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Private Notes
Barcelona has some of the most exciting dining in the world. Sitting in the North East of Spain, between the Pyrenees mountains and the Mediterranean sea, its cuisine reflects this dramatic setting as it’s fiercely proud of its distinctive cuisine. Self-confessed foodie Angela May is in the historic capital of Catalonia and a vibrant metropolis, brimming with culture and infused with the history of Greek, Romans and Arab civilisations.
Heading straight for Boqueria Market, we meet expert foodie Joe Ray for a fascinating tour of this emblematic food heritage emporium. Neighbourhood markets are alive and thriving in Barcelona and locals rarely shop for fresh produce anywhere else. Each part of Barcelona has its own market, but La Boqueria in the centre of the city, on the Ramblas, is the biggest. About three hundred families run the stalls here and have done for centuries.
Travelling 150km south of Barcelona to the Delta del Ebre fishermen, Angela prepares for an epic fishing trip, where she prepares the local speciality - Arroz Negre using our freshly caught cuttlefish in its ink, and locally grown rice.
In the neighbouring town of Tortosa a Renaissance festival is in full swing and we tag along with jugglers, stilt walkers and musicians on a riotous 16th century pub crawl.
Back in the city, its dinner and drinks at uber trendy Inopia where Angela samples one of the most famous tapas in Inopia - the Croqueta Jamon Iberico. . Owned by Albert Adrià and his older brother, Ferran Adrià famous for owning Catalonia’s premier dining spot - El Bulli as well as being the most famous experimental chef in the world.
This raucous, and unfailingly friendly tapas bar is a true "bar de barrio” and perfect place to wind-up the day. Next we visit one of Barcelona’s leading pastry chefs for a lesson in cutting edge deserts: a new twist on the classic Crema Catalonia.
In a Planet Food Extra we meet chocolatier Enric Rovira and learn how to successfully
Bordering Lebanon in the north, Egypt in the south and Syria and Jordan to the West, Israel has a surprisingly diverse and rich food tradition which has been shaped by Jewish refugees arriving from all over the world.
Our hosts Angela May and Bobby Chinn explore the rich culture of cuisine and discovers that there's more to Israel and Palestine than Falafel.
Journeying from the ancient city of Jaffa on the Mediterranean coast, Angela discovers how Israeli food is influenced by the Jews from the Diaspora, immigrants coming from Germany, Poland, Russia and its surrounding countries, and Jews from Spain and the Middle East which have all combined to create the rich texture of what is Israeli cuisine today.
Angela also travels to Jerusalem and in the Jewish quarter, she learns how to make the most famous Jewish dish in the world, the Jewish Penicillin: Chicken Soup.
Travelling northwards along the Mediterranean coast to Acco, Angela learns to cook the traditional Sephardic dish of Moroccan Fish with top chef Uri Buri.
Back in Jerusalem Angela visits the old Mehane Yehuda Market and meets a Yemenite Jew who creates tasty juices from local produce to provide natural cures, all before venturing to the Judean Hills to visit the world's only strictly kosher chef school to learn how to cook Stuffed Eggplants, a traditional dish eaten on the Festival of Succot, harvest festival.
Meanwhile, in the occupied territories of the West Bank, Bobby Chinn discovers a thriving Palestinian food tradition despite many years of strife. Bobby visits the cities of Ramallah, Bethlehem, Jericho and Jerusalem and takes day trips to the West Bank date farms and olive groves.
What other way is there to arrive in this iconic city than by boat? Bobby Chinn steps straight off the ancient ferry which plies its trade between the Asian and European side of what is one of the most ancient and fascinating cities in the world. He immediately immerses himself in the street life and cuisine of this melting pot of cultures that has gone by many names but, which we know today as Istanbul.
Lying on the banks of the Bosphorus it is rightly described both geographically and spiritually, as the one place on earth where East meets West without a collision. As ever, Bobby is determined to try some of the local fare and his first port of call is a stall selling cooked sheep’s head. True to form, he eats it all - including the eyes and brain. It's down here in the streets that he meets Hande who runs a local culinary school. She takes him back to her roof terrace overlooking the city and shows him how to cook 2 popular Turkish summer starters which use 2 of the staples of this country: a Cold Yogurt Soup and a Wheat and Parslane Salad.
Next Bobby visits an area called Anavut Couy to check out the amazing old Ottoman architecture as well as three more uniquely Turkish meat dishes. Donner Kebabs, Shish Kebabs and Koftas. Whilst here, he also visits a contemporary Anatolian restaurant to find out how local fusion food looks. Continuing the Ottoman theme, Bobby then travels by tram to the 600 year old, Topkapi Palace, to meet Ottoman expert Alp Kaya, who gives him the rundown on just who the Ottomans actually were. From here he visits famous local chef, Verdat Basheran, who demonstrates an ancient technique of presenting a fish which has boned itself, strange but true... nearly!
Next off, Bobby hitches a lift on a private charter boat out to the Princes Islands, which lie a couple of miles off shore from the Asian side of Istanbul. These beautiful islands, on which motorised transport is banned, have been a haven for all persecuted peoples of all rel
