A new recipe book from Mark Hix, he of all the restaurants strewn around London bearing his name and the chef most beloved by ‘blokes’. Not for Mark the pansy hand of fusion, the effete mannerisms of molecular gastronomy. He’s the prop-forward of seasonal cuisine, always ready for a ruck, a maul and a singsong with the critics in the showers afterwards, while trying to stitch his ear back on.
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.
Rose’s Bottle Shock
Christopher and Khadine Rose are the latest crusaders of corkage. Launching this month, their well-intentioned initiative is the unambiguously titled ‘Bring Your Own Bottle’ club (BYOB).
Apsleys Summer Tasting Menu launches
Can you eat at a high level and still stay healthy? From the look of most restaurant critics the answer is an emphatic no, the men so fat of chin they’ve given up shaving out of fear of cutting their own throats. Anita Pati has no desire to end up like that so she was happy to hurry along to Apsley’s to try Michelin Star Heinz Beck’s healthy summer tasting menu
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.
Turkish’Borek Peynir’ (Cheese Pastries)
To mark the final of my three authentic Turkish recipes, I had to end it with one of the most commonly loved pastries in all of Turkey, the Borek.
Dishoom: London’s first Bombay Café
Dishoom (bless you!) aims to bring cool Bombay living to Covent Garden this July. Inspired by the disappearing old cafés that were an important part of life in India’s commercial capital throughout the last century.
Great recipes from Tracklements
Camembert Parcels with Hazelnuts and Tracklements Christmas Chutney,Tracklements Country Garden Chutney& Cheese Scones, Prawn Curry with Tracklements Green Tomato Chutney,Tracklements Caramelised Red Onion Toastswith Blue Cheese & Walnuts
Bodean’s Re-Launch, Tower Hill
This was my first visit to a Bodean’s restaurant and definitely will not be my last. There’s more of a welcoming and personal atmosphere compared to other American sports bar style restaurants I’ve visited. The attention and care given to the preparation and standard of the food is shown through the tenderness and taste of the meat. Throw in some good American beer and sweet cocktails and you’ve got a fine recipe for a good night out.
Le Coup Franc, Montbron, France
This is not Peter Mayle’s Provence and this is not the ‘wonderful little place’ that Giles and Samantha found as they toured the Dordogne last year, while Giles fielded emails from the office on his Blackberry and Samantha collected fabric samples for her shop. This is the France the French see – plain, simple, cheap and quite cheerful.