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Monarch in waiting. The Prince Of Wales in Putney
On the Upper Richmond Road in Putney, lobsters meet their maker and chef Dom Robinson makes them into dishes that defy standard gastropub cliches. Nick Harman squeezes into the royal kitchen to hear a bit more about the Prince's philosophy.
Veggie cool, London style
Veggie has suddenly become uber cool – almost over-night it seems. In July The Observer Food Monthly dedicated an entire edition to the cause; end of August sees NY’s highly regarded Otarian comes to LDN (fast-food, veggie style); and pretty much every other week every other celeb (as long as they’re of the young, female and lithe variety – oh and Russell Brand) is name-dropping Meat-Free Monday as the new ‘in’ cause. It’s hippy-chic all over again – but this time we’re talking food, not fashion.
In a state of Yuforia - frozen yoghurt is hot in Soho
Frozen yoghurt. Is this the guilt-free fix you've been looking for? Nick Harman holsters his prejudices and heads to Yuforia to meet Yuforia founder and frozen yoghurt evangelist Leo Bedford
'Cooks by Gordon Ramsay' Searing Grill
The new 'Cooks by Gordon Ramsay' range is a selection of cooking appliances which aim to make cooking for friends and family easier. We tested the Searing Grill to see if it's any good!
The Great British Beer Festival at Earls Court
The ghost of Oliver Reed hangs over the The Great British Beer Festival at Earls Court. Far from being a middling actor who surrendered his career, and ultimately his life, to alcohol, here he’s a demi god, although of course he never did things by halves. It was always pints. Boom boom!
Terminal 5 food. Plane and simple?
Plane Food as a restaurant name is obviously tempting fate. You can imagine the worried discussions around the table when the idea was first mooted - what if the food's boring? What if it fails to 'take off'? What if it crashes? No doubt Gordon overruled them all, bouncing up and down on the balls of his feet, chopping one hand into another and saying 'yeah?' at the end of every sentence. It's just part of T5's first-class food offering for travellers.
Above and Beyond - Singapore Airlines in flight meals take taste to new heights
Singapore Airlines is so proud of its in-flight food that they've published an all-star cookbook to celebrate. Nick Harman flies Business Class to Singapore and back in just 48 hours to taste the food and to find out how it's all done. Jet lag what let jag?
Nicely Nigerian -Akhaya Cookery School
On hearing about this beginners’ day-long course, I hotfooted it, via sweltering tube, to cool and leafy Hampstead. The African cookery school Akhaya is run by Jenny, a young woman of Nigerian descent just setting up business. We were welcomed with fresh mint and rooibos tea as well as charming applause the second we individually stepped through the doors.
A Lowland Adventure
With the aim of finding ‘Real France, Real Close’, Douglas Blyde takes the Eurostar to the flatlands of French Flanders...
Riverford Travelling Field Kitchen in a yurt
If you thought Yurt was a noise kids made when confronted with broccoli, then you'll be surprised to discover the truth. Anita Pati eats a fabulous dinner in Riverford Farm's marvellous traveling tent of eco-gastronomy.
The full Brazilian - José Baratino cooks at Skylon
Meat is not the only thing on the menu from Brazilian star chef Jose Barattino. As part of Festival Brazil on the Southbank, Jose has come over to inject Brazilian modern and traditional cooking onto the menu at Skylon. We meet him and have a taste of what's on offer.
Catch of the Day - we reel in fresh fish couriered from Cornwall
Fresh fish all the way from Cornwall to SW16 and so perfect we couldn't do better if we lived by the sea ourselves instead of by the Brighton Road. We take delivery of a consignment of Cornwall's finest courtesy of Fish for Thought and seek out some great recipes to make the most of them.
The Sweet Smell of FA
The terrible thing is that dishes served today all too often have no aroma. The times I’ve painfully bent down until my nose was buried in the plate to try and detect some olfactory clue are legion. Yes I am the man over at the corner table, apparently about to snort his meal like a gastro Keith Richards.
Breakfast time
Some say the full English breakfast is this country’s main, possibly only, culinary gift to the world. Where else can you start the day with a meal so stuffed with carbs it will keep you going well past lunch and, if taken everyday, all the way to A & E?
Sunshine Sweetly Captured
His mother being Genoese, Douglas Blyde was particularly interested to attend a workshop by Liguria’s most esteemed confectioner, ‘Pietro Romanengo fu Stefano’. He headed to Richmond's most esteemed greenhouse, 'Petersham Nurseries', to find out more...
Striking oil in Andalucia
These are no ordinary olive oils destined for the bulk purchase market, because as their creator Rosa explains, the total production of olive oil from her estate is but a tiny drop in the olive oil ocean worldwide. Instead these are fine gourmet oils, to be used as an ingredient in cooking not simply as a means to an end.
Nespresso. Wake up and smell proper coffee
Home coffee makers promise a lot but rarely deliver. Gleaming machines with intricate plumbing, sleek looks and fancy ad campaigns they invariably make all the right gurgling noises but deliver coffee as weak as water. So we viewed the Nespresso machine with cynical eyes. God knows we need a decent coffee machine in the office; the price of decent coffee around Carnaby Street is high even for the directors and totally prohibitive for the interns who already sleep under their desks to save money.
72 Hours of Prosecco
In a one man effort to drain the international supply of Prosecco, we send dedicated dipsomaniac, Douglas Blyde to Venice with premium producer, Bisol...
Good Morning, Asda
Believing that Asda was about quantity, not quality, Douglas Blyde set aside an hour for an escorted store tour. But, was his mind changed by the morsels he put in his mouth, or did he simply put his foot in his mouth...
Putting the grape into Great Britain - English Wine Week
The UK wine industry is growing at an impressive rate. Based on data collected at the 2008 harvest there were 416 vineyards recorded in England and Wales with more cropping up in Scotland, Channel Islands and Ireland. Is this an indication that English wines are finally being taken seriously? Caroline Sargent talks to Julia Trustram Eve from English Wine Producers.
