Latest news with #MediterraneanCuisine
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
CAVA opens new restaurant in Michigan, US
CAVA, a fast-casual dining chain specialising in Mediterranean cuisine, has opened its first outlet in Canton in the US states of Michigan. The restaurant is located at 43450 Ford Road and covers an area of 3,850ft², featuring a dining area along with facilities for digital order pick-up and delivery. The new location will create between 25 and 40 local jobs. CAVA plans to enhance its presence in Michigan with additional locations later in 2025. Its menu allows for extensive customisation, offering 38 different ingredients that enable customers to create a wide variety of combinations through options such as bowls, pitas, chips, dips, juices and dressings. CAVA aims to expand its network to 1,000 restaurants by 2032. In the 2024 fiscal year, it opened 58 new locations and projects a growth rate of at least 17% for 2025. With the opening in Michigan, CAVA now operates across 28 US states and the District of Columbia. CAVA regional leader Gino Carlin stated: 'We're thrilled to join the southeast Michigan community and introduce more guests to the bold, vibrant flavours of the Mediterranean. 'Entering the state of Michigan marks our 28th state, and we're eager to welcome more guests in the Midwest and throughout the country to our table to enjoy our Mediterranean cuisine and hospitality.' In April 2025, CAVA opened its first restaurant in Florida. "CAVA opens new restaurant in Michigan, US" was originally created and published by Verdict Food Service, a GlobalData owned brand. The information on this site has been included in good faith for general informational purposes only. It is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely, and we give no representation, warranty or guarantee, whether express or implied as to its accuracy or completeness. You must obtain professional or specialist advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of the content on our site.
Times
10-07-2025
- Times
The secret estate that channels the spirit of Corsica
On an island celebrated for its beaches, the Plage d'Erbaju in southwest Corsica is among the most beautiful. It is here that the Ortolo River reaches the sea, a meeting of sapphire blue and turquoise across a long curve of fine white sand. At either end are two headlands: one guarded by a lion-shaped rock formation, the Lion de Roccapina, gazing over a Genoese watchtower towards the hazy silhouette of Sardinia; the other home to the Table de la Plage, an artfully constructed driftwood restaurant that turns hyper-local produce into impeccable Mediterranean cuisine. As beaches go, it's pretty near perfect, enough to justify a trip on its own. But as is often the way in Corsica, the beach is only part of the story — in this case that of the Domaine de Murtoli, a 6,000-acre estate of largely untouched scrubland and forest that extends up the valley from the coast. For 30 years the estate has welcomed guests to its 20 holiday villas, all hidden away among the folds of its land for extra privacy, and to its nine-room Hôtel de la Ferme, together becoming some of the most in-demand accommodation on the island. Now the estate has added a second hotel, A Mandria di Murtoli, which opened in June in a former livestock enclosure, with ten rooms and suites set in landscaped grounds of golden immortelle shrubs and silvery-green olive trees. The new hotel is a 15-minute drive to the north of the older one, a route that passes wild boar as they scuttle through the fragrant maquis and holm oaks. Here the view is of the mountains: of granite rock protruding through waves of green; of the outlines of successive peaks, fading as they recede into a powder blue sky. The island, though known for its beaches, is also one of mountains — rising to the 2,700m-high Monte Cinto in the north — so much so that the 19th-century German geographer Friedrich Ratzel nicknamed it a 'mountain in the sea'. The Corsicans were historically a mountain people, who retreated to the interior to escape malaria, pirates and invaders on the coast. They lived in isolated villages, growing olives and chestnuts for oil and flour, keeping pigs and sheep for cured hams and delicious brocciu (a soft cheese made from whey and fresh ewe's milk). The culture of these communities was fascinating, as related in Dorothy Carrington's magnificent historical portrait of Corsica, Granite Island (1971). Coexisting alongside the Catholic religion were pagan beliefs that Carrington traced back to the megalithic era. Their more sensational elements included mazzeri, or 'night-hunters of souls', who would go out hunting in their dreams, kill the first animal they found, then predict the death, within the year, of the person they saw in the animal's face. There were also honour-based vendettas that could start with something as inconsequential as a donkey straying on to a rival family's land but trigger a series of murders that might wipe out an entire village, and bandits d'honneur who took to the maquis, often to escape a vendetta. • Discover our full guide to France The soul of old Corsica — or at least its more peaceful manifestation — lives on at the Domaine de Murtoli, which is named after myrtle, the pretty white aromatic shrub. It used to be a farm, where cattle roamed freely in the maquis. But when Paul Canarelli inherited it from his grandfather in 1993, he saw an opportunity to introduce high-end hospitality as well (his father owned the glamorous Grand Hôtel de Cala Rossa, now managed by his sisters, Hélène and Lise, in the popular beachfront resort of Porto-Vecchio). The holiday houses and shepherd's huts opened first, followed by the Hôtel de la Ferme in 2021. I spent one unforgettable night at A Manzetta, a 17th-century bergerie for four built in thick granite and rough limestone with an enormous dark-wood wardrobe. It felt wonderfully cool and ancient. In the morning Domaine's fées du logis ('house fairies') delivered a breakfast of rustic bread and jams, which I ate in an outdoor kitchen, overlooking a pool hewn out of the contours of the granite rock. 'Our aim is to offer authentic, family-friendly and generous hospitality that puts nature first,' says Paul's daughter, Santa, now the Domaine's gracious general manager, as she showed me to my suite at A Mandria di Murtoli. Named Amandula after the almond tree, this converted stable is one of three suites that have their own brick-lined plunge pool, a contemporary take on an old-school water trough (and a wonderful place to sit and read). There are also five rooms and suites in a main building, and two in former shepherd's huts. The spirit is the same as at the wider Domaine, yet more playful, colourful, contemporary and Italian in its expression — as if a breeze has blown in from Sardinia. The bricks are arranged in patterns, the terracotta mixed with glazed tiles by Cerasarda in the dappled hues of the Mediterranean. • Corsica's best beaches Outside, cobbled paths and low granite walls snake down to a huge swimming pool, which is surrounded by Balinese day beds with stripped-wood canopies. In the outdoor restaurant above the pool a stylish international clientele — the women in Greek goddess-style dresses — sip white beer flavoured with Murtoli gin, and dine on superior pasta dishes courtesy of the chef Damiano Colazzo (mains from £23). Retro Italian tunes are accompanied by the buzz of cicadas. The atmosphere is chilled and festive. Happily A Mandria guests also have access to the restaurants of the Domaine, which are dotted across the estate: the beachfront Table de la Plage (with its sensational lemon sorbet and meringue courtesy of the Parisian chef Yann Couvreur); the central Table de la Ferme (which serves Michelin-starred cuisine and more casual piattini or tapas, such as a plate of tomme and brocciu cheese); and the fantastical Table de la Grotte, set inside and atop a cluster of giant granite rocks linked by wooden walkways. Here, guests sit at tables among the rocks, sipping myrtle sours as the sun gilds the maquis, then move inside a series of candlelit caves for a traditional Corsican feast focused around a shoulder of lamb. All three restaurants use the estate's own produce: cheese, meat and veal from the sheep and cows grazing along the river, vegetables and herbs from two extensive potagers, honey from the estate's own hives. 'It has evolved gradually,' says Paul. 'It wouldn't be what it is if it hadn't.' • Best thing to do in Corsica As well as being an immense larder, the Domaine de Murtoli is a vast playground for hiking, hunting, fishing and golf — where 'everything is proposed, but nothing imposed'. There are treatments with Nucca products — an organic range developed by Hélène and Lise that uses Corsican plants — in two open-air structures at the beach or, at A Mandria di Murtoli, in your own room, and botanical workshops with the forager Florence Weis. Since July 1 guests have also been able to taste the estate's first wines, produced from the first 25 acres planted with Corsican grape varieties, sciacarello and vermentino among them. The vines grow in the shadow of the menhirs of Cauria, prehistoric standing stones that have stood here for 6,500 years. 'They have an energy that the plants can feel in the right conditions,' the vineyard manager David Barranger reckons. Murtoli is also well situated for visiting two of Corsica's most compelling towns, beginning with Bonifacio, a 40-minute drive along the coast. This deep narrow harbour between soaring chalk cliffs, its houses teetering on the edge, is thought to have been the home of the mythical Laestrygonians, the cannibalistic giants who attack Odysseus's fleet in Homer's epic poem. Its history is just as captivating and the climb from the port to the citadel and cemetery at the top walks you through it, taking in a five-month siege by the king of Aragon in 1420, in which the Genoese inhabitants resorted to eating all sorts of herbs — 'even those disdained by beasts'. Bonifacio is also a lovely place to shop — for beachwear, jewellery and maquis-scented diffusers by the Corsican brand Casonera, which provides the in-room products at A Mandria. The views to Sardinia are phenomenal. • Beautiful Mediterranean islands to visit There are more heart-stopping views in Sartène, 30 minutes' drive inland from Murtoli. This 'most Corsican of Corsican towns' was built on a rocky outcrop to better defend itself, and its Good Friday procession — U Catenacciu — features a chained penitent in a red-hooded cloak, hefting a heavy cross through the streets. Its medieval warren of narrow streets, stone stairways and tall granite houses would feel very King's Landing were it not for the tourist boutiques and restaurants. Back in the airy central Place de Libération, the most imposing building is the Church of Sainte Marie de l'Assomption, where every Thursday evening the Choeur de Sartène gives a concert of sacred and secular songs, sung a cappella by six male voices. Like Domaine de Murtoli, this polyphonic tradition is an authentic expression of the Corsica of old. I stood on the steps, entranced, as I had been by my Corsican adventure as a Johnson was a guest of A Mandria di Murtoli, which has B&B doubles from £206 ( of the Hameau de Saparale, and the Domaine Le Mouflon. Fly to Figari By Lisa Johnson While the Domaine de Murtoli is an established place to stay with a new vineyard, this 2,500-acre estate in the same valley is an established vineyard with a new four-star hotel. Originally planted with vines in 1845 by a Corsican lawyer who had spent 20 years in Africa — hence the elephant logo — the estate changed hands when his son left it to the housekeeper. The winemaker and oenologist Philippe Farinelli is her grandson and since 1998 he and his wife, Julie, have been replanting the vines and restoring the ruined buildings. They already offered tastings of their five ranges of organic wines and rented out three luxury shepherd's huts. Now they have opened the original manor house with 14 elegantly rustic rooms and suites and a chapel, as well as two separate family suites and a dining room over the wine cellar (the tomme soufflé is a standout). The swimming pool, hidden among citrus trees and agapanthus, has magical views over the valley, and at night the sky blazes with stars. Ebikes are available for riding through the estate's vines and untouched forest (there are no other buildings here), as well as to the beautiful Plage de Roccapina; Sartène and Cauria are both nearby. Details B&B doubles from £232 ( • More great hotels in Corsica The soaring granite Needles of Bavella are one of Corsica's greatest hits and this Relais & Châteaux five-star hotel — one hour's drive from Figari airport — offers an excellent view of them on the ten-minute walk into the village of Zonza. The hotel is well known among Corsicans: it was built in 1926 by the PLM (Paris-Lyon-Méditeranée railway company) and hosted the exiled king of Morocco and his 20 wives in 1953 — the owner, Anthony Bornea, has the photographs to prove it. He and his wife, Lise Canarelli — sister of Paul and Hélène, have spent six years resurrecting it, adding a fourth floor to the austere building and an outdoor pool to the 47 acres. There are 20 rooms (my junior suite looked out over a towering cedar of Lebanon) and two bergeries; an extensive spa is due to open next year. The refined and uncluttered interiors offset dark-wood furniture and shadowy oil portraits with white walls and sparkling chandeliers, and the food — eaten in an elegant dining room, belle époque conservatory or out on the terrace — is faultless. The Plateau de Coscione, Ospedale Lake and two stages of the redoubtable GR20 hiking trail are all nearby; biking and canyoning can also be B&B Doubles from £277 (
CBC
09-07-2025
- General
- CBC
This Mediterranean farro and white-bean salad is perfect for summer picnics
Perfect for making ahead of a summer picnic or barbecue, this farro and white-bean salad tastes even better after chilling in the fridge. It's bright, zingy and packed with all kinds of Mediterranean flavours, including roasted eggplant, sun-dried tomatoes and artichokes. I love serving it with a soft-boiled egg or two for more protein. You can also double the dressing recipe and stash the rest in the fridge. It'll stay fresh for up to a week and elevate just about any salad or bowl. Ingredients 1 globe eggplant (about 454 g), cut into 1-inch cubes 3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil 1 tsp kosher salt Freshly ground black pepper, to taste 1 cup farro, rinsed and cooked according to package instructions (yields about 2 cups) 1 (398 ml) can cannellini or white kidney beans, drained and rinsed ½ cup sun-dried tomatoes, drained and roughly chopped ½ cup marinated artichoke hearts, roughly chopped 2 tbsp capers, finely chopped ¼ cup green olives, pitted and sliced 2 pepperoncini, stemmed and roughly chopped 1 jarred roasted red pepper, roughly chopped 1 shallot, finely chopped ½ cup fresh parsley leaves, chopped ¼ cup fresh basil, chopped ¼ cup crumbled feta ¼ cup walnuts, roughly chopped Dressing: 1 head garlic 4 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil, divided 1 tsp kosher salt 2 tbsp white wine vinegar 1 tbsp maple syrup 1 tsp mustard 1 tsp red pepper flakes ½ tsp freshly ground black pepper To serve: 1 cup cherry tomatoes, quartered ½ cup crumbled feta Handful of fresh basil Preparation Heat the oven to 425 F with a rack in the middle position and line a sheet pan with parchment paper. Add the eggplant to the prepared sheet pan and toss it with olive oil, salt and pepper. Roast until golden, about 30 to 35 minutes, tossing halfway through. Meanwhile, cut off the top of the garlic head, drizzle with 1 tablespoon of olive oil and wrap it in foil. Place it on the sheet pan with the eggplant and roast for 20 minutes, then remove and let cool. For the dressing, squeeze roasted garlic cloves into a large bowl with the kosher salt and mash with a fork. Add remaining 3 tablespoons olive oil, vinegar, maple syrup, mustard, red pepper flakes and black pepper, and whisk until the dressing is emulsified. Taste and adjust seasoning. To the same bowl, add farro, beans, eggplant, sun-dried tomatoes, artichoke hearts, capers, olives, pepperoncini, roasted red pepper, shallot, parsley, basil, feta and walnuts. Toss well and refrigerate for up to 4 days. When ready to serve, top with cherry tomatoes and more feta and basil.
Yahoo
09-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Now Franchising: Taim Mediterranean Kitchen Offers an Authentic Take on The $33B Culinary Segment
Craveworthy Brands Launches Franchise Program in Key U.S. Markets for Award-Winning Mediterranean Concept as Demand Surges NEW YORK, July 9, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Craveworthy Brands ("Craveworthy,") the innovative, multi-brand restaurant platform, has launched the highly-anticipated franchise program for award-winning concept, Taim Mediterranean Kitchen ("Taim,") in the $33 billion culinary segment (IBISWorld.) Known for its authentic Mediterranean flavors, better-for-you ingredients and customizable menu, Taim is opening the door to owner-operators ready to bring one of the most in-demand global cuisines to their communities across the U.S. Taim was founded in New York City's West Village in 2005 by a two-time Food Network champion and has since grown to 14 locations across major markets including New York, Chicago and Washington D.C. As one of the only Mediterranean brands of its size and caliber offering franchise opportunities, Taim stands out as a fresh option in a thriving category. "There's clear untapped franchise potential in this space, and we're moving fast to meet it," said CEO and Founder of Craveworthy, Gregg Majewski. "The Mediterranean segment continues to grow, but there's still massive opportunity for a concept like Taim – one that's rooted in culture, delivers operational finesse and has broad appeal. We've built a platform that lets partners grow with confidence, and Taim is the kind of brand that will win." Mediterranean cuisine continues to gain traction as one of the fastest-growing segments in fast casual, with a 10.2 percent increase in consumer demand year-over-year as of the first quarter in 2025, according to recent Technomic data. Taim is well-positioned to meet this demand, offering an authentic menu that caters to a range of dietary needs, including vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free and halal, while maintaining a vibrant and craveable flavor profile that appeals to a wide guest base. The brand's most recent menu additions, including Beef and Lamb Shawarma, Baharat-Spiced Pita Chips, Roasted Mushrooms and a rotating lineup of craft beverages, reflect its commitment to culinary authenticity, innovation and inclusivity. Each item is thoughtfully developed to celebrate Mediterranean tradition while giving guests even more flavor-forward options to personalize their dishes. Taim's initial franchise growth is focused on key East Coast and Midwest regions such as D.C., Delaware, Illinois, Maryland, New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania. The program is open to experienced restaurant entrepreneurs, multi-unit franchise partners and qualified, dedicated owner-operators who want to be part of a value-driven brand that connects with today's consumer. Through the franchise program, Taim partners gain access to Craveworthy's end-to-end support infrastructure, including streamlined supply chain solutions, in-depth training processes, creative marketing strategies, full-stack tech integration and expert operational guidance, all designed to enable scalability and long-term success. "When people think of Mediterranean fast casual, they think of real flavor, variety and quality," added Chief Business Officer of Craveworthy, Josh Halpern. "Taim brings all that to the table, plus a strong brand story, authentic culinary edge and a path for entrepreneurs to tap into one of the most up-and-coming segments in food." To learn more about Taim, please visit To learn more about Craveworthy Brands, please visit To learn more about franchise opportunities, please visit ABOUT TAIM MEDITTERANEAN KITCHENFounded in 2005, Taim Mediterranean Kitchen delivers the bold flavors of the Mediterranean with fresh, high-quality ingredients and time-honored cooking techniques. Taim's menu includes freshly made hummus, falafel, shawarma and customizable bowls and pitas, catering to vegan, vegetarian, and gluten-free preferences. From market-fresh produce to authentic herbs and spices, every dish is crafted with care to provide a craveable dining experience. The Brand has grown from its New York City roots to become a nationally loved brand, bringing vibrant Mediterranean cuisine to communities across the country. Learn more about Taim Mediterranean Kitchen at ABOUT CRAVEWORTHY BRANDSCraveworthy Brands, the parent company of Shaquille O'Neal-founded Big Chicken, Bd's Mongolian Grill, Dirty Dough, Flat Top Grill, Fresh Brothers Pizza, Genghis Grill, Hot Chicken Takeover, Krafted Burger Bar + Tap, Lucky Cat Poke Co., Nomad Dawgs, Pastizza Pizza & Pasta, Scramblin' Ed's, Sigri Indian BBQ, Taffer's Tavern by Bar Rescue's Jon Taffer, taim Mediterranean Kitchen, The Budlong Southern Chicken and Wing It On!, is dedicated to invigorating and supercharging legacy brands while nurturing and growing emerging brands. The company brings together diverse, yet complementary brands and an accomplished, veteran leadership team in the growing culinary space. In addition to building and operating leading restaurant brands, Craveworthy Brands is active in the communities it serves and creates exciting career opportunities for its team members. Bridging the distinctive individuality of its concepts with a shared culture and spirit of collaboration, the Company's goal is to create truly unique and craveworthy experiences every day, every shift and at every turn. Learn more about Craveworthy and its brands at View original content to download multimedia: SOURCE Craveworthy Brands
The Independent
07-07-2025
- The Independent
Corfu beyond the crowds: Escape parties and package holidays for authentic tavernas and quiet hilltop villages
Hailing from south Corfu, I was raised during the summer months by my wilful and wild Greek yiayia (grandmother), and the enduring charm that this part of the island holds over me has had an undeniable influence on every aspect of my life. Even after my parents moved my brother and me to the UK in our youth, the misunderstood south of Corfu, which people usually associate with package holidays and a party atmosphere, has always been my home. My yiayia is an extension of this and the inspiration behind my latest cookbook, Mediterranea: Life-perfected Recipes from Grandmothers of the Mediterranean. She, like many others in her village, has rarely ventured elsewhere, and the locals she is friends with there have become my extended family and a reminder of the charm that this part of Corfu holds over me. While the north of the island promises a glimpse of how the famed writer Gerald Durrell's family lived – in an idyllic white coastal mansion in Kalami village surrounded by ritzy port towns – the south offers an insight into the true life of Corfiot islanders, from family-run vineyards to undisturbed fishing villages and beachside tavernas. For me, there's nothing quite like taking the main coastal road south of Corfu from the much-frequented airport that sits at this verdant Ionian island's heart. While most visitors will head straight for the pastel-toned Venetian old town of the capital, or else the aptly coined 'Kensington-on-Sea' in the northeast, due to the well-heeled British community that decamps to their perfectly preened villas there each summer, my destination of choice in Corfu will always be the south. This area has a sullied reputation due to the 18-30s crowds drawn to its infamous Kavos strip and the lure of package tourism that boomed here in the 1990s. Yet that single road of beach clubs and bars is a half-hour drive away from where I grew up and is becoming a forgotten pocket of the island as the years tick by. As I drive towards our white-washed village away from town, personal landmarks signal that I'm approaching home. A sprawling, centuries-old olive tree hangs over the winding road after I pass the tourist strip of Messonghi, signalling the untamed terrain that lies ahead. Oleander grows along the turquoise-lapped coastline, uncontrollable shocks of pink reaching in through the car windows. What the north has in fancy villas, the south makes up for in nature. The 'Corfu Trail' – a hiking route that weaves from the south to the north of the island – begins at Arkoudilas beach, where Jurassic cliffs and dense forest dripping with wild strawberries and figs feel prehistoric, lost completely to time and far from civilisation. 'These olive trees were here long before us and will be here long after us,' says my friend Spiros Dafnis when I drop by his olive mill, The Governor, to pick up my five-litre can of oil en route home. He speaks in a very poetic way and manages to romanticise the elements of nature that I took for granted in my youth. Together with his brother George, Spiros has taken over the family plots of land around Agios Matthaios village, producing a high phenolic olive oil. Locally, the young brothers are credited for bringing a heightened awareness of the value of the land and the importance of milling quality olive oil. They offer tours amongst the ancient, gnarly trees that take visitors deep into the groves of the south, on hikes that reveal palaeolithic caves and the remarkably well-preserved Byzantine castle of Gardiki. Similarly, the family-run vineyard Pontiglio has revived winemaking on the island, investing their livelihoods at a time of economic crisis in Greece into preserving grape varieties unique to Corfu. 'When we started, the vineyards of Corfu were in danger of disappearing,' says Konstantina Ntini, whose family's mission is to preserve abandoned vineyards across the south of the island. Sprawling 60 acres outside of Lefkimmi, Pontiglio is a 20-minute drive from my village, set away from the tourist hotspots of the island, tucked into wild-flower-flecked meadows where the hum of the cicadas is the soundscape to an afternoon of wine tasting. The matriarch of the household, Athina Kirtzoglou, serves up local Corfiot dishes and offers culinary classes as cats slink in and out from beneath the vines, while stepfather and daughter Charalambos Kouris and Konstantina Ntini tend to the harvest or otherwise, their speciality Corfiot wines. While I will forever adore the holy trinity of grilled sea bream, chorta (wild greens) and tzatziki at my local Taverna Aristos in Perivoli village, a culture of gastronomy is flourishing in southern Corfu, partly thanks to the young producers championing local produce. On the sandy, cliff-lined beach of Agios Gordios, Mikro Nisi cooks fish he catches locally from his traditional kaiki boat, while the contemporary restaurant, Taverna, prides itself on locally sourced, organic ingredients crafted into dishes that sing of a Mediterranean summer. And nothing says summer to me more than balmy afternoons spent in the company of locals in the hilltop villages of Argyrades (the village my grandmother comes from) and Chlomos, where old men sit outside of Kafeneions, playing backgammon while they sip ouzo or silty Greek coffees. Here, women like my own yiayia sit on plastic chairs outside of pastel-toned homes, waiting to welcome strangers through beaded curtains and drapery they crocheted themselves to demonstrate their famous Greek hospitality with a snack and a chat. It is these women who have inspired my latest cookbook about Mediterranean living, and it's the very essence of these afternoons, whiling away the hours with 'the girls' (my yiayia's nonagenarian friends) that has made me truly appreciate where I am from. Still largely untouched by tourism, these villages and the wild areas that surround them are a testament to slow living, a true insight into the real Corfu and a reason to visit beyond the obvious sun, sea and sand. Where to stay Panorama Notos is a collection of simple, self-catering apartments on a turquoise-lapped private beach surrounded by tropical flora (from £65 per night). Roumanades Estate is an authentic Venetian home surrounded by dense olive groves. Oliver Suites, A former olive mill transformed into a luxury hotel on the picturesque southeast of the island (from £350 per night).
