It’s been just a day since I left Venice after attending The S.Pellegrino Cooking Regatta. I still feel like I’m floating on a boat and am in desperate need of a peach Bellini. On the plane going over, jury member and Radisson Blu chef, David Higgs said we should head straight to the original Harry's Bar outside Piazza San Marco to have one. Fresh, fragrant white peaches peeled, chopped and puréed, and topped with chilled sparkling Prosecco. Heavenly!

The next day at the crack of dawn, we eyed the produce on offer at the Rialto market as we helped chef PJ Vadas from The Roundhouse shop for his ingredients. We were blown away by the live eels, razor clams, fresh anchovies, monster crabs, bunches of zucchini flowers, samphire, blood oranges with their purple flesh and wild baby strawberries.

After spending some time in the cheese shop sampling aged Parmesans, smoky ricottas and the runniest burratas, we stumbled upon Trattoria al Cacciatori, just off the main drag and right on the water. I visited it twice, once for lunch when I ate a traditional Venetian dish of fresh sardines with slightly pickled white onion and sultanas, octopus stewed in red wine and olives, duck ragu, spaghetti smothered in black squid ink sauce and a really good tiramisu.

On my last night in the city I went back for some fabulous tomato bruschetta and had to have the squid ink pasta again, followed by a mint and chocolate panna cotta. So simple, yet bursting with freshness and taste.

I had to giggle when I got back to the hotel and caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror; my glasses and cheeks were covered in black ink spots. It must have been all that slurping!

Abigail