Travels for Taste

Tales of travel and food with a touch of spice

  • Home
  • About
    • In the Press, Published Work and Interviews
    • PR and Disclosure Policy
  • Food
    • Recipe Index
      • Indian
        • C.K.P recipes
        • Curry – Meat, Seafood
        • Curry – Vegetarian
        • Sides
        • Chutneys
      • Healthy
        • Soups
        • Salads
      • Quick and Easy
      • Baking
        • Desserts
      • Meat
      • Seafood
      • Vegetarian
        • Salads
      • Vegan
    • Product Reviews
    • Events
  • Travel
    • UK
    • India
    • Around the World
  • Lifestyle
    • Home
    • Kitchen
    • Restaurant Reviews
    • Miscellaneous
  • Giveaways
  • Work with me
    • Meet interesting foodie entrepreneurs here

A chilly afternoon,a tea Party and a good cause!

September 18, 2013 by manjirichitnis 6 Comments

The sudden change in weather and cold afternoons call for multiple cups of tea  and nothing seems more apt than delicatley brewed spiced tea packed in tiny muslin pouches which mum gifted me.I love reading and sipping on this spiced tea in my new Polka blue tea cup courtesy Royal Albert Uk. It just makes me feel so very pampered and Queen like 🙂

It’s not often that one walks home from a pop up tea party after having a whale of a time with fellow foodies and posing with cute props,not to mention that this was to help raise funds for Breast Cancer Care. The pop pink goody bag and a Royal Albert tea cup and diary to take home just made this experience even more awesome.

At the #RATeaTour13 at London Spitalfields on the 7th of Sept, my fellow blogger buddies  Nisha of My Kitchen Antics,Suchi of Kitchen Karma and Vaishali who blogs at Of Cloves & Capers and I feasted on some pink fairy cakes and posed with bright pink furs for some pictures.

DSCF0495 (Copy)

DSCF0500 (Copy)

IMG_4642

a cuppa fit for a queen

Polka Blue tea cup

 

 

Do support this lovely cause, the tea tour will next be held on  on Saturday 28th and Sunday 29th  at Parsons Green.

Filed Under: Events, Food Tagged With: Breast Cancer care, london, Polka blue, Royal Albert UK, Spitalfields, tea

Demystifying Tapas – ‘TAPAS REVOLUTION’ – Chef Omar Allibhoys new cookbook

August 9, 2013 by manjirichitnis 16 Comments

Excited that I would be meeting the young and talented Chef Omar Allibhoy at the Launch of his Book called Tapas Revolution at his Tapas bar by the same name I couldn’t wait to get myself to The Balcony at Westfield,Shepherd’s Bush. The district Line managed to live upto its reputation of being the most non trustworthy of all the tubes lines with delays and finally after 3 changes I managed to reach the venue! Gaah!

Any feelings of angst soon vanished when the I saw familiar faces at the Tapas Bar. A few of the food bloggers I met at FBC’5 were there and as the evening progressed I met some more interesting foodies. It’s the best part of being a foodies, talking food with like-minded people and feeling totally normal discussing spices,ingredients, chefs and cookbooks, never a dry spell in conversation I say.In all we were a  group of about ten to fifteen food bloggers invited to Chef Omar’s book launch – TAPAS REVOLUTION – 120 simple CLASSIC Spanish dishes.

What followed was an evening of great food, lots of Sangria (for me), an insight into Spain’s rich culinary traditions and of course lots of picture-taking,posing for pictures and in my case eating some foods I have never dared to try until now!

If one thing is apparent as I  watch Chef Omar effortlessly dishing out one plateful of flavour after another is his passion for food. All of 29 this young man has taken it upon himself , a mission of sorts to revolutionize the Spanish Tapas and put them firmly on the U.K Map and as Tom Parker Bowles of the Mail on Sunday has said ”….with this talent,passion and dedication the revolution’s in good hands” and mind you all this and his Charm and good looks is a perfect combination for success! Lucky for us especially knowing the humble beginnings of Tapas which literally meant ‘tapa’ or ‘to cover’ and according one of the theories of their origin they were served free to cover one’s drink and save it from flies!

Chef Omar and his cheerful team orchestrated the whole evening well ,after all not a mean task to serve 14 different dishes perfectly plated and all this while ensuring that our glasses never ran dry!

Some of the mouth-watering delights we tucked into :

Jamon (Ham) Ibe’rico – Ibe’rico  ham gets its rich nutty flavour from the  pigs that roam freely in the woodlands of Spain eating acorns and herbs.

 Salmorejo – Bread served with Chilled and  divine Tomato dip called Salmorejo – a chilled tomato dip traditionally from Seville.  I am not ashamed to admit that I wiped off every last drop of the Salmorejo dip off my plate and all this with a very innocent face and while making polite conversation;)This dip is very similar to the cold cucumber soup or Gazpacho because it is served chilled.

resized - best of the evening3

BOQUERONES – Anchovies Marinated in black olives,red onion,paprika and cumin (Image on the top of collage)

Pimientos De Padron‘ – Fried Padron Peppers (Image on the bottom of collage)

resized - best of the evening

Tortilla De Patatas – Spanish Omlette with Charlotte Potatoes served with a dip called ALIOLI or Mayonnaise made with – get this MILK!

tortilla, and with an aioli made with MILK

I was now feeling like a true Spaniard and was thanking the generous crew with my new favourite Spanish word ”Muchas Gracias” though instead of the quick and correct way in which they seem to gently throw this word, my tongue doesn’t oblige me and as a result I get a puzzled look to my strange-sounding word.I still firmly maintain that this is going to be my most loved word in Spanish after Jamon and Pimientos.I plan to land these words on unsuspecting subjects all of next week (shall have to refrain from doing that in public particularly on the tube for fear of getting whacked by shocked commuters who would assume I was saying naughty abusive words in a foreign tongue to make them squirm in their seats while I try to balance my errremmm not so slim self un-gainfully around the pole with 5 other people trying to get their paws on it for support) hummm

Pulpo a la Gallega – Steamed octopus with potatoes and Pimenton – This dish looked so tempting that I happily ate it and only when I was home and typing this up did I realise that it’s the first time ever I have dared eat an Octopus after a singularly scary episode of eating one years ago and breaking out in a rash before I could blink, I have since steered clear of this delicacy to avoid turning into a puffer fish and scaring fellow diners away.But no any more, Tapas Rule woohoo!

Calamares fritos – deep-fried baby squid (Image on the right)

resized - best of the evening1

Pollo en pepitoria – Moorish Chicken. Chicken in saffron, cumin and vegetable sauce, honestly not my favourite  but still great depth of taste because of the saffron and cumin together some notes of taste would be similar to that of an Indian curry but with many other levels of flavour.

Chicken(Pollo) in a gracy with spices and almonds

By now our gastronomic journey had traversed from simple to exotic in about 3 platefulls and this juicy beef skewer was supremely satisfying on all counts, the sea slat hits the palate after your teeth has sunk into the meat and the spices have enveloped your mouth in an avalanche of taste – this is my clear favourite and only the Tortilla and Alioli with its surprise ingredient – Milk manage to scrape their way in as close second favorites.

Pinchos morunos con mojo picón – marinated beef skewers with a spicy dipping sauce.Everything about this dish including the dip was so perfect, I could eat this everyday and not get bored.

Beef Skewers

Breaking bread with fellow foodies today over Sangria and some Bubbly Cava ,it seemed natural to chew on a Pimento now and move onto more complex and vibrant flavours. Now am quite stuffed and happy and chatting with Li and Dee (nice ring there huh,almost musical !) and am secretly hoping no more food but they don’t seem to stop wanting to feed us!And its too good to resist anyway…

Image Below: 

Papas Arrugadas Con Mojos – Wrinkled Potatoes with Mojo – This is the Chef’s hand me down family recipe and how they do potatoes in the Canary Islands, again another spectacular dip with coriander , very tasty and appealed a lot to my Indian taste buds a lot.

Croquetas de jamón – deeped-fried Iberico ham croquettes, these look innocent but are little parcles of delight as they go from cripsy to gooey soft full throttle taste machines as you bite into them,Advance Warning – Seriously addictive and I did try and steal more than my share from the sharing platter ….obviously Unsuccesfull  and a bit let down, the crew wouldn’t have it, so they served me some Cava!!

resized - best of the evening2

The clear winner for me though was the Pinchos morunos con mojo picón which has rich, robust and full bodied taste. I am certainly going to try and cook that sometime very soon. I see a Tapas party at mine happening soon enough with a few good friends some time soon, all they need to do is bring the Cava 😉

Oh wait, just when I was about to put my camera away, we were served Crema Catalana – Catalonian Custard Pots and Churros con Chocolate.OMG! Those custard pots are bits of perfection with a crunchy caramelised top and a creamy smooth custard with hints of vanilla. And those Churros….oooooo, instantly transported me to sunny shores on a perfect summers day.It took all of me to resist not dipping my finger into the liquid chocolate.

Helen, thanks for patiently letting me attempt clicking a picture of the Churros dripping chocolate while Chef Omar urged us to give the churros a generous dunk into this brown liquid goodness.

Crema Catalana
Churros
Dripping goodness

Mind you I left the venue a convert,with Spanish Cuisine demystified and Tapas explained,many firsts for me here:

  1. First Time I dared eat Octopus Yeah!
  2. Best Calamari I ever ate
  3. First ever Book Launch
  4. 3 glasses of Sangria and was able to walk in a straight line – all thanks to how stuffed those deceptively small platefulls can make one feel! Wow

Armed with a signed copy of  Chef Omar Allibhoy’s wonderful new book – TAPAS REVOLUTION (with food pictures that give me weak knees) ,I am confident that even a novice like me can make a valiant attempt at dishing up some of the delightful tapas and learn some fun tricks along the way. The beauty of the book lies in the fact that one can source these ingredients very easily in their local supermarket or simply raid their kitchen cupboards to create something absolutely wonderful. No fuss ,no do-dah. Just pure and  simple Food – for each one of us to create a  Revolution.

2013-08-08 21.15.46
Chef,me with book

Cheers!

Muchas Gracias to the organisers for inviting me to this wonderful evening of food, fun and tipples and watch the charming Chef Omar cook us Tapas!

Filed Under: Events, Food Tagged With: acorns, ALIOLI, book launch, British Chefs, broiler hen, Canary Islands, Catalan, Catalonian Custard Pots, Cava, Charming, Chef Omar Allibhoy, Chilled Tomato Dip Boquerones, Churros con Chocolate, CLASSIC Spanish dishes, creative chef, Crema Catalana, easy recipes for tapas, eggs, England, event, Fried Calamares Pollo en Pepitoria, Fried Padron Peppers Pulpo a la Gallega, gazpacho, Ham Croquettes, hand me down recipes, herbs, ice, Jamon Iberico, Local ingredients, london, Mail on Sunday, Marinated Anchovies, Moorish Chicken, Moorish Skewers, new cookbook, octopus, Octopus with Potatoes and Pimenton Calamares Fritos, Papas Arrugadas con Mojos, passionate, Pinchos Morunos con Mojo Picon, Salmorejo with bread, Sangria, Spain, Spanish Omelettes Pimientos de Padron, Squid, talented, Tapas Revolution, Tom Parker Bowles, Tortilla de Patatas, traditional recipes, United Kingdom, westfield, Wrinkled Potatoes with Mojos Croquetas de Jamon, young

Notes from Food Blogger Connect -FBC’5

July 22, 2013 by manjirichitnis 20 Comments

I wanted to write this as soon as FBC’5 was done, didn’t want to wait a whole year to write a ”this week last year” piece like I did for last years blogger connect;) Well that’s one of the things that happens when you meet so many like minded foodies, they inspire you! Am going to try and add some snippets of each day here, hope they take you on a journey of sorts.

Day1 #FBC5: 

High on excitement and anticipation we all meet What better way to kick start the foodie bloggy weekend than with a Food Photography Workshop with Penny De Los Santos, an award wining internationally photographer (to quote from her website) from across the pond. Pennys workshop really gave me insight on how to use  light and I loved the way we could go clickety click and try our hand at different angels and all the while resist the temptation to eat the food beautifully styled by the gorgeous Emily Jonzen. I had a mini shock after the photography session was done as there was a large crowd of all the lovely bloggers who had assembled in the beautiful venue Battersea Arts Centre and were already well connecting. One thing that really came out strongly at this years Food Blogger Connect was the feeling of community , after all FOOD is a great conversation starter! Other highlights of the Day 1 were the panel discussions with David Lebovitz and Niam of food and travel blog  Eat Like a Girl. Niamh took us through a virtual tour of Canada alongwith Nim from the Canadian Travel Commission, am certainly hoping I can go there someday soon just to have the beers which have some very shall we say ”creative” names,Sparkling Ice Wine and of course Poutine.

  • Aoife Cox of The Daily Spud gave a an entertaining insight into how to create a niche blog by thinking creative .
  • My Takeaway from the speakers of Day1 #FBC5
  • David Lebovitz – ”Explore your Flaws”
  • Karen Burns Booth on getting Published in magazines ” Develop a niche and make your recipes stand apart from the rest”

Ate sushi with a twist from Dorshi Sushi who use pearl barley , now my mum would love to hear that, she’s been big on the benefits of Pearl Barley for years now! love how they use unusual ingredients and create Asian flavours, the horseradish dip was packed a powerfull punch high on taste.

Absolutely drool worthy cheese counter from La Fromagerie had one exotic cheese called Picos de Europa (Valdeon) ,described by their team as: ”Cow’s milk blue cheese covered in vine leaves, with Goat’s milk added at times of year when it is more readily available. A rich and creamy cheese with well spread blue moulds and a tangy taste similar to Roquefort.”

Penny & Emily

(Penny De Los Santos at her Photography Workshop and Emily Jonzen of Leiths School of Food and Wine dressing up plates of food)

 
Fruit Plate - food photography workshop
How to photograph Meat - food photography workshop
Good Angels for capturing food - food photography workshop
Day 1 FBC5 - Street Food

(In the pic above – Day 1 FBC 5 Street Food – Clockwise from Top Left -@LaFromagerieUK  cheese to die for , @eatdorshi – Sushi made using pearl barley @Luchito_mexico loved their chilli honey,@pigahic Thai Street Food)

Day 2 #FBC5 :

Power-packed with great speakers, rooms charged with electricity as bloggers ”connect” and Bethany’s book launch – The Jewelled Kitchen Souk. Penny De Los Santos’s session about Food and culture was delight to begin Day 2 with. Listening to Penny speak it took me on a journey through all her many exciting and some dangerous adventure assignments. I loved her pictures with Madhur Jaffery the most. Emily Jonzen’s session on food styling gave us so many valuable useful tips for food styling and presentation. 

David Lebovitz’S  Speed Blog session created quite a stir! Kerstin @MrsMarmiteLover was a powerhouse speaker, she really has done it all – from Underground farmers market, to working at as a chef at an ”anarchist vegan restaurant” , successfully starting a supper club when it was unheard of and ofcourse writing a blog and a book!The most important she said was how we women need to empower ourselves by ensuring we make a living,she is such a fine example of entrepreneurial spirit ,hats off you ye gutsy lady!

Felt I was back in college with the session of recipe writing by @AlisonBolus, so much to learn! There was very sound advice on Gluten free recipes from Holly of @PureTastePopUp and Adriana of Gluten Free 4 kids.

Some of the food bloggers who have published their own books came forward to share their experiences, I especially loved watching the video created by Juls Kitchen it took me on a Food Journey through Toscana!

On the STReat Party front

The saviour from the hot hot sun was definitely the peppery ice cream by The Peppermongers , I went back for seconds at  Luchito Mexico their  Honey dip was irresistable! @eddiechillijam thank you for the cute sample bottle am waiting to use in some fresh fish recipe that’s stuck in my head.

@PetitGateau_UK had the most lovely pop up stall and generously shared their sweet treats with us hungry bloggers.

FBC5  Day 2 pop up street food stalls

(In the pic above Clockwise from top left to right – @RenBehan put together her Polish Pop Up Stall called My Polish kitchen, Adriama Rabinovitch’s Book Gluten-free 4 kids is displayed with some gluten-free cookies – they were really tasty , the food bloggers mingle during break time, @TerraRossaUK had a pop-up stall for their exquisite Exquisite Arabian products)

Day 2 FBC5 Street Food

(In the pic above Clockwise from top left to right -@PetitGateau_UK , @peppermongers regale us with their wares  , @ lidgates Butchery Demo in progress , @eddiechillijam what a  superb chillie jame umm! , @Chobani_uk kept us going even in the hot sun with their fat free delights)

The evening was a sparkling event with @Bethanykd and the launch of her first cook book – ” The Jewelled Kitchen”, mega feast with a massive  barbecue and lots of wine, it set the mood for a relaxed evening where everyone mingled shared their life and the whole conference like feel of day 1 melted into this big happy college fest kind of gathering.

Superb Barbecue for Bethanys Book Launch

The mood on an upswing, swing in my step I walked to the station with my new found friends.

Tumbling into Day 3: Back to Battersea arts centre, I felt I was going to meet a bunch of pals for a Sunday brunch

Snippets:

  • Dana who sells Virgin Argan Oil has really helped fan the tiny flame of ideas that sits deep inside and looks for an open window where it can sit and feed it’s desire for oxygen, if I ever turn into an entrepreneur I will never forget all of Dana’s valuable advice!
  • Dana of @Arganic_UK ”Take a crazy holiday wid fellow foodies,put urself out there, research ur golden business idea”
  • Regula or @missfoodwise to the world walked us through her world of perfect branding and creating well researched identity
  • Regula speak: ”If an AD is UGLY, don’t put it on your blog!

On the STReat Party front

@Africanvolcano is the real deal with a tasty filling burger dripping with a mind blowing spicy sauce , I am glad I took bits of chicken and pork in mine!

@FunkyChickenVan loved the van, so vintage.

Day 3 FBC 5 David & Bethany

(David Lebovitz and Bethany share a laugh while they announce the lucky winners of the giveaways)

A blog post about Food Blogger connect would be incomplete with a mention of the bloggers I connected with. It was great catching up with Grace of ‘Alifeunhurried’ again this year, I am glad we are friends, just one day together at FBC last year, you are such a warm person. I have made some really cool buddies, sharing our experiences of creating our food blogs understanding what drew us to blogging and what is it that keeps us going.

  • Renne of ‘Kitchen Conundrum’ who flew in from NY
  • Sadia from ‘Baking Elements’ who is a techie geek,a baker , a mum and a part time GP- PHEW !
  • Morgan from Atlanta,Georgia who blogs at ‘Peaches Please’ (Morgan and her mum flew down from across the pond to be at FBC 5, cool!)
  • The very sweet Eleni of ‘On Top of Spaghetti’
  • The lovely blogger from Montreal Andree Ann who blogs at ‘lavoiealabouche’ and like me is a food and travel blogger – Ann you must do that post we talked about – husshh am not mentioning it here!
  • Petra who blogs at ‘Food Eat Love’
  • Kelly was another blogger who was very warm and was great meeting her again this year at FBC, I love her blog ‘Kellies Food To Glow’
  • Jackie Lee thank you so much for the brownies, hubby is still raving about them! Jackie is a Private Caterer and a Pastry Chef and blogs at ‘I am a feeder’. I loved how Jackie has used her logo as a sticker label for branding, good job girl!
  • Artemis Tsipi who blogs at ‘Wonder Food Land in English’
  • Carla who blogs at  ‘Can be bribed with Food’
  • Marica it was great talking about Indian Cuisine with you, her blog Cooking with Marica is in Italian , I like her Instagram feed!
  • Elena the Greek Food Blogger shared her interesting foodie adventures with us, she blogs at ‘Elenas Cooking’
  • Janie who blogs at ‘Hedgecombers’ has also published her first e-book called Project Egg
  • It was great fun chatting with Karen who’s blog I’ve been reading for a long time, love her photographs and writing style, her blog if you don’t already know is called ‘Lavendar and Lovage’
  • Fiona who Blogs at ‘London Unattached’ 
  • Danni who blogs at ‘Hungry Healthy Happy’ has an incredible personal journey to share, I am so looking to her for inspiration for weight loss!
  • The lovely Bintu who blogs at ‘Recipes from a pantry’. She is a mum, works and blogs, how do you do it girl?!
  • Vanesther’s blog ‘Bangers and Mash’ has great pictures and even better recipes!
  • Helen who a baker since she was 10 blogs at ‘The Diary of a Cake Maker’
  • Nayna the veggie blogger who blogs at ‘Simply Food’
  • Jacqueline, the Scottish vegetarian as she’s called on her blog ‘Tinned Tomatoes’
  • Louisa who currently blogs at ‘Chez Foti’ soon to become ‘Eat your Veg’
  • Sylvia who blogs at ‘Happiness is homemade’
  • Tina’s blog is called The Spicy Pear, how cute a name!

3 whole days of meeting and chatting with food bloggers from all over the world, eating some really tasty food at the street stalls like all good things had to come to an end. Have new personal favourites on the food front – Chobani’s delicious thick strained yogurt which is TOTALLY fat free! Moose’s Maple butter which is super smooth , tasty and spreadable ummm 

Some of us bloggers just happened to stroll into this beautiful pub on it’s very first day of business ,it’s just opposite the venue,go check it out someday folks, we were treated to some handmade pasta!

A special Thank you to @JaxCocoUK your coconut water kept me hydrated over the hot summery weekend , to @LavazzaUK for helping me kick start my days with much needed caffeine, I am so NOT a morning person , Grace and Sadia am sure will grin ear to ear when they read this bit ! Also @Tyrells crisps and @Joeandseph posh popcorn  for providing munchies for all those in between main meal hunger times 😉 Ofcourse @Chobani_UK made all the sessions just that much more interesting!

Filed Under: Events, Food Tagged With: @PetitGateau_UK, @yummychooeats, Battersea Arts Centre, Bethany Kehdy, Blurb Books, Chobani Uk, Cooklet App, David Lebovitz, Eddies Chilli Jam, Emily Jonzen, FBC5, food blogger connect, Food Cycle, Jus de Pommeraie, Lavazza Uk, Leiths School of Food and Wine, Lidgate Butchery, Luchito Mexico, Moose Maple Butter, Penny De Los Santos, Pig a Chic, Polish pop up, The Jewelled Kitchen, The Peppermongers, Tyrells Chips

Excited about Food Blogger Connect, yes am going back!

May 31, 2013 by manjirichitnis Leave a Comment

Hello hello! Along with my efforts to get things out of my drafts folder, I thought I must share that I am super excited to be going back to the Food Blogger connect, it’s happening this July. Last year I managed to only attend the LAST day but what a day it was! Action-packed and so full of activities, I met some really fun bloggers. I wish to especially mention Grace who blogs at ‘A life unhurried’ and takes the most amazing pictures!

It was a power-packed day with really informative and motivating sessions. The whole place had crazy vibrant energy going around and I came back power-packed with ideas for my blog.

I hope that this year I can really ”connect” with the other bloggers and enjoy my time and yes learn a whole lot of new stuff!

Well, let us get going then, oh yes, I will soon share pictures about FBC 4, a ”Quick Byte” with a fellow food blogger (that’s a secret for now!), and lots more! 3 cheers to Food Blogger Connect!

Im-Going-To-FBC5-Badge

Check out the Food Blogger Connect Facebook page

Follow them on Twitter  – @bloggerconnect

Let’s Connect Bloggers!

Filed Under: Events, Food Tagged With: bloggers, europe, FBC5, food blogger connect, foodblogger, inspire, london, meet, motivate, photography, slice, sliceoffme, travel blogger, write

Wine tasting on a frosty cold evening…a heart warmer

May 30, 2013 by manjirichitnis Leave a Comment

What better way to begin penning down this blog post than sip on a nice red and watch ‘The Mary Berry Story” on telly ?! I am warm and the house is toasty….but when I was rushing to go for my first ever wine tasting , London was enveloped in a blanket of snow, steadily heavier in it’s flow, it was my first ever snowfall experience…couple that with the late hour ,my hands going totally numb and my cell battery dying , it was well,what I’d like to call a recipe for disaster !Thanks to a warm hearted couple on their evening stroll I managed to finally find the venue, it was fairly easy to find but somehow looking for an address scrawled on a soggy bit of paper on cold winter evening is not fun!

So in the basement of a massive storage company in a cosy tasting room was a massive neatly arranged table , most the people attending had arrived. Emma  Dawson, the wines and spirits buyer of M&S, was all set to make a presentation on East Mediterranean Wines. On my right was a vibrant young lady – Josie, who was such a pleasure to talk to , she particularly enjoyed reading through my notes , I hope to share most interesting snippets in this blog though not the entire sheet for fear of boring all of you ..and hey no excel sheets and tables in a food blog ! Well unless they involve weights and measures , then I shall be able to sneak in such things as scary calculations .

Umm coming back to the lovely people , there was this handsome couple sitting across the table , the lady salt pepper hair and so very polite , her companion a dapper gentleman ,I did like chatting with them , yes , they are a made for each other kind of couple and good to talk to…umm

The cheese ,olives and select meats and small eats on the table seemed so tantalizing…  …I was a bit hungry but more so quite eager to sip on some exotic wines!

Cheese Board Close-Up
The Cheese Board & the sausages

We started with the White wines, six of them, all tempting us with their beautiful aromas. I loved the Quercus Pinot Grigio from Slovenia, light in appearance, felt silky smooth, and fruity on the palate and I really think it would pair well with a white fish done served with tangy green chutney, Ummm.  The white wine from Greece called Atlantis Santorini would pair amazingly well with a Bengali Bhetki (Indian River fish, Asian Sea Bass )and some steamed white rice, it seemed to explode with the zing of lime on my palate and on the nose, it felt fresh, airy like free-fall backwards on a meadow on a huge heap of hay!

The 6 whites
Close Up White Wine
Emma enthralls us
Golden Valley Graevina,Croatia

Now the much awaited red’s made an entrance – ta ra ra pum pum 😉

After we had tasted all 6 we had a show of hands to vote for the crowd’s fav Red and Lebanese Cadet de Ka (Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Syrah) was top of the pops, I’d say on the nose it was deep, dark, mysterious – almost like a woman with a secret and passionate lover, even took me into a well-stocked spice cabinet with a thick teak wood door, imagine Nigella cooking up a posh steak or a rack of lamb with fancy sauces, food porn, oh yes, well this is wine porn if there is any such thing!

Red-ay steady -ah well- Goooo!

The Greek wine Red on Black Agiorgitiko from Nemea, Greece hits the palate and makes it jiggle like a belly dancer oh yeah, fruity and with a great depth of flavour. The Croatian, Pilato Malvasia Istarski would pair nicely with a rich dark brown sauce and meat, on the nose it sort of feels like a first date, a romantic on, maybe at the village fair. The 150-year-old Chateau Ksara Clos St Alphonse from Lebanon is to be served at a family get-together, a celebration, one befitting such a lovely fruity wine with a hidden surprise – notes of spice and chocolate.

Emma doing her thing

We were all really happy by now, no not tipsy, no sir! So do not blame it on the twelve wines though;) the whole atmosphere was light, it was snowing heavier, the room was cosy, the conversation was fun and Emma had managed to take us on a virtual tour through Slovenia, Greece, Croatia, Turkey and Lebanon so effortlessly so it may seem. I had always wondered what a wine tasting would be like, I imagined a massive room with wine barrels all around, floor to ceiling wine bottles displayed along the walls, a massive room that smells of cheese and well wine, rich mature full bodies Wine, some chairs around a sturdy old well used mammoth of a table, lots of wine glasses, several varieties of grapes, cheese…lots of cheese, some pretty table napkins, the sound of laughter n the clinking of glasses … let us just say that thanks to Emma’s excellent selection of Wines and Jimmy Smith from West London Wine Schools excellent arrangement at the cosy tasting room,it was a perfect ”first wine tasting do” to be at, and yes thanks to Josie as well, you made me smile – a lot. And yes the kind couple whose name I didn’t get who took the bus ride with me, it would have been quite spooky waiting for the bus all alone and I was glad for the company.

The Lovely Josie!

Aahh…now to use that discount voucher and procure some wine bottles from M&S..whilst I am at it .. why not pour myself some red and sip it while I upload these snaps and fix some dinner…it’s chicken peri peri by the way with gluten free,wheat free bread, but ..more on that later , now for some late evening relaxing at home ,Good Night Folks in this part of the world .

Moi
IMG_1010 (Copy)

(Well that’s one blog post that’s out of my drafts folder, better late than never I say! Since most of it was written in Jan  this year it has lots of winter references, well Summer isn’t really here is it ?! grumble, grumble)

Filed Under: Events, Food Tagged With: 2013, @EmandSWine, acidic, bacon, bhetki, blogging, Cabarnet, celebration, Chardonnay, cheese, chocolate, chutney, clink, cold cuts, Croatia, dark, drink, East Mediterranean, eat, emma dawson, fish, fizzy, follow, follow me, food and travel blogger, food blogger, food pron, fresh, full bodied, glasses, grapes, Greece, green grapes, Grigio, hay, jimmy smith, juicy lamb, Lebanon, light, london, M&S, mactoffee, manjirikulk, Marks and Spencer, Merlot, moorish, mysterious, Nigella, nose, oak wood, olives, palate, posh food, pungent, rich, Sauvignon, share, sliceoffme, Slovenia, smooth, spicy, spooky, tag, teak wood, tipsy, Turkey, water, west london wine school, white fish, white grapes, wine cellar, wine tasting, Winter, wooden cheese board, wordpress

  • « Previous Page
  • 1
  • …
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5

Food,travel and lifestyle writer. Photographer.

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Categories

  • Baking
  • Breads
  • C.K.P recipes
  • Cakes
  • Chutneys
  • Cocktails
  • Curry – Meat, Seafood
  • Curry – Vegetarian
  • Desserts
  • Events
  • Featured Food and Drink
  • Featured Lifestyle
  • Featured Travel Adventures
  • Food
  • Healthy
  • Home
  • India
  • Indian
  • Kitchen
  • Lifestyle
  • London and rest of U.K
  • Meat
  • Miscellaneous
  • Product Reviews
  • Quick and Easy
  • Recipe Index
  • Rest of the World
  • Restaurant Reviews
  • Salads
  • seafood
  • Sides
  • Smoothies
  • Soups
  • Travel
  • Uncategorized
  • Vegan
  • Vegetarian

Featured Blogger on Great British Chefs

GBC_blogger-badge_150x300px    

Need a New Power Blender?

13076814_10154185434898293_7387808474266473605_n

Travelsfortaste is Featured on Expats Blog

England expat blogs
Privacy & Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use.
To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here: Cookie Policy
Squaremeal.co.uk - Restaurant Reviews

About me

Writer and Photographer. Food,Travel & Lifestyle, Blogger and Digital Marketer. Read More…

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Recent Posts

  • Diamond Jubilee Tea Salon, Fortnum & Mason – Afternoon Tea Review
  • Brown’s Brasserie and Bar celebrates 50th Anniversary with Covent Garden Grand re-opening
  • Hampton Court Palace Food Festival – Review
  • Brigit’s Bakery Afternoon Tea, Covent Garden, London – Review
  • Maplin Photo Walk around Central London

Copyright © 2025 · Foodie Pro Theme by Shay Bocks · Built on the Genesis Framework · Powered by WordPress

This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish.Accept Read More
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Non-necessary
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
SAVE & ACCEPT