TRAVEL : A Foodie Tour of Poland

Early December 2019, I boarded a plane to Warsaw in Poland for a week long foodie tour of all things Polish. It was organised by the KOWR (the National Support Centre for Agriculture) to highlight Polish food and so Poland Tastes Good food tour was a go.

I was joined on the food tour with 10 other influencers from across the world.

A FOODIE TOUR OF POLAND

• Nat from Singapore - rubbisheatrubbishgrow

• Kimberley from Singapore - kimberleyyeo

• Rachel from Singapore - foodgemsg

• Tony from Singapore - jahorkaki

• Ben from Berlin - eateryberlin

• Jan and Edita from Prague - ohmychefcz

• Alex from Bristol - gingeybites

• Karis from Bristol - ladieswhattravel

• Keeley from Manchester - phatcupcake

We would spend 5 days touring around Poland visiting Warsaw, Lodz, Włocławek, Torun, Gdansk, Morag, Wielimowo and Jablonna. We would covered approx 560 miles, stay in 5 different hotels including a palace, join 3 walking tours, participate in 9 excursions, watch a chef carve a goose in 90 seconds, make gingerbread, hug a goat, drink honey, have dinner in a Michelin recommended restaurant and eat so much food that we had to come home to rest our bellies.

The purpose of the visit was for us to learn about selected aspects of Polish cuisine and Polish culinary traditions, gain knowledge about Polish food products (including regional, traditional and organic), meet with Polish recognised culinary heroes and try our hand in preparing Polish dishes. The programme was full on, jam packed from 8am to 11pm daily, but we did have a blast and alot of laughs along the way.

I’ll be writing up reviews and blog posts on a few selected excursions, accommodation and restaurants but here is a quick (ok its a bit of long read) overview of where we went along with some pics.

DAY 1

I flew Edinburgh to Amsterdam to Warsaw with KLM. There are also direct flights with Ryanair from Edinburgh to Warsaw taking approx 2h30mins. www.ryanair.com/gb/en

We stayed at the Mercure Hotel Grand in Warsaw. Yes there was a bed in my shower and once I got over that fact, I really enjoyed staying here. Beds were super comfy and the breakfasts are immense.

And dined at the Michelin Recommended restaurant and wine bar Motokowska 69. A fantastic start to our Polish foodie adventure. This place is lovely, very intimate and quite dark with a big dose of charm and romance thrown in. I especially loved that the waiters well kitted out in their finest suits and the service was impeccable. Read my review here.

DAY 2

We spent the day in Lodz at a Culinary School, Baccaro, learning how to cook Polish food and cooking our own lunch. This included Soup, Herring Tartare, Pork Belly and Banana Muffins. Baccaro are all about zero waste and taught us how to use every part of the produce or how to incorporate left overs into our meals. The studio is very homey and comfortable and the instruction is easy and friendly.

After a four course lunch we happily went on a walking tour of Lodz. It’s an incredible city. There is plenty of quirky memorials and public art and it does have quite a hipster vibe about it. If you are looking for a tour guide, contact the Lodz tourist information centre - www.lodz.travel

Legs stretched, bellies settled and lungs full of fresh air, we proceeded to our next destination, Gozdawa Palace for a Goose Cooking Demonstration with Chef Piotr Lenart.

They adopt a very farm to plate approach with their geese that they farm and serve in the restaurant. Poland is also the largest EU exporter of goose and everything we ate for dinner that night was goose related - goose tartare, smoked goose breast carpaccio, goose rilette, goose pate, goose sausage and roasted goose.

After another buffet of food and a 3 course dinner we slowly made our way to the bus and onto our digs for the evening; the Bursztynowy Palace in Włocławek. Sounds grand. Looks grand. The rooms are not grand! They’re a tad manky and in desperate need of a refurb.

DAY 3

After breakfast (a cup of coffee for most of us as the thought of more food wasn’t appealing) we headed for the gorgeous city of Torun; a historical city on the Vistula River and a UNESCO world heritage site and the birth place of Nicolaus Copernicus (astronomer) for a walking tour. Contact the Torun Tourist Information Centre if you would like to book a tour guide www.visittorun.pl

We visited the most incredible church , St Marys. It was erected in the second half of the 14th century, is one of the most outstanding artistic and architectural achievements of sacral architecture in Poland. In the 14th century it was the highest hall church in Central Europe with the naves and aisles 26.8 metre (88 feet) high. Murals dating back to the 14th century were only uncovered 9 years ago.

After a quick stop for hot chocolates and warmth, it was soon time to visit the Museum Piernika - or Gingerbread museum. Read the full review here.

A quick demo from the Gingerbread witch and her helper and it’s onto making your own gingerbread ornament. Whilst it bakes in the wood fire oven, you are treated to some mead with time to spend perusing items in the giftshop.

After your ornament has been collected you head upstairs for a decorating demo and get to try your steady or not so steady hand at piping the royal icing onto star shaped gingerbreads.

Although we didn’t eat our gingerbread, we did have numerous opportunities to taste the various gingerbreads so when lunchtime came around we weren’t necessarily hungry but when we seen the food…. well we just had to eat….again.

Lunch was at 4 Pory Roku (4 seasons). They specialise in seasonal cuisine, providing an excellent selection of dishes based on the finest produce from first-rate local suppliers who meet their rigorous quality standards. All their ingredients must be organic, sustainable with a traceable provenance.

After a 2 hour journey north to the city of Gdansk, our first stop is at Brovarnia Gdansk - a brewhouse and restaurant for a traditional Polish Christmas Dinner. A quick brewery tour and 3 tasting pints down we adjourned to the table to tuck into some very interesting Polish food.

This was a cold starter of fried cod served with a tomato sauce on vegetables served with spices. Not for me, I’m afraid. Another interesting dish was the Beetroot soup with mushroom dumplings - I quite enjoyed this but you couldn’t have a big bowl of it.

Accommodation was it the superb Hotel Hanza. I had a suite with the most incredible view over Gdansk. Read my review here.

DAY 4

Up early this morning as we had a super busy day planned. First off, a walking tour around Gdansk. Much or Gdansk was rebuilt after WW11, Neptune is the emblem of the city and Gdansk is also the centre for the world’s amber trade. If you would like to book a tour guide contact the Gdansk Tourist Information Centre www.gdansk.pl/en/for-tourists

After a wander down Mariacka Street where you will find an abundance of amber traders, we headed for the famous Pod Łososiem (Under the Salmon), a renovated 17th century historical house that is due to re-open as a seafood restaurant. This is probably the most famous restaurant in Gdansk, as it was here that Goldwasser vodka was first distilled back in 1598 when it went under the name Der Lachs (The Salmon - addresses were often identified by the figure above the door) .Today it is run by the same family, 3rd generation. Under the Salmon has welcomed a few famous people over the years including Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, President Bush Sr. and Princess Anne.

Whilst tucking into five different dishes of herring, prawn bisque soup, and grilled Zander, we drank a fair amount of white wine and enjoyed a Goldwasser or two. But we also honoured to meet and have a Gdansk foodie presentation from Polish food critic, Artur Michna; who took us through the culinary history of Gdansk.

A fascinating morning learning and eating seafood.

But no rest for us. Back on the bus and we head south east towards Morag and the Kozia Goat Farm. We were all so excited about this excursion although we had no idea what to expect.

Ushered into a small cosy room with a large wooden table, laden with cheese; sipping on hot raspberry tea we learned about the couple, who 7 years ago had given up the city life to start a goats cheese farm. They now have 140 goats that they adore and nurture to produce an amazing array of goats cheeses.

Not only did we get to fill our bellies yet again, but we headed into the barn to hug and get selfies with goats. Possibly the best hour of my life!

We weren’t finished for the day. There was still more food to come. We drove to Aktywna Agroturystyka, an agritourist farm, which specialises in smoking fish and meat.

We watched demonstrations on how to make sauerkraut and pickled cucumbers as well as participating in workshops on preparing fish ready for the smoker. The fish we prepared went into the smoker and were ready with 2 hours for our dinner. Dinner consisted of Pumpkin Soup, Fish with potatoes and various pickled vegetables followed by cake and preserved cherries for dessert.

As the night drew to a close we curled up in bed at Osada Dankow - A Place on the Water. The sunrise was beautiful which made up for the lack of bedroom amenities like curtains!

DAY 5

A long bus trip back down towards Warsaw with a stop in Jablonna to visit the Association of Beekeeping Enthusiasts ‘NASZE PSZCZOŁY’

Bees are dying out across the world and we need to help these little fellas as our food and ultimately our lives depend on them pollinating our food supply chain. Anna and Mark are volunteers here and are doing all they can by keeping hives, educating people and showing as many of us as possible how to encourage bees in your on environment providing flowers and bee hotels where they can thrive.

Obviously we drank and tasted quite a long of honey (we bought a lot of bottles too) we headed to Karczma Pod Strzecha for lunch. Yep, you guessed it, another three courses. Here the menu was very traditional Polish food - I tried Zurek (polish sour rye soup with egg and sausage); Beef cheeks in a red wine sauce and Hot Apple Pie.

We needed the sustenance as up next was vodka. We took in a tour and tasting at the Polish Vodka Museum in Warsaw. It’s only been open for just over a year and was modelled on the Scotch Malt Whisky Experience here in Edinburgh. Full review coming soon.

After five days of travelling, eating and drinking, we could barely think about food but as soon as we seen Zoni restaurant and vodka bar, our foodie jinns awoke once more and we couldn’t wait to dine here.

Zoni is built in the old vodka distillery and is fairly new. At the helm is Poland’s most maverick chef, Aleksander Baron. This is hop modern contemporary cuisine with Poland at it’s heart. Zoni has also just recently been shortlisted for The World Interiors News Awards 2019! Full review coming soon.

With our last mouthful taken, we were driven to Warsaw airport for easy access the following morning for all our various flights back home.

We stayed in the luxurious, comfortable, modern and beautiful Marriott Renaissance Hotel for the best sleep I had all week.

With a very sated appetite, a happy heart, a head full of memories and some new friends made, I headed home to bonnie Scotland.

I will be writing food and accommodation reviews over the next couple of weeks, so do keep a look out on the blog for them. In the meantime, many of my photos from our foodie tour of Poland, are on my Instagram - go have a wee look.

There is nothing else to say other than - POLAND TASTES GOOD (PERHAPS EVEN GREAT!).

All of these excursions, activities and accommodation are available to the general public and you can book these by contacting the venues directly (all the links are provided) or by contacting the local tourism offices especially for the walking tours in Torun, Lodz and Gdansk.