visiting a lead mining museum (entrance £12.50) would not have made it on to our ‘things to do’ list. What a treat we would have missed. For a start, Wanlockhead near the head of the Mennock Pass is Scotland’s highest village… […]
Food & drink
Michelin recommended restaurants in the Canary Islands
Whilst the focus of this is ostensibly about Michelin restaurants in the Canary Islands it isn’t just about Michelin recommendations, or exclusively about the Canary Islands for that matter. […]