Andrew Valente
Andrew Valente has been a journalist since he left school at 18 in Glasgow where he was on the Scottish edition of the old Daily Herald. He came to Mallorca to work as a freelance correspondent for the London dailies and Sundays, using that as a stepping stone to a job in Fleet Street. But he got involved in the Bulletin and stayed on…and on…and on…and now Fleet Street doesn’t exist. He still reads the London dailies and Sundays.
The restaurant review
A stuffed aubergine is not done like this
The frito mallorquín is an emblematic Majorcan dish.
Food and wine
Why Guinness was so very good for me
Guinness is a dark Irish dry stout that originated in the brewery of Arthur Guinness at St. James’s Gate, Dublin, Ireland, in 1759.
Food for Thought
The fruits and veg of autumn
Autumn has arrived safe and well at the island’s markets and shops — and the fruits and veggies we most associate with this time of year are very much on display.
Did you know
Words and more...
Birds are fascinating creatures and I never tire of observing them in flight or hopping around on the grass verges of the Paseo Mallorca on my way to the Grup Serra offices.
The restaurant review
Juanjo’s secret is in the spicing
A few years ago Juanjo shunned all dairy products and other foods connected with animal life and made Bon Lloc into a full vegan restaurant.
Food and wine
Raor season off to a super start
There was no official raor season in Majorca until the year 2000: people fished for them in August and continued to do so until the raors buried themselves in the sandy seabeds to hibernate for the winter.
Food for Thought
This is best way to cook mussels
Mussels are so plentiful and cheap that they are sometimes called the poor man’s shellfish, a distinction that once belonged to oysters
Words and More
Did you know
People who say that money doesn’t bring happiness are often those who don’t have any to spare.
The restaurant review
Better kind of fish and chips
When I saw the dish on the Rambar menu last week it couldn’t have been listed in a more concise way: “fish and chips”, it said and gave a €15 tag.
Food and wine
Llampuga beats lightning this year
The five principal centres for catching and eating llampuga are Majorca, Ibiza, Malta, Sicily and Sardinia.
Words and More
Most Britons are not good spellers
The vast majority of youngsters seldom read newspapers, magazines or books and when they write the language it’s to text their friends with truncated words that are written as they are pronounced
Food for Thought
When melon was a late night snack
A melon is like a bottle of wine in that you won’t know how it tastes until you open it.
The restaurant review
Sweet and sour and so superior
Chinese restaurants started to become popular in Palma in 1968 they were soon serving an ersatz version that became a total cliché. I went off sweet and sour pork and stopped ordering it.
Food and wine
Famous sauce is really a dish
Romescu is almost certainly one of Spain’s most famous sauces, used mainly for fish although it also pairs nicely with some meats, especially rabbit.
Did you know
Words and more...
There were always plenty of famous American actors in Rome because they were working on major films being shot at the Cinecittà studios.
Food for Thought
Nature’s superb annual pleasure
Most Majorcans use fine fresh figs as a dessert fruit: on their own and with no embellishments of any kind.
Food & Wine
Skate season gets off to a good start
Skate is unique in that it must be kept for two or three days in the fridge to allow natural chemical changes to take place.
The Restaurant Review
Worst dish ever in a restaurant
This week our Bulletin restaurant critic visits an Italian Restaurant in Palma.Find out what the verdict was!
Food For Thought
Bananas: good fun food — and healthy
The few recipes Spaniards use usually have a Caribbean influence and one is even called arroz a la cubana — although it’s a dish you’ll never find in Cuba.
Did You Know
Words and more…
The violin and related instruments have two holes shaped like an ‘f’ and called the ‘f-hole’.
Andrew Valente 19/08/2020 09:52