Kitchen studies. You may begin now.

The Kitchen in Parson’s Green is preparing the nation’s youth to cook. With his first year at university coming up faster than last night’s kebab, Harry Farmer volunteered to put on chef’s whites for us and report back as he trialled a few of the courses on offer while trying to keep his typing fingers out the way of the chopper.

John Torode’s Chicken and other birds

This is Torode’s partner book to ‘Beef’ and a whole lot healthier. It’s actually titled ‘.. and other birds’ because, quite frankly, you’d be hard pushed to fill an entire book just on chickens. So pheasants, grouse, woodcock, snipe and other birds flap onto the pages, plus of course the rather more available duck.

The Abbeville, Clapham, re-launches

As we walked through the door of The Abbeville, we were struck by its old fashioned feel, the main entrance leads to a fairly small bar area, a couple of steps up from the entrance level. As we arrived we were each offered a glass of some soft bubbly Prosecco, which, of course we took and were then invited to take a look around.

Tamarind

Tucked away in the money-laden back streets of Mayfair, Tamarind restaurant is by no means the new kid on the block. Established over 15 years ago, despite losing their Michelin star earlier this year, they still remain the original culinary big-hitter of Anglo-Indian cuisine.

Cliveden House – a home and a hotel

Cliveden House is one of the most gorgeous luxury hotels in the UK and just a short ride from London or Heathrow. Nick Harman went to sample life as lived by the infamous Cliveden set in the ’30s and to eat at Waldo’s the hotel’s fine dining restaurant, one which puts the gourmet icing on the weekend stay cake.