Tom’s Kitchen in St Katharine Docks has great food, but who’s it for? December 16, 2014 Food: ★★★★☆Value: ★★★☆☆Atmosphere: ★★☆☆☆ 1 Commodity Quay, St Katharine Docks, E1W 1AZW; Tel: 020 3011 5433 Cost for two with wine: £150 I’m not sure what I think about Tom’s Kitchen, which is a problem because someone’s paying me to tell you about it. There are four in the chain now – five if [...]
Mix it up: There’s something fishy about Nobu’s new Caviar Martini December 16, 2014 Plenty of people like their Martinis with a thimble or less of dry vermouth. I've never understood the pleasure of sipping on a couple of shots of ice-cold vodka or gin, myself. But it's not just vermouth; I'm always liable to get itchy tastebuds without a suitable garnish, which is why one desperate evening, [...]
Chef Ana Morris of Islington restaurant LeCoq presents her recipe for burnt chicken and chilli spatchcock chicken December 9, 2014 Ana Morris, the chef of Islington’s favourite rotisserie chicken restaurant LeCoq, on how to unite a community using only a spit and some good quality birds from Suffolk. Sisters Ana and Sanja Morris opened LeCoq last year in Islington. Since, the restaurant has flourished and become a firm local fixture. We speak to chef Ana to [...]
Business is Booming for wine trader Bordeaux Index December 9, 2014 Bottle.opener@cityam.com While we’re toiling away at screens and desks day-dreaming about the Grand Cru we might open with friends on Saturday, Gary Boom lives that dream every day. He’s the former City broker who had a brainwave about the wine business after making his first fortune, and has turned it into Bordeaux Index, one of [...]
Desert Island wines with Bordeaux Index founder Gary Boom December 9, 2014 While we’re toiling away at screens and desks, day-dreaming about the Grand Cru we might open with friends on Saturday, Gary Boom is doing just that. He’s the former City broker who had a brainwave about the wine business after making his first fortune, and has turned it into Bordeaux Index, one of Britain’s largest [...]
The best take-away Christmas lunch: From Benugo’s hot roast turkey sandwich to Itsu’s “aggressively disgusting” pot of chicken December 1, 2014 December is upon us and it’s now perfectly acceptable to buy a take-away Christmas lunch – our sandwich committee checked out some of the most popular. Fred’s at Tesco Thanksgiving Sandwich Turkey, vegetable crisps, tomato, lettuce, cucumber, brie ★★★☆☆ Full marks for presentation but zero for practicality; trying to fit this [...]
Mince pies with a very Spanish twist by Salt Yard chef Ben Tish November 25, 2014 Ben Tish, executive chef of Salt Yard, Ember Yard, Opera Tavern and Dehesa talks mince pies. I was brought up on mince pies. My gran made them with puff pastry and they were amazing. After she passed away my parents switched over to M&S ones. I’ve always loved them and I’ve always cooked [...]
Ice: We celebrate the frozen friend of cocktail drinkers the world over – Mix it up November 25, 2014 We all get by with a little help from our friends. Behind every phenomenal sports person there’s a host of coaches and physios; every celebrated chief exec relies on lesser-celebrated staff to succeed; and every famous bartender needs a team of bar-backs to prep the garnishes, load dishwashers and dry the glasses. Exceptional talent [...]
Christmas for food lovers: The best new cookbooks November 24, 2014 There is no shortage of cookbooks emerging in time for Christmas. We pick out some of our favourites, featuring mouth-watering cuisine from across the globe. MEXICO Margarita Carrillo Arronte You haven’t tried pulled pork until you’ve tried it Mexican style. That’s just one of the dishes in this bible of Mexican cooking from [...]
Graciano: An obscure but memorable wine from Rioja and Navarra November 18, 2014 It’s not often I come across a completely new wine these days. But that’s what happened when I was wandering through the vineyards of Rioja a few weeks ago at harvest time. Intriguingly, it is a wine made from a grape variety that has been around for more than a century. The grape varietal [...]