![\"SAMSUNG](\"http:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/34\/2015\/01\/SAM_0629.jpg\")
<\/a>The Stafford’s traditional luxury near Picadilly and Buckingham Palace<\/p><\/div>\n
When I told the story to Jozef Rogul, head chef at The Lyttleton restaurant in London\u2019s vaunted luxury hotel The Stafford, he said \u201cI believe the culinary world is experiencing a transition. Diners are becoming less interested in food like jellies and foams created with chemicals, stabilizers and powders. They are starting to desire traditional dishes that don\u2019t look like they\u2019ve been played around with. There will always be a place for \u2018modern cuisine,\u2019 but many people like to eat something without having to work out what it is first, and that suits us just fine.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rogul, who prepared a meal for Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth at The Stafford this autumn, had just finished presenting a gorgeous Christmastime tasting menu which included wild mushroom jelly with truffle foam; Scottish salmon parfait with licorice sauce and seaweed butter; mushroom risotto with Marlborough duck egg and hemp oil; and venison loin.<\/p>\n
<\/a>La Famiglia, in London, has served traditional Tuscan temptations for 35 years. (photo by Michael Patrick Shiels)<\/p><\/div>\n
Across London, in Chelsea, Marietta Maccioni operates La Famiglia, a bright, traditional Tuscan restaurant founded by her legendary father, the late chef Alvaro Maccioni. \u201cModern dishes sometimes are presented on a plate that looks more like finger painting than an entr\u00e9e. It seems too pretty to eat,\u201d she said with a smile. \u201cAnd I can\u2019t help but wonder how many people had to touch my food with their fingers to get it to look like that?\u201d<\/p>\n
La Famiglia\u2019s \u201cfamily kitchen feel,\u201d enjoyed often by Princess Diana in her day, presents dazzling dishes simply, such as roast wild boar with rosemary, garlic and olive oil served with Swiss chard (Prince Harry\u2019s regular order, by the way. For what it\u2019s worth, I favored the starkly sinful rigatoni al gorgonzola, which I would fly back over the ocean to\u00a0eat again.) La Famiglia\u2019s ingredients are so fresh Maccioni insists the sparkling restaurant does not even have a freezer.<\/p>\n
Visit www.lafamiglia.co.uk<\/a> and www.TheStaffordLondon.com<\/a><\/p>\n Michigan-based travel writer Michael Patrick Shiels may be contacted at InviteYourself@aol.com<\/a> or via www.TravelTattler.com<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0 His talk show is heard weekday mornings in Lansing on 92.1 FM and seen on Fox 47 TV.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"