Wimbledon welcomes Carluccio

I like old Carluccio, I like his passion and I like his food and I share his love of wild mushrooms. In fact it’s thanks to his books on mushroom collection and cooking that I have safely foraged these last few years. Well the now the grand old man of Italian cooking has moved into Wimbledon where ladies who lunch are thick on the ground.

Rude Health porridge tasting – it’s time to get your oats

There’s always been, to my mind, something austere, some thing hair shirt, something a little well, Scottish, about porridge. It makes me think of boarding schools in the Glens and young scions of the aristocracy being herded into cold showers at 6am before being forced to eat a bowl of porridge made with water and salt.

Snow Gastronomy a foodie winter break in Austria

“I’m not normally a winter sports person, to be honest. When I was growing up such a concept was foreign to our family. My father said ‘Winter? Holiday?’ in the much same way Peter Kay’s father said ‘Garlic? Bread?'” The lure of fine food and gentle, sensible fun in the snow finally gets Nick Harman on a plane to Austria.

Bella Vista, Blackheath,London

I do wish Bella Vista was a little closer to where I live, because it is just the kind of little Italian restaurant I would visit regularly.I wasn’t expecting our meal to be this good as there are so many poor-quality Italian restaurants in London that take advantage of our love of Italian food and perhaps our lack of knowledge of what authentic Italian food actually is.

Heavenly Hamburgers with Sweet Potato Wedges

Once in a while, we all just want to be a little naughty and indulge in one of our favourite foods, regardless of the fat/calorie content. Well, I hate to burst your bubble, but you can still do that and be healthy. I started making these burgers over a decade ago and they are just so popular in my family. I have made them for family everywhere from L.A. to Lausanne and it is a firm favourite.

Kiasu, London

‘Our chefs are ANGRY chefs,” declares Elizabeth Seah of Kiasu with a big, irreverent smile on her face. ‘They’re really angry. Cooking at Kiasu means staying as faithful to the original dishes as possible, down to the very last detail – and that takes hard work