Newsletter September 2008

Epicurean Experiences in Spain

Here’s the latest epicurean travel news from Epicurean Ways.

We have news about two Epicurean Ways trips coming up in November: Catalan Cooking in the Empordà. and A Taste of Andalucía. Two completely different kinds of culinary trips to two utterly different parts of Spain. Both fantastic epicurean adventures in Spain. And one of them offers a perfect food getaway for Thanksgiving.

Catalan Cooking in the Empordà

We are offering our 7 day/6 night Catalan Cooking in the Empordà trip at special prices for the November departure (November 16-22). The savings are substantial for this departure only!

Here’s your chance to slow down and cook with a professional Spanish chef in a 15th century village house complex in Madremanya, close to Girona (north of Barcelona), in the region of Catalonia known as the Tuscany of Spain. It resembles its Italian counterpart with its timeless landscapes and stone-crafted towns on the horizon.

This November trip will feature olive oil and wild mushrooms as protagonists of the autumn harvest. We will see olives being harvested, watch them being pressed into olive oil and taste the freshly pressed oil. We will dedicate some of our cooking to the many varieties of in-season wild mushrooms and truffles available in this pre-Pyrenees region.

The cooking classes are led by the hotel’s chef, Vicenç. In his restaurant Vicenç specializes in traditional Catalan cuisine with a contemporary twist. He is an enthusiastic teacher and a joy to work with. We will have wine tasting sessions with the hotel’s sommelier, and she will choose the wines to accompany our meals.

The hotel itself is luxurious, renovated and decorated to perfection. In fact, it has won awards in Spain for its interior design. The atmosphere is very relaxed and soothing. See the hotel’s website and the Trip Advisor reviews.

We will have a cooking demonstration of Catalonia’s famous rice dishes led by the chef whose restaurant began the new wave cooking in Catalonia.

Beyond cooking and eating (and drinking wine), we visit
wineries (including a biodynamic one); eat at a Michelin-starred restaurant near the Pyrennes and at another perched above the Mediterranean coastline; see goat cheese being made; taste olive oils; and visit medieval villages close by. One of them, Pals, is an official SlowCittà (slow growth city). See Pals information.

The group is limited to 12 people, but is guaranteed departure with only 2 people.

We can arrange a stay, as well as culinary activities, for you in Barcelona before or after the Catalan Cooking program. Ask us for more information.

Reserve now for this small group Epicurean Harvest Experience in Catalonia! Catalan Cooking in the Empordà.

A Thanksgiving Culinary Tour in Spain

We are offering a 10-day Thanksgiving Culinary Tour through Andalucía in southern Spain for Thanksgiving week. The dates are November 23 - December 1, 2008. The tour - A Taste of Andalucía - will be guided by Spanish gastronomy writer and wine critic Gerry Dawes. We are limiting the group size to 12 people. which will assure an intimate epicurean experience.

We will visit Granada, Ronda, Cádiz, Jerez, Sevilla and Córdoba, immersing the travelers in the cuisine and culinary traditions of the region. We stay in 4, and the occasional 5, star hotels, and eat in hand-selected restaurants and tapas bars. Meals include Spanish wines chosen by Gerry Dawes.

This tour journeys to the culinary and cultural centers of Andalucía. And unlike most Andalucía tours, we will spend 2 days in Cádiz on the Atlantic-the city many say resembles Havana, Cuba. This little- visited jewel acquired its present form during the 18th and 19th centuries when it became the port of entry for the Spanish ships returning from the New World. In Cádiz, we stay in the Parador overlooking the Atlantic, and dine on some of the best seafood in Andalucía!

Over the course of the 10 days the activities will include guided Spanish wine tastings, tapas tours in each city, a country olive oil mill visit and private winery visits in Ronda, Jerez de la Frontera and Montilla-Moriles. The emphasis of the tour is on Spanish cuisine at its most authentic, featuring local ingredients, renowned chefs, personalized menus and private tours. An optional cooking class with chef Willy Moya in Seville will be available.

The tour includes private guided visits to the principal sites of the seven centuries of Moorish and Jewish heritage in southern Spain. These sites include the Alhambra and Generalife gardens in Granada, the Mezquita and Medina Azahara in Córdoba, the Barrio de Santa Cruz and the Real Alcázar in Sevilla, and the white villages sprinkled throughout the region.

Contact us for more information.

See Thanksgiving Culinary Tour.

Spain On the Road

If you want a weekly TV fix of Spanish food, don’t miss Spain… On the Road Again with Mario Batali, Gwyneth Paltrow, Mark Bittman, and Claudia Bassols, on PBS starting this week. It’s a culinary journey through Spain with celebrity chef Batali and my favorite New York Times food columnist Mark Bittman.

Travel Agents

Travel agents note. Please contact us to find out more about how you can work with Epicurean Ways.

Upcoming News

In the next newsletter, we will profile our 2009 Rioja and Rioja/Priorat Wine Tours with Gerry Dawes. Stay tuned.

Epicurean Ways is a Spain Specialist, providing authentic insider’s culinary tours and cooking vacations throughout Spain. See the Epicurean Ways website.

Any and all comments are welcomed. Send us an email.

Jane Gregg