San Sebastian in the Basque Country in northern Spain is world renowned as a foodie pilgrimage destination, and that’s not just for the Michelin-starred fine dining. The whole town revolves around the pintxos, these small plates really are the main attraction of the beautiful seaside resort.
Hensol Castle may be relatively new to distilling, having only been running for two and a half years, but its history with the spirit goes right back. One former resident was one of the signatories involved in the infamous Gin Act of 1751, which was created to curb the gin craze which had gripped the country.
Panzano, a small unassuming hilltop town in the Chianti region of Tuscany, was propelled onto the world stage (and my attention) in early 2019 when Netflix released season six of my favourite show: Chef’s Table. Episode two was centred around a charismatic butcher called Dario Cecchini (not pictured) and his restaurants Officina della Bistecca, Solosicca and Dario Doc.
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).
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…
New Zealand may be a small country, but its gins are slowly but surely making their mark on a global scale.
While my wife and I were travelling around New Zealand, we were fortunate to meet Joerg Henkenhaf, distiller and founder of Broken Heart gin, at his home near Queenstown. Broken Heart’s story has been told many times, so it was great to chat to Joerg more about his gins and how he created them.
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.
