My Tapas Trail Continues

Regardless of the fact that this is Christmas with New Year celebrations soon upon us, I have still been engaged in my day to day activities of discovering new and exciting foods in Almeria Province.....and there are some interesting tapas and foods being prepared here....take a look at the photo...

Wednesday sees me with important friends from Almeria, at Antonio Gazquez's Restaurante Las Eras in Tabernas. I have to say, not having seen my friends for some months, I am really looking forward to it and I know the lunch will be top class.

Cold Turkey

This week, I gave myself a well earned and deserved day off to recharge my batteries. Having not had a break for 2 years and working 7 days a week I decided to ‘rest.’ No computer, no internet and no camera in tow. By 11.00 I had already failed the test. By 13.00 I had already purchased a note pad and pen in order to scribble some notes between gulps of red wine, the partaking of tapas and a great ‘queso de cabra y mermelada de tomate raf’ in my favourite tapas bar, and at 15.30 I was sitting at the beach answering emails via my iPhone….and, writing this blog. Such is today’s technology.

Let’s just face it – I’m currently a workaholic and a cyber junkie. (With no partner within the vicinity to distract me nor for whom I must be responsible, nor attentive, I guess there isn’t much else to do other than work). Even going without the computer or internet for as little as 24 hours is proving almost impossible for me, and the only feasible way is to go ‘cold turkey.’ As ‘food’ is my business and I have to eat, then it too makes it doubly difficult for me to switch off.

This me leads nicely to, “What are you going to do with the left-overs of your Christmas bird?” (I mean the turkey of course – what were you thinking?).
There are the obvious turkey curries, turkey paella or even turkey mince. I favour just plain cold turkey, (hams too, if you have any left), bubble and squeak and chutneys.
For those more creative of you, how about inventing your own new tapas, and posting it up on the Comida de Almeria Facebook page!?

Who said this was a glamorous job?

It has been said by other photographers that this job is 25% photography and 75% ‘other’ things, like accounts, chasing monies and marketing etc.

This last week in particular, I’ve found that 25% is on the generous side, as the ‘other’ things to which they refer seem to take over… marketing probably accounts for 80% of my time, whether it be in the form of a magazine article or putting the magazine Comida de Almeria together. Last week proved to be a prime example of a ‘tough’ week. Apart from a number of ‘issues’ to have to encounter and overcome, 15 hours of internet ‘upload failure’ hasn’t exactly been the fun and glamorous side of the job. That said, the week is behind me and we move forward…

Discovering more great food...

My quest to help improve food standards in Almeria Province through the magazine, and by highlighting high quality foods continues, but not in vain. A pleasant trip to Vera, (you can read about it in Comida de Almeria December issue next week), and two photoshoots of tapas in the more adventureous tapas bars of Mojacar, has resulted in some interesting dishes and images.

Also, el Mirador del Castillo in Mojacar Pueblo has re-opened and is now serving food. By the number of visitors today, the bar is a big hit with both Spaniards and foreigner's alike. Long may it continue especially during this cold winter period. The setting is stunning and the evening dusk with the orange glow of table lamps in the bar area, makes for an inviting venue for an evening drink.

Winter Blues?

The wet weather, that we are so used to in the UK, has finally hit our part of southern Spain to dampen spirits and make things difficult for restaurant businesses. However, one man’s misfortune is another’s opportunity if only one can find the angle. It reminds me of the company in the USA which, during the downturn, is making a small fortune from house-clearances where those less fortunate have regrettably had to leave their properties due to financial hardship – it hardly seems fair does it?

For my part, the rain provides me with the opportunity to do more work indoors. Offline computer work particularly, and indoor food photography where possible, turning restaurants or bars into make-shift studios with little or no room to swing a cat, bemused on-looking customers, and some creativity on my part in how to get the best out of the lighting, and the limited surroundings with little or no props. With another few images on the digital card, perhaps the rains will ease.

A Missing Piece…

This week has been very much like a jig-saw puzzle. You know what I mean. You can’t wait to get started, but part way through frustration creeps-in as you can’t quite get all the correct pieces inserted into the right places. Then just as you manage to break through, one piece is missing. That’s been the case for me this week. The weekend will make no difference as I generally work a seven-day week, so my week has yet to end and new doors to open. Nevertheless, highlights this week include my Almeria trip on Tuesday, the rekindling of my old website, the establishment of this blog site, and a new and exciting collaboration with another website, Unique Almeria, who are doing great things to promote Almeria Province, and to pull in visitors to the area. You can read more about Unique Almeria shortly. There is still plenty to do this month before the December issue of Comida de Almeria is published, and so I’ll crack on….have a great day.

Out & About...

Yesterday found me in Almeria as a guest at La Escuela de Hostelería de Almería (The Almeria Cooking School for the hoteliers trade). It has armed me with a delightful article for Out & About in search of great food....... in next month's issue of Comida de Almeria food magazine. I am not therefore, going to spoil it all now by revealing all that occured, but rather, you will see next month when the magazine is published. In the meantime, here is a taste of what we tasted as part of our luncheon. This is

Orquidea Ocean Blue - Inspirado en el clasico coctel. (Inspired by the Classic cocktail).

P.S. Believe it or not, when you are photographing 'on the spot' like I often have to do, without back-drops, studio equipment, lights etc and you are in the middle of a really busy kitchen where 20 budding chefs are preparing lunch for over 100 people, you have to 'do what you can and use whatever or whomever is available.' The back-drop to this shot is actually a female chef! She was wearing a black chef's jacket, black apron and black trousers, and, much to everyone's amusement, was made to stand with her back to the dish to become an instant back-drop for the shot. It is not the first time I have used this technique. :)