HOLIDAY season is here and I envy all of you, off to exotic locales. You have a chance to explore new foods and culinary traditions, wherever you go.

Food is the most accessible medium to explore the traditions and cultures of countries we travel to and while you are busy feasting on the offerings of the places you visit, do consider taking a leaf from my book and carry back souvenirs in the form of food or food related objects – Culinary Souvenirs shall we say.

You will find that these offer great keepsakes. They can be simultaneously decorative and functional and also make excellent gifts for people back home. I have lugged home a everything from little cow piggy banks to save milk money to a hotpot for the famous Mongolian hotpot so I can recreate my food experiences for friends back home.

Indulge and a friend who loves to cook, could serve her next special meal in the Le Crueset you picked up in Paris, (French Le Crueset cookware is valued by cooks the world over and passed down in families), OR you could share a Noble Late Harvest wine over a platter of Blue Cheese with a special friend.

(Noble Late Harvest Wines are the result Botrytis, a naturally according fungus, attacking late harvest grapes, causing them to with delicious effect; the grapes shrivel and sweetness is concentrated resulting in a sweet, rich wine ideal with desserts and Blue Cheeses.)

Also by Rushina: The best laid food plans! | How you can make Friday dinners special | My Valentine baby! | Delectable salads!