Serge the Concierge

Foodies Vacations: Cooking Schools in Australia, Pork Butchery to Stocks and Soups

Your inner chef might have forgotten that cooking and food is not just about being romanced by Provence or Tuscany.

In Cooking Schools Around Australia (Australian Traveler, May 2007), Christine Salins offers a number of destinations down under for Foodies Vacations.

It runs the gamut from barbecued seafood class at the Sydney Seafood School (opened since 1989) in Sydney's Fish Market which she says attracts 10,000 students a year to gourmet vegetarian cuisine with Nadine Abensur in Byron Bay.

Her more recent book is Enjoy.

Asian food has its place of course with Thai 'Cookery Retreats' at The Tamarind in Maleny, Queensland with chef Paul Plain.

Want to get down to basics the PodSchool in Canberra recently offered Stocks, Soups and Sauces, teaching how from the 3 basic stocks, beef, fish & chicken you can create the best sauces and soups.

I almost forgot to mention programs at wineries such as Chapel Hill (McLaren Vale) which has a Pork Butchery Session on August 8th with Ian Shaw from Ellis Butchers who will break up a pig and explain the cuts, while Chef Peter Hogg creates dishes using the appropriate technique for each cut (10.30am – 1.30pm).

A quick trip down under for a change.

Station to Station, Must See Tokyo all Mapped out by Tokyo Metro

Sometimes your visit to a city or a country is very short and you don't want to waste your time finding your way around.

If Tokyo is part of your travel plans, Tokyo Metro does the legwork for you.

The Tokyo subway system offers 6 Sightseeing Plans, each with around 10 attractions, station to station all mapped out.

Option Number 1 is Must See Tokyo (below):

 

Each attraction comes with a short description and a photo as well as the line you must take and the corresponding stop and travel time to the next sight.

Here's what comes up for Tokyo Tower for example:

"At 333 meters tall, the steel structure of Tokyo Tower has spectacular views from its observation deck, 150 meters above the city below. The tower features several other attractions, including an aquarium. more

Hibiya Line (H) 3 mins."

I also learned from today's expedition that Tokyo Tower (opened in 1958) is 13m taller at 333m than the Eiffel Tower.

Traveling with the crowds for Tokyo Thursdays # 96

Previously on Tokyo Thursdays:
Young Person's Guide to Tanabata, Star Festival at Japan Society, NY, July 12

15 Days Motorcycle Wine Tour de France, Naps Included?

My friends at Kermit Lynch have been posting their Tour de France Wine of the Day when the inspiration comes.

On July 15, they picked a 2008 Cheverny Rosé, Domaine du Salvard by Delaille from the Loire Valley (pictured below) for Stage 11.



Out of curiousity, I went to check if anyone else was matching wines with the Tour de France stages.

Nothing came up, instead I unearthed a 15 Days Motorcycle Wine Tour de France (by AdMo-Tours) taking place from September 2 to September 16.

Intriguing

Are naps included?

Felines Picpoul, Poujol Pico, White Wines that Taste like Love in the Afternoon

Long and exotic (like love on a summer afternoon?) is how they describe the finish on Domaine Felines Jourdan 'Picpoul de Pinet' (2007)...good structure and acidity.

In the words of The Wine Society, Pinet near Mèze and Sète, "has been planted with vines for over 2000 years. The vineyards lie just inland of the Mediterranean. The grape picpoul, or piquepoule, lives up to its French name: 'pique' (sharp and lively) and 'poule' (soft and maternal)."

Another off the beaten path white wine I tasted today was the Domaine du Poujol 'Pico' (2008) an unusual threesome of Rolle, Carignan Blanc, Roussanne.

This Vin de Pays de l'Herault is just like honey as Jesus and Mary Chain once sang, fresh, perfect for summer.

Domaine du Poujol is situated to the North West of Montpellier in the South of France

I tried both for the first time at Sud de France Top Rated Tasting in New York on July 13. They should retail for around $14 in the US Sante!

118 Minutes to Book Rooms from $18 to $118 at Copley Square, Boston, July 14 Only

No this is not a Bastille Day Special.

It is not everyday that someone gives you a present on their birthday.

In this case, this is not a person but an hotel Copley Square in Boston turning 118 years young.

Here's the details (below) as featured on their website:

So Joyeux Anniversaire, Happy Birthday Copley Square!

Found out about this great deal thanks to Wendy Perrin of The Perrin Post (via Twitter)

Will Top Rated Wines Move Me at 'Sud de France' Tasting, New York, July 13?

Well even if some of the wines getting the top ratings from US wine critics at the Sud de France Tasting on July 13 fail to move me on the eve of Bastille Day, no heads will roll under the guillotine.

The master of ceremony will be wine critic slash aspiring novelist Jamal Rayyis (pictured below) responsible for five editions (or is it 6) of Food & Wine Magazine's Wine Guide.



In any case, I will be sipping and spitting for you from 2 pm to 6 pm at the Maison de la Région Languedoc-Roussillon in New York ans surely discover new favorites of my own.

Douce France, Joli Pays de Mon Enfance!

Hot Dogs as America in DC from Fenway Frank and Chicago Red Hot to NY Deli Dog

I was looking up details on an exhibit of a British Icon from the 60's and came up with a slice (a bun) of Americana.

Call it food as history if you will, the Courtyard Cafe at the National Portrait Gallery in Washington DC picked as its summer feature, Hot Dogs as America.

Here is what's it's all about:

"As a special tribute to America's favorite pastime and a warm up to Nationals Baseball Family Day, Saturday, July 18, the Courtyard Café will feature three authentic hot dogs from baseball cities across the country during the month of July from 11:30am–3pm daily. Specialty dogs are $5.95, a plain dog is $4.95."

• New York Deli Dog-- New York City's delicatessen tradition brings us this great natural-casing beef frank topped off with sauerkraut and deli mustard.


• Chicago Red Hot-- a jumbo Vienna Beef frank on a poppy seed bun, is "dragged through the garden," topped with mustard, relish, onion, tomato, dill pickle, peppers, and a dash of celery salt.


• Fenway Frank-- boiled and grilled Fenway-style, a beef hot dog served on a New England-style bun and covered with mustard and relish.

Will the Chicago Red Hot look and taste like those offered by Red Hot Chicago (picture below)?

Are they pairing them with New York, Boston and Chicago beers?

Another reason to visit DC this summer...

London cheaper than Caracas according to The Guardian

I wrote recently about various ways to find Freebies in London.

The Guardian goes one step further in Bargain London by Benji Lanyado and claims that London is cheaper than Caracas.

I bet Hugo C. will protest.

Married with children, they suggest London's City Farms such as Hackney City Farm (sheep, pigs, chickens, ducks, rabbits, calves and bees).

Need competitively priced accomodations, he mentions the youth hostel YHA London St Pancras (pictured above, from their site) with prices from: Adult: £21.95 Under 18: £16.50 (british pound is the currency quoted).

The place had a recent thorough makeover.

Cheese, Vermont-France Terroir Exchange kicks off Taste of Champlain Festival, July 8-12

As Vermont celebrates Champlain Quadricentennial, the 400th anniversary of French explorer Samuel de Champlain’s arrival to the lake that now bears his name in 2009, food had to be part of the equation.

The Taste of Champlain Food Festival kicks off on July 8 with morning seminars, tastings and discussions focus on the potential and importance of “origin of product” with experts from Vermont, France, and beyond. Guest speakers included cheese expert and microbiologist Sister Noella Marcellino (subject of the PBS documentary The Cheese Nun), French sensory expert Florence Berodier, and professors Amy Trubek of UVM and Pierre Merel of the University of California at Davis, among others.

It is followed by an Evening Tasting Event from 7 to 9pm with some of the most prestigious AOC French cheeses and the finest Vermont artisanal cheeses, all paired to perfection with Vermont and French wines and other specialty products from the state.

It takes place at Firehouse Center for the Visual Arts (Burlington).

Tickets are $50 and available at City Market (also in Burlington), by phone at (802)-264-0766.

I did noticed that City Market launched special products to mark the celebrations:

"The Quad-a-Poundah ($7.49/lb) is a delicious blend of local LaPlatte River Angus ground beef, Vermont Smoke and Cure bacon with a zesty Montreal-style seasoning. The Champlain Wrap ($7.95) combines Maple Ham and Brie cheese topped with Maple Honey-Dijon Mustard and greens.  In addition to the specialty burgers and wrap, the Co-op features Boyden Valley’s Quadricentennial Wine ($14.99) and Shelburne Vineyard’s Cote de Champlain ($12.99)."

On July 11, the Consumed to Thrifty in search of week-end plans can visit a FREE "open-air showcase of the region’s finest providers, from freshly harvested produce to locally produced honey, cheeses and gourmet prepared foods" on north and south sides of City Hall Park" from 8:30 a.m to 2 p.m.

At $5 per dish (proceeds benefit Burlington City Arts education scholarships) get your fill of everything strawberries at the Strawberry Festival also on Saturday, July 11 at the Food Festival Tent on Main Street, between St. Paul & Pine Streets from 11:00am to 5:00 p.m.

Looking at what local Indians used to eat and grow when back when, Alice Levitt reports in Indian Summer (July 09, Seven Days) on the recreation of an Abenaki Traditional Garden.

All in all a blend of cultivating, culture and history...

3 Days of Peace and Yoga, Wanderlust, Music Festival with a Different Recipe, Lake Tahoe, July 24-26

Following my No Vacation Nation thread, I was checking the correct definition of 'wanderlust' and discovered by accident the Wanderlust Festival which brings together Music and Yoga from July 24 to July 26, 2009 in Lake Tahoe (California).

Any other festival with a main stage at 8000 feet I wonder?

On the music side, line up counts Michael Franti, Spoon, Gillian Welch, Broken Social Scene, Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings to name a few.

I noticed the Yoga Slackers in the Yoga lineup, great name...

For the Consumed to Thrifty crowd who cannot fork out the $120 plus dollars for 3 days, I suggest the Daytripper option: "Friday ($24.50), Saturday ($69.50), and Sunday ($49.50). These passes are for music only and are good for all music events (day and night) for that particular day. They also include the Funitel lift ticket for the days in which there is music on top of Squaw."

More music from a different kitchen:
Music not Druids, Green Man Festival in Glanusk Park, Wales (August 20-23)