Around the world in four luxe dinners
Let your stomach lead you on a tour of the world in four beautiful luxury dinners, exploring some of the best food from the idyllic seclusion of an exclusive Fijian island resort to the bustle of modern Chicago and the remote exoticism of Africa.
FIJI
Turtle Island Resort
THE EXPERIENCE With its idyllic South Pacifi c setting and the kind of luxury that has attracted some of the world's biggest celebrities (Britney Spears, Ringo Starr and Al Gore among them), the exclusive Turtle Island Resort is a mecca for lovers of romance. The piece de resistance? An evening spent dining on your own lantern-lit pontoon surrounded by the turquoise-blue South Pacific while feasting on food created by the island's food consultant, Melbourne's Jacques Reymond.
GETTING THERE Arrival is by seaplane from Nadi on Fiji's main island, about a 45-minute fl ight.
WHERE TO STAY In one of the 14 beachfront bures, each a private oasis with its own spa pool, outdoor day bed and private section of beach raked to perfection.
SPAIN
Azurmendi
THE EXPERIENCE An imposing steel and glass structure built on a hilltop overlooking the picturesque valley below, landmark restaurant Azurmendi sets the tone from the opening scene. Your meal might begin with a picnic basket of house-made cheese in the surrounding garden before moving inside to experience gastronomy as haute chefs intended. Delicate, artful and intriguing, the menu elevates simple produce to a work of art: note its complex dish of cow tail ravioli wrapped in corn bread with legume broth.
GETTING THERE Azurmendi is a 15-minute taxi ride from the centre of Bilbao.
WHERE TO STAY The Frank O. Gehry-designed Hotel Marques De Riscal, second perhaps only to the Guggenheim as a striking architectural centrepiece of the new Spain.
UNITED STATES
Alinea
THE EXPERIENCE A three-Michelin starred restaurant that leads the charge for the new wave of restaurants where dining is theatre and pre-paid meal tickets are a must to secure the hottest seat in town. Purchase your seat for a chance to eat from the menu that seesaws between 15 and 19 courses, each dish created by Grant Achatz blending chemistry with cuisine: food may be suspended from wires or plated straight on the table, with dishes such as his renowned hot potato, cold potato and black truffl e explosion. An edible balloon made from dehydrated apple and fi lled with helium is a dinner party trick we all wish we could pull off.
GETTING THERE Fly to Chicago via Los Angeles. The restaurant is easily accessible in downtown Chicago.
WHERE TO STAY Get a taste of old-school money at the Talbott Hotel, built in 1927 and still retaining every inch its stately edge as one of the city's few remaining independent hotels.
ZIMBABWE
Singita Pamushana Lodge
THE EXPERIENCE Nothing quite raises the appetite like a pre-dawn personal guided safari through one of
Zimbabwe's most stunning wildlife parks, the Malilangwe Wildlife Reserve. So when night falls it's nice to know you will be returning to a resort boasting a cellar stocked by one of Africa's most infl uential collectors of wine: read through a list of around 222 labels encompassing some 20,000 bottles. Eat at white-linen-clad tables in the African wilderness, matching beautiful plates to exquisite wines.
GETTING THERE Easily accessible by plane from Zimbabwe's Buffalo Range International Airport, or Tambo
International Airport in Johannesburg.
WHERE TO STAY In one of the six plush suites, though if money is not an issue then the private villa might be
preferable. Either way, guests have access to the in-house spa, a sumptuous pool and an incredible range of guided safari drives and walks.