FOOD & DRINK
CUSCO TO MACHU PICCHU, BELMOND HIRAM BINGHAM The drama of the Andes is best accompanied by a pisco sour, a classic Peruvian cocktail made by shaking together the grape-based spirit pisco, lime juice, sugar and egg whites. And that’s just the aperitif, because Belmond’s focus on the freshest regional ingredients and recipes makes its Hiram Bingham train ( above) from Cusco to Machu Picchu a culinary triumph. Imagine pairing Peru’s spectacular landscape with its best wines, seafood canapés, Pumahuancas salt-crusted trout and Kiwicha caviar, and a cheesecake made with corn flour from the Sacred Valley and served with fruit and raspberry coulis. belmond.com
GREAT SOUTHERN RAIL, AUSTRALIA Great Southern Rail is proof that Australian cuisine isn’t just barbecued shrimp and Vegemite on toast. The Queen Adelaide Restaurant cars ( below) on the line’s transcontinental The Ghan, The Indian Pacific and the Great Southern trains produce gourmet tributes to Australia’s regions and terroir, featuring fresh barramundi (Asian sea bass), smoked emu, grilled kangaroo fillet, cheeses such as Margaret River brie and Hunter Belle blue, and apple and wild rosella flower strudel for dessert. greatsouthernrail.com.au
ITALOBOX, BY ITALO HIGH-SPEED RAIL Italy’s private high-speed railway, Italo, isn’t the most luxurious way to travel by rail across the country, but its fleet of cherry-red trains is fast (360 km/h), quiet and classy with spacious leather seats, and the cuisine on board falls in line with that level of attention to detail and efficiency. Gourmet meals come packaged tidily in the “Italobox” — a selection of soups, cheeses, vegetables and jars of fresh antipasto prepared with local ingredients that change with the seasons. italotreno.it/en
BELMOND ROYAL SCOTSMAN, SCOTLAND There’s no better way to enjoy a fine Cullen Skink than in a mahogany-panelled dining car gently rocking its way through the Scottish Highlands. No, that’s not a character from Harry Potter, but a creamy, smoked haddock and potato soup that puts American chowder and French bisques to shame. The Royal Scotsman’s menu relies entirely on fresh Scottish produce prepared on board, from whisky porridge and black pudding at breakfast to pheasant, smoked salmon or Aberdeen Angus fillet of beef at dinner. The lochs, bens and castles along the way are a draw, to be sure, but the dining on this Highland jaunt might form the core of your fondest memories. belmond.com