Recent activities—National Geographic Food Journeys of a Lifetime
A Christmas 2009 bestseller for the National Geographic Society, Food Journeys of a Lifetime: 500 Extraordinary Places to Eat Around the Globe is one of the most
enjoyable scribbling assignments to have kept me almost gainfully employed. Wok-like, it stir-fries three of my greatest passions: food, travel and writing. Or five, if you
include fine Bordeaux wine and winter-busting Russian vodka, both probably not best served from a Chinese saucepan.
I was the main contributor to the book's Top Ten listings- -which some critics called the best part of this essential coffee-table adornment-and also
covered Moscow (Russia), San Juan (Puerto Rico) and Budapest (Hungary), as well as helping to compile the outline for the book. Two of my lovely editors at Toucan Books
Limited, which produced the book in London, were generous enough to write testimonials about my contribution.
Publisher's release
Few experiences are as satisfying as a chance to explore the world's great culinary traditions and landmarks-and here, in the latest title of our
popular series of illustrated travel gift books, you'll find a fabulous itinerary of foods, dishes, markets, and restaurants worth traveling far and wide to savor. On the
menu is the best of the best from all over the globe: Tokyo's freshest sushi; the spiciest Creole favorites in New Orleans; the finest vintages of the great French wineries;
the juiciest cuts of beef in Argentina; and much, much more.
You'll sample the sophisticated dishes of fabled chefs and five-star restaurants, of course, but you'll also discover the simpler pleasures of the
side-street cafés that cater to local people and the classic specialties that give each region a distinctive flavor.
Every cuisine tells a unique story about its countryside, climate, and culture, and in these pages you'll meet the men and women who transform nature's
bounty into a thousand gustatory delights. Hundreds of appetizing full-color illustrations evoke an extraordinary range of tastes and cooking techniques; a wide selection of
recipes invites you to create; sidebars give a wealth of information, while lively top ten lists cover topics from chocolate factories to champagne bars. And detailed
practical travel information provides all the ingredients you'll need to cook up a truly delicious experience for even the most demanding of traveling gourmets.
My contribution to Food Journeys of a Lifetime
As well as helping to prepare the outline for the book, I wrote the following articles, all very little edited, for National Geographic Food Journeys of
a Lifetime: 500 Extraordinary Places to Eat Around the Globe. National Geographic was also kind enough to pick one of my articles (Top Ten Great National Dishes) as the sole
excerpt on Amazon and all but one of the six excerpts-on away.com. These are:
Many writers have used bars, pubs, or cafés as temporary or even permanent offices. Some remain haunts of writers, while others are merely haunted
by their ghosts.
Although most travelers' restaurants are places for people on the go, some are destinations in their own right, offering excellent food in stylish
surroundings.
Scruffy and chaotic or orderly and refined, the world's street markets offer fresh, local-and often cheap-seasonal produce, alongside a slice of local
life.
Most countries have a favorite or national dish. Popular with residents and forming part of a country's identity, they are an essential experience for
visitors.
Chapter 1: Specialties & Ingredients
Special foods from special places, fruits of the culinary landscape
Many people have a passion for food and drink, and some have opened museums dedicated to their favorite. Many factories are also open to visitors. Most
offer samples. (Skip to page 12 of book reader.)
Most countries have a favorite or national dish. Popular with residents and forming part of a country's identity, they are an essential experience for
visitors.
Chapter 2: Outstanding Markets
Journeys to the world's greatest food bazaars
Top Ten Historic Food Shops
In a world increasingly dominated by chains, a few august institutions rail magnificently against unwelcome progress.
Top Ten Old-Fashioned Candy Stores
Relive childhood pleasures as you take a retro-chic journey to shops lined with sherbet dips, flying saucers, and candy cigarettes.
Scruffy and chaotic or orderly and refined, the world's street markets offer fresh, local-and often cheap-seasonal produce, alongside a slice of local
life.
Chapter 3: Seasonal Delights
Regional gastronomic joys savored in their ripened perfection
Top Ten Kitchen Gardens
From spectacular botanical gardens to walled kitchen, what better way to enjoy local, seasonal produce than from the source?
Top Ten Saint's Day Feasts
Saint's day feasts have been occasions for celebration since the first millennium. Their religious symbolism may be vague nowadays, but the feasting
continues.
December 31 is not the only chance to enjoy New Year's feasts. Although some celebrations are largely family events, tradition dictates hospitality to
strangers. (Scroll down to Excerpt.)
Chapter 4: In the Kitchen
Learning the intimate secrets of the world's cuisines
Top Ten Culinary Surprises
Tuck into Welsh tea cakes in Argentina or Congolese fare in Brussels. Long-established minority communities in foreign lands can offer the best of both
worlds when eating.
Top Ten The Original and Still the Best
Many dishes are of unknown or disputed origin; others wield a birth certificate. Here are a few that you can savor in the places where they became
famous.
Chapter 5: Favorite Street Foods
Mouthwatering quick meals and snacks, from chili dogs to jerk pork
Top Ten Unusual Food & Drink Festivals
From eels to melons, rattlesnakes to cabbages, no food is too weird or too humble to have a festival in its honor. Many celebrations include parades,
cook-offs, competitions, and races.
Chapter 6: Great Food Towns
From Paris to Hong Kong to Charleston, global hotspots of good eating
Although most travelers' restaurants are places for people on the go, some are destinations in their own right, offering excellent food in stylish
surroundings.
The city of San Juan, capital of Puerto Rico, is the center for a bold new fusion cuisine.
Top Ten Extreme Restaurants
Take dining out to a whole new level of experience with this eccentric selection of eateries worldwide.
Top Ten Chinatowns
Forget all your troubles, forget all your cares, and go Chinatown. For flavors, aromas, and Oriental escapism nothing beats it. If in doubt where to
dine, follow where the Chinese go.
Blissful vistas, the crash of waves on the shore, and fresh, salty air to whet the appetite make these oceanside eateries a treat for all the
senses.
Top Ten Historic Restaurants
Owing to their age, noble surroundings, or historic menus, these landmark restaurants have become venerable institutions, still drawing in successive
generations of diners.
Chapter 7: Ultimate Luxuries
Once-in-a-lifetime gourmet treats
Moscow, Russia
Top chefs, the choicest ingredients, and lavish settings make Moscow's restaurants among the very best for opulent dining.
Top Ten Restaurants on Top of the World
For vertiginous views of cliffs, canyons, and cityscapes, these destinations will take you to new culinary heights in every sense of the word.
Chapter 8: The Best Wine, Beer, & More
All the glorious variety of the world's greatest drinks
Many writers have used bars, pubs, or cafés as temporary or even permanent offices. Some remain haunts of writers, while others are merely haunted
by their ghosts.
Top Ten Monastic Tipples
For centuries monks and nuns have brewed and distilled their own alcohol-much of rare quality and distinctive flavor.
Top Ten Wine Tours in France: Bordeaux, Gironde
From the vine-covered slopes of Alsace in the northeast to the wind-swept, craggy hills of Corbières in the southwest, the diverse French landscape
offers a wine for every palate.
Chapter 9: Just Desserts
A sweet-lover's paradise of chocolate, pastries, and confectionary delights
Top Ten Places to Enjoy Café Society
Good conversation, coffee, cakes, and the chance to linger are the vital ingredients of café society. Take your pick of places to enjoy it.
Although I don't have a byline for the articles above, you can find my name in the alphabetical list of author credits (skip to page 319 in the book reader).
Other recent activities
Some other projects have of late kept me either almost sane or insanely busy:
