South African flavours for the UK winter

Food blogger Kerstin Rodgers and award-winning South African chef, Reuben Riffel, have developed a range of tasty recipes using South African stone fruit.  South African plums, peaches and nectarines are at their seasonal best during the UK winter, until mid-April, and are widely available in UK supermarkets.

Heritage Sean Brock book review

All in all this a book of dreams, many of the recipes you’ll think about cooking but never will. But Brock’s writing on history and sense of food place is worth the cover price alone and no modern food fan can fail to be impressed at the culinary creativity coming from such an unlikely part of the world.

Zaika restaurant review

With creative cocktails to kick off and a menu full of unusual ideas, Zaika is certainly a cut above the average. It’s no more than you’d expect of a sibling of Tamarind of Mayfair of course and as a local it’s lovely.

Nicolas Feuillatte champagne

They bill it the non elitist’champagne for every day’ and why not? Most of us usually keep champers for celebrations so one that can be poured a bit more often is welcome. And on New Year’s Eve, an affordable bottle of bubbly is as welcome as a man bearing coal at midnight

Coconoil review

If your encounters with coconut are confined to picking bits of Bounty Bar out of your teeth days after eating one, or sitting behind someone on the bus gagging at the waves of coconut aroma coming off their hair, you may not think much of the’nut. But you should try Coconoil

Save Xmas excess. The FoodSaver on test

Vacpack your meats for the freezer or the sous vide, make leftovers last longer in the fridge, preserve that half empty bottle of wine and marinade dishes in ten minutes instead of overnight. The Foodsaver could just be the gadget that changes your foodie life