This weekend I’m off, for the first time, to San Sebastian in the Basque region of Spain which is widely regarded as having some of the finest restaurants and gastronomy anywhere in the world. This is a region where food is treated like a religion and chefs are likened to Gods. So you can understand what attracted me to this place!

The tour de force starts tomorrow night at Arzak whose chef, Juan Mari Arzak, is believed to be one of the founders of modern Spanish cuisine. This is very much run as a family business. Elena Arzak, his daughter, is set to take over the restaurant and will be the fourth generation of this family to be involved in the food and catering business.

Saturday night is reserved for one of the most talked about restaurants of 2005, Mugartiz. Adoni Adruiz, the young chef, apprenticed under Ferran Adria of Ell Bulli and has since been garnering glowing reviews and a world wide reputation for his avant-garde, minimalist approach to cooking. I cited this restaurant as one of my “5 food challenges for 2006”, I’m confident it will be more of a pleasure than a challenge.

In between these two distinctly different restaurants I’m sure i’ll find time to knock back a few riojas and enjoy some pintxos. Adios.