Category Archives: gastronomy

andala marbella

06 Friday Jun 2025

Posted by in andalucia, gastronomy, getaways, restaurants, tapas

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , ,

One of the highlights of last week’s Málaga-Marbella getaway was finally getting to visit my friend Jeffrey Merrihue’s restaurant in the heart of Marbella… Andala. We met up there on Friday evening with my friends Ana and Simon who live in Sotogrande and from there we let Jeffrey take over. 

Andala opened in December 2023 and it is unique in Marbella in that it offers a high quality gourmet tapas menu, with each tapa representing each of the eight Andalusian provinces, as well as daily specials menu featuring fresh locally-sourced products. 

It’s a cosy spot with a bright attractive dining area that opens onto an elevated terrace looking towards the sea. I really love the tapas concept – one for each province – and we did our best to try them all, but there were too many other specials calling us… this is definitely a place you want to come back to. 

We loved every bite we had but – and it may sound silly – whatever else you order you HAVE to have THAT potato. You do. 

Service is super friendly with knowledgeable staff who are there to not only help you with your choices but to also make you feel at home. There’s an excellent wine list too, be sure to ask for some guidance there. Highly recommended – well done Jeffrey and Team! 

Andala Marbella
🍊🍊🍊🍊🍊

Continue reading →

bowland & bay

27 Thursday Feb 2025

Posted by in gastronomy, sevilla, sherry, tapas tours

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

, , ,

You may remember Katie & Paul, who visited here back in the fall of 2023. We’d met through social media and then also got to meet in person and we’ve stayed in touch ever since. Katie runs food adventure company Bowland & Bay in Lancashire UK and this week she hosted her first “trial run” Sevilla Getaway with six close friends, and of course Paul (aka Sherry Boy) came along too.

At first Katie had wanted a Triana Tour and a Sherry Tour but of course I CAN’T WALK, which I didn’t think was still going to be an issue when we first started organising things last October. Well okay, I can’t walk much. So since there were going to be eight of them requiring a slightly modified itinerary anyhow, I basically came up with two new “experiences” for them which would require less walking (and taxis home) for me. And both of them went so well I may start offering a version of these shorter tours on my website. Because, other than still being able to do my Sherry Tastings, the tours have been on hold since last summer. We shall see.

Meanwhile, Katie is already organising her next Sevilla Getaway for next October and I’m already looking forward to it.


maridarte 2025

21 Friday Feb 2025

Posted by in art, gastronomy, hotels, sevilla, spain

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , ,

My friend Eva @flamencakitchen has helped organise this very special event for the past two years, which brings together Gastronomy and Art in the city. Fourteen hotels are showcasing Maridarte 2025, along with their chefs and ten local artists. Today Eva invited me to attend the presentation of chef Antonio García and artist Daniel Franca at the Radisson Hotel Magdalena which, quite handily, is just around the corner from my house.

The premise is simple but also quite unique. At each hotel an artist displays certain pieces of their work and then the chef “pairs” dishes with them. Which at first I thought was a bit “yeah okay…” but today listening to Antonio and Daniel talk about how they influenced each other and what each painting and dish meant to them was actually quite moving. And then we got to taste the dishes. If you’re in Sevilla, Maridarte is on until March 2nd. You can find their programme below for meeting the artists, but you can also just show up any time to view the art and taste the dishes.

Programme Maridarte 2025

voyage en cuisine: les tapas

19 Wednesday Feb 2025

Posted by in andalucia, films, gastronomy

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

, , , ,

Last June I was contacted by French Arte.TV and asked if I could help them organise an upcoming shoot they had planned for a short film on Tapas Culture in Sevilla. They were specifically looking for a chef to feature, but one that made traditional tapas, and they were also interested in me taking the presenter and some local foodies on a tapeo.

For me the best guys for the job were Jaime Guardiola and Pedro Ruiz-Ocejo  as they are both actually chefs (most tapas bars tend to have cooks, albeit excellent ones at times, but this was not what Arte-TV was looking for). They also run two bars that are dedicated to traditional food – Salmedina and Taberna Zurbarán. Also, Jaime’s family has their own fish market in Rota, Cádiz, so that also got included.

For my part I took them out on a tapeo and, well, OKAY. I mean, they could have really done it without me since by then it was all organised (by me) but in the end, after having contributed so much, I wanted to be there. My main stipulation was that they wouldn’t film me too much, so you may catch glimpses of me here but it was up to the others to stuff food into their mouths and talk about how great it was.

Anyhow, here it is, in French (subtitled in Spanish and German if that helps!) Gotta admit I got a bit teary eyed when I saw myself walking down the street using only a cane. Those were the days!

Andalousie: Les Tapas