(Orangery Beetroot – Rockliffe Hall)

Food tourism is nothing new, however, demand for fully integrated, authentic culinary experiences continues to gain in popularity. According to a recent report by Skift, 77% of leisure travellers can be classified as culinary travellers spending around 25% of their travel budget on food. Cuisine is as central to any culture as its history, architecture and music, and Armenia and Mexico are the first countries to have portions of their cuisine certified by UNESCO as part of the Intangible Heritage List. Several other nations currently have applications pending in an effort to recognise and protect their food cultures, while supporting the hyper-local economy.

(Watermelon Salad – Archipelagos Hotel)

While SLH hotels are by nature small, some with just three rooms, their inherent connection to the destinations in which they are located naturally lends them to champion local resources, techniques and flavours. Hotel restaurants range from relaxed family-style gatherings where guests can get a taste of recipes passed down through generations, to world-class fine dining prepared by internationally recognised chefs. More than 90 SLH hotels have restaurants that carry Michelin stars or awards of similar global acclaim.

The 221 recipes featured in the Small Luxury Cookbook include local delicacies such as Delos Island sea urchin and Danish pastry, well-loved regional favourites such as Kolokythanthi (stuffed courgette flowers) and more recent and topical additions to menus such as Lionfish. Below are some examples of the recipes that showcase the diversity of SLH’s global cuisine:

• Cornish Lobster with a lively, fresh tomato vierge from Chef Richard James at The Nare in Cornwall, UK. Guests often bring their own lobster caught during the day to the restaurant for him to prepare this dish.
• Anisette sphere with quinoa crackling and mixed berries by Chef Jordi Cruz at the 2 Michelin-starred ABaC Restaurant & Hotel in Barcelona. Jordi Cruz is the second youngest chef ever to receive a Michelin star, at the age of just 24.
• Coconut Lionfish by Chef Christian Báez at The Bistro at Sublime Samana, Dominican Republic. Lionfish is a predatory fish that is being added to menus to encourage commercial fishing as it threatens fish stocks on a global basis.
• Rafute from Chef Yu Masatsagu at Shigara Bayside Suite Allamanda, Japan. Rafute is a pork stew considered to the epitome of Okinawan cuisine. This cuisine is famous for its healthiness – residents have the longest life expectancy in the world.
• Jamu Kunyit Asam: tamarind and turmeric tonic from The Wantilan Restaurant at Spa Village Resort Tembok Bali. Jamu is a traditional herbal tonic in Indonesia, this combination is believed to increase body metabolism and improve circulation.

One crowd-pleaser that is sure to wow any guests is the simply titled ‘Apple Tart’ from Chef Reon Hobson at Pescatore at The George in Christchurch, New Zealand – a sugar apple filled with crème brulée mousse, caramelised apple and apple jelly – it just might take a bit of practice to get it looking like this: