A - Austria
Authentic Austrian cuisine is marked by rich flavours and dominated by meats and carb dense foods like pastries and breads. From the fried Schnitzel to the hearty Goulash, there is an Austrian food recipe for every meal!
Of course, Viennese pastries are also a must try but for us, their punchy cream liqueurs win the day. For more than 60 years, every single Mozart bottle has been produced at the Mozart Distillerie located in Salzburg, Austria, the birthplace of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
Full-bodied, creamy milk chocolate liqueur, handcrafted with only natural ingredients, gluten-free, and refined with Belgian chocolate.
B - Belgium
Belgium may be famous for waffles, fries, and beer, as well as their centuries-old recipes for mussles, meatballs, Flemish stew, and rabbit with prunes. But it is their rich, creamy Belgian chocolate desserts that most of us will instantly think of when picturing ourselves enjoying a meal out in Brussels.
Belcolade is a standard bearer of Belgian Chocolate. The team there adventure across the globe to source the finest cocoa beans with every step of the manufacturing process conducted in the classic Belgian style. The result is chocolate with outstanding flavour.
These buttons are one of my favourites. 70.5% dark chocolate, these have a strong, bitter cocoa taste and pleasant citrus note – and their easy-to-melt format makes them perfect for baking
C - Calabria
Calabria is a region in Southern Italy, bordered by Basilicata to the north and the Strait of Messina to the southwest, which separates it from Sicily.
Ask anyone passionate about Calabrian food and you will undoubtedly find out about the classic fresh pastas, Tropea onions and bright red chilli peppers. Push them for their favourite sauce, and ‘nduja will be top of the list.
Nduja is a spicy, spreadable pork salumi that makes rich, meaty sauces, a hearty pizza topping and delicious spreads for bread or crackers. Pork meat, sweet pepper, hot pepper and salt is stuffed into natural casings, smoked with olive and orange wood and matured for at least 30 days.
Our Calabrian Favourite: Nduja
D - Denmark
The Danish 'open faced' sandwiches, smørrebrød, are perhaps the most famous of the Danish food classics. Smørrebrød is a slice of rye bread with various combinations of toppings such as pickled herring, roast beef and eggs topped with mayo and prawns.
To wash it down, can we suggest a delicious cocktail or two made with Cherry Liqueur from Heerings? Adding a dash of extravagance to some of the most legendary cocktails of all time, including the original Singapore Sling, Heering Cherry Liqueur contains only natural ingredients including Danish grown cherries. Prefer it straight? Do as the Danes do, and swirl with ice, lean back and chill.
E - England
From a Sunday roast to an Eton Mess, England has so many wonderful dishes to choose from it was a tough call to make! But what could be better on a summer’s day than a Ploughman’s Lunch with cheese from one our many great British artisans and a large dollop of chutney?
Tracklements Chutneys and Relishes has been with us since day one, and I we are all huge fans of this wonderful range. And to keep in line with the celebratory mood we’ve gone for their Right Royal Pickle, a limited-edition chutney created to celebrate the Platinum Jubilee.
F - France
Ooo la la. It’s one of our all-time favourite culinary cuisines with mouthwatering dishes at every turn. Moules Frites, Soupe à l'oignon, Bœuf bourguignon, Salade Niçoise – not to mention the bread, cheese and wine!
But there is one dish that is French through and through; Duck legs cooked the traditional French way. For a tender and succulent taste experience you must try this delicious duck sourced from free range French farms.
Cook until the skin is crispy and a nutty brown colour and enjoy with a dressed green salad for a perfect light lunch, or with roasted potatoes for the ideal mid-week supper.
G - Greece
The glorious Greeks have taken the best of the Mediterranean diet and combined it with Middle Eastern and Ottoman cultures to bring us some of the tastiest food in the world. Moussaka, Souvlaki, Stifado – the list goes on.
I can picture one holiday in Malia in particular, that involved copious amounts of ouzo, fried squid and endless stuffed vine leaves! We’ve decided therefore, to go for Greek Mezze as our favourite and in particular these delicious baked Gigantes Beans.
A traditional Greek dish of giant butter beans cooked slowly in a rich tomato sauce with Mediterranean herbs and extra virgin olive oil. Renowned for their texture and flavour they can be served hot or cold as a starter, with other dishes to share as part of a meze, or with bread for a deliciously vegan meal.
H - Holland
The Dutch do love a sweet treat or two and because of this, have given the world some firm favourites to enjoy with a coffee – Stroopwafel, oliebol and Poffertjes are three that come to mind. Surprisingly then, it was a savoury bitterbal - a deep-fried meat ragout ball with a lovely crust – that was elected a cultural heritage food in 2020.
For us, there is little to compare to the wonder that is Gouda Cheese and this Old Amsterdam defies tradition and loses the yellow wax casing for a black one. 18 months old, sweet and creamy to taste with a hard, crunchy texture, this is what your Hazelnut Pumpkin Toast has been waiting for.
I - Italy
Where to start? We couldn’t quite drag ourselves away from the thought of a creamy Burrata to compile our list so Googled top ten Italian dishes to discover pizza and pasta coming in at one and two respectively. Risotto, Ossobuco, Focaccia all made an appearance and so it seemed only right to choose the one ingredient you simply can’t do Italian without – olive oil.
We’ve chosen this mono-variety Extra Virgin Olive Oil made from the Olivastra Seggianese olive. Produced in Tuscany, this oil has a rich, buttery quality and a delicate yet distinctive flavour that is unique to oil from the Olivastra cultivar.
It has a wonderful creaminess which carries a clean, clear olive flavour and a touch of pepperiness. As well as being the perfect ingredient for your pizza, pasta and risotto, it is a delicious accompaniment to cooked fish, chicken, rice, potatoes and cooked or raw vegetables.
J - Jura Mountains
The Jura Mountains are a sub-alpine mountain range a short distance north of the Western Alps, situated on the long part of the French–Swiss border. While the Jura range proper is located in France and Switzerland, the range continues as the Table Jura through northern Switzerland and Germany.
The food is very French in its influence, and very heavy. Think Tete de Veau (calf heads) with a vinaigrette; la pochouse aux poisons made with river fish like perch, carp, eel and trout cooked with Bourgogne Aligote, a white local wine. Or try Saucisse de Morteau, a traditional sausage from the high mountains made with pork and slowly smoked for at least 48 hours.
Another local favourite is burgundian gougeres, made with choux pastry and the area’s famed comte cheese. You will find this in every restaurant in the region as a starter and no wonder – what’s not to like?
Comté is a French cow's milk cheese made from unpasteurized milk and is famously known as a "mountain cheese," due to its origin in the Jura range. Comté is aged for a minimum of 4 months, and possibly over two years, each wheel developing its own unique flavour profile. Our Comte cheese is 22 months matured with a creamy texture, sweet and nutty to savoury and vegetal flavours.
Our Jura Mountains Favourite: Comte
K - Kalamata
Kalamáta is the second most populous city of the Peloponnese peninsula in mainland Greece in the Messinia region. Messinia has been inhabited since prehistoric times, thanks to its rich fertile valleys and for many, it is considered the promised land, since everything can be grown.
Figs, citrus fruits, vegetables, watermelons, peanuts, herbs, honey and aromatic plants are all favourites of the area, but we simply couldn’t choose any other ingredient except its namesake – the kalamata olive.
This one from Olives Et Al, uses only fully matured, naturally ripened Kalamata olives which are carefully prepared using a traditional water curing method. These have also had the stones removed so they’re great in salads or for baking or throwing into a tagine. Try the oil to stir fry veg with a few olives thrown in.
Our Kalamata Favourite: Olives
L - Lubeck
Lübeck, in northern Germany has the country’s most extensive UNESCO World Heritage Site at its heart. Like most of Germany’s coastal communities, Lubeck is famed for its Fischbrötchen - a sandwich made with fish, fresh white or dried onions, pickles, remoulade, creamy horseradish sauce, ketchup, or cocktail sauce.
Fish aside, Lübeck is famous the world over for its marzipan industry. According to local legend, marzipan was first made in Lübeck, possibly in response either to a military siege of the city or a famine year. The story is that the city ran out of all food except stored almonds and sugar, which were used to make loaves of marzipan "bread".
We’ve chosen a ready to eat treat here. Lubecker marzipan smothered in dark chocolate is the perfect accompaniment to a coffee, or an ideal after dinner treat, sliced into rounds and served with Amaretto.
M - Modena
Modena, the Italian city famous for its sports cars – Ferrari, Lamborghini and Maserati all hail from here – is also well known for its culinary wonders.
Modena food is typical of other parts of Emilia Romagna in Northern Italy; it is said that each family in this region holds its own secret recipe for Tortellino pasta. Filled with pork, cured ham, sausage, they are typically eaten in a broth with a spoon.
When it comes to ingredients, the holy trinity of Italian heritage food was born here: Traditional Balsamico di Modena, Prosciutto ham, and Parmigiano Reggiano. We’ve gone with the aged balsamic vinegar as our Modena stand out here.
This one is ten years old and like all Leonardi's balsamics, is traditionally produced from the cooked must of Trebbiano grapes, aged over many years in casks of precious woods including ash, mulberry, oak, chestnut and juniper. Use it for dipping, for dressings, for cooking and bring a little Modena magic to your food.
