Growing up I used to be a very picky eater. Extremely picky to the point where I don't know how my parents put up with me!! I remember once throwing a birthday party in Pizza Hut when I was about 14 and only eating garlic bread because I didn't like pizza or pasta and pretty much used to survive on chicken and potatoes and bread in various formats.
Alot has changed since then!! I was picky pretty much til I was 19/20 years old. Then thanks to living on my own at uni and sharing cooking with housemates and a realisation that being a picky eater wasn't compatible with having a social life (I used to find it it so hard to eat out) or being healthy (as I didn't eat fish or veg). I basically forced myself to keep trying new foods even if I was convinced I wouldn't like them.
Now I eat everything!!! I can't think of a single food item I don't like and will try anything. In fact food is my passion ... whether its cooking it or eating. Travelling is another passion of mine and holidays and gastronomy tend to go hand in hand. I hate it when people visit a new country and end up eating food they could easily eat at home. So my palette has now become increasingly adventurous.
This year I went on a mission to try out some weird and wonderful food. I've already eaten stuff like pork kidneys, stewed rabbit, snow crabs and suckling pig but thought since I was doing quite a bit of travelling this year I'd see how far I could take my food exploration.
First up for 2012 was Monaco. The land of haut cuisine. Here I had some fairly odd combinations such as smoked duck wrapped in smoked salmon and various ways of serving foie gras ... but no new animals. All the food was amazing though from the fish, to the steak to the pastries ... and the attention to detail was amazing! Expensive, but a great place for a foodie to visit for gourmet cooking.
Then it was Marrakech. Morroccan food never dissapoints, and I ate so much this trip that by the end the receptionist at the hotel thought I was pregnant lol. Amazing flavours with tagines and couscous and pastries and soups. However here I was a bit more adventurous and ordered a pigeon pastella from one of the stalls in the main square. I managed to ignore the fact that a pigeon is essentially just a flying rat ... partly because the pastella was exquisite! Will definitely be having that again!
Then off to Peru. During most of the pre-arranged trip our meals were provided so although the food was great, healthy and delicious we didn't really have much choice of what to eat. Luckily I had booked the extension and could then decide on my own food options. First on my list was alpaca. We had been trekking amongst the alpacas for days and they are the cutest things but I'd heard good reiews about alpaca steak so had to try it. Although the texture was a little tough the taste was great ... a really rich, smoky flavour. Then, much to my friend's horror, I went for a roasted guinea pig. They have it as the typical celebratory meal dish there so on the last night of the trip I thought it was appropriate. When it arrived I was a little bit horrified. It basically looks like roadkill (see picture below) ... like someone run the poor thing over, shoved it on a bbq and put it on my plate complete with feet, teeth and all. My friend Kathryn almost vommed! The actual eating of it was a mission too! You have to tear up the thick outer layer of fat so I felt like a cavewoman and there isn't much meat on the animal itself. It tasted like a chicken drumstick, but was too much hassle to eat so doubt I'll be doing that again.
Then we went to Seville for a weekend and happened upon an international food festival with stalls from loads of countries. I tried a shark empandilla from the Venezuela stall and ostrich and kangaroo from the Australia stall (amongst other culinary delights). The verdict: shark wasn't tough as I expected it to be - it was just a tasty white fish; kangaroo is tasty but ostrich was even better and has now topped my list of favourite meats. I am dying to try it again!!!! Shame so few places stock it. I've since found out that this food festival is an annual event so it's already in the calendar for next year!
I still want to try gazelle and crocodile but haven't found any restaurants that have them on the menu. If anyone knows of any please let me know :)
Difficulty - 6/10 (some of them require bravery and others are just hard to find)
Thrill factor - 7/10 (only cos I find new tastes and general food-related things thrilling)
Sense of acheivement/fulfilment - 4/10
Recommend to a friend - 8/10 (rating downgraded a bit as the guinea pig wasn't really that pleasant.)
Alot has changed since then!! I was picky pretty much til I was 19/20 years old. Then thanks to living on my own at uni and sharing cooking with housemates and a realisation that being a picky eater wasn't compatible with having a social life (I used to find it it so hard to eat out) or being healthy (as I didn't eat fish or veg). I basically forced myself to keep trying new foods even if I was convinced I wouldn't like them.
Now I eat everything!!! I can't think of a single food item I don't like and will try anything. In fact food is my passion ... whether its cooking it or eating. Travelling is another passion of mine and holidays and gastronomy tend to go hand in hand. I hate it when people visit a new country and end up eating food they could easily eat at home. So my palette has now become increasingly adventurous.
This year I went on a mission to try out some weird and wonderful food. I've already eaten stuff like pork kidneys, stewed rabbit, snow crabs and suckling pig but thought since I was doing quite a bit of travelling this year I'd see how far I could take my food exploration.
First up for 2012 was Monaco. The land of haut cuisine. Here I had some fairly odd combinations such as smoked duck wrapped in smoked salmon and various ways of serving foie gras ... but no new animals. All the food was amazing though from the fish, to the steak to the pastries ... and the attention to detail was amazing! Expensive, but a great place for a foodie to visit for gourmet cooking.
Then it was Marrakech. Morroccan food never dissapoints, and I ate so much this trip that by the end the receptionist at the hotel thought I was pregnant lol. Amazing flavours with tagines and couscous and pastries and soups. However here I was a bit more adventurous and ordered a pigeon pastella from one of the stalls in the main square. I managed to ignore the fact that a pigeon is essentially just a flying rat ... partly because the pastella was exquisite! Will definitely be having that again!
Then off to Peru. During most of the pre-arranged trip our meals were provided so although the food was great, healthy and delicious we didn't really have much choice of what to eat. Luckily I had booked the extension and could then decide on my own food options. First on my list was alpaca. We had been trekking amongst the alpacas for days and they are the cutest things but I'd heard good reiews about alpaca steak so had to try it. Although the texture was a little tough the taste was great ... a really rich, smoky flavour. Then, much to my friend's horror, I went for a roasted guinea pig. They have it as the typical celebratory meal dish there so on the last night of the trip I thought it was appropriate. When it arrived I was a little bit horrified. It basically looks like roadkill (see picture below) ... like someone run the poor thing over, shoved it on a bbq and put it on my plate complete with feet, teeth and all. My friend Kathryn almost vommed! The actual eating of it was a mission too! You have to tear up the thick outer layer of fat so I felt like a cavewoman and there isn't much meat on the animal itself. It tasted like a chicken drumstick, but was too much hassle to eat so doubt I'll be doing that again.
Then we went to Seville for a weekend and happened upon an international food festival with stalls from loads of countries. I tried a shark empandilla from the Venezuela stall and ostrich and kangaroo from the Australia stall (amongst other culinary delights). The verdict: shark wasn't tough as I expected it to be - it was just a tasty white fish; kangaroo is tasty but ostrich was even better and has now topped my list of favourite meats. I am dying to try it again!!!! Shame so few places stock it. I've since found out that this food festival is an annual event so it's already in the calendar for next year!
I still want to try gazelle and crocodile but haven't found any restaurants that have them on the menu. If anyone knows of any please let me know :)
#14 - ALMOST ACHEIVED
(still need to find some gazelle and crocodile)
Difficulty - 6/10 (some of them require bravery and others are just hard to find)
Thrill factor - 7/10 (only cos I find new tastes and general food-related things thrilling)
Sense of acheivement/fulfilment - 4/10
Recommend to a friend - 8/10 (rating downgraded a bit as the guinea pig wasn't really that pleasant.)
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