Marbella’s unfailing Star Appeal

Antonio Banderas likes it. So do Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta Jones. Jamie Oliver teaches here, Gordon Ramsey steps on local toes and Michelle Obama, so it seems, simply cannot stay away. Marbella at the Costa del Sol is still THE place to be seen this summer, a must-have accessory for every celebrity. The Malaga Food and Wine Festival, in which Marbella took part last week, has highlighted once more that Marbella is a town to be reckoned with on the world-wide culinary stage.

What’s cooking in Marbella?

While chirpy celebrity chef Jamie Oliver was busy preparing meals for school children in Benalmadena, grouchy Gordon Ramsey was trying to turn around the fortunes of a restaurant in Fuengirola. Jamie Oliver was attempting to set a new world record for his Food Revolution Day – for Gordon Ramsey it probably just felt like it, for having to deal with irresponsible owners, incompetent chefs or unruly restaurant staff can be something of an uphill struggle.

And while these two TV-chefs were trying their best to set the world of cooking to rights, Marbella visitors were munching their culinary way through the town’s excellent tapas bars and seafood restaurants, many of which were pulling out all the culinary stops as part of the Malaga Food and Wine Festival.

Gordon Ramsey came to Fuengirola on a mission to turn around a Scottish diner called Jack’s Chicken Shack as part of his Channel Four hit series Kitchen Nightmares. Jamie Oliver gave children at the Benalmadena International College a cooking lesson as part of his world record bid for getting the greatest number of children cooking the same dish at the same time. The TV-chef was a virtual presence only, for this was a live webcast to make Rainbow Salad Wraps and children all over the world were able to take part.
 
Hobby chefs, inspired by the Malaga Province’s Food and Wine Festival to cook up their own storm at home, will find some of the more exulted ingredients at Marbella Old Town’s delicatessen and champagne bar La Santa, which is located in Calle Plaza Puente Ronda. The gourmet deli sells premier hams, fine spicy sausages and traditional cheeses among a plethora of other mouth-watering specialities from the Costa del Sol.
 
What’s eating Marbella’s Shoppers?

The IMF has just announced that Spain must raise VAT to reduce the burden on corporate tax payers. Another increase in VAT is going to hurt Spain’s residents and holidaymakers alike, although foreign visitors can reclaim VAT on certain goods. With rising tax burdens on residents it is more important than ever for families to know how to shop – and eat – cheaply.

Inspired by the celebrated chefs who cooked up some of the Costa del Sol’s finest dishes during the Malaga Food and Wine festival, many households will have ear-marked new recipes to breathe new life into their daily food consumption, only to discover that the cost of everything is set to rise yet again.
 
Those participating in some of the cookery demonstrations held across Malaga and Marbella will have discovered that most traditional recipes tend to use fairly cheap ingredients and work out far more economically than ready-made meals. So get cooking in the traditional way, use ingredients grown in your garden and beat the tax-hounds at their own game.

Urban dwellers without a vegetable patch needn’t despair. Greater Marbella boasts many excellent markets where one can find quality food at fair prices. Try Marbella’s regular Monday market or go to Antequera, Fuengirola, Puerto Banus or Nerja on Tuesdays when these towns hold their market days.  The region’s markets are famous for their fresh vegetables and fruit, wonderful variety of meat and fish, locally produced cheeses, olives and wine and there are plenty of bargains to be had.
 
Naked culinary Ambition

If you are busy cruising the Costa del Sol to find your perfect holiday home with a spacious kitchen where you can try out Jamie’s recipes or dream of Delia’s delights, don’t forget that the rest of your family might not share your culinary ambitions! They may prefer a Marbella holiday home with swimming pool instead of a super-sized Aga or want a south facing terrace rather than a top-of-the-range American style fridge.