Latest news with #foodtravel
Forbes
11 hours ago
- Forbes
Travel The World With Food: These Brands Take You Away
Traveling through food is a topic I've written on before and something I'm especially passionate about. I can't always jump on a plane or get in my car to explore a new destination or revisit one I've already been to, but I can always experience it by sampling some of its local culinary delights. I can 'travel' to far-flung locales worldwide, hop all over the U.S., and even stay closer to my New York home by experiencing small, independent brands in the Tri-State area. My latest travel through food exploration has me going across the river to New Jersey, hitting the American South, Italy, Holland, California, and beyond. My tasty journey, which is satisfying in more ways than one, follows. Supermarket Italy An aged salami from Supermarket Italy. Don't let the name fool you. Although Supermarket Italy sells the best of the best all things Italian- that means olive oils, hard to find candies and other sweets, sauces, pastas, and more- the site is treasure trove of culinary finds from all over the globe. You can find more than 6,000 products from France, Greece, and beyond. Wrights of Howth When I asked my Irish in-the-know friend Siobhan Byrne Learat, who lives in Dublin and runs the luxury travel company Adams & Butler, the best way for people to get a taste of Ireland, she immediately replied, 'Wrights of Howth.' The brand has been around since 1893 and became famous for its delicious organic, oak-smoked salmon. Today, Wrights of Howth has expanded its lineup to include a selection of the top Irish food brands presented in beautiful hampers. Yet, according to Siobhan, the smoked salmon is, hands down, the way to go. La Tienda La Tienda's Bestsellers Gift Box Owned and run by Jonathan Harris, La Tienda brings Spanish food to life with its broad selection of products from around Spain. That means kits for everything you need to make paella, chorizos, Ibérico ham, traditional sweets like Turrón, made with Marcona almonds and wildflower honey, olive oils, sherry vinegars, cheeses, and a whole lot more! As the name suggests, the bestsellers box features the most popular of the bunch—a cheese flight, mini chorizos, serrano ham, olives, and even gazpacho. Cheeses from FrieslandCampina Based in Paramus, New Jersey, FrieslandCampina bills itself as the world's largest Gouda maker. The company is also one of the largest importers of speciality cheeses from all over the world. You can find their decadant cheeses at grocery stores around the country. The company's new 12-month-aged gouda cheese. The brand just debuted a variety called A Dutch Masterpiece Rembrandt 12-month PDO- a gouda made from Dutch milk- specfically from North Holland- and aged for a year. The flavor is distinct, with a hint of caramel. This hard cheese is a keeper. Ivy's Reserve Salted Farmhouse Butter If you ask me, there is no better indulgence than salted European butter. I'm partial to English dairy and recently discovered Ivy's Reserve. Created by Ivy Clothier in the 1930s, its made in small batches and delicious, creamy, smooth, and rich. A dab makes any dish and my morning toast that much butter. You can find it at Whole Foods or order it online. I suggest buying multiple blocks at a time. Ivy's Reserve Salted Farmhouse Butter Bang Cookies An assortment of Bang Cookies bestsellers. There are cookies, and then there are cookies from the Jersey City-based brand Bang. There's no junk in these ones- they're baked to order with organic ingredients and made with pure butter, eggs, and high-quality vanilla extract, nuts, and chocolates. You don't have to visit their stores to get your fix. The bakery ships anywhere in the country, and the only problem you're going to have is deciding what flavors to go with. Sea salt chocolate chip, triple chocolate, s'mores, and oatmeal raisin are just a few of the choices. I also love the cookie cakes for birthdays and other special occasions. Nut Butters from Big Spoon Roasters Find your way to the American South by trying the range of nut butters from Big Spoon Roasters. This small, independent brand from Hillsborough, North Carolina sources its nuts locally and handcrafts each batch to order. Carrot Cake nut butter from Big Spoon Roasters. Each flavor is better than the next- bourbon pecan peanut butter, chocolate sea salt almond butter, cashew butter with coconut nectar, and my favorite- the carrot cake almond and walnut butter, crafted with the highest quality nuts, maple syrup, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, and sea salt. Enzo's Table Olive Oils The Signature Selection from Enzo. Get a taste of California's ever-growing olive oil scene by picking up the five-set sampler from Enzo. The Ricchiuti family owns this brand and looks to their farm in central California's San Joaquin Valley to grow the organic olives for its expressions. The set gives you a chance to sample a range, including the basil and clementine-infused varieties and the delicate and bold expressions. There's also a balsamic vinegar included, which is great in a salad dressing or to drizzle over mozzarella or strawberries.
South China Morning Post
16-05-2025
- Entertainment
- South China Morning Post
Actor Stanley Tucci returns to Italy for a deeper dive into its food in Nat Geo show
The Golden Globe- and Emmy-winning actor Stanley Tucci is once again roaming through the land of his heritage in National Geographic's new food-travel series Tucci in Italy, less than three years after a similar show was axed. 'I think that visually it's more interesting this time around, and I think that we try to go more in-depth into the stories as much as you can, given the format,' he says. Tucci goes from a three-Michelin-star restaurant in Milan where the staff grow their own vegetables – 'Stop it!' he half-heartedly begs a chef adding salmon eggs to a pesto risotto – to cooking fish for anglers on the banks of the Sarca River, in the Italian Alps. 'I'm exploring the complex connections between the land, the people and the food they eat to discover the essence of each region in the country I love – Italy,' the Conclave and The Devil Wears Prada star tells viewers in each instalment. Play Each episode of the first season of Tucci in Italy explores a different region – from Tuscany to Trentino-Alto Adige, Lombardy, Abruzzo and Lazio. It was shot over six months, from January to July in 2024.
The Independent
13-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Independent
Stanley Tucci returns to Italy with National Geographic series and vows to 'go more in depth'
You can't keep Stanley Tucci from his beloved Italy just like you can't keep cheese from lasagna. The Golden Globe- and Emmy-winning actor is once again elegantly roaming through the land of his heritage in National Geographic's new food-travel series 'Tucci in Italy,' less than three years after a similar show was axed. 'I think that visually it's more interesting this time around, and I think that we try to go more in depth into the stories as much as you can, given the format,' he says. Tucci goes from a three-Michelin-star restaurant in Milan where the staff grow their own vegetables — 'Stop it!' he half-heartedly begs a chef adding salmon eggs to a pesto risotto — to cooking fish for anglers on the banks of the Sarca River. 'I'm exploring the complex connections between the land, the people and the food they eat in order to discover the essence of each region in the country I love – Italy,' the 'Conclave' and 'The Devil Wears Prada' star tells viewers in each installment. 'The people are great' Each episode of the first season of 'Tucci in Italy' explores a different region — from Tuscany to Trentino-Alto Adige, Lombardy, Abruzzo and Lazio. It was shot over six months, from January to July in 2024. 'It's a lot of planning, it is a lot logistics. But ultimately, once you get to where you're supposed to be, which isn't always easy in Italy, especially in the mountainous areas, it's great,' says Tucci. 'The people are great, extraordinary.' In Tuscany, the cradle of the Renaissance, Tucci eats lampredotto, a sandwich made with the cow's fourth stomach, and a beef tongue stew. In the Alpine region of Trentino-Alto Adige, he skis and munches on beef goulash and polenta near the Austrian border. National Geographic greenlit Tucci's new docuseries a year after CNN canceled his 'Searching for Italy' despite winning Emmys for Outstanding Hosted Nonfiction Series or Special. Much of the same production staff and crew transferred over with Tucci to his new TV home, and they embraced the use of the latest drones, giving the series a sweep and majesty. Executive producer Lottie Birmingham, who worked on 'Searching for Italy' and jumped aboard 'Tucci in Italy,' says the new series pushes viewers into new parts of the European nation. 'I think before we did focus quite a lot on the major cities, whereas this time we've kind of gone out into the wider regions,' she says. 'In Lazio, for example, we haven't just focused on Rome or in Tuscany we haven't just focused on Florence.' Deeper issues under the surface The series also stops to look at some of the social issues roiling Italy, like immigration and gay rights. Tucci and his team spotlight Punjabi migrants, particularly Sikhs, who have a significant presence in the nation's dairy industry, and the impact that Ethiopian immigrants have had despite facing racism and being treated as 'other.' 'Every country does it, and it's never a helpful thing,' says Tucci. 'And after people assimilate, then they often find others to become 'others.' So it's just this sort of weird, vicious circle.' The new series — produced by Salt Productions and BBC Studios — in many ways is more true to Tucci's initial vision, which was to look carefully at trends below the surface of what appears to be a happy, sun-blasted land. 'The original idea of the show that I had almost 20 years ago, at this point, was to show the diversity of Italy. But also to, in a weird way, dispel the myth that it's sunny all the time and everybody's eating pizza and pasta and everybody is happy and smiling all the time. Yeah, that exists, but that's not everything.' It was Tucci who suggested a stop in Lombardy after reading an article about a gay couple who haven't been able to legally adopt their baby boy since the government doesn't recognize adoptions by same-sex couples. 'There's a darker side, as there are with every country,' says Birmingham. 'Italians are so focused on food and family, but what does family mean? That was what we wanted to look at in that story.' Tucci's special touch Tucci is part of a crowded field of celeb travel hosts, which includes Rainn Wilson, Eugene Levy, Zac Efron, José Andrés, Chris Hemsworth, Will Smith, Macaulay Culkin and Ewan McGregor. Birmingham believes her host has something special to offer. 'I think he's particularly good at putting people at ease,' she says. 'He is genuinely interested, and it is a real passion for him. He's not hosting this series just to host it. He loves Italy more than any of us, and I think that's really apparent.' One of the series' highlights is when Tucci visits Sienna, a city in central Italy's Tuscany region, and watches its medieval-era horse race run around the Piazza del Campo. Afterward, each city ward hosts a dinner party in the streets where thousands sing and toast their neighborhood. 'I didn't know about that and I just think it's incredible,' says Tucci, who first visited Sienna when he was about 12. 'Italy was a very different place and yet still is very much the same.' It's that push and pull of modernity and tradition that the show highlights, like a restaurant in Florence that caused a stir when traditional regional delicacies were done with Japanese styles and ingredients. Tucci found the food delicious and worried that Italians must embrace change. 'They maintain their traditions, they maintain the quality. But it also stops them from growing,' says Tucci. 'There's no reason why you can't have both.'
