Food and Drink tips

Paul Gauguin Cruises will offer a 10-night culinary cruise around the islands of French Polynesia in December.

The Dominican Republic is a lush, tropical Caribbean isle perfect for growing cocoa, and farms and tourist initiatives across the island offer the best ways to savor the flavor of chocolate, right where it’s grown and produced. 

The first Nobu, a new-wave Japanese restaurant, opened in New York 30 years ago this year. The brand keeps expanding, with about 50 restaurants worldwide.

Call it food flexibility on the water.

Milkshake Tourism is about to become a reality as Zaxby’s milkshakes return exclusively to Macon, Georgia, prompting the destination to launch its own shake-inspired tourism campaign. 

For those who live with celiac disease or a significant degree of gluten intolerance, the vacation planning process includes an extra complication: ensuring that dining options compatible with a gluten-free (GF) diet plan will be readily available.

Travelers sailing to Antarctica with Quark Expeditions next season can sip free drinks and surf the web while gazing out at passing icebergs and watching for whales. The expedition travel company is offering complimentary Wi-Fi and alcohol to all guests starting with its 2024-25 Antarctica season, it announced today.

Qatar Airways is introducing a range of new onboard menu items that have been sourced from organic farms in Qatar, in celebration of EXPO 2023 taking place in Doha.

Forgive me for sounding a little smug. You would too if you were sitting in stylish lodgings sipping a glass of grand cru minutes away from a prestigious address, the Avenue de Champagne in Épernay, east of Paris. The mile-long avenue is lined with expensive champagne houses, from Moët & Chandon to Perrier-Jouët.

The amber, auburn and crimson colours of autumn cosy up on top of one another, each layer dotted with patches of green, waving gently in the wind. This description is not one of the Lake District landscape before me, though it does match those views. Rather, it’s of the cabbage and butternut squash sabzi that’s just been handed to me by Harrison Ward on the summit of Black Fell – cooked on a camping stove with red onion, diced garlic and ginger, ½ teaspoon nutmeg, ½ teaspoon turmeric, accompanied by a freshly made flatbread and topped with coriander.

Brockencote Hall, Chaddesley Corbett, WorcestershireYou might think you’ve rolled up at a luxury Loire valley chateau when you arrive at this Victorian manor in landscaped parkland. There’s nothing too luxe about the price, though, with B&B from £138. Spend what you save on a nine-course tasting extravaganza in the restaurant, perhaps matching it with a flight of wine. A normal two- or three-course dinner might feature local produce such as Worcestershire duck breast with confit duck hash and artisanal cheeses. There’s plenty to do during the day – fishing, tennis, or a stroll around the 29 hectares. The 21 bedrooms range from contemporary classics to feature suites.Doubles from £138 B&B, nine-course dinner £85, brockencotehall.com

Conceived by Mark and Jonnie Houston, in collaboration with Mitchell Hochberg of Lightstone, Level 8 is a multi-layered hospitality concept spread across 30,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor space at the Moxy & AC Hotel Downtown LA.

Every autumn, my father would load our family of five into his already ancient 1928 Morris and set off from our home in Portsmouth. Laden, as we were, with baskets, boots, crooked walking sticks, gloves and Elastoplasts, we were off blackberry picking. Apart from annual trips to collect cockles from the mud of Langstone Harbour, I loved those early autumn days more than any other. Unlike school, early-1960s television and just about everything else, they felt so very real; not just athing to do but the thing to do.

Fore Adventure runs outdoor activities on and around Studland Bay on the Jurassic coast, offering half-day kayak foraging around Old Harry Rocks (£65), is suitable for vegans and vegetarians, focusing on harvesting wild plants and seaweed. Fishing and foraging (£70) adds fishing for crustaceans and fish such as black bream, sea bass and mackerel; and foraging and feasting (£140) adds a two-course meal. The company also runs two-day wild camping, sea kayaking and coastal foraging adventures (£290).Next kayak foraging trip 15 October, foreadventure.co.uk

Princess Cruises announced the introduction of new vegan menus for main dining rooms that will be rolled out across the company’s fleet of 15 ships.

Emirates has expanded its inflight meal pre-order initiative across Europe, following the successful launch ofthe initiative on London to Dubair routes and the positive feedback received from passengers.

If I had to recommend one place to eat tapas in Spain, it’s Bar Poë in Granada, not only for the food, but for the atmosphere. It’s always bustling (come early to guarantee a seat) with a local and international crowd. Run by a friendly husband-and-wife duo, every drink comes with a free dish, and, unusually, you can choose your tapa. International and big on flavour, the menu includes Portuguese piri piri dishes, salt cod, curries and more. Jason Rich

Saint-Tropez may be known for glitz, but a few miles along the coast, the very ground beneath my feet glitters like a jet-setter hotel. I’m in the Var department in south-eastern France, where the Maures massif meets the Mediterranean and the bedrock is mica schist, a flaky stone that sparkles in the Provençal sunshine (and also makes for great wine).

The Basques have Juan Mari and Elena Arzak, the Catalans Ferran Adrià, and Andalucía has “el Chef del Mar” Ángel León – chefs who have put their region’s cuisine on the world food map.

‘Dinner’ by Heston Blumenthal, which recently opened in Dubai at Atlantis The Royal, offers guests a “relaxed” dining experience driven by spectacle and storytelling. As consumer expectations rise, chefs are constantly upping the ante for not just their cuisine, but also the dining experience in order to stand out to guests.

The Royal Mansour Marrakech has launched a new culinary school for guests who are looking to elevate their cooking knowledge under the expert guidance of the hotel’s chefs.