Colman Andrews is a food writer

COLMAN ANDREWS is an internationally known food writer and editor, winner of 8 James Beard Awards and author of Ferran Adrià’s biography.

June 23-July 1, 2023

COLMAN ANDREWS’ CATALAN CUISINE TRIP

Europe’s Last Culinary Secret

Colman Andrews is a food writer

COLMAN ANDREWS is an internationally known food writer and editor, winner of 8 James Beard Awards and author of Ferran Adrià’s biography.

Join the internationally known food writer for a unique exploration trip of Catalan food, from its traditional cuisine to its innovative fine dining scene.

It was in the mid-80s when Colman Andrews crossed the border from France on a culinary journey that put Catalan cuisine on the map with a book (Catalan Cuisine: Europe’s Last Great Culinary Secret) that never gets old. Three decades later, we have turned those pages into an exciting culinary trip to explore Catalan food culture, travelling through our country, visiting our favourite food producers, sitting at the best restaurants, meeting legendary chefs, discovering our culinary traditions and revisiting, at last, what is left and what has changed in the past 30-plus years.

Join us and follow the steps of this respected American food writer, known as an expert on Catalonia’s cuisine, to savour the region as never before. While Colman’s book “Catalan Cuisine” still sells and still garners good reviews, it is outdated. Many of the chefs and other personalities it features have passed on, and many new and exciting things have happened since it first appeared — most dramatically, the culinary revolution fomented by the modernist master FERRAN ADRIÀ at his legendary EL BULLI -now closed as a restaurant, but being reborn as an institute for creativity, culinary and otherwise-. So now it is time to come back.

IN THE FIELD WITH COLMAN

“In my continuing travels around Catalonia since the book was published, I’ve come to realize that I neglected a lot of wonderful traditional food in various areas. With all this in mind, I have started working on a major updating and revision of the original work, and this trip marks the debut of my new focused researches. Join me as I travel through parts of Catalonia that I have come to know and love, discovering new things and enjoying some of the captivating places and memorable classic and contemporary dishes that have kept me returning to the region for the past three decades”.

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Chicken with lobster? Meatballs with squid? Mar i muntanya tastes much better than it sounds. Do you dare?

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Get to know Catalan wines glass after glass. Salut!

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The roots of traditional cuisine go deeper. We'll take you there

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Revolutionaries are still alive and we know where they cook

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EXPERT GUIDANCE

There’s no one better than Colman Andrews to lead this trip and show us the best-kept secrets of Catalonia. After all, his first cookbook about Catalan Cuisine remains one of the best books about our country and its gastronomic traditions.

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PEOPLE

Farmers, artisans, fishermen, winemakers, cooks, etc. All our hosts are keepers of an ancestral heritage and we will meet them at their places to learn about that legacy.

cooking

CUISINE

From humble taverns and bodegas to celebrated high-end restaurants. From homemade meals to avant garde tasting menus. We will taste Catalonia as its best and will leave no food behind.

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COMMITMENT

We go to the basics: landscapes, products, people and history. Gastronomy. Because everything we do promotes local food culture. And we love it.

fun

FUN

We like travelling in a good mood, taking part in witty conversations, having nice moments and forming shared memories. We just want to have fun.

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LOCAL FOOD INSIDERS

Aborígens was founded in 2011 by hungry journalists who dedicated half of their lives and livers to researching and showcasing the best of Catalan cuisine to industry professionals and serious eaters.

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Dates

Dates

Summer 2024

Group

Group

Max 14 guests

Itinerary

Barcelona
Costa Brava
Garrotxa-Osona
Barcelona

Highlights

  • Avant-Garde cuisine lecture
  • Deep immersion to Catalan culinary history
  • Visits to food makers and producers
  • Explore Barcelona's classic and modern dining scene

Price

1500€ Deposit

Included

Accommodation in 4* Hotels and Boutique Agriturismo

10 fine meals

Exclusive tastings

Private transfers

colman andrews

COLMAN ANDREWS

Colman Andrews, an internationally known food writer and editor, was a cofounder and editor-in-chief of Saveur. He is the author of nine works on food, including cookbooks about the cuisines of Catalonia and the Italian Riviera, a biography of influential Catalan chef Ferran Adrià, an appreciation of American food products, and a memoir, My Usual Table: A Life in Restaurants. Andrews is the winner of eight James Beard Awards, including Cookbook of the Year in 2010 for The Country Cooking of Ireland. A native of Los Angeles, he now lives in Connecticut with his wife, sportswear and lingerie designer Erin Walker.

ABORÍGENS

Aborígens – Local Food Insiders is a project curated by Catalan journalists and also home of all those who are genuinely interested in food culture. We design and operate extreme food tours, bespoke trips, research and consulting services, and all kind of unexpected culinary adventures for food professionals and hardcore foodies visiting Barcelona, Catalonia and Spain. As Local Food Insiders we promote local food culture by designing and leading activities which respect and reflect the territory, bring people into the community and remain faithful to our food traditions.

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Any questions?

Let's try to answer them

WHAT IS COLMAN ANDREWS' ROLE IN THE TOUR?

As a respected author among celebrity chefs and fellow food writers, he will be providing context and his thoughts on all visits and restaurants that we include, comparing today’s food scene with what has been experiencing in the past three decades. It is a true privilege to travel with such an important figure in gastronomy, yet a kind person.

WHY DO YOU INCLUDE CERTAIN MEALS ONLY?

After years of creating and successfully leading culinary tours around Spain, from Aborígens we advocate for a slow way of travel, where our guests get to enjoy free time between meals and activities. This said, we also believe that some tasting menus included are long enough to fill you up for the rest of the day, so skip meals or keep eating will be in your hands.

HOW MANY TIMES ARE YOU GOING TO REPEAT THIS TRIP, IN CASE I WANT TO JOIN IN THE FUTURE?

Each itinerary is going to happen one single time. Along one year, we put all the efforts in designing an exclusive itinerary together with Colman Andrews, taking his advice on regions that we should include, meeting chefs and food makers that will help us build memorable experiences, and choosing the right hotels and rural accommodation that match our high standards. That is the only way to reach our goal: our reduced group of guests and ourselves as hosts enjoying a unique food journey just once.

ARE WE REALLY MEETING FERRAN ADRIÀ HIMSELF?

Maybe.

“If you want to travel to Catalonia (...) no one better than Colman Andrews”
José Andrés
“To eat or not to eat is a matter of money. But eating well or eating badly is a matter of culture”
Manolo Vázquez Montalbán