Bon Vivant Fall 2019

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Fresh & flavourful Local tastes of Greece

Delightful dishes in QUITO, ECUADOR Living the café culture in VIENNA, AUSTRIA Lesser-known wine regions AROUND THE GLOBE

AT BON VIVANT TRAVEL WE KNOW THAT MANY TRAVELERS ARE LOOKING FOR ADVENTURES THAT DELIGHT THE PALATE & AWAKEN THE SENSES. Our team of travel advisors specializes in food and wine journeys around the globe. We create unique and authentic experiences that give you an up-close and personal encounter with local traditions, and the foods and wines of any given area. We believe that to truly experience a place you need to taste the food and immerse yourself in the culture.

What makes our Bon Vivant Travel advisors unique is their passion to develop distinctive adventures to suit any food and wine enthusiast. Whether your ideal vacation is sailing the high seas with a Master chef or exploring the countryside in search of local artisans, we are here to satiate your appetite.

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CON TEN TS

32 ...these nine islands are a place apart, each one with its own individual personality

S TA P L E S 26 Vienna Coffee culture & cafés 32 Azores An adventure through the freshest islands in the Atlantic 38 Hawaii Finding aloha on Molokai 44 Greece Hydra: The island that time forgot

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52 Ecuador Captivating Quito

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REGULARS 8 Samplers What’s new in the world of food, drink & travel?

14 Trends Cruise ships as giant shopping carts 18 Destination Spotlight Juneau, Alaska 23 Wines of the World Lesser known grapes & where to find them 58 Tasting Party Plan your Parma night in 62 The Roving Chef Chef Kathryn Kelly, Oceania 68 Bring it Home Souvenirs from Bon Vivant-featured destinations 71 Agenda Follow your belly to these food- and drink-focused events

Sail on a

culinary journey

with Princess Cruises

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EDITOR’S NOTE FOOD & FAMILY TRADITION

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or many families, whether those which we are born into or those which we choose, food is central to fostering relationships.

I fondly remember my paternal grandparents being at our house as a child, my grandma directing efforts as we cut cabbage, poured vinegar, added salt and stirred it all together in big white pails to make sauerkraut – a staple in her Polish cuisine.

Then there were the desserts, especially haystack cookies which any pair of my three siblings and I would make if the craving ever overcame us (which it did often). It’s an easy recipe – melt loads of butter with milk, add an unhealthy amount of sugar and cocoa, and when that comes to a boil, throw in heaps of quick oats to round-out this no-bake treat. (The recipe calls for shredded coconut but we never bothered.)

After Christmas Eve mass, we order Chinese food and gorge ourselves before the dining table turns to a cards table, and Sunday mornings, when everyone is home for a visit, you can bet we’re having French toast with Ottawa Valley maple syrup.

All this to say, food - and the dining experience – is inherently familial.

It is in these moments where we find joy and connection, and often, in which we relate our identity and favourite pastimes.

You’ll notice that in this issue of Bon Vivant, many of the stories somehow touch on family-owned restaurants or culinary traditions that our writers felt compelled to include because of the memorable moments established. Like our piece by Rachel Lees about the Greek island of Hydra and the endless number of ma-and-pop shops she had the chance to dine at there (pg. 44), or how Jill Gleeson’s guide in Quito, Ecuador spoke of his family’s approach to a traditional dish (pg. 52).

In any situation, coming together with other people to eat is the best way to truly understand a sense of place, made all the better with family – or, at least, those who treat you like you are.

Terrilyn Kunopaski Editor terrilynk@mypassionmedia.com

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PUBLISHER Ensemble Travel® Group www.ensembletravel.ca ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER Jennifer Prendergast jenniferp@mypassionmedia.com EDITOR Terrilyn Kunopaski ART DIRECTOR Gordon Alexander CONTRIBUTORS Brittany O'Rourke, Ilona Kauremszky, Jill Gleeson, Liz Fleming, Rebecca Field Jager, Rachel Lees, Sanjeev Chandra, Sarah Treleaven, Smita Chandra, Tim Johnson CREATIVE MANAGER Ingrid Lopez MARKETING Franca Iuele – Director of Marketing franca@ensembletravel.ca ADVERTISING Ingrid Lopez Advertising Sales adsales@mypassionmedia.com ©Ensemble Travel Group. All rights reserved.

2019 Ensemble Travel® Group. Ensemble Bon Vivant®, is a proprietary registered of Ensemble Travel® Group. No part of this publication may be reprinted or otherwise duplicated without written permission of the publisher.

Ensemble® Bon Vivant® is issued two times per year on behalf of Ensemble Travel® Group member agencies.

Ensemble Travel Bon Vivant™ 69 Yonge Street, Suite 1403 Toronto, Ontario M5E 1K3 Publication Mail Agreement No. 2648555 Printed in Canada

Experience a Taste of Bordeaux Enjoy a river cruise through France’s legendary wine capital, savouring the best of French culture, wine and food – with a dash of Basque’s tantalizing gastronomic delights. Taste the many vintages of Saint Émilion, Médoc and Sauternes celebrated vineyards.

HIGHEST RATED SHIPS

BY BERLITZ

HIGHEST-QUALITY, LOCALLY-SOURCED CUISINE

WORLD-CLASS ONBOARD SERVICE

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DORDOGNE RIVER, BORDEAUX, FRANCE

SAMPLERS

WHAT’S NEW IN THE WORLD OF FOOD, DRINK & TRAVEL?

Cartagena, Colombia

TOUR

COLOMBIA MEETS THE GOLD STANDARD

T

RAVELLERS SEEKING TO ENJOY THE LATEST “it” destination should consider Luxury Gold’s new Art, Culture & Cuisine of Colombia itinerary. This 10-day adventure offers a plethora of Exclusive VIP Experiences, including a tour of Bogotá’s vibrant culinary scene with the guidance of Chef Sofia Gaviria. The journey will take guests to local markets, including Paloquemao Market, where they will learn about and shop for local produce before preparing a traditional Colombian meal for lunch. The exceptional dining experiences continue in Cartagena, where participants meet Chef Jorge Escandon for a meal at La Cevicheria,

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his culinary hotspot which was propelled into the spotlight after the late Anthony Bourdain shot an episode of No Reservations there. Among other “wow” moments to be had on this journey, guests will enjoy private visits to the Gold Museum and the Zipaquirá Salt Cathedral when they are closed to the public. Plus, an after-hours visit to the Antioquia Museum in the transformed city of Medellín is also included on the journey, where guests are joined by Alejandra Quintana, the daughter of Fernando Botero, an acclaimed Colombian artist, to admire one of the largest collections of his works. Call your travel advisor for more information or to book.

TRENDS

Princess Luxury Bed

PRINCESS CRUISES’ RELAXATION REPORT SAYS

WE’RE NOT RELAXING ENOUGH It’s time for most of us to start prioritizing more sleep according to the 10th annual Relaxation survey released

by Princess Cruises, in collaboration with Wakefield Research. With 10 years of data analyzing the sleep and vacation habits of adults, this year’s stats reinforce the stress and lack of relaxation experienced by adults globally. Results from the survey show more than half of those surveyed are getting less sleep than they need (52 per cent) – a decrease of one per cent from 2018.

Taking time off is one of the ways for adults to relax and de-stress, and as part of Princess’s commitment to

ensuring its guests come back from vacation feeling refreshed, renewed and rejuvenated, it has developed the Princess Luxury Bed in partnership with board-certified sleep expert, Dr. Michael Breus. Curious to try it out? More than 45,000 Princess Luxury Beds are now in over 22,000 staterooms. The bed features a plush, two-inch thick pillow top, a nine-inch, single-sided medium firm mattress for enhanced support, individually wrapped coils for less partner disturbance, a European-inspired duvet and 100 per cent luxurious Jacquardwoven cotton linens. The only downside?

Perhaps not wanting to leave your room.

Dr. Michael Breus with the Princess Luxury Bed

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TRENDS

TOP-NOTCH CANADIAN DINING

Though the final top 10 have yet to be revealed, Air Canada has released details of the 35 nominees for Canada’s Best New Restaurants presented by American Express. The annual list highlights the top restaurants that have opened across the country over the last 12 months and deliver exceptional experiences through the quality of their food, level of service and commitment to culinary creativity. The highly anticipated longlist, drawn from a coast-to-coast culinary exploration, has a beautiful variety of temptations; from a Nordic-Japanese tasting menu offered in a Thornhill, Ontario, strip mall, to an elevated oyster house in Whitehorse to a plant-forward spot called Nowhere *A Restaurant in Victoria. Based on the recommendations of a diverse new panel of food experts from all over the country, Air Canada sent one writer on an anonymous, month-long, cross-country dining marathon to determine the notable new openings that became contenders for the coveted Top 10, set to soon be announced.

The 2019 nominees for Canada’s Best New Restaurants are: ❱ Alma, Montreal

❱ Le Swan, Toronto

❱ Alobar Yorkville, Toronto

❱ Lulu Bar, Calgary

❱ ARVI, Quebec City

❱ McKiernan Luncheonette,

❱ Beach Hill Smokehouse,

Toronto ❱ Beau Mont, Montreal ❱ Black Rabbit, Moncton ❱ Como Taperia, Vancouver ❱ Dispatch, St. Catharines ❱ Donna’s, Toronto ❱ Dreyfus, Toronto ❱ Flame + Smith, Bloomfield ❱ Frilu, Thornhill ❱ Grand Cru Deli, Toronto ❱ Hearth, Saskatoon ❱ Home Block at CedarCreek Estate Winery, Kelowna ❱ House of Boateng, Victoria ❱ Le Petit Boeuf, Calgary ❱ Le Petit Mousso, Montreal

Wayfarer Oyster House

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Montreal ❱ Moccione, Montreal ❱ Monarque, Montreal ❱ Nowhere *A Restaurant,

Victoria ❱ Origines, Caraquet ❱ Partake, Edmonton ❱ Pastel, Montreal ❱ Pluvio, Ucluelet ❱ Sakai Bar, Toronto ❱ The Sensory, Canmore ❱ Seoul Shakers, Toronto ❱ Ten, Toronto ❱ Ugly Dumpling, Vancouver ❱ Wayfarer Oyster House,

Whitehorse ❱ Zuì Là, Markham

CRUISING

ROYAL STANDARDS

Luxury cruise line Cunard has announced its program for the remainder of 2021, including an extended season in Japan and new voyages in Iceland, the Baltics and North Cape. Each ship is set to focus on different unique regions of the world, with a goal of offering more immersive experiences. As such, Queen Victoria will offer a new 14-night itinerary in majestic Iceland, and will also sail a new nine-night Baltic itinerary with a maiden call at Aarhus, Denmark. Queen Elizabeth will spend more time in East Asia with five roundtrip Tokyo journeys, including a maiden call at Seogwipo in Jeju Island, South Korea, followed by two Southeast Asia sailings before heading to Australia. Flagship liner Queen Mary 2 will increase the number of the brand’s signature Transatlantic Crossings in 2021, with short breaks in Europe, along with New England & Canada voyages.

Queen Victoria

www.gbpcreative.ca

EXPLORATION AT SEA Explorers, wanderers and travellers looking to connect with cultures around the world can choose from new itineraries aboard Holland America Line’s Maasdam for its 2019-2020 cruising season.

Ranging from seven to 30 days, the popular journeys navigate the waters of Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific. Two new Mexico & Sea of Cortez cruise departures are also available, sailing roundtrip from San Diego on April 3 and 15, 2020. These 12-day itineraries feature unique scenic cruising in Bahía Magdalena and call at Cabo San Lucas, Pichilingue (La Paz), Loreto, Guaymas, Topolobampo, Mazatlán and Puerto Vallarta, deeply immersing guests in the culture of the country. A Pacific Coastal itinerary is also new to Maasdam’s route, taking travellers on a sevenday voyage from San Diego to Vancouver, with calls at Santa Barbara, Monterey and San Francisco, California; Seattle, Washington; and Victoria, British Columbia. Get in touch with your travel advisor when you’re ready to book!

Cabo San Lucas

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SAIL WITH MASTER CHEF

Hosted omakase dinners, a cooking demonstration and sake tasting are just some of the experiences to be had aboard a special sailing with Crystal Expedition Cruises featuring Master Chef Nobu Matsuhisa. The culinary star behind Crystal’s Umi Uma & Sushi Bar, Chef Nobu will join the October 15, 2020 departure of the Indonesian Immersive & The Great Barrier Reef Wayfarer Oyster House itinerary, which will explore the southern islands of Australia, the Great Barrier Reef and Indonesia’s tropics. On the menu for Crystal Endeavor guests will be three limited-availability omakase, or chef ’s choice, dinners. Two hosted in Umi Uma for 30 guests each will feature a menu of Nobu’s specialties selected and prepared by him and his chefs, and include a signed cookbook. Another, extravagant Omakase Sushi Bar & Ultimate Vintage Connoisseur Wine Dinner limited to just nine guests in the expedition yacht’s Vintage Room, will offer a multi-course feast, each dish paired with specially selected sake and wines. The dinner will be hosted by Nobu, Sake Master Hazu and Crystal’s own head sommelier. Guests will have a number of opportunities to mingle with Nobu, including via a cooking demo, a cookbook signing and photo session during the cruise. Call your travel advisor to reserve your place at the table before it’s too late.

CRUISING

Master Chef Nobu Matsuhisa

ONE OF THE GREATS It’s no small feat that the AmaMagna has joined the coveted roster of TIME magazine’s “World’s Greatest Places.”

The 2019 list showcases 100 global destinations that are breaking new ground, leading industry trends and offering visitors an extraordinary experience. At twice the width of traditional European river cruise ships, AmaWaterways’ AmaMagna is the first new build of its kind in the river cruise industry, offering more luxurious personal space onboard and bringing travellers fresh new amenities, dining venues and programs. AmaMagna welcomes just 196 guests with more than half of her 98 staterooms

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designated as spacious ocean-cruise style suites measuring between 355 and 710 sq. ft. Complementing the intimate Chef’s Table and Main restaurants, which are found across the AmaWaterways fleet, AmaMagna introduced two new dining venues for the brand – Jimmy’s, family-style dining named for AmaWaterways’ late cofounder Jimmy Murphy, and Al Fresco restaurant, with retractable ceiling and windows and a distinctive vegetableforward menu. AmaMagna also provides enhanced entertainment offerings, an impressive Zen Wellness Studio and an expansive sun deck with a large heated pool, relaxing whirlpool and sky bar.

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AmaWaterways’ AmaMagna

Danielle Liu

NOBU MATSUHISA

DELIGHT

IN EVERY SIP & EVERY BITE Amazing is Served

From morning breakfast to elegant dinners, Avalon frees your taste buds from the ordinary. Using the freshest local ingredients, our talented chefs prepare mouthwatering recipes from the region through which you’re travelling and present them in a variety of inspiring settings. And a visit to Europe is even better when it includes a discovery of the regional wines and beers! Visit wine villages, famed wine cellars, historic breweries; attend special beer tastings, and learn about European beerbrewing techniques during onboard lectures and workshops.

WINE APPRECIATION CRUISES

BEER TASTING CRUISES

Danube Dream for Wine Lovers

Tulip Time Cruise for Beer Enthusiasts

April 30 & October 29, 2020 dates

April 4, 2020 date

The Danube from the Black Sea to Germany for Wine Lovers

German Grandeur for Beer Enthusiasts

April 20, 2020 date

Burgundy & Provence for Wine Lovers October 6, 20 & 25, 2020 dates

Grand France for Wine Lovers

CULINARY CRUISES

A Culinary Experience on Burgundy & Provence March 29, 2020 date

Magnificent Europe for Beer Enthusiasts

A Culinary Experience on Rhine & Rhône Revealed

October 27, 2020 date

March 24, 2020 date

Enchanted Europe for Beer Enthusiasts

A Culinary Experience on Grand France

July 16, 2020 date

March 24, 2020 date

July 23, 2020 date

October 6 & 20, 2020 dates

Rhine & Rhône Revealed for Wine Lovers October 6 & 20, 2020 dates

3280 Bloor St. W, Centre Tower, Suite 400, Toronto, ON M8X 2X3. TICO#1893755/50015835

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TRENDS

A variety of italian food products on offer outside a store in the town of Montepulciano in Tuscany, Italy.

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Cruise ships as giant shopping carts

SARAH TRELEAVEN gives us her first-hand take on why cruising allows

foodies to pack flavours from various destinations without the stress of carrying around ever-expanding luggage

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he other day, I realized our house had run out of Sicilian Amaro, an Italian digestif. It’s sweeter and has more of a discernable citrus note than other more commonly available varieties. It’s also the perfect thing to drink when you’re too stuffed to eat dessert but you want to linger at the table a little longer.

Then I peered into the fridge and looked deep into the cupboards, noticing our distinct lack of duck confit, walnut pesto, niche honeys and exotic spices. We’re almost completely out of groceries, I told my boyfriend, straddling the line between exasperated and excited, so it must be time to go on another cruise.

I know a lot of people like the casinos, the entertainment and onboard dining options, but the main reason I like cruising is different; I think that one of the best things is the opportunity to collect foodie souvenirs in every port without having to lug them around in an increasingly heavy piece of luggage – which is really just a very specific interaction with the destination. In other words, I like to think of a cruise ship as a very large shopping cart, ferrying me between markets and vineyards and specialty grocers.

More broadly, food tourism is becoming an ever-growing segment of the overall cruising industry – whether that’s onboard cooking lessons and wine tastings, celebrity chef partnerships or shore excursions that span from street food snacking to Michelin-star dining.

But now cruise lines are also expanding their culinary offerings to include things like trips to mono producers, wineries and local markets – the best places for picking up the kinds of souvenirs that can be savoured long after a trip is over.

During Mediterranean cruises, I’ve collected a treasure trove of highly local ingredients, including briny little olives and bars of creamy chocolate so good I’ve refused to share it. In Australia, I’ve stocked up on freeze-dried fruits and Manuka honey to smear on both my toast and my skin. China is a veritable cornucopia of unfamiliar sauces to be purchased from colourful supermarkets and local spirits (that have yet to cause blindness) to be collected from roadside stalls. And in Southeast Asia, I bought my share of tamarind paste, craft beer and gummy candies in completely inexplicable shapes.

On a sailing with Windstar, which is offering more and more chef-accompanied tours of local markets, I joined an excursion to Nice’s Marché aux Fleurs. The ship’s executive chef guided us slowly through the stalls, steps from the seaside Promenade des Anglais and offered us sun-warmed strawberries to sample and small pieces of socca, a local chickpea crepe. I struggled to keep up with the group as I filled my backpack with jars of strong mustard and small bottles of Sauternes.

When cruising with Oceania, I visited a winery in Tuscany where I stood under lime trees and got tipsy on bubbly while a dachshund puppy named ‘Pinot’ ran around my legs. Then I cut loose in the gift

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These little edible curios feel like a way to indefinitely prolong my travels, the chance to return again and again to a near-perfect moment.

Local products displayed in a shop window, Bordeaux, France

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shop, stocking up on bottles of delicious effervescent rosé that I’ve since opened to celebrate a birthday, an anniversary and a cross-country move.

Sometimes, when short on time in port, I like to focus on a singular item. In Barcelona, after a very early breakfast that involved grilled pork sandwiches and two types of Prosecco, my boyfriend and I set out to find some smallbatch vermouth – the kind sold not in bottles from a liquor store but straight from the barrel in the back of an endearingly dingy bar or family-owned grocery store.

I was sure I knew the perfect place from a previous visit but I couldn’t remember exactly where it was. We pounded the pavement in El Raval and Sant Antoni, and it was always (in my mind, at least) just around the corner. Along the way, we stopped to snack on vinegar-laced anchovies atop salty potato chips, and to buy a half-wheel of Manchego I almost couldn’t wait to get home and eat.

Hours later, finally feeling defeated and due back on our ship, we turned into a random café to quickly buy a cold drink. And there, in the back corner of that small room, were six large barrels of homemade vermouth, the telltale syrupy red liquid leaking from the spigots.

On my last sailing in China, I carried home handmade XO sauce I picked up during a stop in Beijing. For months, every time I cracked the lid on that small container, the umami-heavy, shrimp-rich aroma would instantly transport me back to the restaurant I got it from, with its hand-pulled noodles, blanched spinach coated in sweet sesame sauce and huge ovens filled with Peking ducks being slowly roasted over date wood.

While my attitude towards procuring these objects tends to be ‘full steam ahead,’ the key to making them extra special once I get home requires a certain amount of restraint.

Instead of gorging on my treasures all at once, I like to take my aged vinegars and that magnificent Italian butter that inexplicably comes in a tin, my bottles of effervescent Tuscan rosé and packages of mustard-pickle potato chips that are lamentably only available for sale in Monaco, and mix them in with all of the regular groceries.

Then, little by little, I start chipping away at my collection. Months after my cruise, on a gloomy night when I don’t really want to cook, I’ll dig around my kitchen and pull out a cherished tin of cassoulet, a bottle of small-batch soy sauce, or white truffle oil perfect for drizzling on lateseason asparagus – all spoils from previous travels.

In those moments, I can be instantly transported back to a square in Rome or a street in Ho Chi Minh City, to a steaming bowl of pho that somehow pairs perfectly with the humidity or the Aperol spritz that magically takes the ache out of tired feet.

There’s also an extra-sensory level to a memory you can actually consume instead of simply hanging it on a wall or sticking it on a shelf. These little edible curios feel like a way to indefinitely prolong my travels, the chance to return again and again to a near-perfect moment.

At least until the cupboards are bare – and then it’s time to once again set sail in search of delicious memories.

Spice market

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DESTINATION SPOTLIGHT

Juneau, Alaska

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DIG INTO WILD JUNEAU Get a taste of how prominent chefs & local ingredients are making this Alaskan city a sumptuous destination for even the most evolved palate

BY ILONA KAUREMSZKY

I

T’S LUNCH TIME IN JUNEAU and Tracy’s King Crab Shack on the edge of the city’s cruise terminal is jam packed. In fact, the crowd spills onto the boardwalk before noon hits. But no one seems to mind. “It’s worth the wait,” chimes a local.

Here, most visitors arrive from Seattle after a two-hour flight or extend their vacation after a cruise to hang out in restaurants and bars frequented by locals, with the intent of discovering the essence of Juneau’s wild food scene.

“About seven years ago, there was a joke in town that if you wanted to go somewhere nice for dinner, you had to go to Seattle. This is no longer the case. Juneau’s local chefs and restaurateurs have raised the bar for dining in our little town,” says Midgi Moore, owner of Juneau Food Tours, a local company taking serious foodies on culinary walking tours rated among the best in North America. Guests are treated as “new friends” and shown all the top spots where locals hang out and eat.

It’s no surprise that the Last Frontier state capital, home to Alaska’s biggest cruise port, has morphed into a culinary destination. The wide-open waters as far as the Bering Sea are rife with seafood, while the remote wilderness that lies outside the city centre, by the Tongass National Forest, has turned into a forager’s paradise.

Locally-sourced ingredients are exactly what’s on offer at Deckhand Dave’s. The action is hopping around this food truck, a taco shrine to the freshest catch in Southeast Alaska, as Dave jets past with an order of spicy rockfish tacos. This chemistry grad left behind ambitions in medicine to turn his attention to fishing and, later, to cooking fish. And he turns

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out to be quite the cook, as evidenced by my empty plate after I’m finished eating a delicious panko crusted wild salmon filet dunked in tartar sauce.

More local delicacies await at the wildly inconspicuous SALT, which has caught Master Chef Gordon Ramsay’s attention, so much so that he has included its chef, Lionel Uddipa, in his new Gordon Ramsay: Uncharted TV show. The ambiance here can compete with a trendy resto in New York or California, but the food, however, is Alaskan King Crab about to be cooked at Tracy's King Crab Shack

About seven years ago, there was a joke in town that if you wanted to go somewhere nice for dinner, you had to go to Seattle. This is no longer the case.

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Deckhand Dave’s spicy rockfish tacos Bocca al Lupo

inboccaallupoak.com, Travel Juneau

typically Alaskan. My fresh, wild halibut is served lightly seared and paired with a New Zealand white wine with tangy notes that match the homemade kimchi.

As I stroll through downtown Juneau later, I pass The Rookery Café, a bistro hub created by three-time James Beard nominee chef Beau Schooler. Prominent name on the Juneau food scene, Schooler is also at the helm of a few other local eateries, including In Bocca al Lupo, located within Silverbow Inn’s old bakery space. Originally built in 1898 in the historic Messerschmidt building, the inn is the city’s only urban boutique hotel. It caters to eco-urbanists as a place as fierce and wild as Juneau’s gastronomy itself.

And in my escapade to find wild Alaskan cuisine, an overnight stay here perfectly completes the culinary circle.

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EXPLORING

CHARTING A DELECTABLE NEW COURSE FOR DINING A team of world-class celebrity chefs is inspiring exciting new dining experiences from the Pan-Asian flavors of Tamarind to

7-Day Alaskan Inside Passage

14-Day Great Alaskan Explorer

Roundtrip Vancouver Koningsdam | May 23, 2020

Roundtrip Vancouver Maasdam | May 18, 2020

Taxes, fees and port expenses of $267 included

Taxes, fees and port expenses of $475 included

Exclusive offer: Ensemble hosted sailing

Exclusive offer: US $75 onboard spending money per stateroom

luxurious dining at Pinnacle Grill. Onshore, enjoy unique optional culinary excursions, in partnership with FOOD & WINE, that combine food, wine and culture.

OCEAN-VIEW FROM

2,479

$

CAD

OCEAN-VIEW FROM

3,079

$

CAD

Fares are based on Promo LG. Featured fares are per person based on double occupancy, cruise or Land+Sea Journeys only. Fares are in Canadian dollars. All savings amounts are included in the fares shown. Taxes, Fees & Port Expenses are included and range from CAD 267 to CAD 475. Subject to availability. For more information about our stateroom categories and suite descriptions, and to view deck plans to/ W your cruise, refer to hollandamerica.com or the appropriate Holland America brochure. Offers have limited space and 22and for B Ofull N Vterms I V A Nand T Tconditions R A V E L . Capplicable A • FA L L INT E R 2 0please 19 may be modified or withdrawn without prior notice. Other restrictions may apply. Ships’ Registry: The Netherlands

WINES of the

WORLD

Unique grapes, unique places

BY BRITTANY O’ROURKE

T

HE CLASSICS ARE CLASSICS FOR A reason, but just as there are always more destinations to explore for a world traveller, the same is true for a lover of wine. Tucked away in tiny remote places, clinging to the cliffs of an island volcano, or even secretly nestled just beside a

ASSYRTIKO:

The stunning colours and breathtaking seaside views of Santorini, Greece have drawn travellers to the island for years, but many tourists do not realize that they are in one of the most historical and fascinating wine regions that Europe has to offer. Santorini is home to the white grape Assyrtiko – the prestige grape of the country and the undisputed mother of Greek grapes. It is a wine that tastes of the utterly unique place from which it comes.

Santorini is one of the driest wine regions in the world with an average of less than five inches of rainfall monthly. The soil in these coastal vineyards is incredibly dry white volcanic rock, and the wind is so high that the vines must be weaved into little baskets on the ground instead of a traditional trellis. This harsh environment makes for a wine filled with tension, verve and unprecedented minerality.

famous tourist site, there are wine regions to surprise and delight far beyond what we see on our local wine lists. An adventure to these regions – or, at least, these bottles – will reward the curious with a twist on a familiar favourite or perhaps an experience that is wholly new.

Gaia Thalassitis Santorini 2017: Gaia winery is located in the heart of Santorini and creates a truly classic style of Assyrtiko with their Thalassitis. Coming from 80-year-old vines, this wine is defined by racy volcanic rock and sea salt before it unfolds into mouth-watering citrus and a subtly honeyed aroma. Thalassitis has a medium plus body grounded by a mouth-tingling high acidity that any dry Riesling lover will enjoy. This is the perfect match for any seafood or shellfish dish but is particularly sublime with the salty flavours of sea urchin and caviar.

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LISTAN NEGRO:

The red grape Listan Negro hails from the Spanish Canary Islands, a cluster of seven islands that are admittedly much closer to Morocco than to mainland Spain. The winemaking in the Canaries is concentrated in the largest of the group, Tenerife, as the vineyards curl around the island on slopes in between the sea-level villages and a 3,700-metre volcano at its centre.

This isolated area is home to vines approaching 300 years old, and the constant sunshine brings an impressive density of fruit to even the palest-coloured red wines.

Listan Negro draws from its unique locale and is wine with subtle power of fruit and an addictive spiciness.

RKATSITELI:

Rkatsiteli is the most beloved grape from the country of Georgia. While Georgia and winemaking may seem an unusual combination for us in North America, the truth is that Georgia is the birthplace of wine as we know it, with archaeological evidence showing vinification in the region more than 9,000 years ago.

Though Rkatsiteli is a medium-bodied creamy white grape, don’t be surprised if you open a bottle and find an amber-coloured wine in your glass. While buzzwords like ‘orange wine’ and ‘amphora aging’ are something new and stylish in our market, this style is an ancient tradition in Georgia. Winemakers often leave their white Rkatsiteli grapes on their skins as they ferment in their traditional ‘qvevri’ or beeswax-lined clay amphorae, buried in the underbelly of the earth.

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Envinate Taganan Margalagua 2017: The Margalagua is from a single parcel of braided old vines on Tenerife, and the wine is perfect for a Pinot Noir lover with a sense of adventure. The aromatics are explosive. Impactful white and black pepper will settle to reveal ripe red plum and spiced blackberry laced with purple flowers and dried herb.

The palate is mineral and energetic but finishes softly, making it a perfect match for pork and the intense flavours of Asian cuisine.

Pheasant’s Tears Rkatsiteli 2017: Made in the traditional amber style, the colour will set this wine apart on your table before your first sip. The aromatics give what the colour suggests, with dried and fresh peaches and apricots tied together with a sweet exotic spice and savoury dried herbs. The palate stands out, as the skin contact adds a refined texture and a delicate grip to the wine, feeling somewhere in between a rich white and a light red. Pair this wine with olives, curry or a slow-cooked chicken tagine with couscous.

MONDEUSE:

The French Alps is another traveller’s dream. Whether renting ski chalets in the winter or spending summers swimming in Lake Geneva, many tourists have enjoyed their vacation without realizing that one of France’s trendiest wine regions was quietly nestled beside them. This Alpine region is called Savoie, sitting on France’s eastern edge as it meets Switzerland and Northern Italy. Savoie has a medley of fresh white grapes such as Roussette and Gringet, but the darling of the red grapes is undeniably Mondeuse. Mondeuse feels like a marriage of eastern France’s favourite grapes, rewarding its drinker with the acidity of a Pinot Noir, the red fruit and pleasure of a Gamay, and the spice and florality of a Syrah. The undiscovered nature of Savoie almost guarantees small production and artisanal winemaking, making every bottle seem like a treasure.

Domaine Giachino Mondeuse 2017: This is a benchmark Mondeuse from a small organic producer in the Chartreuse Hills. While the Listan Negro was a Pinot Noir for the adventurous, this Mondeuse is for the Pinot drinker who wants to be refreshed. The fruit is bright and crunchy, tart cranberry, sour red cherry and delicate red flowers define the wine. The medium structure doesn’t weigh it down, and it finishes fresh like the Alpine region it comes from. This wine is a lovely complement to squab and duck with cherry compote.

OBAIDEH AND MERWAH:

Perhaps the seemingly most unlikely country for winemaking on this list is in the Bekaa Valley in Lebanon. The valley’s winemaking history dates back to the Phoenicians, and if a visitor dares take the treacherous drive, they will arrive in an oasis of lush green vines against red terracotta soils, framed by the mountainous backdrop behind. This isolated region has gained a cult following in the past 50 years after the late Serge Hochar of Chateau Musar began crafting beautiful reds and whites which, time and time again, were compared to the complexity and beauty of Bordeaux.

While the reds are often made from French varieties, the whites are made with ancient Lebanese mountain grapes Obaideh and Merwah. When aged in oak on a high altitude slope, these grapes bring the roundness and spiciness reminiscent of Semillon in a white Bordeaux.

Chateau Musar White 2009: Musar is the prestige producer from the Bekaa Valley, and this wine speaks of luxury and decadence. Famous for releasing back vintage wines, Musar’s 2009 comes to you with the bottle age that reveals its beauty. Fullbodied, creamy and golden, the sweet spice of oak and honey complement ripe peach and citrus. This wine is perfect for rich main dishes of foie gras and seafood.

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JOURNEYS

VIENNA Exploring the café culture of

Beyond the common tourist haunts, some of Vienna’s best stories are told within the walls of its coffee houses

BY SMITA CHANDRA & SANJEEV CHANDRA

Shopping on Graben street in the center of Vienna

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E HAVE EXPERIENCED Vienna’s charms in many different ways: visiting museums, listening to scintillating concerts, admiring baroque palaces and simply walking along its grand boulevards. But for us, the real Vienna lives in the coffee houses that are at the heart of the city’s culture.

For centuries, the aristocrats, intellectuals and artists who made Vienna one of the most exciting cities in the world flocked to cafés to meet, flirt, gossip and debate. Philosophers, writers, musicians and even revolutionaries had their favourite cafés, and many of the intellectual and political movements that defined the 20th century were shaped in heated arguments over cups of coffee.

Vienna claims to have the oldest cafés in Europe, dating back to the late 17th century. A frequently recounted story traces the founding of the first café to 1683 when the Ottoman Turks, who had besieged the city for months, retreated hastily while abandoning most of their supplies. Among these was a large stock of coffee beans, which were widely used in the Middle East but little known in Europe at that time. The only person to recognize their value was Georg Franz Kolschitzky, one of the Viennese defenders, who had spent time in Turkey. Kolschitzky promptly commandeered the beans, opened a café, and served coffee with milk and sugar to make it more suitable for western palates. This story is now part of Vienna lore, immortalized by a statue of Kolschitzky pouring a cup of coffee, placed on a street named after him.

Cafés soon came to define Vienna’s cosmopolitanism and charm. For the price of a cup of coffee, any ordinary person could enter a world of luxury, sink into an armchair, and be waited upon deferentially. Cafés set out a wide selection of newspapers for their patrons and provided chess boards and cards, giving them more reasons to linger. Pastries and food were added to the café menu so that customers could stay all day if they chose. Young artists and intellectuals, who often had no other space to congregate, found a new home in cafés and made them the hub of Vienna’s buzzing political and creative life.

Today, the cafés of Vienna are as busy as ever and serve a bewildering variety of coffees.

However, asking for coffee will only get you a perplexed look for the Viennese have

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developed their own unique terminology which you should learn before you order. You can choose between a Schwarzer (espresso), Brauner (espresso with cream), Melange (espresso with steamed and frothed milk), Franziskaner (espresso with steamed milk and whipped cream), or Einspänner (diluted espresso with whipped cream). Here are a few cafés we recommend: CAFÉ FRAUENHUBER Every one of Vienna’s historic cafés has a hundred stories to tell of the people who passed through its doors, but only Café Frauenhuber, Vienna’s oldest, can truthfully claim that both Mozart and Beethoven played music here for their guests. The décor inside the café is understated by Viennese standards, but still full of charm. This is a place where you can relax and linger. They also serve meals with all the Austrian classics such as schnitzel and goulash on the menu, and it is a great place to try strudel – both the common apple strudel and the harder-to-find plum strudel.

Café Frauenhuber

CAFÉ CENTRAL This is a place that exudes Viennese elegance at its best.

Housed in a building modelled on a Venetian palace, it has high vaulted ceilings, soaring marble columns and portraits of Austrian royalty on the walls. Leon Trotsky was a regular at Café Central during his time as an exile in Vienna and met Joseph Stalin there. They may have caught sight of the foreign minister of Austria, another frequent visitor, as they plotted to undermine the great empires of Europe. The café was a favourite meeting place for writers such as Stefan Zweig and Peter Altenberg, the latter who was famous for having his mail and laundry delivered to the café. Altenberg’s devotion to Café Central has been memorialized by a life-size figure of him at a table near the entrance. Seat yourself next to him and order a slice of their signature chocolate-orange Café Central Torte.

CAFÉ HAWELKA In a city famous for lavishly furnished and decorated coffee houses, Café Hawelka defiantly stays the same modest haunt for artists that it was half a century ago.

Leopold and Josefine Hawelka opened the café in 1945 and ran the place for the next 66 years during which time it entertained visiting celebrities such as Andy Warhol, Arthur Miller and Peter Ustinov. Entering Café Hawelka is like stepping back in time, as it has not been renovated since its founding and still has the scarred wooden chairs, creaking floors and vintage posters on the wall that make it a unique Vienna institution. You can dawdle as long as you like, leafing through one of the many newspapers provided. There is no menu, but the food on offer is listed on a blackboard. Try the buchteln, sweet jam-filled buns made according to Josefine’s original recipe.

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Smita sampling the menu at Café Central

Café Hawelka

Jey Han Lau

Cafe Central

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Café Landtmann

CAFÉ SACHER Franz Sacher, an apprentice cook at the imperial palace, saw his opportunity to advance when the royal chef de cuisine fell ill just before an important banquet in 1832. He did not fail, serving a chocolate cake with a layer of apricot jam covered with chocolate icing. This dessert so captivated the diners that it was henceforth

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Original Sacher Torte from the Hotel Sacher

known as the Sachertorte and became one of the most beloved of Viennese specialities. Franz’s son Eduard went on to found the Hotel Sacher, whose café now has the exclusive right to sell the “original” Sachertorte.

Café Sacher is located next to the Vienna Opera House, making it a great place to watch the crowds go by.

The interior is in classic Viennese style, with couches covered in red velvet, which is reminiscent of the splendour of imperial Austria.

Hotel Sacher

CAFÉ LANDTMANN Franz Landtmann’s ambition was to build the most elegant coffee house in Vienna, and most people would agree that he succeeded when he opened his establishment in 1873. Renovated several times, its stylish interior is marked by wood panelling, highbacked sofas and glittering chandeliers. Sigmund Freud often dropped into Café Landtmann, where he was likely to encounter other regulars such as composer Gustav Mahler or writer Thomas Mann. They offer an extensive selection of pastries – try their Maroniblüte, a waffle cup filled with sour cherries and chestnut mousse.

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JOURNEYS

THE AZORES: An adventure through the freshest islands in the Atlantic BY TIM JOHNSON

A

STRING OF VOLCANIC ISLANDS sitting in the middle of the Atlantic, this archipelago – pounded by waves, girded by forbidding cliffs, all of it often shrouded in mist – was long a critical way station for explorers seeking the New World, including, most famously, Christopher Columbus, who stopped by a couple of times. But those who settled here, who came here for the long haul to build a life, mostly fell into two categories: farmers, and fishermen. And today?

I’m the latter.

Rolling out from Angra do Heroismo on the Big White, the clouds above darkening by the minute, the winds blustering to a stiff 15 knots, I ready my line, hoping for a big catch. Reaching the northwest corner of the tiny island of Terceira, a place exposed to the elements and known for rough weather, I brace myself against the white hull of the boat, casting out into rocky waters, under a watery sun. Given my past experience with a rod and reel, I’m not hopeful, having had little joy (or luck) in the past.

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The lighthouse Farol do Arnel near Nordeste

Pico island vineyards

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Peter’s Café Sport in Horta

But – the Big White now steadily rocking, my guide, Paolo, calling instructions from the confines of the wheelhouse – the fish hits my line as suddenly as a bolt of lightning. And soon, having fought him, reeling hard, he’s flashing in the bottom of the boat, ferocious and beautiful, white teeth gnashing, looking like a cross between a lake trout and a shark. Paolo pats me on the back, telling me I’ve caught a bonito – a true sport fish.

Within the next half hour, I’ll hook into two more fighters, these ones both pink grouper. Reeling up and heading back to port, leaving the growing storm behind us, my stomach rumbles knowing that I will soon have something similar, steaming, with a side of vegetables, on my plate.

I’m island-hopping in the Azores, a growing tourism destination with direct flights from Canada. Technically part of Portugal, these nine islands are a place apart, each one with its own individual personality and, collectively, an autonomous spirit. With waters swimming with abundant sea life, super-productive, mineral-rich fields and vineyards flourishing in the volcanic soil, they have everything you need for a delicious vacation – namely, fresh fish, meat, greens and, perhaps most importantly, an ocean of good wine.

I begin on Terceira, a round, 400-square-kilometre island with about 55,000 residents and a long history. The winding lanes, bell towers and cobblestone squares of Angra do Heroismo form the oldest city on the Azores and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Based here, Paolo drives me around the island. We hike into an empty volcano and walk through the verdant countryside – once, past an angry bull. And we stop at wine tastings and cheese museums, and through the black rock formations and natural swimming pools along the coastal lava field at Biscoitos – itself named after a popular old-time snack for sailors.

And, along the way, we enjoy many very good meals – tuna steaks, cooked just right, and grilled grouper, flaky and perfect, and even hamburgers made from some of

A cow resting in a lake near mount Pico

the best beef I’ve ever tasted, using beef dry-aged, like a fine cut of sirloin, for more than two weeks. We spend part of an afternoon at the Quinta do Martelo, where owner Gilberto Viera takes us on a rambling tour of a farm that reconstructs five centuries of life here, recreating a time when agricultural enterprises formed the heart and soul of these islands. In the past, these farms were almost whole villages, and the Martelo relives those days and includes stone homes, which now host guests in a sort of period-specific boutique hotel, as well as shops, a restaurant and a mill.

“Right here, they grew, and made everything we need for our lives,” Viera tells us. “Nowadays, they call it organic and local. But we call it traditional. Because if it’s fish, it’s fish, and if it’s meat, it’s meat.” We sample a little of everything grown on site – fava beans, olives, goat cheese with a red pepper sauce and wash it down with red wine.

Then, soon after, we dig into a hearty lunch of alcatra, beef rump slow-cooked and served up in a clay pot, a meal that was once reserved for special occasions, like the Festival of the Holy Ghost.

From Terceira, I make my way to the neighbouring islands of Pico and Faial. These two, within sight of one another, form an uneasy pair, the former traditionally home to workers, the latter to (rich) landowners. Within minutes, I’m told the favourite local joke-that’s-not-a-joke for the first­ (of many) times: “On Pico, we love rainy, foggy days – because you can’t see Faial.” The message: the workers here don’t like their closest neighbour or its wealthy residents.

But, other than the namesake volcano – a massive, green cone that dominates almost every vista here – Pico has another, major claim to fame: a strange and wonderful wine culture. Some four-fifths of all the wine produced on the Azores is grown here, and, for centuries, it’s been exported across Europe, as far as the royal court of the tsars in Russia (I’m told there’s even a reference to it in Leo Tolstoy’s War and Peace). Planted first in the 15th century, almost a thousand hectares have now been preserved as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

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Lakes of Sete Cidades

Led by another local guide, Rai, we walk among a complex network of tiny plots (called currais) surrounded by 1.5-metre volcanic stone walls, which reflect the heat of the sun onto the vines within, and protect them from winds off the mountain and ocean. There’s not much sun today, and a mist hangs over the water – and Rai notes that it’s a good day because– well, you know.

She also shows me a series of adegas near the coast, small stone villas passed down through generations of families, where they still gather to eat and drink on fair-weather days. Nearby, we see the tracks of oxcarts, worn into the stone over hundreds of years, carrying barrels for export. “We have a saying here, ‘Life on Pico is harder than a rock,’” Rai says. “From here, the wine went to rowboats, to Faial, to the rest of the world.”

Before heading to Faial, I have a tasting with a local winemaker, Fortunato Duarte Garcia. He tells me that three things make the vintages here special – the acidity of the mineral-rich soil, the proximity of the sea, and the rare varietals, including Arinto dos Acores and Terrantez do Pico. We make our way through a series of bottles without labels, all made from his small vineyard, just 3.5 acres. And then he favours me with a small taste of his best, Czar Vinho Licoroso (one vintage retails for more than $1,300 CAD per bottle). It’s rich, a late-harvest wine and provides good fuel for my short trip to Faial.

I cross the narrow channel between the two islands where, as it turns out, nobody has heard Pico’s favourite joke. Many adventures await here: Visiting the site of one of the 20th century’s most famous volcanic eruptions, Capelinhos, which boiled for more than a year in the 1950s, lava increasing the island’s size by more than two square kilometres, with thousands displaced (many, to Canada). Also, massive blue whales, which I will see tomorrow, just a few metres from the side of a zodiac.

And, Horta Marina, with its hundreds of yachts, this,

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perhaps the most important layover for modern-day explorers, making their way across the Atlantic in both directions.

But first, I will eat. Finding a pub called Peter Café Sport right near the marina, I join some of those sailors who have made this place something of a legend, spreading word of its fresh seafood by word-of-mouth across the ocean. I settle in, tucking into a tuna steak, fortifying and readying myself for the rest of Faial with more islands just on the horizon.

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Hosted cruises are subject to change without notice, subject to availability, and may be withdrawn at any time. Other terms/conditions apply. Ask your Ensemble® travel consultant for details. ‡ Free Gratuities offer is based on pre-payment by Cunard of suggested gratuities in the amount of $13.50 per person per day for Grill Suites. Free Gratuities offer is only available for Grill Suite guests. This offer is not available for third/fourth berth guests. Offer is not transferable and may not be combinable with other offers. Free Gratuities are applicable to bookings on voyages included in this promotion only. w Free Drinks Package offer is applicable only to guests reserving a Princess Grill Suite or Queens Grill Suite on voyages 7 nights or longer listed under this promotion. The Free Drinks offer applies to all drinks $12 and under purchased on board during the cruise. Drinks under this promotion can be purchased and consumed free of charge by the participant only, and may not be purchased for people who are not booked on the promotion. Offer is not applicable to guests under 21 years of age. Drinks priced above the threshold shown above must be purchased at full price. Paying the difference between the threshold and the higher price is not permitted. The standard 15% service charge applied against all bar orders will be included under this promotion for all drinks ordered under the price threshold. Tipping beyond the 15% is at the discretion of the guests.

For drinks purchased over the price threshold, the 15% service charge will apply as standard. Drinks ordered on this promotion will be signed for in the normal way with the cost of the drinks appearing on the sales receipt. The cost is credited back to the guest folio on a nightly basis. This promotion does not apply to drinks ordered as room service or in-room mini-bar (except Queens Grill), bottles of wine or drinks packages. Cunard operates a Responsible Service of Alcohol Policy.

Offer is not available for third/fourth berth guests, is not transferable and may not be combinable with other offers. No cash value. Promotion code ZED. © 2019 Cunard. Ships’ Registry: Bermuda. The Cunard logo and logotype are registered trademarks of Carnival plc, an English company trading as Cunard Line. Queen Mary 2, Queen Elizabeth and Queen Victoria are trademarks owned by Cunard. All rights reserved in the United States and other countries.

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JOURNEYS

FINDING ALOHA ON

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MOLOKAI T his Hawaiian island embodies the true sense of the destination’s spirit – love, friendship & responsibility

BY LIZ FLEMING

Kalaupapa National Historical Park on the island of Molokai

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B

IGGEST ISN’T ALWAYS BEST – PARTICULARLY in the travel world. Book a trip to the tiny island of Molokai and you’ll soon discover everything you always dreamed Hawaii was, but could never find on the other islands. Indeed, this place is the real Hawaiian deal.

Fifth largest of the islands, Molokai is just 60 kilometres long and 16 kilometres wide, and it doesn’t have a single skyscraper or shopping mall. In fact, you can drive all over the island without ever finding so much as a traffic light. Seven small hotels offer 140 rooms – that’s it – and in most of them, your wake-up call will be the sound of a rooster crowing under your porch. Don’t look for glitzy beach bars, five-for-ten-dollars t-shirt shops or casinos. You won’t find a single one.

What you will find are roughly 7,400 proud, friendly people ready to tell you that they’re true Hawaiians.

According to state statistics, more people on Molokai have Hawaiian blood than on any other island, but it’s more than genetics that gives this island its authentic feel. It’s all about an attitude of simplicity and a dedication to maintaining the Hawaiian way of life – of living aloha.

"Aloha" is the first word you’ll learn on any of the islands and you’ll instantly find yourself using it as your standard hello and goodbye. But the word – particularly on Molokai – means far more. "Aloha" translates to: ‘al’ – face-to-face, and ‘ha’ – the breath of life. In its fullest interpretation, aloha means love, friendship and responsibility, extended not just to your fellow human beings but also to the earth. The Hawaiian Islands are the most isolated population on the planet, widely separated from their nearest neighbours – Japan by nearly 6,500 kilometres and California, by 3,800 kilometres. In order to survive, they foster harmony and

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Molokai sea cliffs

preserve their natural resources.

The Hawaiian “Aloha Spirit” law was officially enacted in 1986 and it’s taken very seriously. Aloha is both a state of mind and a way of life – it’s the essence of Molokai.

You’ll feel it when you meet Anakala Pilipo Solatorio, the last survivor of a 1946 tsunami that virtually turned Molokai upside down, sweeping through beaches, rocks, trees, homes and anything else in its path. Perhaps because he survived when so many others did not, Anakala feels he was chosen to be the protector and the keeper of traditions in his lifelong home – the beautiful, isolated Halawa Valley.

As you walk down the narrow pathway through the lush green fronds and grasses to his home, Anakala blows his conch shell to welcome you. He stands solemnly,

Hawaii Tourism Authority / Tor Johnson, Dana Edmunds

Veiw of Molokai beach

encouraging you to come close and to lean towards him until your foreheads touch. “Now,” he says, “we will share the ‘ha’…the breath of life.”

I feel unsure as I place my forehead against that of a relative stranger and even odder to breathe deliberately into his face and inhale his breath – but the practice is strangely calming and welcoming.

Together, we sit on his palapa-covered porch and Anakala tells us his stories of the valley, the tsunami, his family and his belief in the Hawaiian way of life as he knows it. As we listen to his soft voice and look at his treasured collection of handmade leis, newspaper clippings from 1946, family photos and more, we begin to relax – perhaps like never before. In the background, the sound of a waterfall adds to the ambiance and we

Molokai map at Kaunakakai Airport

feel as if we’re now understanding aloha a little better.

One of the stories Anakala shares didn’t take place in his valley, but rather miles away at the base of the cliffs at Kalaupapa. There, in 1866, the first Hawaiian victims of Hansen’s disease (then called leprosy) were shipped by government health officials to quarantine them from the rest of the islands. Cut off on three sides by ocean and on the fourth, by 488-metre sea cliffs, Kalaupapa became first, their prison and ultimately, their home.

As Anakala describes it, having a family member stricken with leprosy created both fear and loathing.

People desperately tried to hide ailing relatives, but ultimately, the government inspectors would come knocking.

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Being exiled to Kalaupapa meant never again seeing your family, friends or home but strangely, the story was less tragic than you might expect. A visit to the museum that commemorates the Kalaupapa colony showed that a town was built, marriages happened, children were born and new families were created.

There were dances, parties, celebrations and a sense of real community in a place where there might only have been death and despair. In 1969, the mandatory quarantine order was lifted, but many residents refused to leave, choosing instead to stay where they had made their lives. There are still a handful of people living there, in what is now Kalaupapa National Historical Park, and they plan to remain.

We have to see it for ourselves and so, after leaving Anakala in his beautiful valley, we drive to the cliffs overlooking Kalaupapa. Below us, the ocean that surrounds the settlement is a brilliant cobalt blue, the sun is warm on our backs and a soft breeze plays with our hair. Though we realize that the Kalaupapa residents may have chosen to stay because the ravages of their disease made integration into a larger society uncomfortable, we also wonder if they weren’t simply unwilling to leave the pristine retreat the colony had become – a place of quiet, of sunshine, of waves and of acceptance. Perhaps they’d created their own version of the aloha way.

Everywhere we turn on Molokai, we find that spirit alive and well. When we mention how much we’d like to get out on the water, for instance, our guide quickly arranges for us to join the Wa’akapaemua Canoe Club members for an early morning paddle. No matter that they have regular teams and ordinarily no empty seats – they happily fit us in, teach us to stroke in cadence

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with them and take us out in their enormous canoes to see giant sea turtles hovering just below the waves. We turn out to be terrible paddlers, but the Canoe Club members graciously ignore our splashing and lilydipping. It’s all good…all aloha.

Though we eat wonderful, freshly caught fish most nights in Molokai, our sweetest food memory – and indeed, one of our happiest aloha moments – has nothing to do with healthy dining. Because Molokai has no movie theatres, no wild dance clubs and no shopping centres, we’d been thinking that our evenings would be pretty quiet. But that was before we’d been introduced to the Kanemitsu Bakery in the small – and really, the only town of any size – Kaunakakai. One night after dinner, we join the lineup at the bakery’s back window, and stand drinking in the aroma. Soon, we’re handed the Kanemitsu special – a large loaf of what the chalkboard menu on the wall calls ‘hot bread,’ slathered in your choice of cream cheese, jam, cinnamon, butter or all of the above. Yes, it’s a whole loaf and no, you don’t share. Instead, you join all your new Molokaian friends in the middle of the street and you wolf down as much of that loaf as you can.

Leftovers? Guard them jealously until morning – they make an incredible, carb-laden breakfast.

Taste, they tell us, is the sense with the power to generate the most meaningful memories. If so, then I’m sure from now on, every time I smell bread baking, I’ll be transported back to that small town in Molokai, where the sweet, simple loaves eaten on a small town street corner were all we needed to make our night.

Perhaps that’s another essence of aloha – the ability to savour and share life’s simplest pleasures.

Hawaii Tourism Authority / Dana Edmunds

Kalaupapa Cemetary, St. Philomena Catholic Church

THE INSPIRATION FOR MY DISHES? IT COMES FROM THE PLACES I VISIT, THE CREW I LOVE AND ALL THE GUESTS I’VE COME TO KNOW.

Chef de Cuisine, Prego

©2019 Crystal Cruises, LLC.

W H E R E L U X U R Y I S P E R S O N A L™

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JOURNEYS

THE ISLAND THAT TIME FORGOT

Two hours by boat from Athens, crowd-free Hydra has a tendency to steal the hearts of those who seek a taste of traditional Greek life

BY RACHEL LEES

No cars allowed.

Donkeys on the Greek island, Hydra.

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AVIGATING SLICK COBBLESTONE staircases on donkey back can be a nerve-wracking experience, especially for first-timers. Should my jack put a hoof wrong, I worry as we make our way down into town, we could slide comically, if not dangerously, down the stairs, legs akimbo.

Of course, this scenario takes on significantly more gravity when you’re also carrying a feast of Greek take-out food for your husband’s entire family.

It’s early fall – no pun intended – on the idyllic island of Hydra in Greece, when I find myself in precisely this situation. We – my husband, his parents and two sisters, along with their partners – have flown in for one week of relaxation and reconnection.

Two large bags of souvlaki, gyros, several Greek salads and a massive size portion of baklava, balance precariously on my knees while I try to hold my position as we clipclop up the steep staircases to our villa on the hilltop. Though the journey makes me mildly anxious, most of it is spent laughing and bonding with my sister-in-law over the absurdity of it all. Well, that, and being struck by the beauty of the location we are in.

“Aesthetically it is perfect,” said American writer Henry Miller of his first view of Hydra (pronounced ee-drah) – and he was right.

There’s something undeniably enchanting about the crescent-shaped island in the Saronic Gulf which, Miller says, “rises out of the sea like a huge loaf of petrified bread.”

The town wraps, amphitheatre-like, around a postcard-perfect port that glimmers in the sunshine. Content cats laze on those cobblestone streets, which weave through piazzas and past whitewashed houses adorned with pink and purple bougainvillea, before tapering off to make way for rock-strewn hills, speckled with wildflowers and pine trees.

And then there’s the sunset, when a golden tangerine glow spans the horizon, turning the surrounding islands indigo and casting the ocean in a steely blue.

Miller and I aren’t the only ones enamoured with Hydra; Italian actress Sophia Loren described it as “one of the most beautiful places in the world.” The island was the setting for her 1957 romantic film “Boy on a Dolphin,” in which she plays a local sponge-diver – during the 1940s and 50s, sea sponges were the island’s main industry.

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Left to right: Traditional taverna, patrolling the port of Hydra

which offer an authentic taste of traditional life and culture. Wooden chairs and chequered tablecloths aren’t a gimmick for the tourists, and the kitchens are truly a family affair. And, just like at Xeri Elia, the emphasis is on locally caught seafood and traditional fare. It’s no wonder we gravitate to them repeatedly during our time here.

We gorge ourselves on classic staples of the Hydriot table, including meze (small share plates) laden with fresh dill or parsley, fava (yellow split pea dip), gigandes (butter beans roasted in tomato sauce) and moreish lemon-drenched dolmades (stuffed vine leaves). They’re followed by entrées of grilled octopus xiato (marinated in oil and vinegar) and keftedákia (meatballs) served with homemade tzatziki (yogurt, garlic and cucumber dip), and washed down with a shot of anise-flavoured aperitif, ouzo or tsipouro.

Plates decorated by customers, including celebrity diners British model Kate Moss and fashion designer Vivienne Westwood, may line the walls of Piato restaurant but in the kitchen, the owner’s 80-something mother, Mrs. Keti, commands the stove. It’s hard to pass up her homemade meze, like the dolmades, smoky melitzanosalata (roasted eggplant dip) and creamy taramasalata (cured cod roe dip) – made all the better by the port views.

Rachel Lees

In the 1960s, Canadian singer-songwriter Leonard Cohen bought a house here for $1,500, a few days after his 26th birthday. In a letter to his mother, he wrote, “It has a huge terrace with a view of a dramatic mountain and shining white houses…I live on a hill and life has been going on here exactly the same for hundreds of years.”

He wasn’t exaggerating. Back in the 1800s, the island hummed with wealthy merchants, admirals and sea captains who built Venetian-style stone palazzos, in the hills surrounding the port. By the time Cohen arrived, it had begun attracting artists but little else had changed – and was still largely devoid of running water and electricity; Cohen’s seminal hit “Bird on the Wire” was inspired by the introduction of powerlines, which provided the island’s winged creatures a new place to perch.

Even today, Hydra clings to vestiges of a simpler time.

Although we arrive by hydrofoil, when we step onto the dock, there are no cars, scooters or bikes waiting for us – they’re not allowed on the island. Rather, donkeys and mules wait to ferry fresh produce and luggage from the port to the homes, tavernas and inns throughout Hydra.

We chose this island because unlike Greece’s famous party islands, life moves at a gentler pace here. Our days are spent hiking through the hillside, plunging into the ocean off pebbled beaches, and eating home-style Greek food at family-run restaurants in courtyards and on cliff sides.

Cohen and his bohemian pals – Australian writers George Johnston and Charmian Clift among them – could often be found below the clock tower on the port at Kafenion O Katsikas, a small grocery store with a few tables outside. It was here he played his first concert with just a guitar and a handful of friends for an audience. Now Roloi Café, we discover it’s a lovely place to sit with a coffee or ouzo in hand and watch boats dock.

One of the most enduring portraits of Cohen, which appeared on the cover of LIFE Magazine, was taken beneath the tree outside Xeri Elia Taverna. Often referred to as Douskos Taverna, it has been run by the Douskos family for close to 200 years. We stumble upon it by accident during a late morning stroll, and decide it's too inviting to pass up, so we stop for lunch.

Occupying a private square strung with white lamps, the taverna is known for its fresh local seafood and authentic Greek dishes such as gemista (roast tomatoes and peppers stuffed with rice). Though it’s off-season and we have the courtyard to ourselves, save for a few locals, the music lives on during the peak of summer, if in a slightly different guise; old men play guitar and sing Greek songs on weekends.

It’s an almost farcical scene – the stereotype of a Greek feast, where the residents of a close-knit community come together, linking arms, clinking glasses. While Hydra may not have celebrity chefs, there are slick trendy restaurants such as Techne, which serve fine modern Greek cuisine and inventive cocktails.

Still, the island’s heart can be found in its tavernas,

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Left to right: Dinner at an outdoor taverna, traditional horiatiki (Greek salad)

Then there’s Vlychos Beach, only five minutes away via water-taxi ride, where chef Marina is calling the shots in the kitchen at her down-home, eponymous tavern. Here, chunky eggplant dip, awash with garlicky oil and lemon juice, pairs beautifully with house-baked bread. We round it all out with a plate of grilled fish and a glass of rosé.

As a result of a tip from a local man we meet down at the port, our little clan also makes our way to Taverna Christina.

Visitors and locals alike flock to this unpretentious familyrun eatery in Kamini for grilled fagria (red sea bream) or melanouria (saddled sea bream), hauled fresh off the boat.

Nowadays, Christina’s son Dimitris and his wife Maria are in charge of the restaurant. Herbs and vegetables, wherever possible, are plucked straight from the family garden, Maria tells us. They’re used in favourites such as buttery saganaki (fried cheese), creamy beetroot salad and horiatiki (Greek salad) loaded with large chunks of feta drizzled in oil. Topping it off are “spoon sweets” of yogurt with cardamom and candied carrot.

The tendency to refer to restaurants by the owner or cook’s name rather than its official moniker sometimes sees travellers led astray. Taverna Christina, for example, is not to be confused with another eatery in Hydra Town called Gitoniko; previously owned by Christina and Manolis, it is now in the capable hands of their son Constantinos.

At Gitoniko, elevated traditional Greek fare is served in a typical old Hydriot house with stone floors and wooden ceilings, and on the vine-covered roof terrace.

The specialty here is magirefta, classic Greek dishes cooked deep dish-style in the oven or in a pot on the stove, such as octopus stifado (stew) or moussaka (lamb and eggplant lasagne). We end on a sweet note, with a flourless amygdalota (almond cookie).

Famous among the coastal villages of the Saronic Gulf, in the old days, sailors packed the macaroon-style cookies for long journeys at sea. Typically made with only a handful of ingredients – ground almonds, rose water, semolina and

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powdered sugar – the delightfully chewy treats kept well, and are still sold in bakeries all over Hydra today. We should know as we almost buy the island clean of them but despite our impressive haul, none even make it as far as the airport.

At Tsangaris, a store near the port, 80-something Anne Tsangaris has been making amygdalota for more than 50 years and shares her recipe with willing students in her charmingly antiquated bakehouse. Her secret ingredient?

Like so many kitchens across this special little island, Anne’s food is made with love.

SAVOUR THE EXPERIENCE ❱ Shipowner Lazaros Koundouriotis played an important role in the Greek War of Independence, and his 18th century mansion on the hill to the west of the port now serves as the House Museum. While the architecture alone is worth seeing, the paintings, Greek handicrafts, period costumes and photographs breathe life into the island’s naval history. ❱ Whether you’re up for a gentle 35-minute stroll along the coastal path to Vlyhos, or a challenging 90-minute trek to Limnióniza beach on the south coast, there’s a trail to suit most hikers – including a 6.5-hour longitudinal island traverse. A handful of walking routes are marked, and maps are sold in town for more adventurous spirits. ❱ In the crystal waters off Vlychos Beach, gain a new perspective on previous generations of Hydriots, who earned their living by diving for sponges – at great risk to their lives – with Hydra Diving Centre. While there are no wrecks to explore despite the area’s naval history, the water clarity makes seeing large fish, rays and sea anenome effortless.

INDULGE IN THE

E Indulge in delicious specialties unique to Greece, tasting locally produced olive oil, ouzo, honey and more.

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FA L L / W I N T E R 2019 • B O N V I V A N T T R A V E L . C A

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Captivating

JOURNEYS

QUITO This gateway to Ecuador is a enthralling place to delight all your sense, especially that of taste BY JILL GLEESON

Textile market, Quito, Ecuador

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I

’M EMBARRASSED TO ADMIT MY recent, abbreviated stay in Quito was an afterthought, really; a few days I tacked on to the front of a Galapagos trip with no more consideration or anticipation than the half-formed notion, “since I have to fly into there anyway…”

Filled with visions of massive, stately tortoises and comical blue-footed boobies, my brain had little room for mainland Ecuador, as spectacular as it might be. But while memories of the animals I saw on the islands Charles Darwin made legend will remain cherished, so will the sights and sounds – and the tastes, too – of the Ecuadorian capital.

Before I arrived, I only had the barest of plans for my time in the city – just a room at Casa Joaquin Boutique Hotel, which is tucked away within a beautifully restored colonial house in La Mariscal. The district is home to a bustling nightlife scene, but I was more interested in the tours the innkeeper could arrange for me. I decided to spend my first full day in the country exploring Quito, which I discovered was not only UNESCO’s first World Heritage Site city but also features the biggest, best-preserved historical centre in Latin America.

I was happy to find the next morning that Casa Joaquin serves a nice selection of dishes for its complimentary breakfast, but I only had eyes for the fruit, artfully arranged on platters. Fruit consumed in the tropics is so sweet and juicy and flavourful, it bears almost no resemblance to what we eat in Canada or the U.S. And all of my favourites were there: mango and papaya, starfruit and passion fruit.

There were also several I was unfamiliar with, including granadilla. A member of the passion fruit family, it’s about the size of a tennis ball with a hard, shiny orange-colored rind. The flesh is strangely gelatinous and filled with black seeds, but its sweet, subtle taste is far more enjoyable than its texture.

Apparently it’s good for digestion, as well.

That was excellent news because I was slightly queasy, no doubt a result of Quito’s soaring elevation.

Located in the Andes mountains nearly 2,900 metres above sea level, it’s the world’s second-highest capital. It’s also built on the ruins of an ancient Inca city, my guide Pablo told me, with a historic centre that dates back half a millennium to the time of the Spanish conquistadors. I’d be having a late lunch in Old Town, but first we headed off to the Virgen de El Panecillo. The massive aluminium mosaic statue of a winged Virgin Mary, which was dedicated in 1976, rises 200 metres above Quito on a bread loaf-shaped hilltop.

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“That’s the tallest aluminium statue in the world,” Pablo told me, as I stood staring up at it, dumbstruck.

“It’s 41 metres high, even taller than Christ the Redeemer in Brazil. The Inca worshipped the sun on this hill – they called it Hill of the Heart, or ‘Shungoloma.’ But now the Virgin is here, watching over the city and its people.”

The Virgin, who is depicted standing atop a serpent, manages to look fierce as well as beatific, but even more impressive was the 360-degree view from the hilltop.

The entire city unspooled beneath me, the mountains soaring in the distance. I was glad we’d stopped here first – Pablo told me it’s usual for clouds to shroud the Andes by afternoon. He asked me if I wanted to visit the small museum in the base of the monument but I was ready to wander Quito’s colonial quarter, knowing it would end in a traditional Ecuadorian meal. The granadilla had done its trick; my stomach had settled down, though the city’s sky-high elevation had me panting like a puppy on a hot summer day when I climbed more than a few stairs.

We parked the car and began with a stroll through the curving, pedestrian-only La Ronda, a long-time magnet for the city’s bohemians. The cobblestone street’s brightly hued, 18th-century buildings have been restored to their former glory, and contain a festive assortment of galleries, craft shops, restaurants and bars, including La Heladeria Dulce Placer. It dishes up literally hundreds of varieties of ice cream, including the surprisingly good humita flavour, which tastes like a sweet corn cake.

I could have lingered on La Ronda for hours, but Pablo ushered me on toward Plaza de la Independencia, Quito’s biggest and oldest public square. It began to dawn on me, Galapagos still to come or not, I should have booked more time – a week, perhaps? – in this unexpectedly seductive city.

Virgen de El Panecillo

Quito’s 18th-century buildings Oceania Marina

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Fanesca soup

As we strolled toward Independence Square, Pablo pointed out Hotel Plaza Grande. A five-star colonial showstopper, it serves some of Ecuador’s finest dinners in La Belle Epoque, a French restaurant also known for its live opera performances. I noted the recommendation for my next visit before my attention was stolen by the magnificent plaza before me. Bordered by the Cathedral of Quito and the Presidential, Municipal and Archbishop’s palaces, with an impressive central monument celebrating Ecuador’s independence from Spain, it was even more notable for the fascinating mix of humans within.

Students, shoe shiners, businessmen, buskers and other locals selling everything from peacock feathers to boiled eggs all loitered peaceably together under the palm trees. I had a moment to grin at the glorious spectacle before following Pablo into the Centro Cultural Metropolitano. Located just off the plaza on what is said to have been the site of a palace belonging to Inca ruler Atahualpa, the restored building that houses the centre was once, variously, Jesuit headquarters, a prison, a tobacco factory and a mint.

Today, it provides space for the municipal library, exhibits from Ecuadorian and international artists and, most crucially to my now-growling stomach, a café.

I asked Pablo what the best Ecuadorian dish was on the menu, and without hesitation he replied, “Fanesca."

"It's a stew, or thick soup, really served only at Lent, so you’re lucky that you get to try it," he explained. "They do a really good version here. Of course, just about everyone makes it a little bit different...I used to love to watch my mom and aunts make it. I still do, whenever I go home at Easter. It takes days to do it right.”

Produce market in Otavalo

Tropical drink served with granadilla

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SAVOUR THE EXPERIENCE Cathedral of Quito

According to Pablo, there are 12 different legumes or grains in the soup, which represent the 12 apostles, although it’s supposed the dish pre-dates the arrival of Christianity in the region and might have been prepared during harvest as a way of giving thanks to Pachamama, or Mother Earth. Typically, it includes salt cod and a milk base, as well as peas, beans of several sorts, lentils and corn, all of which are peeled separately.

Mine came laden with hard boiled eggs, empanadas and parsley – favourite fanesca garnishes. There were peanuts in it, and I thought I detected a very slight pumpkin taste, as well as the flavour of fried onions and garlic, though there wasn’t a single seasoning that overwhelmed the others. While Pablo told me that some fanesca is served spicy, this version was mild and incredibly creamy. It was filling – I was soon dreaming of a siesta – but so good I finished the entire portion.

When I think of all the activities I managed to undertake during my short time in Quito, there was none that gave me a better peek at the Ecuadorian culture than eating fanesca as Pablo fondly described how his family prepares it. When I dream of going back to the country, it’s always at Easter, when I’m certain I’ll be able to sample fanesca again.

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❱ Quito holds delights plenty, but you’ll want to tear yourself away from its lyrical, Old World loveliness to explore neighbouring sights, including Otavalo, with its famed Indigenous market, and Cotacachi, known for handcrafted leather goods. ❱ A two-hour drive from Quito, Cotacachi boasts a main drag lined with emporiums selling everything from jackets to sandals, all of it handmade from leather, and all of it at prices North Americans will find shockingly low. While you’re there, fuel up on organically grown coffee from the Intag Valley at Café Rio Intag, a relaxed and comfy spot that also serves sandwiches.

Just be sure to leave room for the best roasted pig in Ecuador. Doña Rosita, who placed second in the country’s hornado championship, serves the beloved dish from her stall at the Central Market. ❱ Otavalo is just 20 minutes from its much-smaller neighbour to the north, time enough for a quick car nap if you’re not at the wheel. You’re going to need it to power through browsing the dizzying array of goods available at the outdoor market, one of the largest in South America. Although the Otavaleño people are best known for their textiles, you can find jewelry, masks, spices, carved and painted wooden platters, bowls and a lot more there. Wrap up your adventure with a multicultural meal at Pargo, which dishes up superb Japanese cuisine its Ecuadorian chef and owner learned to make in Seattle.

ECUADOR C u l i n a r y To u r

www.tourcanvacations.com

DISCOVER THE FLAVOURS AND CULTURE OF ECUADOR! VISITING: Quito, Cotopaxi National Park and Otavalo A 7-day journey that will be an experience, not only for the history & culture, but also for the palate!

HIGHLIGHTS: • Chocolate making & tasting • Walking foodie tour of Quito • Shopping and cooking local food with a renowned chef • Traditional lunch with an indigenous family • Tribute to Nature dinner experience • Visit to the Otavalo Market & Cotopaxi Volcano FA L L / W I N T E R 2019 • B O N V I V A N T T R A V E L . C A

245 FAIRVIEW MALL DRIVE • SUITE 203 • TORONTO • ONTARIO • M2J 4T1 • CANADA

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Ontario Reg. # 2679578

ENTERTAINING

HOW TO HOST AN

Parmigiano Reggiano tasting party

BY REBECCA FIELD JAGER

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HEN CHEF GINO CAMPAGNA WAS a boy growing up in northern Italy back in the 60s, his mother would assign him little chores. Gino, she’d say, go to the shop and get the cheese.

Today, the Los-Angeles-based culinary instructor and kid’s cookbook author smiles at the memory.

“She didn’t have to say Parmigiano Reggiano,” he says. “She knew I wouldn’t think of Brie or Gouda.”

Nor, mind you, would anyone else in town. Campagna was born and raised in Parma, the capital of the province of Parma, one of five provinces in Italy that makes real Parmigiano Reggiano. Here, the cheese is served alongside a platter of cold cuts or as part of a dessert tray with fruit; it is stuffed into pillow-like pastas such as tortelli and cappellacci and grated with wild abandon over a simple dish of pasta swimming in butter.

“We have a saying in Parma: We drown our pasta in butter and dry it with Parmigiano.”

Campagna’s neighbourhood was a modest everyoneknows-everyone type of place centred around Piazzale Inzani, a square lined with all manner of shops, a produce store, bakery and deli among them. The store owners, Campagna remembers, were friends of your parents or the parents of your friends, and especially kind to the neighbourhood kids.

“At the end of the day, the woman who owned the bakery would call us and give out the stuff she didn’t sell.

We may not have been well-off economically, but we were rich in food tradition and community,” he says. “It was like a microcosm of Italy.”

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Creating a microcosm of Campagna’s humble hood in Parma, then, is what hosting an authentic Parmigiano Reggiano tasting party is all about: rustic, unpretentious, welcoming.

To ensure authenticity, Fabrizio Raimondi, who works at the Parmigiano Reggiano Consortium and is also a native of Parma, offers up a few insights which distinguish “The King of Cheeses” from that shyster in a shaker.

Parmigiano Reggiano has a Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) meaning that to bear the designation a stringent set of rules must be followed. The cheese

The cheese is available in different ages, each delivering a unique set of sensory experiences.

must be produced, processed, matured, packaged and grated in the provinces of Parma, Reggio Emilia, Modena, or parts of Mantua and Bologna. It can only be made using artisanal and natural methods which harken back to the cheese’s origins when monks first began making it in the Middle Ages.

Because its characteristics are greatly influenced by what the cattle are fed, specifications say that forage should be mostly procured locally. Milk cannot be imported from anywhere else, and only three ingredients – raw milk, rennet and salt – may be

used. Additives and bacterial starters are strictly forbidden. Knowing it’s the real wheel is as simple as reading the rind, Raimondi says – look for the famous dots.

The minimum time for maturation is 12 months but here’s where things get interesting: The cheese is available in different ages, each delivering a unique set of sensory experiences.

For our party, we’ll be moving from youngest to oldest across three different maturations, each perfectly paired with an Italian wine:

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15 - 18 MONTHS Pair with dry white or sparkling such as Franciacorta or Trento DOC

Aromas of milk, yogurt, with plant-like notes such as grass, boiled vegetables, flowers or fruit. Balance of sweetness and acidity. Compact structure.

22 - 24 MONTHS Pair with Sangiovese di Romagna, Gutturnio or Chianti Classico

Perfect balance and harmony. Notes of melted butter, fresh fruit (banana, pineapple) and citrus fruits with hints of nuts and spices (nutmeg), and meat stock. Sweet and savoury. Soluble, crumbly and grainy.

30 - 36 MONTHS Pair with Barolo, Barbaresco or Brunello di Montalcino

Aroma includes notes of spices but those of nuts and meat stock more pronounced. Taste is distinct, savoury sometimes pungent. Particularly crumbly and grainy.

To kick off the party, welcome guests with a glass of chilled Prosecco. After everyone has toasted the evening move them to your tasting table and invite folks to make notes (audibly or on paper) as you bring out each maturation. ❱ Sight: Note the colour of the cheese and rind. ❱ Touch: Feel its texture (its oiliness and how it responds to pressure or crumbling). ❱ Smell: Pinch nostrils, chew, then release the nostrils while exhaling out of the nose. ❱ Taste: Chew the cheese, savour the flavour. ❱ Listen: Hear the sound of the crystals being crushed when chewing the cheese.

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Ask tasters to compare their impressions. No worries if things get rowdy – enjoy the squabbles, and then, after the tasting is complete, watch everyone make up over more spirits (grappa anyone?) and a few simple appetizers that celebrate Parmigiano Reggiano. The Consortium’s website, parmigianoreggiano.com, offers up plenty of recipes, including one for torta fritta, a fried dough that you serve warm with a platter of cold cuts. Be sure to include Prosciutto di Parma – as if its gift basket isn’t already overflowing, this is another acclaimed offering from the region.

At the end of the evening, don’t be surprised if guests sing out, Bravo! You’ve just imported a 900-year-old tradition deeply connected to its land into the heart of your own little friend-filled community. Cin-cin!

WHAT YOU’LL NEED (for 6 to 8 guests): ❱ 1 or 2 bottles each of Prosecco, and selected wines

to pair with maturations

❱ Appropriate stemware

❱ A jug of still water and glasses to cleanse the

palate between tastings

❱ 3 cutting boards (one for each maturation of cheese)

❱ 1 small white plate per guest (white makes it easier to

discern colour)

❱ Approximately 300 g each of three ages of cheese,

divided into bite-size chunks

❱ Additional cheese and serving ware for appetizer recipes

SET UP AND AMBIENCE: ❱ Soft lighting and unscented candles

❱ Opera music – anything composed by Verdi (a native of Parma) ❱ Kitchen island, patio, dining-room or coffee table around

which guests can gather

❱ Bring out boards and bottles one at a time so guests have

time to savour each pairing

WAFER OF PARMIGIANO REGGIANO with grilled pears, radicchio, nuts and honey

2 radicchio heads 2 Abate pears 200g Parmigiano Reggiano, grated 100g mixed nuts honey to taste oil to taste salt to taste

To prepare the Parmigiano Reggiano wafers, put a heaped tablespoon of grated Parmigiano Reggiano in the centre of a piece of baking paper and form a circle with diameter of 18-20cm. Put each piece of paper in the microwave for a few seconds at the maximum power until the Parmigiano Reggiano cheese starts melting. If you do not have a microwave, you can use a traditional oven and cook the cheese at 180°C for a few minutes until the edges of the wafers start turning slightly brown.

Cut the pears into thin slices and grill them on a hot griddle.

Clean the radicchio and cut it into large pieces. Put the radicchio in a large bowl and dress it with oil and salt, add pears, nuts and honey. Finish the dish with pieces of Parmigiano Reggiano wafer.

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THE ROVING CHEF

CHEF

Kathryn Kelly

As the Executive Chef & Director of Culinary Enrichment for Oceania Cruises, Chef Kathryn Kelly has evolved the way travellers have come to understand global cuisines while exploring the world by sea.

Offering hands-on cooking classes and small group, chef-led Culinary Discovery Tours, she gives guests a taste of place through food, wine and great company.

INTERVIEW BY TERRILYN KUNOPASKI

Has travel always been part of your life?

Prior to becoming a chef 10 years ago, I was in business and travelled the world for work. I had the chance to spend short periods of time in different destinations, but often thought to myself, “I need to come back here when I have more time.” Now, working for Oceania Cruises, I am able to travel and spend time in the most exciting places around the globe.

Describe your favourite dining experience from your travels abroad.

This question is always so hard to answer because there are truly so many! If I had to narrow it down, I would say the most memorable experience was sitting on a small island in Greece by the ocean and having a local fisherman bring in his catch, grill it and serve it to me with wine from his family vineyard and olive oil from his family farm. Being submerged in the local culture in this experience made it a day I will never forget.

Tell us about your work with Oceania.

The hospitality industry perfectly fits my personality. I feel so rewarded when I anticipate the needs of our guests and am able to implement what I do to make their cruise special and unique. I also work around many other crew and officers who share that passion, which makes the Oceania team feel like a family and why I’m so happy working for this company.

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Describe what it means to have a career that combines your passion for food with travel.

An experienced traveller embraces diversity and seeks to understand people and cultures. I love architecture, art and history and attempt to immerse myself in it wherever I go. As a chef, I think the best way to understand a culture and its traditions is through food and wine.

Describe what your classes are like onboard with Oceania.

We are the only hands-on cooking school at sea which makes it a very special experience for our guests. They put on an apron and for two hours are up to their elbows in pasta, knife work, regional recipes and culinary techniques. Unlike other cooking schools, we are not a demonstration kitchen – we are the ‘real deal.’

How do you bring destinations that are on different itineraries into the food created with guests onboard an Oceania cruise?

We have a very well-developed Culinary Discovery Tours program which are led by my chef team instructors in some of the most exciting destinations worldwide. I have personally designed over 40 unique and immersive tours, all of which are well thought out with the local food and culture at the forefront.

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B O N V I V A N T T R A V E L . C A • FA L L / W I N T E R 2 0 1 9

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For some, it’s sitting down to the first five-star dinner of the trip, and being transported

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Manulife, Manulife & Stylized M Design, and Stylized M Design and Manulife Premium Protection Plan are trademarks of The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company and are used by it, and by its affiliates under license. © 2019 The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company. All rights reserved. Manulife, P.O. Box 670, Stn Waterloo, Waterloo, ON N2J 4B8. *Visit OceaniaCruises.com/terms for details. NOV190132 190330 (10/2019)

Eight years ago, guests started asking me where I would go when we were in various ports. I started taking them with me to local markets and my favourite places, and that is where the idea of Culinary Discovery Tours was born. It’s so rewarding that they are now one of the most popular tour programs we offer. I think it’s important that they always stay small in size and be led by one of my chef instructors. This makes them quite a unique and prized experience.

Why, in your opinion, is cruising as a good way for travellers to be introduced to different food, places and cultures?

On Oceania Cruises, there are a lot of opportunities to learn from our diverse and experienced teams. As a culinary-centric experience, our culture is to encourage our guests to go out and explore. The best way to be introduced to different food, places and cultures is to experience them; Oceania makes it easy for guests to do just that.

What have you learned in your time with Oceania?

The most important thing I have learned is the importance of being a courteous, thoughtful and engaged guest. For 30 years I was a guest at some of the finest hotels in the world and I never truly appreciated all of the ‘behind the scenes’ work that goes into creating a luxury experience. I do now. I tell our guests all the time ‘if you want an incredible guest experience – be an incredible guest’ in a restaurant, on an airplane or on a cruise!

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B O N V I VA N T T R AV E L . C A • WINTER 2017

SEARED SCALLOPS with pecan brown butter Serves 2 6 dry diver scallops, room temperature 2 to 3 tablespoons clarified butter 2 tablespoons butter, cubed ¼ cup crushed pecans 4 ounces jumbo lump crab meat 6 parsley leaves 4 lemon wedges Pat the scallops very dry. In a large sauté pan over high heat, warm enough clarified butter to generously coat the bottom of the pan. When the pan is searing hot, use tongs to carefully place the scallops in the pan. Sear the scallops to a caramel color, flip and sear the other side to a caramel color, noting that the second side will take less time.

Transfer the scallops to a plate and reserve warm.

Decrease the heat to medium-high and add the cubed butter to the pan. Heat until the butter begins to brown and then add the pecans. Toast the pecans until golden brown and then add the crab meat and warm through. Divide the scallops between 2 plates, top each with pecans and crab meat and drizzle with any butter remaining in the pan. Squeeze 1 lemon wedge over each serving, garnish each scallop with 1 parsley leaf and finish each plate with a remaining lemon wedge.

Deborah Jones

Where did the idea for Culinary Discovery Tours come from?

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• Assistance 24 hours a day, 7 days a week • Fewer exclusions and no medical questionnaire • Great value

Please contact one of our travel advisors for details.

*Certain conditions, limitations and exclusions apply. See policy for details.

Underwritten by

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company (Manulife) and First North American Insurance Company.

Manulife, Manulife & Stylized M Design, and Stylized M Design and Manulife Premium Protection Plan are trademarks of The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company and are used by it, and by its affiliates under license. © 2019 The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company. All rights reserved. Manulife, P.O. Box 670, Stn Waterloo, Waterloo, ON N2J 4B8.

190330 (10/2019)

WINTER 2017 • B O N V I VA N T T R AV E L . C A

67

BRING IT HOME

Souvenirs from BonVivantfeatured destinations

It’s never easy to see a vacation come to an end, which is why we always recommend finding pieces of each place to bring home so you can revisit elements of your trip in your day-to-day life.

Whether in the form of food, drink or more traditional souvenirs, we’ve rounded up some of our picks from the destinations featured throughout this issue of Bon Vivant.

BY BON VIVANT CONTRIBUTORS

AZORES When in the Azores, don’t leave the islands without investing in a bottle of Czar. Though its best bottle is limited edition (and going for $1,300 CAD), what you can find at local retailers will hit the spot nonetheless. Made on Pico island by local teacher Fortunato Garcia, who moonlights as a winemaker as he continues his father’s legacy, a few sips of this special wine will leave your cheeks warm and your heart happy.

HAWAII Bottle up some of Hawaii’s salty ocean air and make your way back to the mainland with Soul of the Sea Papohaku White Sea Salt. This Molokai-produced seasoning is recommended for its “complex flavour bouquet and seductively silken texture.” Rich with minerals and electrolytes, this is a pure and delicious souvenir from the Aloha State. Haleakala Red and Kilauea Black sea salts are also available.

GREECE Some may be surprised to learn that Greece is the thirdlargest olive oil producing nation in Europe, the vast majority of which is extra virgin. Olympia-produced Mediterre Alea Organic received the Silver Award in the Official Index of The World’s Best Olive Oils For 2019, so rest assured it’s the kind of take-home you’ll feel good about. For that kind of recognition, you know extra care and attention were paid to its creation; in fact, tasting notes say that the olives were “picked at optimum ripeness and pressed ultra-cold.” Want to know what to expect? Tasting sensations include fig leaf, chicory and black olives, among others.

ECUADOR Chocolate lovers need not look further than Ecuador’s Pacari, which works with local cacao growers to create unique melt-in-your-mouth delights. Pack away a collection of their chocolate bars to save for yourself or to

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share with friends and family, whether Andean Mint, Andean Rose, Cuzco Pink Salt & Nibs or Ginger & Chia.

And, if none of those sound tempting, there are plenty of more options to consider. Plus, all Pacari products are 100 per cent Ecuadorian – made using organic ingredients, produced by local farmers.

AUSTRIA After making your way from coffee house to coffee house, you’re bound to try the Manner hazelnut wafer - five layers of wafer separated by hazelnut cocoa cream.

Pick up a family pack at any Viennese supermarket and enjoy an iconic treat that dates back to the late 1800s (the recipe hasn’t changed since!). The best part is that when your souvenir stack runs out, Manner wafers can often be found at Canadian grocers as well.

ALASKA Deviating from our tendency to choose tasty souvenirs, we’re suggesting you consider finding Alaska Glacial Mud on your way out of Juneau. Actually made in Cordova, you can decide which of the skin care products would work best into your regime. The brand is known for its luxury-level spa quality products, including glacial mud powders, soaps and masques. And yes – in case you were wondering, everything is made from actual local glacial pools.

PARMA, ITALY BBC Travel called it “Italy’s practically perfect food,” and given that we’ve dedicated so much space to creating the perfect Parmigiano-Reggiano tasting party (see pg.

58), we’d be remiss not to advise you find some of this local cheese to pack in your carry-on (or checked luggage, if you plan to buy in bulk). Not only is Parmigiano-Reggiano delicious, it’s also lauded for its health benefits, courtesy of the rich vitamins and minerals within. Ask locals what brand they eat at home, and spend your dollars accordingly.

AU S T R I A

I TA LY

ALASKA E C UA D O R

GREECE

PA N A M A

H AWA I I

AZORES

CANADA’S ROCKIES: UNAPOLOGETICALLY BEAUTIFUL.

There’s nothing like that feeling of being truly astonished. On a Rocky Mountaineer train journey, you’ll experience it over and over again. You’ll see mind-expanding vistas from your comfortable seat.

You’ll dine on gourmet delights like freshly baked cinnamon scones for breakfast, and then devour a lunch of sea salt-flecked Fraser Valley chicken or braised Alberta beef short ribs.

You’ll say to your companions, “did you just see that?” Then you’ll discuss everything in animated detail. All the while, gracious hosts will attend to your every need.

If you’re looking for a change of scenery, the Canadian Rockies are as big as it gets.

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AGENDA

Culinary & wine events across the globe, taking place from November 2019 - June 2020

ST. MORITZ GOURMET FESTIVAL JAN. 31 - FEB. 8, 2019

Mums the word on which guest chefs will be joining the 2020 St. Moritz Gourmet Festival, but regardless of who’s going to be there, you can expect nine days of non-stop culinary indulgence. Plenty of tastings are scheduled over the course of the week in a program that blends new options with tried and true experiences from years past.

NOVEMBER TASTE OF DUBLIN: FESTIVE EDITION NOV. 28-DEC. 1, 2019

Engage with culinary talent, learn from the leaders in their field (cocktail making, anyone?) and stock-up on local ingredients from artisan producers at this “Festive Edition” of the Taste of Dublin. Drink back a seasonal cocktail and try your hand at tablescaping, kicking off the holiday season in style.

DECEMBER THE 12 DAYS OF CHRISTMAS DEC. 6-20, 2019

Chef Christopher Kostow and his team at The Restaurant at Meadowood, a three Michelin star restaurant in St. Helena, CA is once again hosting a charitable celebration meal, which also includes specially-invited chefs from different corners of the globe. Tickets go for $1,000 USD per guest inclusive of service, a canapé reception and dinner.

JANUARY KEY WEST FOOD & WINE FESTIVAL JAN. 26-FEB. 2, 2020

Whether you’re there for the paella cook off, grilled cheese & beer event or to rub shoulders with a master chef or two, the Key West Food & Wine Festival is sure to entertain. Plenty of tastings are scheduled over the course of the week, featuring local sites and flavours.

FEBRUARY

APRIL EXPERIENCE THE TASTE OF VAIL APRIL 1-4, 2020

Coming on three decades, the Taste of Vail festival will showcase international vintages, world-class restaurants, and perhaps best of all, breathtaking Colorado vistas. Cook-offs, apres ski and mountain top tastings are just the beginning of the long list of activities in store.

WORLD GOURMET SUMMIT, SINGAPORE DATES TBD

Only featuring Michelin-starred culinary masters, the World Gourmet Summit is truly a one-of-a-kind occasion. Fine dining enthusiasts can partake in special events, a gourmet golf experience and specially-themed dinners.

MAY PORCHETTIAMO MAY 22-24, 2020

MARLBOROUGH WINE & FOOD FESTIVAL FEB. 8, 2020

Choose from more than 40 local Marlborough wineries showcasing their world class product, and pair the goods with gourmet cuisine available among 28 food stalls. Taking place at Brancott Vineyard, this one-day-only festival will also feature live entertainment and a top chef culinary pavillion.

DEVOUR! THE CANADIAN ROCKIES FILM FESTIVAL FEB. 7 -10, 2020

Devour! The Canadian Rockies Film Festival is being touted as “Jasper’s newest high-end culinary event,” now going into its third edition. For food, film and wine lovers, all of the above will be available for consumption during this four-day affair.

Celebrating one of Italy’s most traditional foods, the porchetta, this bash is “dedicated to the queen of street food.” Workshops, tastings, beer pairings and more are all on the menu. Enjoy this festival as it takes over various streets and city squares throughout Italy.

ALRESFORD WATERCRESS FESTIVAL MAY 17, 2020

No doubt a niche culinary event, this day kicks off with music, dancing and a procession by the watercress king & queen, who hand-out freshly cut watercress to attendees. Watercressinspired dishes are prepared by well-known chefs, as the leafy green takes over Alresford, England.

JUNE BC SEAFOOD FESTIVAL JUNE 12-21, 2020

MARCH THE SPIRIT OF AMSTERDAM MARCH 7-8, 2020 More than 500 types of whisky from Scotland, Ireland, the USA, Japan, India and Taiwan are available for tasting at The Spirit of Amsterdam annual celebration, set to take place at the stunning Zuiderkerk once again next spring. ÑAM SANTIAGO MARCH 21-27, 2020

Experience Chilean culture in the most immersive way possible: through food & drink. This culinary festival (the country’s largest) includes workshops, wine tastings, parties and more.

An ongoing tradition since 2006, the BC Seafood Festival brings together west coast seafood producers, top chefs and guests from coast to coast and beyond. Try your hand at shucking oysters, indulge in seafood feasts and connect with neighbours over a 10-day span.

FOOD & WINE CLASSIC IN ASPEN JUNE 19-21, 2020

If you’re interested in sitting-in on food-focused panel discussions led by world-class chefs and wine experts, the Food & Wine Classic in Aspen is likely made for you. Outside of these conversations, go on an epicurean adventure with some of the best in the biz, surely to expand your palate and perhaps even your social circle.

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WE PLAN – YOU SAVOUR THE EXPERIENCE Relieve the anxiety of planning your culinary vacation and focus on the fun of exploring, dining and learning. Our team of professional willguide guideyou youthrough throughplanning planningyour yournext next professionaltravel travelspecialists advisors will food and wine vacation, recommend great locations and even let you in on a few travel tips from their own culinary experiences.

OUR PROMISE Stress free travel, so you can savour your vacation.

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