My Most Memorable Meal

from Hotel and Catering Issue 3 2023

chweppes

My husband and I had dinner in Arzak Restaurant in St Sebastian in 1997 on our honeymoon, which involved driving around France, Spain and Portugal. My husband’s grandmother was Myrtle Allen, who was friends with the owners through her work with Euro Toques, which preserves Irish culinary heritage by supporting traditional cooking methods and promoting producers of local and seasonal artisan products. We were treated like royalty and smitten with the town. Back then, it was not yet the tourist destination it is now, but full of so many fantastic tapas and pintxo bars as well as old men’s culinary clubs which drew passersby to pop their heads in to see where the great smells were wafting from. It was about chat, food and drink –not fashion.

We also had a fantastic lunch in Robuchon in Paris. We were coming from London on the Eurostar with no passport which actually worked out well for us, as it turned into a great day out and a three day stay while waiting for our passports to be posted from Ireland.

Other amazing meals that spring to mind were eating aubergine and tzatziki salad in a shack, while travelling by moped across the hills of Syros on a very hot day. Or my ﬁrst experience of dim sum in Chung Cheng, Chinatown, London, which sat 300 or more people. We were dazzled by the constant movement of the trolleys carrying steaming broths, dumplings, duck’s tongues and chicken’s feet, and then trying to catch the waiter’s eye to get served my ﬁrst taste of real Asian food.

Another standout was dinner in our Italian friend’s grandmother’s house in Tuscany, where we had no idea how many courses we were to be fed; taking seconds of the best pasta ever before being served huge plates of tripe and lots more!

Most recently in Lisbon, we ate in Taberna da Rua das Flores, where we were served baby scallops, lardo crisps, beef tartare and aioli, along with delicious natural wines. The food was seriously good – no bookings – so ﬁrst come, ﬁrst served. I could also list various dinner parties at home which I know were great fun, but a bit blurred by lots of great wine!