Eating steak with a spoon at The White Oak in Cookham

Do you like your steak dry-aged, wet-aged, from cows that roam the Scottish Highlands or run free on pampas grass in Argentina – and how can you tell the difference? Joanna Biddolph visits The White Oak in Cookham for a steak masterclass with chef-patron Clive Dixon and master butcher Peter Allen – and unexpectedly bites off more than she can chew. 

Green Saffron AAA Vintage Basmati at Carom

‘When this rice is done, the grains should be standing on end, begging you to eat them, almost dancing around the pan’, declares Arun Kapil, himself doing a fair spot of the latter as he jigs about eulogising about Green Saffron’s AAA Vintage Basmati rice. He and Carom’s head chef, Balaji Balachander  have got a biriyani on the bubble, to demonstrate why this particular grain strain is just so superior.

Olives from Spain with Omar Allibhoy

This particular evening was hosted by Olives from Spain, who had roped in Omar to demonstrate a variety of marinades for their olives, before the very nice chap from the cookery school talked us through a couple of more of Omar’s recipes, also featuring quantities of olives.

Roast Restaurant London

You don’t last this long in London without delivering and Roast is soldiering on solidly and getting tables filled doing so. The location is still lovely and unique and while the food breaks no boundaries, there’s nothing wrong with that. 

The Art of Pasta cookbook

There is definitely an art to pasta because, while it can never aspire to or want to be’fancy’ food with intricate cooking and presentation, getting a great pasta dish onto  the table means the art of mixing simple yet fantastic ingredients and, of course, carefully watching that boiling water.

Restaurant Review: The Perkin Reveller New london restaurant

I’ve just had a bit of a’When Harry Met Sally’ moment with an egg custard tart. It was rather a long time coming, if you’ll pardon the innuendo, with a pleasurably leisurely dinner finally culminating in this timely and ultimate climax. But I’m not at Katz’s Diner- not a bit of it. This restaurant is as staunchly British as that joint is pure Noo York, even taking its name from a character in one of Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales.