Food and Travel
I am probably the only person to have ever put on weight travelling round India. Our itinerary was planned round historic monuments and the best or most unusual restaurants listed in the guidebooks. I have also carried a foot-long Hungarian salami from London to Venice by train- but that's another story. All good experience for my recent work for the Sunday Times Food List, researching local and affordable restaurants in the East, North West, Yorkshire and Wales, and for interviewing Living Ventures for the Sunday Times 100 Best Companies to work for list.
Here you can read all my food and travel-related articles, including my early restaurant reviews.
Here you can read all my food and travel-related articles, including my early restaurant reviews.
My Favourite Place: Cartagena de Indias, Colombia, BBC History Magazine, December 2014, pp. 84-85.
I’ve only visited Cartagena de Indias once, but it cast an enduring spell on me. I arrived in the old walled city after dark. Wandering past colourful Spanish colonial houses, their balconies overflowing with bright pink bougainvillea, I was seduced by the music echoing through the cobbled streets. Like the city itself, the music was a fusion of cultures: the dancers below the statue of Simón Bolívar (Venezuelan leader, and president of Gran Colombia from 1819–30) moved to the sounds of African drumbeats and South American pipes.
Standing beneath the statue of India Catalina – outside the city wall – it’s hard not to be reminded that indigenous peoples inhabited this area for some 5,000 years before the Spanish arrived. Catalina was the daughter of a Kalamari chieftain, and was captured in 1509. She was baptised and learnt Spanish, later acting as a translator for Pedro de Heredia when he founded the city in 1533. The help she gave this conquistador, who plundered the wealth of her people, still divides opinion as to whether she should be remembered as a heroine or a traitor.
Cartagena became one of the richest trading ports in Spanish America – gold and silver mined from across the continent was loaded into galleons here en route to Spain. It was also one of two ports authorised by the Spanish crown to trade in enslaved Africans. At the peak of the trade, at least a thousand slaves were sold in the triangular Plaza de las Coches – now a popular tourist hub, lined with sweet stalls – every month. more
Standing beneath the statue of India Catalina – outside the city wall – it’s hard not to be reminded that indigenous peoples inhabited this area for some 5,000 years before the Spanish arrived. Catalina was the daughter of a Kalamari chieftain, and was captured in 1509. She was baptised and learnt Spanish, later acting as a translator for Pedro de Heredia when he founded the city in 1533. The help she gave this conquistador, who plundered the wealth of her people, still divides opinion as to whether she should be remembered as a heroine or a traitor.
Cartagena became one of the richest trading ports in Spanish America – gold and silver mined from across the continent was loaded into galleons here en route to Spain. It was also one of two ports authorised by the Spanish crown to trade in enslaved Africans. At the peak of the trade, at least a thousand slaves were sold in the triangular Plaza de las Coches – now a popular tourist hub, lined with sweet stalls – every month. more
The Sunday Times 100 Best Companies List 2013: 9: Living Ventures (Restaurant chain), The Sunday Times, March 2013.
STEPHEN COLDBECK, ACCLAIMED as Liverpool’s best waiter in 2010, says: “I’ve worked in lots of different companies, but the training here blows everything else out of the water …it’s one thing to have a brilliant concept, a beautifully designed restaurant, but without properly trained staff, that all falls apart.”
The training at this successful restaurant company and bar operator based in Knutsford, with restaurants in Manchester, London and across the northwest, is intensive. Each member of staff is expected to learn the company ethos, which includes concepts such as “small world”, “ticket to ride” and “the bubble bath dilemma,” verbatim.
In practice, Coldbeck says, these ideas “make a lot of sense. They help people focus. It’s good to sit people down and make them think these thoughts.”
Liz Sear, now an assistant general manager at the Grill on the Alley in Manchester, underwent the management training scheme after graduating from Leeds University four years ago. She spent a year studying every aspect of the business, with four months each in the bar, kitchen and on the floor. Sear needed to be able to cook every dish on the menu. “I have to know exactly what ingredient goes into every dish,” she says. In an emergency, she explains, she could take over the role of chef.
When Sear took her current job, the company told her: “Your next move is general manager.” It meant she could see a clear path ahead. Staff believe that the job is of great personal benefit (an 81% positive score and a top five ranking). They also feel it is good for their own personal growth (83%) and that there are unlimited opportunities to learn and grow within the organisation (74%).
Their boss, Tim Bacon, managing director and co-founder, began as a bartender for TGI Friday’s, a fellow Best Company to Work For. Bacon likes to “hire hard, fire easy”, and has high standards for those he employs. “Never employ someone you wouldn’t go for a drink with,” he says. One current operations manager started as a waitress Bacon poached from a rival company. How? “We offered her a future, with a winning smile,” he laughs.
Besides excellent training, Living Ventures pays well. Servers have such a good deal that Coldbeck was happy to leave his previous job as a manager to start as a waiter at the company’s Gusto restaurant on Liverpool’s Albert Dock. “The money is so good as a server,” he says.
Although the average wage for servers is £17,000, the restaurants are always busy, so when you add the generous tips, it becomes a very attractive proposition. Staff feel they are paid fairly for the work they do, in comparison to others within the company (72%), as well as elsewhere in the industry (70%).
Coldbeck enjoys the flexible aspect of his work, which has allowed him to travel the world. His co-workers feel that they receive fair pay for the responsibilities they undertake (70%), and the perks include employees and their guests being able to dine for half price in all Living Ventures eateries.
Colleagues feel a strong sense of family within their teams (83%). Coldbeck agress that “the teams are very tight” and comments that staff retention is impressive for the industry, adding that Living Ventures is “very good at bringing people on board who care, and do things right”.
Staff have a lot of fun within their teams (88%) and get a buzz out of working with each other (80%). “The great thing is everyone’s so well trained that you don’t have to worry about things. I have a ball,” Coldbeck says. He enjoys competing with his team in the “LV challenge,” the company’s annual food, drink and “LV core knowledge” quiz, to win a trip to the Prosecco wine region of Italy. Although they haven’t won yet —“the barman we had last year was the weakest link” — Coldbeck says that the event is great for team spirit and “brings the whole company together. You see that you’re part of a bigger picture.”
www.livingventures.com
STEPHEN COLDBECK, ACCLAIMED as Liverpool’s best waiter in 2010, says: “I’ve worked in lots of different companies, but the training here blows everything else out of the water …it’s one thing to have a brilliant concept, a beautifully designed restaurant, but without properly trained staff, that all falls apart.”
The training at this successful restaurant company and bar operator based in Knutsford, with restaurants in Manchester, London and across the northwest, is intensive. Each member of staff is expected to learn the company ethos, which includes concepts such as “small world”, “ticket to ride” and “the bubble bath dilemma,” verbatim.
In practice, Coldbeck says, these ideas “make a lot of sense. They help people focus. It’s good to sit people down and make them think these thoughts.”
Liz Sear, now an assistant general manager at the Grill on the Alley in Manchester, underwent the management training scheme after graduating from Leeds University four years ago. She spent a year studying every aspect of the business, with four months each in the bar, kitchen and on the floor. Sear needed to be able to cook every dish on the menu. “I have to know exactly what ingredient goes into every dish,” she says. In an emergency, she explains, she could take over the role of chef.
When Sear took her current job, the company told her: “Your next move is general manager.” It meant she could see a clear path ahead. Staff believe that the job is of great personal benefit (an 81% positive score and a top five ranking). They also feel it is good for their own personal growth (83%) and that there are unlimited opportunities to learn and grow within the organisation (74%).
Their boss, Tim Bacon, managing director and co-founder, began as a bartender for TGI Friday’s, a fellow Best Company to Work For. Bacon likes to “hire hard, fire easy”, and has high standards for those he employs. “Never employ someone you wouldn’t go for a drink with,” he says. One current operations manager started as a waitress Bacon poached from a rival company. How? “We offered her a future, with a winning smile,” he laughs.
Besides excellent training, Living Ventures pays well. Servers have such a good deal that Coldbeck was happy to leave his previous job as a manager to start as a waiter at the company’s Gusto restaurant on Liverpool’s Albert Dock. “The money is so good as a server,” he says.
Although the average wage for servers is £17,000, the restaurants are always busy, so when you add the generous tips, it becomes a very attractive proposition. Staff feel they are paid fairly for the work they do, in comparison to others within the company (72%), as well as elsewhere in the industry (70%).
Coldbeck enjoys the flexible aspect of his work, which has allowed him to travel the world. His co-workers feel that they receive fair pay for the responsibilities they undertake (70%), and the perks include employees and their guests being able to dine for half price in all Living Ventures eateries.
Colleagues feel a strong sense of family within their teams (83%). Coldbeck agress that “the teams are very tight” and comments that staff retention is impressive for the industry, adding that Living Ventures is “very good at bringing people on board who care, and do things right”.
Staff have a lot of fun within their teams (88%) and get a buzz out of working with each other (80%). “The great thing is everyone’s so well trained that you don’t have to worry about things. I have a ball,” Coldbeck says. He enjoys competing with his team in the “LV challenge,” the company’s annual food, drink and “LV core knowledge” quiz, to win a trip to the Prosecco wine region of Italy. Although they haven’t won yet —“the barman we had last year was the weakest link” — Coldbeck says that the event is great for team spirit and “brings the whole company together. You see that you’re part of a bigger picture.”
www.livingventures.com
Scotch Eggs, Cherwell, 2005.
In 1755 Dr Samuel Johnson’s dictionary defined ‘oats’ as "a grain which in England is generally given to horses, but in Scotland supports the people". Thus the English suspicion of Scottish eating habits has been ingrained for as long as oats have been oats. Haggis aside, there is one Scottish culinary invention that I cannot fault: the Scotch Egg. Recently taking a dive in status when Keith (the fat one) from the Office announced it was his favourite snack, it was brought still lower when Ricky Gevais defined it as a form of cruelty to birds: “ The farmer comes along, boils her (the female chicken’s) babies in hot water…and then you pop the dead baby in some sausage meat and deep fry that to make sure that little baby bird will never come back to life. And then you eat it.” Nonetheless it is a picnic classic, a satisfying protein double whammy- sausage and egg, a great combination. Consenus says they’re best homemade. According to my MSN eggspert correspondent this sis quite simple- boil eggs, roll them in sausage meat, baste with egg yolk, roll in breadcrumbs, bake. He tells me “you can buy sausage meat in outrageously phallic portions of plastic covered ...well, sausages I guess”. In the absence of time and energy, there is always Marks and Spencer. You may well be confused on gazing at the shelf however, as next to the 2 pack Scotch eggs, you will find a 4 pack of ‘picnic eggs’. These look smaller, yet identical. Do not be fooled. What M&S label as ‘picnic egg’ actually contains not a whole boiled egg beneath its bread-crumbed sausage exterior, but chopped egg. While not a genuine Scotch egg, this delicacy is also to be savoured.
A Taste of Italy, Cherwell, 6 October 2004, p. 14.
As I strode away from the train, beaming, repressing the urge to skip, or dance in tune with my heart, the smoke lingered in my mouth. Moments earlier, I had slammed shut the carriage door, with its ugly yellow curtain, screening my actions from the bustling passengers, and leaned forward and kissed the uniformed Italian soldier. The kiss only lasted a moment, but for that moment, his smoky tongue was in my mouth and I had my arms around his muscular body.
Then reality resumed. I opened the door, he kissed my cheeks and said ciao, and I walked away and boarded a tram which chugged along sounding as if it were run on bubbles. If this was a film script, I would have met Antonio again in a second, even more unbelievable chance encounter, but this was my revision trip to Italy, March 2004, and all I was left with was a grainy photo Tony’s mate had taken of us on his phone and emailed me, and a wonderful memory of a moment when I had acted on my desire.
Desiring the ideal male form, whether set off by snugly fitting khaki uniform, or in white marble, wall all part of immersing myself in Italian Renaissance culture, which I was to be examined in for Finals. I’m sure it really helped me understand Michelangelo and Leonardo that little bit better. Ok, ok, he was just really fit and I seized the moment.
The second best thing that I experienced on the trip was a free four-course feast, with wines to match in the Frescobaldi Wine Bar, in a quieter, less touristy corner of Florence’s Piazza Signoria. more
Then reality resumed. I opened the door, he kissed my cheeks and said ciao, and I walked away and boarded a tram which chugged along sounding as if it were run on bubbles. If this was a film script, I would have met Antonio again in a second, even more unbelievable chance encounter, but this was my revision trip to Italy, March 2004, and all I was left with was a grainy photo Tony’s mate had taken of us on his phone and emailed me, and a wonderful memory of a moment when I had acted on my desire.
Desiring the ideal male form, whether set off by snugly fitting khaki uniform, or in white marble, wall all part of immersing myself in Italian Renaissance culture, which I was to be examined in for Finals. I’m sure it really helped me understand Michelangelo and Leonardo that little bit better. Ok, ok, he was just really fit and I seized the moment.
The second best thing that I experienced on the trip was a free four-course feast, with wines to match in the Frescobaldi Wine Bar, in a quieter, less touristy corner of Florence’s Piazza Signoria. more
Eat: Hadjuczek Cherwell, 6 February 2004, p. 8.
Oxford finest Polish restaurant, c.2004.
Hajduczek is Oxford's first, best, and as yet, only Polish restaurant.* Its website claims it to be, "the place to bring your loved one, business colleague and friends to impress the delight of Polish cuisine, and meal is not complete without a national drink - Vodka or specialty Mead."
The selection of vodkas is really impressive, ranging from Famous Bison vodka with grass to Orange Kosher vodka. But while the food is certainly delightful enough to be shared with loved ones, the lighting is not romantic, forcing you to gaze at them fully illuminated by harsh spotlights.
The real reason to venture just past Nando's on the Cowley road is the food, served in generous portions, and quite unlike anything you will find elsewhere in town.
We chose the Specjalnosc Hajduczka. After a creamy vegetable soup, we were served a huge platter comprising four traditional dishes: The Bigos, or Hunter stew, was described in the menu as "a precious jewel in the treasury of the Polish kitchen", but this sauerkraut and meat concoction was only one jewel in the crown.
The Placki (potato pancakes) were perfectly crisp and golden, the Pierogi (ravioli) were large and creamy, and the Golabki (poached cabbage leaf) was full to bursting with mince and rice. Feeling just as stuffed as the Golabki, we soldiered on with dessert. Our gusto was revived when we were presented with poppy seedcake and cheese pancakes, both garnished with cream, fresh strawberries and grapes. The coffee was also of exceptionally high quality.
In the current cold climate, Hajduczek's hearty hospitality is a welcome source of warmth. The tinny "Polish" music (sometimes they have live music from 8-10pm, call for information) and eclectic décor add to its charm. The overall effect is unpretentious and irresistible. Eat there.
*84 Cowley Road is now a Russian restaurant called Arbat.
The selection of vodkas is really impressive, ranging from Famous Bison vodka with grass to Orange Kosher vodka. But while the food is certainly delightful enough to be shared with loved ones, the lighting is not romantic, forcing you to gaze at them fully illuminated by harsh spotlights.
The real reason to venture just past Nando's on the Cowley road is the food, served in generous portions, and quite unlike anything you will find elsewhere in town.
We chose the Specjalnosc Hajduczka. After a creamy vegetable soup, we were served a huge platter comprising four traditional dishes: The Bigos, or Hunter stew, was described in the menu as "a precious jewel in the treasury of the Polish kitchen", but this sauerkraut and meat concoction was only one jewel in the crown.
The Placki (potato pancakes) were perfectly crisp and golden, the Pierogi (ravioli) were large and creamy, and the Golabki (poached cabbage leaf) was full to bursting with mince and rice. Feeling just as stuffed as the Golabki, we soldiered on with dessert. Our gusto was revived when we were presented with poppy seedcake and cheese pancakes, both garnished with cream, fresh strawberries and grapes. The coffee was also of exceptionally high quality.
In the current cold climate, Hajduczek's hearty hospitality is a welcome source of warmth. The tinny "Polish" music (sometimes they have live music from 8-10pm, call for information) and eclectic décor add to its charm. The overall effect is unpretentious and irresistible. Eat there.
*84 Cowley Road is now a Russian restaurant called Arbat.
Eat: French Bistros, Cherwell, 23 January 2004, p. 8.
Do you remember Ma Belle? The cosy French place tucked away in a corner of Blue Boar St., opposite the Bear? Well, it’s gone. Sometime over the summer it was usurped by the young pretender Bistro Je T’Aime. Je n’aime pas Bistro Je T’Aime. The old black and white Tudor interior has been repainted a brash series of neon citrus colours that are, I suppose, meant to evoke the Mediterranean. I found they merely induced a headache.
Having been painfully embarrassed by my father’s behaviour in various eating establishments, I may have inherited some of his characteristics. While this can be unpleasant for my eating companions, my readers should benefit from these inherited high critical standards. Owing to his outbursts, various restaurants that the family thitherto liked were blacklisted. His pet hate is slow or sloppy service. Admittedly, my faculties may have been over critical on the day I went to Bistro Je T’Aime- my boyfriend had coaxed me out for a lunchbreak mid-essay crisis. Having to fetch my own butter did not improve the situation!
Saying that I can’t quite remember what I had to eat there is pretty insulting to the chef, as I can lovingly recall good meals I had over two years ago. Bistro Je T’Aime should not be displaying such upmarket prices on laminated card menus. Neither should it be serving, from what I remember, dry fish. It has trodden the mantle of Ma Belle into the mud.
If you want a decent French-bistro type meal in Oxford, you would do much better at Pierre Victoire, Little Clarendon St. Its fresh, airy interior and solid wooden tables are much more likely to soothe a headache, especially when combined with the jazzy music they play, and , of course, the lovely food. For good salads and steak frites, go there. Its lunch menus are particularly good value, especially if you don’t bother with wine, and have an ice cream cone from G&D’s across the road for the walk back into town. For the serious carnivore, I would recommend The Mitre on the high street; it’s ideal for a decent steak.
Having been painfully embarrassed by my father’s behaviour in various eating establishments, I may have inherited some of his characteristics. While this can be unpleasant for my eating companions, my readers should benefit from these inherited high critical standards. Owing to his outbursts, various restaurants that the family thitherto liked were blacklisted. His pet hate is slow or sloppy service. Admittedly, my faculties may have been over critical on the day I went to Bistro Je T’Aime- my boyfriend had coaxed me out for a lunchbreak mid-essay crisis. Having to fetch my own butter did not improve the situation!
Saying that I can’t quite remember what I had to eat there is pretty insulting to the chef, as I can lovingly recall good meals I had over two years ago. Bistro Je T’Aime should not be displaying such upmarket prices on laminated card menus. Neither should it be serving, from what I remember, dry fish. It has trodden the mantle of Ma Belle into the mud.
If you want a decent French-bistro type meal in Oxford, you would do much better at Pierre Victoire, Little Clarendon St. Its fresh, airy interior and solid wooden tables are much more likely to soothe a headache, especially when combined with the jazzy music they play, and , of course, the lovely food. For good salads and steak frites, go there. Its lunch menus are particularly good value, especially if you don’t bother with wine, and have an ice cream cone from G&D’s across the road for the walk back into town. For the serious carnivore, I would recommend The Mitre on the high street; it’s ideal for a decent steak.
