Food, wine and life!
Two wonderful days in Argentina experiencing the great food and
culture! I like to think I am somewhat
of a foodie – I love cooking, eating and celebrating life through the
senses! So I spent Friday at cooking
school with a fun group of people from all over the world, learning how to make
empanadas, mate’, and a decadent caramel and chocolate sweet. And of course, drinking some wonderful Malbec
wines from Mendoza to finish it off. It
was a fabulous experience and one that I am glad I didn’t miss. I’d had rather a big night the evening
before, being wined and dined by some friends and professional colleagues, and
I certainly didn’t deny myself the excellent food and wine offerings
there. But of course, everything has a
price and I admit the head wasn’t mine the next day. So I almost begged off going to school. But ever the determined one who hates to
fail….I tackled the subway with my pathetic Spanish and dragged myself into school
for the day….and for my efforts, thoroughly enjoyed myself. Of course, the body then had to be thrashed a
little in the gym as I am convinced I am trailing some additional sizes than I
started with!
Then Sunday was spent out on the ranch, or estancia as they are
called here. The estancia I visited is
called the Estancia Santa Susana and is located in an area called Los Cardales
in the country outside Buenos Aires. The
ranch was established in the early 1800s by an Irishman and he named the
property ‘Susana’ after his wife. The
property is around 3000 acres today but was once much bigger. Unfortunately, as is the case in many
countries, agriculture is not managing to pay the bills so between selling off
land and transforming the business into a tourism venture, the family are able
to maintain their links to the land and share with others their passion for
Argentina. A wee bit of horse riding,
learning the tango and molongo, and of course, more food and Argentine wine
were the order of the day. This time
though, a variety of BBQ’d and smoked meats cooked over this long pit of hot
coals was on offer. There is an amazing
amount of meat eaten in this country and they eat everything and I mean
everything. Apparently about 60kgs a
year per person!! I am stunned that they
aren’t all dying of heart disease! But
the upshot of all that meat….some wonderful leather products!
Anyway, in my travels I have met some really interesting people
nonetheleast of which is a gentleman who teaches literature and philosophy at
the University of Buenos Aires. He has
coined the phrase here “gastrosophy” which challenges the more European
“gastronomy”. “Gastro” of course means
of the stomach, and “onomy” means law whereas “Sophia” means something like of
the heart and soul. So his philosophy is
that food should be experienced according to the heart and soul and not
according to some ‘law of the stomach’.
I like his thinking!!!!
Two wonderful days in Argentina experiencing the great food and
culture! I like to think I am somewhat
of a foodie – I love cooking, eating and celebrating life through the
senses! So I spent Friday at cooking
school with a fun group of people from all over the world, learning how to make
empanadas, mate’, and a decadent caramel and chocolate sweet. And of course, drinking some wonderful Malbec
wines from Mendoza to finish it off. It
was a fabulous experience and one that I am glad I didn’t miss. I’d had rather a big night the evening
before, being wined and dined by some friends and professional colleagues, and
I certainly didn’t deny myself the excellent food and wine offerings
there. But of course, everything has a
price and I admit the head wasn’t mine the next day. So I almost begged off going to school. But ever the determined one who hates to
fail….I tackled the subway with my pathetic Spanish and dragged myself into school
for the day….and for my efforts, thoroughly enjoyed myself. Of course, the body then had to be thrashed a
little in the gym as I am convinced I am trailing some additional sizes than I
started with!
Then Sunday was spent out on the ranch, or estancia as they are
called here. The estancia I visited is
called the Estancia Santa Susana and is located in an area called Los Cardales
in the country outside Buenos Aires. The
ranch was established in the early 1800s by an Irishman and he named the
property ‘Susana’ after his wife. The
property is around 3000 acres today but was once much bigger. Unfortunately, as is the case in many
countries, agriculture is not managing to pay the bills so between selling off
land and transforming the business into a tourism venture, the family are able
to maintain their links to the land and share with others their passion for
Argentina. A wee bit of horse riding,
learning the tango and molongo, and of course, more food and Argentine wine
were the order of the day. This time
though, a variety of BBQ’d and smoked meats cooked over this long pit of hot
coals was on offer. There is an amazing
amount of meat eaten in this country and they eat everything and I mean
everything. Apparently about 60kgs a
year per person!! I am stunned that they
aren’t all dying of heart disease! But
the upshot of all that meat….some wonderful leather products!
Anyway, in my travels I have met some really interesting people
nonetheleast of which is a gentleman who teaches literature and philosophy at
the University of Buenos Aires. He has
coined the phrase here “gastrosophy” which challenges the more European
“gastronomy”. “Gastro” of course means
of the stomach, and “onomy” means law whereas “Sophia” means something like of
the heart and soul. So his philosophy is
that food should be experienced according to the heart and soul and not
according to some ‘law of the stomach’.
I like his thinking!!!!
