I get it: being vegetarian can be hard in Spain. I mean, this is a country that thinks pork is a vegetable. Most salads include ham, a sandwich vegetariano is mostly tuna (don’t ask), and the cookies are full of pork fat. But that doesn’t mean that you can’t have a delicious time as a vegetarian in Seville! I decided to go full vegetarian about a year ago, five years after moving to Spain. (Leaving the ham was hard.) Lucky for me, that gave me enough time to learn about the best places to eat vegetarian in Seville! Without realising, I’d soaked up everything I needed to know about where to go ..read more

Sherry might be Spain’s worst-kept secret. It’s not one of those secret wine gems that only the trendiest sommeliers know about (looking at you, Georgian wine). But I’ll admit, when most people think of sherry, they think of their granny. Tiny glasses of sickly sweet, treacly booze… that’s the image most people have of sherry wines. But what those people don’t know is that the good stuff is a secret. Sherry wines are some of the best in Spain, and some of my favourite wines in the world! And the best sherries come from Jerez de la Frontera. This sleepy town is quintessentially Spanish. It’s go ..read more

Heading to Jerez de la Frontera? Congratulations, you’ve already made a good decision. This is one of the most quintessentially Spanish towns in Spain, full of flamenco, sunshine, bullfighting, and siesta. It’s also home to some of the best food in the country! Southern Spain is where tapas was invented, so you better believe that they know how to do it well. When I lived in Seville, I would visit Jerez pretty often. I’d jump on the train in the morning and get into Jerez for a coffee and a tostada. I’d hit up a winery, and then sit down to a lazy lunch. That left plenty of time for a siesta o ..read more

Like so many other millennials in lockdown, I’ve really gotten into sourdough this year. Sure, I’ve been learning to bake it. But I’ve also been foraging around forums on the internet and listening to more bread-focused podcasts than I’d care to admit. I’ve tried dozens of sourdough recipes in search of the perfect loaf, and more than a few guides to building the perfect sourdough starter. And my goals at the start were pretty simple. One: Save money. Before my baking began, I was spending more than $20 a week at my local bakery. That was stupid even before I lost my job due to Covid. Now, it ..read more

Barcelona is Spain’s natural wine capital. It’s not surprising, since Catalonia produces most of the country’s innovative natural wine. It’s even less surprising since Barcelona always seems to be on the cutting edge of new trends in everything edible and drinkable! And natural wine is definitely the wine trend of the moment! Proponents loudly proclaim its virtues; from its unfiltered flavours to its nonexistent hangovers. I’m a fan, for the same reason I love making my own sourdough from organic flour. Things that are grown better, taste better. Things that are hand-made, taste better. And th ..read more

You might not think that ham could be the biggest story of the year. But in Spain, ham is a thing of national security (or at least national pride). Spaniards have a fanatical devotion to jamón ibérico de bellota, the acorn-fed Iberian ham served up in tapas bars across the country. It’s as Spanish as siesta, paella, and being really good at football, so when two American companies recently announced plans to produce Iberian ham in the U.S., there was sure to be outrage. But what’s the big deal? Iberian Ham: Made in Iberia Jamón ibérico is the greatest thing to happen to any carnivore; just on ..read more

Here’s a question I get asked a lot on my tapas tours in Seville: “where do the locals go to eat?”. The answer? They go to Triana. Across the river from most of Seville, this is the most unique barrio in town. In fact, just cross the bridge and you’ll feel like you’re in a completely different city! In fact, for a long time, it was a different city. Triana used to be a small town across the water from regular Seville, and today the locals won’t let you forget it! No soy sevillano, they’ll say. Soy trianero. (That is, “I’m not from Seville, I’m from Triana“). Although that sounds strange, it’s ..read more

You might have heard Cava described as “Spanish Champagne”. But it’s so much more than that! Sure, Cava is a Spanish sparkling wine made in the same way as French Champagne, but that’s only part of the story. It has its own unique flavour and tradition, and it definitely has its own prices. In fact, one of the first things you notice about Cava is how affordable it is, especially when compared to Champagne! Unfortunately, that puts some people off. They think that means Cava isn’t as tasty, well-made, or as special as other sparkling wines. (Some people even make the terrible error of thinking ..read more

Unpopular opinion from an Italian food blogger: Italian food isn’t that great. Unless, that is, you’re eating it the way that it deserves to be eaten! My friend Abbie Stark is a food writer and tour guide living in Rome. I invited her to write about her at times love/hate relationship with Italian food, as my first ever guest author! You can check out the rest of her no-nonsense tips on travelling and eating your way through Italy on her blog: La Vita Roma. To my absolute shame, while reading David’s SCATHING remarks on the Italian vs. Spanish food debate (where he offered substitutions for It ..read more

2020 is the year that just won’t quit. For months we’ve been bouncing like pinballs between stories, scandals, and things we’d rather just forget about. So in all this noise, you might have missed a story from the world of alcohol: “Plantation Rum” is changing its name. In response to 2020’s global anti-racism protests, the brand has decided to drop ‘plantation’ from its name. According to the rum’s founder, Alexandre Gabriel: “As the dialogue on racial equality continues globally, we understand the hurtful connotation the word ‘plantation’ can evoke to some people, especially in its associati ..read more