Travel by Lightfoot: Edition 2 - The Food & Drink Issue by Lightfoot Travel

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CONTENTS T H E

H I G H L I G H T S

One of the freediving heroes from Jeju.

FINE DINING IN BOLIVIA

“I KNOW A PLACE”

LA’S ROLLING RESTAURANTS

Sarah Gilbert meets the chefs behind the charity project that has been crowned one of the 50 Best Restaurants in Latin America.

Celebrity chefs tell us where they go on holiday.

Anthea Gerrie joins the queue for the hottest eateries in Los Angeles.

LAND OF PLENTY

FEMALE DIVERS OF JEJU

RAYMOND BLANC’S PARIS

Isabel Putinja discovers that there’s gold in them hills when she joins a truffle hunt in Croatia.

We meet the octogenarians who free dive for abalone, sea urchins and turban snails.

The award-winning chef takes us on a personal tour of the City of Light.

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CONTENTS

11 Meet The Guest Editor Michelin-star chef Michel Roux Jr talks about his passion for food and travel.

12 Contributors The people who helped us put the issue together this month tell us about their best foodie adventure.

14 #TakeMeHere Three gourmet experiences that you need to try.

21 On The Map The hottest cities, trends and events on the travel radar.

28 Fine Dining In Bolivia Sarah Gilbert travels to Bolivia to discover an award-winning restaurant.

34 “I Know A Place... “ Celebrity chefs reveal where they like to go in their downtime.

40 LA’s Rolling Restaurants The hottest eateries in California are on four wheels.

46 Top Chef Food royalty Michel Roux Jr reveals the one ingredient that he would be happy to travel for.

48 Land Of Plenty Isabel Putinja finds that her new homeland of Croatia is filled with food adventures.

54 Female Divers Of Jeju The legendary divers who have now become a national treasure.

62 World’s Highest Restaurants Rooms with a view.

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68 5 Best Foodie Holidays For Kids Even picky eaters are sure to be tempted by these getaways.

72 Singapore’s Skyscraper Farms The ex-advertising manager who has taken farming to greater heights in the Lion City.

76 Raymond Blanc’s Paris The chef takes us for a tour of his favourite city.

81 Matter Of Taste Explorer Ed Stafford reveals the worst dishes that he has eaten on his travels.

82 If You Do One Thing This Year... Book a progressive lunch.

Lobster and Mango Salad by Le Gavroche, owned by Michel Roux Jr.

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HEAD OFFICE: 33 PEKIN STREET, #02-1A FAR EAST SQUARE, SINGAPORE 048763

E D I T O R I A L GUEST EDITOR Michel Roux Jr EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Claire Turrell ART DIRECTOR Claire Lambert CONTRIBUTORS Anthea Gerrie, Sarah Gilbert, Jo Hendry-Prior, Jose Jeuland, Isabel Putinja, Max Wooldridge

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LIGHTFOOT TRAVEL OFFICES: DUBAI (+971 4 455 8788), HONG KONG (+852 2815 0068), SINGAPORE (+65 6438 4091) Visit www.lightfoottravel.com Printed by Naili Print Media Pte Ltd, Singapore. For advertising enquiries contact info@lightfoottravel.com Reproduction in whole or part without written permission is strictly prohibited. Cover image: Sea Urchin, Scallop and Mahogany Clam from Koks in the Faroe Islands. Photography: Claes Bech Poulsen.

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CROSSING INTO NEW TERRITORIES. Main Street Park, Brooklyn, New York.

A T RU E J O U R N E Y N E V E R E N D S .

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A M E R I C A S | A S I A | C A R I B B E A N | E U RO P E | M I D D L E E A S T Upcoming: PA R I S , P U E B L A ( M E X I C O ) P H N O M P E N H , P H U K E T, S A N YA , L UA N G P R A B A N G , H O N G KO N G

MEET THE GUEST EDITOR

y first foodie memory abroad is being in Spain as a child, eating honey straight from the honey comb – sticky fingers and chin! I was pretty much brought up in a kitchen so many of my earliest memories are food related. For instance, I remember the smells of the kitchen as a child, and eating with my parents at a restaurant when I was 10. I love travelling, so I do so as often as I can. It’s exciting and I always take home ideas for my cooking. I’m still influenced from the time I worked in Hong Kong in 1983. Steaming, wok frying, smoky tastes and vegetable carving are all influences I’ve carried with me and have inspired my cooking in some way. I’ve been lucky enough to have many wonderful foodie experiences, but one that sticks out is when I once stayed in a cottage in the middle of the vines at Klein Constantia in South Africa. That was very special for me and I’ll always remember it.

P PHOTOGRAPHY: ISSY CROKER HOPTOGRAPHY STEVE

MICHEL ROUX JR

Michel Roux Jr is a two-star Michelin chef. He is the owner of Le Gavroche in London, which was started by his father and uncle in 1967 and celebrates its 50th anniversary this year.

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Contributors

To mark our Food And Drink Special we asked our writers and photographers about their favourite foodie adventure

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J O S E J E U L A N D

Jose Jeuland who is a Fujifilm X Photographer For Asia Pacific is from France. He flew to Korea to put together our story on the Female Divers Of Jeju, page 54. My favourite foodie adventure: “Since moving to Singapore, my life has been full of foodie adventures. I am now addicted to chicken rice and chilli crab and whenever I order a delicious thosai, I am instantly reminded of the crêpes from my hometown of Brittany."

E D S TA F FO R D

The record-breaking UK adventurer holds the record for being the first human to walk the length of the Amazon River. The ex-Army captain now tests himself against the elements in his TV show Marooned where he is left to fend for himself in the most remote parts of the world. This month he talks to us about some of the ingredients he manages to find while he’s there. My favourite foodie adventure: "It was when I was on the uninhabited island of Olorua in Fiji. I usually eat some pretty disgusting things, but on this occasion I had a slow cooked goat leg that I cooked in an underground oven. It was so tender I could have bitten through the soft meat with no teeth! Truly extraordinary."

I S A B EL P U T I N JA

Isabel Putinja is a Canadian freelance travel writer who is now based in Croatia. Since moving to Istria four years ago, she has developed a passion for olive oil after the revelation of tasting newlypressed oil fresh from the mill. My favourite foodie adventure: “It was a six-course Buddhist vegetarian meal served in a temple in western Honshu, Japan.”

S A R A H G I L B E R T

M A X W O O L D R I D G E

UK-based journalist Max Wooldridge writes travel stories for the UK national papers. He recently travelled with Raymond Blanc to Paris to take a tour of the city, see page 76. My favourite foodie adventure: “It was in a lovely rustic local restaurant called La Ferme d’Espiau in the French Pyrenees. The food was exceptional. I had been all cycling all day and I was ravenous.”

Sarah Gilbert is an award-winning travel writer from the UK. She’s travelled to Tanzania, Lima and Uganda to produce stories for publications such as The Guardian and Nat Geo. This issue she visited La Paz to find out more about a charity project that is now one of the Best 50 Restaurants in Latin America, see page 28. My favourite foodie adventure: “One of my favourite foodie journeys was through EmiliaRomagna in Italy, home to Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, Prosciutto di Parma, Modena’s aged balsamic vinegar and hand-rolled tortellini, among other treats.”

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GO WILD Lovers of the slow life will fall head over heels for the new Wildflower restaurant at COMO The Treasury, Perth. This dynamic eatery that’s perched on the roof of the heritage building, not only offers sweeping views of the Swan River, but a menu that’s based on the six seasons of the indigenous Noongar calendar. So every time the season changes, so does the sustainable food menu… Beetroot Ash by Wildflower

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PRIVATE DINING If you would prefer to hear the sounds of the waves rather than the scraping of forks from other diners, visit Soneva Jani in the Maldives. Here you can dine with your loved one in total privacy on a picturesque sandbank. But this is just one of the discoveries that you’ll find at this luxurious hideaway. You can also gaze up at the stars in its observatory, hunker down in front of its outdoor movie screen and go for a dip in the ocean via your villa’s own waterslide. A restaurant for two at Soneva Jani

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ON THE MAP W H A T ’ S

H O T

N O W

PHOTOGRAPHY: CLAES BECH POULSEN

Treasure Island The Faroe Islands has just been given its first Michelin star Wind-dried mutton, succulent lobsters and the intriguing sounding sea tangle are just some of the treats that you will find at the latest restaurant to be given a Michelin star. Koks restaurant in the tiny hamlet of Kirkjubøur serves up a 17-course tasting menu based on the sustainably-sourced treasures that they find around the island. Running a restaurant in the rugged Faroe Islands definitely hasn’t been a breeze (on one occasion the 120mph winds blew the wind-drying shed into the sea), but with the phone now ringing off the hook with bookings, there’s no doubt it’s been more than worth it. Visit www.koks.fo Fresh Queen Scallop by Koks.

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Clockwise from left: One of the eyecatching murals that you can discover on art tours in Cartagena. A suite at the Tcherassi Hotel and Spa. Bustling Cartagena.

Below: Restaurante Interno in San Diego women’s prison. Market traders selling their wares.

ON THE MAP —

Cartagena’s New Cool The UNESCO World Heritage city is seeing a new lease of life they are going to Restaurante Maria, owned by Gordon Ramsay alumni, Alejandro Ramirez. Within this popart print filled eatery Ramirez is winning over customers with dishes such as ceviche, lobsters in tempura with three different salsas and salmon risotto. But the restaurant that is causing the most buzz in Cartagena is Restaurante Interno. The restaurant that has seen celebrity chefs and politicians walk through the doors, is based within San Diego women’s prison. The inmates serve dishes such as sea bass cocktail and Cartegena-style sliced beef along with vegetables that have been grown in the prison’s garden. The cocktail scene has also seen a new lease of life with Cartegena’s own twist on a Manhattan speakeasy, the Alquimico that’s set in a former two-storey mansion. The team make rum infusions using local Colombian produce. And it’s a successful blend, as the heady mix of cocktails and local DJs are keeping the crowds dancing till dawn.

DON’T LEAVE WITHOUT

Left to right: Restaurante Maria. A dish created by its chef Alejandro Ramirez. The showstopping Alquimico cocktail bar.

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…Picking up a souvenir from The Shop at Calle Sargento Mayor. The tiny boutique stocks a wealth of crafts, art works and organic chocolate and Colombian coffee from local artisans.

PHOTOGRAPHY: ISTOCK, @RESTAURANTEINTERNO

There’s little doubt that Cartagena in Colombia is going to be one of the hottest places to visit in the world this year. The UNESCO World Heritage Site is about to see an array of hotels, restaurants and events launch in the city. Fashion designer Silvia Tcherassi has just turned a 250-year-old colonial mansion into the Tcherassi Hotel + Spa, while the Viceroy Cartagena is about to launch Colombia’s first sixstar hotel this year. And then Delano Cartagena will join them when it launches its luxury beach bungalows and a beach club in Mar de Indias. And where there is fashion, there is art. An abandoned soap factory in Getsemani has now become the undisputed home of Cartagena street art. The city has already attracted international artists such as Fin DAC from the UK and Bell Borba from Brazil. The restaurant scene is buzzing too. In the short time it has been open, Tcherassi’s eatery Vera already has a cult following. And if the beautiful people aren’t heading there,

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The Listoke Gin School classroom.

ON THE MAP —

The World’s First Gin School Anyone for detention? Forget Hogwarts… it’s at the Listoke Gin School in Ireland where the magic really happens. The owners of the famed distillery in County Louth have launched the world’s first gin school. And it’s here that you can create your very own tipple, while enjoying a G&T or two. School starts with a tour of the distillery, then classes involve an education on

botanicals and different gin profiles. You then get to make your own bespoke blend by using one of the miniature copper stills that line the walls of the classroom. Once you’ve perfected your blend, you can bottle and seal it to take home. Now that’s what we call a holiday souvenir. Visit listokedistillery.ie

Making a bespoke blend.

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PHOTOGRAPHY: LISTOKE DISTILLERY

The 200-year-old barn that houses the school.

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The views that awaited the Everest diners.

Hanging yogurt in the Himalayas.

ON THE MAP —

The Ultimate Pop-Up Restaurant From Everest Base Camp to train carriages in Vietnam, we meet the ex-Noma chef who is creating pop-up restaurants all over the world Ex-Noma chef James Sharman joined with friends Trisha McCrae (former GM for Soho House, London) and chef Kevin McCrae (Tom Aitkens alumni) for a gourmet road trip with a difference. Blending their love of food and travel, they decided to travel the world for the next two years and create a pop-up restaurant in each country they visit. Sharman says that the three of them imagined a restaurant which would be bustling with gauchos in Argentina, Sherpas on Mount Everest and street food traders that they would meet in Vietnam. They have already seen their dream come to fruition as in December 2016 they opened the first-ever restaurant at Everest Base Camp. Operating in some of the hardest working conditions they’ve ever faced, the team still managed to hike up the Himalayan mountain and serve Nepalese food to 15 diners. They are now about to travel to Africa, Europe and South America. “We can only travel with what we can fit into our suitcases — ovens, stoves and sous vide machines are off the table for us,” says Sharman. “But it forces us to steer away from the techniques that we’ve spent the last 10 years learning and to cook and see the food the way the locals do.” The One Star House Party team finish their tour in Hong Kong in August 2018. Book at www.onestarhouseparty.com

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Clockwise from left: Sharman and McCrae working the pass at their pop-up restaurant in Thailand. The recordbreaking Everest diners. Two dishes served at the pop-up in Vietnam. An impromptu pop-up in a train carriage enroute to Sapa in Vietnam. Beef and pumpkin dishes whipped up for guests who joined the One Star House Party in Thailand.

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La Paz has a rich heritage.

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ADVENTURE â&#x20AC;&#x201D;

FINE DINING IN BOLIVIA Sarah Gilbert heads to La Paz to find out how a charity project in Bolivia has gone on to be named one of the 50 Best Restaurants in Latin America

DESTINATION

Bolivia LOCATION

La Paz

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andering between the ramshackle stalls of Rodriguez Market, I was stopped in my tracks by an array of multicoloured tubers piled high on a market stall — from pop-art coloured pink and yellow papalisas to pebble-like chuño, these plump vegetables all look like they’re dusted with icing sugar, but they are actually freeze-dried in snow. An indigenous Aymara woman, with a bowler hat balanced at a precarious angle on her head, tells me proudly that her country has even more varieties than neighbouring Peru. Bolivia certainly has no shortage of esoteric raw ingredients, but in recent years, while Peru has morphed into South America’s gastronomic hotspot, no one put ‘Bolivia’ and ‘gourmet’ into the same sentence. That is until Claus Meyer — co-founder of Copenhagen’s legendary restaurant Noma — opened Gustu in the high-altitude city of La Paz in April 2013. Meyer is convinced that it’s possible to change the world through food, and it followed a search for a less privileged country to launch a philanthropic project through his Melting Pot Foundation. He approached the Danish NGO IBIS and together they drew up a shortlist of three countries that met with certain criteria — biological diversity, political stability, low crime, high poverty and, key to his vision, cuisine with unrealised potential — and Bolivia came out on top. Gustu — ‘flavour’ in the Andean language, Quechua — has gastronomic rules even stricter than Noma; everything, including alcohol, has to be from Bolivia. All Meyer imported was his New Nordic Cuisine ideology, state-ofthe-art kitchen equipment and two passionate young chefs, Kamilla Seidler from Denmark and Michelangelo Cestari from Venezuela. “The Nordic region has a vast range of produce and our original idea for Gustu was to use ingredients from neighbouring countries, such as Peru and Argentina,” Cestari

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Clockwise from top left: Zonzo de yuca. Two members of the Gusto team. Pumpkin with cinnamon and grapefruit. Red Fruit Jam cocktail. Native Potatoes cooked in pink salt, with capuchin flower and sauco capers. Chefs Kamilla Seidler and Michelangelo Cestari. Traditional pastries with a spin. An elegant entrée. The Gusto staff.

told me. “But we soon realised that Bolivia had everything we needed and more. It has incredible biodiversity and much of it is untapped.” Even Gustu’s décor reflects the country’s cultural diversity, from hand-carved replicas of wooden totem poles from the Jesuit missions, recycled Spanish colonial window frames and colourful weavings from the highlands, and when I sat down to Gustu’s 11-course tasting menu, each beautifully presented course was a revelation. Exploding with colour and flavour, pink llama loin came with chuño glazed in apple and banana syrup; creamy amaranth was paired with pumpkin and tomato confit, and achiote — an Amazonian superfruit — ice cream was topped with salty, home-smoked bacon and tart cherries. All washed down with unexpectedly good Bolivian wine from Tarija in the country’s southeast corner. The Gustu project began as a food school, dedicated to training young, underprivileged Bolivians, with no experience and few prospects, in basic cooking and kitchen skills. It proved so popular that Manq’a (‘food’ in Aymara, another indigenous language of the Bolivian Andes) launched in July 2014 and to date there are 11 schools — 10 in Bolivia and one in Colombia, with plans to expand further around South America — and 1,000 graduates. The original school, underneath the restaurant, now takes some of the best students and gives them advanced training in service and management, as well as cooking. Gustu’s success has exceeded all expectations and last year it leapt to number 14 on Latin America’s best restaurant list. It’s not only changing the lives of its staff, but also raising Bolivia’s global gastronomic profile, which in turn has given locals a renewed sense of pride in their cuisine. Since Gustu’s launch, there’s now an award-winning bean-to-cup coffee, an artisanal chocolate mixed with salt

12/04/2017 13:34 Travel By Lightfoot | www.travelbylightfoot.com

MOUNTAIN MORSELS We reveal a few more of the dishes that have a special place in every Bolivian’s heart BUÑUELOS

CH’ARKI

This fried dough that’s stuffed with cheese is enjoyed with chocolate and syrup on Christmas morning. They are seen as symbols of good luck.

This Bolivian jerky was originally llama, but now it’s available in horse and beef. It dates back to the Inca Empire who freeze-dried llama meat with the help of the cold mountain air.

Legend states that this dish was created for a group of workers who visited a local restaurant late at night and asked if the kitchen could make them something. The owner chopped up everything she had left in the fridge and said “eat it you think you’re man enough”. Bolivians are still enjoying this heaped plate of beef, potatoes, onions, boiled egg and peppers.

QUINOA This wonder-grain is one of Bolivia’s staple foods. And thanks to the West wanting to now enjoy this nutritious crop, quinoa is now their biggest exports.

from the Salar de Uyuni (the world’s largest salt flats), and an increasing number of craft beers brewed from the Incan supergrain quinoa. And now the country’s home-produced grape spirit Singani is being challenged by a set of young entrepreneurial Bolivians who have launched 1825, a triple-distilled vodka using high-altitude Andean wheat and pure mountain water, and Gin La Republica, infused with bespoke blends of Andean and Amazonian botanicals. And the Gusto team’s food movement hasn’t remained within the restaurants, it has spilled out onto the streets too. With around 90 per cent of Paceñas eating dishes from street stalls every day, Meyer wanted to show visitors the delicacies that can be found within the city’s walls. So he launched another Melting Pot project, Suma Phayata, which is the city’s first official street food tour. Suma Phayata, which

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means ‘well cooked’ in Aymara, currently showcases five perfectly executed dishes made by street cooks. I sampled everything from anticuchos, tender morsels of beef heart grilled over an open flame, to tucumanas, deep-fried pastries stuffed with meat or vegetables, and spicy tripe soup served from a street cart. In Las Cholas Park, Doña Cristina welcomed me with a warm smile. Delighted to have been chosen from the long line of stalls selling the doorstep-sized sandwich de chola –— thick slices of succulent roast pork, topped with chunks of crispy crackling, pickled vegetables and spicy llajua sauce — she tells me that she been serving up this delicious staple for almost 60 years, and gets through two pig legs a day. Gusto’s chef Cestari believes that they have just uncovered the tip of the iceberg for Bolivian cuisine and tells me about another Gustu project called LAB (Laboratorio de

Above: Cured trout with cucumber and yogurt by Gusto.

PHOTOGRAPHY SARAH GILBERT, GUSTO, ISTOCK

PIQUE MACHO

“Bolivia's food culture can be a driving force for progress and a source of pride”

The award-winning restaurant in La Paz.

Alimentos Bolivianos), which is dedicated to recovering some long-forgotten and fast-disappearing ingredients from the mountains, lakes and jungle. This again has opened the doors for other projects, such as Q’atu, Bolivian shops that stock homegrown health food; Gustu Logistics, which aims to empower local producers and indigenous groups; and Thani Wawas which, together with the Ivar Mendez Foundation, is developing sustainable and nutritious food for children in impoverished rural communities. And if that’s not enough, La Paz is also about to see the launch of Ara, a more a budget-friendly bistro that offers locals and visitors a healthier take on carb-heavy traditional dishes. As Meyer says: “For a chef, Bolivia is a treasure. Together we will find the key, so that Bolivia’s food culture can become a driving force for social and economic progress and a source of unity and pride.

“I Know A Place…” We reveal where top chefs go on holiday

Luke Mangan (right).

L U K E M A N G A N

Positano, Italy The Australian chef who has restaurants in Singapore, Australia and Tokyo, likes to get away from it all when he has some downtime. He chooses to leave behind the bright lights of the cities and head to a cliffside village on southern Italy’s Amalfi coast. With its steep, narrow streets and quaint cafes that line the beachfront, the coastal town of Positano is where Mangan chooses to relax. “I like to go to Positano when I can… I love the freedom [you get] by hiring your own little boat and visiting little restaurants around the area.” He’s also been known to drop by Il San Pietro Hotel in Positano. And he called its kitchen Marrone, “the most amazing kitchen I’ve seen in a long time”.

The coastline that has captured Luke Mangan's heart.

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PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY IL SAN PIETRO HOTEL

"I love the freedom [you get] by hiring your own little boat and visiting restaurants around the area" Travel By Lightfoot | www.travelbylightfoot.com

The tranquil retreat of Bird Island, Seychelles.

M I C H E L R O U X J R

Bird Island, Seychelles On the northernmost tip of the Seychelles archipelago you’ll find Bird Island — and it’s on this tiny piece of paradise that Chef Michel Roux Jr likes to wind down. “There are no phones, televisions, radios or computers. It is a real retreat — I go there and just chill,” said Roux Jr

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recently. Bird Island resort is made up of 24 bungalows that are scattered around the former coconut plantation. The island boasts 20 different bird species, the world’s oldest tortoise and now a lobster dish that Michel Roux Jr is willing to travel thousands of miles to enjoy.

PHOTOGRAPHY: ISSY CROKER AND BIRD ISLAND

Michel Roux Jr.

James Martin.

JA M E S M A R T I N

PHOTOGRAPHY: VAUCLUSE TOURISM

L’Isle-sur-la-Sorgue, France

The magical town of L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue, France.

A recent road trip around France left celebrity chef James Martin hankering to go back. “If I had another holiday I would go straight back to where I went to in France. I saw some of the most amazing places I’ve ever seen,” says the chef. One place that he was particularly struck by is L’Isle-sur-la-Sorgue, which was where his friend chef Keith Floyd made his home. “It’s one of the most beautiful towns I’ve ever been to. Every Sunday they have this beautiful antiques market as well as an amazing floating market. The market traders paddle up and down the waterways, selling their vegetables. It looks like something out of Venice. You wouldn’t think that happens in France.” Travel By Lightfoot | www.travelbylightfoot.com

S H A N N O N B E N N E T T

Serra da Mantiqueira, Brazil

“In my restaurant I order a lot of single origin coffees, but this was divine” The Serra da Mantiqueira rainforest.

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PHOTOGRAPHY: GUILHERME HENRIQUE/WIKI COMMONS

Shannon Bennett.

Masterchef judge Shannon Bennett is willing to take a 20-hour flight from his home in Melbourne to get the perfect java jolt. After stopping off in the dazzling city of San Paolo to visit Alex Atala’s DOM, Daniel Redondo’s Maní and the MocotÕ bistro, Bennett flew to the Serra da Mantiqueira rainforest to find the perfect coffee. “We met the farmers who were working the same land that their great-grandfathers had grown crops on. They showed us how they picked these sought-after coffee berries and then set us to work,” says Bennett. “It wasn’t a case of shaking the tree and picking up whatever fell on the floor, we were looking for the ultimate bean — a pale olive green berry that needed to be a certain shape and size.” But he adds that he also got to taste the end product. “It had very little bitterness. In my restaurant I order a lot of single origin coffees, but this was divine.”

Janice Wong.

Wong turns to Japan for inspiration.

PHOTOGRAPHY: JAPAN PHOTO LIBRARY

JA N I C E W O N G

Tokyo, Japan With more Michelin stars than anywhere else in the world, it’s not hard to see why Tokyo is such a huge attraction for Chef Janice Wong, who was crowned Best Pastry Chef In Asia. “The flavours of Japan are one of a kind and inspiring,” says the Singaporean chef. When the chef touches down in the capital, her first port of call is Magoemon. The chic restaurant that’s famed for creating tofu at your table has become a

fast-favourite with Tokyo’s diners. So what does Wong order? “I go here for the seasonal produce. Its claypot rice choices is some of the best around, and its cold milt during the winter season is equally impressive,” says Wong. But the pastry chef also needs to satisfy her sweet tooth, which is why she also visits Higashiya Ginza. “This sweets place is known for its high quality matcha and wagashi.” Travel By Lightfoot | www.travelbylightfoot.com

TREND —

LA’S ROLLING RESTAURANTS Anthea Gerrie discovers that the hottest restaurants in Hollywood aren't made from bricks and mortar... They come on wheels

Clockwise from top left: Paradise Cove in Malibu. Goodies from Border Grill. The Grilled Cheese Truck. Fresh seafood from Cousins Maine Lobster. A member of the Kogi BBQ team. A mouthwatering snack from the Grilled Cheese Truck. Now we know what superheroes eat.

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DESTINATION

California LOCATION

Los Angeles

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then there were always a few taco trucks downtown, but it was Kogi that was part of the force that was part of the sea change that had Angelenos become more interested in pleasing their palates than choosing a restaurant where they could see and be seen. Kogi was the first and easiest restaurant to track down, for unlike most of the city’s mobile offerings it also has a bricks-and-mortar presence, and serves Mexican-Korean fusion fare. Think burritos dressed with Korean chili-soy vinaigrette and kimchee quesadillas. I wanted to try the food from the truck as the Kogi BBQ truck is considered a travelling LA landmark, but I soon discovered this wasn’t as easy as it sounded. LA food trucks are such a moveable feast I was never able to find Kogi, nor others on my wish list including the Egg Slut breakfast truck, Guerilla Tacos, whose chef trained with multi-Michelin-starred Alain

PHOTOGRAPHY COUSINS MAINE LOBSTER, ERIC SHIN, LA TOURISM, THE GRILLED CHEESE TRUCK,

was descending into LA and as the plane circled above the billions of tiny lights forming a gold and silver grid beneath us, my tastebuds were already tickled by the thought of all that fabulous food waiting on the ground. But it wasn’t your typical California cuisine that got me salivating, you understand — I wasn’t coming to the City of Angels for Wolfgang Puck’s fancy pizzas, the righton “nourish bowls” loved by Silverlake hipsters or even the world’s best patty in a bun from Fatburger… It was gourmet street food that had lured me to the City of Angels. The city that loves to eat on the run now has more than 5,000 food trucks, ready to serve them gourmet treats for breakfast, lunch and dinner around town. I had done my homework and I had my list. Kogi BBQ kickstarted LA’s street food fever in 2008. Until

Clockwise from left: The Coolhaus truck. Some of the Kogi BBQ team who helped kickstart the truck revolution. Tacos from Cousins Maine Lobster. The Arts District. A Reuben sandwich from Canters. Bison Burger ready to roll.

“ I couldn’t resist a French Onion Soup Melt featuring an onion compote with a Gruyère and Parmesan crust ” Ducasse, and Free Range, home of a famous fried chicken sandwich. All have been raved over by food critics who obviously had more luck than me tracking them down. Naively, I imagined that all I needed to do was head to Wilshire Boulevard (known as the Miracle Mile) where my Hollywood-based friends assured me that “all” the best food trucks gathered every day. There were plenty of trucks, to be sure, but none I’d heard of. Until — there it was at the end of the line, a glowing orange beacon, the Grilled Cheese Truck which is one of Los Angeles’s most beloved. This is, after all, a city which has run a grilled cheese cook-off for several years, and has at least one restaurant devoted to nothing, but endless variations on America’s favourite gooey, high-protein snack. I couldn’t resist a French Onion Soup Melt, the soup quotient represented by an onion compote as well as a

cup of broth and featuring both Gruyère cheese and a Parmesan crust. This is die-and-go-to-heaven fare for all but the lactose intolerant; full marks for whoever invented this dish. I also had to steal a bite of my companion’s Mom’s Apple Pie Melt, another wicked assembly, featuring sharp Cheddar on a baguette dressed with brown butter, caramelised apples and candied walnuts — yummy. No wonder founder David Danhi has won eight best food truck awards, not to mention a social media award as the third most influential Tweeter in LA. I was to discover a social media presence is vital for trucks that need to let followers know where to find them in an extremely busy city. Few get the same pitch on the same day or even week, and pitches themselves are said to be decreasing as companies don't want them to be parked in front of their buildings. This forces the trucks

“Cousins flies lobsters in daily from Maine and serves them in the shell for those who don't mind winkling out the super sweet meat. ” off-road into car parks or private hire for special events. It was in the car park of an auditorium in far-flung Redondo Beach that I got my next fix, that classic East Coast treat, a genuine New England lobster roll. Cousins, founded by — er — cousins Jim Tselikis and Sabin Lomac, flies lobsters in daily from Maine, where the duo hail from, and serves them in the shell for those who don’t mind winkling out the super sweet meat, as well as packed neatly into a roll with lemon mayo. The next day I was ready for something more typically west coast, and was thrilled to spot a Border Grill truck haring through Westwood Village. Having learned how

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unpredictable van locations are, there was nothing for it, but to follow this mobile outpost of the legendary modern Mexican restaurant which recently closed in Santa Monica after decades, but still dispenses meals on wheels including Baja ceviche cones packed with limemarinated shrimp, burritos served with organic red rice and a killer carnitas taco which did the trick once we caught up with the truck on nearby Midvale Avenue, near the Hammer Museum. All that chilli left me with a craving for dessert, which meant only one truck of choice — Coolhaus, founded by a pair of architects and home of ice-cream sandwiches in

Clockwise from left: Newlyweds capture their special day with a typical scene in LA. The beach at Malibu. The Cousin Maine Lobster truck.

flavours you can’t believe — chicken and waffles or foie gras ice-cream packed between rich chocolate cookies? Sounds weird, but good old strawberry and vanilla are available too, and their truck can often be found, as on the day I visited, outside their bricks-and-mortar shop in Culver City, a newly happening neighbourhood which has become another hub for mobile offerings. One thing I was still hanging out for before I left town was a Reuben, that delicious west coast invention of pastrami, sauerkraut, Swiss cheese and Russian dressing on rye. In LA, deli fare is synonymous with Canter’s, which opened for business over half a century ago and whose mid-century fixturing made it a Mad Men location. But Bonnie Bloomgarden, fourth generation of the deli family (and punk-rocker with the Death Valley Dolls) has dragged the business into the 21st century by creating a Canter’s truck. I rushed south to Playa Vista, now subtitled Silicon Beach and so full of techies the formerly sleepy residential neighbourhood has become a work hub and prime location for trucks. Here, on West Washington Boulevard I tucked into not only a Reuben, but that ultimate comfort food, a potato latke, and a cup of matzo ball soup just like grandma used to make. And the best thing? I still had half of that huge, densely-packed sandwich, to sustain me on my plane journey home. Visit www.roaminghunger.com for food truck menus and day by day locations.

EDITOR'S NOTE — “Street food trucks are a trend that I enjoy and find really exciting. I would love to own one.” MICHEL ROUX JR

3 MORE GOURMET GO-TOS We reveal yet more ways to satiate your tastebuds in California

Napa Valley vineyards.

Forage for fresh produce.

JOIN A WINE TOUR

VISIT THE WILD KITCHEN

Leave your luggage at Calistoga Ranch that’s set in Napa Valley. From here you will be able to visit more than 300 wineries. You can cycle from winery to winery and enjoy a picnic en route, or climb aboard a hot air balloon and get a bird’s-eye view of the fields laden with grapes.

Wild Kitchen is a roving underground supper club that serves up an array of foraged treats at a variety of hip locations around San Francisco. You could be enjoying wild mushrooms on a roof top in the Mission one minute and seaweed on a houseboat in Sausalito the next. Visit www.foragesf.com

Chef Curtis Stone's Gwen.

BE TEMPTED BY A TASTING MENU Celebrity chef Curtis Stone has launched Gwen, a tasting-menu only restaurant in Hollywood. The five-course feast includes house-cured meats and dry-aged Australian Wagyu beef from his butcher shop next door.

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PROFILE —

Chef Michel Roux Jr.

TOP CHEF

spice. It has got such a heavy, Famed chef Michel Roux Jr is the We talk to two-star Michelin chef Michel heavenly scent. scion of food royalty. His father and uncle, Albert and Michel Roux, Roux Jr about his life of food and travel launched Le Gavroche in London WHAT’S THE ONE THING THAT in 1967, which celebrates its 50th YOU JUST WON’T EAT? anniversary this year. It was the first restaurant I wouldn’t eat anything on the in the UK to receive a Michelin star. Michel Roux Jr took over the endangered list. We have an restaurant in 1991 and has taken it from strength to strength. The abundance of beautiful, sustainable produce so I don’t see any need restaurant still holds the Guinness World Record for the most amount for it. of money ever spent per head on one meal when three diners spent USD$20,000 on lunch. When Roux Jr isn’t in the kitchen, he loves to TELL US ABOUT A SCENIC PLACE YOU’VE STOPPED TO HAVE A BITE travel. We speak to him about some of his foodie adventures. TO EAT… The Caldera Restaurant in Santorini, Greece. The scenery is stunning — an ocean of blue and white and the food is pretty good too. IF YOU COULD HAVE A BREAKFAST IN ONE COUNTRY, LUNCH IN ANOTHER AND DINNER IN A THIRD — WHERE WOULD YOU GO?

WHAT’S THE ONE INGREDIENT THAT YOU WOULD BE WILLING TO TRAVEL FOR?

I would be willing to travel for Madagascar vanilla, as it’s my favourite

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WHICH RESTAURANT WOULD YOU STILL LIKE TO VISIT?

Dasheene in St Lucia, West Indies. It’s got a wonderful reputation and it’s still on my bucket list! WHAT’S BEEN THE MOST MEMORABLE DISH THAT YOU HAVE EATEN?

A salt beef sandwich after I finished the New York Marathon in 2000. I hadn’t eaten anything for two hours after the marathon and I started shaking and feeling faint. That salt beef sandwich was truly life-savingly good.

PHOTOGRAPHY: ISSY CROKER

For breakfast, I’d have Arbroath Smokies in Scotland. It’s a type of smoked haddock that’s a speciality from the town of Arbroath in Angus — it’s got a delicate flavour and is delicious. I’d have lunch at Guy Savoy in Paris, and it would definitely include his artichoke and truffle soup. It’s simply the best soup ever! For dinner, I’d have grilled lobster on the beach at Bird Island in the Seychelles, watching the sunset.

ADVENTURE â&#x20AC;&#x201D;

LAND OF PLENTY Isabel Putinja soon discovered that her new homeland of Croatia was full of food adventures

Picturesque Istria.

DESTINATION

Croatia LOCATION

Istria

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“A white truffle can fetch up to 2,000 Euros a kilo, making truffle-hunting a very lucrative business” Wander through the cobbled streets to find gourmet treats.

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Clockwise from above: Mario with his truffle hunting dogs. Some of the natural truffle treasures they discovered. A Croatian dish receives the finishing touches — slices of locally-grown truffle.

round. A white truffle can fetch up to 2,000 Euros a kilo, making trufflehunting a very lucrative business. Mario told me that years ago, when this corner of Europe was part of Yugoslavia, he had unearthed a particularly large white truffle that he sold in Italy, fetching a hefty sum that he used to build his house. Today there are about 800 registered truffle hunters in Istria scouring its forests for the elusive, but highly valuable white truffle. As we walk and the sky above the trees brightens, Mario explains why such an early start is required: “The dogs are hungry and keen to hunt, their sense of smell peaks in the early morning and we have to find the truffles before the others do!”, he adds as his dogs scurry through the dense foliage sniffing the ground in anticipation. It’s Lara, the older and more experienced dog that takes the lead, with younger Diana following close behind. All truffle hunters have two dogs for this reason: the younger dog learns from the older dog; and two highly-sensitive noses are better than one. We struggle to keep up with them, bending back branches to make our way through, and trying not to lose our footing as we descend the sharply sloping forest floor. “Now you see why this is such a tough job,” Mario chuckles, “especially for an old man like me.” We’ve been trudging through the woods for a long time before Lara suddenly starts digging furiously at the base of a tree. Mario rushes to the spot and takes over, tossing the dogs a handful of dry dog food before digging away delicately with his spade. “If there’s a white truffle down there somewhere,” he explains, “I have to get to it before

PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY OF LINDBLAD EXPEDITIONS

he rising sun bursts over Učka Mountain, flooding the autumn landscape of rolling hills with the first magical rays of morning sunlight. I hear the din of a tractor in the distance and know this is my neighbour Mario making his way to the spot of our early morning rendezvous. Sure enough, his old tractor makes an appearance around the bend of the road, and I spot his two dogs perched on the trailer. He turns off the ignition and the dogs leap into the forest with excited yelps. Dressed in the bright blue work clothes common here, and carrying a small spade, Mario motions for me to follow. We head into the deep woods, branches cracking underfoot, on the hunt for the white truffle. When, just the day before I had asked him how the truffle season was coming along, he had tugged on the deep pocket of his work jacket, revealing several knobby white truffles, still covered in dirt. He handed me one and its pungent scent hit me as I lifted it to my nose. Strange and earthy, the heady smell is unlike anything else I know; a combination of moist earth and dried mushrooms, with a hint of something almost putrid, and even sensual, but undefinable. This ugly, smelly tuber with the somewhat pompous name of Tuber Magnatum, is one of the world’s most expensive and highly-prized delicacies. Growing in very few regions of Europe, it only makes an appearance from mid-September to mid-January, while the more common and much less pungent black truffle is available all year

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Left; The awardwinning olive oil. Rich pickings.

recognition for its high quality, winning several awards at international competitions. Istria has even been named “Best Olive Oil Region” in 2016 and 2017 by the prestigious Flos Olei olive oil guide. Olive oil tourism is also growing. Thanks to an initiative by the local tourist office, special signs lead the way to local producers on Istria’s many “olive oil routes” where visitors can sample and buy this “liquid gold”, another of the region’s many gastronomic treasures.

PHOTOGRAPHY: COLOURS OF ISTRIA AND ISTRIA TOURIST OFFICE.

the dogs do, and try to preserve its shape.” The shape determines the price it will fetch, as well as its pungency. He pulls out a small, lumpy mass, sniffs at it, and laughs triumphantly. It was in the forests below Motovun, Istria’s most photographed hilltop town, that the world’s largest white truffle weighing 1.31 kg was unearthed in 1999, according to the Guinness Book of World Records. Today the record holder, Giancarlo Zigante, has a well-known restaurant in the village of Livade with a multi-course truffle-tasting menu. But locals love to eat them simply, with a traditional type of Istrian pasta called fuži. While the white truffle season announces the start of autumn, it’s during the last few sunny days before winter sets in that olives are ripe and ready for harvest. Like the grape-picking season, the olive harvest is when family, neighbours, and friends all lend a hand. The more the better, because olives are hand-picked — the best way to maintain their quality. I was happy to oblige when our neighbour Pino needed extra hands. His olive grove is perched on the southern slope of a hill that’s been terraced so that each row of trees gets maximum sunlight. Spreading a wide net on the ground to catch the olives, we use small plastic hand rakes to scrape at the branches and pull off the olives, or simply pluck them off with our bare hands, working one branch at a time. The trees are relatively young, just over a decade old, and thanks to careful pruning, the branches grow outwards rather than upwards so they’re easy to reach. With six of us working together, it doesn’t take long to strip a tree of its fruit, after which we squat on the ground and gather the olives into plastic crates, carefully separating any leaves and twigs. The sun is setting once the picking and sorting is complete, and we’ve transferred the olives to mesh bags. We head straight to the oil mill. Ideally, olives should be pressed within 24 hours to ensure freshness and preserve their nutritional value as much as possible. It’s a short drive to the local oil mill, which works around the clock during the harvest season. The mesh bags bulging with the fresh crop are stacked onto a large scale and weighed: it reveals that we picked 245 kg of olives that day. The weight is important, since this determines the cost of milling. Once loaded into the large Italian press machine, the olives are washed and any leftover debris like leaves or twigs are separated. The olives then move into another compartment to be crushed into a paste. The final stage of the three-step process is centrifugation: this separates the oil from the press at a temperature below 27 degrees in order to ensure that the oil is “cold pressed” and as a result, of the highest quality. When the first drops of oil finally started to pour from the spout, I’m surprised by its vibrant yellow-green colour, like the colour of pea soup. I use a small plastic cup to catch a sample of this freshly-pressed olive “juice” and lift it to my lips. The taste is a revelation: exquisitely fruity and peppery at the same time, it’s nothing like any other olive oil I ever tasted. Hand-picked, pressed locally, and unadulterated, Istrian extra virgin olive oil has been gaining international

F R O M FA R M T O F O R K Reserve a seat at one of these five restaurants to sample the best in Istrian fare MONTE

TOKLARIJA

The old town of Rovinj plays host to one of Istria’s hottest restaurants, Monte. This eatery serves up a fivecourse degustation menu featuring ingredients bought fresh from nearby farmer’s markets.

Within a 600-year-old olive mill you’ll find a celebration of the slow food movement. Expect truffles, Istrian ham and plenty of olive oil. And don’t plan to rush off... They take it slow...

RESTAURANTE ZIGANTE The owner of this eatery — Giancarlo Zigante — is famed for finding the largest white truffle in history in 1999. No surprise then that the restaurant celebrates the truffle with a tempting menu.

TONČIĆ

VIKING

It’s a bit of a hike to this hillside tavern, but once you spy the menu that’s been created using homegrown ingredients you’ll realise it was worth it. Plus the view from the mountain terrace is hard to beat.

The Lim Fjord is renowned for mussels, clams, scallops and oysters. The Viking restaurant serves up these delicacies alongside other specialities such as wild asparagus and truffles.

One of the freediving Haenyo women.

CULTURE â&#x20AC;&#x201D;

FEMALE DIVERS OF JEJU Jose Jeuland travelled to the Korean island to photograph the last women divers of Jeju

DESTINATION

South Korea LOCATION

Jeju

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A diver with her mangsiri (net). This hangs below her float and she uses it to store her catch in the water.

Left: One of the divers removing her mask. Right: A Haenyeo woman showing off her catch.

PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY OF LINDBLAD EXPEDITIONS

t was a triathlon that brought me to Jeju Island, but it was a group of elderly female divers that will make me remember this trip forever. As a triathlete and photographer I am always looking for a great place to train when I’m on shoots, and an interesting place to photograph when I’m attending races. When I knew that I was going to Jeju Island, I started researching the area. I was immediately transfixed by the island’s beauty, but it was a group of inhabitants that really caught my interest. I stumbled across a piece about the Haenyeo women who freedive for abalone and shellfish to help support their families. These women are the last of their kind. However, they are so loved by their fellow countrymen that the government asked if they could be added to UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage list and they were accepted in 2016. I knew that when I was on this island I had to take this opportunity to document these strong, amazing women. As soon as I arrived on the island I went straight to the Jeju Island Tourism counter to find out how I could get in touch with them. Almost every village [on Jeju] has its very own group of Haenyeo women. Each community has built a small house for them, where the women can get ready, store their belongings, or just relax and take breaks between dives. You’ll often find the women chatting in groups inside or around the house. I showed up at the dive house at 5.30am, before the divers arrived, so I could photograph them as they prepared for the dive and got the boat ready. It wasn’t long before they started to arrive for their work day. Some pulled up to the dive house on their scooters, others were dropped off by their husbands, while the divers that lived close by just chose to push carts containing all of their equipment to the dive house.

A diver uses the homemade anti-fog treatment.

Left: One of the women standing proud with part of their catch. Right: The women preparing their sea urchin bounty.

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“Their expelled breath makes a high-pitched whistling sound, much like a dolphin” 58

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Left: The women stay under the water for up to three minutes using just one breath. Right: One of the women who is now part of the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage List.

I joined them for two dives. We went to Hyeopjae Beach that’s at the foot of a small, sleepy village and Seongsan Port, which is close to Korea’s first UNESCO Natural World Heritage site Seongsan Ilchulbong (Sunrise Peak). It’s a must-do for tourists as it’s the perfect place to watch the sunrise. The first trip was rather short as it was cloudy. But the second trip on the boat was spectacular and I managed to get a good view of the island. The atmosphere on the boat was very relaxed and calm. While a few divers stayed quiet, most of them were kicking back and having a laugh together. The women who were all aged roughly between 40 and 80 were itching to get into the sea. Many of them had started in their late teens and were very familiar with the ocean — it felt like just a regular work commute. As we made the short trip out to the dive site, the divers started making their final adjustments to their wetsuits and cleaning their masks. They showed me how they prepare their mask with a lotion mixed with vegetables and vegetable oil in order avoid any fog in the mask. As well as the face mask, dive suit, fins, neoprene hood and weight belts, the Haenyeo women carry a number of tools with them on each dive. They each carry a bitchang (a flat prying tool akin to a heavy dull knife blade); a jonggae-homi (a small sickle for cutting seaweed), a broad bladed knife for removing sea urchins; and a gol-gengi (a small hoe for pulling creatures like octopuses or sea cucumbers from crevices in a reef ). Travel By Lightfoot | www.travelbylightfoot.com

“The divers were keen for me to try some of their catch, which featured turban snails, sea urchins, sea cucumbers, abalone and undaria seaweed”"

Clockwise from left: Another day at the office. The world's freshest lunch. Starfish collected from the reef.

Jeju divers are highly skilled and require a great degree of physical fitness. They can freedive up to a depth of 20 metres, and can stay underwater for up to three minutes. Most of the women on the boat were underwater for over two minutes, though there were a few more skilled divers who stayed down for longer. When they finally come up for air and break through the ocean’s surface, their expelled breath makes a highpitched whistling sound, much like a dolphin. It’s cold, hard and dangerous work, but these women have a connection with the sea that many of us in the modern world have lost. I chose not to dive into the deep with them as I wanted to stay on the surface of the ocean to observe what the women were doing. However, the divers were still keen for me to try some of their catch, which featured turban snails, sea urchins, gelidium algae, sea cucumbers, abalone and undaria seaweed. It was so fresh, especially the shellfish. The seaweed that they’d scooped from the surface of the sea was so fresh and cold — it was delicious.

As well as looking after their dive kit, to make sure that the dive went as smoothly as possible, the divers would take a pill to help control the headaches that can be brought on by the water pressure and they would also constantly keep a lookout for each other as soon as they hit the water. Every dive is a roll of the dice. Not only is it cold, the divers face strong currents and poor visibility. You could very easily be washed out to sea, or be caught in a rip-tide and drown. In fact, when I returned to my hotel after the diving experience, I learnt that one of the divers, a woman aged 80, had drowned on a trip that morning. The women are athletes. They work so hard for their catch on each dive. There may be some people who think that it isn’t appropriate for women their age to work in such gruelling conditions, but I don’t see it that way. These women are healthy and enjoy what they’re doing. I’d rather be like them, and stay fit into my old age, than to be inactive. It’s dangerous, and challenging, but these women are showing the rest of the world how they live life to the full.

L I V I N G

T R E A S U R E S

The Haenyeo women now join these other cultural riches on UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage list NAADAM FESTIVAL IN MONGOLIA

DAY OF THE DEAD IN MEXICO

KABUKI IN JAPAN

The Mongol Olympics tests the country’s best athletes on such traditional sports as Mongolia wrestling, horse racing and archery. From 11 to 13 July.

Held from 31 October to 2 November the celebration is used to pray for family and friends who have died and help them on their spiritual journey. The modern ceremony can be traced back to an Aztec festival.

Born in the dry river beds of Kyoto in 1603, this dance meets drama is still drawing the crowds. It is known for its avante garde theatre and the elaborate make-up worn by its players.

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PHOTOGRAPHY AJ HEATH

Some catches are trickier than others.

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THE ONE LOVED BY HOLLYWOOD

Rainbow Room, USA

Seventy-five years of big band jollity left the restaurant on the 65th floor of the famed Rockefeller Center seeking a makeover. Five years later in 2014, the Rainbow Room returned with crystal curtains, a rotating dance floor and a super chic menu. HIGH POINT: The jazz brunch on a Sunday is a New York staple. Take a whirl around the cornucopia of chef stations before sitting down to enjoy the Instagram-worthy view.

INSPIRATION —

WORLD’S HIGHEST RESTAURANTS We reveal the eateries where a breathtaking view is guaranteed every time

THE ONE WITH A DESSERT TOPPED WITH GOLD

Sky Restaurant 634, Japan

Coming in at 345 metres above ground, it should be no surprise that the Sky Restaurant 634 provides a great vantage point from which to spy Mount Fuji. Set in the tallest tower in Japan, the Tokyo Skytree, this high-flying eatery is a must visit. For if the views donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t wow you, the dishes by famed Chef Naoya Makimura will. HIGH POINT: Order the restaurantâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s signature dessert, the 634 Special. The sweet treat comprises blancmange, mango, berries, passionfruit sauce and coconut foam and is topped with a sprinkle of gold flakes.

THE ONE WITH VIEWS OF A PALACE

Vertigo, Thailand

Bangkok is a city of many surprises and Vertigo at the Banyan Tree is one of them. This al fresco restaurant that sits on the rooftop, 61 floors above the city is the perfect place to enjoy mouthwatering seafood and steak as the sun goes down. Climb the glass stairs from floor 60 and walk out into possibly the most glamorous alfresco restaurant on Earth. You can enjoy a pre-dinner drink at the Moon Bar, which shares the rooftop. Or you can take the party here afterwards and quaff a liqueur or two under the stars. HIGH POINT: While you chow down on the five-star food you can enjoy breathtaking views of the Grand Palace, Chao Phraya River and Wat Pho. Travel By Lightfoot | www.travelbylightfoot.com

THE ONE THAT’S OPEN 24 HOURS A DAY

Duck & Waffle, UK

Dine from dawn till dusk in the UK’s highest restaurant. Located on the 40th floor of Heron Tower in London, this glamorous restaurant offers breathtaking views of some of the city’s most iconic buildings. While you’re there order the restaurant’s namesake dish: a crispy confit duck leg topped with a fried egg and served on a waffle whipped up by Chef Dan Doherty. HIGH POINT: It really is open 24 hours. So no matter what time you touch down in the Old Smoke, you can head to Duck & Waffle, order your favourite dish and enjoy a view to die for.

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THE ONE THAT REVOLVES

360 Bar And Dining, Australia

At the top of the Sydney Tower, you’ll find the 360 Bar and Dining restaurant. You never have to worry about not getting the perfect view as this restaurant revolves. Every 80 minutes the restaurant does a full 360-degree revolution treating you to the ultimate view of Sydney Harbour and beyond. Expect yellow fin tuna served with lime dressing, Sydney Rock oysters with chardonnay cider and beef cheeks with baby leeks. HIGH POINT: Each month selected winemakers from around the globe join the restaurant for a wine pairing with a difference.

THE ONE IN THE WORLD’S TALLEST BUILDING

At.mosphere Restaurant and Lounge, UAE

At.mosphere can be found on Level 122 of the tallest building in the world. Climb into the elevator of the Burj Khalifa and get ready to be whisked at a dizzying speed to 442 metres above the ground. Guests can take in staggering views of the Arabian Gulf while dining on dishes such as Confit Veal Belly, Salt Bush Lamb and Shuriva Caviar. HIGH POINT: You could enjoy dinner at your local restaurant, or you could enjoy a meal at the highest restaurant in the world!

EDITOR'S NOTE — “Good food with a great view, what’s not to love?” MICHEL ROUX JR Travel By Lightfoot | www.travelbylightfoot.com

S W I T Z E R L A N D

T O U R I S M

P R E S E N T S

The SLOW LIFE in Lugano Stefan Jermann takes a fast-train ride to the leisurely canton of Ticino

ürich is a slick 21st-century metropolis. It’s fun, fast-paced and a constant whirlwind of activity. However, not every Swiss person likes this hectic way of life. Some choose to do things at a less hurried pace — some people choose the slow life. So as a devout city slicker I decide to find out about how the other half live and catch a train to the canton of Ticino, the most laid-back region of Switzerland. This idyllic region that borders Italy, comes with lush valleys, cerulean rivers and endless sunshine. If Swiss clocks didn’t run to time, this is one place where they'd run slower. Strangely enough, it’s the new fast-paced train line that will get me there. I catch the train at Zürich main station, which whisks me through the Gotthard Base Tunnel

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underneath the Alps, and arrives in sunny Lugano in just over two hours. As we move further towards the border, I am ready to shed the warm clothes I needed in Zürich, and pull on a pair of shorts and T-shirt. We pass through the hills of Malcantone where thanks to the Mediterranean climate, outstanding Merlot wines are produced. With the mix of dreamy landscapes, Mediterranean climate and Italian vibe, I feel as if I’m on holiday. I leave the train behind at Lugano, and catch a short funicular ride to the centre, where I go for a stroll through a picturesque park filled with colourful rhododendrons and statuesque cypress trees. Children are whizzing past me on their bicycles, but they are the fastest thing here. The whole city moves in a relaxed low gear.

“Tucked between the arcade of little streets is the holy grail of delicatessen shops” TIME TO TAKE IT SLOW Three more ways that you can wind down in Ticino Room with a view: Arte Al Lago

BE A LOCAVORE Take a seat at the one-star Michelin restaurant Arte Al Lago at Villa Castagnola and you will be served fish caught fresh from the lake.

Daytripping on Lake Lugano.

PHOTOGRAPHY: SWISS-IMAGE.CH/ANDREAS GERTH, SWISS-IMAGE.CH/ CHRISTOF SONDEREGGER, SWISS-IMAGE.CH/NICO SCHAERER

The view from Monte Bre at sunset.

An elderly woman stops to pass the time of day. Taking pity on the worn-out city slicker she suggests I go for a stroll along the Olive Tree Trail, which runs alongside the lake. Taking her advice I wander along the short trail that brings me out on to a terrace filled with ancient olive trees and offers jawdropping views of Lake Lugano. I breathe myrtles, cypresses and laurels that are often found in flavoursome pasta sauces. It's a sensory overdrive and it doesn’t take long before my mouth starts watering. So I head to the town to find the Piazza della Riforma. For tucked between the arcades of the little streets and high-end luxury retailers is the holy grail of delicatessen shops. Domenico Gabbani launched the delicatessen on Via Pessina in 1937 and it’s since expanded into a butchery, bakery, bar, restaurant and boutique hotel. I can’t help

LEAVE THE CAR BEHIND Guests staying in hotels in Ticino can apply for a Ticino Ticket, which lets you use public transport for free and get discounts on cable car rides, boat trips and local tourist attractions.

but to grab myself a serving of salami and a dish of Mozzarella di Bufala. If I had the time I’d stay here for a week and try everything that Gabbani has got to offer. However, there’s one more foodie pilgrimage that I need to make while I am here and that’s to one of Lugano’s famous grottos. These former stone dwellings used by farmers to store wine and cheese have now been turned by locals into mini restaurants. One Lugano gem is Grotto Morchino, which is run by the Olgiati family. This tiny eatery on the edge of town, has been welcoming visitors since 1842. I take a seat at one of its wooden tables, and get ready to enjoy some of the dishes that they have become famous for. The menu changes depending on what produce they can buy. Today I get to choose from roasted pork knuckle, delicious Ossobuco, which is a veal shank braised in wine, and minestrone. I order the minestrone and with each slurp from my spoon I can taste 100 years of culinary history. I then tuck into the pork knuckle and wash my lunch down with a jug of Merlot, which comes served in the traditional ceramic boccalino. While the rest of Switzerland, happily pours their wine straight from the bottle, grottos in Switzerland still prefer to serve their vintages in these striped ceramic jugs. Like everything else that they do, it is about celebrating the food. It’s about taking high quality local ingredients and giving them the respect they deserve. To burn off the calories, I head towards the Paradiso district and walk along the lake. The sun has already set and the magic hour turns the lake and the mountain landscape into a captivating painting. I can see why they call this place ‘paradise’. I wish I had time to hike up to Mount San Salvatore. From the top of the mountain you can even see the Alps of Savoy — that’s as close as you get to heaven.

A traditional Swiss grotto.

VISIT A GROTTO Former stone homesteads have been turned into restaurants that serve up local dishes on outdoor grills and wine in ceramic bowls.

Enjoy a boat ride on Lake Lugano.

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FAMILY —

B E S T

F O O D I E

HOLIDAYS for

KIDS

Whether you’ve got a foodie fanatic or a picky eater in the family, we’ve found a few trips that are sure to tempt their tastebuds

1. FEAST ON FISH IN DENMARK

Nothing tastes as good as fresh crab — particularly when you've caught it yourself.

Whether your tots are large or small, you can have an aquatic adventure in Denmark. Tiny tots will love to visit Hundested Harbour that is just an hour’s drive outside Copenhagen. Here kids can learn about the fauna of the sea and fish for fresh crabs from tanks that are filled by local fisherman. Or if your children are a little older you can head to Øresund near Malmo where you can hire a boat to bring in your own catch. STAY AT: In the land of Hans Christian Andersen you would expect a magical hideaway. And that’s just what you get with the Tivoli Hotel. The family hotel comes with themed suites for children, featuring big tops, guard huts and princess beds.

Getting to grips with vegetables in Bali.

The Four Seasons Sayan kids club.

2. PLANT RICE IN BALI If you want your kids to think a little greener, take them on a foodie adventure with a difference in Ubud, Bali. Kids will be able to don the traditional farmer’s outfits and join the gardeners from the Four Seasons Sayan in its squelchy, muddy paddy fields. During their time in the fresh air, kids will have the chance to learn about how rice grows, how to plant the baby shoots and how to separate the grain from the chaff. STAY AT: Hidden by the lush Ayung River you will find the Four Seasons Sayan. This boutique resort is the perfect place to get away from it all. Once your tots have planted their rice and taken a tour of the garden, they can learn Balinese crafts at the Pici Pici kids club, which is a bamboocovered rice barn tucked away in the jungle.

“Kids will have the chance to don the traditional outfits and join the planting in the garden and paddy fields”

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A traditional market trader with her produce.

3. HIT THE MARKETS IN VIETNAM If you want to make sure your kids eat their five a day, take them on a culinary adventure in Vietnam. Highway 4 in Hanoi, will take your family on a cyclo tour of a local street market Children having before showing you how to whip fun at Highway 4. up tasty Vietnamese dishes in their kitchen. The Hanoi Cooking Centre also offers cooking classes for kids. Plus they can have their face painted afterwards. STAY AT: The historic Sofitel Legend Metropole. This family-friendly hotel has both an indoor and outdoor playground and a huge swimming pool that is ready to explore.

4. MAKE PIZZA IN ROME When in Rome… learn to make pizza! Head to Navona Square in Rome to whip up a dish just like mama used to make. During the mini masterclass, your tots will have the chance to visit one of the city’s best pizzerias. Here they can select their favourite ingredients, learn how to make the dough and bake their pizza in a stone oven. And if that’s not good enough, they can celebrate all their hard work by sampling their creation. STAY AT: Hotel De Russie. Tots are sure to love the Froggy teddy bear that they will be gifted on arrival and the special Families R Forte passport. Within the passport they can put the special visa sticker from their stay and write about their Italian adventures. Other pintsized treats that kids are sure to love include baby bath products, hooded towels and rubber ducks!

WORDS TOM&TEDDY. PHOTOGRAPHY NICLAS JESSEN/VISIT DENMARK, ISTOCK, JARED TARBELL/WIKI COMMONS, TONYA COLSON

The picturesque city of Rome.

Cook up a treat in a traditional pizza restaurant.

5. ENJOY A DESERT PICNIC IN DUBAI

Top: The Arabian oryx. Above: Your desert picnic filled with Arabian treats awaits.

Once they’ve built their sandcastles and had a splash in the water parks, take your little ones on a desert adventure with a difference. Frying Pan Adventures offer an array of foodie tours that are sure to tempt their tastebuds. From walking tours around the city where they get to sample the best Middle Eastern and Indian food, to a picnic in the desert where they get to enjoy local, organic and homemade delicacies. STAY AT: The Jumeirah Mina A' Salam. Children at this glamorous resort will not only have access to the giant Sinbad’s Kids Club, but will also be able to visit the turtle lagoon, which is part of Jumeirah’s Turtle Rehabilitation Project. Here rescued turtles build up their strength before the team return them to the ocean.

EDITOR'S NOTE — “I think it’s so important to get kids to not only learn about nutrition in food, but also simply just to enjoy it too, so I love this story idea.” MICHEL ROUX JR

DREAM LIFE Bjorn Low

—

Singapore’s

SKYSCRAPER FARMS

We meet the ex-advertising manager who has taken farming to new heights in the Lion City

“We have attracted a new wave of farmers — some are aerospace engineers"

jorn Low is not your average farmer. He chooses long-sleeved hipster tees over tweed jackets and wooden crates over acres of fields… But within four short years, the 35-year-old entrepreneur has shown everyone what the future of farming could look like in Singapore. Since he launched his company Edible Garden City in 2012, Low has created 50 urban farms in car parks, schools, hotels, private homes and rooftops in the Lion City. The former advertising exec returned to Singapore after leaving his job in London and gaining a degree in agriculture. Low and his wife wanted to embrace the slow life and run a farm as a social enterprise in Singapore. However, as the island is so overpopulated, land was

proving to be too expensive and their dream looked as if it would be put on hold. But, while the Lows were searching for a plot, fate took over. One of Low’s friends, Chef Bjorn Shen asked him if he could help them out with a dilemma that he was facing. Shen had been trying to grow fresh herbs for his Middle Eastern-inspired restaurant Artichoke, but so far each crop had failed. He asked Low if he could install a garden in his restaurant so that he could pick the herbs as and when he needed them. “I wasn’t trained in building gardens or landscaping, I was trained in biodynamic agriculture,” says Low. “But this is how it [Edible Garden City] started.” Low faced a tough brief. He needed to create a garden for Shen that would not only grow the crops he wanted,

Clockwise from left: The Edible Garden City at Wheelock Place on Orchard Road. A crop of Indian borage. Passionfruit being grown by Low's team at Raffles City.

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but look aesthetically pleasing in his award-winning restaurant. After returning to the drawing board three times, Low was able to create a vertical garden that would tick all the proverbial boxes. Low had unwittingly found a niche in the market. He found out that when it came to more unusual ingredients the chefs had to import them. The large farms in Singapore chose to concentrate on mass market plants such as leafy greens. With a small farm, Low would be able to cater to these more bespoke orders. And thanks to his work for Shen he also realised that he didn’t need acres of farmland to achieve the end result. He could turn any under-utilised patch of land into a potential garden. At his next urban farm in Hort Park, Low started to look at what crops he could grow in the environment. “I tried a lot of different crops – courgettes, small French radishes… They were all possible,” says Low. “I knew that I would need to focus on growing high value, niche product. I didn’t have the space to grow produce in bulk so I would focus on micro greens and unique herbs for

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restaurants.” He also worked on reviving local vegetables such as mani cai and ulam raja and even took chefs on foraging trips to show them which plants grow naturally in this environment. Over the next five years, he launched urban farms on the rooftops of malls such as Raffles City and Wheelock Place on the glittering Orchard Road, and joined with restaurants such as Jamie’s Italian and Open Farm Community, where he now runs a 20,000 square foot farm. His staff increased to 22 people, with backgrounds that are as varied as the crops that they are growing. “Eighty per cent of our team are university graduates with different areas of expertise. Some are aerospace engineers… We have attracted a new wave of farmers,” says Low. However, while it looks as if Low has moved forward with leaps and bounds, at times they have faced some huge challenges — issues often created due to their concrete locations and their need to make their farms look as picturesque as possible. The sun-drenched rooftops can

PHOTOGRAPHY: EDIBLE GARDEN CITY

“He realised that he could turn any under-utilised patch of land into a potential garden"

prove a harsh climate for some plants and the fact that they shun ugly greenhouses and nets, they often invite attacks from pests such as caterpillars. But the team are pleased to say that they have found an organic solution to unwelcome visitors. “We find the best solution is to have diversity in the planting,” says Low. “Instead of monocropping, we have diversity. So that the pests don’t attack everything. We also spread out the crops so if they attack one area, we still have a backup. When we supply restaurants we need to make sure that there isn’t a break in supply.” While Low set about creating mini farms on the rooftops of the city, he stuck to his idea of creating a social enterprise, by showing schools and communities how they could build their own urban farms. His latest social enterprise is the one he’s most proud of. He is about to open an 800-square-metre farm near Queenstown in Singapore, which will be staffed by adults with disabilities. Low’s plan for Citizen Farm is to become so successful that he can hire 20 beneficiaries from vulnerable groups within two years. Low dreams that one day, each rooftop in Singapore will have a garden. But with people like Low and his fellow farmers routing for that, we’ve no doubt that the Garden City could become the Edible Garden City in no time at all.

Clockwise from left: Nature embracing the cinnamon basil being grown at Raffles City. The rooftop garden at Oxwell & Co on Ann Siang Road. The garden at Raffles City in Singapore.

EDITOR'S NOTE — “I’m involved in Growing Underground, which is a farm 36 metres underground in London so I’m very interested in this opposite.” MICHEL ROUX JR Travel By Lightfoot | www.travelbylightfoot.com

â&#x20AC;&#x153;The scale and grandeur of everything in Paris amazed me when I first visited "

Raymond Blanc

INSPIRATION —

RAYMOND BLANC’S PARIS The Michelin-star chef takes Max Wooldridge on a gourmet tour of Paris

“P The iconic Eiffel Tower.

aris is so much about a celebration of food,” says the top French chef Raymond Blanc: He is giving me a crash course in culinary life à la Parisienne. It is Saturday morning and Blanc has left his Oxfordshire restaurant Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons behind to escort me to one of his favourite culinary experiences in Paris. It’s not a restaurant, bistro or café — it’s a wonderful fresh food market called Marché Président Wilson. It’s in the 16th arrondissement on the Avenue du Président Wilson, a street named after the former U.S. Head of State. Situated between Rue Debrousse and Place d’Iéna, the market (also known as the Pont de l’Alma market) is open on Wednesdays and Saturdays from early morning until early afternoon. “The food markets in Paris are incredible,” Blanc enthuses to me. “There are some of the best in the world here. For me this is the best.” And it is immediately abundantly clear that food markets in Paris like this one are a way of life — a living, breathing entity and so much more than just a place to buy fresh produce. The market is a wonderful snapshot of Parisian daily life, a lively gathering of vendors and regulars catching up with each other. Travel By Lightfoot | www.travelbylightfoot.com

Clockwise from above: The award-winning cheese at Fromagerie Laurent Dubois. A Bateaux Mouches dinner cruise on the Seine. Ardoise charcutière by L'Atelier Maître Albert. The grand salon at L'Atelier Maître Albert. Diners enjoying lunch on the terrace of Les Deux Magots. Some of the famed Parisian macarons.

“Each time I visit Paris I find something new, discover a great new café, bistro or terrace” Below: The Pierre Gagnaire restaurant. Below: One of the colourful markets in Paris.

We pass colourful displays of fresh fish, delivered early that morning from the Breton and Norman coasts. Friendly vendors sell the freshest shrimps, lobsters, mussels, oysters and snails. “This market has the most extraordinary food imaginable. The best quality produce, the freshest fish, fruits, vegetables and cheeses,” Blanc says. “Ooh la la,” he adds. Raymond Blanc says this phrase in person a lot, just like he does on TV. It’s like it is the famous chef ’s own seal of quality, an official verbal sanction for when something meets his approval. I hear it frequently during my day with him in Paris. “This market is a very special place,” Blanc enthuses. “It’s all about proud people selling local produce.” We follow our noses towards the west of the street where we find gastro delights galore: freshly-made paellas, quiches and beef bourguignon cooking in open pots. There are also Middle Eastern dishes made with herbs and olive oil simmering on pans that look like metal drums. Then we come across stalls selling rotisserie chicken, with potatoes cooked in dripping. The aroma is heavenly. There are plenty of “dégustations gratuites” (free samples), including coarse country pâté and foie gras. Near the market we catch sight of a boat on the Seine. This is one of the popular Bateaux Mouches sightseeing cruises that ply their daily trade along the river year in, year out. “Even if you’re not a first-time visitor to Paris you should do all the touristy stuff,” Blanc advises me. “A river

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trip along the River Seine is a fabulous way to get your bearings. Some people may sneer at these river cruises, but there is no better way to discover the city. It is brilliant, and takes in all the landmarks. You see the best of Paris. “You might want to avoid the tourist cafés around Montmartre, however. They can be almost too touristy. The best time to go to Montmartre is at sunrise, maybe after you’ve been out partying all night. It’s a great place to see Paris waking up — a whole city coming back to life while some people are still celebrating.” Blanc grew up in a small village in the Franche-Comté region of France, but admits he didn’t discover Paris until he was in his 20s. Although he remembers his first impressions of the City of Light as though it was yesterday: “The scale and grandeur of everything in Paris amazed me when I first visited,” he recalls. “The huge avenues, and the way they created light and space. I was also bowled over by Paris’s rich artistic and literary history. The world’s greatest writers and artists came here... “Ēmile Zola is my favourite writer. He wrote so brilliantly about the cuisine of Paris. His descriptions of food were marvellous. Ooh la la! “I love Paris, like everyone, but I’m not an expert,” Blanc says modestly. “I just know a lot of chefs and gardeners!” Blanc tells me about his favourite Parisian restaurants. “I have my old favourite haunts like Les Deux Magots, or bistros with real character like the L’Atelier Maître Albert, Le Beurre Noisette or Les Petites Sorciēres. “But the great thing is, each time I visit Paris I find

TA K E M E H E R E Gourmands looking for a place to stay should head to one of these hotels that come complete with Michelin-stars

EPICURE Le Bristol If it’s good enough for a president, it’s good enough for us. When Nicolas Sarkozy was installed in the Elysée Palace, it’s said that he often popped around the corner to the three-star Epicure restaurant. But with dishes such as macaroni stuffed with black truffle, who can blame him?

Above: Carpaccio de maigre at L'Atelier Maître Albert. An artist in Montmatre.

PHOTOGRAPHY: BATEAUX MOUCHES, PARISINFO.COM, @LAURENCE MOUTON

ALAIN DUCASSE

something new, discover a great new café, bistro or a terrace café.” We lunch at one of Raymond Blanc’s favourite restaurants, the three-Michelin starred Pierre Gagnaire. “Pierre is one of the best chefs in Europe,” says Blanc. The chefs have prepared for us a couple of dishes including pan fried fillet of farm veal with aromatic herbs, which is carved in front of us. A trip to Paris wouldn’t be the same without a huge chunk of cheese. We head to Fromagerie Laurent Dubois to see Blanc’s favourite cheese-maker. He is a Meilleur Ouvrier de France, the highest rank given to a cheesemonger in France. Dubois has three fromagerie shops in Paris, selling 150 different cheeses. We are in a tasting room near his shop in Rue de Lourmel in Dupleix. We try several of his excellent cheeses, from a lovely Normandy Camembert from the salty meadows of the Cotentin Peninsula to a marvellous Tartuffe, a Comte made with truffles. “The aim with cheese is emotion after degustation,” Dubois tells us. We wholeheartedly agree but our mouths are too full of his produce to reply. Instead we nod our approval. All I can hear is Blanc’s trademark “ooh la la” coming from somewhere. Maybe it’s stuck in my head.

Plaza Athenée A French restaurant that doesn’t serve steak? Incroyable! Well, it hasn’t stopped the king of French cookery from claiming a third Michelin star for his glamorous Parisian eatery. But with a meatfree menu that features dishes such as vegetable lemonade, buckwheat pancakes and caviar and lobster with candied clementines, who’s going to miss it?

EDITOR'S NOTE — “I have always loved Paris. It’s a place that is very close to my heart.” MICHEL ROUX JR

SUR MESURE BY THIERRY MARX Mandarin Oriental Paris Within six months of opening Sur Mesure was awarded two Michelin stars. The molecular magician serves up a six-course tasting menu in an all-white restaurant so that it doesn’t detract from the food. Expect dishes such as pork backbone with fava beans and shellfish mousse and caviar crostini, which are all designed to leave you with the wow factor.

Why have a holiday when you can have an experience of a lifetime? Book a tailor-made journey with the experts at Lightfoot Travel.

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EXCLUSIVE —

MATTER OF TASTE Explorer and survivalist Ed Stafford reveals the worse things he has ever eaten on his travels The TV adventurer Ed Stafford is famed for being dropped into the wilds of Borneo, Africa and the Amazon, and then left to fend for himself. Not every day in the jungle has resulted in a culinary feast. In fact, those of you who have watched his show Marooned on the Discovery Channel will know that some of the things he has had to eat are pretty

dreadful. So we asked the record-breaking explorer what are the worst things that he has ever eaten…. Ed Stafford has just started filming his latest episode of Marooned for the Discovery Channel in Laos. Look out for it on the small screen soon.

SKUNK

RAT

Arizona, USA “It was when I was in the Arizona Desert filming for the Discovery Channel. I saw that something had been moving the rock that I used to cover my fresh water at night. I thought it might be a rabbit. I decided to make a deadfall trap to catch it. However, it turned out that it wasn’t a bunny rabbit, but a skunk. Things got even worse when I was skinning the skunk and I managed to cut through the stinky gland sack. Would I eat it again? No!”

Gobi Desert “Rats are abundant in most places in the world. I was trying to survive in the Gobi Desert with no tools and I noticed that there was evidence of small rodents so I set some traps — basically large flat rocks balanced over bait. The majority of a rat tastes nice — honestly, it’s fine. Just like carbonised meat! But there is always one tangy bit that makes me screw my face up – the intestines. I suspect I would eat it again as it’s a survival staple.”

ELECTRIC EEL

OCELOT

Brazilian Amazon “I arrived at a village carved out of the trees. We asked if we could stay and the owner of the house offered us what he called “puma”. It had been killing the village chickens and so they had shot it. It was gamey as it had been hanging for weeks and it kept me up all night with stomach pains. The man showed me the skin in the morning. It was an ocelot. I don’t recommend eating cat but if I had to — I’d want a fresh one.”

Brazilian Amazon “One damp morning in the Amazon, I waded into the dark waters to retrieve my catch of fish. One fish looked longer than the rest and when I grabbed it, I soon realised that this fish was an eel as it sent an electric shock up my arm and through my chest. It was rubbery and chewy and probably the worse tasting fish in the river! I might eat it again, but only in emergencies.”

And The Best Thing He’s Ever Eaten…

TADPOLES

Patagonia “I was trying to survive in Northern Patagonia and was eyeing up my fishing possibilities when I noticed a cluster of tadpoles. Protein was the word that went through my head so I scooped out 30 or so and toasted them by the fire on a deer scapula. However, they tasted revolting. You’d have to pay me a lot to eat them again.”

GOAT LEG

Adventurer Ed Stafford.

Olorua, Fiji “The best thing I’ve ever eaten is slow cooked goat leg that I cooked in an underground oven on the uninhabited island of Olorua. It was so tender I could have bitten through the soft meat with no teeth. Yes. It was truly extraordinary.”

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IF YOU DO ONE THING THIS YEARâ&#x20AC;Ś

The Lovedale Long Lunch in Hunter Valley.

Book A Progressive Lunch If you love nothing better than a leisurely brunch, this is the event for you. For those who are yet to be in the know, a progressive lunch is designed so you can enjoy a starter, entrĂŠe and dessert in an entirely different venue. The Lovedale Long Lunch is one such event designed to tickle your tastebuds. It's held in Hunter Valley from 20 to 21 May

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2017. You can sample award-winning vintages and gourmet food, to the sound of live music. If you can't make it to New South Wales, book the Bali Food Safari, which operates all year round. On an evening of your choice they'll whisk you from one chic restaurant to another on the tropical isle. Visit www.lovedalelonglunch.com.au and www.balifoodsafari.com

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