Saturday 15 June 2013

Bolivian foodie special in The Guardian, win a Peruvian cooking masterclass





Today’s Guardian has a full-page article about HighLives’ Gourmet Tour of Bolivia, which journalist Ed Stocker took a few weeks ago.

The full article (and accompanying review of Noma-linked restaurant Gustu) are online in full here so check it out. Ed gives a great account of a lot of the sights, smells and tastes of our tour.

If you are inspired by the article, contact us for more details about arranging your own trip, which can be combined with any of our other travel experiences, including visiting Peru’s more established culinary scene.

HighLives offers the Bolivia’s first-ever travel experience especially for foodies, with plenty of opportunities to taste the best of Bolivia’s native cuisine, visit top-quality producers, vibrant colourful markets and street food.

The tour showcases Bolivia’s little-known wine-growing region Tarija, which as Ed found out is also home to a booming market in fine-cured hams – a legacy of Franciscan missionaries from the 18th Century.

In celebration of our gourmet tours, I’m very excited about offering you the chance to win a cooking master class with London-based Peruvian chef Martin Morales on July 28 at his restaurant Ceviche.
Click here to apply.

Finally, if you are free this afternoon, between 5-6 pm GMT, I will give a live interview at Aculco radio and we will be talking about food in Bolivia, see here for a link to the live online streaming (the interview will be in Spanish and will be available in podcast).
 


Wednesday 12 June 2013

Let’s talk drinks - Singani, the spirit of the Andes


Peruvian Pisco, Mexican Tequila or Argentinian wines have become popular drinks worldwide, but Bolivia’s national tipple, Singani, is fast gaining international attention and may already be served at a bar near you.

Singani has won “best in show” for distilled spirits at the International Union des Oenologues. Distilled using the same type of method like cognac, it is made from a specific muscat type of grape grown in high altitude in Bolivia’s southern Tarija region, which give it a subtle taste and contains a higher level of antioxidants thanks to the intensity of the sunlight to which they are exposed.

                                   


Award-winning film director Steven Soderbergh couldn’t get enough Singani while filming “Che” in Bolivia: “I drink the stuff on the rocks because there's no burn and it has a very subtle, pleasant flavor, but I'm sure you can mix it.”

Yes, you can Steven. The most well-known mix is Chuflay: served on the rocks in a tall glass, a generous measure of Singani topped up with either ginger ale or lemonade and garnished with a slice of lime. Also popular is YungueƱo, which mixes Singani with orange juice.


                                   

HighLives’ Gastronomic Tour to Bolivia allows visitors to taste Singani at source, touring the vineyards of Tarija and the rest of the country’s exciting gastronomic landscape.

Stay tuned for our updates over the next few days, we will have something special to share with you.


HighLives' related trips:
Gourmet Tours to Bolivia
The Andes Gourmet