Our resident chef Mark Hix on why it’s about time rhubarb overcame the bad reputation your mother left it with January 17, 2017 Some consider rhubarb the devil’s fruit. Well, allow me to correct you: it’s actually a vegetable, and the only reason you don’t like it is because your mother doesn’t know how to cook. We grew up in a lost generation of terrible rhubarb crumbles that never used enough sugar to balance the sharpness. I’ve grown [...]
Our chef columnist Mark Hix on his enduring love for black pudding and the dish that made him fall in love with it January 10, 2017 I’ve been hooked on black pudding ever since it first passed my lips as a kid. There was just something about it I loved, even though the blood pudding I grew up with probably contained way too much rusk or filler and not enough actual meat, which was cheap and low quality. Maybe it was [...]
Our columnist Mark Hix loved the acerbic food writer AA Gill, even when he wasn’t complimentary about his restaurants December 20, 2016 I first met the food writer AA Gill when I started as head chef at Le Caprice. Its co-proprietor Jeremy King introduced this monocle-wearing guy who was sat at the bar on his own as Adrian, the new Sunday Times food critic. “Great, nice to meet you,” I said hurriedly, “I had better get back [...]
Our resident chef Mark Hix on the hidden potential of the humble sprout December 13, 2016 Sprouts have something of a bad reputation. They’re a huge part of the Christmas roast, yet all too often they’re inadequately prepared and cooked with no love. But the humble brussels sprout has got untold potential in the right hands. For a start, don’t fall for the Christmas marketing scam of buying them on the [...]
Our resident chef Mark Hix on the perfect way to cook kale, our generation’s hipster superfood December 6, 2016 As a kid my grandmother used to serve curly kale every winter but like a lot of her home cooking, she’d completely crucify it. Don't get me wrong, she wasn't a bad cook per se, but like most people of her generation, she didn't really know when to turn the gas off. There was just [...]
Our resident chef Mark Hix on the hidden charms of the Romanesco cauliflower November 15, 2016 The first time I set eyes on Romanesco I thought it was some weird hybrid broccoli-cauliflower that had landed from another planet. Later in life I discovered it was an ancient member of the cauliflower familly, also known as Roman cauliflower, and has been grown since the 16th century. Over the years I’ve gradually learned [...]
Restaurateur Mark Hix reminisces with artist Gavin Turk about the glory days of the YBAs ahead of his upcoming show at Damien Hirst’s Newport Street Gallery November 10, 2016 I’ve converted a couple of veggie artists over the years, tempting them with tasty cuts of rare beef – Tim Noble and Mat Collishaw spring to mind – but I suspect Gavin Turk is a lost cause. Gavin, one of the original YBAs, has been veggie for over five years and went full-vegan last year; [...]
Our resident chef Mark Hix on what to do with all those extra prawns you’ve got lying around October 26, 2016 As a kid I used to fish for prawns in the autumn and winter months off the end of the pier in West Bay with drop nets. Occasionally it would be quite productive, but more often than not I would barely get enough for a prawn cocktail. Commercial prawn fishermen are hard to find down [...]
Our resident chef Mark Hix explains how Goatober has crossed the Atlantic and is now converting British chefs on our windy shores October 18, 2016 Ginuary, Leek Week, Avocado Hour – if you can think of it, there’s a date in the calendar set aside to honour it. It’s all got a bit ridiculous, to be honest, and that’s why we pick and choose the foodstuffs we celebrate at Hix group to suit each restaurant. In case you missed it, [...]
Our resident chef Mark Hix on how to spruce up your partridge with foraged berries October 11, 2016 The hedgerows are full of tasty Autumn fruits at the moment which often get completely ignored. I suppose if you live in the countryside you take it for granted but city-folk should be all over the blackberries, elderberries and wild blueberries that they can make into a great little free treat at a dinner party. [...]