Seen as we have a rather big wedding anniversary coming up at the end of this year, 15 years to be exact and two 40th Birthdays looming in the not too distant future – I feel that a special, romantic, holiday is definitely on the cards. Yes that means travel sans children!
My Travel Wishlist
As both my hubby and I really enjoy cooking, eating and wine tasting, the idea of a “foodie” holiday is rather appealing. During our search, for the perfect place, we came across a website that offers just this sort of thing. The site is called “Tasting Places”, they offer “food holidays”: mainly to areas in Italy but also to Spain, France and Thailand. They also offer “bespoke” holidays, which they will tailor to your needs.
Alpujarras
The specific tasting experience that caught our eye is in Mairena, Southern Spain: “Cooking with Sam Clark”. This holiday would afford us the opportunity of a unique holiday destination, as we have never been to Spain before, as well as rather different culinary experience. Your journey will take you to Mairena, a small local village set high up, in the remote location of the Alpujarras, the mountainous region which stretches south from the Sierra Nevada Mountains.
Typical Local Village
The chef presenting this “Spanish Experience” is “Sam Clark”; he runs an award-winning restaurant in London, along with his wife Samantha. The restaurant is called “Moro” and is well known for its delicious, authentically Spanish food. “The Clarks”, a British couple, as newlyweds, spent time travelling through Spain and Morocco in a camper van. On this adventure they learnt as much as they could about the cuisine and tastes, in these areas. They then went on to open their highly acclaimed restaurant, Moro.
So what can we expect from this gastronomic experience? The website, “Tasting Places”, promises an “informal yet intensive exploration of inspirational cooking”, which sounds like exactly what we would enjoy. Combined with the beauty of the country setting, the promise of wine tasting and a demo of cheese making – what more could you ask for.
Some of the dishes you will learn how to prepare and taste are: CAZÓN EN ADOBO -marinated fried fish, REMOJÓN -orange & cod salad, TORTILLADE PATATAS -potato cake and ROSCOS -round aniseed fritters – it all sounds mouth-watering! Sam’s recipes are said to reflect his love of Spanish food, especially Alpujarran food but he is also known to draw on influences from North Africa. It sounds like an altogether inspiring and enlightening experience.
Well this is definitely at the top of my travel wishlist! Hopefully we will make it there soon and I can bring back tales and photographs of my travels.
For costs and more details on this and their other “foodie holidays”, have a look at the website: “Tasting Places.”
this looks amazing – esp that little spanish street. and a holiday without kids – what’s not to love! out 10 year is next year so let me know if you need help with the girls and we can do an exchange 😉
I know doesn’t it just – we just need to figure out when to go, with the wedding maybe early next year! We can definitely do an exchange!:)
Wow! Looks awesome! Funnily enough, Spain and Portugal are 2 of the destinations that we were looking at for next year June/July when James does his 60 days away. That food is to die for – you need to ensure you have lost 10kg’s before you leave SA to indulge properly without feeling guilty! Next June is 0ur 15 years – am also happy to have the girls – spread the load and makes it easier to go for longer!