ByPhoebe Hunt The Spanish region of Valencia is one of the best known areas for citrus in the entire world. Oranges, lemons, grapefruits and limes are exported by the tonne from this fertile corner of the Mediterranean, bringing a taste of Spanish sunshine to our supermarkets. But this is the…

French chef Alain Passard may not resemble a radical vegetable lover on a mission to change the way the culinary high-brow consider produce, yet he has, completely. A green superpower? As he confides, “I’m a different man when I’m in the vegetable patch”. Passard sees a world of creative possibility…

Tiny, old school and always packed with locals, La Merendais a hidden gem in Nice run by former Michelin-starred chef Dominique Le Stanc and his wife Danielle. I absolutely love Niçoise cuisine and it’s always a pleasure to come back, especially during this time of the year when the vegetables…

Born in Israel in the sixties, Erez Komarovsky is considered one of the true pioneers of artisan bread-making in Israel. The celebrated chef and baker takes inspiration from his time spent in France, California, but above all draws on the rich melting pot of flavours and ingredients in his native…

Rice, as we’ve discovered in researching its value across various corners of the world in this special issue, is a staple in many billions of peoples’ diets around the world. In West Africa, the Indian subcontinent, large parts of East and Southeast Asia and even parts of Europe, it’s integral…

As part of a special issue about rice, we talk with Kayama San, who comes from five generations of ancestral Japanese farmers in Northern Kyoto. Beyond continuing the family legacy, he feels a sense of mission and purpose in protecting Japanese food culture, as well as helping maintain the beautiful…

We’ve talked recently about the complex flavour profiles of olive oil, the making of balsamic vinegar, and the myriad varieties of wine across Italy and Europe. This month, in part of a deep dive into the ingredients which shape our food culture and civilisation as we know it, we take…

World class olive oil doesn’t usually make one think of Japan. Yet, one very special olive production in Shodoshima on the island of Shōdo Island, is revising regional clichés about this golden culinary staple. Toyohiro Takao has taken away several awards over the last decade, including the Olio Nuovo Days…

Olive oil is a staple ingredient in Mediterranian cooking, and was once so plentiful in southern Italy that it was used to fuel street lamps. The olive tree has been harvested for its oil for millenia, and the product is integral to Greek, Italian, Turkish and Spanish recipes: around 2.5…

By Edoardo Celadon and Phoebe Hunt For those passionate about Italian cuisine, meeting Andrea Bezzecchi at his Balsamic Vinegar factory is similar to how meeting Michelangelo might feel for an artist. The man, the artisan, the location and the end products make Andrea one of the true custodians of the…