Our dear friend Eileen Wright, chef extraordinaire, most recently of The Cellar Wine Bar and Restaurant, is now off on a foodie junket to England, I asked her if she wouldn’t mind keeping me apprised of her adventures so I can pass them on to Eve’s Wine 101 readers, giving us all an opportunity to enjoy this experience with her.

Here is the first installment of “Eileen Writes”:

I am sitting in the Burbank airport awaiting my flight to London, England.  I am once again blessed to visit a dear friend I have known for over 33 years.  We have both become extremely intrigued by the various cuisines of the world and, believe it or not, England has started developing a wide and varied cuisine of its own; no longer suffering under the “grey boiled meat” title.  Many great ethnic restaurants (Indian, Italian and Greek) are receiving Michelin Stars.  England is just a start; I plan on traveling to other countries to learn new flavors and cooking practices in the hopes I can introduce my discoveries to my wonderful friends.

Fun Food Fact:

One of France’s top wine experts, Philipe Faure-Brac, serves English sparkling wine at his Paris bistro. He starts by offering a ‘blind’ tasting to get over any preconceptions from his predominantly French clientele. Then, as they are complementing the quality he tells them the origins of the wines.

Philippe Faure-Brac was voted the world’s best sommelier in 1992 and is a renowned writer, speaker and restaurateur. He serves bottles produced by New Wave Wines based at Tenterden Vineyards in Kent at the Bistrot du Sommelier in Paris.