Anita Pati finds that ordering her meal off a touch screen is a touch odd, but warms to the food at Inamo St James the second branch of a concept that’s had a mixed reception for it’s Pan-Asian cuisine and futuristic concept.
African Fusion Cooking – Nina Gaskell
Nina’s book is clearly a labour of love and has a genuineness about it all too often missing from Chef cookbooks (bit of an ego trip) and the pro cookery writers (middle -class women with too much time on their hands and friends in publishing).
Wyck Hill House Hotel and Spa
I’m in two minds what a hotel with flagpoles at the entrance is trying to say. On one hand it denotes grandeur, prestige, an assurance of quality, on the other it smacks slightly of international conference chain, of ‘fur coat, no knickers’ showboating.
Vanilla Nice. Nielsen-Massey Vanilla Bean Paste
Nielsen-Massey are best known for producing vanilla extract; a bakers’ kitchen staple and the antithesis of that nasty synthetic stuff, vanilla ‘essence’. Now they’ve come up with another ‘alternative to vanilla pods:’ Vanilla Bean Paste.
Fried turkey Egg with Spring vegetables
Spring has officially begun today, and this cooking video features Mark Hix (chef, restaurateur, writer and former competitor in Great British Menu) making a great spring dish – fried turkey egg with spring vegetables.
The Rivington Grill, Shoreditch, London,
Rivington Grill isn’t fine dining of course but it’s not downmarket either. Some dishes verge on the self-mocking and ironic, even by Shoreditch’s high standards, but the cooking is capable in a way that that is all about the ‘operation’ rather than just the chef and that’s no bad thing in our current celeb chef obsessed culture.
First Indian Cocktail Bar in London on Dean Street
Zenna Bar is London’s first Indian cocktail bar, found underneath The Red Fort, a pretty good Indian restaurant. Prior to this launch the venue hadn’t reached anywhere near full potential, averaging small weekly numbers of guests and takings. Now the bar has an atmosphere and is starting to create an identity as new life pulses through its veins.
Zilli Green , Soho , London
The latest restaurant from Aldo Zilli, the Italian chef behind Zilli Fish and Zilli Café. Zilli Green is vegetarian and gets its main inspiration from traditional Italian dishes fused with other styles of food from around the world. Not your typical sit-down restaurant, Zilli Green differentiates itself from the competition by offering a buffet as well as the standard menu.
The National Cafe brings Flanders to London
The National Cafe has a new menu of food from Flanders to celebrate the Flemish artist Gossaert and his works on show at the National Gallery. There’s not a mussel in sight but, as we found out, there’s plenty of clever, tasty cooking and a range of deliciously dangerous beers.
Over the grill – Ben Tish of the Opera Tavern talks tapas
The Iberican Pork Burger has gone down a storm at The Opera Tavern in Covent Garden London. Head Chef Ben Tish fires up the josper grill and shows us how it’s done