From soup with blue fenugreek in Georgia to haggis in the Hebrides via ramen in Tokyo … our tipsters savour the best meals of their travels
My first meal in Tbilisi was kharcho. It was probably my third, sixth, 10th and certainly my last meal too. It is a meat dish of soup or casserole consistency, but I hadn’t tasted anything like it before. Walnuts are a key ingredient in Georgian cookery, but spices I now know as blue fenugreek and marigold gave me a completely new taste experience. Nestled between Asia and eastern Europe, Georgian food takes inspiration from both, including a liberal use of pomegranate. I’ve attempted kharcho at home, but it’s been easier to recreate the memories of Georgian supra (feasting) by buying their wine. Georgia’s officially the world’s oldest wine-making region, and it’s very good.
Karen Knight