Travel

December 13, 2017

Travel: Adventures with Riso Gallo in Italy

Earlier this year, I travelled to Lombardy and Piedmont in Italy to visit Riso Gallo, the Italian family business established in 1856, spanning 6 generations, where I learnt about rice and grains from the best in the business. Allow me to take you with me on our Po Valley adventures in rice as I daydream about my perfect Italian escape.

Italy has always provided me with the most stunning backdrop for an adventure, with good food and hospitality permeating each and every one of my visits. I have wonderfully hazy memories of travelling by train to the Southern Italian coast from Rome, stopping at Naples and journeying onward to Capri, Positano and the Amalfi Coast just ahead of getting married in 2006. Florence has also been enjoyed and explored and more recently, we embarked on a family trip to Venice, driving down towards Bologna, to San Piero, where my sister lived until recently, in the region of Emilia-Romagna. The children declared Italy as the land of pizza, pasta and gelato, whist we enjoyed noting nuances in regionality, landscape and the ever-friendly people. Northern Italy, particularly Milan and the surrounding areas, was next on my travel list and so I was delighted to receive an invitation earlier this year to the Po Valley, to visit Gallo, the Italian family business established in 1856, known internationally as Riso Gallo. Whenever Italy comes calling, whether for family, food writing or pleasure, I never say no to Prosecco. I also had a feeling that learning all about risotto and visiting the waterscapes and paddy fields of Italy, would be the perfect prelude for the busy few books months I knew were ahead of me.

Riso Gallo are among the oldest Italian rice growers and they have become one of Italy’s most best-known food companies. Their headquarters are located in Robbio, in the Pavese region in Northern Italy. The origins of the company date back to 1856, with a factory in Genoa that processed imported paddy rice and exported it to South America. They also owned a factory in Argentina, from which they supplied the Argentinian market. By 1926, having accumulated a good deal of knowledge and expertise, the company decided to focus on Italian crops, and their factory was moved to from Genoa to Robbio Lomellina, in the heart of Italy’s rice-growing region. Italian rice is mostly grown across the plains of Lombardy and in Piedmont. Having spanned six generations, Riso Gallo is currently led by Mario Preve, the current President of Riso Gallo, S.p.A, with the assistance of his four sons.

Our flight from London to Milan was delayed, providing myself and some food-loving colleagues with just enough time to have a glass or three of champagne and a bowl of pasta at the airport. All good press trips must, in future, begin in this way, since it made for a very good beginning indeed.

Our first stop on arrival, was dinner at Osteria Cascina dei Fiori, in Borgo Vercelli, Piemonte, favoured by the Preve/Riso Gallo family and hailed by the Guido Gallo – or the Gallo Guide. I was instantly reminded of why I adore Italy; faultless and attentive service, rustic elegance, and simple, seasonal ingredients. At dinner, we were introduced to Carlo Preve, the MD of the Riso Gallo International Brand and son of Mario Preve and our introduction to world of Gallo began. After dinner, we decamped to the Hotel Novarello, which often finds itself playing host to the Italian football team. We, of course, didn’t look for any Italian football players, being so tired after our flight and first Italian supper.

The next morning, we headed out to Riso Gallo’s headquarters in Robbio, outside of Milan. We arrived just in time for their daily morning inspection of risotto rice grains, called prova risi. Every day, a sample is taken from a selection of batches and is manually inspected by a team of specialists, checking the quality and character of each variety.

I learnt that not all risotto rice is equal and that there are distinctions amongst the grains which form the different parts of the Gallo range.

For instance, Carnaroli is known as the king of risotto rice. Arborio is favoured by home cooks, whilst the Gran Riserva variety, aged for a year and produced in limited quantities, is the one favoured by chefs. The Originario variety, which is a smaller, round grain can be used in soups and in arancini, whilst the Roma variety responds well to being oven-baked. Gallo’s Blond risotto is another grain which has a more golden, blonde colour. It cooks in a shorter time (12 minutes) and is least prone to overcooking. The grains remain separate and are ideal served ‘al dente’.

With Gallo being the premier brand in the Italian rice market, their levels of knowledge and expertise is something that the family are fiercely proud of and keen to protect. We were given a fascinating behind-the-scenes tour of the brand’s headquarters by Carlo Preve and had the opportunity of asking questions and of seeing the process for ourselves. Although Gallo are leaders in their industry when it comes to modern technology and sophistication, the stone husking method that they use is the same as it was 100 years ago. The husking is still done to a traditional stone system, which allows for a gentler abrasion of the grain, which preserves its nutritional and gastronomic values.

Within the business, there are systems and standards, research teams, sensory and development laboratories, nutritionists and innovators. Mario’s four sons, Carlo included, hold six generations of history in their hands and along with global representatives, advocate for the brand which finds itself in 80 countries around the world. Every grain of rice matters and every consumer, whether Italian or otherwise, is constantly kept in mind when advancing Gallo’s mission to continue to be the best champions of risotto and rice in the world. There is tradition and there is modernity; the brand is conscious of both its history and of its role in providing people with a key staple, but is also turning its fined-tuned attention to developing ranges showcasing alternative grains for healthier living.

After the tour of the headquarters, we were taken to one of the regions rice markets. This is where all the deals are done, a bit like a stock exchange, only that the currency is rice. The brokers bring grains directly from the farmers, wrapped in brown paper, stashed in leather bags, to be examined and valued by the buyers. Gallo sells to the seed to the farmers, who grow the rice and then sell it back to Gallo who then mill it and package it. The tradition of valuing the rice based on its quality ensures a fair price and a consistent quality of product. There are of course other rice producers and brands, though Gallo are the leading company in the domestic market in Italy and competition is fierce. An espresso here, a bag of Arborio there, a number of livelihoods dependent on the day’s deals.

There are seasons, too. The seed is sown in April and is harvested in September. Fluctuations in weather can have a huge impact on production and although the Po Valley usually provides the optimal growing conditions, the temperature was uncharacteristically hot when we visited.

Outside the rice market, in the sweltering heat, more precious cargo was revealed; hefty onions, purple beans, glistening aubergines, formaggio. This is the food of the land, the surrounding rice fields punctuated by small agricultural holdings and and dairy farms; the market weaving together all that is good in the Province of Pavia.

After the market, we were taken to lunch at Ristorante Antoerobi back in Robbio, where a bespoke meal was created using Gallo rice for us. The Preve family are so well known in this region that they have streets named after them, such as Via Riccardo Preve. It was so hot I think we had all lost track of time, but I do recall arriving at the restaurant that appeared like an oasis in the desert…and not wanting to leave.

For lunch, of course risotto and we enjoyed at least five courses along with lots of water and wine to cool us down. The risotto dishes included a refreshingly cold starter of lemon risotto with calamari, an intermediate dish of Gallo’s 3 grains (rice, spelt and barley) cooked with chicken and dill, which I immediately came home to recreate. Onwards, an exceptionally good and perfectly creamy risotto with fresh truffles and a taste of one of Riso Gallo’s curry varieties. The curry risotto was most surprisingly delicious, though not yet available in the UK.

Dessert was made with Riso Gallo’s dessert rice, a creamy rice pudding served with a strawberry compote. The dishes, cooked by the owner’s wife, succeeded in showcasing the variety of grains that the Gallo produce and each and every mouthful was a delight.

We finished off with espresso and a few shots of homemade limocello, served by the owner, a particularly lovely man who had broken his arm in a motorbike incident. There was also a very impressive selection of other homemade spirits and lots of rum on offer. I’ll be going back…

After lunch, we sort of pulled ourselves together, re-spray-tanned ourselves with mosquito repellent and were taken to see the paddy fields and a traditional rice farmhouse, known as a Cascina, where ancient farming traditions still exist with rice farmers cultivating, rotating crops, growing, harvesting and selling. The landscape was very flat, which is why, of course, the fields lend themselves so well to rice farming across the fertile, swampy plains.

Piecing the day together, I realised that we had sort of done the ‘rice to table’ process in reverse – beginning with the finished grains themselves, experiencing the rice markets, eating the grains for lunch and ending up in the paddy fields. No matter, it was an education and a privilege to see the many parts of the process that make up a day in the life of the Gallo family business.

No trip to Northern Italy would have been complete without a stopover in Milan itself and I had always wanted to experience the elaborate façade and gothic architecture of the Duomo di Milan. We checked into the Hotel Cavour and after a traditional Italian Aperitivo, we meandered through the streets, via the Piazza del Duomo and onto one of the city’s most glamorous dinner spots – Maio Restaurant, which was simply the most stunning setting to round off our adventures with Gallo. I tried my first vitello al tonnno and we drank Aperol spritz whilst taking in the stunning sights of the duomo. It really, really made me want to live in Italy.

Which rice or grain to chose at home?

Italian rice includes risotto, Jasmin, long grain, brown rice, black rice and basmati varieties, though the company also now produce and bring together other grains, too, such as spelt, barley and quinoa.

You can read more about Rice and Nutrition here.

This is my pick of the top risotto and other grains in the Gallo range:

Carnaroli

The king of risotto rice. This grain has a starchy content and firm texture. Considered to be the best rice for risotto.

Arborio

Large grain with a creamy texture; therefore, ideal for creamy risottos.

Gran Riserva

This is aged for one year in aerated silos, before being milled. It is produced in limited quantities and subjected to a very strict selection process. Only one grain in three become Gran Riserva. This is also a grain most favoured by chefs, because of its cooking resistance and quality of absorption.

Brown Rice

Gallo also produce a medium-sized, lightly tapered brown grain. It is parboiled and retains a perfectly cooked ‘al dente’ texture. Brown rice contains more fibre than risotto rice.

3 Grains

A mix of parboiled rice, spelt and barley with full bodied, firm grains. This was my favourite of the new varieties produced by Gallo because the barley and spelt in particular, provide an ancient cereal source of fibre.

Try my recipe for 3 Grains with Chicken, Courgette and Dill here, inspired by the version we ate at Ristorante AntoeRobi.

If you are new to making risotto, you can start with one of Gallo’s Risotto Pronto ranges. These grains are parboiled and flavoured. We sometimes enjoy the four cheese or the porcini mushroom flavour at home. Or you could read my article on How to rustle up a basic risotto over on JamieOliver.com.

Look out for the Gallo Nature range which is now available in the UK in light green packaging, including the ‘3 Grain’ Rice, Barley and Spelt variety (RRP £2.35 for 400g) that I tried in Italy, as well as a ‘Pronto’ or quick range – the Gallo Risotto Pronto Carrot, Tomato & Hazelnut is really tasty (RRP £1.99 for 175g)

Cruise Notes: On Board Harmony of the Seas – the world’s largest cruise ship

You may remember a few weeks ago that I wrote about attending the ‘Dry Run’ of a brand new dining concept at sea called Wonderland Imaginative Cuisine by Royal Caribbean. Shortly after this event, I jumped on board the world’s newest and largest cruise ship and into the real Wonderland to preview Harmony of the Seas, as part of the ship’s pre-inaugural cruise season. Here’s what happened when I fell through the rabbit hole!

When Harmony of the Seas, the latest ship in the Royal Caribbean fleet, docked at Southampton in May, she caused quite a splash. She was met by onlookers and by the press with excitement, intrigue and in most cases, sheer incredulity that something quite so huge, could exist – and float. I had only ever seen cruise ships before from a distance; I don’t think I’ll ever forget observing the ‘Costa Fortuna’ (actual name) docking in Venice, although my mum, who came with me on this trip, has been on at least 20 cruises over the years covering the Med, the Caribbean and most-recently, a transatlantic cruise to New York. Despite our collective experiences, we both gasped in amazement whilst standing in the shadow of Harmony. After composing ourselves, we moved like tiny little ants, along a red carpet lined with pretty flowers, and boarded one of the most talked-about ships on earth. With the Royal Caribbean philosophy of ‘innovation and imagination’ ahead of us, we started to get the sense that we were in for a treat.

Costing £700 million/$1 billion to build, Harmony of the Seas was shiny and new and spotlessly clean; in my view one of the plus-points of joining a cruise during her inaugural season. At times, we noticed work people hanging pictures or fixing small things, but these were essentially minor details and didn’t bother us at all. It felt a little like we (or rather the ship’s captain Gus Andersson and crew) were about to take a brand new car out of the showroom for it’s very first spin. The staff were all fresh and ready for a new adventure too. Interestingly, almost every staff member that I spoke to indicated that they had worked for Royal Caribbean for more than five years on different ships and many of them had clocked up eight, nice or ten years at sea.

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As we travelled up an escalator and turned our first corner, we had our first ‘through the rabbit hole’ experience, finding ourselves in the Central Park zone, filled with real trees and shrubs and lined with restaurants and cafes. My mum asked; “Where are we? Have we gone the wrong way? Are we still on the ship?” and if I wasn’t so busy giggling and trying to get orientated myself, I probably would have been asking the same. In all her years taking cruise ship holidays with her cruise-obsessed partner, mum exclaimed that had never seen a ‘real park’ on a ship.

Credit: Royal Caribbean. Entrance to Jamie's Italian in Central Park. — Credit: Royal Caribbean. Entrance to Jamie’s Italian in Central Park.

Neighbourhood Concept

In fact, Central Park was just one of seven ‘neighbourhoods’ on board Harmony of the Seas:

Central Park (with 1200 trees and plants plus dining and shopping)
Boardwalk (an amusement park-styled area with a carousel, hot-dog stand and fast food, also the aqua-theatre is just beyond)
Royal Promenade (with boutique shops and areas for eating, drinking and late night dancing, you’ll also find the robotic Bionic Bar here)
Entertainment Place (with comedy, jazz bars and two theatres)
Youth Zone, a deck dedicated to kids including the kids’ clubs and a creche)
Vitality Sea Spa and Fitness Centre
Pool and Sports Zone, including a kids area called Splashaway Beach, five water slides and the 10-story Ultimate Abyss dry slide and FlowRiders where you can learn to surf.

Wherever we ended up we seemed to keep finding unusual features and it took us at least two days to explore the ship – even then, there were areas that we didn’t manage to visit. The ‘neighbourhood’ concept is unique to Royal Caribbean and you’ll find neighbourhoods on their Oasis Class, such as Allure of the Seas and Oasis of the Seas. Since the Royal Caribbean fleet seems to be moving towards bigger and bigger ships, it makes sense to create specific zones within the ship to help give passengers a sense of where they actually are once on board. Thus, while cruising, you get the sense that you are in a resort, or on a small ‘floating city’ rather than a stuffy, claustrophobic boat.

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Accommodation

Our first challenge and port of call was to find our room, which we eventually found after walking along a seemingly endless corridor. The ship is 362 metres long in total, so if you find yourself at the wrong end of it, you’re in for a walk. We found our room – an Ocean-View Stateroom (top left image) and mum was thrilled to find a balcony – she had only ever stayed in an ‘internal’ cabin on board ships before. The category of our room was classed as ‘state class’ and it was spacious, with a large and comfy double bed, a bathroom with a shower, a large TV, sofa and double doors to our balcony. If cost is an issue, it’s worth noting that many of the the internal cabins on Harmony of the Seas have ‘virtual balconies’ – another unique on-board concept boasting a floor to ceiling screen displaying an image of the sea giving you the impression that you can see out. A large number of rooms on Harmony also have balconies or windows overlooking the open-spaced centre of the ship, for example, Park View rooms overlook Central Park whilst Boardwalk View Balconies overlook the Boardwalk. You can also book some of the larger rooms and suites – Star Class will get you a Royal Genie, Sky Class gives you an exclusive concierge, priority reservations and access to a private sun deck, whilst Sea Class suites give you access to an exclusive restaurant with bar called Coastal Kitchen.

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After taking a few obligatory selfies on our balcony, we headed out to explore the rest of the ship. There are 16 guest decks on board Harmony of the Seas, with 18 decks in total and 24 elevators – so it takes a little while to get your bearings. At full capacity the ship can hold 6,780 guests and a further 2,100 crew members – so yes, it is colossal. During our mini-cruise the ship was at around half capacity, and even so, there were times when we didn’t come across any other passengers at all.

Technology

Royal Caribbean are definitely leaders within the cruise industry in terms of on-board technology. Not only did we find a complete robotic ‘Bionic Bar’ – where you can order your cocktails via a touch screen device, but so too can you connect to Voom, the fastest wifi/internet at sea, as well as connecting to Royal IQ, an app available on your tablet or phone – there is an android version as well as an iPhone version. There are Royal iQ stands located around the ship to help you connect and make bookings and reservations. You can also plan your holiday with Cruise Planner which allows you to select internet packages, make dining reservations, book shore excursions, spa appointments and more.

Having challenged ourselves to drinking a cocktail in every bar (of which there are more than 16!) we got to work, whilst also sampling a selection of snacks and canapés from some of the restaurants on board. I started to get my head around the whole concept of cruising – from what’s included in a standard package ticket to all the various extras and upgrades available on board.

The key thing to keep in mind when booking a cruise holiday is that your fare will likely include (though always check) –

All your meals within the Main Dining Room, on Harmony this is split across three levels and also on Harmony, within the Windjammer Marketplace (serving global cuisine, fresh-to-order omelettes, desserts and offering a fresh bakery for sandwiches and snacks), as well as tea, coffee and some soft drinks
Additional complimentary food is available at Sorrento’s Pizza, the Boardwalk Dog House, Mini Bites, Park Café, Solarium Bistro (highly recommended for a quieter experience) and at the Vitality Cafe within the spa.
The Adventure Ocean Kids Club if you are travelling with kids (I checked and they don’t accept disorientated mothers)
Activities, such as theatre shows, mini golf, rock climbing, swimming pools, cinema, zip line, carousel, dance classes, live music, comedy, sports and fitness, sauna and steam room, table tennis, quizzes, classes and demonstrations.

Things you can pay for/add on –

Drinks Packages and Speciality Dining Packages (these also allow you to make reservations in advance)
Shore Excursions – again, bookable in advance. You can get off and explore on your own, but by booking the shore excursion via your cruise company the ship has to wait for you if you are late!
You can also pre-pay for your gratuities to save you having to tip individual waiters or staff.

Food & Drink

Standard Dining Package

We dined in the Main Dining Room (below left) during our second evening on board. Usually, you do have the option of requesting a table of your choice, but at busier times you may be seated with other people. Look out for the option of ‘My Time Dining’ which offers you more flexibility on when to eat. I would imagine that at full capacity the main dining room must get very busy; there were a couple of teething-issues with the timing of food orders during our pre-inaugural cruise. However, we enjoyed the buffet-style dining of the Windjammer Marketplace (which would have also been included as part of any package) and in reality, would probably have found ourselves eating there more, particularly if we were on a cruise as a family.

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For families, the kids club staff can either take your children to eat at the Windjammer Marketplace or your kids can dine with you and then the staff can be booked to take your kids off to watch a movie while you finish your dinner alone. There is also an in-cabin babysitting service for a fee of $20 an hour per child.

Speciality Dining

During a ‘longer than two-day cruise’ I think I would have to take up the option of a Speciality Dining Package. For an additional fee you can eat within the speciality restaurants on board – prices vary from $6.95 at a hamburger-style restaurant to $25 for dinner at Jamie’s Italian to $49 for an experience at Wonderland and to $89 for a meal at 150 Central Park. You can also look out for Royal Caribbean Dining Packages and special offers – for example, you can buy 3 dinner sitting credits for $80. One or two of the restaurants on board also offer ‘a la carte’ options – so this is worth checking ahead.

Speciality Restaurants on Harmony include:

150 Central Park (cover charge)
Jamie’s Italian (cover charge)
Jonny Rockets (cover charge)
Chops Grille (cover charge)
Wonderland (cover charge)
Chef’s Table (for up to 14 guests)
Coastal Kitchen (suite guests only)
Room Service (cover charge)
Sabor Taqueria and Tequila Bar (dinner available a la carte)
Izumi Hibachi and Sushi (lunch and dinner available a la carte)

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Wonderland Imaginative Cuisine – At Sea

As mentioned, I had already experience Wonderland on dry land at the pre-launch event in Soho. However, during our first night at sea we had a reservation at Wonderland and it ended up being one of the highlights of our trip. The menu really is imaginative, beginning with a picture frame that you have to paint with water in order to reveal the ‘elements’ of your meal, categorised by Sun, Sea, Earth, Wind, Fire and Dreams. We shared a tasting menu showcasing most of the dishes on offer, which, as you can see below, were beautifully presented and particularly well-cooked – as you would expect from any comparable fine-dining restaurant on land. As an ‘add-on’ to your standard cruise package, I would certainly recommend scheduling in a meal at Wonderland with cocktails. We tried dishes such as Baby Vegetables in the Garden, Liquid Lobster, Gazpacho Cones, Terroir Beef with River Stone Potatoes and the Arctic Equator Chocolate dessert.

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Wonderland is available on Harmony of the Seas, Allure of the Seas and Quantum of the Seas as a Speciality Dining Package.

Entertainment

The entertainment on board Royal Caribbean was very impressive. We watched the opening night of the hit musical ‘Grease’ as well as the opening show on ice called 1887. Harmony also offers a production called ‘Columbus the Musical’ and ‘Harmony High’ – a rock and roll style show. There is also an aqua-theatre, which includes high-wire acts and open-aired acrobatics. Sadly, we didn’t get to experience the aqua-theatre because it rained on our second day on-board – Harmony is definitely a fair-weather ship with so much outdoor activity going on. Happily, her future home-port is to be Florida.

There was also lots of music going on around the ship, including live music within some of the bars, such as the jazz bar. There is also a karaoke bar as well as a comedy bar. There is also a Vegas-style on-board casino for all your roulette, poker and slot-machine needs. Surprisingly, the casino is an indoor smoking spot so be aware of that when you are walking through to the art gallery – I almost told someone off for smoking indoors! After a good few cocktails (keeping up with our personal challenge to have one in every bar) we joined in with a full-on “Totally Awesome 90’s street party” – again, I felt as if I had chanced upon a parallel universe. I kept asking mum whether all this partying was normal on a cruise ship, and she assured me the party atmosphere is the main reason she enjoys it so much! I think this is what surprised me so much. I was half expecting a stuffy environment with people wearing dinner jackets looking forward to attending a captain’s dinner. In fact, the demographic of people booking cruise holidays has changed so much so that ‘the captain’s dinner’ is probably no longer the highlight of the holiday.

Royal Caribbean offer so much ‘upbeat’ and modern entertainment (for example, in securing the rights to Grease from Broadway and partnering with DreamWorks) that means that cruise holidays are increasingly appealing to multi-generational families who are keen to be ‘wowed’ and entertained as well as being well-fed and watered. Despite this new edge to cruising, there most certainly are quiet areas on board. I wouldn’t quite say we were in Ibiza territory and if you are after a quieter time of things, you can easily find a place to sit away from the hustle and bustle.

Harmony of the Seas: Credit Royal Caribbean. The Perfect Storm

Family Activities

One of the main reasons that I have never been on a cruise with my family is that with three children (aged 9, 6 and 2) I feared that we would feel trapped. However, I can completely see now that this wouldn’t be the case and that they would absolutely love it. There is a whole neighbourhood on board Harmony of the Seas dedicated to kids. The activities within Adventure Ocean are included with the cost of your cruise fare and there are three categories (as well as a nursery for Royal Babies and Tots) which includes Aquanaughts for 3-5 year olds, Explorers for 6-8 year olds and Voyagers for 9-11 year olds. The ship offers everything from activities presented by their partners DreamWorks, as well as face painting, craft stations, talent contests, Xbox corners and outdoor activities such as a zip-wire and two rock-climbing walls. Teens have a bit more freedom to come and go within a speciality area on Deck 15 with chill-out areas and even a dance club with staff on hand.

Older kids (as well as adults) will love the must-try experience of shooting down the biggest slide at sea called The Ultimate Abyss, which is a 10-story slide!

There are also three water slides called The Perfect Storm as well as a gym, a running track and a learn-to-surf wave simulator called FlowRider.

Hamony of the Seas: Credit Royal Caribbean. Pool Deck

Overall Thoughts & Tips

Did I enjoy my first cruise-ship experience? Absolutely. I think there was more than enough high-quality entertainment and luxury facilities on board Harmony of the Seas to make a ‘multi-generational’ family holiday a real contender for us in the future – and I didn’t feel sea-sick at all despite a little bit of choppiness around the English Channel.

I’d want to travel to somewhere hot to make the absolute most of the outdoor spaces on the ship. There are 25 cruise ships within Royal Caribbean’s fleet and as based on my experience on board Harmony, I would recommend an Oasis Class ship which offers most of what I experienced. Given that Harmony is currently the newest and largest, there are obviously some unique features to be enjoyed, too.

Harmony of the Seas is currently sailing around Europe, from Barcelona or Rome around the Western Mediterranean, but she is due to move permanently to Fort Lauderdale in Florida where she will cruise to the Bahamas, Eastern and Western Caribbean. An all-inclusive balcony room will cost around $1500 for a 7-night cruise but do look out for deals and special offers.

When booking…

I would definitely ‘add on’ a Speciality Dining Package as you are really only paying a supplement on top of your full-board fare but in doing so will open up a wider range of more exclusive dining options on board. I would also take advantage of any Pre-Paid Drinks packages on offer to limit spending lots of extra cash on cocktails.

Having said that, my mum and partner never take up the ‘speciality dining’ options and always have a perfectly happy time – especially as they enjoy taking excursions and sampling the local food on shore. So, if budget is an issue, on balance, I would likely choose a newer/larger ship and a better room with a balcony over paying for speciality food…

Whilst on board I attended a media briefing during which the President and CEO of Royal Caribbean International, Michael Bayley, praised the independent travel industry and said that they have been key to increasing cruise-holiday sales.

Following the cruise, I spoke to an Independent Travel Expert Rebecca Randall who said:

“When a client is looking for a holiday they may not consider a cruise, thinking it might be an expensive proposition compared to a ‘land’ holiday. However, in reality there may not be such a difference in prices – making a cruise a good option for the customer – and that’s where an agent is able to provide advice.

We deal with all of the major cruise companies and get all of the latest offers, so we are able to compare prices and offer the client the ideal package for them. And for clients who do not have the time to search through all of the various offers – either from the internet or from the cruise companies themselves, the one-to-one personal service ensures that all their package needs are taken care of with the minimum of fuss.”

Royal Caribbean also have plenty of offers and deals which you can receive if you subscribe to their newsletter.

Review: Wonderland on Harmony of the Seas – the Dry Run

Review: Wonderland Imaginative Cuisine – a preview, or dry run, of the restaurant to be launched on board Harmony of the Seas by Royal Caribbean.

Wonderland concept on board Harmony of the Seas ™

Cruise holidays…cool, or not cool? I have to admit, I had previously categorised cruise ship holidays as something that my mum does. I mean no offence to my mum in saying this; she is über–glamorous, able to pack light, has seen much of the world and has made many friends on board various gargantuan-sized ships. It’s just that going on a cruise holiday is not something I have ever considered for myself or my family for fear of being uncontactable, claustrophobic, or sea-sick. Enter Royal Caribbean who are about to change my perceptions by launching the world’s largest cruise ship in May 2016 – Harmony of the Seas ™

This ship is designed to offer everything you could possibly wish for, including: the fastest internet at sea, a bionic (fully robotic) bar, a 9-deck high zip line, a 10-story drop waterslide, a running track, fitness centre and spa, ‘Central Park,’ a Broadway show, an outdoor movie screen and a rock climbing wall. The scope and scale of this ship is something that really hasn’t been achieved before, although Royal Caribbean have nine-times won Best Mainstream Cruise Company, so they clearly know a thing or two about offering luxury at sea.

As to the food on board, Harmony of the Seas ™ will boast a Jamie’s Italian, 150 Central Park by Michael Schwartz, an English Pub, a Vintage Wine Bar, to mention but a few of the dining options as well as countless coffee shops and cafes. Harmony of the Seas ™ will also offer guests the very modern dining experience of ‘Wonderland Imaginative Cuisine’ – a celebrated gastronomic adventure offered exclusively by Royal Caribbean.

Wonderland – was it wonderful?

Can the food on board a cruise ship really be all that good? Well, we were reassured by Michael Gilligan, Director of Culinary for Royal Caribbean, that it absolutely can be and we invited to a dry run of Wonderland, replicated in Central London, to taste the food for ourselves.

Chef Gilligan has accrued 25 years’ worth of culinary experience during his career so far, including stints at Le Manoir Aux Quatr’ Saisons, New York’s Ritz Carlton Hotel, De Niro’s Miriad Restaurant Group and the Conrad Miami amongst many other prestigious ‘on land’ adventures. He is now overseeing all culinary operations on board the world’s biggest cruise line.

The Wonderland Menu is categorised by theme rather than course, showcasing food from across the globe grouped into elements such as Sun, Ice, Fire, Earth and Dreams. There are culinary twists, elements of surprise and the dishes are all presented with a great deal of imagination and flair.

We sampled an 8-course tasting menu at the ‘Dry Run’ event, offering a preview to some of the dishes that you can expect to experience on Harmony of the Seas ™ including;

Liquid Marzana Olives
Crispy Crab Cones
Baby Vegetables in the Garden with Black Rice
Sashimi of Red and White Tuna (with a divine Yuzu dressing)
Buffalo Chicken Eggs (which arrives under a smoking glass cloche with blue cheese and a hot sauce)
Halibut Cooked in Clear Paper (with wild mushrooms, potatoes and bacon)
Berkshire Pork Belly with Apples and Crackling (with an exceptional sauce)
Valrhona Chocolate Mousse with Dulche de Leche and Crispy Pearls

I would happily eat this menu from beginning to end again and I must also mention the service, which was highly attentive and informative right the way through. The sauces and dressings accompanying some of the courses were incredibly well executed, too. The stand-out dish for me was the Halibut cooked in clear paper, although the Valrhona chocolate mousse reminded me that I would also need to save room, in future, for dessert.

Notes

Wonderland is a speciality dining option on board Quantum of the Seas, Anthem of the Seas and will launch from May 2016 on Royal Caribbean’s brand new ship Harmony of the Seas

Interested in more on-board photos? Look out for my future posts and have a look at Sarka’s post here:

Quantum of the Seas by Cook Your Dream.

With many thanks to Royal Caribbean for the invitation to experience Wonderland at The Ice Tank in London. I was not expected to write a positive review and all thoughts and opinions are my own. Images above supplied by Royal Caribbean.

You can follow Royal Caribbean on twitter @MyRoyalUK

I dined with Helen, Urvashi and Jeanne – fun to see you, ladies. It was a welcome night out!

What are your thoughts on cruise holidays? Have you ever experienced one?

October 8, 2014

St Albans and Harpenden Food and Drink Festival 2014 Highlights

Our seventh annual St Albans and Harpenden Food and Drink Festival, organised by the St Albans City and District Council, came to a close this week, ending with an awards ceremony held at the lovely Lakeside Restaurant in St Michael’s Manor Hotel. The Festival brought together and showcased some of our very best restaurants, cafés, bars, local producers, pubs, takeaways and family-friendly venues – and also welcomed some of the district’s newcomers into the vibrant and ever-growing food and drink-filled local landscape. The Festival event calendar was packed, with events ranging from delicious wine and beer tastings, a paella afternoon in a Harpenden pub, and charity events galore thanks to a Mayoral Tasting Evening supported by many local chefs, and a very relaxed Macmillan Tea Party.

St Albans Food and Drink Festival 2014 — The St Albans and Harpenden Food & Drink Festival 2014 Finale

Sunday saw many of our local foodie businesses, as part of the twelve day-long Festival, take over St Peter’s Street for the Festival Finale, offering hungry crowds a taste of some of the very good things on offer around the City. The sun was shining and the centre of St Albans packed with families.

Some of my favourites from the day included lobster rolls from newcomer Phil Thompson at Thompson@Darcy’s, the ‘St Albans Burger’ by The Snug Bar, and pulled pork rolls courtesy of Kashu Street Food. Cupcakes and sweet treats a plenty were on show, too, from local favourites including Heaven is a Cupcake, The Bakehouse and more. I loved the focal point of the live kitchen, with food demonstrations taking place throughout the day, and the fully seated ‘pop-up’ in the city centre enthusiastically hosted by local restaurateur Andrei Lussmann and his team from Lussmanns Fish and Grill – find out more about the Best Local Restaurant category winner in my piece, here. Neighbouring Harpenden, too, enjoyed its share of the spotlight, with a very entertaining and lively ‘street food’ festival the Sunday before, with their own Godfrey’s Fish and Chips taking home the Best Takeaway award for 2014.

Here’s a full list of the Food Festival 2014 Awards Winners with links to their websites so you can explore them for yourselves. Hopefully they will inspire you to visit here soon!

St Albans and Harpenden Food and Drink Festival Award Winners 2014

Best Bar

Mokoko Cocktail Bar, St Albans

Best Independent Food/Drink Shop

Buongiorno Italia Deli, St Albans

Best Café

The Pudding Stop, St Albans

Best Newcomer

The Pudding Stop, St Albans

Best Local Producer

Redbournbury Watermill and Bakery, St Albans

Best Local Restaurant

Lussmanns Fish & Grill Restaurants, St Albans

Best Pub

The Verulam Arms, St Albans

Best Takeaway

Godfrey’s Fish and Chips, Harpenden

Most Family Friendly Venue

Inn on The Park, St Albans

Coming Up!

Festival brochure in hand, I enjoyed visiting some of my favourite places to eat within St Albans and there are also plenty of new places to explore, which I’ll be writing about very soon in my new series Lunch@ – watch this space!

The beautiful Roman city of St Albans is always worth a visit, but if you’re looking for a specific reason, I’d highly recommend a visit to our growing Christmas Markets, held for their second year in the grounds of the Cathedral and Abbey of St Albans, from 27th November to 21st December. I’ll be there with my rum hot chocolate in hand!

October 12, 2013

IFBC Seattle 2013: Exploring Pike Place Market

I’m aware that I’ve hit you with four Seattle posts now, but as you can probably tell, I was completely enamored with The Emerald City – with the people I met, the friends I made, the hospitality that was shown to me and by the whole experience of attending an American Food Blogging Conference – Foodista’s IFBC.

Places to take in: Pike Place Market, Le Panier French Bakery, Piroshky Piroshky Russian Bakery, the original Starbucks opened in 1912

Pike Place Market: Views of Elliot Bay and the Olympic Mountains, breakfast at Lowell’s Restaurant Seattle

Pike Place Market: Seattle and the Pacific North West is famous for it’s fish! Pike Place is the oldest farmers’ market in the US trading since 1907

Given that this was just a four-day visit after a nine-hour flight, this was probably one of the craziest city-breaks I’ve ever experienced. Aside from a tightly-packed conference schedule, including a self-guided tour of Pike Place Market, I also wanted to spend every additional spare second I had with my sister, partner and kids who live in Washington State, and with my mum who was out visiting them for her 70th birthday, as well as exploring more of the city from a food perspective. Of course, this being me, I planned my Seattle break around the best places to eat – and it helped that I had a huge list of recommendations from both family and food conference attendees via a private Facebook group.

Family and Food Blogging – attending Foodista’s IFBC and chilling out with family during downtime

Although I have visited Seattle plenty of times before, this was the first time I was able to hone in on the food scene, taking in some of Seattle’s most iconic hot-spots. Breakfast on my first morning was at Lowell’s in Pike Place Market featured in Sleepless in Seattle, followed by a visit to the very first original Starbucks established in 1912. Dinner across two nights had been organised by my family – a contemporary supper at Poppy in Capitol Hill with more friends and cocktails and steaks at the timeless Metropolitan Grill, as well a leisurely spontaneous lunch at Purple Cafe. There were also plenty of pit-stops at street-trucks offering tasty on-the-go snacks, with my first experience of a Seattle Dog. And this was in addition to all the food enjoyed as part of the food conference!

Favourite street-foot hit: Dog in the Park – the cream cheese Seattle Dog – featuring a Polish sausage, cream cheese, onions, cabbage, potatoes, sauerkraut and mayo.

Seattle old and new: original Starbucks opened in 1912 and the brand new Storyville Coffee Company, next door to Matt’s in the Market, Pike Place

Purple Cafe – Grilled Wild Salmon, tomato, cucumber and house tartar

Seattle is an incredibly happening place, not only because of the ‘up-and-coming’ food scene, but also in terms of business, industry and tourism. The word on the inside is that Seattle could be the next San Francisco, with big players, such as Microsoft, Amazon and Google with bases there. In terms of the food scene, AllRecipes, UrbanSpoon and Foodista all have a huge presence in the city, with areas such as Ballard and Capitol Hill drawing in the foodie crowd.

Some of the places that were on my list, but that I missed out on visiting this time, were in Ballard and included Get Your Hotcakes, The Walrus and The Carpenter & Delancey owned by food blogger Molly Wizenburg. There’s always next time, right?!

Downtown Seattle: Blue trees – painted by an artist to draw attention to deforestation, the Seattle Monorail, the W Seattle – conference hotel

So, that’s all my re-capping and reminiscing for now, suffice to say this was a truly amazing adventure.

Travel really does broaden the mind and I came back re-invigorated, re-inspired and ready for more!

The good news is that next year, IFBC is returning to Seattle and registration is now open – will I get there again?!

You can read my previous posts on IFBC Seattle here –

Part One – Food Blogging Stateside
Part Two – Arrival, Opening and Keynote by Dorie Greenspan
Part Three – Entreprenurial Journalism with Mark Briggs
Part Four – this post – Exploring Pike Place Market and Beyond
JamieOliver.Com – Getting the kids interesting in fish and seafood – inspired by a visit to Pike Place Market

With thanks to Foodista and Zephyr Adventures for organising the conference. This trip was self-funded and all posts are completely free of any payment, commercial sponsorship or existing brand relationships.

An even bigger thanks to my family for supporting me and for making this trip possible!

Attendees were asked to write 3 posts as part of the$95 ticket deal – my four posts are linked to above.

October 4, 2013

IFBC Seattle 2013 – Entrepreneurial Journalism with Mark Briggs – Post Three

It’s time to get down to the nitty-gritty of attending Foodista’s IFBC in Seattle – what did I actually learn and was it worth going?! I’ve already introduced my personal reasons for attending a blog conference all the way over in Seattle and have mentioned some of my first impressions on arrival, including the conference opening and inspirational keynote by Dorie Greenspan. During the rest of the conference, we attended either big group sessions, such as an Amazon.com Grocery live food blogging session (think speed dating but with food products!) or we could chose from a selection of break-out sessions, split into Technology, Writing or Tech or we ate!

I was hoping to wrap up the conference in three posts, but I can see there might be a few more on the way…!

Today, I’ve decided to re-cap one of the sessions I enjoyed the most on the first day of the conference, introducing the concept of Entrepreneurial Journalism, because I think there were some really useful nuggets of advice to be shared and I felt this session was perfectly pitched.

Writing: Entrepreneurial Journalism: Building Your Food Blog Business by Mark Briggs.

This writing session was hosted by Mark Briggs, the Director of Digital Media at KING Broadcasting, author of Entrepreneurial Journalism: How to Build What’s Next for News (UK link, non-affiliate) and co-creator of a new app called Fork. I had already read Mark’s book on my Kindle during the flight to Seattle (in between watching The Great Gatsby!) and I was so pleased I did, since it meant I was already familiar with some of the concepts that Mark mentioned during his session. The main themes were creativity, readership, audience and community and the challenges of knowing – “What is your value?”

First of all, Mark pointed out (and he wasn’t the only one to do so during the conference) that as food bloggers, we seriously undervalue ourselves. We need to be more confident in what we’re asking for and that we should push ourselves to blog with more definition and purpose.

Mark referred to a couple of quotes from Simon Sinek’s TED talk on How Great Leaders Inspire Action, throwing out some of the following questions –

What’s your purpose?
What’s your cause?
What’s your belief?
Why should anyone care?

People don’t buy what you do – it’s why you do it.

From the very start of the session, we were already being challenged to think about ‘why’ we blog and to think about the people who read our content. If you blog, ask yourself:

Why are you hoping that your readers become part of your community?

Based upon the idea that ‘Creativity is the new literacy’ by Chase Jarvis, Mark also advised us to work on our creativity and to constantly challenge ourselves to think about how we can be more creative.

Creativity is not something that will just happen – we need to work on it, daily.

This was a really interesting concept to me, because the reason I started my blog almost three years ago was to have a creative outlet. Having spent lots of time writing, featuring brands, taking millions of photographs, cooking and building an audience – in many ways, I have achieved what I set out to achieve; I do see my blog as my creative outlet, but it became clearer during this session that I need to become even more creative if I want to build upon what I already have.

Another thing that stayed with me was Mark’s advice to:

Be different. Not better.

Build Your Blog into a Business

Mark highlighted that there are many ways of making money from a blog and that it is possible to turn a blog into a business; for example, you could partner with ad networks or host directly sold ads, be sponsored or become a brand ambassador, set up affiliate links, write sponsored posts, seek out freelance commissions, teach cookery courses, charge for event appearances, create a product or write a cook book, to name a few ways. However, the real key is to create quality content whatever you do:

The better quality, the more influence you have and the better your business prospects.

My understanding was that when you do this, you shift from ‘hobby blogging’ into ‘entrepreneurial journalism’ and then as Mark said: “It’s business time!”

You’re not bloggers. You’re media companies.

If you do find yourself in this situation, then it’s time to re-define yourself – think about setting up as a sole proprietor or in the UK, a sole trader – if you haven’t done so already. Being a blogger is now a completely new business model.

Whatever the situation, you should always have a goal or a vision in mind. Define your mission, evaluate it regularly, ask yourself whether you are heading in the right direction and measure your progress. Here are two questions to keep in mind: “What’s my story?” and “What does my audience think?”

The world is a very malleable place. If you know what you want, and go for it with maximum energy and drive and passion, the world will often reconfigure itself around you much more quickly and easily than you would think – Marc Andreesson

Most bloggers also have the same issues – time. Time management is essential and Mark advised us to: “Make clear choices about what you spend your time on.”

Another angle to Mark’s strategy for food bloggers was to look for people within our own networks, maybe partners or collaborators, who we can work with creatively and “to leverage the cool/smart people in your life.” Perhaps think about making something or creating content that people want, quoting the Holstee Manifesto –

Life is about the people you meet and the things you create with them, so go out and start creating.

And the last bit of advice from Mark? Ask yourself some more questions:

If you’re interested in reading some more of Mark’s ideas, he writes a great blog called Journalism 2.0. Mark’s conference post re-caps some of our Tweets, too and there is also a link to the presentation – Is it a Blog? Or a Business? here.

Bored of writing product reviews? Mark suggested watching ‘Review Wednesdays’ on Daily Grace on You Tube for her take on things!

Want to get noticed? Create some content for You Tube which has more than one billion monthly users.

Final tip – the use of mobile devices to read blog is mushrooming. Make sure your site is mobile responsive or create a mobile version using a site such as Duda Mobile, which will even let you create a logo to use on your home screen.

This is post #3 of 3 – attendees were asked to write 3 posts as part of the$95 ticket deal – but there’s still more to come from me!

Post One – Food Blogging Stateside

Post Two – Arrival, Opening and Keynote by Dorie Greenspan

What’s your view on the new landscape in media created by blogging? Do you welcome ‘entrepreneurial journalism’ or should bloggers stick to hobby blogging?

October 1, 2013

IFBC Seattle 2013 – Arrival, Opening and Keynote by Dorie Greenspan – Post Two

This is my second post on attending IFBC the International Food Blogger Conference in Seattle last weekend. I’ve already introduced the event and why I traveled all the way to the West coast of America from London to attend a blogging conference! I hope that in this post, you’ll get to read a little bit more about my experience of attending a US conference and what I learnt.

The conference agenda was very tightly packed and since I was battling with an 8-hour time change I found it quite a challenge keeping up with it all. I didn’t make the Thursday evening excursion to Chateau Ste. Michelle Winery in Woodinville (I hadn’t booked onto it assuming I’d be too tired) or the exclusive documentary preview of GMO OMG! as my plane was delayed by over four hours, meaning that I arrived in Seattle very late on Thursday evening.

The folks at the W Hotel, Seattle – the official conference host hotel – were very accommodating and I found the staff to be welcoming and helpful (isn’t everybody in America?!) I was super-impressed with my conference rate room – a Spectacular room with a view of downtown Seattle and the Space Needle in the distance. I ordered room service – a much-deserved vodka cocktail and slow-braised beef cheeks with mushrooms and saffron papardelle. Given that this was hotel room food (at 11pm) this meal is up there on the list as one of the best dishes I ate (and there were a lot!) I’ll definitely be keeping a look out for some beef cheeks to slow-cook during the winter months. I also enjoyed tuning into my favourite Seattle-based show, Frasier and was very tempted to order Sleepless in Seattle on pay-per-view…When you’re used to being a busy mother-of-two, a couple of hours to yourself is worth the trip alone!

On Friday morning, the conference officially opened with Gluten Free Carnitas and Tofu Sofrito Bowls provided by one of the conference sponsors Chipotle Mexican Grill. Mexican food is still really big in the US and the Chipotle Mexican Grill aim to serve ‘Food with Integrity’ – sustainably raised food, sourcing organic and local produce where possible – also a huge topic at the moment in America. Our lunch bowls were filled with cilantro-lime rice, pinto or beans, braised pork carnitas and tofu sofrito, along with guacamole, cheese and red-wine vinegar pickled onions. One of the things I noticed pre-conference was the fact that food allergies and intolerance are taken very seriously in America. We were even given the option of specifying ‘Paleo’ as a requirement – catch up, Europe!

Lunchtime was also my first opportunity to meet some bloggers and to try and put a few names to faces. With over 320 attendees, this was no easy task! The very first person I met was a very sweet lady named Meagan Davenport, a local writer and photographer. We also chatted to a cook and author named Roger Scouton, before heading into the Great Room for the Keynote.

Gluten Free Carnitas & Tofu Sofritas Bowls @ChipotleTweets

Keynote – Dorie Greenspan

Excitement filled the conference room as we awaited Dorie Greenspan – our keynote speaker. Dorie has written ten cookery books, which have included authoring Baking with Julia (with Julia Child!) and Desserts by Pierre Hermé. She has won a whole host of awards during her career as a food writer, including awards by the James Beard Foundation and the IACP – the International Association of Culinary Professionals. She was also named in the James Beard Foundation’s Who’s Who of Food and Beverage in America. If you are a blogger who has taken part in or read about Tuesdays with Dorie or French Fridays with Dorie, then you may also already be familiar with the work and recipes of this formidable woman. Pretty much every single person in the room, including the men, wanted to be Dorie! It was an incredible privilege to be able to hear her speak.

Dorie framed her keynote around blogging and building a community, speaking of her transition from traditional media (or ‘old media’ as she affectionately named it) to new media. Throughout her career, Dorie has worked in professional kitchens as well as a Television producer, authored ten cook books in print and has worked as a freelance writer. She currently lives between Paris, New York and Connecticut and recently launched a sophisticated cookie business with her son, whilst maintaining a strong presence across social media with a blog and an active Twitter following. She shared some of the following nuggets of advice:

I’m lucky because I work hard. I’m fortunate because I always say yes. I did things because I thought they would be interesting or I’d learn something. I’ve never done something specifically to make money. I didn’t look for money because I was doing things that were interesting to me….Concentrate on the work. It’s the only thing that’s important.

Dorie also spoke about the importance of building a community, believing that writers have never had as much power as they have now. She also spoke affectionately of Julia Child and shared anecdotes;

Working with Julia Child was the greatest experience of my life. She called writing cook books ‘cookbookery!’

Dorie also mentioned the movie Julie and Julia, pointing out that before Julia Powell and her blog, cooking through a book was an unknown phenomenon. Contextually, Dorie said that blogging “gave a new definition to instant gratification,” adding:

As bloggers, we have the chance to speak from our hearts. In the old days, everything was mediated. We used to have to send the Editor our clips, now we have our blogs. It’s the most exciting time that I can think of to be involved with food.

Dorie’s advice was to work as hard as we can to create a community, pointing to Tuesdays with Dorie and French Fridays with Dorie, as examples of how a simple blog-based idea generated a whole new community of people who were interested in cooking and baking. The idea for the two events was unplanned and happened organically, they are less about the author Dorie herself, and more about the community of people cooking from her books, in the process, fueling cook book sales and adding to Dorie’s profile. Dorie loves the fact that so many people cook from her books, sharing her recipes and interacting with one another, as well as with her.

Dorie_Greenspan — Photo courtesy of IFBC/Foodista Website

As a keynote speaker, Dorie came across as being incredibly warm, funny, articulate and modest. She answered all our questions willingly and at ease, setting the tone of the whole conference as a friendly and supportive environment of like-minded food writers. Despite all of her accolades and successes, Dorie sees herself not as someone above learning, but as someone who is always open to acquiring information and knowledge and of taking on new challenges. Above all, Dorie’s best advice was to:

Do what you’re most proud of and always say yes!

There is so much more I want to write about, including more conference highlights and sessions as well as all the food I discovered in Seattle! Stay tuned for more.

This is post #2 of 3 – attendees were asked to write 3 posts as part of the$95 ticket deal.

#IFBC Post 1 – Food Blogging Stateside

You can also view my Seattle Food Album on Facebook –

Post by Fabulicious Food.

Are you a fan of Dorie Greenspan and her cook books?

September 25, 2013

IFBC Seattle 2013 – Food Blogging Stateside – Post One

Seattle and I have been friends for a very long time. Both the city itself and the luscious, green areas surrounding it, stretching out to the Olympic Mountains in the Pacific North West, hold a special place in my heart. Almost twenty years ago, my sister made a small city named Sequim, within Washington State, her home. Since then, I’ve flown into Seattle-Tacoma Airport many times, extending the journey downtown into Seattle, right by the iconic Pike Place Market, picking up the Washington State ferry across to Bainbridge Island and beyond. My first visit was as an adventure-seeking sixteen year-old, in the summer before I started Sixth Form College. I was instantly captivated by American life, there was so much space and everything seemed bigger and better. My sister and I made the most of every second we had together, knowing that the physical distance between us had become so great. I looked forward to going back again two years later before starting University. Almost ten years on from that first trip, I happened to sit next to a tall British man on the plane from London to Seattle, who would later become my husband. Fast-forward another ten years to the weekend just gone, and I find myself sitting on the place once more, but this time, as a food writer and blogger, with a ticket to attend a food, writing and technology conference called IFBC 2013 the International Food Blogger Conference. Whilst it’s probably fair to say that most bloggers wouldn’t make a 4,800-mile pilgrimage to a blogging conference, I had lots of reasons for wanting to make it there, including the chance to see my family. It was an opportunity that I simply couldn’t miss and it turned out to be one of the most valuable weekends of my food writing career so far, and the most memorable in terms of family-firsts!

IFBC was founded in Seattle in 2009, by a Seattle-based company called Foodista. It was hailed as a pioneering gathering of food bloggers and was the first of its kind in America; at a time when food bloggers were beginning to raise their game and were eager to find ways to make their food writing hobby into a career. In 2010, Zephyr Adventures joined in as conference organisers and in the following years, the conference moved around a little, to New Orleans, Santa Monica and Portland in 2012.

This year, ifbc was back with a bang in its hometown of Seattle, presented once again by Foodista and organised by Zephyr Adventures. With over 320 food blogging and writing attendees as a captive audience, the conference attracts some huge global brands, which this year included Amazon.com and Urbanspoon, alongside regional supporters such as Alaska Seafood and Pastry Smart, and international players such as Bordeaux Wines and Scottish-based LoSalt, amongst many others. I’ll be weaving in some stories about the brands and sponsors that I met at the conference in future posts.

It’s interesting to look back at the conference agenda in 2009, and to see that the sessions focused on blog etiquette, how to handle freebies, digital photography, food writing for publications, drafting book proposals, food styling and SEO. Whilst the themes were very similar five-years on, I got the sense that food blogging has become even more hard-core, with many hobby bloggers now settled well into bona-fida careers as food writers, cookbook authors and photographers.

On the flip-side, I also met some people from within the food profession, in many guises, including chefs, food authors and photographers, who had more recently taken up food blogging as an extension to an already successful career. The keynote speaker Dorie Greenspan (an amazing food writer who worked with Julia Child!) was a perfect example of this; her work began in traditional publishing, which she affectionately referred to as ‘old media’, but she now has an incredibly strong online media presence, making the transition into ‘new media’ with a blog, an active Twitter following and so on. Dorie’s strongest message focused on working hard and building a community, turning to the example of community groups, such as Tuesdays with Dorie and French Fridays with Dorie that have taken on a life of their own; fuelling her cookbook sales and on-going international success. Food Photographer for the New York Times, Andrew Scrivani, also very much works in the world of new media, defining himself as 80% business man, 20% artist, with an online presence and a blog functioning as an extension of his photography and a promotional tool. Again, there’s much more to come on learning from Dorie and Andrew in upcoming posts – they were both wonderful speakers and extremely generous with their advice.

The IFBC13 agenda was very tightly packed, and this year, the conference came complete with its very own smartphone ‘App’ designed by 47 Degrees, offering the schedule, speakers, sponsors and even social media tweets from in one handy portable package. Personally, I loved the ifbc App and referred to it many times during my stay at the conference host hotel, the very swanky and modern W Hotel in downtown Seattle.

Agenda highlights included a pre-conference excursion to Chateau Ste. Michelle Winery, an exclusive documentary pre-view, exhibition-sized food and gourmet fairs, including a Taste of Seattle dedicated entirely to conference attendees, a gift suit, highly-acclaimed speakers and many other break-out sessions focusing on Technology, Writing and Tech.

Some of the bloggers I met were taking part the conference for the fourth or fifth time, others, including myself, were ifbc first timers! There was also a very friendly (closed) Facebook group set up in advance of the conference so that people could start to introduce themselves, make connections as well as share blog posts and make plans for the weekend. After the conference the group was opened up and became ifbc Attendees & Alumni. The conference itself must have been pretty overwhelming, since I had a huge list of people from the Facebook group that I really wanted to meet, but never actually found. Other people were perhaps better at recognising avatars than I was, or possibly simply had a more water-tight blogger recognition plan! I did, however, meet some really wonderful people; my American food blogging counterparts, who all made me personally, feel incredibly welcome. “Oh, you’re the girl from London!” most exclaimed – as if to suggest that somehow I was a little bit crazy…!

Together, we ate, drank, chatted, networked, live-blogged, scribbled-down notes, Tweeted #ifbc or #IFBC13, took obsessive amounts of photographs. Above all, we learnt, we shared and we had so much fun.

I have lots more to write about so stay tuned for more of my Seattle-based adventures.

IFBC, Foodista, Zephyr logos and App screenshot taken from conference website.

This is post #1 of 3 – attendees were asked to write 3 posts as part of the$95 ticket deal.

You can find post #2 of 3 here – Arrival, Opening and Keynote by Dorie Greenspan

June 5, 2013

A postcard from Italy

I’m back from a truly memorable family holiday with husband and children to Italy, visiting the relatively undisturbed, food-filled region of Emiglia Romagna, offering an abundance of local produce, stunning panoramic mountain landscapes, quaint local villages and nearby striking Adriatic coastline. We were also able to take in some of Veneto, flying into Venice for an overnight visit, before driving down towards Bologna and Bagno di Romagna. We were utterly captivated by the charm of Venice with its Grand Canal, the Rialto Bridge and famous Rialto Market, along with tranquil gondola rides and the views of the Palazzo Ducale from the balcony of St Mark’s Basilica.

After Venice, we spent the majority of the week in the pretty spa town of Bagno di Romagna, about three kilometers from where my gorgeous sister and her family live. After making ourselves at home in a 17th century apartment called ‘Casa Biozzi’ we continued to explore the region. This was a wonderful base from which to strike out across the border into Tuscany and to re-visit Florence. We also spent the day exploring the capital of Emilia Romagna, Bologna, where I was simply enthralled by the backstreets, shops and food markets beyond any comparable measure – lots more on Bologna to come. We also managed to track down the sleepy town of Forlimpopoli, the birthplace of Pellegrino Artusi, author of famous Italian cookbook “La scienza in cucina e l’arte di mangiare bene” where we found Casa Artusi housing a delectable restaurant, a library with 4,500 cookery books as well as a renowned cookery school. And of course, we were blown away by the array of local delicacies, such as spring ‘prugnoli‘ mushrooms, porcini fritti, red wine from the region and lots of unbeatable home cooked, Italian food and hospitality. The children were very happy too and in their element eating spaghetti pomodoro, tagliatelli al ragu, pizza and gelato every day!

It’s hard to pick a highlight; the whole week was full of fun; famiglia and laughter.

As you can imagine, I have enough memories now for at least a thousand blog posts and I’m very sad to be back at home. I’ve no doubt that my Italian adventures will inspire my writing and cooking for many months to come.

I’ve hit the ground running with a post over on Jamie Oliver.com on Vegetarian Pizza Ideas. You can read some of my other featured pieces, currently to a vegetarian theme here.

The @JamieOliverCom team are also new to Twitter, so pop over and say ‘hi’ with a tweet.

In the meantime, thank you so much to everyone who entered Simple and in Season this month for its second birthday! I was blown away by the number of entries and promise to round up very soon. The June blog event will be open shortly, too.

Hope you enjoyed your half term or late spring break, if you had one. Let me know what you did.

Note: This was a family holiday, all expenses and experiences were our own.

April 2, 2012

An ‘Extra Special’ Easter Evening at Leiths and an Easy Easter Menu

A couple of weeks ago, I was invited back to the iconic London cookery school, Leiths School of Food and Wine along with a group of fellow food bloggers, for an evening of cooking with ASDA’s Extra Special food range. The menu may have looked ambitious at first glance, but it was actually easy to prepare as well as being super-tasty. It has definitely given me lots of ideas for Easter. After a brief introduction to the exclusive Leiths ASDA partnership by Camilla Schneideman, the Managing Director of Leiths, we were quickly put to work to prepare our own Easter supper!

This was my first introduction to the range and so I was keen to get to work, as well as to have a good natter and enjoy an evening packed with Easter treats. We were split into teams of four and were each given an individual part of the menu to prepare. The menu showcased some of the best spring ingredients, such as Extra Special Samphire and asparagus with freshly made soda bread, Extra Special Lamb Racks with a mustard and breadcrumb crust, fresh strawberry tartlettes with Extra Special Channel Island double cream, as well as some really tasty Easter truffle cupcakes.

Leiths have been working very closely with ASDA since last autumn in order to taste and develop new lines for the Extra Special range. What I didn’t realise was quite how many products Leith’s were testing and approving – over 800! The partnership was created in able to tap into Leiths expertise and to make sure that the Extra Special range is focused on quality ingredients. This partnership reflects the fact that the Extra Special range is more than just a collection of higher-end supermarket products; the Leiths stamp of approval is not given out lightly and Leiths have set up a whole team to scrutinise every product in the range and develop recipes for ASDA.

All of the recipes we tried had been specially created by Leiths chefs. The range itself includes fresh meat, cheese (we also tried the Extra Special Somerset Vintage Cheddar), vegetables and fruit, as well as convenience products, such as the tartlet cases we tried, conserves, oils and ready meals.

I have to admit that the samphire was a new one for me to try. It is just about to come into season in the UK and you can usually find it at the fresh fish counter. I was warned it was salty, and because of what I thought it would taste like, was reluctant to try it. In fact, having been very lightly blanched with the fresh asparagus spears, I didn’t find it salty at all. It was quite crunchy and went really well with the asparagus, egg and Parmesan cheese. I would definitely try it again, perhaps with fish, such as poached salmon or again, with asparagus. I was so busy trimming my own racks of lamb and making the mustard, fresh herb and breadcrumb crust that I actually missed the soda bread being made by Penny, but it seemed very quick to pull together – just wholemeal flour, plain flour, bicarbonate of soda, sugar, butter and buttermilk, mixed together and shaped directly on the tray with no kneading at all required!

We were helped out a little bit with the preparation (and with the washing up!) by the lovely Leiths chefs, who helped us with timings as we were so busy chatting, and with the sides – crushed new potatoes with chives and broccoli and french beans with citrus butter. The rest, I’m quite pleased to say, was down to team work and I think we can all be quite proud of our efforts in pulling off three courses and an extra box of cupcakes to take home and nibble on. Of course, our meal was washed down with a glass or two of some of the wine’s in the Extra Special collection, selected by Asda’s wine selection manager and Master of Wine, Philippa Carr.

The fresh strawberry tartlets deserve a special mention, too. The tartlet cases were crispy and crumbly and would make a great store-cupboard emergency standby ingredient. Or, if you need to make a dessert in advance, you can also brush the cases with a little melted chocolate (to prevent them from going soggy) and then fill them with whipped cream and berries.

All in all, this was a great evening at Leiths and I really enjoyed trying the ASDA Extra Special range. You can find most of the Easter recipes we cooked on the ASDA website. Here’s the perfect spring/Easter menu for you to try at home –

Extra Special Easter Menu

Asparagus and Samphire with Parmesan Cheese and Soft Boiled Eggs (Easter Starters)

Roast Lamb with Vine Tomatoes, Broccoli and Beans with Citrus Butter, Crushed Potatoes with Chives (Easter Mains and Accompaniments)

Strawberry Tartlets or Mini Chocolate Truffle Cakes (Easter Desserts) or both!!

All the Extra Special range recipes on the ASDA website have been created by Leiths chefs.

Asda_chocolate_cupcakes — Photo Credit ASDA

With thanks to Lucie and ASDA’s PR team for the invitation, Camilla and all her chefs and students at Leiths and to my fellow food bloggers Becky (English Mum), Michelle (Utterly Scrummy) and Penny (Penelope’s Pantry) for buddying up. Thank you to ASDA for providing a hamper to giveaway to one of my readers (winner: Deborah Davies) and for my Extra Special goodie bag to try some of the products at home. I received the products for free to sample and/or giveaway and was not paid to write this post or attend the cookery evening.

What treats have you got planned for Easter?

February 8, 2012

Restaurant Review – Jamie’s Italian, The Bell, Chequer Street, St Albans

Last weekend saw the opening of a new branch of Jamie’s Italian in St Albans, taking over the space that used to be The Bell Public House on Chequer Street. The Bell becomes Jamie Oliver’s 25th restaurant in the Jamie’s Italian chain and since it’s on my doorstep, I was eager to visit. I joined fellow St Albans food blogger Heidi Roberts for a pre-opening lunch on Saturday, ahead of the official opening on Sunday 5^th February.

The Bell is a listed building, with a chimney dating back to the 18th century and other areas dating back to the 19th century. Having followed the press reports, it would seem that Jamie has had to work very hard to jump through strict regulatory hoops, whilst sticking to a brief of ‘enhancing the character and appearance’ of the St Albans conservation area. He has succeeded, and The Bell now stands proud again, offering 150-seats to discerning St Albans diners.

My first impressions were that many of the building’s original features have been kept, whilst being given the ever-more familiar ‘Jamie’s Italian’ stamp. As you walk in, on show is a fresh pasta station (all pasta is made in the house) and a long drinks bar to the left, stacked with Italian wines and Jamie’s organic house wine, stored in eco-friendly Tetra Pak cartons – it is later decanted. There is also fresh bread, tins of Italian tomatoes, and of course, the obligatory levels of Jamie merchandise and cookery books to buy.

At the front of the building (along Chequer Street) are two separate dining areas, both with exposed brick walls and restored fireplaces, offering a more traditional and cosy atmosphere, a bit more like a pub. The main dining area has a more urban feel, sitting directly underneath a large glass roof through the middle and a timber-vaulted ceiling to the right-hand side, with windows looking out into the ‘premium-retail’ area known as The Maltings. Tables are a mixture of wood with metal chairs, or metal with wooden chairs, with bright red benches around the perimeter and gun-metal, painted walls.

As well as the bar, there is also an open dessert and cold-starter preparation area, adorned with chillis and garlic, market-style vegetable crates and hanging salami and San Daniele hams, and further on, a very busy, semi-open kitchen. The service area is bustly, but diners are kept well out of the way.

Onto the menu, the very first thing I spotted was Burrata with chilli and mint (£6.25), a fresh Italian cheese, made from mozzarella and cream. It’s all the rage, don’t you know?! In any case, it is very welcome in St Albans and I hope it stays here.

Ahead of that, there was, in fact, a selection of Nibbles or small bites that I had missed, such as an Italian bread selection (£3.75) or the ‘World’s best olives on ice’ (£3.75) – which did look quite cool.

I had to go for the Burrata (and I wasn’t disappointed) but I was hugely tempted by the Autumn Bruschetta – Beetroot ripple, smashed pumpkin, scamorza and cavalo nero (£8.95 to share), so I’ll have to go back for that. We also tried the Crispy Squid (£5.75) – not especially crispy, but the garlicky mayo was indeed, as described, very garlicky! Because we were feeling greedy, we also tried Jamie’s Funky Chips with fresh garlic and parsley (£3.25) but our waiter told us that the Famous Polenta Chips (£3.45) were his favourite.

The planks (£6.85 a head) seemed particularly popular too looking around, small piles of cured meats, Italian cheeses, or sliced, char-grilled, seasonal vegetables served with pickles and chilli jam. I also noted the Artisan meat boards (£4.45 each) of English wild boar salami, Truffle salami and Levonetto tondo, again, to try next time. The planks themselves are long wooden boards, held up by two tins of tomatoes on your table, creating a little bridge ideal for picking at and sharing.

Mains are divided into Pasta and Secondi (Meat or Fish.) We tried the Meatball carbonara, which was made with a fresher, lemon-cream sauce, San Daniele ham, meatballs and rigatoni pasta (£7.25/£11.25.) I enjoyed it, I was happy with the flavour, I didn’t find it too lemony or too salty and the pasta was perfectly cooked. Heidi ordered the Prosciutto spaghetti (£6.25/£9.75) which was a little dry, but well-flavoured with Sicilian lemon, fresh parsley and strips of San Daniele ham.

Making a nuisance of ourselves again and peering across onto other tables, we spotted the Seaside risotto (£8.95/£15.95) which was served on a very large plate, and garnished with clams, mussels, prawns and Gurnard. The Truffled Turkey Milanese (£12.25.) is highlighted as ‘Jamie’s Favourite’ on the menu and was a hit amongst diners. It looked like a huge piece of flattened turkey, stuffed with Fontina cheese and Prosciutto ham, topped with a soft fried free-range egg. The portion sizes all seemed to be generous and crucially, plates were taken away clean!

Jamie’s Dolci, or desserts were flying out fast, too. We wanted to order the Amalfi lemon curd slice (£4.95) but they were out, so instead we went for the Peach and almond tart (£4.95) and the JI Warm Brownie (£4.95) served with fresh raspberries, crushed Amaretti biscuits and vanilla ice-cream. Both desserts were substantial, and in typical Jamie Oliver-fashion, pretty tasty.

Overall Impressions

Having visited the old Bell, which was a dark and dingy alco-pop filled noisy pub, I’m pleased to say that Jamie’s Italian is a vast improvement. Jamie himself stopped by earlier on Monday to give the place a once over, showing that he is not as far removed from his business ventures as some might say. Gennaro Contaldo, Jamie’s long-standing mentor also popped in on Thursday. Gennaro is credited for training the chefs at Jamie’s Italian, making sure they are up to speed and ready to go. The restaurant itself, as with all the others in the chain, will be managed by Jamie’s team.

Upstairs has also been renovated to a high standard, with posh toilets (Crapper, no less), white washbasins with vintage taps and grey-polished tiles. There is a disabled toilet and baby-change on the ground floor and though the main entrance is at the front, there is a ramp at the back for disabled access, too.

We did find it to be extremely busy and whilst the entire restaurant was packed, the tables in the centre of the dining room were particularly crowded, with, as you would expect in St Albans, lots of parents with kids. I’ll have to go back with mine to try out the children’s menu as I was too busy being a lady-who-lunches and forgot to ask!

On Saturday Jamie’s Italian was well staffed, although this was pre-opening, so the staff were technically still in training and the restaurant itself may have been artificially busy. We lunched for over two hours, so it wasn’t by any means a quick lunch, but we did have three courses. Our waiter was friendly and knowledgeable, at one point, he started telling us about the village that the pigs had lived in that were now the San Daniele ham hanging above the counter! The tables at the front (looking out onto Chequer Street) appear to offer a little more room, but you don’t get to see as much of the action.

Despite the fact that St Albans is already saturated with chain restaurants, I have a feeling that Jamie’s Italian will be a popular local hang-out, particularly if Jamie’s cheeky charm is allowed to shine through his team and his staff are able to relax into service as the hype subsides. I’ll definitely be going back, I admire the ethos behind the restaurant (fresh food, house made pasta, seasonality in the menu, reasonably priced) and I’m pleased we have a Jamie’s here now.

It is possible to book at table at Jamie’s Italian on-line, though they also operate a walk-in policy and will try and seat you, if possible.

We paid for our own meals, though we were given a 50% discount on our food as a soft-opening. With wine, starters, mains, an extra side and desserts the price would have been around £35.00 a head.

Thanks Heidi for taking me along!

Jamie’s Italian
22 Chequer Street
St Albans
Herts
AL1 3YD

Tel: 01727 221 266

Monday – Saturday
12.00 noon – 11.00pm

Sunday
12.00 noon – 10.30pm

Have you eaten at a Jamie’s Italian restaurant? What did you think? Would you go again?

December 27, 2011

Favourite Cookbooks of 2011: The Italian Cookery Course by Katie Caldesi

One of the culinary highlights of 2011 for me was taking a pasta class with Katie Caldesi in her home in Buckinghamshire. The voucher for the course was a birthday present from my husband, earning him lots of brownie points! I learnt how to make fresh pasta for the first time and was introduced to some wonderful Italian cookery, including the classics as well as some new recipes for me. Katie also wrote one of the books I have turned to the most this year, particularly when cooking meals for my family, called The Italian Cookery Course, published by Kyle Cathie.

When I first flicked through a copy of ‘The Italian Cookery Course’ by Katie Caldesi I was truly enthralled. It is a beautiful cookbook filled with techniques, masterclasses, ingredients and traditional Italian recipes, collated by Katie during her travels across the twenty regions of Italy. What separates this book from other Italian cookery books is the vast scope and selection of recipes and advice offered, giving the reader a real insight into the diversity of Italian cooking. Every detail of Italian cooking is examined and it will certainly inspire you not only to want to cook Italian food, but more importantly, how to cook it like an Italian.

Born in an English seaside town, Katie was first introduced to Italian food by Tuscan-born husband Giancarlo some twelve yeas ago. They now run two restaurants and a cookery school together, but this book, her first solo project, has earned Katie the title of “honorary Italian” from her proud husband. In his forward, he compares Katie to “a taxi driver who does “the knowledge” in order to understand how to get from street to street”. Learning not only from Giancarlo and their chefs, but also first-hand from the homes of many Italian Mammas and their families, Katie shows that it is possible to unlock the secrets of good Italian cooking and how to incorporate them into everyday life.

Pane con Sarde - Sicilian panini with anchovies, mozzarella, tomatoes and basil.

Pane con Sarde – Sicilian panini with anchovies, mozzarella, tomatoes and basil.

Seasonality plays an important role in authentic Italian cookery; Italians will always select the freshest ingredients available but the true essence of Italian cooking begins with a love of food. Despite fierce regional competition over recipes and specialities, one thing is undisputed across the whole of Italy – the most important thing in life is sitting down with friends and family to celebrate and enjoy whatever may be on offer.

Written with the courses of an Italian meal in mind, the book begins with an introduction to the Wines of Italy, moving on to Bread, Pizza and Savoury Pastries, followed by Antipasti, Soup and Stocks and a thorough look at Pasta, Rice and Polenta. Fish, Meat, Poultry and Game are all given individual attention with the Italian love of fresh vegetables highlighted in a chapter dedicated to Vegetables and Salad.

The final three chapters are also filled to the brim with regional specialities, homing in on ‘Dolci’ (desserts) and an exploration of Italian cheese. The book draws to a close with home made preserves, where seasonal produce is captured at its best – everything from apricots to figs and tomatoes to artichokes being bound in liqueurs or syrups to extend our enjoyment across the seasons.

Each chapter opens with a thorough introduction of what is to follow. For example, in ‘Pane’, the significance of bread in daily Italian life is explained, with examples of traditional styles, baking notes, useful tips on equipment and the different types of flours and grains used in Italian baking. A ‘masterclass’ follows, incorporating many types of bread from ‘Pane Semplice’ (Quick White Bread) to differently shaped and flavoured breads, such as ‘Pane Con Sarde’ (Sicilian Panini with Anchovies, Mozarella, Tomatoes and Basil), pizza, and ending with ‘Torta fritta’ (hot fried dough squares from Parma).

There are simple starting points throughout the book (advice on choosing tomatoes, how to clean an artichoke, selecting a good Italian cheese) and even a beginner could easily impress with a selection of authentic Italian ‘Antipasti’ from every region in Italy. Italian cold meat cuts, known as ‘Salumi‘, are explained in full with a useful pictorial guide. Follow Katie’s tips on buying olives and throw in a good bottle of Italian wine and you will be well on your way to creating a wonderful meal.

More complex challenges are also on offer, such as making homemade pasta coloured with spinach or beetroot, to filleting fish, preparing seafood, de-boning a chicken or jointing a rabbit. All the stages of cooking are explained along with advice on how to build flavours, for example by making a ‘Soffritto’, the ‘holy trinity’ of vegetables for soups, stews and stocks – also crucial to a good risotto. Zuppa di orzo e frutti di mare (Barley Soup with Seafood) stands out for me (photographed below).

Ravioli di barbabietola e radicchio - Beetroot and radicchio ravioli, with speck bacon and red onion and a butter, sage and pinenut sauce.

Ravioli di barbabietola e radicchio – Beetroot and radicchio ravioli, with speck bacon and red onion and a butter, sage and pinenut sauce.

Only four out of Italy’s twenty regions do not have a coastline, making fishing a popular Italian pursuit. ‘Spiedini di Pesce e Gamberoni con Arance e Alloro’ (Salmon, Prawn and Tuna Kebabs with Orange and Bay Leaves) is a typical Southern Italian recipe, making the most of this abundance.

Zuppa di orzo e frutti di mare - Barley and seafood stew.

Zuppa di orzo e frutti di mare – Barley and seafood stew.

Meat courses are also regionally inspired. Your masterclass in ‘Carne’ will tell you that pork is “the king of the table” in Tuscany, goat features more in the south of Italy, with sausages, deeply flavoured casseroles and game such as venison, wild boar or hare more common in the north.

Vegetables and salads offer great seasonal inspiration with many Italians growing their own. Key herbs are highlighted alongside vegetarian recipes, such as Baked Red Peppers with Four-Cheese Soufflé, and tips on recognising mushrooms and finding truffles.

Desserts are as varied as the regions from which they are taken, with ‘la passeggiata’ (dressing up after dinner and taking a stroll, often to the local ‘gelateria’ or ice-cream shop) being an important part of Italian family life. I look forward to trying the ‘Torta Caprese’ (Chocolate and Almond Cake from Salerno) and ‘Torta Contadina’ (Franca’s Pear Cake which can be varied to include seasonal fruits). The ‘Sfinci’ (Cinnamon Doughnuts) and Camicia da Notte (Nutella pizza) are also begging to be made.

Torta contadina - Franca's pear cake.

Torta contadina – Franca’s pear cake.

With glimpses of Italian family life, a real focus on seasonal food, artisan producers and stunning scenery beautifully captured by photographer Lisa Linder this would book is a really important addition to any kitchen bookshelf. It certainly inspired me to want to visit Italy again. Although a book to dip into, the ‘masterclasses’ break down some of the more complex processes and mean that you can have a go at creating a wonderful Italian feast.

Standing up strongly on its own, this book is also a great accompaniment to any of Katie’s cookery classes. It is a book of which the author must be very proud – accomplished and reflecting true authenticity.

“The Italian Cookery Course” by Katie Caldesi, published by Kyle Cathie. All photography Copyright Lisa Linder (www.lisalinder.com)

For more information on cookery courses with Katie or Giancarlo Caldesi see www.caldesi.com

This review was first published on The Foodie Bugle

December 20, 2011

Château de Chanteloup, Saintes and Cognac School – Day Two

Yesterday, I wrote about Day One of the Martell Pure Gourmet adventure, in Cognac, France. Our bright and breezy second morning began with a visit to a traditional French market, in the nearby town of Saintes.

Jamie, myself, Brad and Helene at Saintes

The trip was really to enable us to appreciate just how rich and diverse the local produce is and by all accounts, this was a small market compared to other days. Even before we reached the main part of the market, we could see the lady at her magazine stall selling a few cèpes that she’d probably found on her way to the market herself. Oh, how I wish we could find these at my local market!

We also stopped at the Fromagerie Moreau, where the market stall owner was pleased to answer any questions we had about the vast array of local cheeses on offer and some from further afield. I did notice that many of them were marked AOC or AOP, the certification granted to certain agricultural products, including wines, cognac, of course, cheese and even butters within designated geographical areas. The French are particularly proud of provenance, which, for me, was a wonderful thing to see and to appreciate, as we see it more and more in Britain.

I can also never quite believe how small our world really is. I had ‘tweeted’ my whereabouts and my friend and fellow blogger Karen from Lavender and Lovage exclaimed that Saintes was in fact her local market town. This was so strange as I had only met Karen a couple of weeks earlier when she had popped over to visit me in my local market town whilst on a visit to England. I had mentioned how lovely it would be to one day visit Karen’s part of the world! What are the chances of ending up in a tiny, rural part of South West France and being that close to someone you know? Anyway, I was very grateful that I was able to leave the rest of group for a short time to meet Karen and her husband for a quick French café au lait, whilst the others went to visit another local producer of fruit and vegetables.

Karen, Lavender and Lovage

I just about made it back (after a particularly interesting taxi ride where my A-Level French failed me) for a spectacularly fresh seafood lunch at the Château. There really was a remarkable display of local seafood on offer, fresh oysters, which we had seen earlier on at the market, salmon, langoustines, fresh crab, all accompanied with, yes, you guessed it, Martell cognac. Of all the individual pairings so far, I absolutely loved cognac with seafood. If you think about it, a very simple Marie Rose cocktail sauce at home can be elevated to something else with a splash of cognac, so it really would be a beautiful idea to serve a small glass of cognac with any seafood starter over the festive period.

Seafood lunch – photograph Anne-Laure Jacquart

After lunch, we were divided into two smaller groups. We started with a welcome into the kitchens of Château de Chanteloup, where the hard work of the Pure Gourmet adventure really happens. As I mentioned in my earlier post, the House of Martell have a resident team of chefs, led by Eric Danger and Christophe Pienkowski, who work together to create some remarkable dishes and cognac pairings for Martell guests from all over the world. We were shown how to make a dessert of crêpes with lemon, fresh berries and an orange suzette sauce, paired with VSOP cognac. The second team made madeleines with honey which were paired with Martell XO. I’ll be trying the recipes at home and will hopefully be able to share them with you soon.

Crêpes with Menton Lemon, Orange Butter Sauce and Red Berries

We also went back to the Martell Distillery for a ‘vertical’ tasting session with Jeremy Oakes, or Cognac School, as I preferred to call it. We began with a younger Martell cognac, Noblige, which was created by Martell in reference to the saying “Noblesse Oblige”, referring to the responsibilities carried by the aristocracy. This was a very special cognac, myself and Jamie both took a bottle home with us, although it is rarely available on mainland Europe. If you do see it, try it, you won’t be disappointed. Next, Martell’s signature Cordon Bleu, which had tried earlier on with the seafood lunch. This is the cognac of choice when it comes to important matters, for example, it was enjoyed at the signing of the Armastice, it was also offered by Air France on Concorde and on the Orient Express as well as being featured in films. There is a light mocha coffee flavour, which is why it matched particularly well with the “grand cru” coffee bean sauce during the Pure Gourmet meal. The third cognac was an XO or Extra Old which was more earthy, with hints of candied peel, hazelnuts and walnuts. It has a superb after-taste and really lingers. This is under the Christmas tree for my husband! We moved onto a second tasting of the very exclusive Chanteloup Perspective that we had tasted the evening before at the Château on the night of its launch in Asia. Next, we tasted the very special Martell Creation Grand and as we did so, we were almost at the very top of the range. This definitely had a stronger fruitiness, with maybe even hints of marmalade or dark berries and spicy notes. Quite frankly, the fact that I remember any of this detail is remarkable!

Vertical tasting of the Martell range – a very studious Fabulicious Food!

– both photographs by Anne-Laure Jacquart

The really special treat was waiting for us right at the end. We were taken into the Paradise, or Jean Martell’s Cellar to taste L’Or de Jean Martell, which is a blend of several hundred eaux-de-vie, some of which have been hidden in the Martell cellars for over a century. Martell have some of the oldest stock of cognac in the business, the oldest dating back to 1802. They describe L’Or de Jean Martell as “the culmination of Martell’s 300 year quest for perfection.” So, if you should ever win the lottery, you will know what to buy youself.

After a much needed rest back at the Château, we prepared ourselves for dinner which was a premier of Asian-inspired recipes. Highlights included a Shellfish Stock with a Celery and Royal Crab Ravioli. We discovered that adding a tablespoon of cognac into the soup once served really complimented this dish. We also had homard, or Lobster with a Mango Vinaigrette and Young Salad Leaves followed by Beef Tenderloin with Exotic Peppers, Eggplant and Tempura. Dessert was the ultimate supreme moment and it was, for me, the very best cognac match of all, a Velouté au Chocolat (Fleur de Cao), with a Yuzu Ganache and Crystallized Oranges. This was a silky, smooth chocolate dessert, with a layer of yuzu. Yuzu being a very aromatic Asian citrus fruit, which as I discovered, goes very well with chocolate and cognac.

We spent the rest of the evening chatting in the lounge (with perhaps a spot of singing) along with a couple of glasses of champagne. How was I still standing?! To finish off our stay, we were presented with our very own engraved bottle of Chanteloup Perspective as well as a madeleine tin and group photograph. Christmas really had arrived early!

Helene admiring her own bottle of Martell Chanteloup Perspective – photograoh by Anne-Laure Jacquart

As I sat on the train back to Paris and then onto London very early the next morning, I felt as though I had left my parallel universe and my Château life far behind, but what an adventure it had been. There had been so much to take in and to enjoy, to discover, to learn, to taste.

Part of me is hopeful that Château de Chanteloup will open its doors to more people one day, to enable them to experience this Pure Gourmet adventure for themselves. You can visit the Martell distilleries, as we did, which is really worth a trip in itself, though a stay at the Château remains by the invitation of Martell.

I very much look forward to continuing to watch Martell interacting with their consumers, the ultimate keepers of their fate, without letting go of the very unique elements of tradition, prestige and luxury that Martell, as the oldest cognac house in the world, so firmly holds. Profile raising within this new age of social media is challenging, but I think that Martell have made an excellent start so far. As we were the first group of bloggers ever to be invited to Château de Chanteloup, it was a great privilege for me, as a British food blogger, to be part of this chapter of Martell’s history.

With thanks to Katja Graisse and the team from Balistik*Art in Paris for the invitation, the House of Martell and the Martell team, including Tiffany and Bérengère, for their hospitality. Return travel, food and accommodation were covered by Martell, along with a madeleine tin and gift bottle of Chanteloup Perspective as a memento. We were also joined by photographer Anne-Laure Jacquart. Credit is given to Anne-Laure underneath any of her photographs used in this post. All other photography my own. The decision to write about the adventure was my own.

The House of Martell, Château de Chanteloup, Cognac – photograph Anne-Laure Jacquart

You can find links to many of the Pure Gourmet recipes through Martell’s facebook page too.

December 19, 2011

Welcome to Château de Chanteloup, the House of Martell – Day One

There’s a cosy stew on my stove and a cup of tea beside me as I write, but just for one moment, I am daydreaming (again) about my French escape to Château de Chanteloup, the House of Martell. Although it was only a couple of weeks ago, already it feels like a lifetime ago. Obviously, normal life for me does not involve sitting around sipping cognac and eating gourmet food in a Château. But there is something about the French and the French way of life that I have always found fascinating. I have many wonderful memories from extended summer holidays in France throughout my early twenties and the food was always a highlight. So, when, as a food blogger, I was invited to take part in the Martell ‘Pure Gourmet’ experience, to learn how to match cognac with food in the region of Cognac, France, I jumped at the chance and onto a first class Eurostar, quite literally.

My food writing and blogging have always been my ultimate personal indulgence and in many ways, a virtual escape. Food captures my imagination and takes me to places beyond my domestic life. Diving into foreign worlds through beautifully written cookery books has always induced the same effect too. The idea of a gastronomic adventure accompanied by a sip or two of cognac could not have appealed to me more and with a few adjustments to home life (with thanks to my wonderful husband) I found myself, without children, sitting on a train to Paris.

For the rest of the group, apart from myself and cognac-expert, Max, the adventure had begun early on Sunday evening in Paris, at a welcome dinner. I was not able to make the dinner, but did arrive at my Paris hotel in good time to have a quick ‘gin tonic’ and to meet the group in the morning. We took the train to the French town of Angoulême and then onto Château de Chanteloup. Having met Jamie Schler from Life’s A Feast very briefly at the hotel, the train ride was a lovely opportunity for me to get to know some of the rest of the group. I chatted to writer and journalist Douglas Blyde and made friends with Qing Lin and Brad Lau from Lady Iron Chef , who had travelled all the way from Singapore to take part in the adventure. Jamie, Helene Le Blanc and David Lebovitz chatted away in the compartment next to us, with all of them having lived in France at some point or for some time, they had plenty in common already. I think it was such a shock for me to be without my children, in some form or another, that I almost had to remember who I was in my own right, and that was actually quite hard. But I was excited, and ready to relax, and to be looked after.

The super-lovely Jamie from Life’s A Feast – Photo Anne-Laure Jacquart

Martell is the oldest of the major cognac houses, founded originally by Jean Martell in 1715, who came from Jersey in the Channel Islands. Jean Martell’s father had been an import merchant and by the age of 21, Jean Martell had set up his own business, exporting and importing a range of products, including eau-de-vie (a colourless liquid that is produced by fermenting grapes) wool, tea, coffee and spices. By 1721, Jean-Martell was already exporting over 200,000 litres of cognac in casks to England and tradition which continues now globally, under the Martell name. Jean Martell’s two sons, and later, his grandson, Theodore Martell continued the family tradition. After the French Revolution, Martell became the official suppliers to Napoleon Bonaparte and following the Second World War Martell supplied Winston Churchill. So, we were certainly in good drinking company as we arrived at Château de Chanteloup, a 16^th Century home and country retreat first acquired by Theodore Martell 1838.

The grounds of Château de Chanteloup – Photo by Anne-Laure Jaquart

The Château remained within the Martell family and in 1930, the then owner, Maurice Firino-Martell re-built the Château in to a Norman style, as a gift to his wife Elisabeth, who was missing her native Normandy. It now belongs to the Martell group and it is used as an exclusive guest house by Martell. Fast-forward to 2011, and Château de Chanteloup was ready to receive its first group of ‘bloggeurs,’ complaining about our inability to access ‘Château Wifi’ from which to send our tweets!

Qing Lin at The House of Martell

Our arrival was greeted with a coffee break (not cognac break, although our hosts did offer!) before heading into the town of Cognac for lunch at Le Bistro de Claude. There are actually very few restaurants in Cognac, so should you ever find yourself there, I was assured that this one is the best one to dine in.

The town of Cognac

This was really my first reunion with what I would call proper French food, not counting the Alain Roux-designed Eurostar meal (though it was very nice) or the pain au chocolat I had at breakfast. I chose Crème de Potimarron au Fois Gras, a seasonal pumpkin soup with fois gras which is very typical of the area, followed by Dos de Cabillaud aux Epices, a beautifully spiced piece of cod. It is worth noting that fish and seafood in South West France is particularly good as the Atlantic coast is not so far away. To finish the meal, I had a homemade Tiramisu with fresh raspberries and my first taste of Martell Cognac. The meal was a wonderful introduction to the gastronomy of the Cognac area and we were certainly ready for the next chapter of our adventure.

Douglas Blyde taking it all in his stride

Our next stop was the Martell Distillery where were introduced to the Martell-making process. We were given a very thorough explanation of how Martell carefully selects very specific crus from within the Cognac region or AOC and in particular from the four main crus, including the crus of Grand Champagne and Petite Champagne, Fins Bois and the Borderies, with the dominant grape variety being Ugni Blanc. Martell also uses a strict double-distillation method and aging process, specifically using clear wines with no lees, or sediment, producing a purer and lighter liquid eau-de-vie. The eau-de-vie is aged by Martell in fine-grain oak casks, giving it its beautiful amber colouring (Beware: cheap imitations use caramel colouring to produce the same colour!) The eau-de-vie stored in these fine-grain oak casks takes on a more delicate aroma as time goes on as the tannins within slower grown or finer oak are much subtler than the intense tannins of coarse-grain oak casks. As the eau-de-vie ages, it develops its character and the age of the cask (new, medium-old and very old) will determine that process, along with the quality of the wood, the air and time. So, we’re talking good liqueur here. None of this cheap, generic off-licence stuff!

The minimum ageing for cognac required by the area is two years, although Martell often age their cognacs for a great while longer, sometimes several decades. Once a cellar master has determined that a cognac has reached it peak, it is decanted into demi-johns where it awaits blending. Several hundred eaux-de-vie might be used in one blend, for example, the famous signature Martell Cordon Bleu (which we sampled plenty amount of) contains around one hundred and twenty eaux-de-vie.

As well as visiting the Martell Distillery we were also shown the vineyards. The roses you see at the foot of the vines are placed there strategically rather than to make them look pretty. Any diseases will kill the roses first enabling the vines to be saved. We also visited the cooperage to be shown the fascinating process of how the oak casks are made. Much of the process is still artisanal with many parts of the casks being made by hand. One of the highlights of the tour was being presented with our own little oak plaques with our names on it, so now I have my very own ‘Fabulicious Food was ‘ere’ sign to keep! We also went to Jean Martell’s original house and were shown the original cellars and learnt more about how the particular selection of grapes by Martell and a little about the soil and climate of the region. I was a bit cold at this point and a little information saturated, but it nothing that a spot of cognac didn’t resolve.

Our cognac-spiked tours culminated with our arrival back at the Château. Later that evening we were treated to a very special ‘premier’ tasting of a brand new blend of Martell cognac that was simultaneously launched that evening in Shanghai, by Jeremy Oakes, Brand Development Manager for Martell. After 24 years of working for Martell, there isn’t a great deal that Jeremy doesn’t know about Martell and we were very privileged that he was able to share so much of his expertise with us. We were also the very first group to stand on the stone-built belvedere viewing point at the wrought-iron gates leading to the new cellars within Chanteloup which will house some of the oldest and rarest eaux-de-vie owned by Martell, which only a handful of cellar masters will have access too. Again, we were very lucky to be given a taste of Martell Chanteloup Perspective, as well as a sneak peak within the cellars.

Back inside the Château we were greeted by cognac cocktails – younger varieties, such as a VS or VSOP, are better for cocktail-making, my favourite pairing (before dinner) was cognac with ginger ale and a cube of ice. I’ll certainly be serving that to my guests over the Christmas period. We were also introduced to resident Martell chefs Eric Danger and Christophe Pienkowski. Despite his name, Christophe assured me he spoke no Polish, which is a shame, as my Polish is better than my French and it would have been quite nice to chat to him a bit more!

The Martell ‘Pure Gourmet’ Dinner

Dinner on our first evening at the Château was really quite remarkable – four courses each paired with a different blend of Martell cognac, forming the main concept of the Pure Gourmet adventure. The idea is to suggest cognac as an accompaniment to food, rather than simply as an aperitif or a more usually, an after-dinner drink – a bit like matching wine to food, but with a little more clout!

The Pure Gourmet menu was inspired not only by local and seasonal produce, but specifically by the terroirs and by the very particular characteristics of the accompanying cognacs. This appealed to me on so many levels; of course, I love showcasing seasonal produce but this was done in an exceptional way, without being in the slightest bit fussy or complicated. The ingredients in each of the courses were very basic, though the flavours were thought out with great precision. Since Martell begin with choosing the very best grapes for the cognac they produce, it follows that only the very best local ingredients should be chosen to match the food.

To match our cocktails, we had a canapé of Fois Gras of Vendée Duck, with Gingerbread and Belchard Apple Chips. At the main dining table, to start, we had a Charentes Farmhouse Cream Arborio Risotto with Cèpe Mushrooms, also locally sourced and served with Martell VSOP. For our main course, we had Milk Calf and Roasted “Grand Cru” Coffee Bean Sauce, served with Martell Cordon Bleu. To finish, we had a dessert made from a local cheese called La Jonchée de Fourras, with Salted Butter Caramel Ice Cream, served with Martell XO. I absolutely loved the risotto, the local farmhouse cream was just poured over the top of the risotto at the end so that you could scoop up a little rice, a little of the cèpes and a little cream on each forkful. The coffee bean sauce served with the veal was also delicious, the flavours standing up so well to the cognac on the side. The dessert, as you can see from the photo below, with light and delicate and exquisitely presented.

La Jonchée de Fourras, with Salted Butter Caramel Ice Cream – Photo Anne-Laure Jacquart

Drinking cognac alongside a meal is particularly popular on the Asian continent, hence why the next evening’s meal was to be a premier of Asian recipes, but not before a foray to a local food market in the local town on Saintes, even more cognac tasting and cooking with the chefs in the Château’s kitchen…

Martell Chef Christophe Pienkowski – more to come soon!

With thanks to Katja Graisse and the team from Balistik*Art in Paris for the invitation, the House of Martell and the Martell team, including Tiffany and Bérengère, for their hospitality. Return travel, food and accommodation were covered by Martell, along with a madeleine tin and gift bottle of Chanteloup Perspective as a memento. We were also joined by photographer Anne-Laure Jacquart. Credit is given to Anne-Laure underneath any of her photographs used in this post. All other photography my own. The decision to write about the adventure was my own.

Photo Anne-Laure Jacquart