23/10/2004 00:00
TW
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By Humphrey Carter BRITISH author Vicky Bennison admits to having “travelled the world on her tummy” and all that travelling gave her a hunger for the local food. Her vast experiences have proven to be the recipe for a new book about Majorca and its food.

Vicky, brought up in East Africa as a “child of the colonial service,” spent years working for aid development agencies in some of the most far-flung places on earth from her homeland in Africa to various parts of the former Soviet Union block and even six months in the freezing back and beyond of Siberia.

It was, in fact, her stint in Siberia that helped her make up her mind to become more “UK based”. Since then she has worked as an aid development consultant for the British government.

But, Vicky loves an adventure and decided to write a book and drew up a “business plan.” Desperate for some excitement and a change of scene from the UK she headed for Corfu, where the family have a home, and decided to write her first book, “The Taste of a Place” about Corfu.

It proved a great success and whet her appetite even more for writing.
A few years ago, she dropped in on Majorca while writing a travel piece, was enchanted by what she saw and decided to write her second book “A Taste of a Place Mallorca.” Vicky spent all of last year on the island researching her book which is designed to “introduce readers to some aspects of the island they may not have come across before - its culinary traditions, the diversity of its foodstuffs and its fabulous food shops.” Vicky believes that you can't fully appreciate a new place or holiday destination without getting stuck in to the local food. “The museums etc are all very well, but they take a quick 15 minutes and all the while, we're wondering about where we're going for a snack or lunch,” she said. “I believe that food is very much a part of the holiday experience for travellers who are honestly interested in the destination they are visiting,” she says.

Her book about Majorca, Vicky says, is fun and helpful.
It is a colourful and well researched guide to “foraging for food”, shopping, culinary tours, markets, restaurants, local products and how they are made and all the different ways of cooking the local dishes. Vicky last night gave a talk to members of ESRA, not so much about the content of the book, but how it was put together. She is now working on Andalusia.