I would have to have this meal in Sardinia. I’ve been many times on holiday and of everywhere I’ve been, it’s the most perfect. The food, the culture, the attitude – everything is comforting and convivial.
Whenever I’m there, I cook constantly. We take a villa. I get up early each morning to go to the market with my daughter, then put them to work in the kitchen. Then we spend some time on the beach before coming back to have a beautiful meal.
This year I went with one of my suppliers, Stefano Vallebona. We cooked a banquet every night. He’s from Sardinia, which made it even better. We met cheese makers and charcutiers, we cooked together, we ate in great restaurants...
I would hire a restaurant in Alghero overlooking the beach – all glass-fronted, up on a cliff, facing the sunset. You can sit outside and look down on the beach and the water 20 metres below.
It would be evening. I would have spent the day going to the market, as usual, then on a vineyard tasting. Sardinian wine is special. Cannonau is the most magical wine grape, so I’d be drinking volumes of that.
We’d also have gone to the beach in the afternoon, snorkelling for sea urchins, amazing bright orange inside, black on the outside. We’d eat them straight out of shells, straight up.
I’d then make a black risotto with cuttlefish, followed by a whole seabass baked in a salt crust, with bottarga spaghetti on the side. Then we’d have this really beautiful Sardinian goat roast, cooked over an open fire, with a simple salsa verde.
And we’d finish with local cheeses served with music paper, the traditional Sardinian flatbread, which is as romantic as it sounds, and mirto, a local liqueur.
With me, I’d have my entire family – aunts, uncles, cousins, nephews, my sister and brother-in-law. And I’d also want all the chefs who have worked with me over the years to come – they’re definitely an extension of my family. There are a lot of great guys out there who’ve left and gone on to do great things.
And if I could, I’d have Frank Sinatra sing My Way – I’d go out on that.
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Adam Byatt is a chef, restaurateur and author
