Do you still have snow? Is the sap running? Have you seen mergansers on the river? These familiar questions are heard at the post office, the Creamery, the market, and at community dinners in the early spring. Rhubarb is rising and it’s time to cook.
I liked the Old Brewery, what they are doing and how they are doing it. The beers are made with care and attention, the beer garden looks promising for the summer, and the food has a cheerful solidity and lack of pretension that fits the restaurant like a well-worn doublet and hose. Henry would have liked it to, but would he have objected to any heads on his beer?
Things are really ‘heating up’ this summer as two of the UK’s finest chefs – Ainsley Harriott and Simon Rimmer – have each devised a recipe for us to try and interestingly both have a warm thing in common – Tabasco
The annual January roll-call of Michelin awards saw Texture restaurant receive its first coveted star. A joint venture started by Icelandic Chef Agnar Sverrisson and Sommelier Xavier Rousset, both formerly of Le Manoir Aux Quat’Saisons, the intimate 50-seater restaurant has been a name that has consistently appeared on best restaurant lists in the past couple of years. Sabrina Ghayour paid Chef Agnar Sverrissona visit to learn more about the restaurant and more about the man who is largely responsible for Texture’s success.
The Flanders coast has so many Michelin Star restaurants, all vying for the local euro. I was over to visit one in particular, Bartholomeus in Knokke, but on the journey up there from Ostend I was able to take in a lot more of what the Flanders coast has to offer and get a taste of what makes it such a great and unusual foodie weekend break destination.
The Mall Tavern is a brand new gastropub in the heart of Notting Hill Gate. Owners Jonathan and Andy Perritt have teamed up with Chef Jesse Dunford Wood, a rising star on the London dining scene
Bulgogi is thinly sliced meat (usually beef and sometimes pork) marinated in simple sauce made using just a few ingredients. Then after a few hours of marination, the meat is ready to be fired up on the barbecue and this is really where the flavours become smoky and sweet and make the classic Bulgogi.
What is it with the bloody front door at Hix Soho? Every time I go there I have to fight the thing to get in. I’m not alone either, I often go past the place and see would be punters shoulder-charging the door and bouncing off again. No visible handle and some kind of damper system seems to be the problem, but that’s what you get when you take over an old Japanese place I suppose. Inscrutable technology.
Russian Standard Gold is Distilled from, what we are told is the finest Russian winter wheat from the southern steppes of Russia and blended with the glacial waters from Lake Ladoga, incorporating Siberian golden roots to provide its soft taste.
You would think that an invitation to attend an event to celebrate 700 years of Armagnac, to learn about its development and production and of course, to sample the wares of the different producers of this French spirit would be something to leap at. Indeed, I did leap at the opportunity and when it got to the tasting part of the afternoon began to remember why I quite often avoid such events……
