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Category Archives: gastronomy

vermouth with a view

10 Wednesday May 2017

Posted by azahar in food & drink, gastronomy, wine

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lustau, sevilla, vermouth, vermu, vermut

Vermouth (or vermut in Spanish and vermú in Andalú) has become a big deal lately, with vermouth bars popping up around town and now almost every sherry producer coming up with their very own “special recipe” version, blending sherries with botanicals and fragrant plants. Bodegas Lustau was one of the first with their red vermouth (amontillado and PX). So I was happy to be invited to the launch party for Lustau’s new white vermouth (fino and moscatel) for two reasons. First, to try the wine, which is delicious. And second, to finally go inside the most hideous eyesore tallest tower in Sevilla, where the event was being held. Although we were only about half-way up, on the 21st floor, the views were quite spectacular, but I’m afraid my opinion of the Torre Sevilla hasn’t changed.

Fun event though! As usual I got to see and chat with many of the usual suspects who attend these things, as well as make some new contacts. A nice evening. You can read more about the event (more pics too!) over on the Azahar Sevilla blog.

luís

09 Tuesday May 2017

Posted by azahar in gastronomy, tapas tours, work

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friends, sevilla, tapas tours, tours, work

Peter & Luís at La Azotea

I’ve known Luís (and his biz partner David) from Really Discover for many years. So it was great to run into Luís at The Office (AKA La Azotea Santa Cruz) during a meeting there with the We Love Tapas team. After the meeting Peter and I ended up having lunch with Luís and “talking shop”, which proved both interesting and illuminating. We may also end up collaborating as our tour companies are complementary rather than being in direct competition. Love chance meetings like this…

my first big group sherry tasting!

04 Thursday May 2017

Posted by azahar in food & drink, gastronomy

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sevilla, sherry, sherry education, sherry lover, vineria san telmo

I got a call from my friend Juan from Vineria San Telmo the other day asking me if I’d be interested in giving a sherry tasting to a group of 15 people from Australia and New Zealand and so of course I said YES. Though I was also a bit nervous as it would be the first time I’d be doing this with a larger group, and also as a “presentation” rather than as part of a tapas tour. My Sherry & Tapas Tours are just as much about the food pairings as they are about sherry, so this would be something quite different.

As you can see, it was very nicely set up by Juan and we also included snacks (olives, cheese, almonds, chocolate) and some printed material for the guests to take home. And they were a great group. Not total “sherry virgins” and clearly quite knowledgeable about wines, so they asked a lot of good questions.

We tried 5 different sherries, talking about each one along with the history of the region and the sherry making process. I soon forgot about being nervous and the time flew by. Hoping to do it again now!

mehrunnisa & omair

17 Monday Apr 2017

Posted by azahar in andalucia, flamenco, food & drink, friends, gastronomy, sevilla, work

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friends, london, sevilla, social media, tapas, tapas tours

Alternative title… When Sevilla Tapas Tour Guests Become Friends.

Last night I met up with Mehrunnisa & Omair from London, who had come my way via mutual Twitter and Instagram pals. They had actually arrived in Sevilla couple of days previously but, due to Semana Santa and other obligations, it was only possible to take them out on their penultimate night in town for a flamenco & tapas tour. But we made the most of it!

I knew things were off to a great start when conversation started flowing fast and furious even before we got to the flamenco venue. And by the time we got into the sherry and tapas after the show it was clear that we were kindred spirits. It was a great night out and the time passed far too quickly, but I will look forward to getting together with M & O again on my next London Getaway – I have been promised a Pakistani food tour (yay!).

fran & kaz

11 Tuesday Apr 2017

Posted by azahar in food & drink, friends, gastronomy, home, restaurants, sevilla, spain, tapas, tapas bars, tapas tours, wine

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friends, gastronomy, sevilla, tapas, tapas tours, wine

I kind of hit the ground running after getting back from my London Getaway. I had already planned to get together with Jane & John and Sue & Monty, but before those meet ups took place I had the pleasure of being introduced (via email by Annie Manson) to Fran & Kaz Kuzui. Fran & Kaz were travelling around Andalucía, doing some research on Japanese influence on southern Spanish cuisine, and would also be spending a couple of days in Sevilla, so we arranged to meet the evening after I got home from London. They had also tried to meet up with my friend Tomoko in Jerez, but there had been an email glitch, and so I invited Tomoko to come and stay over so we could all go out together.

It was a fabulous evening. Fran is a native New Yorker who now lives in Tokyo with her husband Kaz. Aside from being film producers and art lovers, they are both also food & wine lovers, and as usual Sevilla worked its magic on them. By the end of the evening we had all become fast friends and F & K were already talking about planning a return visit to Andalucía. Come back soon! xx

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