Every year around this time, I pinch myself and remember how lucky I am, as I take stock of the places I’ve been over the past 12 months. Field research is one of the core principles at Trufflepig and in every region we plan, planners like me spend huge amounts of time trying to better […]
It’s genuinely hard to stay concise when you’re a full-blown mythology nerd, but here we go. I’ve been obsessed with mythology since I was a kid, the Greeks first (obviously), then the Norse. The Romans… well, I treated them like a Greek reboot with planet names, and I stand by it. So stumbling into a […]
I wake up. It’s still dark outside even though the clock reads 8am. I let the sound of the rain hitting my window gently soothe me back to sleep until day breaks. Things feel slower on this Monday in November, and I’ll gladly indulge if it means staying in my warm bed for a few […]
‘Tis the Yuletide season once again, but while some may have visions of sugar plums dancing in their heads, I’m thinking about fire, pageantry, sheep and the winter solstice in Portugal’s hinterland. It’s been something of a hobby of mine for a few years now to get up to the Tras-os-Montes and Alto Douro regions […]
If there’s a city where history still tastes good, it’s Porto. Stand on the Ribeira quayside at sunset with the old Port lodges glowing on the Gaia side, and it hits you: this city was built on a drink. A sweet, ruby-dark, barrel-aged drink that once sailed the world and still defines Portugal today. But […]
Driving south from my home base in Jerez, I naturally like to put some flamenco on the radio. Flamenco is that uniquely Spanish art form where, encapsulated within the syncopated rhythms, electrifying guitar, lyrics, melismatic wails and cries, is the history of Andalusia itself: Phoenicians, Greeks, Romans, Jews, Muslims and Gypsies, who all contributed their […]
There is Mallorca, and just beyond, there is Mallorca. Rarely have I visited a place that presents such a duplicity between its reputation and surface (overcrowded “package” tourism”) and what you can actually find beyond the beaches, teeming resorts, and yes, the maddening crowds. And I’m here to tell you friends that the Mallorca beyond […]
I’m writing to you from a small island in the Andaman Sea. The floor-to-ceiling windows fold away completely, blurring the line between inside and out. There’s a boulder not twenty metres offshore that I swam to yesterday. Now, at high tide, it’s barely breaking the surface and a single bird is perched on its tip, […]
November, not everyone’s favourite month, as it marks the beginning of shorter days and dark skies, the slip from fall into winter, and for many a sense of dread. Here in Canada, winter means snow, hockey, ice and the opportunity to explore the outdoors in a different way. In England, winter is typically rain and […]
Food is not just sustenance in Italy — it’s language, lineage, theatre, conviviality, and the essential ingredient in the national identity. When people say Italian cuisine — often with that reverent little pause — they usually mean the familiar trinity of pizza, pasta, and meatballs. The images it conjures are cinematic: nonnas in flour-dusted aprons, […]
Para todo mal, mezcal. Para todo bien, también. “For all that’s wrong, mezcal. For all that’s right, mezcal too.” It’s one of those Mexican sayings that just makes sense. There’s another one in Oaxaca that says mezcal isn’t drunk, it’s kissed. You take small sips, let it roll over your tongue, feel the smoke and […]
There’s nothing I love more than a snoop and a nosy around a grocery store in a foreign country. To me, this is the litmus test of a country’s true grit, and the quickest way to tap into how it ticks. What fresh produce is out, what brands do they carry, what else can I […]
You know that feeling when you’re coming down with something? That specific brand of misery where your body aches, your throat feels like sandpaper, and even your hair hurts? You drag yourself through the day, and all you want is to be horizontal, crawl into bed and disappear under a mountain of blankets. But first, […]
Last summer I returned to a place from my childhood; a remote beach three hours north of Maputo, Mozambique. On one of the first nights, we had a huge spread of food on the counter. We had just finished shallow frying some shrimp beignets, Rissóis de Camarāo, and as I took my first bite, I […]
Growing up, one dish that was synonymous with my Filipino family’s birthdays or holiday gatherings was pancit canton. Pancit canton is a hearty, stir fry noodle dish packed with crunchy vegetables, a sweet soya sauce base and mixed with delicious pork belly. My dad has perfected his pancit canton recipe after my grandmother passed it […]
When I moved to Lozère region of France a little over a year ago, I quickly learned that mushroom picking here isn’t a hobby, it’s a religion. The locals are proud of their land and fiercely protective of their secret spots. When I first mentioned that I liked picking mushrooms, I was met with polite […]