Food & Wine Archives - Page 5 of 22 - Jim Murty’s TravelTravelTravel

At the football with the Germans in Munich

14th June 202414th June 2024 funtime65

Football is an international language and we had Stein in common at the football with the Germans in Munich.

The Stein I was bigging up was the legendary Celtic and Scotland manager Jock Stein.

The Stein the Bayern Munich fan standing next to me was more familiar with was the drinking vessel beloved of Bavarians.

In between we took in the Bavarian derby, Bayern v Nuremberg, which the hosts won 1-0.

Before my head now full of gutteral-sounding German footballers I headed back to the Oktoberfest.

Only to walk into an argument between the girlfriends of opposing football fans outside the Hofbrauhuis.

Fighting frauleins

All of which I ought to have known about from too many Saturday nights out on the town back in Scotland.

And my act of gallantry ended up with one of the fighting frauleins catching me with a haymaker.

And the next thing I knew I was being ambulanced to the hospital with a suspected broken nose.

The German doctor was as efficient as you’d expect and an hour or so later I was back on the road.

Carry on camping

Only dizzy with the beer and the bloody nose, I could not remember the camp site where I was staying.

Thankfully the taxi driver took a punt at the camp where the Aussies and Kiwis would annually fill up.

With the Antipodeans my coach mates for the week.

Now if the Munich Beerfest is Down Under Abroad at that time of year.

With the (very) odd Scot who has stumbled on to a budget Top Deck coach thrown in for good measure.

Then this weekend is all about the Jocks with 200,000 Tartan Army foot soldiers having invaded the Bavarian capital.

Munich revisited

It’s 40 years since my act of chivalry at Oktoberfest.

Jock Stein died later that year after collapsing on the touchline helping Scotland en route to World Cup qualification.

I would hope though that my Munich mate is still cheering on his beloved Bayern.

That the two frauleins made up and now warn their kinder to behave when they go to the football.

And to indulge well-meaning hairy-faced Scotsmen who just wants all football fans to be freundes.

Just like I have gone on to be from the Ruhr to Hamburg and all points east and south.

And will be there in spirit with the Tartan Army as Schottland face Deutschland in the Euro 24 opener.

At the football with the Germans in Munich.

Asia, Countries, Deals, Food & Wine, UK

A new Westminster haunt for Sushi Sunak

5th June 20245th June 2024 funtime65

So where will Britain’s Prime Minister go to relax away from the election hustings… may we suggest a new Westminster haunt for Sushi Sunak?

We’ve all got to know a lot more about the Tory leader these past months and among the titbits is he’s a lover of Japanese food.

And coke, or cola, as he quickly corrected himself in front of a room of kids.

Sushi Rishi may be of Indian heritage but his culinary tastes stretch further east.

Big in Japan

Pinny your hopes on me: Sunak time in Japan

As we discovered when he attended the G7 summit last year in Hiroshima with his wife Akshata Murty (and we’re still trying to find a family link here).

And good sport that Rishi is he signed up for a cooking class to make okonomiyaki.

For those of us who are yet to savour its delights it’s said to be a Japanese pancake.

And so you get a heaped mound of batter, cabbage, noodles and often meat before frying on a hot plate and smother with savoury sauce.

Meaning ‘cooked as you like’ it is widely considered ‘soul food’ in the Land of the Rising Sun.

Now the Japanese restaurants like to fry it in front of the customers.

While it is also common for others to let the customers fry it themselves.

Sushi and sunshine

Whether Rishi has persuaded the House of Commons or his favourite private clubs to put okonomiyaki on the menu we couldn’t possibly say.

Official Secrets Act and all that.

But we dare say that he would be particularly taken by the new summer season Sushi and Sunshine menu at the Westminster institution that is St Ermin’s Hotel.

With guests and visitors dining alfresco on the revamped terrace, which overlooks the hotel’s lush courtyard.

Where you can graze on freshly rolled sushi designed by Executive Chef John Kouphou.

The exquisite menu offers a selection of Uramaki, sushi rolls with filling and nori seaweed.,

Wrapped in sushi sauce, served with wasabi, pickled gingers and soy sauce.

Each portion contains eight beautifully prepared rolls which include Spicy Tuna (£12), Prawn Dynamite Roll (£12), Classic California Roll (£14), Crab Uramaki (£14), St Ermin’s Vegan Class (£10), and the Executive Chef’s special Beef Uramaki (£12).

Salmon and vegetarian poke bowls are also available on the menu alongside carefully curated Asian-influenced cocktails.

And while Rishi will sipping on his coke through a straw, other guests can choose from… a selection of chosen wines, beers, and spirits, including St Ermin’s London Dry Gin.

The gin is made from hand-picked botanicals from the hotel’s rooftop garden and honey.

All direct from the beehives and is a refreshing and uplifting alfresco drink.

Rishi’s Bee & Bee hotel

St Ermin’s Hotel is renowned too for its afternoon tea, served in the first floor mezzanine Tea Lounge, which has just completed an extensive redecoration.

Afternoon Tea is served daily in The Tea Lounge and library, 12pm-5pm.

Cost is from £43 per person or £48 per person with a glass of champagne.

St Ermin’s rightly plays up its history, eclectic styling, rooms and suites.

As well as its enigmatic Caxton Bar and Terrace plus award winning signature restaurant, The Caxton.

The four-star deluxe St. Ermin’s Hotel which is a member of Marriott International’s Autograph Collection.

London life: With everything on your doorstep

And caters for all, with dogs welcome and even bees with resident Buckfast bee hives on the third-floor wildflower terrace.

Which gives rise to calling itself London’s only ‘Bee & Bee’ hotel.

So for the election times that we’re in, it sure sounds like a new Westminster haunt for Sushi Sunak.

St Ermin’s has kindly given us their lead in prices which are:

So a standard double superior room from £329, family room from £459, suites from £599 and family suites from £599.

And we figure then that a stay at St Ermin’s would be nothing for the generously-off Rishi and his minted Murty wife.

Countries, Food & Wine

Quel fromage France’s fête cheese

4th June 20244th June 2024 funtime65

Quel fromage France’s fête cheese is almost upon us.

And so we’ll be on a roll with cheesy puns as we celebrate all things curdled.

The Fête des Fromages de Savoie will roll into Chatel, Porte du Soleil, between Lake Geneva and Mont Blanc, on July 6 and 7.

The 19th Fête des Fromages de Savoie in the Abondance region goes behind the scenes to discover the skills that go into the cheese-making process.

Now, of course, the experts will be there to show us how it’s all done.

While, here’s the best bit, we get to sample the Savoy cheeses and imbibe the best vin.

Those cow eyes

Now our friends in Savoie have good reason to be entranced by the cow eyes of their cattle with the produce they yield.

With the tourist board waxing lyrical thus about the two types who plod the valleys, Abondance and Tarentaise…

‘The former is named after the valley they come from in Haute-Savoie.

‘They are very easy to spot with their mahogany coloured coats, white heads and patches over their eyes making them look like they are wearing glasses.

‘The latter comes from the Tarentaise valley in Savoie. These cows are hazel in color with dark eyes, as if they were wearing make-up.’

So now you can explain to your partner why you’re gazing longingly into the cow’s eyes… or maybe it’s the wine talking.

Walk this way

You can walk it all off, of course, on guided tours of historical sites.

And hikes through high mountain pastures.

Experience tells us from our ramble in the French Pyrenees that the mountains are never fixed.

When the impending avalanche cleared our heads and put a spring in our heels.

And leave with mementos of your visit from the local specialties market.

A seven-night stay at Les Avenieres, arriving 4 July is from £302 pps in a studio apartment on a self-catered basis. Flights and transfers extra.

So bon vacances and Quel fromage France’s fête cheese fest.

Countries, Europe, Food & Wine

I’ll never forget the Algarve

16th May 202416th May 2024 funtime65

And it’s always important to remember where we come from, and for us that means I’ll never forget the Algarve and for different reasons Bulgaria.

With the Portugal hotspot and the Black Sea beaches among our first trips as a couple.

And Europe’s most affordable fly and flops.

This reveal seeped in as I returned today from the Post Office, who held this survey, to exchange unspent money from LA.

Holiday savings

And I reflected on the family of four we met in Sunny Beach, Bulgaria, 27 years ago, who were on their second trip that year.

Because it was so affordable that they couldn’t spend all their budget.

Now, the downside was that the facilities and services were on the slide.

And featured later that year on TV’s Holidays from Hell.

Check in with the Post Office

All of which is a reminder that we should always do our homework to get value and delivery.

Which is, of course, what we got in multi-gen Cabanas.

Forty destinations were surveyed for the Post Office Worldwide Holiday Costs Barometer.

Where eight items that visitors typically purchase on holiday were assessed.

Value for money

A three-course meal for two with wine, cup of coffee, bottle of local beer, can of cola, glass of wine, bottle of still water, sun cream and insect repellent.

Portugal is the only European destination in the top five most affordable destinations.

The Algarve is also the best value place across 40 destinations worldwide to buy a glass of wine at £1.76 and a coffee at 0.88p.

The Post Office reports that prices in resorts and cities are one of the biggest concerns for holidaymakers planning trips abroad.

Their research shows that 84 per cent, rising to 89 per cent of family travellers said that costs for items like meals and drinks were paramount.

Across the Algarve

Our friends in the Algarve have done a deep dive on their region.

And, yes, it is a hub for scuba and water sports fans too.

Hugo Nascimento, Executive Director of Algarve Tourism, tells us: ‘Accommodation in the East and West of the region is typically more affordable than the central area.

‘Of Portimão, Albufeira and the ‘Golden Triangle’ area between my old favourite Quinta do Lago, Vilamoura and Amancil.

‘For those that don’t want the expense of hiring a car, towns like Loulé, Faro and Olhão are good choices as they are close to airport.

‘Or head inland for an off-the- beaten track holiday to regions such as Aljezur, Vicentina Coast, Silves and Monchique.

‘Where again prices are less expensive.”

The full package

All good reasons why I’ll never forget the Algarve.

And why now with fresh money burning a hole in my pockets from my savings from my trip to California…

I’m looking back now nostalgically at those old Algarve holiday pics.

Countries, Europe, Food & Wine, UK

Steamin’ in the Garden of England

14th May 202414th May 2024 funtime65

You won’t give it much thought when you’re drinking hoppy beer but it’s all around you in Kent… and here’s an offer to get there and get steamin’ in the Garden of England.

Go to any authentic Kentish country pub, so that’ll rule Weatherspoons out then, and you’ll see hops hanging from beams.

So hops, what are they and why are they important to beer?

Now here is an area I felt I needed to research.

And that is why I sought out the answers in two of the homes of hops… Kent and Czechia.

Hop over to Czechia

Look at the head on that: Zatec, Czechia

Now I’ve shared the allure of Hoptown, Czechia, or Zatec as its called locally.

Its Astronomic Clock which is a parable on drinking, its Hop Museum.

And its Hop Festival which includes competitions including ‘Biggest Gut’, and, yes, I’m working on it.

I must though get back to Kent after a dozen years away after a family Dickens and Chaucer family holiday there.

Unfortunately the excellent Dickens World attraction has been consigned to history after hitting Hard Times (soz!)

But, of course, you can take your own tour, and sup in the pub where Charlie had his favourite beer transported to his house nearby.

I drank mine with a kangaroo burger… now, that was hoppy.

We’ll meet again

So for the day that’s in it and because my globetrotting pal Jo is championing the Garden of Ireland’s home charms.

I’m happy to share that you can travel back in time through the luxury of steam travel to classy Kent.

With Steam Dreams Rail Co.’s Garden of England Lunchtime Tour.

Tour de fields

Making a splash: The White Cliffs of Dover

This nostalgic tour offers passengers a view of Kent’s picturesque landscapes and the majestic White Cliffs of Dover.

You will depart from London Victoria, before cutting eastward to the North Downs and crossing the River Medway to Canterbury.

You will climb to the southern tip of the Kent Downs before descending to meet the South Coast at Dover.

Steaming beneath the famous White Cliffs alongside the Channel.

The train will then run northwards, cutting across the heart of Kent to Tonbridge before passing through Sevenoaks en route back to London Victoria.

You’ll get a glass of Champagne and canapés, followed by a three-course lunch, accompanied by a half bottle of wine per person and concluding with coffee and petit fours.

First-class guests are welcomed on board with Bucks Fizz and freshly brewed coffee and tea.

Additional drinks can be purchased from the luxurious Hippocrene Bar.

Make it a date

The 2024 departure dates for the 70000 Britannia are 20 June, 9 July, 16 July, 23 July, 30 July, 6 August, 13 August, and 20 August.

Prices are Premium Standard (non-dining) from £85pp, First Class (non-dining) from £145pp.

And Pullman Dining from £225pp.

So, it’s full steam ahead for Kent, whether it’s your first time or you’re a returnee.

We all like to get steamin’ in the Garden of England.

Countries, Food & Wine, UK

Absolutely Quakers for the history of Easter Eggs

30th March 202430th March 2024 funtime65

Yes we know they’re past their shell-life but indulge our wordplay this weekend as we go absolutely Quakers for the history of Easter Eggs.

Because while the Christian movement might have failed to persuade most of us to join them they have converted the world to Easter Eggs.

Although there were already devotees aplenty in Aztec civilisations to the spiritual qualities of the bean.

Not that anyone cracking their Easter Eggs today will give a second thought either to Fry’s or even know who Joseph Fry was.

My Dear Old Mum certainly did, and it was a bit of a tradition in our household that I would gift her a bar of Fry’s Chocolate Cream a penance.

For something I’d done wrong which I recollect would be most weeks.

Thank Fryday

Now the gooey white-filled Fry’s Chocolate Cream is the oldest brand of chocolate in the world, dating back to 1847 which, of course, I don’t have to tell you.

Or that hollow chocolate Easter Eggs, rather than the previous Medieval custom of filling actual hollow eggs with chocolate, were first sold out of Fry’s from 1873.

Apothecary Joseph Fry had set the family on the way back in 1728 selling to Bristolians as a cocoa health kick from 1728.

Alas Fry’s Somerdale Factory in Bristol closed in 2011 and the company long since joined up with fellow Quakers Cadbury in Birmingham.

That Fry, Cadbury and another not-so-ordinary Joe, Joseph Rowntree, of York ventured into chocolate was no mistake.

With their Quaker faith central to the venture and the mission to steer the public away from alcohol.

Choc it up to Cadbury

And of course the Cadburys built a new brave world in Bourneville where the workers’ rights, health and leisure, in and out of the factory were valued.

All of which you can enjoy with samples of the famous chocolate to leave with at the end of the tour.

And channel your inner Willy Wonka at the factory where one-time worker Roald Dahl was inspired to build a land of pure imagination.

Roots of Rowntree

Joseph Rowntree for his part was putting his chocolate footprint on York and bettering his fellow Tykes’ life.

All of which you can learn at York’s Chocolate Story.

The Rowntrees founded the village of New Earswick for low income families in 1902.

And education was provided for both children and adults.

Of course the Rowntrees continue to change the world, with their the Joseph Rowntree Foundation.

Where ‘they work to speed up and support the transition to a future free from poverty’

Worth remembering as we scoff ourselves silly this weekend.

And go absolutely Quakers for the history of Easter Eggs.

Countries, Deals, Europe, Food & Wine

Sardines and taste in the Algarve

19th March 202419th March 2024 funtime65

Now there are some foods that must only be eaten in certain countries and so we turn to sardines and taste in the Algarve.

Because it doesn’t matter how many sardines I’ve eaten.

And they are a real go-to as they’ve been an easy make since first I started cooking them as a student.

Scale the heights: The Sardines Festival

They’ll never taste of the Algarve and the beach or roadside barbecue.

Always helped of course by a cool bottle of Sagres.

All of which smells wafted back to me and tastes settled on my palate.

Fishy festival

With our Algarvian pals bringing their Sardine Festival this summer to our attention.

Their free fishy fest runs from August 1-6 in Portimão.

This year, the landmark event will be held along the riverside area of the River Arade.

For five nights, the streets will be lined with craft stalls and grilled sardines.

There are also concerts and historical reenactments of the unloading of the sardine and a ‘sardinhada’ – a classic charcoal grilled sardine – for all hungry visitors.

Racing cert

Now Portimao is an hour’s drive west from your airport entry point Faro.

Where my old pal from Ireland and adopted Portugueser Carole is championing the town.

And telling all to spend some time there rather than just use it as a fly-through.

Now helpfully the Algarve chiefs have pointed us in the direction of a range of apartamentos to stay.

And also the Algarve Race Hotel & Resort, overlooking the international race track.

And as the name suggests it will be right up your street if you’re a petrolhead.

If you’re minded to check it out this spring ahead of returning in August then they have an offer on for the Spring from €53.

And on the menu there will deffo be sardines and taste in the Algarve.

Countries, Food & Wine, Ireland, Music

How to be a Paddy on St Patrick’s Day

17th March 202417th March 2024 funtime65

And as Daddy’s Little Girl’s Scots beau gets a first burst of Dublin life here’s for the rest of you… how to be a Paddy on St Patrick’s Day.

Well, the first thing is to wear green.

And this is where it gets fun, you can pinch someone who doesn’t wear green.

And they can pinch you back!

Of course, you can go full Paddy and dress up as St Patrick in a big flowing cassock and mitre.

And accessorise with snakes, the types he is reputed to have driven out of Ireland.

For every St Patrick there is, of course, a million leprechauns.

Now you’ll need a big felt hat with shamrocks, a ginger beard and a ‘Kiss Me, I’m Irish’ tie.

Sláinte all

Now, onto the eating and drinking.

The time was in Catholic Ireland that St Patrick’s Day was the one day during your 40-day Lenten fast.

That you could break that fast and hit the gargle.

Of course in these less churchy days few give up the ales all 40 days.

So today is just an invitation to partake more.

And it must be Guinness with a shamrock drawn on the foam.

Party on

While there’s a nod to the past in eating corned beef, bacon and cabbage.

Although coddle, a sausage, rashers and veg stew is more Dublin

Now the Irish are in the middle of their week of the year.

And are extending their Cheltenham Festival festivities and Six Nations rugby party a further day.

None of which is lost on the hostelries or drinks bands around Ireland.

And I’m reminded here of the Arthur’s Day experiment from 2009-2013 by Diageo.

When on our annual pilgrimage up to my Mum’s old homestead of Brockagh, Co. Donegal, we lunched in her old bar, the Ramblers.

And I asked the owner Con what the regular at the bar would be doing to mark that day.

And wiping the foam off his mouth, he smiled back: ‘Same as every other day.’

Of course, like all national days there is an amplification of traditional music.

Crazy World

But if you want some insider knowledge on how to be a Paddy on St Patrick’s Day then do like the locals.

And get into a bar where there will deffo be a pub singer singing Aslan’s Crazy World.

And be part of the Paddy’s Day party… it’s all right, it’s all right.

Food & Wine, UK

Chocs away with 200 years of Cadbury

23rd February 2024 funtime65

And there I’m saying it, it’s the best sweet attraction bar none so chocs away with 200 years of Cadbury.

You probably think little of what’s gone into your favourite Dairy Milk, Flake, Crunchie, Fudge or of course Bourneville when you munch ’em.

But, of course, as well as magical chocolate there is 200 hundred years of love with a story which would give Wonka a run for its money.

Which was how it was with Roald Dahl inspired by the great Birmingham chocolate maker to work as a chocolate taster as a young boy.

Where Dahl tasted many have gone before and since with my own brown-eyed chocoholic daughter going back for repeats.

After Cadbury had given her her four bars of chocolate at the end of our tour.

The real Dahl

Now, for those who have never been to Cadbury in Bourneville (yes, it is the name of the village) then why not?

Because it is without doubt a tale worthy of a big-screen movie… a land of sweet imagination.

For Willie Wonka here read George Cadbury and for the oompah-loompahs substitute the honest men, women and children of Birmingham.

Who all availed of George’s socially-conscious Quaker ideology.

Because the Cadburys got into the cocoa and chocolate field because of their opposition to alchohol… and here we differ.

An interesting Boering story

Eat up: And you’ll get a chocolate dessert

And here a tale from the history of Cadbury when they stood up to Queen Victoria.

Vic had wanted Cadbury to send a morale-boosting New Year’s tin of chocolates to each soldier fighting in the Boer War in South Africa in 1900.

Only as Quakers they were confirmed pacifists.

The companies did not want to put their logos onto the chocolate tins but the Queen wanted to show that she was purchasing quality chocolate for her soldiers.

So they stamped their names on the chocolate bars.

Best bar none

Now back to Bourneville and the forward-thinking Cadburys wanted to ensure that his employees’ lives in and out of work were as comfortable as they could possibly be.

Which meant that he built them cottages.

And a playground for children, country outings and summer camps.

While the men played football, hockey and cricket while tennis and squash courts were also added.

Along with a bowling green and swimming pools with heated changing rooms.

And Cadbury too were all for holidays with Saturday half-days for its workers.

So chocs away with 200 years of Cadbury.

Here’s to the next 200 of the best chocolate bar none.

Countries, Culture, Europe, Food & Wine

Drink in vintage Firenze

18th February 202418th February 2024 funtime65

Si, we like this type of culture which puts the emphasis on wine and like which is why we agree, we should drink in vintage Firenze.

The experts at Titan Travel have analysed which major cities host the most “things to do,” from tourist landmarks to art galleries to music tours.

And here is where Fizzy Frosty gets interested… in which destinations have the most five-star restaurants and wine-tasting tours.

Of course, we should credit palace city Granada in Andalucia, Spain, with its Alhambra for taking No.1 spot.

But it’s Firenze which has been concentrating Her mind since we had to cancel our trip there last September when her much-storied Dad, oul’ Casey Jones sadly passed on.

Firenze frenzy

A great Italianophile he would, no doubt, have furnished us with books and maps on the city before we left… and somewhere in his legendary library we’ll find the very thing.

Florence, to give it its English name, as we found out when we were doing our homework, offers some of the world’s best wine tours (60.06 per 100,000 people).

And there’s even a Florence dinner and “Three Tenors” concert, where you can soak up Florentine food and culture and drink in vintage Firenze during a traditional dinner and concert experience.

Czech out the culture

Touch of class: On the King Charles Bridge in Prague

Now it might come as a surprise to those who only associate it with stag and hen parties that Prague comes in third on the list.

But not to Prahaphiles like us who have sampled the tastes above and underground.

Up the Castle and the climbing baby TV tower and in the beer cellars, Anthropoid crypt and nuclear bunker.

Prague, we’re told has 63.4 sights per 100,000 people to see in the Czechia capital by the Vlatva.

True Peru

For the cultural capital with the most things to do you do need to head to the Inca Empire.

It has the most excursions with 579.72 things to do per 100,000 people.

So for those of you know little more about Peru than Paddington and Machu Picchu then read on.

Architecturally-spectacular Lima does boast a statue of Paddy on Lima’s Miraflores Boardwalk, clad in his famous floppy hat and duffle coat, emblazoned with the British Union Jack.

We all know, of course, that Pad is a bespectacled bear and you can see his rellies, and maybe even Aunt Lucy, in the Chaparri Conservation Area.A community-owned and managed reserve, it covers a pristine area of grassy hills and vertical rock walls and studded with trees and cacti.

A 90-minute drive from Chiclayo, it boasts a wild population of threatened species including the spectacled bear.

And you can stay there at the Chaparri Lodge.

Whether Paddington, bespectacled bears and marmalade sandwiches are your cup of tea is your call.