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An important preservative as well as sweetener, honey was an indispensable ingredient in the Classical kitchen. The honey of Hybla, in Sicily, is among the most famous. Hybla honey and the classical world Along with the bees of Mount Hymettus and Mount Ida in Greece, the wild bees of Mount…
Is it possible to take Turkish tea or coffee with the sultan? You might not think so. But look carefully at the glassware. recognising the sultan’s insignia When you next order a Turkish coffee or a tea, have look at the glass of water that comes with it. If you…
The art of the Renaissance or the art of food? Do we go to Florence for the food or for the art? Has gastronomy replaced Giotto on the Florence bucket list? how it began ‘Yes,’ said Lucy. ‘They are lovely. Do you know which is the tombstone that is praised…
One of London’s most prestigious and established Italian restaurants choses Blue Guide Italy Food Companion for its 2019 gift hamper. The River Café of Hammersmith produces an annual Limited Edition Gift Box “packed full of the Italian ingredients we carefully source and use every day in the River Cafe kitchen”. Blue…
The brand new Blue Guide Hungary Food Companion is now out. A handy lexicon of Magyar food vocabulary, with a miscellany of culinary information (and a few traditional recipes) thrown into the pot alongside. Hungary typically has blisteringly hot summers but curiously no real summer cuisine. A cold fruit soup…
Anna Bornemisza (c. 1630–88) was the daughter of an army captain, a noblewoman in her own right and, by marriage (in 1653, to Mihály Apafi), Princess of Transylvania. The story of her husband’s family, and the turbulent times they had to deal with, is covered in Blue Guide Travels in…
István Czifray was the nom de plume of István Czövek, master chef at the court of the Palatine Joseph, Habsburg governor of Hungary in the early 19th century. Czifray’s book of recipes and household tips (including instructions for making perfumes and pomades) first appeared in 1816. Soon to be entitled…
In some ways Ágnes Zilahy (1848–1908) is the Mrs Beeton of Hungarian cookery. Her publications of recipes, along with tips on household management, made her a household name in her own lifetime and her Valódi Magyar Szakácskönyv (Real Hungarian Cookery), a book of explicitly Hungarian dishes (i.e. not derived from…
Monday in Milan was forecast to be the “apex” of Northern Italy’s recent stormy weather. It did not disappoint, with poor light, driving rain and strong winds. Not an ideal morning to find oneself exposed to the elements armed only with a €3 folding umbrella, much of the time blown…
Visitors to the holiday resort of Forni di Sopra in the Carnic Dolomites, close to the source of the Tagliamento river, will be surprised to see that there is not much of a river in town. This is because a large proportion of the water is tapped at source and…
Blue Guide Sicily author Ellen Grady has some updates from Syracuse, where, on the island of Ortygia, the old city, there’s a useful new Tourist Infopoint just behind the cathedral, at Via Minerva 4. It has up-to-date information on opening hours of the museums and the archaeological sites in Syracuse…
Matthew Fort: Summer in the Islands, An Italian Odyssey. Unbound Press, London, 2017.Reviewed by Charles Freeman. Matthew Fort, distinguished writer on food and all the conviviality that accompanies it, fell in love with Italy through its ice cream at the age of eleven. The relationship has lasted and has developed…
“Robert Smyth’s Hungarian Wine … is a really pleasurable wine book and hedonist’s travel guide. It would make a great Christmas present for almost anyone who is interested in good wine and travel.” A nice review from wine blogger Quentin Sadler: A Lovely Wine Book for Christmas Posted on 16/12/2016 by…
“Hungarian wine” by Rob Smyth has been awarded a special commendation in the OIV’s prestigious prize for the best wine book published in the last year. The OIV – l’Organisation Internationale de la Vigne et du Vin – is a Paris-based “a scientific and technical” intergovernmental body. Hungarian wine: A…
How to enjoy the best of Italian food: understand the menu and know how to order in a restaurant or street market. View details, look inside and order securely on line direct from the publisher here »
As a brief introduction here are six hotels and one restaurant that are recommended in the new Blue Guide Crete. Note that, as with all Blue Guides Recommended establishments, all have been visited by the author or our editors and contributors, indeed in the case of the below we have stayed…
Top Paris food critic, Meg Zimbeck of parisbymouth.com, spent €7,000 of her own money to bring you uncompromised reviews of EVERY Michelin 3-starred restaurant in Paris, world centre of haute cuisine. And not only the nine 3-stars but also five 2-stars and one not yet rated. Read the Special Report…
We were off with my group from Florence to Prato, where in the cathedral there is the Chapel of the Girdle of the Virgin Mary—not any old girdle, but the actual one that she dropped down to Thomas as she was being assumed into heaven. It is exposed on its…
Parmigiano-Reggiano comes from a strictly defined area: both the cheese and the milk from which it is made are produced only in the provinces of Parma, Reggio Emilia, Modena and Mantua, by a consortium of 600 small dairies. The cows graze in open pastures or are fed locally-grown fodder, and…
