All my travel adventures are centred around the food. I guess that is not a surprise with a foodie travel blog! From Sangria in Spain, to Tacos in Mexico, I love discovering new flavours from around the world.
Last weekend Jet2 kindly invited me to Leeds to try some delicious delights, all celebrating the foods you could try on a Jet2 flight from Leeds Bradford airport.
Germany
First stop was I Am Doner. You may have thought a kebab joint would be more aligned with Turkey, but did you know there are more kebab places in Berlin than Istanbul? It’s a huge part of the culture and I enjoyed several whilst in the city a few years ago. I Am Doner founder Paul wanted to bring a kebab shop to the market that was more than a drunken afterthought on the way home from a night out. 53 ingredients go into their kebabs and all the sauces are homemade. The result is a stacked doner with epic flavour and similar to the fabulous kebabs I got to try when in Berlin.
You can fly to Berlin in just over 2 hours from Leeds Bradford Airport.
Spain
Not a new spot for me having started their culinary journey in Manchester, El Gato Negro Tapas create small plates inspired by Spanish flavours and techniques using locally sourced ingredients. Catalan bread topped with olive oil, garlic and fresh tomato was so traditionally made and I am forever grateful to a restaurant that serves Manchego topped with quince jelly. Tapas dining will forever be my favourite style of dining and the flavours transported me to the Rambla in Barcelona.
You can fly to six different destinations in Spain from Leeds Bradford Airport with Jet2.
Greece
Nestled up near the museum in Leeds you will find Tavernaki Bistro, a family owned and run Greek-Cypriot restaurant. The interior transported me straight to a Greek island with those white walls and blue painted window shutters. It is just dreamy and the food is just as enticing. You’ll find a beautiful selection of classic dishes, all cooked to home recipes handed down through the generations. I’m going back just for that Feta Taganaki alone!
Jet2 fly to loads of fabulous Greek destinations from Leeds Bradford Airport.
Italy
We called in Stuzzi, which is short for ‘stuzzichini’. Small Italian plates designed to be eaten with your hands in between drinks. I can massively get on board with this sentiment and even more so if it includes these sensational beauts! Arancino are a Sicilian street food staple and I’ve never seen them this large before. the fresh pea and mint filling had a butter centre that was just delightful.
Sicily is one of the many Italian destinations you can fly to with Jet2.
Turkey
Having never visited Turkey and kebabs already sampled, I was intrigued to find out what foodie item we would find to honour Turkey! We headed into Kirkgate Market and into the side where we found a fabulous selection of street food sellers from all over the world. Our stop was Mr Mackerel, who make lots of different traditional Turkish dishes including mackerel sandwiches! I was reliably informed that grilled mackerel is the dish of the day along the Bosporus Strait in Istanbul. Loaded with mackerel and crunchy vegetables, it was a lovely way to end a foodie day exploring Europe with Jet2.
Our tour was run by Leeds Food Tours, who offer different food tours around the city. I’d highly recommend booking in if you are in the area.
Thanks to Jet2 for for this whistlestop tour of all the delightful dishes that can be tried within a few hours by plane from Leeds Bradford Airport. You can book your own foodie adventure by visiting Jet2 Holidays website.
Where to next?
I was invited on a food tour of Leeds as a guest of Jet2 and was not asked to pay.