Before the intense Tuscan summer sun kicked in, we made for the shady side streets of Florence, the region’s capital, for a tour with a difference. We were joining Taste Florence, and our guide Carine, to eat our way around the city and the many flavours it has to offer.
For my wife‘s birthday this year, we went on a surprise trip to Stockholm for the weekend. It’s a city that we’d both been wanting to visit for a while having heard such great things, so one Friday we met at Gatwick after work and we were off.
Having experienced New Zealand‘s breathtaking beauty at the end of 2018 we wanted to travel somewhere a little closer to home that might offer some similarities. As neither Kirstin or I had been to the Highlands before we decided on flying to Inverness in Scotland to stay in the beautiful Muckrach Country House Hotel in Speyside, at the north west of the Cairngorms (the largest national park in the UK).
I think street food is brilliant. It’s the most incredible way of experiencing different cultures and broadening your horizons through your stomach. I love to support small independent business, but what’s not so great is all the packaging and cutlery waste that often goes with it.
For many street food traders, the goal is to one day open a bricks and mortar permanent restaurant space. That’s what Sinead Campbell & Lee Johnson were aiming for with their Filipino-inspired BBQ Dreamz when they appeared on BBC Two’s My Million Pound Menu. They were looking for investment to transform what makes their KERB-based truck so special into a home that is a little less mobile.
Last year me and my wife Kirstin embarked on an adventure of a lifetime. New Zealand had long been top of both of our lists of places to visit and we’d finally been able to plan the trip we’d always wanted: 3 weeks across the 2 islands, exploring one of the most breathtaking places on the planet. Here’s some of the incredible food and drink we had in our time there…
The street food scene in London is thriving. Brands like Kerb and Street Feast have brought together some of the capital’s most interesting and talented chefs to squares, festivals and even abandoned warehouses. Market Hall have now joined the party, giving traders a more permanent base inside disused properties with personality.
Meaty legends Bleecker Burger and Pitt Cue Co joined forces on London’s Southbank for one night only to raise money for charity in the tastiest possible way. For Pitt Cue Co this was a real return to their roots, starting out as a food truck in the same stretch of the capital.
For my birthday this year my wife Kirstin took me for a weekend away to seaside town of Margate in Kent. The present itself was to stay at the absolutely gorgeous Reading Rooms B&B, a restored Georgian town house a few minutes away from the seafront.
We were spoilt for choice when I visited with my wife in early May with so many amazing restaurants and bars just outside our hotel. The first place we visited on arriving in the city, was Tasquina do Be to tackle the local delicacy: the francesinha. Layers upon layers of various kinds of pork sandwiched between 2 pieces of white bread, covered in melted cheese, topped with a fried egg and drenched in a tomato soup-like sauce. Just what we needed after the early flight. They also make gluten free versions of this and other dishes here.
