One of the most memorable aspects of travel for me is food. I’m talking about the wonderful opportunity to taste all those different flavours, experience the textures and take in the colours from dishes all over, broaden your culinary horizon and celebrate the diversity. Cooking is one of my hobbies and a small pleasure, so I’ve put together a few of my favourite foods shortlisted from places I’ve travelled to and tasted!
Starting with Greece, home to some of the finest ingredients in the world, there are so many dishes and ingredients that you can try, from salads and seafood, to the incredible hot dishes, from sweets to soups. My favourites are taramasalata, dolmades, olives and olive oil, obviously accompanied by a few shots of Ouzo or Tsipouro!
My travel Tip: Greek salad – it is called just *salad* in Greece.
In Italy, we don’t need to talk about the food, it’s just better to enjoy it. Mostly dishes are based on tomato, bread and olive oil. The secret of the cuisine is not in a sophisticated preparation process, it is more in the freshness of the products. My favourite here is panna cotta, a creamy dessert made of heaven, usually served with a red-berry coulis.
And then Thailand, oh my goodness, there is so much to love about Thai cooking. Most dishes will contain the following flavours, sour lime, chilli, sweetness and saltiness.
My favourite by far is Pad Thai, a stir-fried rice noodle dish, made with tofu, eggs, tamarind and other delicious ingredients
My Travel Tip: Traditional Thai cuisine falls into roughly four categories, tom (boiled dishes), yam (spicy salads), tam (pounded foods) and gaeng (curries). The deep fries, stir fries, and steamed dishes derive from Chinese cooking.
France deserves the title for being the Gourmet Capital, I mean, a croissant with a tiny cup of coffee in the morning, or anytime for that matter, is a must when in France.
So many bestselling foods originate in France, baguettes, praline, pain au chocolat, raisin brioche bread…the list is enormous. Onion cake and fish soup sound weird, but the French know how to make it delicious.
As a major cheese lover, I indulge in Roquefort blue cheese, it has a potent smell, but the taste is worth all the aromatic inconveniences.
My Travel Tip: For breakfast, try Croque-Monsieur, the best breakfast that you could ever imagine. It is a toast sandwich with fried egg, ham and melted cheese, simply fabulous!
Then once back home, Local is Lekke, Local is Best!
South Africans love food grilled on the fire! Every South African enjoys a good braai, Braaivleis, Mielies and Braaibroodjies, life can’t get better.
When traveling in South Africa, you have to visit the Overberg, Swellendam in particular, to try the best roosterkoek ever, a dish of risen dough, baked over an open fire. In Swellendam we serve it with Biltong, (probably the most-loved South-African snack, biltong is a dried, cured, and spiced meat) and cheese or jam, from our Local Wildebraam Berry Estate.
My Travel Tip: Come and visit Swellendam anytime, stay with us at Aan de Leisure Collection and be tempted!
