Category Archives: gastronomy

código de barra at vinoble

06 Wednesday Jun 2018

Posted by in food & drink, gastronomy, getaways, sherry

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During Vinoble there were several tastings and cooking demos. The tastings were immediately sold out as soon as they became available online, which was frustrating because the site was down most of that morning. Tickets for the demos became available an hour before the presentation, which seemed more reasonable, though in the case of the jamón demo all the tickets were gone well before the appointed time.

Anyhow… we did manage to get into this “show cooking” by a restaurant in Cádiz called Código de Barra (which has been on my “to do” list for awhile now). Chef Leon Griffioen prepared some exceptional dishes which were paired with spectaclar wines from Bodegas Piñero, Urium and Las Botas. Next time I am in Cádiz this will be my first stop. Well, after Casa Manteca. This was the menu…

  • “surprise” olives (won’t spoil the suprise)
  • yoghurt with seaweed, black pepper, evoo
  • watermelon tartare with pickled veg and manzanilla vinegar
  • Manzanilla Pasada Maruja – Bodegas Piñero
  • tortillita de camarone sticks with kimchee mayo
  • Fino En Rama – Bodegas Urium
  • langostinos al ajillo with Urium oloroso
  • Amontillado Las Botas – Bodegas Las Botas
  • tuna cheek with green beans

laura & erik

02 Saturday Jun 2018

Posted by in food & drink, friends, gastronomy, sevilla, sherry, spain, tapas, tapas bars, tapas tours, twitter friends

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I first met Laura @laurawburgess and Erik @thewhiskykiwi at Bodegas Urium in Jerez in September 2016, and would have met them a few months earlier in Sevilla, but I was hit with a random 24-hour bug and ended up giving them a “remote” tapas tour from bed via my iPhone.

Happily they were in town again yesterday and we were able to meet up for a fabulous lunch at Bodeguita Romero. They also joined me on last night’s Sevilla Tapas Tour with two other couples, and well, the chemistry couldn’t have been better. Right from the start everyone started talking and joking with each other. It was a great evening.

I will be seeing more of Laura & Eric at Vinoble, which starts tomorrow and is actually the reason they are here now. Can’t wait!

andy & stella

21 Monday May 2018

Posted by in friends, gastronomy, tapas

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A few years ago I briefly met Andy Hayler @wyahaw at a Foodie Hub event in London. I had already been following him on Twitter because he is a very interesting guy, having eaten at EVERY 3 Michelin star restaurant in the world (as of 2016). The next challenge is to complete that same feat this year. Hence his visit to Andalucía to dine at Ángel León’s Aponiente in El Puerto de Santa María.

Happily he and his wife Stella decided to also spend a few days in Sevilla and we got to meet up a couple of times. First for a spontaneous “tapas tour” and then for a lovely lunch at Cañabota. Both times we ate and drank very well, and it was just so fun spending time with kindred spirits. Hope to see them again, perhaps in London.

albert

31 Saturday Mar 2018

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After scoring a prime window seat at Flores Gourmet on Friday evening – all the better to see my favourite Semana Santa sculpture of all El Cachorro – Peter @SVQconcierge and I settled in to await its arrival. The great thing about this situation was that we could sit comfortably with drink in hand and, just as the pasos started passing, I could whip out the door and take my photos.

But I didn’t expect the other bonus of our situation. We ended up chatting with a few people who were in town for SS, and then another guy started talking with us. Albert @amennyc was here on his own and trying to get the most of the whole SS experience. So of course I recommended some of my favourite bars, then later on that same evening we all met up again at La Azotea Zaragoza. From there we made a plan to meet up the following afternoon to tapear and see a few more processions…

We had a great time. I was lovely to meet a new friend and spend the afternoon enjoying the best that Sevilla has to offer. And also a few processions! Albert is living in Lisbon and so plans are afoot to go an visit him there soon.

ed & jackie & chip

09 Friday Mar 2018

Posted by in friends, gastronomy, sevilla, twitter, twitter friends, wine

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Most of you know how much my life has been enriched by Twitter. It’s not only a helpful social media business tool, but – more importantly – it has connected me with some of the most special people in my life.

A few weeks ago my friend Thane @ThanePrince (yes, I also met her on Twitter) put me in touch with her friend Edward @TimeToCook, saying he was planning a visit to Andalucía and that we should meet. That day finally came this week and the plan was that we would meet up for a drink before they headed off to dinner at Tribeca. As you can see, I ended up being invited to dinner, and what a splendid meal it was. Wonderful food and wine, and even better company.

It was like an evening out with old friends and I was sorry to see it end. But of course Ed and I are now keeping in touch via Twitter and, who knows, I may end up visiting them all in New York some day. Or maybe we’ll meet up in London with Thane. You never know…

cádiz getaway march 2018

08 Thursday Mar 2018

Posted by in andalucia, food & drink, friends, gastronomy, getaways, spain

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A bit of a déjà vu experience, as Peter and I were just in Cádiz a couple of weeks ago during Carnaval Chiquito, but other than a couple of the “must dos” we ended up having quite a different experience. Also it was the first visit for Jane and John, and we were happy to show them around. After a quick trip to the central market, this was the rest of our day…

cold beer o’clock at La Sorpresa

snacks and sherry at Casa Manteca

tapas at Antonio Del Palillo and El Faro followed by a walk to La Caleta Beach

picatostes at Café Royalty

bodegas luis pérez

07 Wednesday Mar 2018

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I had been wanting to visit Bodegas Luís Pérez for a while, and finally got my chance on this trip to Jerez with friends Peter @SVQConcierge and John and Jane Bachner King. Although firmly inside the Marco de Jerez, it’s not, in fact, a sherry bodega, but rather produces red wines, once just as important as the white Palomino Fino sherry grape, but lost long ago for a variety of reasons, the coup de grace being delivered by the phylloxera virus that devastated European vines at the end of the 19th century.

The bodega was founded in 2002 by Luis Pérez, former enologist at Domecq and professor of chemistry at Cádiz university, when he bought the Hacienda Vista Hermosa, a farmhouse on the hill at the top of the Pago de Corchuela outside of Jerez, and began the work of planting the new vineyards with red grapes. These days the bodega is mostly run by the Pérez children, Willy and Fátima. Willy’s new project is producing vintage unfortified sherries, as they used to be made before the trade and shipping demands of the last few centuries that led to the development of the present day solera and criadera ageing system. I tasted some of these sherries at the Cuatro Gatos Wine Fest a couple of weeks ago and they are very special indeed.

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mr & mrs o

02 Friday Mar 2018

Posted by in food & drink, friends, gastronomy, sevilla, spain, tapas, tapas bars

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Back in November 2015 I had the pleasure of finally meeting Ana & Simon (aka Mr & Mrs O), and we have stayed in touch since then via Instagram & Twitter, where we first met. So I was really excited to find out they were coming back to Sevilla for a quick weekend getaway, and yesterday I was once again there to meet them when they arrived at their hotel.

The weather was not in our favour, but luckily the RAIN let up for the entire evening. We began our tapeo with starter tapas at the fabulous Becerrita, near the hotel, before making our way to La Sal in barrio Santa Cruz for Almadraba red tuna. Then somehow it was suddenly a good idea to have more jamón for “dessert” at Las Teresas along with crisp, dry manzanilla sherry, and we finished with a sweet sherry nightcap at Vineria San Telmo.

Aside from the great food and wine we shared, we also shared plenty of stories and laughed a lot… the time just flew by. Can’t wait to do it all again. xx

tapas at Becerrita

almadraba tuna at La Sal

carnaval chiquito

28 Wednesday Feb 2018

Posted by in andalucia, food & drink, gastronomy, getaways, tapas, tapas bars, trips

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To be honest, you couldn’t pay me to go to Cádiz during Carnaval, so when Peter and I made a last minute decision to ditch El Puerto for a Sunday afternoon in Cádiz I was relieved that the celebrations had finished the previous weekend. Or so I thought! When we got to Hostel Casa Caracol to drop off the suitcase (a great service, and just a short walk from the train station) the guy at reception informed us that we had arrived just in time for Carnaval Chiquito, a kind of “last hurrah” until next year. Oh boy…

Our plan had been to do a three-stop tapeo at some of our favourite bars, as well as take a walk along the beach, and then stop in at the splendid Cafe Royalty before catching the train home. And well, we did manage all that, but both the streets and the bars were absolutely heaving (though to be honest, the bars are probably that busy on a Sunday anyhow). We totally lucked out with the weather, with the predicted rain holding off until after we got home, and warm enough to walk around in shirtsleeves. So it turned out to be a great afternoon and made me realize that I really have to visit Cádiz more often.

one perfect lacy tortillita de camarones at El Faro

three-bar tapeo: chicharrones de Cádiz at Casa Manteca
chocos & prawns at El Faro
grilled presa and stewed abanico at Cumbres Mayores

fabulous picatostes at Café Royalty

La Caleta beach and the Cádiz Balneario