For some 15 years or more, I have been receiving a magazine from the Economic & Commercial Office at the Embassy of Spain called “Spain Gourmet Tour”. They have diligently ensured that it arrived at my address in Australian and subsequently Hong Kong and then Singapore, as Nomadic as we are.

Spain's supreme iberico ham

Aside from the extraordinary content on the produce, food, cooking, wine, culture, history and travel in Spain, it is the classiest production I have encountered and remains so to this day.

Whenever I need to get a message across to a graphic designer and give them a benchmark of artwork and media that has a wonderfully clean purity and yet captivating in every aspect – fonts, visuals, layout and content – this is my benchmark magazine.

The photography is always nothing short of stunning, visually exciting and attention grabbing and sometimes macro-photography of produce or dishes that are unparalleled. For instance there was an article on lemons, which is a serious topic in Spain, as in they are very passionate about the varieties and regions they are grown in. This eight page article had some striking pictures of lemons and spectacular tree shots that stimulated the senses so much, you had to read the article, and you would have never thought there were eight pages in a story about lemons.

The level of journalism is exceptionally high, and in the diminishing world of publishing, such high quality writing and detail is becoming a rare thing. Magazines in themselves are going through a transition to the digital age and Spain Gourmet Tour is available free, online in PDF form, the current issue at:
http://www.foodsfromspain.com/FicherosEstaticos/spaingourmetour/GOURMETOUR_83_INGLES.pdf

Spanish charcuterie

I believe the magazine is available to purchase, but maybe only in Europe. This I am not really sure on, and the website does not have any subscription section I can see.

Apart from the print version being visually tactile, their website is excellent and has links to everything one could want to know about gastronomy in Spain.

Indeed, every time I visit this website or pick up the magazine, I find myself yearning for a trip to Spain and suddenly craving Spanish food and wine.

www.foodsfromspain.com

San Sebestian - Basque Country - Spain