When BBC Radio 4’s Today programme announced it was going to run a series of features about Britain’s Best Beaches the presenters asked listeners to send in their nominations or even recordings made on their favourite beach. I happened to be in Watchet so I went over to amazing and fascinating Helwell Bay to make a recording. I was really chuffed when the Beeb emailed to say they liked the recording and would be playing it on air today - Monday 11 July. Imagine my surprise when it went out on national radio earlier this weekend under someone else’s name. The Today prog made some sort of apology mentioning my name this morning, but listeners must have been left feeling terribly confused because the apology offered nothing in the way of explanation as to why a beach in Lancashire (as promised on Saturday) suddenly turned into a beach in Somerset. Hey-ho… That’s my 15 seconds of fame gone west… But here’s the unedited recording that I made. - something I might add to because there are lots of other interesting stales to be told about Helwell Bay

Just found these photos of a night out in Nha Trang on the Vietnamese coast. A wonderful, busy, exciting place. Nha Trang has a population of about half a million and it’s growing fast. The seafood bars are some of the best I’ve ever dined in and we found an amazing drinking dive down by the Cai River. The local cuisine is famous for the fresh seafood and barbecued pork rolled in rice paper. The local bird’s nest soup os said to be the best in Vietnam but we didn’t try any of that for obvious ecological reasons. You could probably say the same about the seafood - but if you didn’t eat fish and shellfish in Nha Trang, you might go very hungry indeed.

I am writing this in an outdoor office in a heatwave. It is hot! Very hot for England. Perfect weather for a picnic, perhaps… Pick a Perfect Place For a Picnic The word picnic conjures sunny images of hot beaches, cool riversides, deep forests or green meadows where a tartan rug has been covered with wonderful things to eat accompanied by lashings of lemonade or something stronger. Luckily, the West Country peninsula is rich in such locations… For many of us the idea of a picnic is a kind of nirvana - the ultimate reward for long weeks of hard work or months of wintry weather. A picnic is the antithesis of a hard slog. It is the opposite of humdrum. The reverse of the everyday and boring. Indeed, the picnic should be the high point of every good high day and holiday. But where to take that hampers and that picnic rug? First of all you need to find the right kind of location… Tarr Steps on Exmoor offers an ideal example - it was named the best picnic spot in the whole of the UK by the Sunday Times.  The beauty spot worn the accolade even though its most famous feature is said to have been the work of the Devil! Legend has it that the Evil One “has exclusive sunbathing rights on the medieval clapper bridge.” Exmoor attracts over two million day visits a year, and many of those tourists find their way down into the depths of the Barle Valley to see the ancient bridge. But allowed Tarr Steps to win? What are what are the essential ingredients for a perfect picnic spot, rather than for the actual picnic itself? Superb scenery: The most important requirement of them all - who wants to suffer the discomfort of eating al-fresco just so they can be confronted by something ugly? Tarr Steps is in the middle of beautiful Exmoor National Park, Natural shelter: The second most important factor when looking for the perfect picnic-spot. Even a summer day can have a chill breeze or a spot of rain - so the outdoor diner needs something big and bold to loom nearby that will help keep out the wind and rain. Tarr Steps for example has deep woods the the protection of the 1000 foot high Hawkridge Common just to the west. Potential comfort: a picnicking point all too often overlooked (think: pebble beaches). Do you eat dinner standing up at home? Of course not - and eating outdoors should be no different. Hard surfaces (such as Dartmoor tors) will do, as long as they’re smooth - but jaggedness is a big no-no. Tarr Steps has large natural riverside lawns. Something to stare at: Not just the scenery - something specific and full of interest. Tarr Steps has the rushing River Barle, for a start and the famous bridge itself. You can happily watch for hours as tourists negotiate these stones teetering perilously above the rushing river. Plenty for the kids to do: see above. Dining anywhere is so much more relaxing if miniature humans filled with boundless energy are occupied. At Tarr Steps they love nothing better than to play on the aforementioned bridge. Availability of a Plan B: Good picnic spots can become crowded, which means the very best ones should have a nearby alternative which is just as perfect, if not better. Tarr Steps has just that - a waterside meadow just upstream between Knaplock Wood and Westwater Copse. So much for the perfect picnic requirements - what about the West Country’s most perfect picnic locations? We’ve mentioned Tarr Steps, so leaving that aside, here’s the our Top Half Dozen... Porthgwarra, West Penwith : An idyllic hidden location with the very best Five Go Mad in Cornwall kind of credentials. Fabulous oceanic scenery, sheltered by Gwennap Head, just a mile Land’s End. Let the children play in the hand-carved tunnels which may, or may not, have been built by smugglers. You can always head next door to Porthcurno for a Plan B. Fernworthy Reservoir, Dartmoor: Wilderness, woodland and water - what’s not to like? Fernworthy, above Chagford, is located up in the Dartmoor wilderness, and yet its big pine forest will give picnickers plenty of shelter. There are extensive picnic facilities where you can watch folk coming and going around the many walks, which the kids will enjoy exploring. A good Plan B would be to go to neighbouring Bellever Forest, picnic there and admire a young River Dart. Staple Plain on the Quantocks: More moorland mixed with forest and fabulous views. Picnic tables have been installed at the edge of Staple Plantation and are sheltered from the prevailing winds by trees. Deep, almost gorge-like, Weacombe offers a natural adventure playground for kids while adults can sit back and enjoy views of the hills so beloved by poets Coleridge and Wordsworth. Plan B would be to relocate to neighbouring Holford Glen which is even more sheltered from the winds and even more epic in a poetic kind of way… Parson Hawker’s Hut, Morwenstow, North Cornish Coast: Said to be the smallest property owned by the National Trust. You are free to enter the small hut perched on top of a mighty cliff above The Wreckers’ Coast, which means picnickers can keep cosy when the wind is blowing - which it often is along this jagged Atlantic littoral. The maritime views, which would have been enjoyed by old Parson Hawker, are as fabulous as the story of his life is interesting. He did a great deal to halt to the shipwrecking which went on along here 100s of years ago and founded the first rescue teams (who used rockets to send ropes to stricken ships) which eventually gave rise to the RNLI. So history and views… and a Plan B alternative for good weather in the many beach picnic spots far below. Golden Cap, West Dorset: Sometimes only the biggest and best will do - and up here you can say you’ve dined higher-off-the-hog than anyone else along England’s entire South Coast. It is, after all, a huge hog’s back of a hill - and as such offers stupendous panoramas of the Devon and Dorset coasts. Golden Cap is steep-sided - so one flank or other will offer shelter from the weather - and if not there’s always neighbouring Langdon Hill Plantation. The vast views alone will keep you busy just looking at what you can spy - but a Plan B would be to go down to neighbouring Charmouth and picnic on the beach while hunting for fossils. Valley Of Rocks, Lynton: Pure natural drama - described by one Romantic Poet as the “Realm of the Pre-Adamite Kings”. There are plenty of grassy swards for picnics as well as the airier thrill of rocky knolls - and the bulk of Castle Rock is always there to offer shelter. The wild goats provide visual amusement and there might be a match being played on Britain’s most dramatically situated cricket pitch. Plan B is cosy neighbouring Lee Bay beach, or Lynmouth itself with its seaside lawns and funicular railway.

Recently we attended a wine-tasting at a small vineyard in deepest rural Devon. It was staged by my pal Dan Farrell-Wright of Wickhams Wine and another friend, Stephen Barrett, came along in his role as a wine-writer. The Huxbear Vineyard has won a great many awards and produces some excellent stuff and we talked about English wines and English Wine Week.

They say what goes around comes around and it is a generalisation that tends to come true, but if someone had told me at any time during the decades I’ve been a keen home-cook that I’d be yearning to use the kind of ancient grains our forefathers milled in pestle-and-mortars 10,000 years ago, I’d have thought they were mad. { "marqueeItems": [ { "text": "einkorn - emmer - spelt - khorasan" }, { "text": "〰️" } ], "linkTo": "", "waveFrequency": 4, "waveIntensity": 0, "animationDirection": "left", "animationSpeed": 1.0, "textStyle": "heading-1", "textSize": { "unit": "rem", "value": 1.5 }, "itemSpacing": { "unit": "em", "value": 0.5 }, "blockId": "yui_3_17_2_1_1655727402787_118444", "estimatedDimensions": { "estimatedColumnSpanDesktop": 12, "sectionColumnsDesktop": 12, "estimatedColumnSpanMobile": 12, "sectionColumnsMobile": 12 }, "containerStyles": { "backgroundEnabled": false, "borderRadii": { "topLeft": { "unit": "px", "value": 0.0 }, "topRight": { "unit": "px", "value": 0.0 }, "bottomLeft": { "unit": "px", "value": 0.0 }, "bottomRight": { "unit": "px", "value": 0.0 } }, "padding": { "top": { "unit": "%", "value": 3.0 }, "right": { "unit": "%", "value": 0.0 }, "bottom": { "unit": "%", "value": 3.0 }, "left": { "unit": "%", "value": 0.0 } }, "stretchedToFill": false }, "featureFlags": { "useCLDRMoneyFormat": true } } einkorn - emmer - spelt - khorasan 〰️ einkorn - emmer - spelt - khorasan 〰️ einkorn - emmer - spelt - khorasan 〰️ However, it seems what goes around really does come around in respect of those very early forms of domesticated wheat the first farmers were experimenting with all those millennia ago in the Fertile Crescent of ancient Mesopotamia. Today the culinary world is once again turning its attention to grains such as einkorn, emmer, spelt and khorasan.  Why? Well, for a start, they are rich in flavour and so are capable of producing wonderful food. They are also very healthy - the human gut can deal with the natural levels of enzymes and glutens in these old fashioned varieties more easily than can be said of some high-yielding modern grains. Made from whole-grains, such flours are nutritious and high in fibre.  Last but certainly not least, the old varieties tend to be more resilient than modern highly developed strains of wheat. This means they are more disease-resistant and also more hardy when it comes to the vagaries of climate change.  Spelt has had a regular place in our kitchens for a while now, but this week I took delivery of the three other ancient grains mentioned above and have to report straight away that they will become permanent fixtures in the Hesp household.  As Elaine Boddy - one of the premier sourdough bakers in the UK (better known as Foodbod Sourdough) and author of two excellent books - told me: “For me, as a sourdough baker, these flours offer a whole new world of fun and experimenting in my baking, whilst also bringing wonderful flavours and textures to my sourdough creations.” See the panel for Elaine’s advice on using ancient grains - but now let’s turn to the man who sent me the new bags of very old flour. Bertie Matthews is managing director of Matthews Cotswold Flour which this week added einkorn, emmer and khorasan to the spelt it already sells as part of its comprehensive range, and he told me… “What is so different about the ancient grains we now have in our range? Well, they are the oldest of the grain species - all modern wheat is descended from them. That means they are generally untainted by modern modification, therefore can be a more diverse alternative to modern monoculture crops. “Ancient grains are becoming more popular,” Bertie continued. “They are often less refined and less processed than modern varieties of wheat. This is particularly true in their wholegrain form where they contain a significant amount of vitamins, minerals and fibre.”  Bertie went on to explain more about the three new flours he’s just launched… “Einkorn is often referred to as the ‘mother of all grains’. Its name derives from it only having one grain on each ear (‘ein’ from the German word for one). Einkorn is also called ‘farro piccolo’ in Italian, meaning small. It is the smallest of the three and originally grew wild in the Fertile Crescent 10,000 years ago. “The flour is very rich in flavour and produces a hearty slightly nutty flavour that adds to baking recipes. We recommend using it in the same way you’d use other wholegrain or wholemeal flours,” said Bertie, who explained that an organisation of farmers called the Cotswold Grain Partnership has been growing einkorn in the UK for the last few years. Emmer wheat which is a relative of both einkorn and the durum wheats which have been adopted and adapted with so much enthusiasm by the Italians.  “Known as ‘farro medio’ in Italy, emmer retains its hull during harvest and so is a  wholegrain flour which can be used in pasta recipes or blended into bread recipes,” Bertie told me. “Emmer was brought to Italy by the Romans after they invaded Egypt in 47 BC. It is said that Julius Caesar nicknamed emmer as ‘Pharaoh’s Wheat’. It played a huge part in feeding the Roman legions.  “Today it has been superseded by higher yielding wheats, but is still grown on a small scale in Italy’s mountain regions and in some other parts of Europe. The flour is a darker yellowish colour compared to modern bread wheats and, being milled in the traditional stoneground method, it retains its strong nutritional qualities. Due to its lower gluten quality, you may wish to blend with stronger gluten flours such as our stoneground white, Churchill. Early breads made with emmer in Italy included flatbreads, pita and focaccia.” Lastly we come to khorasan, an ancient grain originally from the Persian empire… “It is also one of the earliest types of wheat, being a relative of the ancient durum first grown in Mesopotamia thousands of years ago,” Bertie explained. “Our khorasan is from an ancient Italian variety including ‘perciasacchi’. It is farmed using a low input farming model in Italy. Khorasan is very tall with deep root systems supporting its nutritional requirements. The nutritional value of the grain has been maximised by slowly stoneground milling the grain into a dark wholegrain flour. This traditional method of milling maintains the nutritious bran and germ within the grain berry, leaving it rich in carotenes and selenium. The rich buttery taste allows it to be used in a number of different baking recipes.” I found all this fascinating, but what’s really boosted my instant appreciation for these ancient grains has been the sheer diversity of rich flavours they offer. They really do pack a punch. “Nutty” would be one easy word to reach for when trying to describe the flavours, but it’s more complex than that. There are levels of sweetness and other rich mineral, sometimes floral, undertones that I have never really tasted before.  This week in my bid to experiment I went against the advice given by both Bertie and Elaine Boddy - in other words I did not go for a mix of ancient and modern, but made a small loaf using nothing but the khorasan flour. Not surprisingly it was pretty dense, but by cutting a thin slice and slathering it with best Trewithen Cornish salted butter I found myself tasting a morsel that was an authentic delicacy in its own right. It is usually the stuff you put on bread that provides the pizzazz - it’s not often that the bread itself crosses your palate with a whole spectrum of flavours. This is a revelation - and I can’t wait to try Elaine’s recipes and carry on experimenting with these substances that have been nourishing humankind for more than 10,000 years.  Elaine Boddy’s advice when baking with ancient grains… “Special considerations and allowances need to be made when using ancient grain flours to make sourdough or any type of bread, as they behave so differently from our modern flours. They can be challenging, especially if used on their own, but are definitely worth it and I highly recommend trying them… Start small: introduce these flours to your bread baking gradually. If you use 500g of strong white bread flour in your dough, start by replacing 100g with one, or a mix, of ancients grain flour. At this level you will not need to make any other changes to your dough. Build it up: from this starting point, you can start increasing the amount of ancient grain flour you use in your dough. You will feel how different the dough feels and behaves. Reduce water: once you start to use more than 100g of these flours in your dough, you will need to start reducing the amount of water, otherwise the dough will become very soft and will not be able to hold its shape when you come to baking. If you want to use these flours on their own - whether one at a time, or as a blend -  they will produce fabulous bread. However, the dough will be very different to work with. It just needs to be mixed, rested, kneaded well once, then left to prove. You will not be able to stretch and pull the dough, the flours cannot be stretched and handled like strong white bread flour can. Once it has fully proved and you want to bake it, move it to a loaf tin, allow to prove again, then bake. The growth happens during this proving time, not during baking - so allow it to prove up and over the edge of the loaf tin before baking.  Provide support: I recommend using a loaf tin to give an ancient grain loaf shape. Alternatively, try adding seeds to the dough to give it some structure. I often make loaves that are made with just an ancient grain flour with added seeds and it works well to create a freeform loaf. RECIPES Elaine Boddy’s Emmer and Honey Sandwich Loaf The mix of emmer flour with added honey produces a loaf with an amazing depth of flavour and a slight sweetness. Equipment: 2lb loaf tin with siliconised paper liner  Makes 1 standard loaf Ingredients 50 g active sourdough starter  300 g milk  50 g water 350 g strong white bread flour 150 g emmer flour  40 g runny honey 7 g salt, or to taste Method Step 1: Early evening, mix together ingredients. Leave the dough ragged, cover the bowl and leave it on the counter for 2 hours. Step 2: After 2 hours, do the first set of pulls and folds. Take a small handful of dough from one side of the bowl, lift and stretch it, and pull it right across the bowl to the other side. Turn the bowl slightly and repeat; keep turning the bowl and pulling and folding the dough. Cover the bowl and leave it on the counter.  Step 3: Over the next few hours, perform 3 more sets of the same pulls and folds. Cover the bowl after each set. The dough will remain sticky but nicely stretchy and will come together into a nice soft ball each time. Do the final set before going to bed. Step 4: Leave the covered bowl on the counter overnight, typically for 8 to 12 hours, at 18 to 20°C. Step 5: In the morning, the dough will have doubled to tripled in size, with a smooth surface. If the dough has not doubled, allow a couple of more hours to continue to proof. To place dough in the pan, repeat the same pulling and folding actions and gently lift and fold small handfuls of dough from one side of the bowl into the middle in a line; turn the bowl 180 degrees and do the same on the other side so that you have a thick sausage of dough. Turn bowl upside down and ease out the dough into your wetted hand. Place, seam side down, on the paper and slip your hand out from underneath. Use the paper to lift the dough into the pan, cover and leave to proof again. This may take 2 to 3 hours. The surface will become smooth and the dough will spread to fill the pan. Step 6: If preheating, set the oven to 180C fan assisted or 200C non fan - bake uncovered for 40 minutes. For a cold start, place the loaf tin with the dough into the cold oven, set the temperature as above and set a timer for 45 minutes. Step 7: Once baked, remove the loaf from the pan and allow to cool on a wire rack for at least an hour before slicing. Elaine Boddy’s Einkorn and Hazelnut Oat Crackers These crackers are made by mixing the dough and leaving it overnight. The flavour will develop and the dough may even puff up slightly. I use chopped, roasted hazelnuts, which works perfectly with the taste of einkorn flour. Makes 20 to 24 crackers Ingredients 100 g active or unfed spare starter 50 g rolled oats 50 g whole grain einkorn flour, plus more for dusting 40 g finely chopped roasted hazelnuts, or your choice of nut 25 g water  30 g olive oil 10 g runny honey  3 g salt, or to taste Method Step 1: Mix together ingredients to form a stiff dough. Cover and leave on the counter overnight. Step 2: Next morning, preheat the oven to 180°C fan assisted or 190°C non fan. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Dust counter with a little flour, turn the dough out and use a rolling pin to roll out to 3 mm thick. Cut out rounds with a 6-mm cookie cutter. Place crackers on the prepared baking pan. Prick each cracker with a fork a couple of times to prevent them from puffing up as they bake. Step 3: Bake for 7 minutes on one side, turn, return to the oven, then bake for another 7 minutes. Step 4: Remove from the oven and transfer to a wire rack to cool slightly. They will crisp up as they cool. Serve as soon as they are cool enough to eat.

Occasionally our palates need a bit of a shake up - even the most dedicated foodie can become weary of their own home-cooking - you need a blast of something different to reawaken the tastebuds. This fertile region of ours is, of course, rich in enlivening possibilities but, after a couple of Covid induced stay-at-home-years, a quick trip to somewhere new can be just what a jaded cook needs to feel reinvigorated and inspired. Our regional airports can offer such a gateway, and I say that despite the recent problems. My reason for making the claim is because of a recent trip to Lisbon, enjoyed thanks to a quick, trouble-free, two-hour flight out of Bristol Airport. It was our first city-break in two-and-a-half years and I revelled in every foodie minute of it.  I had almost forgotten how easily you can dine well but inexpensively in southern Europe. Of course, online research can massively help a visitor get more out of a brief stay in a big city, but you should - if you’re experienced and know the obvious restaurant runes and tell-tale signs - be able to sup well without trip-advisor style websites or city-guides. There is one very obvious reason I make this point: although online acclaim might be accurate and useful, it can also strangle the goose which lays the golden egg with popularity.  Take Lisbon’s now world-famous Time Out Market as an example… The ‘food-hall’ style multiple eatery is, indeed, a foodie’s paradise but, after the likes of Rick Stein and Netflix’s “Feed Phil” sang its praises to an international TV audience of millions, it has become a place of pilgrimage. Instagram-snapping hordes turn up daily and the huge hall is visited by so many people most evenings you have to physically wrestle to find a seat at the long communal tables.   Time Out Market Do visit the Time Out market and food hall, but my tip is to go light on breakfast and head there for an early lunch.   Talking of an ideal lightweight breakfast, what better way to start a day than sampling one of Lisbon’s famous little custard tarts, called pastel-da-nata. I’m not known for having a sweet-tooth, but these really do hit the spot when downed with a good coffee. We were fortunate to have a bakery that specialises in pastel-da-nata on the ground floor under our accommodation and believe me, watching the crowds go by while enjoying such a humble but delicious breakfast was a real treat for a bloke who has, for the best part of 30 months, broken his fast with only the birds for company. Pastel-da-Nata For anyone who hasn’t tried pastel-da-nata, they differ from our custard tarts in two ways. The pastry is crispy compared to our classic shortcrust and the custardy filling is somehow more silky than the dairy-and-egg mix we prefer. I am fond of our nutmeg-topped version, but was interested to see how our two sea-faring nations could develop exactly the same morsel in two such different ways. Even the toppings are slightly different, the Portuguese prefer a sprinkling cinnamon.  If you’re a greedy blighter like me, then the fuel provided by a brace of these tartlets will not last you until lunch. Well, not a late one anyway…  Lisbon will certainly not let you down in this matter as there are plenty of street snacks to be purchased as you stroll around the remarkable city. For me the examples collectively known as salgados  (savoury treats) are perfect for the job of fuelling-on-the-move. Such delights as  pastéis de bacalhau  (codfish cakes),  rissóis de camarão  (shrimp turnovers) and the inevitable  croquetes  (croquettes) are ideal.  Another is Pão com chouriço  - slices of Portuguese bread stuffed with chouriço  sausage.  By the way, here’s a Lisbon travel tip: buy yourself a six-euro 24-hour transport card from a metro station and it will allow you to ride on any bus, underground train, or on the city’s famous antique trams. Being a hilly city the knack is to catch a ride to the top of some historic quarter and then stroll down through myriad backstreets towards the waterside.  As you go, you can use your nose to sniff out lunch. And as Lisbon has more eateries per square foot than most European cities, this is not difficult. But it can disappoint if you don’t know what you are doing. Beware the tourist traps, of which there are many. Lisbon is also one of the most touristy capital cities in Europe - I was shocked by the numbers. Some eateries cater for the hordes in the same manner as a 1970s British dinner lady might have prepared lunch for the school canteen. But up in the backstreets you can find little places serving a classy three course lunch for under £20, including wine. The obvious way of sniffing out the good-uns is to peer inside to see who’s doing the dining. If the place is filled with serious looking, suit-wearing, middle-management types from local offices, then that’s a good sign. We found the Alfaia Restaurant, on a hilly backstreet called Travessa da Queimada. Having served traditional Portuguese grub in the Bairro Alto area for 142 years, it is one of Lisbon’s oldest restaurants and I loved everything we ate in the charming old place. There’s a daily specials menu which features such dishes as “Negrais suckling pig” and “Cabidela countryside rooster and rice”. On another day there might be an old-fashioned Portuguese stew followed by “codfish pastries with tomato rice”. It was the biggest lunch I’ve had in years. We were glad to be able to take a tram-ride home and sleep it off. The immaculate waiters at the Alfaia even brought us dishes we hadn’t asked for, like a wonderful bowl of classic Lisbon fish soup which turned out to be the highlight of the day. What’s required many hours after such a meal is the lightest of suppers. And this we should have had at the Antiga Wine Bar just across the street from our apartment - except the sharing plates were so good we kept ordering more and more. I loved this little place - the absolute antithesis of the stuffy old-fashioned kind of restaurant-style eating many of us Brits grew up with. We had fun. The young staff made sure we had fun. And the other 20 or so diners joined in, so that we all had a lot of fun long into the night.  The food and wine was superb. I am a complete convert to the concept of dining from small tapas-style plates and enjoyed delights such as tomato rice croquet with sardine mayonnaise; “Alheira Cake” (filled with cheese from Ilha de Sao Jorge and mustard); “Black Pig sausage”; chicken samosas with hot spices and mango chutney; shredded duck sandwich with Asian ginger sauce and radish pickle; and crispy tender pork belly slow-cooked with chimichurri.   On another evening when we really were hungry we booked a table at the amazing Santa Clara dos Cogumelos restaurant which specialises in all things fungi. And when I say “all things”, it even serves mushroom inspired sweet dishes like porcini ice-cream (a lot nicer than you may think). This so-called “mushroom temple” was a total treat. Located in the handsome old Santa Clara Market, in the heart of Lisbon’s old town, the restaurant is run by an indefatigable Italian called Luigi Pintarelli who is a leading evangelist when it comes to the mysteries of food made with fungi.  I loved the place and will be preparing the sliced rare beef fillet, sautéed porcini, rocket, parmesan cheese and butter-bathed beauty here at home. I might even have a go at the house special - by which I mean “The Perfect Egg”, which features a “low-temperature cooked egg” and truffled-cheese cream under a smoked almond-and-bread crumble. You see what I mean about coming home inspired? In my opinion, it is one of the main reasons to travel anywhere. RECIPE Classic Pastel da Nata 1 whole egg  2 egg yolks  115g golden caster sugar 2 tbsp cornflour 400ml full fat milk 1 tsp LittlePod vanilla paste 1 sheet ready rolled puff pastry Lightly grease a 12 hole cup-cake or muffin tin and pre-heat oven to 200C/180C fan/Gas 6. Place egg, yolks, sugar and cornflour in a pan and beat together before adding the milk. When the mixture is well-beaten place on a medium heat and stir constantly as it thickens and comes to the boil. Remove pan from heat and stir in vanilla paste. Allow the custard to cool (cover to prevent a skin forming) and now cut the pastry sheet in two, place one on top of the other. Roll the pastry tightly then form into a log so that you can cut off 12 rounds. Roll each on a lightly floured board, the press each disc into the muffin tin. Spoon in the custard and bake for 20-25mins until golden on top. Leave to cool in the tin for 5 minutes then place on a rack and bring down to room temperature before eating (although some people like them warm).

The main photo above features a place called Dead Woman’s Ditch, situated in the heart of the Quantock Hills. It’s a place central to the narrative of my novel, The Last Broomsquire. And also here’s a quick video I made some time ago about the fact that I was giving a talk all about the novel to the Shute Festival. I’ve been thinking about the book again this week because I visited an amazing exhibition at the Museum of Somerset which is all about the writing of Kubla Khan - and the story I penned has a whole chapter focussing on Coleridge and his visit to the hills above Porlock where he wrote what is arguably one of the most famous poems ever to come out of the English West Country. The Last Broomsquire can be purchased at https://www.amazon.co.uk/Last-Broomsquire-Martin-Hesp/dp/B089J3STPF

In tomorrow’s Western Morning News RAW Food & Drink PR pages we’ve got a big spread all about the food of Lisbon. So I’m bunging up a few photos here as a taster… { "marqueeItems": [ { "text": "Lisbon Food" }, { "text": "〰️" } ], "linkTo": "", "waveFrequency": 4, "waveIntensity": 0, "animationDirection": "left", "animationSpeed": 1.0, "textStyle": "heading-1", "textSize": { "unit": "rem", "value": 1.5 }, "itemSpacing": { "unit": "em", "value": 0.5 }, "blockId": "yui_3_17_2_1_1654857724243_12625", "estimatedDimensions": { "estimatedColumnSpanDesktop": 12, "sectionColumnsDesktop": 12, "estimatedColumnSpanMobile": 12, "sectionColumnsMobile": 12 }, "containerStyles": { "backgroundEnabled": false, "borderRadii": { "topLeft": { "unit": "px", "value": 0.0 }, "topRight": { "unit": "px", "value": 0.0 }, "bottomLeft": { "unit": "px", "value": 0.0 }, "bottomRight": { "unit": "px", "value": 0.0 } }, "padding": { "top": { "unit": "%", "value": 3.0 }, "right": { "unit": "%", "value": 0.0 }, "bottom": { "unit": "%", "value": 3.0 }, "left": { "unit": "%", "value": 0.0 } }, "stretchedToFill": false }, "featureFlags": { "useCLDRMoneyFormat": true } } Lisbon Food 〰️ Lisbon Food 〰️ Lisbon Food 〰️ More this weekend after my big Eating Out in Lisbon feature appears in the papers…

Sometimes it’s good to get away somewhere wonderful and relax while staying with a friend. I did that recently by visiting my old pal Richard Pook and staying on his yacht moored at St Martins in the Caribbean - and you can do exactly the same thing because he takes on paying guests at a very reasonable rate… You can read all about that here - https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/41577414?adults=4&check_in=2022-05-13&check_out=2022-05-15&federated_search_id=1008a541-ab6f-4768-80ba-4bc91a84390b&source_impression_id=p3_1651145983_bFysGleshRfWgNzx Basically, Richard’s 50 foot long sailing boat is moored off Marigot which is the capital of the French side of the island and in my opinion a much nicer place than Philipsburg which is the capital of the Dutch side.  There’s still a lot of damage in evidence right across St Martin left by Hurricane Irma in September 2017 - it was the first Category 5 hurricane to strike the Leeward Islands on record and was followed by hurricane Maria two weeks later. To be honest I was a little shocked over just how much damage was left over five years after the event - partly because I’ve been to St Martin several times before and remember how the place was before the big winds destroyed so much.  But there is one way of helping the islanders and that is to visit the place and enjoy what the island has to offer - which, in my opinion, is quite a lot.  If we just take Marigot as an example, there’s a wonderful new area of pop-up style bars and restaurants operated by local people - called lo-los I believe, right there on the dockside near to where Captain Richard moors his RIB when he goes to town shopping. We ate out there several times and it was good food and great fun.  We also dined out in the strangely named but excellent Enjoy SXM Restaurant where, I must say, the food and value was as good as I’ve found in this part of the Caribbean.  One find day we caught the local bus north up to the Rambaud area where we alighted to stroll over the hill to reach dramatically situated Loterie Farm, tucked under the highest peak on St Martin. This place is a nature sanctuary set deep in 135 acres of mainly wooded valley with hiking trails and zip-lines alongside a pool and lounge area. That all seemed a bit touristy for our purposes - not to say expensive - so we contented ourselves with having a drink and a first class lunch at the restaurant.  On another occasion we drove a hire car further north to the wonderful coastal community of Grand Case - a town which is renowned for is fabulous seaside bars and eateries that line the beach from one side of the bay to the other.  I will be adding further articles on our visit to St Martin soon, but thought I’d get a mention of Captain Richard’s boat and the AirBnB deal you can enjoy at the website above.

Polignano a Mare is a picturesque town on the Adriatic Coast of Italy, just south of Bari - on a part of the littoral known as the  Valle d’Itria . It is perched - quite literally - on a 60-foot-high limestone cliff.  The origins of the town date back to the 4th century BC when Greek settlers founded the city of Neapolis. It continued to flourish under the Romans - indeed the Emperor Trajan directed his famous road, the Via Traiana, built between 108-110 AD - right through the town. You can still see remains of this road including a bridge at Lama Monachile, just north of the town centre. The old town is reached through the Porta Vecchia gate and is made up of charming, white-washed streets dotted here and there with beautiful old churches such as the Chiesa Matrice. It’s a bit of myriad, but eventually you will probably issue out onto  one of three panoramic terraces offering breathtaking views of the Adriatic coast. After a stroll in town you can make your way to one of the beaches such as the town beach which has crystal clear waters and is flanked on two sides by cliffs that have become famous thanks to the Red Bull high diving competition.  Polignano is renowned for three things.  First and foremost - Domenico Modugno, who wrote and sang numerous very well known songs which were famous throughout Italy. But one of them became famous around the world - Volare (originally entitled Nel Blu Dipinto di Blu).  Locals are, of course, hugely proud of their famous son - and you will see this rather good statue of him on one of the terraces above the sea. The town’s second claim to Italian fame at least is the superb ice-cream made here. And the third is the aforementioned cliff diving. The Red Bull diving competition attracts crowds of some 50,000 people. About 30 miles down the coast we come to Parco Naturale Regionale Dune Costiere da Torre Canne a Torre San Leonardo. The coastal dunes regional natural park which stretches down from Torre Canne to Torre San Leonardo is an interesting coastal area just off the main motorway. It was established in 2006. There are lagoons just behind the dunes which obviously attract all manner of birds. I was there in winter but I see that in high summer this place can be crowded with folk desperate to be beside the seaside - which I guess is the same with most of the Puglian coast.  Perhaps not so much the Torre Guaceto Marine Protected Area Coastal and marine reserve about five miles south again. I’d say this must be one of the least visited stretches of the entire Adriatic coast. The nature reserve boasts a 16th-century defensive tower and a visitor center with a museum and not much else. But it is a rather lovely area - and wonderful for some winter walking before a mega-sized Puglian lunch - which is the only size of meal they do in this part of Italy.  The Torre Guaceto Marine Protection Area is a zone filled large numbers of Mediterranean species. The habitats include seagrass meadows, sandy beaches and deep-sea Mediterranean coral formations. The rocky intertidal areas have numerous forms of seaweed and sea urchins. The deeper water muddy areas are home to molluscs, brittle stars, sea stars, sea cucumbers and polychaetes.  Mediterranean coral formations are unique structures that contain red listed species such as yellow and white gorgonians. The seagrass meadows provide habitats for a variety of fish, crustaceans, sponges and molluscs. The European and common spiny lobster are commercially popular but are protected within the Torre Guaceto Marine Protected Area.

I once spent day strolling around Bari on Italy’s Adriatic coast. Needless to say, I headed straight for the harbour when I reached town. Of course, being situated on Italy’s east or Adriatic coast, Bari is very very rich in history. The first inhabitants of the area were living happily in this fertile area an astonishing 7000 years ago. . They were a tribe of Proto-Indo-Europeans who originated in Greece and migrated to Italy. It is said that this was a barbarous part of the world - but one which had borrowed many customs, farming techniques and traditions from Greece across on the other side of the Adriatic.  After the Romans began their rule in the 3rd Century BC, the area became an important for trade as well as protection of the East coast. By the 2nd Century, it became a haven for Christians - some of whom became famous saints - including Saint Nicolas of Myra. This influx of well known saints and martyrs began to attract pilgrims, which in turn triggered the economy of the harbour city and of the whole region.

There was a fortnight just before Covid when I went nightclubbing in a hot tropical city, drove a Vespa scooter through crazy Vietnamese traffic in the middle of the night, took a speedboat into the Mekong Delta, was enchanted by a beautiful woman in a hot steamy riverside bar, explored a strange village built on stilts over a white sandy beach, delivered a speech to 20 managers at a leading South East Asian hotel, visited a night market in an ancient port along with 100,000 other people and triple that number of lanterns, got drunk in a bar on the 50th floor of a skyscraper, attended two cookery lessons focussing on oriental food, read The Quiet American in one go while aboard a Boeing Dreamliner, and when I eventually - feeling weary - took our dogs for a walk in the cool windblown hills above my home. It was just a year after I’d had a massive heart valve replacement operation and I spent some time in Saigon, or Ho Chi Min City as its more properly known. Which is a good place to try out a new heart valve. Because Saigon is a hot and frantic place. Busy, doesn’t do it justice. It is frenetic. Crazy. Fabulous. Beguiling. Exciting. Intriguing. All those things and so much more. Here are few of the street snaps I took while walking around Ho Chi Min City in the incredible sultry heat. Of course, as is always the case with me and my travels, I headed to the nearest food markets first. Hot, stuffy, sweaty and filled with people who won’t leave tourists alone, I still enjoyed every minute. Ben Than Market is the most popular with tourists, but there are plenty of others to visit. The only frustrating thing about wandering around such places as a keen home-cook is that you want to cook with all the amazing ingredients, and of course you can’t if you are staying in a hotel. Especially not a wonderful upmarket hotel like The Reverie, Saigon.