Food Trail
Inspired by the golden age of travel, Shannon Harley embarks on a picturesque rail ToftrailJordanToft. journey through Europe’s best alt-food-cities with Bert's chef
Shannon Harley and Jordan Toft go on Europe’s majestic Grand Tour.
In the 17th century, The Grand Tour was a coming-of-age ritual for the wealthy British. Upon turning 21, aristocratic men (and occasionally women) would descend on continental Europe, perhaps with a chaperone or coachman in tow, to soak up the riches of Western civilisation on a broadly defined circuit that took in the art, music, architecture, style and culture of countries such as France, Italy, Belgium and Switzerland. After the advent of steam-powered ships and trains in the early 19th century, travel became more accessible, ending the exclusivity of global roaming. Today, heightened competition in the aviation industry, improved technology and the digital epoch have democratised travel even further, making a gap year, sabbatical, destination wedding or short jaunt overseas common for many.
While travel today may be via planes, trains and automobiles rather than horsedrawn cart, the romance of Europe’s golden age lives on in the well-trodden routes of the Grand Tour. Of course, airports are largely unavoidable for Aussies wanting to explore the continent, however once safely deposited in the Northern Hemisphere, the glory of a bygone era of travel and discovery is within reach. For this journey, I went back to the future, swapping airport queues for a create-your-own-adventure on the European rail network with a Eurail pass in my hand and Merivale chef Jordan Toft by my side. Winding through historic cities and painterly countryside, this trip highlights some of Europe’s lesser-known culinary capitals.
Our eight-day trip begins in Barcelona, Spain, where the bodega culture is alive and well thanks to a few gracefully ageing stalwarts, and meander along the rugged coastline of Catalonia’s Costa Brava, sampling wild foods and native wine varietals. We cross the Pyrenees into France and track northeast until we reach Lyon for a pant-splitting dinner in a traditional bouchon, arcing further north into Switzerland and tracing the shoreline of Lake Geneva to the canton of Vaud, where the history of chocolate-, cheeseand wine-making proves the country is anything but ‘neutral’.