Plink, Plonk, Fizz

“Here we come a-wassailing amongst the leaves so green, here we come a wandering so far to be seen”

How many of us have sung that Christmas carol without knowing what it means, or even wondering? To wassail is old English meaning good health and in ancient times villagers would gather in the village to eat on hot cakes and cider and then visit the orchard and toast the apple trees for good luck the following year. 

Often a cake soaked in cider would be placed in the fork of the trees and more cider poured over it in hope for a bountiful crop. The best part of the night is the wassail bowl in which large quantities of cider, brandy, ale and spices are placed and then heated. Everyone would then drink from the bowl with the children and women singing songs and the men firing guns to ward of evil spirits. Some parts of Herefordshire and the West Country in the UK still carry out this ancient tradition but usually without the guns.

Other countries also have their traditional Christmas drinks and here is just a few of them. See how many you can tick off you list of having tried. Add a point if you have had them in their country of origin.

Eggnog – UK, particularly East Anglia.

This is often thought to have originated in Belgium or Holland and made from advocaat but the earliest records show it to be from the UK and made from milk, raw eggs, sugar, nutmeg and spices to which alcohol is added, typically brandy, whisky or rum. It should be served hot more often is served chilled.

Cola De mono – Chile

Very similar to Eggnog this is arguardiente (firewater), rum, boiled milk and anis

Posset – Scotland

This drink goes back to the 14^th or 15^th century and is made from hot milk, honey, nutmeg, oatmeal, salt and whisky

Gluhwein – most of Central Europe

This is normally heated red wine with spices added, very often clove or nutmeg and nearly every country in Central Europe has its own variant. In Scandinavian countries it is called Glogg

Julmust – Sweden

A non alcoholic drink that can normally only be found at Christmas although sometimes also at Easter. It was invented in 1910 and it is rumored that only 1 person knows the full recipe. During the Christmas period Julmust outsells Coca Cola and represents 50% of all non-alcoholic drinks consumed over Christmas.

A number of countries, Belgium and Germany in particular brew special Christmas ales that are frequently a lot stronger than their normal fare and these can often be full of flavour and bring on the feeling of Christmas very quickly so be warned. For something different try a fruit beer this Christmas.

Wine has always been a traditional accompaniment to festive dinners and Christmas is no exception so why not treat your self to a special wine this year. A really good Burgundy goes well with the dinner or possibly a Chablis if you prefer white. Take a vintage port with the cheese at the end of the meal.

Champagne has been associated with celebrations of all kinds for centuries and makes for a magnificent start to the Christmas dinner. What many do not know is that it also goes very well with white meats, particularly turkey given that it is often mainly Chardonnay grape. There are a number of very good champagne style wines that mimic champagne but you cannot beat the right thing for Christmas.

Whatever you choose this Christmas do it in the company of friends and raise a glass to their health.

To gobble or not to gobble, that is the question.

“Tis the season to be jolly” so the carol goes but not if you are one of the 15m turkeys in the UK or 22m in the USA that will be consumed on Christmas Day this year.

This means that 1 in 3 people in the UK will consume a traditional turkey dinner this Christmas making it the highest percentage in the world. Accompanying the turkey will be a host of vegetables depending on where you come from in the world but in the UK it would traditionally be served with roast potatoes, carrots, parsnip, peas and brussel sprouts. Sauces accompanying the turkey include gravy, cranberry sauces and bread sauce.

There are over a dozen different species of turkey but the most popular is the white breasted that was genetically created over 50 years ago to give the most meat and therefore better value. More traditional species are smaller but have much more taste and are growing in popularity.

It is not sure when turkey became the main meat for Christmas in the West as goose was very popular in the UK during the 19^th century and villages often saw turkeys and geese being escorted to market wearing little booties. The first turkey was thought to have been brought to the UK in 1526 by William Strickland, a Yorkshireman

Turkey was also the first meal eaten on the moon by Neal Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin, not a bad feat for an animal that in most variants cannot fly.

It is also a good job that Ben Franklin did not get his own way as he thought that the turkey should be the national bird of America and not the bald eagle…….

Resident turkeys in countries such as on a beachfront apartment in Australia, Poland, Lithuania and the Ukraine have a much better view of Christmas as many people in these countries celebrate Christmas with a 12 dish Christmas Eve Supper said to represent the 12 months of the year or the 12 apostles. No meat, egg or milk dishes may be served so the turkeys get to see Christmas day to.

Other meats popular around the world to celebrate Christmas include pork, lamb and various species of fish

Personally speaking Christmas just isn't Christmas without turkey although a bar b que on a quiet beach on a tropical island with plenty of cocktails is starting to come very close. Chances are that I may have the opportunity to do both this year.

Merry Christmas and an alcoholic New Year to all

It’s a Fowl world

I recently attended a gourmet dinner where they match the wines with the food rather than the other way around which is the more common, and easier.

The whole dinner was superb and a great example where the right wines can greatly improve a dish. It was also a first for a couple of the meats that we had.

Although I have eaten all around the world and attended numerous gourmet dinners I had never eaten Frogs Legs before the other night and had often wondered what they tasted like. I was once told they were a bit like a fishy chicken which in itself made me wondered what on earth a fishy chicken tasted like and how it would get that way.

Then it occurred to me that we often compare things to chicken – snake was described to me as being a little like chicken and having eaten it I would have to agree if you only eat bland chickens.

We also had rabbit at the dinner which was once described to me as little like chicken. At this point I knew that some people needed to experience more foods as rabbit is nothing like chicken.

The chicken that is served in the Western world is often bland and unappetizing so it can be hardly surprising that anything bland is similarly compared. If you have been fortunate enough to have eaten chicken in Africa or in Asia that has been free range you will know that it is full of flavours and should not be compared with bland meats.

I wonder if when meting someone who had never eaten chicken, should such a person exist, but had instead grown up eating frogs would his friends tell him chicken tasted similar to frogs?

What did they frogs taste like? Well they were a little salty but that may have been due to the preparation – served in a puff pastry case they were very pleasant although may have been better with a crams sauce. Definitely something to be repeated.

A stranger meat that we had that night, again for the first time for many of us, was Sweetbreads. These are the thymus, or throat glands, in our instance from calves and to be frank were one of the strangest meats I have ever eaten. Very bland in flavour and having virtually no consistency due to having been soaked in milk before frying I found them to be particularly unappetizing. I trouble to see what all the fuss is about when it comes to these meats.

One rumor was dispelled that night in that Sweetbreads are not usually gonads, or balls, as many of us had thought. Although they can be these are more commonly called Rocky Mountain Oysters – another delicacy to look forward to.

When is it cool to be hot......

After looking in to the origins of Hamburgers I thought I would turn my attention to that other snack favorite the Hot Dog.

The Hot Dog is synonymous with Americans and in particular with baseball where it is almost a national requirement to have a Hot Dog when watching a match. There are an estimated 21m Hot Dogs eaten each year at the games and have been served at baseball games since 1893.

Unlike burgers the origins of hot dogs are more certain although the actual dates of the first hot dog are still clouded in mystery with estimates going between the 13^th century and the late 19^th century. What is certain is that they originated in Germany – Frankfurters from Frankfurt and Weiners from Vienna.

The meat content of a hot dog is pork or beef although cheaper hot dogs are often made from chicken or turkey. A range of condiments can be added in the making process and regional variations include paprika, peppers, salt and even potato. Unlike other types of sausages frankfurters and wieners are cooked by boiling and a precooked before selling and then simply reheated. Really good Hot Dogs are served in Skins, sheep intestines originally and the flavor rush is great as you bite through the skin. Grilled or boiled everyone has their favorite way of serving them. There are even now hot dog toasters to make life easier.

One of the best hot dogs I have ever had was in Melbourne, Australia where the hot dog was served hot out of a street vendor’s stall and topped with chili con carne and cheese -  a meal in its own right instead of a snack as is normally the case.

When the name Hot Dog was first coined it was thought that the content was wild street dogs and it took several years to allay this rumor. The spread of the Hot Dog world wide followed the inward migration of German immigrants into America and the following of popular American culture by other countries around the world.

I still remember a Saturday morning treat was to watch the Children’s time movie reel whilst munching on a Hot Dog. I wonder what taste could it be when combine a hot dog with a Trdelnik roll, the most popular pastry in Prague. The taste must have been like heaven, like relaxing in a gorgeous spa.

A little known fact is that the first words spoken by Mickey Mouse in a movie were “Hot Dog” – a far cry from the “mama” that most people utter as their first intelligible word.

Now off to investigate the origins of Pizza – I sense this could be a cause of a lot of argument and conjecture…..

A Bugger of a Burger

A friend and I recently dropped into a local restaurant for something to eat after a round of golf, having just return from his vacation in Barbados. Perusing through the menu my friend selected the burger and I one of the rice dishes. After one of those waits where you are sure the kitchen has been out hunting down the cow to make the burger or to grow the rice the food arrived – or what passed for the food.

Looking at my friend’s burger reminded me of the old joke of a diner when asked “how did you find the steak sir” replied “I lifted a chip and there it was”

This burger was tiny – so small in fact that if it had not been for the bun you could have swallowed it whole. Ironically enough I was at a party later that day and the hotel were serving mini burgers in a bun. These were at least 20% larger than the “proper” burger my friend had been served earlier.

As you would expect a discussion on the merits of various burgers around the world ensued – both of us have travelled a fair bit and consensus of opinion was that nothing beats a proper home-made burger with a reasonable amount of local herbs and spices. We spent no more than 30 seconds on the topic of commercial chain burgers other than to agree there were packed full of salt and on the whole disgusting.

What came as  a surprise when doing some research was when burgers first came into existence – there is no true accurate recording of when the first burger was made as every country lays claim to this. The most 

popular theory is that they were invented by chance by one Charlie Nagreen from Seymour Wisconsin who was selling meatballs at local County Fairs in 1885 and discovered that they were too hard to eat and walk at the same time – with a spark of imagination he squashed a meatball flat and put it between 2 pieces of bread….. and so history was made.

Another popular theory, although totally incorrect was that they were first invented in Hamburg Germany so giving the product its name. Some even believe that the burger comes from when the Mongols under Ghengis Khan invaded Europe and were eating raw meat tenderized under their saddles.

Whatever its origins the hamburger is here to stay and part of many peoples staple diet.

Now I wonder where Hot Dogs came from……..

Ice Cream Delights

What is it about ice cream and its ability to solve all of the world’s problems in just one simple tub?

I was recently at a fashion show, as you do, and one of the sponsors was Movenpick  so naturally ice cream was on offer. In fact there were copious quantities of the stuff and the pr girls were very apologetic that there were only 8 different ice cream choices there.

They in fact have over 30 different varieties with more being added every year. Now there is a n opportunity for a great job, sampler and quality control……

Favorites of the night were the passion fruit and mango sorbet and the maple syrup with walnuts. That said the white chocolate ice cream that I sneaked in at the end of the show was also superb.

Once we had finished discussing the styles and quality of the fashion being displayed the subject of ice cream came up and which was our favorite. Consensus of opinion was that the best sorbets came from Italy but we could not reach agreement where the best ice creams came from.

Another impression i when we had a good journey to Malta. It was luck of finding a sorbet fundu parfait, would be also good chance to see panoramic view of Mediterranean bay.

My personal favorite that I had inn the past was the honey ice cream I had in Esfahan in Iran. Gloriously creamy with lumps of frozen local pure honey inside, all served in a crispy cone. Not surprisingly no one else had been to Iran so they had not had the opportunity to try this local delicacy. Their loss and your gain if you can get the chance to go there.

That said I also have very fond memories of traditional Cornish ice cream on which is placed a large dollop of Cornish clotted cream. A gluttons delight but do not even think about counting the calories.

Ice cream has gone very commercial, ever since WWII In fact when a number of Italian prisoners of war never left Great Britain and in fact settled down with English wives and opened ice cream parlors.

International chains like Ben and Jerry’s or Hagen Daaz have become family favorites but the best ice creams and sorbets are still the ones made in family shops and stores in small country towns.

Go out, explore and enjoy

The Perfect Breakfast

As I have traveled the world I have had numerous forms of breakfast, are hotel breakfasts the best? No washing up? Every from deep fried grasshoppers to sumptuous buffets and each has left its memory, some of them unfavorably.

My favorite still remains a full traditional English Breakfast although a couple of others have come very close, including one just this week.

There is something to sitting down at a table and picking from a menu selection that goes on for about a page and all that for just one course…. a veritable pick and mix.

The perfect breakfast has to be home made sausages (preferably pork or beef), back bacon, scrambled eggs, black pudding, deviled kidneys, lightly fried liver, fried tomatoes, wild mushrooms and fried bread all served with copious quantities of Twinning’s English Breakfast Tea.

If you really want to go overboard there should also be kippers and an offering of porridge but I cannot face porridge.

Unlimited servings of toast with traditional Seville orange marmalade and good butter finish off the meal, although the toast should be prepared individually each time before serving.

This whole experience should last about an hour

On a trip to Scotland the perfect breakfast was also served with Haggis – an acquired taste for sure but a wonderful addition to the meal. I cannot understand why people do not eat this delicacy more often especially for breakfast. It was a great way to start the day especially as we were off up the mountains to do some skiing.

An addition to my favorite breakfasts was just the other day and unfortunately kills the argument above.

After a night’s gentle drinking with a friend in his bar in Phang Nga Thailand he invited me to sample the local breakfast. Now I have had a number of Thai breakfasts over the years and to be honest have not been that impressed. This one however reinforced the argument of trying everything before judging.

Arriving in the local market that was just starting to set up at 3am we made our way to what can only be described as a garage where you would park your car. Inside were a number of plastic chairs and tables. Outside a table with banana leaves, a tub of Khao Kneow (sticky rice) a large pile of fried onions and a big wok full of hot fat in which was frying chicken.

We had to wait for the chicken to be cooked but it was worth the wait. Taking a ball of the sticky rice you dunked it into the fried chicken and then ate it along with a bite of the chicken.

What an explosion of tastes it was – who would have thought that rice, onions and chicken would have gone so well.

So now I have 2 perfect breakfasts – one that takes time to prepare and an hour to eat and another that takes minutes to prepare and about the same amount of time to eat.

Pastry Matters

If you want to start an argument with a Cornishman tell him a Cornish Pasty can be made with puff pastry. If you want to really upset him tell him the best ones come from Devon.

An aficionado will tell you that only short crust pastry should be used and not sweet short crust at that.

Traditionally a Cornish Pasty was a miner’s lunch that he carried down underground into the tin mines.  As the conditions were less than ideal and things such as carry bags or tins had not been invented yet the pastry itself made up the carry case.

Up to ½ inch thick it acted as its own carry case with the interior consisting of meat, potatoes and turnips and was thrown away at lunchtime with only the contents being eaten.  The superstitious amongst the miners claimed the throw away part of the pasty was an offering to the underground gods to keep the miners safe whilst they worked.

If you want to have another argument with a Cornishman tell him it should be mostly meat….

Correctly no more than 30% of the contents should be meat (according to Cornish people)– it was expensive and hard to find back in the 18^th Century hence its low percentage.

Anecdotal evidence also says that one end was the meat and vegetables with the other end being Jam or fruit, normally apple.

Whatever the truth of the matter Cornish Pasties are a traditional part of English culinary heritage and should be preserved as such.Apparently they have been making Cornish Pasties since 1746, or at least that is the earliest recorded recipe.

A pasty made with meat, vegetables and puff pastry is exactly that –  a puff pastry pasty.

Now the next important question is where can you get a good traditional Cornish Pasty? I sense a quest coming on soon

Film Culinary

After taking a holiday in Cyprus, we are then working on the set of the new Ewan McGregor / Naomi Watts film that is scheduled to be released in late 2011 recently and amongst the numerous discussions we were having the topic of film catering came up.

Now for those of you not in the know, which I expect means just about everyone, making a film consists of periods of boredom interspersed by moments of monotony.

For an extra it means arriving on set at a very early hour to get dressed and made up – the film we are making involves lots of blood and mud so it takes a while to get everyone ready.

In order to keep everyone content and to stop them wandering off food and liquid is kept on constant flow.

Breakfast is available on arrival at 5am with sandwiches following at 10am. Lunch is taken at 1pm and cakes are available around 3pm – more frequently if you were observant and saw where they were being kept.

Though out all of this filming is going on somewhere on the set, except for the one hour lunch break so part of the trick as an extra is to make sure you do not have your face in a bowl of something when the director comes calling….

Now the food on this set is not bad, quantities are good and the meals varied each day but those in the know tell tales of culinary delights being served constantly including steaks, lasagnas, stir fries, chips and burgers – in fact all that you could ask for.

In fact about the only thing you will not find on set is alcohol – apparently the director gets really annoyed if one of the extras has a little too much to drink and starts to sing or snore during filming. Even worse is throwing up on the leading actor……

Got to go - the Director is screaming for the fat guy in the swimming trunks

Traditional English Sunday Roasts

What is it about Sundays and the sudden need to have a traditional English roast dinner? Is this the epitome of subliminal indoctrination or is it just a craving for carbs, fats and proteins?

Is it the roast potatoes cooked in fat, beef dripping preferably, the wide choice of vegetables or the anticipation of choosing which meat to have this week? Maybe it is a vain attempt to hold onto the memories of yesteryear.

I still have vague memories as a child of a traditional English Sunday. Church in the morning, a drink in the traditional English Pub with Dad and then home in time for Sunday Roast always served at 1pm. Walking in the door the aromas hit your senses and the anticipation grows.

On special occasions we would go and have a carvery – as much as you could eat, or persuade the server to give you, in the splendor of a Tudor English pub.

As to my favorite I have always had a weakness for beef, slowly cooked but still red in the middle, with Yorkshire puddings, roast potatoes and fresh vegetables of the season. Sometimes we would have chicken or pork and on special occasions lamb – oh how I loved that lamb. Pink with lashings of home made mint sauce.

Every now and then we would have a gammon joint but it was never the same.

No matter where I travel in the world those Sunday cravings just seem to follow me, even though each country I visit has its own culinary delights. Fortunately there will always be an Englishman that wants to open a bar and misses his English Sunday roasts as much as I do.

If I am really lucky there will be an “eat as much as you can” offer on the Sunday Roasts just like they always seem to do now with pizzas or curries.

Pizza for Sunday lunch? – nah.

A Gastronomic World

I learnt today that not only have I missed the annual Gastronomy event in Malaysia I have also missed most of the Gourmet Festival too. Looking at their website what an event it has been so far with another week to go.

Thirty of the top restaurants in Malaysia get together each year yet pitting themselves against each other at the same time to produce the best cuisine that they can. This is a true test of culinary expertise at its best.

Some of the events are closed to invited guests, just 20 in total whilst others are larger affairs. The Grand final Banquet caters for 1300 hundred people.

Call me a cynic but just how do you prepare and perfectly serve Gourmet food for that many people?

I have had a look at some of the dinners and oh how I wish I could be there, it’s not that far but the cost in money and time.

And it got me thinking just how many culinary and dining festivals there are around the world. Just imagine being able to travel the world sampling the best dishes each country has to offer – simply heaven.

Imagine a week in Japan and then onto China, perhaps then Russia or Central Europe. Dive down to travel through apartments in Italy or Germany (it is also Bier festival time now in Germany) and then indulge yourself in France. Paella in Spain and then across to Britain for some traditional English food, or even Scottish Haggis.

Fly the Atlantic and work your way down the east coast of America into Louisiana, Texas and into Mexico. Sample Argentinean beef and Brazilian Churrasco and then back up the west coast to Canada and Alaska then fly via Hawaii to New Zealand and Australia.

Then start all over again but several pounds heavier.

On the second time around we would need to stop off at all the places we missed like the Middle East and double check our favorite restaurants are as good as they were the year before.

So the first job is to check which countries have Gastronomy events when and then all I need to do is find the money – or at least keep the dream alive.

Cocktails and Dreams

I was at a party the other night and was served what was probably the worst Mojito I have ever had. In fact it was so bad my friends and I had 2 more just to make sure. This led to a heated discussion about what should be in a Mojito and subsequently on to what should be in which cocktails and their morphology.

For the record a Mojito should be made from brown sugar, mint, light rum, lime and soda. It should not have the crème de menthe that ours was served with…..

As far as other cocktails what comes from where?

Everyone knows that a Singapore Sling comes from the Long Bar at the Raffles Hotel in Singapore but you may not know that the Singapore Sling you drink around the world now is probably not from the original recipe.

A Manhattan, possibly the world’s oldest cocktail also comes in different forms. It is reputed to have been first made at the Manhattan Club in 1874 to honor the new Major of New York. There is even a festival each year in New York to celebrate it.

The Pina Colada – the epitome of a long cocktail – is credited as first created in 1954 at the Caribe Hilton’s Beachcomber Bar in San Juan Puerto Rico however a travel magazine has a reference to a Pina Colada going back to 1922 but in a different form.

My personal favorite is a Sazerac – a whiskey and pastis based cocktail that is reputedly the first cocktail invented in the USA and is said to predate the Civil War and was first made in New Orleans and in 2008 was appointed as New Orleans official cocktail.

Now I fancy a trip around the world, or maybe the Caribbean visiting the home of these and other famous cocktails – anyone want to join me?

Chocoholic

It is national Chocolate week in the UK this week and that got me wondering – how long have we had chocolate and where does the best chocolate come from?

It appears we have had cocoa – the raw ingredient for chocolate - for about 4,000 years and it was first discovered in the Amazon basin and was worshiped by the Aztecs. Christopher Columbus is credited with bringing cocoa to Europe but it was Herman Cortez who really introduced it commercially to Europe.

The best beans are said to come from Venezuela and the best chocolates have a high Cocoa Butter content – sometimes called dark chocolate.

Reports say that the buzz we get from eating such chocolates is linked to the serotonin in our brains and that in moderate doses it can even help reduce blood pressure – bring it on.

One of my happiest childhood memories was a trip to Cadbury’s World in Bourneville, UK. Here Cadbury’s make much of their chocolates that we all know and you can take a tour of the factory, sampling as you go- the closest you can get to heaven in my opinion. At the end of the tour there is a “seconds” shop where you can buy really cheap chocolate that still tastes great but is a bit misshapen.

The factory and tour is still there so why not grab the opportunity this week and make up your mind which is the best chocolate they do.

Do we need meat?

With all the discussions of global warming and the fact there are more people now than ever in history the need to reassess our food habits is growing greater. Improvements in scientific techniques means that we are getting better yields from root crops and more meat from animals.

What the long term of these scientific changes will be no one knows but if it is a choice between starvation now and potential health problems I can guess what most people would choose.

The yield per sq km from animals is much lower than that from grain and root crops and this is one argument put forward in favor of vegetarianism. Personally I believe we are omnivores and there is nothing better than a rare steak with a bottle of good wine.

All around Thailand towns and villages are celebrating the annual Vegetarian Festival which occurs at the start of the 9^th lunar month. People abstain from eating meet, drinking alcohol and having sex for 10 days.

They say it cleanses you spiritually and physically, a little like golf.

I was thinking of seeing if it works and doing the whole 10 days of abstinence but have realized I have a food and wine tasting on Monday so that kills 2 of the 3 abstinences,  

I will have to limit myself to watching the processions and the mediums that are said to be possessed by their ghost guides. Some of them do the weirdest piercings with knives, swords and even steel rods through their cheeks and upper bodies.

If you get the chance you should visit one of these festivals.

Does matching matter?

When it comes to what to drink with what food there are probably more opinions on the subject than there are grains of rice in a bag of it. At the end of the day whatever you like to drink with what you are eating is probably the right thing and having travelled the world a bit I can tell you that it also changes by region – what works in France does not necessarily work in a place in Australia or Chile.

If you like a pint of Lager with Foi Gras then go ahead and have it – but here is a suggestion….. for thousands of years people have been perfecting the making of alcoholic products and testing them against all variations of food.

For me Lager and Foi Gras is not a logical match – a properly chilled Gerwurstrimeiner or even a good Sauterne are much better – but I did not know it until someone introduced me to one of life’s perfect mixes….

I recently attend a Chaine de Rotisseurs Amical dinner – a combination of the best food the restaurant could prepare alongside the best wines they had available. All the food and wines were from the Venice region of Italy and great trouble had been taken to match the best with the best. 

The result – a dinner that was absolutely to die for. Course after course left you full of anticipation for the next culminating in a traditional slow cooked Oxtail served with an amazing Bradisimo 2004 Inama.

My personal tip – find a friend who really knows there food and wine then listen and learn. Alternatively join a wine or dining club and dive right in.

Carniverous Tendancies

What is it about the weekend that brings on those carnivorous cravings? During the week I am quite content to eat chicken and pork in various forms – stir fry to roast or even fried but come the weekend and the need for blood starts to rise.

Just the thought of a large steak perfectly cooked gets the heart beating faster and by the time Saturday evening comes it is almost racing.

But now comes the quandary… what shall I have. Should it be Fillet or Sirloin or even a bit of rump? With or without sauces? Where from and what breed? Enough about this, I need to book my next holiday.

Given my druthers a perfectly cooked to rare Black Aberdeen Angus grass fed steak of about 300 grams just makes for a perfect meal. Serve it with a mixed peppercorn sauce on the side along with gratin potatoes and a light spinach salad. Now what wine to have with it?

One argument that will never be resolved is where the best steaks come from. There will always be parochial opinions but for me the best comes from the rare breeds in Scotland. On a commercial basis definitely Argentina followed closely by Australia.

A lot is said about Kobe Beef being the best in the world along with its Australian counterpart Wagu. Both are beautifully marbled with fat and have a superb flavour that unfortunately is lost with too much cooking. In my opinion these are best eaten Carpaccio or even Tartar.