This article might contain affiliate links. Read the disclaimer about affiliate links & PR gifting here.

Aba-Ra!

108 Brick Ln, London E1 6RL, United Kingdom | map link
abara.co.uk

Georgian restaurant on Brick Lane, a neighbourhood famously known for Indian food. Georgian cuisine is rich and flavourful. Try the restaurant’s signature dishes, ajarian khachapuries (cheese-filled bread) and freshly made khinkali (dumplings). Make sure to accompany your hearty meal with a glass of Georgian wine, it is, after all, where wine came from.

Blacklock Shoreditch

28-30 Rivington St, London EC2A 3DZ, United Kingdom | map link
IG: @blacklockchops
theblacklock.com

The space is a renovated furniture factory, the industrial feel is still very much present. A modern British pub by design, this is a traditional chophouse with a hefty menu of meats with a wide selection of sides. As you wait for your main meal, pick a few single-bite snacks from the Pre-chop Bites menu. The beverage list is pretty robust and includes wine on tap. This restaurant is B Corp certified.

Chez Elles Bistroquet

45 Brick Ln, London E1 6PU, United Kingdom | map link
IG: @chezellesbistro
chezellesbistroquet.co.uk

A French bistro in Brick Lane. This is a small restaurant with a very homey feel. On the menu are French cuisine favourites like the French onion soup, snails in garlic butter, truffle cheese soufflé, mussels, duck, and steaks. In the summer, the team puts out a few tables outside, extending the casual feel to the street.

China Tang at the Dorchester

251 Tooley St, London SE1 2JX, United Kingdom | map link
IG @thedorchester
chinatanglondon.co.uk

Chinese restaurant at The Dorchester Hotel, London. The hotel has two Michelin keys, and the food reflects this. The menu is the best of Chinese comfort food, from dumplings to Peking duck served up with a white-glove flair. The bar menu is equally impressive, created by an award-winning bartender. The bar at Chine Tang is worth the visit just for the drinks.

Left: Discount Suit Company, image courtesy of the bar.
Right: China Tang table at The_Dorchester Hotel, image courtesy of the hotel.

Discount Suit Company

 29A Wentworth St, London E1 7TB, United Kingdom | map link
IG: @discountsuitco
discountsuitcompany.co.uk

A bit of a hidden gem cocktail bar, located below street level. The space used to be a tailor’s stockroom and was converted into a small bar. The lights are dimmed, the cealings is low, and the good vibes are flowing. The craft cocktail menu is amplified by the knowledgeable bar team, prepared to improvise a beverage to your taste.

East London Liquor Company (ELLC)

Bow Wharf, Unit GF1, 221 Grove Rd., Old Ford, London E3 5SN, United Kingdom | Google maps
IG @eastlondonliquorcompany
eastlondonliquorcompany.com

Distillery, bar, and restaurant with a wonderful outdoor space. Located in London’s East End, this is a popular spot with a fun vibe and a fantastic drink selection. They distil gin, vodka, and whisky, while rums are imported from Jamaica and Guyana. ELLC offers distillery tours for those interested in looking behind the scenes. The cocktail menu is a selection of carefully crafted drinks with simple names like “Gin + Asparagus” or “Tequila + Pumpkin”.

East London Liquor Company. Images by Kateryna Topol.

Muhib’s best in Brick Lane

73 Brick Ln, London E1 6QL, United Kingdom | map link
IG: @muhibindian
muhibindiancuisine.com

On a street packed with Indian restaurants back to back, it can be difficult to choose one, but this one came recommended by the locals. On the menu are pages and pages of dishes from starters to Muhib’s specialities, to curries, masalas, dansak and pathia dishes, and much more. Everything is well seasoned and packed with flavour. Save your appetite and bring friends to share a few plates with.

Swift cocktail bars

A classic cocktail bar with locations in Soho and Shoreditch. The Soho location has an upstairs bar and a basement den. The upstairs is an airy and open space with a rich selection of cocktails, beers, and wine. Swift is also known for their scotch selection, which includes over 300 options from around the world. The downstairs at Soho has a very cool menu, one drink per page, each dedicated to a different celebrity. This menu is fittingly titled “Legends”. The cocktail selection is really interesting, for example, the ode to Hemingway is “Eden,” a silky and rich rum-based cocktail. Snoop Dog’s bevi, on the other hand, is a tropical and refreshing vodka cocktail called “Long Beach”. Swift is included in the world’s top 50 best restaurants. The Shoreditch is smaller and more laid back, but with the same high-quality service and expertly made craft cocktails.

Swift Soho. Images by Kateryna Topol.

Swans Bar at Maison Assouline

196A Piccadilly, London W1J 9EY, United Kingdom | Map link
IG: @maisonassouline
eu.assouline.com

Cocktail bar and cafe inside the Maison Assouline bookshop. As an Instagrammable spot, this bar gets quite busy, but if you happen to come across an open spot, take a seat for a tea or a cocktail break and enjoy the library vibes. Snacks and food are available to make it a complete lunch or dinner.

Swans Bar at Maison Assouline, images courtesy of Maison Assouline.

L’ETO Piccadilly

199 Piccadilly, London W1J 9HA, United Kingdom | Map link
IG: @letocaffe.official
uk.leto.delivery

L’ETO Cafe is hard to miss because of the cakes and pastries in the window. You can almost taste them just by looking. The interior is a classic cafe-style room where you can sit and enjoy your dessert with tea or coffee. Savoury lunch and brunch dishes are also an option. L’ETO has locations allacross the city, check which one is closest to you.

The Toucan

19 Carlisle St, London W1D 3BY, United Kingdom | map link
@thetoucansoho
thetoucansoho.co.uk

If you like Guinness, this is the place to be. Pouring more fresh Guinness daily than all of downtown Toronto, the Toucan is an institution. A small pub with an equally small area outside this pub spills out onto the street with tipsy patrons clutching onto dark pints. The Toucan is an institution.

Bonus: Secret Food Tour in SoHo

Book on secretfoodtours.com or GetYourGuide

One way to see and eat as much as possible during a short visit is doing a food tour with a local. The Secret Food Tours adventure through Soho is a fun walk through the neigbourhood filled with stories and many bites and sips. You will taste cuisine across multiple cultures, try gin, and end the evening in a very, very old bar that used to be a brothel.

Alternatively, you can See London on a panoramic gourmet food bus, while enjoying lunch or dinner.

Secret Food Tour in SoHo. Images by Kateryna Topol.

The post Where to eat and drink in London, UK appeared first on Paths to Travel.

Chef Zach Keeshig’s latest endeavour, Nagaan, is his life’s work, packaged as a 17-seat restaurant in Owen Sound, a small town in rural Ontario. This is where he grew up, where his community garden is, and where he is elevating Indigenous cuisine to the global stage one 12-course tasting at a time. 

Keeshig’s culinary training includes some of the best kitchens in Canada (Eigensinn Farm, The Restaurant at Pearl Morissette, Langdon Hall), but his unique culinary approach is deeply inspired by his Ojibwa roots (Nawash Unceded First Nation).

This article might contain affiliate links. Read the disclaimer about affiliate links & PR gifting here. 
All images by Kateryna Topol.

Foraging as a way of life

When fine-tuning his concept, Keeshig made a choice to use only local ingredients. A healthy portion of herbs and vegetables comes from a nearby community garden, some are sourced from local farmers, and many are found in the forest. Ingredients like citrus, coffee, or vanilla find their flavour counterparts in the woods. The forest offers a bounty of flavour, from wild leeks and onions to fiddle heads, Japanese knotweed, mustard garlic, and the three seasons of mushrooms, all growing in undisturbed natural environments.

Foraging season is at its peak in spring and summer. “At this time, we forage nearly every day,” he shared. “I’ll go out today because yesterday I noticed that magnolias were flowering. I’ll harvest and pickle them so we can have magnolia vinegar later on. They have an almost ginger-like flavour,” he added, pulling a pickled flower out of the jar with twizzers.

Each farmed or wild ingredient finds an array of treatments. Fresh, pickled, ground to a powder or made into a vinegar, these preserves help Nagaan’s team stretch the seasonal flavours through the winter months.  

Embracing the game

Hunting and fishing have been a way of life for Indigenous peoples for millennia, and Nagaan’s menu leans into the tradition with wild game and seafood found in nearby rivers and lakes. “I wanted to use ingredients that our people were hunting and eating. So I asked hunters on the reserve to start shooting us wild geese, ducks, and deer”.

“I wanted to introduce more Indigenous businesses into my business,” he proudly admitted. Keeshig’s network of suppliers is one of the many ways in which he supports local communities, always sharing the story behind the ingredient with restaurant patrons, “giving the suppliers a bit of shoutout”.

One of the key proteins on this menu is bison. Indigenous to Canada, bison have a turbulent history, but due to the recent implementation of the Buffalo Treaty, their population is growing. Keeshig sources his from Snowy Creek Bison, and seeing this majestic animal firsthand was on today’s agenda. The farm, operated by a husband and wife pair, Lizette and Cornelius, is a bison heaven. Cornelius drove the two of us into the field past multiple enclosures, locking each one as we passed. Parked somewhere in the middle, we sat there for a while, observing the animals from a distance. “I drive out here daily and just sit and observe them for hours,” Cornelius shared, looking at his herd, wallowing in the grass like kittens. 

Inside the restaurant

The restaurant feels like a homey cabin. Each hand-carved table has an etching of something they forage, artisan-made animal hides are hung up on the wall between shelves of preserves. Everything at Nagaan is custom-made by hand for the restaurant, from wood slab tables to plates shaped specifically to fit Chef Keeshig’s unique vision.

The real magic, however, begins with the first course. Each intricately plated dish is a work of art where the vessel itself often comes from nature. Plate after plate, Nagaan’s team presents explosive flavours with layered ingredients appealing to all five senses. The core menu stays the same, listed on a single sheet menu in English and Ojibwe. The individual ingredients, however, change seasonally depending on what’s fresh and available that day, making sure that every Nagaan experience is one of a kind.

Nagaan is a dry restaurant with uniquely delicious non-alcoholic beverage options are offered with each course, including the above-mentioned dandelion root coffee-like beverage.

Visiting Nagaan

The easiest way to reach Nagaan is by car, but in the absence of one, FlixBus goes directly from Toronto to Owen Sound with a few scenic stops. If you are staying overnight, Best Western Inn On The Bay is a short walk from the restaurant, has a pool with a view and a gym. Make it a weekend with a prolonged stay at The Inn at Cobble Beach on the lake or a fully private, Refurbished Cozy Farmhouse on 100 acres.

The post Behind the scenes of Chef Zach Keeshig’s unique approach to indigenous cuisine at Naagan appeared first on Paths to Travel.

Devour! A festival born from vision

In the early 2010s, iconic Nova Scotia chef Michael Howell and film industry veteran Lia Rinaldo, known for her leadership at the Atlantic Film Festival, shared a fundamental belief: food was more than just a matter of sustenance, and film was more than simple entertainment. With that, a seed was planted, and it was at this moment when Howell and Rinaldo embarked on a quest to create an experimental festival. 

The inaugural fest was small yet charming – indicative of Wolfville itself. But Howell and Rinaldo’s respected ranks in their respective arenas played a big role when it came to impact. Chef-led dinners, hands-on workshops, community gatherings, and culinary-inspired movie screenings injected immediate excitement, and word spread quickly about the festival’s authentic, wholesome flair. As time passed, many prolific names attended, including Sam Kass (former White House chef for the Obamas), and even Anthony Bourdain. 

2025 marked the 15^th anniversary of Devour! Guests come from far and wide not only to immerse themselves with feature films and flavours, but celebrate taste and storytelling in a community already known for its welcoming nature, and agricultural ethos. 

Images courtesy of Devour! Festival.

Why Wolfville & Devour! go hand-in-hand

Nova Scotia is already famous for its delicious experiences, including the Lobster Trail, Chowder Trail, Cheese Trail, and Good Cheer Trail. Beer and cider are big here, as is wine. The province’s viticultural roots date back to the early 17^th century, and today boasts varietals including Baco Noir and L’Acadie Blanc. Besides being home to the nearby Grand-Pre UNESCO World Heritage Site, Wolfville is considered to be the province’s agricultural heartland with everything from roadside farmer’s markets to coastal culinary experiences and wine tours – all featuring local flavours. 

When it comes to the big screen, Denton Hall on the Acadia University campus is home to galas and special events, while the Al Whittle Theatre, opened in 1911, is the hub for most of the 47 screenings that were shown in 2025. Its historic charm, and community initiatives to resurrect it complements the festival’s theme perfectly. Since reopening in 2004, it’s become Wolfville’s cultural hub and is very much woven into the heart of the town’s historic, and independent cinematic soul. Like Devour!, the theatre is a celebratory symbol of heritage, culture and place. 

Left: Image by Alison Slattery, courtesy of Tourisme Montréal. Right: Danny Smiles, Le Violon. Image courtesy of Devour! Festival.

Michelin-starred experiences

The 15^th edition of Devour! treated guests to both local culinary connoisseurs and Michelin-starred chefs from Montreal. Le Caveau restaurant played host to a curated three-course luncheon inspired by Bistro La Franquette’s Renee Deschene-O’Hagan and chef Elias Deligianis, while at Lightfoot Vineyards, acclaimed chefs Emma Cardarelli and Chris Pyne showcased seasonal, autumnal ingredients resulting in exquisite flavours. Workshops from Danny Smiles (Le Violon), Massimo Piedimonte (Cabaret l’Enfer), and sommelier Ryan Gray (Nora Gray, Elena, Gia Vin & Grill) were immersive, engaging, and informative. 

Chef Jean-Sebastien Giguere (La Cabane du Coureur) added a touch of home-grown sweetness to brunch thanks to his maple-infused delights. In the afternoon, Eastern Canada’s most talented chefs competed for most innovative poutine, while at the Wolfville Farmer’s Market, a lobster-themed ‘Fais-to-do’ blended street market energy with culinary celebration and communal dining fun. Every event, talk, and workshop reflected the festival’s aim of combining local flavours, tips and tricks, and storytelling with a personal touch.

Devour! global stature & Enduring legacy

What started in Wolfville has expanded globally. In 2019 alone, there were 19 satellite events, including throughout Canada, the USA, Germany, and Portugal. An increasingly popular spinoff takes place in the Bahamas. In February 2026, Green Turtle Cay will host the 6^th Annual Devour! The Beach, a tropical winter getaway that combines food and film with uniquely local experiences. No matter the location, each Devour! has one goal in mind: to celebrate the collective human experience, to go deeper with the aim of inspiring compassion with emotional, impactful storytelling through food and film. 

Devour! favourites

As a fan of food, film and the combination thereof, Devour! was divine! If the goal was to experience, savour and appreciate the finer, more detailed nuances of what it takes to create a masterpiece on a plate or on film, Devour! left me salivating and satiated. Sure, the dishes were delicious, the films moving, but I found myself impacted most when young directors excitedly shared spontaneous, unrehearsed exuberance about their latest film project, and when seasoned pros gathered young students together, and instructed them on how to best crack a lobster for diners unfamiliar with how to eat them (thank you). 

What struck the biggest chord was the 10^th annual Great Devour! Community Cajun Chicken Supper, supporting regional food banks in the Annapolis Valley.  “We’ll serve thousands of free meals to those who need it the most today,” chef Michael tells me. “It’s not only about inviting chefs and screening films, it’s about giving back to this community – healthy meals to food-insecure residents while promoting health and agriculture”. 

Author: Jim Bamboulis
@travelmammal

Jim Bamboulis is a content creator with 25 years of experience as a TV host and producer, Travel Journalist, and Podcaster. He has created travel and food videos for Lonely Planet and contributes to various international publications. Jim hosts the Fact Up Podcast, a travel show exploring destinations and local culture. He runs Mazee, a business offering Greek gift baskets and online cooking classes. A passionate traveller and outdoor enthusiast, Jim believes in balancing adventure with great food.

The post Inside Nova Scotia’s Devour! Food & Film Fest: Where taste meets story appeared first on Paths to Travel.

The festival sojourned in the Heineken Diamond Lounge of Citi Field in Queens, New York. The stadium is home to the New York Mets, an NL East-contending Major League Baseball team, but more than that, it is also home to one of the best culinary experiences in baseball. Touted for their game day menu, they brought the gour-Met commitment to the offseason by hosting 25 bagelries for this breakfast extravaganza.

The long 5th-floor lounge wraps around the home plate corner of the diamond and opens into a wide room at its apex. It is split down the middle lengthwise by a stage reserved for the bagel rolling competition. The walls are lined with bagel stations packed shoulder to shoulder. No two bagel booths are alike, each sporting personality pieces to draw the bagel connoisseurs in. But the main focus of the event, of course, was the bagels. Having spent the day taste-testing the bagels at the event, these three spots came up on top as the best bagels.

From left to right: B’s Bagels, Utopia Bagels, and Curley’s Bagel. Images by Eric Mura.

Curley’s Bagel, Sunnyside, NY

Curley’s Bagel are the runner-up for the people’s choice award. Curley’s Bagel is run by Mark Curley, and their focus is on delicious bagels made with natural ingredients, which they love to pile high with fillings and make into sandwiches. Curley tells of the origin of their recipe is the marriage of the owner’s influences in a perfect sourdough bagel: Mark Curley is from New York, and his wife is from California. The sourdough, he claims, is easier to digest, making for a better bagel-eating experience overall without as much of the bloating that some complain about when eating a bagel. Curley’s stand was tucked away from the windows and bright fall morning light, but one only needed to follow the smell or the bright banners of their booth to find an amazing, albeit untraditional, New York bagel. I tried the apple cinnamon bagel, based on the classic apple cinnamon doughnut. It was flavourful, as easy to eat as advertised, and satisfyingly chewy.

B’s Bagels, Gig Harbor, WA 

B’s Bagels came all the way from Gig Harbor, Washington. A port city near the southernmost tip of the South, the bagel scene there is lacking in quality. Britany Erwin, the B in B’s Bagels, spoke to their competition, primarily being big bagel companies that batch-steam their bagels. B’s Bagels’ focus is on brining the boil and bake technique to the steam-saturated West Coast bagel scene. Brittany spoke about the community in her area that came together to help support the growth of her business, which also helped them find their way to the New York Bagel Fest. A significant contributing factor that Brittany attributed their powerful flavours to was the scarcity of ingredients in their neck of the woods, which forces them to get creative in order to get the most out of what they have. I tried a stuffing bagel with a fruit-flavoured cream cheese, it was one of the best things I’ve tasted in ages. A fantastic bite all around. I will be getting them every time I’m in the Tacoma Area.

Utopia Bagels, New York, NY

Utopia Bagels are a New York classic. I had the pleasure of speaking to one of the founders, Scott Spellman, about what it takes to make a real New York Bagel. Scott gave me a glimpse into the bagel factory in his brain, a glimpse, it seems, he truly enjoys sharing with people. Scott doesn’t keep any secrets about how he makes his bagels so good. He said it takes two things to make good bagels: “heart and patience”. By that, he explained to me, he means that it’s not the New York water (though it does make them taste better) because every shop in town has that. Nor is it the special flavours or ingredients in the dough. It’s about taking the time to learn how to do it and to really care about the process. Scott claims his bagel rollers have been doing it for him for 40 years. The woman working the booth, Cameron, is a lifer at Utopia Bagels. Scott cultivates a space that makes folks want to stay and commit to the craft. His love for it is infectious. And all you have to do is try one of the bagels to see the proof of what he shares. I tried a plain bagel with plain cream cheese, everything bagel seasoning, and ACME Lox. It was mouth-wateringly good, no exaggeration.

Despite speaking to some of the foremost minds on the topic, I was unable to define exactly what makes a bagel, a bagel, or even what a proper New York Bagel is, but learning the complex relationships between styles and techniques in the bagel world has opened up my mind and palate to what bagels can do and be. The passion for the craft of making bagels is what defines the art and the final product. Next time you walk into your bagel shop, ask about how they roll their bagels or how the bagels are cooked. The story just makes breakfast that much more filling.

About the author: Eric Mura
muraphotography.com | @mav_ricks_pics | Quip Magazine profile

Eric is a writer and photographer living and working in Brooklyn. He grew up in Oakland, California, cut his teeth shooting concerts in Seattle, Washington, and now works at many of the venues in New York. Born in California, hippy rock mixed with Oakland rap and honed with Seattle Grunge spliced with DIY, Eric lives and breathes live music. His work focuses on the connection between the performer and the audience. 

The post What makes the best bagel & where to find one in NYC & Washington appeared first on Paths to Travel.

The restaurant is one of four preprties in the La Tanière Group, people behind the 2-star Tanière 3, 1-star ​​Légende, and Vieux Carré cocktail bar. This year, L’Orygine received a Michelin mention. 

Much like the rest of the restaurants in the La Tanière Group, L’Orygine is a beautiful property with a spacious dining room and garden-like enclosed terrace in Old Québec City. Diners have an option of ordering a la carte or enbarking on the Discovery tasting menu – a 6-course dining experience optionally paired with wine or cocktails. The signature cocktail pairing, which can be non-alcoholic, takes on a similar approach, using local, seasonal ingredients, perfectly matched to each course. A healthy portion of the wine selections are also local, further reinforcing the idea of staying close to home.

The mastermind behind the menu is Chief and co-owner Sabrina Lemay, who brings her years of culinary experience to this kitchen with constant passion and a uniquely creative eye. 

On the left, Chief and co-owner or L’Orygine, Sabrina Lemay. On the right and below: interior images of the restaurant. Images courtesy of L’Orygine.

Kateryna Topol: Thank you for taking the time to speak with me, Sabrina, let’s start at the beginning – when did your culinary interests first start?

Sabrina Lemay: At a young age, three or four years old, I always loved cooking with my mother. When I was a little kid I told everyone I wanted to be a chef and a businesswoman. Mix them both. My mom is a really great cook, she always let me play in the kitchen without any boundaries. So not only with Play-Doh, but real food, [fostering this love of cooking].

* * * 

Sabrina did a year of culinary school and upon completion enrolled into a program with Fairmon Hotel which allowed her to learn and travel. For a month and a half she staged at Restaurant Marcon, a 3-star restaurant in Saint-Bonnet-le-Froid, France. The travel expereinces made her realise she was more interested in restaurants, not hotels, so she returned to Québec and joined Saint Amour, in Old Quebec, working her way up to sous chef. 

SL: After that, I spent two years working at La Tanière, where I met my future business partner. Two years later, I was looking for a change and went to work at Le Baluchon in the country. My job was to [revive the restaurant] and put it on the culinary map. After that I returned to Québec City and worked at a family restaurant, Les Sales Gosses, it is closed now sadly. 

It was a small restaurant, maybe 60 seats, and it was a really fun lunch and dinner menu, no boundaries for where food comes from so I was able to cook with exoctic spices and so on. I stayed in touch with my contact at  La Tanière. They were looking to move the restaurant to a new location, which is where Tanière 3 is now, and needed a concept for upstairs, where  L’Orygine is. At the time, I didn’t want to be a part of anything big, because I wanted to travel, but they asked if I wanted to make vegan and vegetable-forward food. In Québec, you don’t see that a lot, so I got butterflies thinking about it. The boundary they set was not to use anything outside of Canada, focusing on Québec, so it was a great challenge. We are celebrating our seventh anniversary this year. 

KT: L’Orygine, it’s not fully vegan though …

SL: No, but there is a lot of vegan-friendly food, I don’t like to exclude people because of their dietary restrictions. At L’Orygine we want to include everyone at the same table. We have a 50/50 split menu, vegan and omnivore, they go hand-in-hand. There are a lot of options for both, and when we have to work with allergy restrictions, we embrace it. We like to work with less butter and less cream, to be able to serve more people with allergies but without compromising the taste.

KT: How would you describe your menu?

SL: We have our own garden, all of the produce comes from farms within 200 km radius, our mushrooms are grownd downtown by La Botte Champignonnière. I like to work with vegetables and so all menus start with one [seasonal] vegetable, we cook a lot with the season. I love to work with nostalgia, I think we can reach everybody with a souvenir of food, play with the available ingredients, play with food. I don’t push to far with … spectacular, I prefer comfort food, like food in my home, and like the idea of changing people’s mind. I like having a client who is apprehensive about vegan food and will leave our restauranting thinking “wow, that was amazing,” and will be open to eating vegan over meat. 

KT: You call it homey comfort food, but all of your dishes are pretty spectacular when it comes to plating 

SL: [Laughs] For me it is simple, but because we are at La Tanière, which is a big show when it comes to food, we [elevate our food as well]. I think for me, it’s more about art and soul, everything on the plate is there for a reason, not just to look good. I know we eat with our eyes but I think everything should taste good too. 

I love to use the same ingredient in two-to-three ways. Let’s look at leeks for example, from the bottom, to the white, and the green. A lot of people think only the white is good, and everything else is trash or compos. I think everything on the vegetable or the meat can have a second or third life. We will use all of the ingredients, but maybe not on the same menu. Sometimes we’ll keep a lot of green of the leeks to dry and use them in pasta two seasons later.

We try to have less waste in the kitchen, to waste almost nothing.

L’Orygine summer 2025 menu. Images by Kateryna Topol.

KT: That’s really cool and something I’ve been thinking about a lot at home as well, like when it comes to carrot stems and making carrot pesto instead of just tossing them 

SL: Yes, it’s true. Like, when it is crab time (it’s a really small window) we do a menu of all crab, from amuse-bouche to dessert – all crab. It’s a little bit funky, but we love it so much. We’ll use the shell, dry it, and put it on salt and on the menu. So we really use the whole thing.

KT: Coming into the winter season, Canadian vegetable availability is quite limited, do you pickle and so on? 

SL: Yes, we do a lot of conserves, freezing and drying fruits, a lot of vegetable powder that we keep from summer. But we also have access to a greenhouse for tomatoes, peppers, mushrooms, and so on. There are a lot of fun ingredients in Québec and we use some root vegetables like beets, rutabaga, potatoes… But we need to be creative, because an abundance is not there.

We have a partnership with a farmer, about 45 minutes out of the city, they grow a lot of herbs in the greenhouse. I love fresh herbs in my dishes and now we can have chives and tarragon, kale and spinach, it’s really great. 

KT: How often do you change the menu?

SL: Four times per year, and sometimes in the summer we’ll have a pop-up menu or change certain ingredients throughout the season, like peaches and melons. 

KT: You have cocktail pairings available for Discovery menu, do you work with the bar team on those creations?

SL: Absolutely. When I do the menu, we sit down and do a bit of a brainstorm, discussing the ingredients. So if you eat the lobster, for the non-alcoholic drinkthey use the green of the fennel, we juice it and they put it in the cocktail. We do a lot of things like that. On the autumn menu, it’s apricots. There’s a small window of apricots in Ontario, like two weeks, so we buy a lot, we dry them to use as a garnish on the cocktail… We also work together with the sommelier, they pair the wine to our food, and sometimes they bring wine that they want to work with, and we do dishes to pair with the wine. 

KT: You mentioned you used to travel a lot, do you still? 

SL: I have a three-year-old girl now and the restaurant, so traveling is a bit difficult. My last trip was to Argentina, I do miss it, going with my bike, my backpack, my plane ticket, and just go. Maybe soon.

* * *

Learn more and book dinner reservations at lorygine.com.

Non-alcoholic cocktail pairring for L’Orygine’s summer 2025 menu. Images by Kateryna Topol.

The post L’Orygine’s Chief Sabrina Lemay speaks to her culinary approach & sustainability in the kitchen appeared first on Paths to Travel.

Unlike a traditional walking tour, FTB tours are self-guided. Created by two food-loving friends, Emily and Michelle, the company aims to facilitate the real taste of Mallorca “without the research, the hassle, or the tourist traps”. 

Emily and Michelle spent years exploring the culinary scene, getting to know chefs, and building up connections. The current offerings are Wine & Dine and Brunch & Ride (on the e-scooter). The concept is simple: Emily and Michelle plan your itinerary and make timed reservations in the city’s best restaurants. Each visit includes a food and beverage pairing, showcasing the island’s true culinary essence as local chefs envision it. Each experience comes with a guided tour, accessible through a web app, with a clear map. A selection of cultural points of interest with historic annotations are noted along the way. 

The tour is incomparable to the traditional walking food tour, not only because it is self-guided, but mostly because it takes you to new and elevated restaurants, offering a unique experience for each visit. 

This article might contain affiliate links. Read the disclaimer about affiliate links & PR gifting here.
This experience was hosted by Food Tours Balearics, who did not review or approve this story.

Vermuteria La Rosa: Russian potato salad with anchovies, served with an Iberian ham croquette and blue cheese, a spinach croquette, and house-made vermouth. Images by Kateryna Topol.

Decision-making behind the scenes

Emily and Michelle have built a network of restaurant partners and keep a close eye on all new openings in the city. “When a new spot opens, we’re usually among the first to try it and see if it fits our standards,” Michelle added. The duo try every dish with the restaurant’s chef, who might even create a custom dish for the visit. The dishes chosen typically reflect that restaurant’s speciality, “if a place is famous for its meat, we won’t serve dessert there”.

“We aim to start the tour with lighter fish or vegetarian dishes, have a more filling meat dish in the middle, and finish with dessert,” Michelle shared. The order of the restaurants is based on their capacity to receive guests that specific evening and the logistics of getting easily from one place to another. Naturally, this means that today’s tour might not be the same as the tour tomorrow.

When selecting restaurant partners, Emily and Michelle look for three key qualities: excellent and welcoming service, willingness to share the story behind the palace and the dish, and the quality of food. “We’re not doing a standard tapas tour, so the food needs to be creative, high quality, and part of a more gourmet experience,” Michelle stressed.

The points of interest stops are chosen based on the restaurant route, “Palma is full of stories, so there’s something interesting to mention around every corner”.

The Wine & Dine Tour of Palma Old Town

The Wine & Dine Tour of Palma Old Town took us away from the tourist centre and into the neighbourhoods. Our tour started at La Rosa Vermutería, steps away from Plaça del Mercat. La Rosa is a vermouth taberna with an old-fashioned vibe, framed with subway-tiled walls and curved brick arches. The walls are stacked with preserves, drying vegetables, and cured meat in that uniquely odd manner where food becomes interior decor. On today’s menu is a Russian potato salad with anchovies, served with an Iberian ham croquette and blue cheese, and a spinach croquette for contrast. House-made red vermouth over ice is served as a beverage pairing. 

Further away from the centre, past La Misericòrdia, we find L’ànima Restaurant in an airy plaza. It is still early in the day, so at first, the co-owner Adrià Salas Rotger is able to give us his complete attention, recommending wine (Els Vinyerons Pregadéu Rosé) and sharing insights about the business. On the menu are roasted lettuce hearts with escalivada and falafel. Spicy olive olives hit the table first with the wine, in case we got there a little peckish.

The next stop takes us to Palma’s brand new 5-star hotel Concepció by Nobis, a Michelin guide hotel with a beautiful restaurant, Xalest. Led by an award-winning chef, Xema Álvarez, Xalest offers a sharing menu of tapas, pintxos, appetisers, and entreés to showcase not only Mallorcan food by the Spanish way of dining. An artfully plated pork cheek, served on a vegetable puree, is paired with a generous glass of Spanish red wine, neatly wrapping up the savoury portion of this experience. To complete the meal, we head to El Neo for a sweet treat, taking us back closer to the city centre.

Xalest: Pork cheek served on a vegetable puree. Images by Kateryna Topol.

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We met Joan from Nofrills Excursions Mallorca in the plaza near the Royal Palace of La Almudaina, surrounded by street vendors and caricature artists seated in the palm tree shade. Equipped with a bottomless backpack (water? napkin? I got you), Joan handed each of us a map of the route for the Foodie tour in Palma de Mallorca. Having taken a brief look at the map, everyone promptly tucked it away in their pocket and proceeded to blindly follow the orange t-shirt through sunny Palma.

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Royal Palace of La Almudaina, Palma de Mallorca. All images by Kateryna Topol.

Joan has been hosting food tours for ten years, “last year, I took 2,000 people on a tour,” he proudly announced. Throughout the day, he swiftly switched between English and Spanish, occasionally translating various narratives to German for a family in the group. Mallorca uses three languages: Spanish (Castilian), Catalan, and Mallorquí (local Catalan dialect), but most people speak at least some English. With direct flights from most of the UK, this part of Spain has been a popular tourism destination for decades, attracting hospitality workers from around the world. This part of Spain is where I’ve spoken the least Spanish. 

Weaving through the city streets, Joan shared various pieces of historic knowledge, occasionally gathering us in a tight circle to share a story. “See this building,” he points our attention to Can Forteza Rey, “it looks like an Antoni Gaudí building, doesn’t it? It is actually the work of his student, Lluís Forteza Rey”. Gaudí’s influence is very prominent in Palma’s modernist architecture, so this was not the first architectural work of art we came across on this day.

Empanadas from Ca na Cati Pastisseria, Palma de Mallorca.

Having situated us by Palma City Hall, Joan ran across the street to bring us the special treat: Empanadas Mallorquinas. This round pastry, made with soft crumbly dough, encloses a delicious combination of jamón ibérico (Iberico ham) and a mix of vegetables in a perfectly rounded little pocket. The dish is typically served on the last day of Easter and requires an extensive amount of labour to produce, “altogether it takes eleven hours to make this,” Joan paused for effect. Ours came from Pastisseria Cort (Ca na Cati Pastisseria), “best empanadas in Palma,” he pointed at the corner shop.

We looped through Carrer de Sant Miquel pedestrian street multiple times, “watch your bags on this street,” Joan patted his backpack. The first sit-down portion of the tour took us to Omare, where the team greeted us by promptly pouring wine for the table, some of which they produce themselves. One by one, tapas plates began to hit the table: tortilla Española (Spanish egg omlet), croquetas de pollo (chicken croquettes), followed by octopus with potatoes. And for the grand finale, a charcuterie board with local cheeses, grapes, and jamón ibérico. Gasps of excitement echoed across the table at the sight of the sharing plate. 

“Bon profit!” he held up his wine glass, “that’s how you say bon appétit in Catalan”.

For the next half hour, we were instructed to explore Mercat de l’Olivar, solo. My initial confusion dissolved as soon as my eyes met the open market. Fresh produce stalls, cheese vendors, multiple ibérico ham counters with rows and rows of ham hanging from the ceiling. All the brightly lit up pintxos stations, and quick service bars were calling my name. Some tour attendees chose to shop. Others, having quickly toured the market, found a spot between the locals to enjoy a quick glass of sparkling wine and absorb the vibes of the casual afternoon market magic. The free time was well justified. 

Looping back around and into a narrow alleyway, we made our way to Orxateria I Xocolateria Ca’n Joan de s’Aigo for a sweet surprise. This intricately decorated cafe has a rich local history, both cultural and culinary, but that bit, you will have to hear from Joan. On the menu as a parting sweet note is ensaïmada – a light, sugared pastry made with reduced lard from ibérico. Yes, it sounds weird, but it is absolutely delicious. The pastry is accompanied by a cold glass of “almond milk ice,” something you can only get here, in this shop.

Like most food tour groups, we all got to know each other a little better. Joan’s new family portrait was taken shortly after, under the one-thousand-year-old olive tree in Olivera de Cort. 

Vegetables at Mercat de l’Olivar on each side and the thousand-year-old-olive tree at the centre.

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The culinary diversity of the country is driven by its neighbours (Belgium, France and Germany) and the impressive cultural diversity created through immigration. There are over 160 nationalities living in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, and so naturally, the culinary influences are plenty.

Historically, however, Luxembourgish cuisine has heavy French and German influences leaning into casual meals and intricate baked goods. Our first stop on the 3-hour Food Tour: Uncover the Tastes of Luxembourg is Pâtisserie Hoffmann. This traditional bakery chain is a city staple offering a wide range of baked goods and desserts. We are here for a bite of Rieslingspaschtéit, a classic flaky pastry filled with Riesling (wine) jelly and pâté invented by Pierre Kaempff in 1928. A small circular opening at the top serves as a sneak peek for your first bite. Today in certain bakeries you will also find tourte au Pinot Noir made with local Pinot Noir, and you guessed it, pâté.

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Rieslingspaschtéit served with a side salad and as a whole at Pâtisserie Hoffmann.
Below: Crémant and cured ham at Brasserie Guillaume. All images by Kateryna Topol.

A walk through the city takes us to another local staple, Brasserie Guillaume. The restaurant specialises in seafood, but we sit down for a taste of Éisleker ham, in-house slow-cured local ham. Served with a highly coveted glass of the Alice Hartmann crémant (or riesling) and fresh bread, the ham is surprisingly tender and flavourful with the freshness you can only get with in-house cured meats. Luxembourgish love Crémant and produce plenty of it in the country.

Pivoting through the city streets, Debbie speaks about local culture, history, culinary influences, and shares shopping suggestions. Kaempff-Kohler, another popular chain operated by the descendants of the Rieslingspaschtéit inventor, is our next stop. These bakery and shop shelves are filled with fresh and packaged sweets, jarred pâtés and terrines, bottled soups, and caviar. Kaempff-Kohler is a great spot for a seated lunch break or takeaway, and the City Centre location has a lovely patio ideal for people watching. Our culinary discovery includes a bite of a delicate ham and egg quiche.

Above: Quiche at Kaempff-Kohler, below: Chocolats Genaveh Luxembourg.

For the sweet break, we duck into Chocolats Genaveh Luxembourg, a family-owned and operated chocolate shop. The friendly staff bring out a tray of hot chocolate cup and chocolate pairing, all three decadently delicious and rich.

Luxembourgish cherish their lunch time, in fact, lunch is the biggest meal of the day. Ënnert de Steiler is a beloved traditional lunch spot for home-cooked hearty meals. It is the oldest bar in the city, spread across multiple floors. On our lunch menu are Kniddelen, local speciality dumplings paired with a sausage. These dense, loosely formed dumplings are served in a bacon cream sauce offset by the Wäinzoossiss (Luxembourgish sausage) in mustard sauce. The dish might not be the most attractive to the eye but it is packed with flavour.

Sufficiently satiated, we parted with Debbie, taking mental notes for many more places to visit and many more delicacies to try.

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Book directly on sightseeing.lu or with Get Your Guide.

Kniddelen (dumplings) served with Wäinzoossiss (sausage) at the Ënnert de Steiler.
Below: Quiche at Kaempff-Kohler

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This experience was hosted by The Tour Guy who did not review or approve this story. 

The Tour Guy is a tour aggregator company focused on unforgettable experiences hosted by passionate locals. The company partners with vetted tour operators in a wide range of countries offering up in one place for easy search. Our tour choice this time around was the Ultimate Lisbon Food & Wine Walking Tour, operated by Inside Lisbon. 

Rossio Square, located in the heart of the city, is the main meeting point for tours in Lisbon. Here, a friendly face in a blue t-shirt will greet you and sort participants into smaller groups. The maximum group size for this tour is 14, ours was smaller making for a more intimate experience. From here onward we follow Phillip, a knowledgeable local guide and one of the members of the selection committee (let’s call it that). Inside Lisbon team carefully chooses vendors they visit making sure that the food is authentically Portuguese and made ethically in-house by Portuguese people. 

This culinary adventure took us around the city centre in a wavy loop with six, mostly seated stops. As we walked along the busy streets Phillip shared insights about the local culinary scene, pointing out the authentic stops from the touristy traps, and sprinkling in inside jokes, fun facts, and local idioms.

The whole trinity of Portuguese cuisine is olive oil, garlic, and bay leaves.

~ Phillip, Inside Lisbon Tours

“This is one of the two best Bifanas in the city,” he stopped in front of the Solar da Madalena’s windows. This typical fast food sandwich is made with slow simmered beef served on a fluffy bun. The best Bifanas are juicy and tender, naturally requiring quite a few napkins to stop the juice from running down your elbows. Later that week I purchased one from a food truck at a conference centre, it was dry and chewy, sending me down a memory lane to this first bite. 

With the early moments of twilight setting in our group gathered on a terrace for Port and cheese. Portugal is the biggest wine consumer per capita. According to the Decanter, in 2023 Portugal consumed 61.7 litres of wine per person. That’s roughly 82 bottles of wine per person. Here wine is like holly water, you can and should have a glass of red at lunch. Our pairing includes a traditional cheese (sheep/goat) and a glass of 5-year-old Tawny Port from Ferreira Porto, a family-operated wine house founded by Dona Antónia in the 19th century. A bottle of it travelled for another three weeks through Europe with me to find its rightful place in my minibar.

Lisbon is one of those places where you can dine well for €30 and then spend six times as much for cocktails and appetizers around the corner. The conversations naturally touched upon the most authentic traditional places, those where the blue-collar folks eat, the bodegas (tavern). Tendinha Tavern, back in Rossio Square, is one of the oldest in the city, and the only one to have survived the great fire. The sandwich board outside spotlights their current features: €3.50 for a glass of Vinho Verde, €2 for Bolinhos de Bacalhau (fishcakes), and €4 for a small beer. Much like the custard tarts fishcakes can be found everywhere and the cost of them will range from a euro to €7 if you get one in a fancy hotel. The price of the fishcake naturally does not reflect its quality. 

Here in Tendinha, the fishcakes are perfectly balanced (fish to potato ratio). Many other traditional Portuguese dishes can be seen on the menu behind the bar. Our group packed in at the back of the tiny tavern, admiring the green subway-tiled walls while Phillip explained how the fishcake was made, pouring the wine from behind the counter. “This place is cool, we’ll need to come back,” I thought to myself.

After a brief stop at the Ginjinha bar where we all tried this traditional cherry liqueur gleefully, our guide walked us along a busy restaurant strip to one of their new partners, Inhaca, to taste the Arroz de Marisco (fish rice). Settled at a long table we shared this traditional seafood dish family style, scooped table side from a steaming pot. With more Vinho Verde, of course.

The evening concluded cheerfully at another harvest table with, let’s call it a red wine nightcap. As we piled in around the table plates of olives, lupin beans, cheese, and other delicacies filled the space between the wine pitchers. The main course, however, is Chouriço (chorizo). Two plates of sausages in hand Phillip situated himself at the back of the room. In mere moments both plates were set on fire causing a wave of astonishment around the table. 

Glass after glass moving plates around the group we all became quick friends. Just one of the many ways food brings people together. 

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Traveling Spoon is a women-owned sustainable travel company focused on hyper-local culinary experiences. Having realized they had a shared craving for authentic food experience co-founders Aashi Vel and Stephanie Lawrence came up with the concept that addressed both sides of the market: offering unique experiences to travellers and opportunities for locals to earn new income and share their skills with the world. Today Traveling Spoon operates in 233 cities across 70 countries from Brazil to Ethiopia. Naturally, all hosts are vetted to ensure the safety of both parties. 

Our mission is to find you the most meaningful and memorable cultural experiences

~ Steph & Aashi

This article might contain affiliate links. Read the disclaimer about affiliate links & PR gifting here. 
This experience was hosted by Traveling Spoon who did not review or approve this story. 

“I was thinking we could eat outside” Defne pointed to the enclosed outdoor garden. It was a particularly sunny day and the idea of having lunch on a sunny terrace gave me a fresh surge of energy after an overnight flight. Your local experience (group or private) can involve a meal, a cooking lesson or a market tour. I opted for a Traditional Portuguese Cooking Class with a Local. 

My host, Defne, is a skilled home cook from Turkey who made Portugal her home a few years back. Both cultures are very food oriented with quite a few similarities in ingredients and cooking techniques. The meal we are having today is Caldeirada de Peixe (a Portuguese fisherman’s stew) paired with Salada de Grão-de-Bico (Turkish chickpea salad) accompanied with cheese, olives, bread, and a bottle of Vinho Verde (Portuguese wine). When curating this menu Defne experimented quite a bit looking for authentic dishes that represent both of her identities while ensuring that the recipes are simple and easy to replicate at home. “I’ll email you the full recipe after,” she commented while layering potatoes at the bottom of the pot.

As Defne works her way through the preparation sharing instructions and techniques (“… salt the fish 3 hours ahead of time”) we talk about food culture and the way it brings people together. Cuisine influences, be it through flavour or cooking techniques, are a constant thread of inspiration for people around the world “and so here in Portuguese dishes, I see influences and similarities with Turkey,” Defne motions with a spoon. I briefly flashed to learning about Parisian favourites and where they came from before becoming French staples on a food tour of Montmartre. 

Defne always had a special relationship with food and enjoys hosting dining experiences. Upon arrival, she briefly attempted hosting her own experiences but Traveling Spoon proved to be a great partner. To her, food is the glue that binds us and having shared a meal with more than one stranger over the years I tend to agree with that sentiment deeply. 

Having left the stew behind to continue building flavour in the pot we descended into the garden exchanging travel anecdotes and banter about all things food over salad and appetizers. Defne’s apartment is located in a very multicultural part of Lisbon, something she found particularly endearing about this location. I asked questions about the city welcoming the fish stew to the table. She talked about her favourite restaurants and art galleries before introducing me to Ginjinha (sour cherry liquor) and dessert (Arroz de Doce – rice pudding). I left full and inspired to continue visiting strangers in other countries. 

* * *

A few weeks later over cocktails food and travel naturally came up. “I just want to learn how to cook good pasta from an Italian nonna,” a friend of a friend (new friend ✓) chuckled. “Let me tell you about Traveling Spoon,” I leaned in as a volunteer ambassador. 

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