Top chef José Pizarro talks about his mother’s stew, and making food so good it makes his diners frisky March 11, 2020 Each week we ask a top chef about their life in food. This week: José Pizarro. Who are you? I am José Pizarro, a Spanish chef who calls London home after living here for 20 years. I have published cookbooks on Spanish food and have four restaurants. What’s new? I recently launched rooms at my [...]
The Thick of It’s Chris Addison talks about the limits of satire, the trials of being a parent and his new show, Breeders March 11, 2020 He rose to fame as a stand-up comedian and became a household name playing The Thick of It’s hapless SpAd Ollie Reeder. Now, after a spell in Hollywood, Chris Addison is returning to British screens with his new sitcom Breeders, directed alongside Simon Blackwell and starring Martin Freeman. It’s a biting comedy about the sleepless [...]
Roddy Doyle: The beloved author opens up on growing older, Irish politics and why he’s still angry March 11, 2020 Roddy Doyle is one of the most well known and beloved contemporary Irish authors. His work includes the Two Pints series and The Commitments, as well as numerous children’s books. We caught up with him on the eve of a new speaking tour. Hi Roddy. Your speaking tour, Conversations with Roddy Doyle, begins soon. Why [...]
Le Farnatchi hotel review: Refined, laid-back luxury in the heart of Marrakech March 6, 2020 Personal space? In the souk, there’s no such thing. Belts. Bags. Trinkets. Shoes. Earthenware. Snakes. All will be thrust under your nose within minutes of entering the old town. Mules kick up clouds of nose-tickling dust. Scooters slalom recklessly through the throng. All around, commerce unfolds as it has done for centuries: aggressive, loud, and, [...]
Among the Trees at the Hayward Gallery: The life of trees viewed through the lens of the anthropocene March 6, 2020 The first recorded use of the term “tree hugger” came in 1730, when a Hindu sect called the Bishnoi tried to stop the maharajah of Jodhpur from chopping down an ancient forest for materials to build his new palace. They died in their hundreds, clinging to branches as the army cut down first the Bishnois [...]
Aubrey Beardsley at Tate Britain review: Delight in these sinister, bawdy drawings that railed against Victorian prudishness March 6, 2020 “I am nothing if I am not grotesque,” Victorian illustrator Aubrey Beardsley once said when asked to explain his art. It’s a fitting summary for the new exhibition of his work at Tate Britain, which takes the viewer on a tour of life’s darker and more sinister corners. Wandering its 15 rooms, you are shunted [...]
Working Lunch: Townsend in Whitechapel Gallery is a solid new cultural dining option March 4, 2020 Each week we pick the best places to wine and dine your favourite clients. WHAT IS IT? The Whitechapel Gallery has converted its ground-floor cafe into a more serious dining space, creating an intimate, light-filled restaurant serving modern British cuisine that sits somewhere between “casual lunch” and “proper dinner”. It’s named after Charles Harrison Townsend, [...]
Jensen Interceptor review: A real brawn star motor that drives like nothing else March 2, 2020 Sharp-suited Italian styling. A brawny all-American V8. A sumptuous wood-and-leather British interior. Oh, and probably the coolest car name ever conceived. The Jensen Interceptor had it all. Sadly, this glamorous GT was also burdened with ‘traditional’ British build quality, but that’s nothing Cropredy Bridge can’t fix. Based in a quaint village near Banbury, the company [...]
Adventure time: Why every explorer wears a mechanical wrist watch March 2, 2020 There’s an old motoring adage that goes, “win on Sunday, sell on Monday.” In other words, as cripplingly expensive and vainglorious as motorsport can be, prove yourself successful on a race weekend (not to mention thrillingly glamorous) and you have no better billboard for the sporty road-goers populating your forecourt. It’s why Enzo Ferrari begrudgingly [...]
Office Space: Take a look behind the scenes of Amazon’s sprawling, 15-storey London headquarters at Principal Place March 2, 2020 There’s always money in the banana stand. Or at least there would be, were the bananas not being handed out for free. Each morning outside Amazon’s HQ in Shoreditch a fruitmonger dispenses complimentary bananas to Amazon staff, peckish commuters and anybody who cares to take one. The tradition was started by Jeff Bezos himself on [...]