The Weekly Grill: Rochelle Canteen restaurateur Margot Henderson tells us about the first meal her husband Fergus cooked for her and her love of snails December 20, 2018 Who are you and what do you do? I am a wife to my darling Fergus Henderson, mother to three lovely young adults, a food lover and have made restaurants my life. I love to cook and eat and gather people together. My business partner Melanie and I have had restaurants for 24 years, including [...]
The rise in popularity of recipe boxes is just the beginning of a revolution in food-prep convenience. Here’s what’s next December 20, 2018 Humans love to cook, ever since a caveman accidentally roasted his own forearm on a bonfire and reckoned it smelled kind of delicious. From there it was a short jump to cooking meat that wasn’t attached to our arms. Soon ancient humans were experimenting by throwing bigger and bigger animals on to the flames. Mice [...]
If you’re not into wine and beer, here are the Christmas spirits we think you should stock up on over the festive period December 19, 2018 Whether you’re looking for a gift, throwing a party, or fortifying yourself to spend time with your family, the festive period is a peak time for boozing. Here are some suggestions to get you in the Christmas spirits: Appleton Estate Rare Blend 12 Year Old Jamaica Rum Christmas and rum go together like pirates and rum. [...]
Whisky makers warn of damage in store in no deal scenario December 19, 2018 The makers of Scotch whisky have issued a warning to MPs that a no deal Brexit scenario would strike a damaging blow to the £4.5bn industry, which is the UK's biggest food and drink export. The Scotch industry, which supports 40,000 jobs across the UK, is particularly sensitive to the fall out from a no deal Brexit because 90 per [...]
What goes with Christmas? Your festive dinner wine woes solved December 19, 2018 To paraphrase the famous French proverb, a Christmas dinner without wine is like a day without sunshine. A recent survey showed our average spend on a bottle for Christmas dinner increases by 45 per cent, and you can double that if it’s a gift. So it’s clear that we like to put a bit of [...]
Forest Bar + Kitchen in Blackhorse Road review: London’s ‘cave scene’ has birthed a gem in E17 December 19, 2018 Have you heard of the cave scene? No, it’s not not an obscure sexual kink, nor a spelunking society. It is, in fact, the new big thing in eating and drinking. It’s essentially a bunch of hip young restaurateurs and oenophiles reclaiming the term “wine bar”, which had been tarnished by memories of 1980s couples [...]
From bottling in Battersea to viniculture in Tooting, you barely have to venture outside your house to find a winemaking scene December 19, 2018 There are many ways people imagine exploring wine country. In a Fiat 500, driving across the hills of Tuscany with sunglasses on noses and Alanis Morissette in ears; touring the Languedoc by train, sipping crisp Saumur from Tours all the way to Paris. And these days, back home in England, where from Kent all the [...]
Working Lunch review: Harry’s Bar is a glitzy Italian with a rosemary and olive oil ice cream that’s worth the trip alone December 18, 2018 Harry’s Bar 30-34 James Street, W1U WHAT? A glitzy Italian restaurant inspired by the original Harry’s Bar in St Mark’s Square, Venice. Thankfully, you won’t be charged €22 for a Bellini here and they’re just as scrumptious. Part of Richard Caring’s Caprice Holdings Group – which also runs the Ivy Brasseries, J Sheekey and Sexy [...]
The Drinks Master: A guide to the wines of the lesser-known Jura region, France’s best kept wine secret December 12, 2018 Often, when I talk about the region of Jura, the reaction is, “Oh, that nice little Scottish island famous for smoky whisky?” But the Jura I’m passionate about is the lush, verdant sub-Alpine region of eastern France, nestled in the shadow of the Swiss Alps, about 50km east of its more famous vinous cousin, Burgundy. [...]
Mark Hix thinks it’s time for the famous 500lb ‘tunny’ to make a comeback in British waters December 6, 2018 Britain’s waters have always contained tuna, but as a nation we largely ignored them until relatively recently. It wasn’t until the early 1900s that people started constructing special rods to catch these 500lb beasts, with a thriving fishing community growing in Scarborough. There was a huge herring fishery on the east coast and tunny – [...]