The perfect culinary location?

[maxon8]

This is a little hypothetical, however I will go on. If one was to detach oneself from the normal formula of life; work, money and more work then as connoisseurs of good food which country and region within that country would you choose to live in order to fulfil without restriction your exquisite cuisine?.

In other words which country offers the ultimate combination of sourcing fresh ingredients through to the best setting / culture to enjoy your culinary creations.

The reason for my question is that I live in the not so great Great Britain where the unintelligent formula of supermarket shopping is decimating the culinary foundation with inevitable consequences, no choice and obesity.

I await your replies with interest!.

maxon8

[ChefTimoto]

This is only my opinion, but I worked in Melbourne, Australia for 6 months a couple of years ago and I was astonished at the diversity and the freshness of the food. Let's just say, I learned heaps and it really broadened my ideas of cooking. It was one of the best culinary experiences I've encountered. Talk about fusion!

[siduri]

I only know Italy - it has wonderful raw materials, vegetables, meat, etc., tomatoes that yuo can smell a mile away, stuff in street markets in every neighborhood that is locally grown and very tasty. However people are overly traditional in their approach to food, in that they like the old dishes cooked the old way and don;t want to experiment.
It's changed a little recently, but for many years, every single restaurant in rome had the exact same menu. At first it was wonderful, then it got really boring.
I remember some people in the 70s who went to france and came back and said "all this business about french cuisine, it's all hype. They have all these cheeses, but they all are variations on gorgonzola"! That was the attitude. Now more people like to experiment, but there is a very strong traditionalism and if you were to open a restaurant you would have to satisfy the traditionalists, and there are still very many of them.

So for the home cook, italy is wonderful but if yuo are talking about restaurants, it's pretty limited. I get sick of eating out what i can make better myself at home. (Of course, maybe there are expensive restaurants that have more variety and better quality, but i never went to them)

[Ishbel]

Come to Edinburgh. We have some of the greatest foods from Italy, via Valvona and Crolla - we have great chefs, with michelin star restaurants - we have good speciality shops like Ian Mellis, cheesemonger.

Chester may be going down the pan, epciuriously... we ain't!

Apart from home, I'd live in Florence or Pisa!

[KYHeirloomer]

Given the diversity of culinary influences; the availability of a wide range of fresh, local ingredients; the range of restaurants; and the nearby ocean and mountains, I would opt for the west coast, from northern California to Vancouver.

[Joyfull]

Ditto to what KYheirloomer says! I live 15 mins. away from downtown Vancouver.. You can find any and every type of food or restaurant imaginable!

Not that I'm bragging or anything, but have a look for yourself, then come on over!

Vancouver tourism photographs images

[beano]

In the small 'town' that is Rungis Market on the outskirts of Paris

[Pastry Maven]

Originally Posted by Joyfull

Ditto to what KYheirloomer says! I live 15 mins. away from downtown Vancouver.. You can find any and every type of food or restaurant imaginable!

Not that I'm bragging or anything, but have a look for yourself, then come on over!

Vancouver tourism photographs images

And another Ditto for the West Coast...although I'd have to voice my partiality (is that a word ) for NorCal, and specifically the Bay Area...for obvious reasons...sourdough...seafood...wine in every direction...adventurous chefs...fresh locally-grown produce and pick-your-own opportunities...

I could go on and on...

Cheers,

Micki

[Ishbel]

Originally Posted by beano

In the small 'town' that is Rungis Market on the outskirts of Paris

TRAITOR!

[beano]

Yep plenty of them........but I think its spelled 'Traiteur'.

Long live the Auld alliance!

JR

[Ishbel]

Originally Posted by beano

Yep plenty of them........but I think its spelled 'Traiteur'.

Long live the Auld alliance!

JR

Away an play wi yer ashets! (or assiette, if you prefer!)

[indianwells]

I'd have to agree with Siduri. Wales has fantastic produce but I really don't like the politicians in the UK. At least in Italy they change the government every 5 minutes!

[shel]

Originally Posted by Pastry Maven

And another Ditto for the West Coast...and specifically the Bay Area...

Yes, the SF Bay Area is Ground Zero for foodies and cooking in the US IMO. The weather's darned good here as well.

The quality of the produce I got at the small local farmer's market yesterday (six or eight stalls) was astounding. The late spring and summer fruits and veggies are starting to show up. Peaches and apricots that just drip their sweet juice down your chin, some of the most gorgeous and delightful tasting chard and kale I've seen in a year, cherries that are as perfect as any I've seen and tasted, and little strawberries that almost glowed red, not to mention the spring onions, and small, tight heads of cauliflower, and the almost endless varieties of squash. Plus some of the ugliest and best tasting tomatoes I've seen in a while. Another couple of weeks and Northern California will show itself to be the cornucopia it can be.

Shel

[MikeLM]

Yeah, Shel...

I have to admit that the SF area is great for food. Our daughter lived in Walnut Creek for about five years and we enjoyed visiting her. Did the Wine Country tour each time, of course, and especially liked the year-round Farmers' Market in WC. Fresh oysters from southwest Oregon, driven down every Saturday night in a pickup truck filled with ice... just-caught Salmon in season, a gorgeous stone fruits selection, and on and on.

Safeway in Chicago just doesn't to it.

Mike

[shel]

Originally Posted by MikeLM

Yeah, Shel...

I have to admit that the SF area is great for food. Our daughter lived in Walnut Creek for about five years and we enjoyed visiting her. Did the Wine Country tour each time, of course, and especially liked the year-round Farmers' Market in WC. Fresh oysters from southwest Oregon, driven down every Saturday night in a pickup truck filled with ice... just-caught Salmon in season, a gorgeous stone fruits selection, and on and on.

Mike

There are numerous Framers Markets in and around the East Bay - I've lost count. Most are filled with lots of high quality organic produce (by high quality I mean from farms that subscribe to higher standards than USDA organic) grown locally - say within a 150 mile or so radius of Ground Zero.

I just got back from the small Thursday market in the Gourmet Ghetto. Picked up some great rainbow chard, some baby lettuce, baby cauliflower, small, delicious broccoli, the most amazing assortment of summer squash, and some outstanding Ranier cherries, and more. I ove talking with the growers, finding such high quality and fresh produce. It used to be that much of the items at these markets were higher priced than the corporate produce found at the various markets, but now it seems that most items are comparably priced or even lower.