City restaurants among those honoured in 2021 Michelin guide January 26, 2021 Restaurants around the City were celebrated in this year’s Michelin honours list, despite many being closed for most of the year. Da Terra in Bethnal Green and Restaurant Story in Bermondsey, headed up by Rafael Cagali and Tom Sellers respectively, were both awarded two Michelin stars, giving workers even more reason to return to the [...]
Best of travel: A psychedelic trip to San Jose Del Pacifico January 25, 2021 To tide us over until we’re able to travel again, we’re republishing classic travel stories from our archives. This week we revisit Alex Dymoke’s trip to San Jose Del Pacifico, where he discovered the darker side of psychedelic tourism. ••• It’s a beautiful day in San Jose Del Pacifico, a small village high in the [...]
Spirits focus: How Merser & Co is bringing rum back to London January 25, 2021 When we refer to London gin, we know exactly what we’re talking about, for London has long been considered the global capital of gin. But London’s rum history has very little awareness. Very few Londoners seem to know the history of the city’s rum blending houses and how London was a hub of rum in the [...]
How to host a lockdown Burns Supper, from haggis to whisky January 23, 2021 Monday marks what may be the most pared back Burns Night in living memory. While on a normal year swathes of the country head to special dinners to celebrate the life of the Scottish bard, this year we’ll all be stuck in the house watching reruns of Jools Holland. Still, there are a few ways [...]
Forget substandard pasta – try this new delivery service January 22, 2021 You know what I miss? Pasta. Not dried pasta, or the supermarket “fresh pasta” which is somehow worse than the dried stuff. Proper pasta, made by an Italian in a white hat. Proper pasta is hard. Making it is an art, but one that has correct and incorrect ways of going about it. Everybody knows [...]
How loose leaf tea could ease your lockdown stress January 21, 2021 As the reality of another few months of lockdown sinks in, we could all do with a lift right now. Young entrepreneur Katy Spalter believes she may hold the key with her loose tea business. Importing the finest teas and selling them alongside her super-handy portable tea filter, Spalter believes her restorative blends may be [...]
Why online masterclasses will be the hot food trend of 2021 January 20, 2021 While virtually every other industry has been busy digitising for the last decade or more, the restaurant world remained resolutely analogue. Modern kitchens are still built around the Brigade de cuisine hierarchy developed by Georges Auguste Escoffier in the 19th century, and the idea of giving up the level of control afforded by the walled [...]
The surprisingly refined world of Las Vegas dining January 20, 2021 To tide us over until we’re able to travel again, we’re republishing classic travel stories from our archives. This week we revisit Steve Dinneen’s tour of the best restaurants in Las Vegas. ••• If Las Vegas’ 110-year history was played out over a single day, the first decent restaurant would open shortly before midnight. Vegas [...]
Travel South Africa through its top vineyards January 19, 2021 Like most people in the UK right now, I’m well overdue a holiday. Last year was the first I’ve not left the country in a very long time. The majority of the trips I take involve wine. Some of the most beautiful places I’ve travelled to have been wine growing regions. I can’t think of one [...]
Everybody loves Raymond: Blanc and his amazing Manoir January 18, 2021 To tide us over until we’re able to travel again, we’re republishing classic travel stories from our archives. This week we revisit Kate Vandy’s meeting with superstar chef Raymond Blanc at his Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons. ••• Raymond Blanc’s Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons first opened its doors 30 long years ago, to instant acclaim. A [...]