National Geographic Traveller Food

Ranette Prime It was a joy speaking to chef Nornie Bero. We both come from rich Indigenous cultures, intrinsically connected to food, music and the coming together of families and community. She’s leading the way in putting native ingredients front and centre of Australian food culture — I made her wattleseed pavlova myself, and it’s delicious. PIONEER, P 38 Alicia Miller The Bahamas is famous for its beautiful beaches, but what they don’t tell you is the food is fantastic, too. From fresh fish, conch and crab to seriously sublime (and strong) rum cocktails, you’ll find delicious things on every island. And the best part is that some of the tastiest food is the cheapest. BAHAMAS, P 106 Sara Roahen I’ve been a student of gumbo for more than two decades, and even wrote a book…

If you consider yourself to be passionate about food, then there’s a good chance you’re also fascinated by spices. The two things tend to go hand in hand — the more thought you put into what you eat, the more you start to appreciate the transformative power of certain seeds, fruits, roots and barks. But as well as elevating your cooking, an appreciation of spices will also give you a better understanding of how different cuisines work. It’s often such a key point of distinction from region to region — after all, so many of us have grown up eating, say, chicken, but whether you prefer yours cooked with saffron, turmeric, lemongrass or cumin can say something about either where you were raised, or simply which cuisines you’ve gravitated to. Spices have…

From seitan and spelt to tofu and tempeh, alternative protein sources have tended to dominate trend lists in recent years, as more people look to reduce their meat consumption. Paneer — an Indian set cottage cheese made from cow’s or buffalo’s milk — is the latest veggie-friendly ingredient to capture the imagination, with sales on the rise and new openings placing it at the heart of their menus. Adept at absorbing flavours, paneer also has a high melting point, which means — unlike many other cheeses — it maintains its shape during cooking. These qualities, plus the fact it’s quick and easy to make, have made it a major element in vegetarian cuisine throughout India and South Asia for centuries. Now the UK seems to be finally catching up, with several…

1 BMK FOLIE-BAMAKO BA M AKO-STYLE FRIED CHICKEN The second of BMK’s two Paris restaurants serves up a smorgasbord of pan-African cuisine, with Bamako-style fried chicken the must-try dish. Organic chicken breasts are marinated in a fiery chilli and ginger paste for 24 hours, coated in plantain flour, fried until golden and then served sliced, sprinkled with smoky paprika. Wash it down with bissap, a refreshing, ruby-red drink made with hibiscus flowers that’s ubiquitous across West Africa. bmkparis.com 2 DI-NAPOLI MOLOKHIA The queue from late morning to early morning outside Di-Napoli attests to the quality of its Tunisian cuisine. Malawi (stuffed flatbreads) and fricassé (savoury donuts) are delicious, but nothing beats the molokhia, a slow-cooked veal stew given a rich flavour and jade-green hue by the finely ground leaves of the jute mallow plant. Hunks of…

1 The London Review Bookshop, London Once the stomping ground of the Bloomsbury Set, the Bloomsbury neighbourhood is today home to one of the capital’s most beloved bookstores. Here, you can browse more than 20,000 titles, ranging from contemporary fiction to current affairs. Then, get stuck into your purchase — and maybe a slice of blackcurrant hibiscus cake — at the adjoining tearoom, where all bakes are lovingly handmade by owner Terry Glover. londonreviewbookshop.co.uk 2 The Aberfeldy Watermill, Aberfeldy Housed in a Grade A-listed former oatmeal mill deep in the Scottish Highlands, the three-storey Aberfeldy Watermill is a bookstore, design shop, art gallery and cafe rolled into one. You’ll find a wide range of titles, best savoured at the charming cafe, which serves up light bites, including comforting soups, rustic sandwiches and homemade cakes.…

£58 The price per kilo of handmade Échiré butter, produced exclusively by around 60 farms within a 37-mile radius in the Deux-Sèvres department, western France 20.8 THE RECORD TIME, IN SECONDS, IT TOOK AUSTRALIAN SIMARJIT CHHABRA TO BUTTER 10 SLICES OF BREAD, IN MAY 2018 136 The age, in years, of Anchor, the UK’s oldest butter brand, founded in New Zealand in 1886 by Cornish dairyman Henry Reynolds ⅓ The proportion of the world’s milk production devoted solely to making butter, with 20 litres of whole milk required to produce just 1 kilogram 2.7kg THE AVERAGE AMOUNT OF BUTTER CONSUMED PER PERSON IN THE UK IN 2017. THIS IS WELL BELOW THE EU AVERAGE OF 3.8KG 3,000 THE NUMBER OF FIRKINS OF BUTTER DELIVERED TO CORK BUTTER EXCHANGE EACH DAY AT ITS 19TH-CENTURY PEAK, WHEN CORK WAS THE WORLD’S LARGEST BUTTER…