Geri's Food

Tag: Travel

  • Cum Laude, Faculty Club

    Cum Laude, Faculty Club

    How do we measure and celebrate the passing of time? What is meaningful and what do we treasure? How do we celebrate love? We counted the days, we counted the weeks, then we settled at counting the months… and only when the months became too many did we start counting the years. When someone special enters our life time together starts to exist in a different dimension. Everything is the same, yet all is different. The magic collision of love leaves traces in the universe, making every day a sparkle. We treasure every day. So much so that when we ask each other “How long are we together?” we know that a smile and “Not enough.” are the only real answers.

    Looking for a restaurant where we may celebrate the anniversary of that special moment when it all began is easy. With a selection of trendy, Michelin guide restaurants in Leuven, we know that there are plenty of places suiting the occasion. We are looking for a place with elegance and class. A place of delicious perfection that will sparkle with colour and sumptuous culinary tastes as much as our love for one another. A place of subtlety and intimacy, where we could enjoy each other’s company undisturbed by the noisy crowd. To our immense joy and delight Cum Laude, Faculty Club turned out to offer all of that and more.

    Set in the grounds of the medieval Grand Beguinage complex, the Faculty Club is an UNESCO world heritage site, offering business accommodation facilities in an unique historic building, equipped to high-tech modern standards. Cum Laude, is the Faculty Club restaurant. With strong ties to one of the oldest universities in Europe, the complex offers temporary stay to international professors and visiting guest speakers, as well as an array of business services. No wonder the restaurant carries both the academic and the business in its look and feel – a British Gentleman’s Club with an understated elegance and ease.

    Suiting the occasion, both our selection of food and wines have been spectacular. A masterful arrangement of trendy French-Belgian cuisine, showcasing modern cooking and fresh local ingredients at its best. The melody of a four course meal, plus the occasional chef complementary dishes, sang in harmonic perfection. Every bite a surprise. Every dish a taste-bud delight, served with impeccable finesse and attention. Enjoying our time together and the amazing meal, we ended the evening waltzing in the foyer, drawing a few wistful glances and an occasional smile. One more amazing evening in our “Not enough” story.

    Feature image source – Cum Laude.

  • Althoff Grandhotel Schloss Bensberg

    Althoff Grandhotel Schloss Bensberg

    In a fantastic location overlooking the bay of Cologne and providing wonderful views of Cologne Cathedral, the Althoff Grandhotel Schloss Bensberg certainly knows to fascinate all visitors – may it be on a business trip, a city break to Cologne, or a wellness weekend.

    Travelling abroad for a romanic weekend, always offers rest and enchanting adventures. Visiting, seeing and experiencing something new is as equally exciting as it is tasting something new.

    During our stay at the Althoff Grandhotel Schloss Bensberg, just a few kilometres out of Koln in Germany, we had the unexpected pleasure to feel transported to the Mediterranean for a moment by treating ourselves to a few indulgent hours in one of the acclaimed hotel’s restaurants, the Trattoria Enoteca.

    The warm colours, authentic aromas, finest ingredients and select wines together with perfect service provided a setting for an unforgettable visit. The food was surprisingly delightful, offering experience of the full range of the Italian cuisine — hearty dishes from the country kitchen, light dishes from the coast, and irresistible home-made pasta.

    Our Menu

    • Melanzana alla griglia, Grilles sizilian eggplant with kefir, saffron-vinaigrette and herbs
    • Ragu di costine brasate, Braised loin rip ragout with tomato, herbs and handmade Pappardelle
    • Cassata alla siciliana, Cassata siciliana, ricottacreme, pistachiobiscuit, dried fruit praline and orange flower granitée.

     

    We set our eyes on a simple menu, offering a burst of taste and an unmistakable touch of sophistication. Grilled aubergine salad, mouthwatering braised loin rip pasta, and a scientific experiment looking delicious dessert of ricotta creme and pistachio biscuit.

    Beautiful, surprising and delightful. Combined with the breathtaking hotel country setting, this 17th century meddival abbey transformation into a luxurious retreat, has all the recommendations it takes to entice the imagination and amaze every guest.

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  • The Birthplace of Aphrodite, Cyprus

    The Birthplace of Aphrodite, Cyprus

    They say that Aphrodite was born from the purest white foam of the sea, swept ashore by Zephyr’s gentle breeze. It is easy to forgive the naivety of the ancient Greeks, attributing the origin of this myth to a mere poetic inclination, but not until one sees the vast expanse of endless azure of the Mediterranean sea, teasingly changing colour from the lightest of blue to the darkest of green, feels the tender warmth of the soft wind caressing lightly the skin and wonders at the playful purity of the white foamy waves, curvaceously stretching along the Cypriot coast, that something steers deep inside the soul making the Aphrodite myth sound true.

    We were lucky to have our summer holiday hotel, right on top of the hill overlooking the birth place of the goddess of love – the Aphrodite Hills.

    The view was splendid… By day, an endless sea blue, barely distinguishing the line of the horizon. By evening, long and leisurely stretching shades of a dying sunset, bathing the scenery in passionate orange, deepest of pink, uncompromising red and conquering purple. By night, an open invitation to dive deep into a starry sky, gazing in mystified glee the endless folds of the universe.

    The food was surprisingly delicious… The Cypriot cuisine is a mixture of tastes combining Greek, Turkish, Middle East and Mediterranean flavors. One can hardly imagine spicing roasted potatoes with dusted cinnamon, but next to a hive-domed oven baked lamb, they taste simply delicious. My favourite dish however is a tender beef stew, every mouthful a seasoned perfection, served with a side dish of Village salad made of feta, tomatoes and cucumber, mint, coriander and celery leaves drizzled with freshly squeezed lemon juice and olive oil. Simply divine.

    The holiday was an unforgettable adventure… We played in the pool, we collected colourful stones on the seashore, we admired the sophisticated intricacy of the ancient archeological marble floors, we sung earthshaking spirituals echoing the radio music in the car, we zigzagged the mountains up to the gold-glittering Kikkos monastery, had a coffee in the hidden shades of local village bars on our way to Paphos.

    A holiday to remember. A land to visit. Delicious food to discover. Cyprus awaits.

  • Covent Garden, London

    Covent Garden, London

    Don’t you just love London? Its colours, its pace, its smiling, purposefully vibrant people? There are many places in the world where I can feel at home, but none like London, Covent Garden and partiqulary the British Museum. Every time I go back there I feel like coming home. Very strange indeed, as I have never lived in London. Yet, my heart is immediately awakened each time I step out of the train at the St. Pancras stations. A deep breath, a smile and my soul is ready to be enraptured, ready to be pleasantly surprised, ready to be re-born again.

    Even the market places resonate its radiant splendour. Whether you are walking on Portobello street or quietly sitting at Covent Garden – life is generously offering its exuberant display. Street performers, entertainers, opera singers, orchestra musicians, book sellers, ice-cream sellers, exotic spices, high-end boutiques, cider bear, paella, antiques, Apple Store, StarBucks cappuccino, Le Pain Quotidien morning breakfast…

    London has so much to offer. Still, I like it when out of the blue it is offering us the unexpected. The classic brand shops are always a delight, especially now with the fast approaching Christmas season, but small, local, street food markets are a hidden jewel, full of charm and cheer.

    We stumbled upon one in Kensington recently and this market was really special. It is one thing to sample classic street food, it is something entirely different to see a multi-cultural community standing side-by-side selling their pride home made products, chatting about family and politics and sharing a heart-warming smile.

    At one side was a man from Africa, confidently chopping coconuts and selling fresh coconut milk. At the other side was the Italian family selling sausages and salami. Next to them one could buy cheese from France, Moroccan flat pan cakes and chicken pastilla. Further on Portuguese custard tarts, English carrot cakes, French macaroons and Turkish delights. Shall we try the Moroccan flat pancakes or the Turkish kebab? What about the meringues or the Victorian sponge cake? Spoiled by choice we have the time of our life and when the stomachs are full and the feet tired of walking we reach out for a cab and we are heading happily home, grateful for the day, cherishing all exciting impressions and looking forward to embracing one more day in this amazing city.