Gabe The Travel Guy

Chef Massimo Falsini has a real love affair with Mother Nature.   “Caruso’s menu in entirely built on Mother Nature’s will,” says the chef behind one of the year’s most anticipated restaurant openings in Santa Barbara. Caruso’s is the flagship restaurant inside the new Rosewood Miramar Beach resort, named after the man who dreamed it up, L.A. developer Rick Caruso. Chef Massimo Falsini Chef Falsini on his ingredients: “The perfection of Mother Nature is right under our eyes, every day. We just forget how to look at it, how to spot it. Take a Romanesco cauliflower, observe its geometry, really look at it. Then you will know.”   The chef’s affection for food is certainly defining the culinary experience at Caruso’s and, by extension, the Santa Barbara dining experience itself. Seasonality and regionality reign supreme here, and the menu follows their lead, even if on a daily basis. “The menu is alive and dynamic, with constant changes, tweaks and adjustment,” says ...

My visit w/Catherine Fulvio at Ballyknocken in February 2019 “You come here, you experience Ireland in one fell swoop.” Chef Catherine Fulvio is talking about Ballyknocken, her childhood home in Ireland’s County Wicklow and, today, one of the island nation’s premier culinary destinations. “When we welcome guests,” she continues, “it gives us a chance to share our passion for all things Irish – our culture, our home, our food.” Mrs. Fulvio is a well-known personality in Ireland, a bona fide celebrity chef, with six Irish TV series and six cookbooks to her name; American audiences will recognize her from Netflix’s popular cooking show, “Lords and Ladles.” Her celebrity, certainly, has bolstered Ballyknocken’s success as a place to stay – a sprawling 280-acre estate less than 40 miles south of Dublin that’s embraced by the undulating Wicklow Mountains and a rippling green landscape as far as the eye can see. Click here for my video story about Chef Fulvio and the oth...

The upcoming Four Seasons Maui Wine & Food Classic is a glimpse into the future of travel: Americans are seeking experiences that are as memorable as they are transformative, and they’re seeking luxury. And this Classic, the first of its kind, aims to deliver.   “This is about changing a culture of how we experience wine, and in a region that will make an impact,” says Christian Navarro, president and co-owner of the Wally’s culinary enterprises in L.A. and a man regularly dubbed, ‘sommelier to the stars.’ Wally’s is co-creator of the Classic with the Four Seasons Resort Maui, oceanfront celebrity haven where the inaugural three-day foodie spectacular will take place March 1 st through 3 rd .   The Four Seasons Resort Maui “We’re living in an era where people are forgetting to listen,” Navarro continues, referencing the trend toward larger, impersonal consumer events that define the American wine industry today. The Classic, with a three-day guest total...