For this week’s Follow Friday feature I spoke to the delightful Briony Cullin (@glasgow_food).
Can you tell us about your profile (@glasgow_food) on Instagram?
My account focuses on food in Glasgow, mainly from restaurants but I’ve been adding more home cooked stuff there recently. I started the account in 2011.
I noticed from your instagram posts that you were in Australia recently too – is food an important factor for you when it comes to planning travels / holidays?
For me, food is the only factor I consider when travelling! I plan our trips around where we’re going to eat each day and my husband plans the tourist attractions / sights around that. It works well. I love trying new cuisines and some of my favourite meals have been whilst travelling.
I’m actually Australian originally which is why we were back in Melbourne recently. The food scene there is astounding – one of the best meals we had this trip was at Annam which is Vietnamese. The food is exquisite and I’m still thinking about the squid ink cuttlefish. Fun fact: Annam is also a favourite of Nigella Lawson’s – she visited multiple times when she was in Australia last year.
Which other countries have you visited and enjoyed eating in and are there any countries you haven’t visited yet that are on your wish list?
Favourite cities so far include Berlin, Madrid and Dublin. San Francisco is amazing but I haven’t been for a few years! There’s loads more cities on the wish list – I still haven’t been to Italy so I think that’s on the cards for this year.
Can you tell me in no particular order about three of the best dishes you’ve eaten and where they were from?
That’s tough! , Firstly I’d say the A5 Wagyu at near Kyoto in Japan. It’s a tiny restaurant on a back street, the steak was so soft it was like butter. Second would be sounds of the sea at The Fat Duck because it was something I’d seen on TV but the experience of eating it really did transport me back to childhood memories of beach holidays. Finally I think I’d have to say the fish baked eggs at Cafe Strange Brew – I’ve eaten this dish so many times (more than 10, at least) and I’m obsessed. It gets better every time I have it, there’s something really magical about the dish and I’ve tried to recreate it at home.
As well as documenting the amazing restaurant dishes you’ve eaten, you said you’re planning to post more of your own cooking as well?
Yes! I love cooking at home but due to health issues last year I fell off the cooking wagon. I’m an enthusiastic cook and I like cooking Japanese food at home. If we’re having friends over I normally make ramen or okonomiyaki as that’s quite a fun thing to eat as a group. If it’s comfort food we need, I make a chicken seeded mustard pasta with a cream sauce which tastes really indulgent. There’ll be more home cooked food coming to my feed this year.
Are there any other food related people you follow who you’d recommend to others?
I love following chefs to see where they eat – that’s how you find the really good places. I also love any kind of home cooking inspiration, people who are cooking up insteresting things at home which are accessible for weeknights for example. Adam Liaw (an Australian cook) has some great ideas on his feed. In this post in particular I love how he explains juggling cooking food like that with the kids!
Your instagram account showcases some delicious looking food around the world but particularly in Glasgow, where it seems the food scene is as exciting as it’s ever been currently?
I love Glasgow’s food scene. There are so many cool food businesses out there and brilliant chefs. I haven’t mentioned all my favourites but I love Julie’s Kopitiam and Accento Cafe, as well as The Gannet. They’re all exceptional in their own way.
Looking forward, what can people expect to see on your profile in the weeks and months ahead?
I’ll be posting more delicious food from across Glasgow and the world, as well as some home cooking recipes. I think I’m going to mix things up a bit and go back to posting general Glasgow content too, not just food-related.
Follow Briony Cullin:
On Instagram @glasgow_food
On Twitter @glasgow_food
