by Borja Matoses The Spanish Mediterranean, spans eight provinces, with a coastline of about 3,000 kilometers that runs from the border with France in the Pyrenees to the Strait of Gibraltar and includes the Balearic Islands. Although each region has a distinct identity, the gastronomic stables are strong and unifying,…

Aiste Miseviciute and I have something in common: a fascination with gastronomy first piqued more than a decade ago by Vedat Milor and Mikael Jonsson’s unequalled blog, Gastroville. The whole website was testimony to the widely acknowledged idea that a good dish starts with good ingredients. Despite trends at the…

Sam Kass, the man who made The Garden is now making eggs with his small children in a locked-down long island. The news personality, investor, political advisor, executive director of Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move! campaign and White House chef, hardly needs an introduction. Living under confinement has been intense. Outside…

Few weeks ago I was very fortunate to experience Mexico City’s incredible Xochimilco area and learn about the Chinampas. An inspiring initiative led by the @yolcan_mx entrepreneurs is reviving traditional farming practices established in Aztec times centred around Chinampas: these are small, rectangular areas of fertile land harnessed to grow…

Nestled on the tip of the Sorrentina Peninsula, overlooking the Bay of Naples, seventeen acres of lush organic gardens and orchards provide the raw ingredients for Don Alfonso 1890. Run by Alfonso Iaccarino and his wife Livia, the restaurant is an extension of the land the Iaccarinos began cultivating 25…

If there is one thing Basque country and Japan have in common is the obsession with perfect, seasonal ingredients. These impossibly small peas (“Guisantes lágrima” or “teardrop peas”) are only grown in an area of ​​five hectares north of Guipuzcoa and can cost up to 200 euros a kilo. Crunchy,…

Speaking of über ingredients, these green peas were served at the Foodies documentary reception at Maria Cristina hotel, organized by Jon Warren from San Sebastian gourmet tours. When someone says “you must try those peas”(not Iberico ham or other gourmet food, served at the cocktail), you better do. Think of…

Elaborate show and luxurious presentation is often a huge part of 3 Michelin stars restaurant experience and the price you pay for it. I recently read somewhere that people find expensive food better tasting. The simply poached asparagus with crushed egg condiment at Alain Ducasse Monaco was without doubt an excellent…

So this is how the precious musk melon from Senbikiya Tokyo store looked when sliced. This one cost me around 80 €, while the most expensive musk melon at the shop that day was over 160 €! As exciting as opening a Christian Dior shoe box 😉

The continuous search for perfection is strongly embedded in Japanese culture and mentality. Japanese don’t compromise when quality is concerned, whether it’s service at your hotel, cleanliness of Tokyo streets or quality of the Japanese products. Nowhere in the world, you will find such amazing products as in Japan, but…