Gone fishing
Back to list
We at Crumbs have long been planning our holidays based on one (or sometimes ten) great meal. Whether it’s a feast of fresh shellfish, or a spread of fajitas and tacos washed down with an ice-cold brew, we reckon that food is always reason enough to make the trek. After all, aren’t you always ravenous after a long journey? So it made us skip with glee (well, at least I did) when we came across a new travel company promising delightful edible escapes and gloriously garnished getaways, aptly named The Food Travel Company.
The company organises trips both within and outside the UK, from seafood extravaganzas in Cornwall and award-winning apple juice tastings in Gloucestershire, to wine country hopping in California and extraordinary tapas experiences in Spain. Whatever your stomach desires, The Food Travel Company will deliver (they can book guides to take you to the best local food haunts in whatever city you wish to visit). Plus, they take care of lodging and feed you three times a day, so all you need to do is just show up at the right time.
For our first foray into The Food Travel Company, we opted to embark on a Cornish seafood safari. It was a four-day affair that included comprehensive classes on fish with a professional chef; a trip to the historic Newlyn Fish Market (one of the oldest in Cornwall!); a fishing trip to catch some Cornish mackerel for dinner; and a tour of the Rock Oyster Festival, alongside nonstop gorging on seafood. We were housed in the sprawling Coswyn Barn at Lanyon Holiday Cottages, and plied with a hearty British fry-up each morning.
Highlight of the trip for us was the two four-hour teaching sessions – we are food geeks, after all. Taught by Lee Groves – head chef at St Ives’ Seagrass restaurant – the instructions covered the A-Z of fish and shellfish preparation and cooking. We each had a turn shucking oysters and opening razor clams, and acquired skills not only in properly filleting fish, but also in killing lobsters and crabs humanely (i.e., you cut off the nerve endings of the lobster first, and always insert it head first into the boiling water as they can’t see upside down). And we loved exploring the surrounding areas during our down time – can’t get enough of St Ives – though I did not appreciate the seagull who stole my ice cream cone. But I digress.
The next seafood safari in Cornwall will take place 11 – 14 October, and costs £1,065 per person. Please visit www.thefoodtravelcompany.com if you wish to book or for more information.
By Rosa Park
Images by Rich Stapleton
Highlight of the trip for us was the two four-hour teaching sessions – we are food geeks, after all. Taught by Lee Groves – head chef at St Ives’ Seagrass restaurant – the instructions covered the A-Z of fish and shellfish preparation and cooking.
Comments
There are 2 comments
I love eating lobsters but would be a bit scared trying to kill one! Something to consider for the future though...
July 04, 2012 | Karen
Interesting article. I was at the Rock Oyster festival last year and can attest to its joys. Oysters, champagne, music, whats not to love!
July 04, 2012 | John Sarks