Travel & Cuisines

Some years ago I was working in a relatively small restaurant. It was a quaint place with a large outdoor seating area, a few indoor tables and an open kitchen, so open in fact that guests would often walk right in and chat to us Chefs. This was also because most of the customers were on a first name basis with us and felt completely at home in our...read more

Food wasn’t the first thing on my mind when we booked a family holiday to Siem Reap to see Angkor Wat and the ancient Khmer temples of Cambodia. However, the curiosity of the Chef in me, will always be on the search for the next market, the local food experience and cuisine. Siem Reap, despite all its tourism, is still an “old” life town. Rel...read more

Coffee is perhaps not the first thing that comes to mind when thinking of Vietnam. The truth however is, that Vietnam today is one of the largest exporters of coffee beans in the world. Mostly “green” or raw, un-roasted Vietnamese beans are traded on commodity markets, and in recent years the world has taken note of Vietnam as a coffee country....read more

” For many steak lovers, no cut of beef sings to the soul of the carcass-consuming carnivore like a Delmonico, made famous at the eponymous restaurant in New York City, which operated in different locations starting in 1827. Originally opened by a retired Swiss sea captain wary of life on the rough oceans, who found a home in the bustling str...read more

As soon as the days get shorter and evenings foggy and cold, all throughout the Northern hemisphere the chestnut vendors set up their stalls. “Caldaroste”; Italian for hot roasted chestnuts, piping hot and straight from the coals over which they have been roasted. Packaged in simple paper cones served without sauce, dip or any seasoning, roaste...read more

The Philippines, the only predominantly Catholic country in Asia, has its own, not necessarily European influenced, loved Christmas traditions.  As early as October Filipinos start to request and crave for their Christmas specialties such as Bibingka and Puto Bumbong. Making the violet colored Puto Bumbong requires a lot of preparation and know-ho...read more