CONTRIBUTOR


Discovering the world through food


Sarah Miller, Editor, Condé Nast Traveller


Seventy per cent of Condé Nast Traveller magazine’s well-heeled readers say that they would travel just to fi nd that perfect culinary experience whether it is sampling fresh produce at the myriad food festivals that have mushroomed around the world to taking a wine tour of the new bodegas being built by the world super architects.


Barefoot chic to total luxury: which island is for you? The Maldives Andalucía


Driving from the sea to the sky


Beyond Cape Town


South Africa’s stunning south coast Mexico


The city break you’ve never had


NEW YORK PLUS


experience the real New places to


Angkor Wat without the crowds


Secret Vienna


I have long believed that travelling and eating well is one of the great pleasures of life but the landscape of what that means in the luxury market is shifting: the cognoscenti are seeking out ever more intimate experiences rather than La Grande Bouffe. Take the new Tickets restaurant in Barcelona. Launched last year by Albert and Ferran Adria, this quirky 50-seater epitomises the current new trend for ‘small plates’ with exquisite ‘tastes’. Their ‘olives’ are perhaps one of the most sublime sensations I have ever experienced – pop one into your mouth to understand what I mean when I say they burst with fl avour.


NOVEMBER 2011 £3.95 Mayan cities, tropical rainforests and hacienda hotels


Alongside seeking out The New is a quest for Knowledge. Consumers


are hungry to discover a country’s culture through what’s on a menu. Chef Diego Felix from Buenos Aires is one of a growing number of his profession who are like anthropologists, bringing locally sourced and regionalised regional cooking to their high-end dining experiences and rediscovering culinary traditions. Danish chef Rene Redzepi of Noma constantly rediscovers traditional Danish produce, forages for many of his ingredients on the countryside, and bans basics such as olive oil and pepper


from his kitchen because they are not native products.


There’s also the growth (if this is not tautological) of micro brands. Infl uenced by chefs such as Felix, Redzepi, Fergus Henderson of St John in London and Gunnar Karl Gislason of Dill in Reykjavik, a new breed of local breweries, picklers, cheese makers, choclatiers and microroasters are popping up in cities around the world. In London, Paul.A.Young’s chocolate boutique sells truffl es with British fl avours such as Marmite, Guinness, and Port and Stilton.


Provenance and authenticity are also a big part of the story. It’s behind the rise of intimate Eating Clubs such as Casablanca Saltshaker, Hidden Kitchen and Stolen Supper Club that serve fi rst-class meals with an extra helping of intimacy. Often held in a chef’s home or studio, the experience is as important as what’s on the plate. Recognising that the real nature of luxury is not price but time, care and sincerity, the best hotels are already adapting and whetting their guests’ appetites by offering hands-on gourmet experiences from expert cooking classes in the kitchen to gourmet city tours.


Bon appétit.


OCTOBER2011


7


A 7-NIGHT CRUISE


WIN


AROUND THE MED


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