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Joe Ray
Food & Travel / Words & Photos
EATING
THE
MOTHERLAND
Food writer and photographer Joe Ray's gastronomic visits in Europe - the home of his ancestors - and beyond.
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Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Call Me ‘Sir’???
Blame it on sloth or modesty, but I haven’t done much in the self-promo department lately.
Credit a bump in motivation or a lack of scruples for rectifying that problem posthaste.
First and most exciting, I’m a knight! Technically, I’m a young knight of the Confraria del Cava – the brotherhood of Cava, Catalonia’s sparkling wine – thanks to a series of articles that I wrote about the bubbly a few years back.
On October 11, in Sant Sadurnà d’Anoia, Spain, I donned a heavy green cape, made an oath in Catalan(!) pledging my allegiance to Cava, chugged a glass, was tapped with a sword on each shoulder and officially became a knight. I was one of six knights of merit (the Spanish Olympic men’s field hockey team was sworn in as knights of honor), and as far as I could tell, the only foreigner in the room and one of the first non-Catalans in the Confraria’s history to be inducted. Quite flattering.
Earlier this month, I was ask to host a round table discussion at the American Library in Paris around the theme ‘Is French Cuisine Worthy of UNESCO Heritage Status.’ We had fantastic panelists - Clotilde Dusoulier, author of ‘Chocolate & Zucchini’ and ‘Clotilde’s Edible Adventures in Paris,’ (and former interviewee of mine!), Charlotte Puckette and Olivia Kiang-Snaije, co-authors of ‘The Ethnic Paris Cookbook,’ and, to spice things up a little, Catalan journalist and sommelier and author of the blog Wines and The City, Meritxell Falgueras. Great subject, perfect panelists and a full house!
Finally, I’ve made a huge update to my Web site, adding published stories and photos from South America, Sicily, Scotland and Paris – feel free to check them out at http://www.joe-ray.com. Please send me an email here if you’d like to be placed on the mailing list that goes out when a group of new stories go online.
More to come, including stories and blogs from France, Barcelona, Lisbon and Algeria… stay tuned.
Photo: courtesy Confraria del Cava