Flavours of the Six Nations

Jo BaldwinFood, Travel

With Wales being current title-holders of the Six Nations rugby tournament, we know we’re looking forward to next year’s instalment. Here, travel expert Jo Baldwin takes a look at the independent culinary delights of each participating country.

Wales

A restaurant with no menu? No problem. Sosban, located within a quaint historical butcher’s shop, asks you to forget the menu and savour the experience instead. Located in the heart of Menai Bridge on Anglesey, the husband and wife chef team create a series of dishes using the best locally sourced produce available to them on the day, providing a unique culinary journey not found anywhere else. With only 16 covers you must book well in advance. No prescriptive dishes, just an imaginative fresh culinary journey.

Scotland

The Kitchin restaurant in Edinburgh is located in a converted whisky warehouse and owners Tom and Michaela Kitchin’s menu utilises classic French techniques with robust Scottish ingredients. In rugby terms; imagine French flair with Scottish depth. Locally sourced treated include roast Highland wagyu sirloin and Etherington goat cheese with veggies from the nearby organic Free Company Farm. With one Michelin star and 5 AA rosettes, booking in advance is essential for, arguably, one of Scotland’s best fine-dining memories.

England

Top notch luxury Watergate Bay Hotel in Cornwall is paradise if you love the sea. In fact it’s so close you can watch the surfers from the pool or rooftop hot tub. A three night ‘Taste of the Bay’ package offers your stay with meals included in three different restaurants; dining in Zacry’s for romance, candlelight, cocktails and charcoal cooked treats; Chef Emily Scott’s restaurant right on the beach serving fresh seafood; and The Beach Hut which blends local ingredients with international cuisine from Mexico, Asia and Italy for dining with toes in the sand.

Ireland

Moran’s Oyster Cottage serves up oysters from the natural 700 acre sea bed of the Clarenbridge oyster bed in Galway, situated at the mouths of the Dunkellin and Clarenbridge rivers. It’s not just oysters on offer here, this is seafood lover’s dream with dishes like seafood chowder made from a seven-generation old recipe. The restaurant is set within a quaint 250-year-old cottage at the edge of the Atlantic ocean, with rugged west coast surrounding seascapes.

France

Stay in a rustic B&B situated in the heart of Saint Jeannet, a pretty medieval village perched on the hills above Nice and immerse yourself in French culture, enjoy mindful yoga sessions surrounded by the tranquility of the French countryside, and learn to cook. These regions of Provence and Cote D’Azur are renowned for panoramic landscapes, coastal and mountain views and rich history. Local chef Noël will help reveal the joys of French gastronomy using organic and local products and reveal a side of France that’s not in any guide books.

Italy

Italy caters superbly for vegan and vegetarian travellers, and La Vimea hotel in South Tyrol impresses with its dedication to plant based food and wellness, as Italy’s first vegan only hotel. The philosophy of La Vimea is nature and everything connected with it. With two beautiful yoga rooms in the house and possibilities for yoga on the pond deck, forest bathing and meditation. With no kids allowed, the hotel is refuge for those needing a tranquil break.