7 Days, 7 Nights: Beyond Paella, A Video Culinary, Wine & Travel Adventure in Valencia & Alicante with Gerry Dawes & Special Guests Including New York Chef Terrance Brennan

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Las Fallas, Valencia, March 19 Día de San José, fireworks and the burning of the giant fallas statues in the streets. 

 

 

 Las Fallas, Valencia, March 19 Día de San José, fireworks and the burning of the giant fallas statues in the streets.

 

 Arroz con conejo y caracoles (paella with rabbit and snails, cooked over grape vine cuttings), Casa Elias, Xinorlet (Alicante). 

Photograph copyright by Gerry Dawes / gerrydawes@aol.com. 

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Pilot Trailer for a Proposed Television Reality Series

(Click on the arrow to play.)

All Rights Reserved, EO Agency, Copyright

Filmed in Valencia, Alicante, Denia, Monóver, Xinorlet, Parcent, L'Albufera, El Palmar, Alfafar

Special Thanks to:

- Iberia Airlines of Spain

- Turespaña, The National Tourist Office of Spain in New York (Javier Piñanes, Director; Pilar Vico, Public Relations Director) 

- Executive Director Bisila Bokoko of The Spain-U.S. Chamber of Commerce

- La Comunitat Valenciana and Press Liason Juan Llantada

- Ayuntamiento de Valencia

- Mercat Central de Valencia

- Chef Terrance Brennan (Picholine & Artisanal Restaurants, New York City)

- María José San Román (Monastrell & La Taberna del Gourmet, Alicante);
'Pitu' Perramón & Jorge Perramón (Bar Tribeca, Alicante); Geni Perramón (Taberna del Gourmet, Alicante)

- Felipe and Pilar Gútierrez de la Vega (Bodegas Gútierrez de la Vega, Parcent, Alicante)

- Salvador and Rafael Poveda (Bodegas Salvador Poveda, Monóver, Alicante)

- Quique Dacosta (El Poblet, Denia, Alicante)

- Familia Ferrer, La Posada del Mar (Denia, Alicante)

- Casa Elias (Xinorlet, Alicante)

- 'Sento' El Tio Pastilla Paseos en Barca (El Palmar, L'Albufera, Valencia)

- Raúl & Pilar Aleixandre (Ca Sento, Valencia)

- Emiliano García (Casa Montaña, Valencia)

- La Cuitat des Artes y Ciències, Valencia.

- Submarino Restaurante in L'Oceanografíc (La Cuitat des Artes y Ciències, Valencia).

- Very Special Thanks to guests Geraldine Paz; Eduardo Fontán and to Roberto Alcázar and Àdria Jover, EO Agency, New York.

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"MENÚ DEGUSTACIÓN “GERRY DAWES" Update on Lo Mejor de la Gastronomía's The Best Tapas Bar in Spain: Alicante's La Taberna del Gourmet, a Persistence of Memory Dalí Five-Watch Dining Experience

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Persistence of Memory (Salvador Dalí) Five-Watch Rating.

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"MENÚ DEGUSTACIÓN “GERRY DAWES"
Featured at Alicante's La Taberna del Gourmet 

 La Taberna del Gourmet, the Perramón-San Román restaurant that Geni Perramón San Román's runs in Alicante, was named "La Mejor Barra de España" (The Best [Tapas] Bar in Spain) at the Lo Mejor de la Gastronomía Conference in Alicante.  

The culinary genius in the kitchen of this incredible tapas restaurant-bar--which myself (and others) have thought for several years was the best tapas restaurant in all of Spain--is María José San Román, an award-winning chef, one of the best cooks in the country.

Geni & María José at La Taberna del Gourmet.  Photo by Gerry Dawes©2008.

Michelin Two-Star, New York Times Three-Star American Chef Terrance Brennan of Picholine and Artisanal Bistro & Fromagerie in New York City says, "La Taberna del Gourmet is the best Spanish tapas bar I have ever eaten in."  

(Also see Terrance Brennan and Gerry Dawes Blaze a Trail Through Spain.)

Pitu Perramón & Terrance Brennan at La Taberna del Gourmet. 
Photo Gerry Dawes©2007.

La Taberna del Gourmet (Taberna, Delicatessen & Wine Bar)

San Fernando 10, Alicante. 965-204-233. 

María José San Román is a creative cuisine chef who opened this phenomenal, quality product-oriented, tapas bar-taberna-restaurant next to her Michelin one-star Monastrell restaurant.  La Taberna soon cannibalized her temple of vanguardia cuisine restaurant, so she moved Monastrell down the street to the fancy Hotel Amérigo (see below), so she could use the Monastrell space as an extra dining room for her tapas emporium overflow.

María José's superb, quality product-driven, taberna, tapas and wine bar is one of the best traditional cuisine restaurants in La Comunitat Valenciana. 

La Taberna del Gourmet is run by English-speaking Geni Perramón, daughter of María José and "Pitu" Perramón (El Portero ).   My recommendation at La Taberna, which is also Pitu's (legendary former goalkeeper for the Spanish national handball team) pride and joy, is to put yourself in the hands of Geni and ask her (drop my name) to do a tasting luncheon of her mother's stellar modernized traditional offerings.

Depending on the season, a "small" sampling luncheon may include such dishes as little Navarrese txistorra chorizos; a shared portion of arrós con magro y verduras (paella-like rice with pork and vegetables), maybe the best patatas bravas (saffron-infused) in Spain; splendid, supernal gambas rojas (legendary prawns from the Alicante coast); and unbeatable grilled sepionets (small cuttle fish).

Now that the preliminaries are out of the way, go on with white esparragos de Navarra with a vinagreta de solera de requena (aged vinegar); an ensalada méditerranea (arugula, goat cheese cubes, tomatoes and siurana olive oil); spectacularly good croquetas de chorizo Ibérico; equally spectacular alcachofa a vinagreta (artichokes); pan con tomate y anchoas (bread rubbed with tomate and topped with house-cured anchovies; a little escalivada montadito con foie (grilled vegetables on a toast round with foie gras); riñoncitos de lechazo (milk-fed lamb kidneys) and finish up with a bit of arrós caldoso con cigala y sepia en dados (a delicious soupy marinera rice with chunks of Dublin Bay prawns and sepia cuttle fish).

The wine: A Godello from Valdeorras.

After such a light repast, a little dessert won't hurt, so try María José's bizcocho de tocino de cielo, borracho de lima, freson and helado de gengibre, a take off on the classic, normally sinfully rich, lighter in this version tocino de cielo (read eggs and sugar), with lime, strawberries and ginger ice cream.

 

Or course, you don't have to do this whole-nine-yards-menu--which I am very honored to say is now called "MENÚ DEGUSTACIÓN “GERRY DAWES" - - you can tell Geni when to stop anytime.

Gerry with Geni and María José at La Taberna del Gourmet, July 2009 
(Photo by Kay Killian Balun.)

Don't be surprised  if you encounter the likes of a Michael Jackson sibling, Francis Ford Coppola, über chef Ferran Adrià or top Spanish chocolatero-pastelero Paco Torreblanca hanging out here, as the photographs on the walls attest.

 

Lodging: 

Hotel Amérigo, Rafael Altamira, 7 03002 Alicante, Spain 965 146 570, just a block of the lively palm tree-lined Explanada, the recreational port and the beach.

  

Downstairs is María José's slick new barra Monastrell tapas bar and upstairs is her transplanted cocina de vanguardia Monastrell Restaurante, many of whose dishes feature the world's most expensive spice, saffron, as an ingredient.   The Perramón-San Román also has the fun-and-funky (get photos of the funky decorations on the outside of the bar) Tribeca Music Bar Old Frankfurt and American Diner (just around the corner from La Taberna del Gourmet; best hamburgers in Alicante!), El Mejillón (a mussels bar) on La Explanada (just a block from La Taberna del Gourmet) and Asador La Vaquería, (a grilled meat and fish house), carretera de Benimagrel 52 (just off Muchavista beach in Campello, a few kms. northeast of Alicante).

Constructive comments are welcome and encouraged.

 

If you enjoy these blog posts, please consider a contribution to help me continue the work of gathering all this great information and these photographs for Gerry Dawes's Insider's Guide to Spanish Food, Wine, Culture and Travel. Contributions of $5 and up will be greatly appreciated. Contributions of $100 or more will be acknowledged on the blog. Please click on this secure link to Paypal to make your contribution.

 

Text and photographs copyright by Gerry Dawes©2021.  Using photographs without crediting Gerry Dawes©2021 on Facebook.  Publication without my written permission is not authorized.

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  Shall deeds of Caesar or Napoleon ring
More true than Don Quixote's vapouring?
Hath winged Pegasus more nobly trod
Than Rocinante stumbling up to God?

 

Poem by Archer M. Huntington inscribed under the Don Quixote on his horse Rocinante bas-relief sculpture by his wife, Anna Vaughn Hyatt Huntington,

in the courtyard of the Hispanic Society of America’s incredible museum at 613 W. 155th Street, New York City.

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In 2019, again ranked in the Top 50 Gastronomy Blogs and Websites for Gastronomists & Gastronomes in 2019 by Feedspot. (Last Updated Oct 23, 2019) 

"The Best Gastronomy blogs selected from thousands of Food blogs, Culture blogs and Food Science blogs in our index using search and social metrics. We’ve carefully selected these websites because they are actively working to educate, inspire, and empower their readers with frequent updates and high-quality information."  

36. Gerry Dawes's Spain: An Insider's Guide to Spanish Food, Wine, Culture and Travel

 
About Gerry Dawes

My good friend Gerry Dawes, the unbridled Spanish food and wine enthusiast cum expert whose writing, photography, and countless crisscrossings of the peninsula have done the most to introduce Americans—and especially American food professionals—to my country's culinary life." -- Chef-restaurateur-humanitarian José Andrés, Nobel Peace Prize Nominee and Oscar Presenter 2019

Gerry Dawes was the Producer and Program Host of Gerry Dawes & Friends, a weekly radio progam on Pawling Public Radio in Pawling, New York (streaming live and archived at www.pawlingpublicradio.org and at www.beatofthevalley.com.)

Dawes was awarded Spain's prestigious Premio Nacional de Gastronomía (National Gastronomy Award) in 2003. He writes and speaks frequently on Spanish wine and gastronomy and leads gastronomy, wine and cultural tours to Spain. He was a finalist for the 2001 James Beard Foundation's Journalism Award for Best Magazine Writing on Wine, won The Cava Institute's First Prize for Journalism for his article on cava in 2004, was awarded the CineGourLand “Cinéfilos y Gourmets” (Cinephiles & Gourmets) prize in 2009 in Getxo (Vizcaya) and received the 2009 Association of Food Journalists Second Prize for Best Food Feature in a Magazine for his Food Arts article, a retrospective piece about Catalan star chef, Ferran Adrià. 

In December, 2009, Dawes was awarded the Food Arts Silver Spoon Award in a profile written by José Andrés. 

". . .That we were the first to introduce American readers to Ferran Adrià in 1997 and have ever since continued to bring you a blow-by-blow narrative of Spain's riveting ferment is chiefly due to our Spanish correspondent, Gerry "Mr. Spain" Dawes, the messianic wine and food journalist raised in Southern Illinois and possessor of a self-accumulated doctorate in the Spanish table. Gerry once again brings us up to the very minute. . ." - - Michael & Ariane Batterberry, Editor-in-Chief/Publisher and Founding Editor/Publisher, Food Arts, October 2009. 

 

Pilot for a reality television series on wine, gastronomy, culture and travel in Spain.
 

Experience Spain With Gerry Dawes: Customized Culinary, Wine & Cultural Trips to Spain & Travel Consulting on Spain  

Gerry Dawes can be reached at gerrydawes@aol.com; Alternate e-mail (use only if your e-mail to AOL is rejected): gerrydawes@gmail.com

Experience Gerry Dawes's Spain: Customized, Specialized Food, Wine Cultural & Photographic Tours of Spain & Tour Advice

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Drinking Godello at Estado Puro in Madrid.
Photo by Harold Heckle, Associated Press, Madrid.

In October, 2015, John Sconzo (Docsconz: Musings on Food & Life) and I led a group on an exclusive tour of Northern Spain, visiting Galicia, Asturias, the Basque Country, Navarra, La Rioja and Madrid. 

 In January 2014, I organized and led the Club Chefs of Connecticut and New York on a culinary educational tour through Barcelona, San Sadurni d'Anoia (Cava country), Valencia, Alicante and Madrid. 

In October 2013, I led 28 people, including baseball great Keith Hernandez, on The  Commonwealth Club of California Taste of Spain Tour with Gerry Dawes 2013 to Madrid, Córdoba, Sevilla, Sanlúcar de Barrameda, Ronda, Granada, Almagro, Toledo and Chinchón, highlighting gastronomy, culture and wine.  

Gerry Dawes and baseball great Keith Hernandez at the Alhambra in Granada.

The following week, I organized and led John Sconzo (Docsconz:  Musings on Food and Life http://docsconz.com/2014/02/a-master-cortador-makes-his-mark-in-avila/) and his son L. J. on a week-long trip through Segovia, Ávila, Segovia, Cáceres, Mérida, Jabugo, Sanlúcar de Barrameda, the Sierra Morenas north of Córdoba, Chinchón and Toledo.  With more posts to come on his blog, John Sconzo wrote this in one of his first entries about the trip:

"Nights like this are ones that just need to be appreciated for the something special that they are. It is no exaggeration that Gerry Dawes, my friend, traveling companion and guide “knows and appreciates Spain more than all but a few Spaniards” let alone people from other countries. That statement came from our host for the evening, Benjamin Rodriguez Rodriguez, the proprietor of the humble appearing, but fully sensational El Rincon de Jabugo situated in the equally humble, but comfortable Gran Hostal San Segundo located just outside the historic walls of Avila near the  San Vicente gate."

“I have said this before and I’ll say it again, nobody knows Spain like Gerry Dawes. I sincerely doubt that there is another American, and very few, if any, Spaniards can approach, let alone surpass his knowledge of the people, food, wine and culture of Spain. He has been frequenting the depths, breadths and heights of the country as a second home for nearly fifty years, leaving no stone, and especially no wine, unturned during that time.” -- Wining and Dining Around Spain with Gerry Dawes: Part 1 (of a 6-part series) by John Sconzo, Docsconz: Musings on Food & Life, March 10, 2015 (From a second trip Sconzo took with me, this one this year.)

“Gerry Dawes is a true gastronomad, walking the culinary and cultural by-ways of the Spanish soul and then sharing every bit of his passion and knowledge (both considerable) with the reader.  I once overheard someone say that James Michener said Gerry was the only one qualified to write the sequel to Iberia.  I have learned so much from his experiences -- he is the "go-to" guy for anything authentically Spanish and is unparalleled in his experience with Spanish wines.  Gerry has introduced the world to Spanish chefs (including Ferran Adria), Spanish food products, wines, history (I especially love his respect for Spain's Jewish culture -- and he's not Jewish), and travel.”  - - Rozanne Gold, Four-time James Beard Foundation award-winning chef and author.  

Pilot for a reality television series on wine, gastronomy, culture and travel in Spain.

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For customized trips, contact Gerry Dawes (based in New York) with desired dates, areas of interest in Spain (gastronomy, wine, art, history, culture, photography, etc.), specific sights you might like to see, number of possible travelers, and an estimated budget for your group. 

gerrydawes@aol.com

Phone: 914-414-6982 
Teléfono movíl (during stays in España): (011 34) 670 67 39 34

More Endorsements and Testimonials From Culinary Stars 

Photographic Gallery of Spanish Chefs & Food Personalities

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José Andrés with "The Ultimate Gin & Tonic," made with Hendrick's gin and Fever Tree tonic water, Bar Blanca at The Bazaar by José Andrés at the SLS Hotel, Beverly Hills. All photos by Gerry Dawes ©2011. Contact gerrydawes@aol.com for publication rights.

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(Slide Show, click on images to enlarge.)


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About Gerry Dawes

Gerry Dawes's Spain: An Insider's Guide to Spanish Food, Wine, Culture and Travel  

Gerry Dawes is a writer-photographer-and lecturer on Spain.  He writes and speaks frequently on Spanish wine and gastronomy and leads and plans customized gastronomy, wine and cultural tours to Spain.  He was awarded Spain's prestigious Premio Nacional de Gastronomía (National Gastronomy Award) in 2003.

Gerry Dawes was a finalist for the 2001 James Beard Foundation's Journalism Award for Best Magazine Writing on Wine, won The Cava Institute's First Prize for Journalism for his article on cava in 2004, was awarded the CineGourLand “Cinéfilos y Gourmets” (Cinephiles & Gourmets) prize in 2009 in Getxo (Vizcaya) and received the 2009 Association of Food Journalists Second Prize for Best Food Feature in a Magazine for his Food Arts article, a retrospective piece about Catalan star chef, Ferran Adrià. 

In December, 2009, Dawes was awarded the Food Arts Silver Spoon Award in a profile written by José Andrés. 

". . .That we were the first to introduce American readers to Ferran Adrià in 1997 and have ever since continued to bring you a blow-by-blow narrative of Spain's riveting ferment is chiefly due to our Spanish correspondent, Gerry "Mr. Spain" Dawes, the messianic wine and food journalist raised in Southern Illinois and possessor of a self-accumulated doctorate in the Spanish table. Gerry once again brings us up to the very minute. . ." - - Michael & Ariane Batterberry, Editor-in-Chief/Publisher and Founding Editor/Publisher, Food Arts, October 2009. 

Pilot for a reality television series on wine, gastronomy, culture and travel in Spain.
 

Experience Spain With Gerry Dawes: Customized Culinary, Wine & Cultural Trips to Spain & Travel Consulting on Spain  

Gerry Dawes can be reached at gerrydawes@aol.com; Alternate e-mail (use only if your e-mail to AOL is rejected): gerrydawes@gmail.com

Endorsements & Testimonials on Gerry Dawes's Spain Expertise

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 Experience Gerry Dawes's Spain

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Gerry Dawes has been traveling in Spain for more than 40 years with over 100 (60 in the past decade ) extensive food and wine trips to Spain. He has been cited for his knowledge of Spain in The New York Times and New York Times Magazine, New York Newsday, The Wine Spectator, The James Beard Foundation Newsletter, Food Arts, Men's Journal, and Spain's El País, El Mundo, Cambio 16, and Restauradores. Dawes has led numerous culinary and wine tours to Spain. His clients have included The World Trade Center Club, Club Managers of America Wine Society, Chef Mark Miller and his management team, the mythical 61st Tactical Fighter Squadron and The Commonwealth Club of California.

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Endorsements & Testimonials

Food Arts Silver Spoon Award December 2009 Recipient

(Written by José Andrés)

"Spain wouldn't be as known to Americans without the stories Gerry tells and writes."– Ferran Adrià, El Bulli, considered to be the world’s top, most innovative chef.

"As a young chef arriving in America from Spain in the early 1990s, I came to see Gerry as an ally. At the time, I found myself struggling to explain Spanish cooking because people either had no idea or they had the wrong idea.  It was a battle.  But Gerry's writing meant I was not alone in telling Americans about piquillos and escudella and jamón.  At a time when most food journalists were writing about France and Italy, Gerry went off in his own direction to become the first to really tell the story of Spain."– José Andrés, James Beard Award Winning Star Chef, Jaleo, Zaytinya, Café Átlantico Minibar (Washington, D.C.); Bazaar (Los Angeles).

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"In his nearly thirty years of wandering the back roads of Spain," Gerry Dawes has built up a much stronger bank of experiences than I had to rely on when I started writing Iberia...His adventures far exceeded mine in both width and depth..." -- James A. Michener, author of Iberia: Spanish Travels and Reflections
 

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"Gerry has an extraordinary knowledge of Spain, not just the cuisine and wine but the geography (little tapas bars on tiny streets in villages up in the mountains), history, culture and people. One of the highlights of the trip for me was not a 3-star Michelin meal, but a lunch at a winery. Gerry, of course, knew the winemaker, and we dined in a large beautiful room with floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the vineyard. We ate simply: tomato salad, jamón ibérico, great bread and olive oil, baby lamb chops grilled over grape vines cuttings (exquisite), ewes’ milk cheese and, of course, great wine. What was special about this was the people, who invited us into their home with warmth and genuine hospitality, their alegría de vida (joie de vivre). I don’t speak Spanish but didn’t have too, we communicated through food, wine, banter, laughter and facial expressions." - - Terrance Brennan, Chef, cookbook author, creator-owner of New York’s Picholine and Artisanal restaurants. Brennan rates this trip, which predates the film pilot, as one of the top two gastronomic experiences of his life.

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 EO Agency Pilot Video For Proposed 7 Days, 7 Nights Television Series

with Gerry Dawes (& Guest Chef Terrance Brennan)

(Click on arrow to play video.)

Testimonials on Gerry Dawes's Spain Expertise

"I have been reading Gerry Dawes’ work on Spain for years, have been guided by him on visits to Spain, depend on him to answer any questions I might have about Spain, and hear from him when I get something wrong about Spain. No one is a more indefatigable lover and authority about his adopted country, and no one writes better about its food and wines."- -John Mariani, Mariani's Virtual Gourmet Newsletter; columnist for Esquire, Wine Spectator, Bloomberg News and Radio, and Diversion. He is author of The Encyclopedia of American Food & Drink (Lebhar-Friedman), The Dictionary of Italian Food and Drink (Broadway), and, with his wife Galina, the award-winning Italian-American Cookbook (Harvard Common Press).

"My first introduction to Spanish cuisine was a fabulous two-week trip I took all around Spain with Gerry Dawes in 1990." -- Thomas Keller, Chef-owner, The French Laundry, Per Se, Bouchon, Bouchon Bakery, Ad Hoc.

"As with most culinary adventures, for Terrance Brennan (Chef-owner of New York City's Picholine and Artisanal restaurants; Founder of Artisanal Premium Cheese Center) it began as an occasional whisper. Then it became a persistent drone. And, finally a repetitive shout: 'Spain! Go to Spain! . . . Spain is the new France!' It was hard to ignore, so when his long-time friend Gerry Dawes suggested a whirlwind gastronomic tour of Spain, Terrance leapt at the idea. Dawes often referred to as 'Mr. Spain' (in culinary and wine circles), is an expert on that country's food, wine, and culture, and was the ideal person with whom to make the pilgrimage. Reigning in Spain: Blazing Through a Culinary Tour, The Artisanal Table, Summer 2008.
 

"Going to Spain with Gerry Dawes as Janet and I have done is one of the greatest ways imaginable to take in what is white-hot or classic regarding all things gastronomic. Treat yourself and those you love to the real insider's tour and join the Gerry tapeo!"-- Norman Van Aken, "The Father of New World Cuisine, "Chef, Author, Restaurateur

"I have taken ten trips to Spain, but the best trip was the one Gerry Dawes orchestrated. His love and knowledge of the foods and wines of Spain are intoxicating. His ever present enthusiasm made my Spanish experiences with him memorable." - - Mark Miller, Chef/former owner, Coyote Cafe (Santa Fe, New Mexico), winner of the James Beard Foundation's Southwestern Chef of the Year Award 1996.

 

"Just wanted to send you a big THANK YOU for the world's greatest two-hour tour of Madrid. From the boquerones to the capes to the good company, we loved every minute! Hope to have the pleasure of seeing you again soon...on any continent. With appreciation." - - Karen Page and Andrew Dornenburg, James Beard Award-winning co-authors of BECOMING A CHEF, CULINARY ARTISTRY, DINING OUT, CHEF'S NIGHT OUT, THE NEW AMERICAN CHEF, WHAT TO DRINK WITH WHAT YOU EAT, THE FLAVOR BIBLE and ON MASTERING WINE (forthcoming from Little, Brown), Web: www.becomingachef.com

“. . . Give me Schildknecht on Riesling. Give me Gerry Dawes on Spanish wines. Give me the Decanter panel on claret. Despite his too high points, give me Parker on Rhones." – Charlie Olken, the Editor/Publisher of Connoisseurs' Guide (to California Wines)

"My dearest Gerry:  I just opened up this month's Food Arts (December 2009)!   And there you are with a Silver Spoon in your mouth! Oh my god do you deserve this!  I am so happy for you. . . you are totally unsung and totally deserving of fame, fortune, and glory. (James) Michener himself said so...Mucho love." - - Rozanne Gold (Author of numerous cookbooks.)

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Testimonials from The Commonwealth Club  

Taste of Spain Tour 2006 

"Our first trip with The Commonwealth Club turned out to be one of the best trips we'd ever taken in our many years of world travel. We experienced an unforgettably wonderful slice of culture that far exceeded our expectations, due to The Club's relationships with chefs and winemakers in Spain." Joe and Linda Rubino, Club Travelers, the lead quote in The Commonwealth Club Travel internet page.

"Wow! What a trip!!! It was everything we hoped for and so much more--we very much enjoyed it. This has been one of the best trips we've ever taken and believe me, we've had a blast in the past! We hope to join up with you on a tour Southern Spain. Until then." Joe and Linda Rubino,(note to Gerry Dawes)

"Thanks so much for guiding us thru Spain and showing us your unique insider's view-it was a taste of Spain in more many ways than food and wine although that part was fantastic. We could never have had the experience ofthe country without your efforts and expertise.We believe (as do Tom and Carol) that your knowledge as well as the friendships that you have developed is a unmatched asset." All the best, Celia and Steve Rosen, New York

"Carol and I are still a bit woozy in the head from the time difference but we have been talking nonstop about our great trip and how it exceeded our expectations. Thanks for the adventure and getting us access to the best wineries and restaurants in from Madrid to Barcelona. Again thanks for everything." Thomas H. Burkhart, CEO, The Savant Group, San Francisco, CA 

"Lars and I just got home from Spain. Wanted to tell you again how memorable you made the tour of Spain and how much we enjoyed the great restaurants, wineries and people you were able to gather together for the group." Carol Vistnes, San Francisco

"Thanks for the tour! Mercedes (Lopez de Heredia, La Rioja) and the cooperage will always be remembered as will the "boat" trip (the ferry to Casa Camara in Pasajes de San Juan) and meal in San Sebastian (at three-star Michelin Arzak). Thanks for a wonderful trip. This one is the best ones ever for me. We would like to take another trip with you next year." Jim & Anastasia Brown, San Francisco

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Gerry's View ICEX Foods From Spain News

Interview with Chef Alex Ureña, Pamplona, New York City Winter 2008

Starchefs.com Founder Antoinette Bruno Fall 2008

José Andrés & El Salón Internacional de Gourmets, Madrid Summer 2008

Chef Terrance Brennan, Picholine & Artisanal, New York & Spanish Products, Spring 2008

In the Metropolitan New York area, tapas bars are flourishing and seem to be sprouting like mushrooms in many youth-driven areas of the city and even beyond to once staid areas such as Connecticut. Winter 2007

Spain now has an incredible number of prestigious international gastronomy and wine fairs, so many in fact that few Spaniards, even hardened professionals, can keep up with them. Things kick off in January with Madrid Fusión, which has become one of the world’s top gourmet encounters in only five years. Summer 2007

Solera Tapas Bar & Restaurant, Minneapolis & Madrid Fusión 2007 Spring 2007

Spanish Specialty Food Shops & A Personal View of Madrid Fusión 2006

About the author

Gerry Dawes was awarded Spain's prestigious Premio Nacional de Gastronomía (National Gastronomy Award) in 2003. He writes and speaks frequently on Spanish wine and gastronomy and leads gastronomy, wine and cultural tours to Spain. He was a finalist for the 2001 James Beard Foundation's Journalism Award for Best Magazine Writing on Wine.


Gerry Dawes can be reached at gerrydawes@aol.com; Alternate e-mail (use only if your e-mail to AOL is rejected): gerrydawes@hotmail.com

Terrance Brennan & Gerry Dawes Blaze Through a Culinary Tour of Spain

Terrance Brennan's New The Artisanal Table Magazine

With an Account of our Whirlwind Gastronomic Tour of Spain

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