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Top Ten MealsGood food is an important element of all Inntravel holidays, and the standard of the cuisine is for us a major consideration when selecting hotels. By good food we do not necessarily mean top gastronomy - tasty country fare is often just as good, if not better. Here we list some of the most memorable meals we've been treated to on recent trips.
Often, as is proved by our Top Ten, the best meals are the simplest. The Hotel Bella Tola in St-Luc (also featured on the Towards the Matterhorn Walk) does a superb raclette, for example. Owner Claude Buchs, a wonderfully enthusiastic host, supervises the feast, constantly topping up guests' plates with deliciously gooey melted cheese, into which you dip cooked potatoes from a seemingly bottomless bag in the middle of the table. It's hard to beat. For authentic country cooking, few hotels can rival Gregorio and Mari Lupe's Casona d'Alevia on the From the Picos to the Sea Walk. While they talk to guests, the cook excels in the kitchen, producing light, well-crafted dishes of superb fresh produce. During one stay a staff member was treated to tender rabbit fillet, with wild mushroom crêpes for her vegetarian companion. Outstanding. The breakfasts, too, are excellent, the delicious pastries once earning the Casona a mention in the national El País newspaper.
France is justly renowned for its superb cuisine, and you more often than not eat very well even at the humblest of establishments. The 2-star Le Buffet in Isbergues was thus named because the building was once the railway station canteen. The food served nowadays in the elegant restaurant could not be further removed from station fare, however, and is fully deserving of its Michelin bib gourmand, an accolade which recognises first-rate food at every-day prices. It's not just Inntravel staff who enjoy the food here – post-holiday questionnaires praise the restaurant highly. With dishes such as meunière de turbot sur un risotto bouquet d'asperges (turbot cooked in butter and lemon on a bed of asparagus risotto) on the menu, it's hard to resist temptation. Our To the Pont du Gard Walk has a strong emphasis on gastronomy. Arguably the best hotel on the route is Le Castellas in Collias, and two very memorable dishes spring to mind. La symphonie de tomate was a work of genius, a hymn to the simple tomato, prepared in every way possible and served on a single plate, while the wonderfully presented tulipe au chocolat (chocolate tulip!) was simply heavenly. The picnics here also deserve a mention; the chef will never let you go hungry. On one walk a staff member opened her rucksack to find (to her great delight!) hunks of bread, hard boiled eggs, asparagus and tomato (with a vinaigrette dressing provided in a small bottle), cheese, dates and dried apricots, as well as a huge tub of strawberries which she struggled to finish.
The most extensive breakfast buffet that staff members have ever encountered was at the Torre del Visco in Aragón on the Mountains of Southern Catalonia Walk. Served at the large table in the kitchen, it was also one of the freshest – the cooks pull steaming sponge cakes out of the oven, squeeze orange juice and cut slices of ham while you look on in wonderment. Faced with such a vast array of goodies – mountain cheeses, cottage cheese, ham, toasted bread, pan con tomate (bread with tomato), doughnuts, membrillo (quince jelly), dried fruit, fresh fruit, home-made jams – it can be hard to know where to start. Not that there is any rush, however, as it is not unknown for guests to linger at the table until noon! Breakfasts at the Rançonnière in Crépon are also worthy of note because of the huge choice of fresh fruit, melt-in-the-mouth pastries, bread, yoghurts, eggs, home-made jams and freshly squeezed juices on offer. Once more, it is all beautifully presented and wonderfully fresh, with not a stale croissant in sight. Finally, the key to a really good picnic is the spot. The last day of the Collioure to Cadaqués Walk takes you across the rugged Cape Creus peninsula. After a refreshing swim, sit on the rocks with your feet in the Mediterranean and eat a sandwich with manchego cheese and fresh tomato (and maybe drink a glass or two of wine, 'cut' in the Catalan fashion with some mineral water!) while you enjoy the warm sunshine and magnificent views. |
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As you would expect of a hotel whose chef used to work in a 5-star hotel and is very well-known in the region, dinners at the Molí del Mig on the 
Possibly
the best pasta dish any member of Inntravel staff has ever tasted was at the Hotel Picchio Nero,
featured on our 
Dinners
at Son Mercadal on the