There’s a quiet culinary uprising catching on in Norway; a new-found pride and a change in attitude towards food traditions. This has given rise to the production of local and organic produce which people in the know claim is the result of their climatic conditions and landscape. To find out what makes fjord food so distinctive, I sought the advice from food producers, chefs, artisan bakers and farmers.
From Cheese…
Following a brief ferry trip …
If you are bored with the uniformity of five-star hotels and prefer personalized treatment, a daily gourmet food experience, sport followed by wellness to recover, you want to read on.
The 89-roomed Grand Park, with its understated elegance and obliging service staff, is Bad Hofgastein’s only five-star hotel. Its location is perfection, in the midst of the Alps, the gateway to world-class hiking and skiing. The hotel itself, Georgian in style, is located well for …
Fifty-two miles south of Salzburg, surrounded by the imposing Austrian Alps, with their broad slopes and wide runs, is the piste-perfect ski resort of Grossarl – an idyllic winter sports mini break in a picture postcard setting.
The hotel to call home is the 4 star-superior Grossarler Hof, a member of the Small Luxury Hotels of the World group. They opened in 2009 and already have a host of awards and accolades.
Committed to nature …
In the 19th century, Flachau was Austria’s regional centre of iron smelting. Now though, it’s one of the largest ski resorts in Ski amadé with 270 lifts and 760km of slopes, snowboarding, tobogganing, tubing, cross-country and downhill skiing. The village has combined technology with top-class ski facilities and has modern lifts sweep skiers above manicured slopes, whisking them to the top of the mountain. Long quiet runs cater for everyone – from beginners, to connoisseurs, …
Considered the jewel of the Austrian Alps, the Gastein Valley lies an hour south of Salzburg, in the heart of the majestic Austrian Alps. Other than the fantastic thermal spa and panoramic views of the Hohe Tauern National Park, the mountains surrounding Gastein are what it’s all about.
From the west side of the valley, cable cars rise two miles to the summit of Stubnerkogel. From there, a variety of ski runs and several lifts …
Now is the time for wine and nature lovers to rejoice; not only do Sussex vineyards produce beautiful wines, they also provide opportunities to sample, tour the vineyards and meet the Vintners.
Fizz On Foot, who offers guided walk and wine tasting tours, combine the great outdoors with walks through great British wine country. From a one-day buffet lunch and wine-tasting tour to a four-day, several vineyards trek, you’ll see the spectacular Sussex countryside as …
Lately I’ve had a lot of bad luck with my luggage while traveling on long-haul flights. My bags were delayed three trips in a row – reaching my destination only 1 to 3 days after I had arrived. After these three consecutive luggage mishaps, I was confident the airlines could not mess up a fourth time.
They didn’t – but my bout of bad luck did not end with that fourth flight. Arriving at Paris …
DEAL (COUNTY KENT) & BENTLEY
Like all of England, the rural landscape is manicured, clean and precise – the habits of an old and fastidious land where the great British tradition of an afternoon tea in a quirky worn-around-the-edges Tea Room is a prerequisite. Driving a Bentley Continental GT Speed (Conti Speed) through the rolling vastness of Kent’s achingly beautiful countryside, I head to Deal and the promise of finding one such remote temple to …
WALES & LOTUS
Wales is home to Tom Jones, Anthony Hopkins, Catherine Zeta Jones, the world’s oldest language and more castles per square mile than any other place on Earth. It’s an old and fastidious land of charmed, dreamy landscapes; farmhouses and snug villages tucked away amongst deep woodlands in the most inaccessible lush places.
At Heathrow Airport, Bespokes Car Hire handed me the keys to a Lotus Evora, a 3.5-litre V6 missile. With its …
From sticky toffee pudding and gastro pubs, to farmers markets and heritage meat farms, our editor Cindy-Lou Dale rekindles our national love-affair with Cumbria, seeking out purveyors of fine food and taste-testing her way across the Lake District.
If you’re an inquisitive cook you’ll no doubt like exploring new tastes which is why you need to begin your Cumbrian Food Trail at the Cartmel Village Shop – an artisan handmade pudding company and home of …
Visitors in the Seattle area looking for a quick getaway might want to check out Whidbey Island, one of the most scenic and accessible destinations in the Pacific Northwest. Within an hour of leaving North Seattle, travelers can arrive on this island via a 20-minute ride from the Mukilteo ferry landing.
Upon debarking in Clinton, visitors should start their travels at the town of Langley. Pick up a cup of coffee at Useless Bay Coffee; …
Dozens of dabbawallas congregate under a tall Banyan tree; more arrive every minute. I watched these tiffin carrying deliverymen sort out the lunch boxes at a frantic pace, then load the steel tiffins onto their bicycles and push carts. Soon groups of three or four dabbawalas push carts laden with hundreds of tiffins along the middle of the road. They’re all clad in long cotton loincloths called dhoti’s, loose cotton shirts and white wide-band Gandhi …
From Cabo San Lucas to San Jose del Cabo, hotels and restaurants are showcasing wine and spirit experiences.
If your liquid memories of Baja, Mexico are limited to cheap tequila shots or six-packs of Corona, it’s time to return to Los Cabos and kick it up a notch. To match the sophistication of its vibrant farm-to-table culinary scene, a number of resorts and local restaurants are creating bespoke opportunities for guests to experience and learn …
Napa Valley in California; Tuscany in Italy; The Rioja region in Spain; and….Michigan? While the aforementioned destinations are top of mind as a wine lovers paradise, don’t overlook this lesser known but beautiful hidden gem just 90 minutes out of Chicago.
All up and down the southern shore of Lake Michigan are more than a dozen individual wineries often set on lush grounds offering a number of varietals. Some tasting rooms are private and require …
