Christmas Wines

If you’re all set for food this Xmas but a bit unsure about the wines, Alan Kingsbury has got into the booze early and recommends trying some different grape varieties in order to bring a bit of novelty and cheer to your table this year

Jun Tanaka Christmas Recipes

Born in the US to Japanese parents, Jun Tanaka has headed up the kitchen at Pearl since its opening in June 2004. During this time, the restaurant has gained an excellent reputation for its modern French cuisine, served in the beautiful surroundings of the historic Pearl Assurance building. He also cooks in Street Kitchen, a refurbished Airstream serving simple and healthy bistro style dishes

Hartwell House

Hartwell House, incidentally a grade 1 listed as well as National Trust property, more than lived up to the promise of its grand, if over-familiar entrance. The main building, a seventeenth century mansion house, accommodates 33 guests at full capacity (a former stable block in the grounds has been converted to create a further 16 rooms and suites). This place is, as they say, steeped in a history – but in its truest and most tangible sense

How to make Hummus

You don’t have to as rich as David Beckham to sample the delicious dishes of the Jumeirah Beach Hotel & Al Khayal in Dubai. Executive Chef Maurice Fitzgerald has jotted down his recipe for Hummus for us. So get some pittas and get stuck in!

The London Chocolate Festival 2011

I didn’t get a chance to try the chocolate churros stand, and I would have loved to have sampled the pretty boxes of Baruzzo Italian chocolates. Look out for the trembling stacks of cookies from Galeta and the various cake, fudge and novelty chocolates stalls.

A bit of spice in your life with Spicentice

It was with some excitement that we broke open the box of samples from Spicentice and little packets of spice mixtures tumbled to the floor all around us. There must be around 24 spice kits in the range and we seemed to be knee deep in most of them.