by Emily Ramraz | Oct 31, 2017 | Featured, Travel
Food is a passion of mine, and I adore discovering new places to eat when travelling. I have even been known to jump on a plane just to experience a new restaurant or type of cuisine. When home based I explore random eateries – and if I can discover a new culture whilst I am at it, all the better.
When I’m traveling, I also like to explore the history, people, art, and the best way to ‘taste’ a region is through their food.
Over the course of the life of this blog, I will be taking you to different countries and cities, some may be a short hop from where you live, others further afield. The food will vary in taste, culture and cost and a blog could detail an entire meal, or may expound on the merits of a perfect cup of espresso.
I will go everywhere and take you with me, and perhaps inspire some adventures, either in travel or new food experiences.
So, as this is our inaugural journey, and as I love a good wine pairing, I thought I would start with a place known for its fermented grape libations – Bordeaux, France.
The food in Bordeaux is exquisite. Even the places I stumbled upon were incredible.
Perhaps because Bordeaux is famous for its wines, it attracts the most discerning wine lovers.
The restaurant owners subsequently understand that their food needs to stand up to the quality of the wine, and as a result, you get truly beautiful meals all over the city, and since it’s France, much of it is done seasonally, which is even better.
I begin with a little gem I happened upon while sauntering around the cobblestone streets of Bordeaux with a group of close friends, trying to enjoy the time as my baby slept in her buggy. Luckily for us, this place had a couple of tables outside, and the weather was crisp but not cold, and we enjoyed the fresh air as we dined.
Le Bouchon Bordelais
https://www.bouchon-bordelais.com/
The passion of Chef Frédéric Vigouroux, feels at first like a quintessential French bistro with a menu filled with tried-and-true classics.
However, upon closer inspection, I realized it was far from typical. The waiters were patient and friendly, and didn’t pressure us at all to order or finish our meal.
They even spoke some English, a rarity in the City, which helped tremendously when Google Translate froze up or when we couldn’t connect to WiFi, as our French was very rusty.
The first thing the waiters do on arrival is to bring over a portable blackboard with the menu written on it in chalk. They explained that they do not have paper menus because the dishes they offer change daily, both for lunch and for dinner. Each meal, they offer up consists of le soup, le saladier, poisson, viande et le dessert (soup, salad, fish, meat and dessert, but it sounds so much better in French).
Every once in a while, depending on their fresh find that day, they also offer up la grillade – a beautifully cut, marbled and cooked steak.
They had some fantastic recommendations, and, of course, appropriate and beautiful wine pairings to go along with them. As there were three of us in total, and in an effort to try as many dishes as possible – we ordered a selection for us all to share – soup, two salads and a large fish dish.
I’ll break down each dish, to give you an idea of the content, Like I said, if you go, you probably won’t be able to emulate the meal we had, but you’ll be able to have a new experience with the same level of quality and craftsmanship.
The start of my infatuation was in the form of a velvety pea shoot soup. Floating like an island in the middle of a delicious, bright green ocean was a huge dollop of fresh goat Chantilly cream. For those of you who don’t know what that is (as I didn’t), it’s a salty sweet cream, whipped to smooth oblivion. It was perfect. And by the way, when I say there was a “dollop” of cream, I mean it took up half the bowl and was covered in chopped herbs (mmmmmm, chives). It was so scrumptious, even my baby scarfed it down eagerly (and that’s no easy feat!).
This was followed up by the first salad, a spring bruschetta (bruschetta printanière), which is a perfectly crisp piece of crunchy toast topped by a delectable combination of chunky cucumbers, succulent tomatoes and cured meat, with an uber-fresh green leaf salad on the side. What made this salad stand out from all the other “topped toast” dishes I’d had in the past, aside from the sheer quality of the ingredients, were three things: 1) the perfectly soft-boiled egg served alongside the toast, 2) the super fresh chimichurri-style dressing ladled liberally over the top of the proceedings and 3) much like the pea soup, the dish was covered in herbs and fresh cream, tying it all together beautifully, while providing little bursts of unexpected added flavor.
Then came salad number two, which was an unbelievable pasta dish with huge, fresh-made conchiglioni seashell pasta topped by a fresh herb pesto, with sprigs of parsley scattered throughout. Lest I forget the best part, it is also paired with a chopped, gorgeously crispy veal, making this salad feel more like a fully fledged entrée than a modest interim dish.
Conchiglioni is one of my favorite types of pasta, because it is designed to do two things – make sauce stick to it, and make other ingredients get trapped inside of it. Which means that every forkful is a perfect bite. And this did not disappoint in achieving that level of perfection. It almost feels unfair to merely call it a pasta salad.
Finally, we reached our closer. Again, calling it simply a fish dish seems to diminish what we were served. Yes, it was a wonderful piece of hake, a white fish from the cod family, but it almost felt like that fish mated with a shepherd’s pie and this dish was born. The base of the dish was a smooth and fluffy potato mash filled with fresh spring onions and various herbs and spices. Sitting in the midst of the mash was the hake, flaky and creamy, which was sprinkled with beautiful greens. Perched atop all of it were meaty stalks of chunky white asparagus. It brought the idea of a fish pie to a whole new level for me, which makes sense because this chef has been known to say that fish is his favorite thing to cook.
In finality, the meal was one of the best I’d had anywhere in the world. I’m sure it was because everything there is super fresh, in season, properly prepped, flawlessly seasoned and cooked to perfection. I’m equally sure too that it’s because Chef Vigouroux cares so much about his food, his patrons and the entire experience of dining at his establishment. Overall, Le Bouchon Bordelais was a huge success, and a place not to miss when you take that trip to the ultimate wine capital of the world!
Stay tuned for more from WorldEater
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by Glotime | Oct 29, 2017 | Featured, General, Travel
As the curtain draws on another spooktacular Halloween with our makeup and masks and all things terrifying for our kids, why not make it an extra special one this year for us adults, and make it along to one of our regular haunted houses. After all, we are living in the most ‘haunted’ country in the world according to the experts – especially with the history of beheadings, rituals, royal sieges and bloody battles. So to make it easy for you, take off to the country today and frighten yourself to the core. You don’t need to wait for next Halloween to visit.
Ancient Ram Inn, Gloucestershire is known as the Most haunted house in Britain)
The Ancient Ram Inn is said to have been the location of many sinister happenings, including child sacrifice, suicide, black magic rituals and was also used as a hideout by criminals. The current owner, John Humphries believes that he shares his home with all sorts of spooks – two demons, a witch, orbs and other ghostly presences, and many people who have visited the property have described it as the ‘scariest place’ they’ve ever been to.
Pendle Hill, Lancashire
Pendle Hill is located in an area known as Pendleside. It’s famous for its links to George Fox, which led to the foundation of the Quaker movement. A Bronze Age burial site was also discovered at the foot of the hill and it was also home to the Pendle witches, prompting many people to visit the site in search of ghosts and spirits. Most Haunted visited the site in 2004 for a live episode and the presenter, Yvette Fielding, maintains that that episode was the scariest episode of Most Haunted that they have ever filmed.
Berry Pomeroy Castle, Devon
Berry Pomeroy Castle is known for being a picturesque castle in an even more picturesque town, but the pretty façade hides a sinister secret – the castle is haunted and is actually reported as being one of the most haunted castles in Britain. Two female ghosts, the White Lady and the Blue Lady are said to haunt the castle. The Blue Lady is said to haunt the tower, luring passers-by to her aid – and if they help her, it is said that they fall to their death. The White Lady is said to haunt the dungeons.
Woodchester Mansion, Gloucestershire
Woodchester Mansion is a Gothic revival mansion in Gloucestershire. Whilst it looks complete from the outside, inside, several rooms, lots of plaster and whole floors are missing. Over the years it has gained a reputation as a haunted location and several paranormal sightings have been reported, including that of a phantom horseman, the Tall Man of the Chapel and a ghost in the cellar. Some visitors to the mansion have been attacked by ghosts and others have collapsed, whilst women who have been to the bathroom have reported seeing a floating head. The ghost of a little girl and the ghost of an old woman have also been spotted at the site.
Village of Pluckley, Kent
Pluckley village has a reputation for being the most haunted village in Britain – and it was actually named just that by the Guinness Book of World Records in 1989. Between 12 and 16 ghosts have been reported in the village, including a screaming man, a highwayman who appears at Fright Corner, a schoolmaster found hanged by a group of children and an old woman who used to sit on a bridge smoking. Pluckley has been featured in numerous television programmes and is a favourite spot of ghost-hunters across the country.
Athelhampton House, Dorset
Athelhampton House is located in Dorset and is thought to be one of the most haunted places in the county. A pair of duellists haunts the Great Chamber, where they once interrupted a female guest by fighting. Tapping sounds have been heard coming from the wine cellar, whilst the ghost of the Grey Lady has been seen around the house on numerous occasions. The padding sound of a phantom cat’s feet has also been heard on the bare floorboards around the house.
Salmesbury Hall, Lancashire
Salmesbury Hall is a black and white medieval house that dates back to the 14th century. It’s reported to be haunted by the ghost of Lady Dorothy Southworth, amongst others and has been investigated twice by Most Haunted, once in 2004 and once in 2009. It’s also appeared on an episode of Ghost Hunters International. A number of ghosts have also been caught on camera at the hall.
Chillingham Castle, Northumberland
Chillingham Castle dates back to the 12th century and has its fair share of ghostly tales and encounters. It holds frequent ghost tours to allow visitors to spot some of the castle’s other-worldly inhabitants, including that of a blue boy, a tortured child, the ghost of Lady Mary and a spooky Royal procession. The castle had a record 8 executions and the ghosts of the executed are thought to still haunt the castle today.
To make a booking to visit one of the locations, call Tim Wells at Waterside Breaks on 01252 339020 or visit the website at http://www.watersidebreaks.com/
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by Glotime | Oct 26, 2017 | Featured, Glo Arts & Entertainment
Unbelievably Harry Potter has been around for 20 years, yes the first novel by JK Rowling – The Philosopher’s Stone appeared two decades ago.
And even more unbelievable is that it was sent to twelve publishers before being picked up by the publisher Bloomsbury.
Now JK Rowling is one of the world’s most famous writers of our time, very influential and worth a handsome sum too.
JK Rowling’s original pitch has gone on display at London’s British Library to celebrate the 20th Anniversary of Potter entitled: Harry Potter a History of Magic
The pitch starts off with Harry living with the Dursleys and very similar to the final version in the book.
So the moral to this story is Never Give Up because how ever many rejections you have someone will buy into your project or fund your idea. Just keep going.
Here is the start of JK’s pitch, just to whet your appetites:
“Harry Potter lives with his aunt, uncle and cousin because his parents died in a car-crash — or so he has been told. The Dursleys don’t like Harry asking questions; in fact, they don’t seem to like anything about him, especially the very odd things that keep happening around him (which Harry himself can’t explain).
“The Dursleys’ greatest fear is that Harry will discover the truth about himself, so when letters start arriving for him near his eleventh birthday, he isn’t allowed to read them. However, the Dursleys aren’t dealing with an ordinary postman, and at midnight on Harry’s birthday the gigantic Rubeus Hagrid breaks down the door to make sure Harry gets to read his post at last. Ignoring the horrified Dursleys, Hagrid informs Harry that he is a wizard, and the letter he gives Harry explains that he is expected at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in a month’s time.
“To the Dursleys’ fury, Hagrid also reveals the truth about Harry’s past. Harry did not receive the scar on his forehead in a car-crash; it is really the mark of the great dark sorcerer Voldemort, who killed Harry’s mother and father but mysteriously couldn’t kill him, even though he was a baby at the time. Harry is famous among the witches and wizards who live in secret all over the country because Harry’s miraculous survival marked Voldemort’s downfall.
“So Harry, who has never had friends or family worth the name, sets off for a new life in the wizarding world. He takes a trip to London with Hagrid to buy his Hogwarts equipment (robes, wand, cauldron, beginners’ draft and potion kit) and shortly afterwards, sets off for Hogwarts from Kings Cross Station (platform nine and three quarters) to follow in his parents’ footsteps.
“Harry makes friends with Ronald Weasley (sixth in his family to go to Hogwarts and tired of having to use second-hand spellbooks) and Hermione Granger (cleverest girl in the year and the only person in the class to know all the uses of dragon’s blood). Together, they have their first lessons in magic — astronomy up on the tallest tower at two in the morning, herbology out in the greenhouses where the…”
If you want to read more then you need to visit the exhibition.
You can also see original drafts and drawings by J.K. Rowling and illustrator Jim Kay, both on display for the first time.
Harry Potter: A History of Magic runs from Friday 20th October to Wednesday 28th February. Tickets cost £16 adults, £8 students.
Tickets can be purchased on-line at https://www.seetickets.com/tour/harry-potter-a-history-of-magic/calendar/2
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