Cologne Calorie Catasrophe Averted
Back from two nights and three days of eating and drinking my way around Cologne for the Independent on Sunday (publication date not yet known) and have somehow managed to avoid putting on any weight. This, despite a long lunch at the three Michelin-starred Dieter Muller and a no holds barred dinner at one star La Vision. I did however spend a great deal of time walking around the city and, while I certainly ate enough to fill a 900 word article, I didn't over do it too much.
German cusine continues to impress. I had some of the best meals of my life last year at Schwarzwaldstube in the Black Forest and at Cologne's other three star restautant Vendome. This trip reaffirmed my opinion that German chefs are some of the most technically gifted in the world.
Their approach lacks the playfulness that has made the Spanish avant garde so appealing to journalists (flavour is more difficult to write about than visual puns and tricks), but any gourmet would be blown away by the precision of the execution and more importantly the clarity and definition of the flavours. Or to put it another way, its bloody delicious.
On the downside, I was so knackered from my gastronomic wanderings, and from only getting 3 hours sleep on the Sunday before I flew out (an early flight meant a restless overnight stay in an airport hotel and a 5.30am wake up call) that I didn't manage a run while I was away. Its been well over a week since my last outing but today's run wasn't a total disaster, in fact I managed 12 minutes of continuous jogging, the longest duration so far. Before the break in training, I had managed 9mins 45secs so I'm pleased.
I'm not really back on track however and will need to put in some hard work the rest of the week. That will be tough as I'm reviewing a total of three London restaurants for the Metro and Stylebible.com before Friday but I will have the time and its just a matter of will power and getting out and doing it.
German cusine continues to impress. I had some of the best meals of my life last year at Schwarzwaldstube in the Black Forest and at Cologne's other three star restautant Vendome. This trip reaffirmed my opinion that German chefs are some of the most technically gifted in the world.
Their approach lacks the playfulness that has made the Spanish avant garde so appealing to journalists (flavour is more difficult to write about than visual puns and tricks), but any gourmet would be blown away by the precision of the execution and more importantly the clarity and definition of the flavours. Or to put it another way, its bloody delicious.
On the downside, I was so knackered from my gastronomic wanderings, and from only getting 3 hours sleep on the Sunday before I flew out (an early flight meant a restless overnight stay in an airport hotel and a 5.30am wake up call) that I didn't manage a run while I was away. Its been well over a week since my last outing but today's run wasn't a total disaster, in fact I managed 12 minutes of continuous jogging, the longest duration so far. Before the break in training, I had managed 9mins 45secs so I'm pleased.
I'm not really back on track however and will need to put in some hard work the rest of the week. That will be tough as I'm reviewing a total of three London restaurants for the Metro and Stylebible.com before Friday but I will have the time and its just a matter of will power and getting out and doing it.
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