Gourmet's Diary of a Foodie

In and around Montreal, the great outdoors plays a major role in inspiring the unique local flavor. Just 40 minutes outside the city, the collaboration between a chef and a forager results in an elegant restaurant menu. Meet a fourth-generation apple farmer who mixes the Old World and the New by producing cider using the méthode champenoise. Back in the city, tour the biggest indoor market in Canada. In the garden behind Joe Beef, chef Fred Morin shows how his fearless approach to experimentation defines his restaurant’s quirky comfort food. In the Gourmet test kitchen, food editor Paul Grimes uses Canadian maple syrup to prepare a delicious whole chicken in a pan.

Discover the many ways in which chile peppers have set the global palate on fire. In Oaxaca, family and friends come together to make Mexico’s most patriotic dish—Chiles en Nogada. Join John “Doc” Willoughby, executive editor of Gourmet magazine, in Şanliurfa, Turkey, as he researches a story on Urfa and Maraş peppers. In Lenhartsville, Pennsylvania, meet an obsessive farmer who harvests over 100 different kinds of chiles. In the Gourmet test kitchen, Ian Knauer uses serrano chiles to make an Indian shrimp curry that mixes heat with a harmony of spices.

Travel to the southernmost part of Spain—Andalucía, the land of flamenco and bullfighting. Visit the home of a family of flamenco musicians as they prepare classic Gypsy dishes. Meet a local farmer who is committed to producing jamón ibérico in the time-consuming traditional way because he considers its unique flavor a miracle. Learn the history of gazpacho, one of Andalucía’s most well-known delicacies and meet a chef who puts an avant-garde twist on the chilled soup. And in the Gourmet test kitchen, editor in chief Ruth Reichl shares a quick and easy way to make paella at home.