Food and Drink

There’s no such thing as a perfect restaurant. There are good restaurants and bad restaurants – truly exceptional ones, even; but perfection is impossible to grasp with each dining experience being so subjective. Many meat-enthusiasts believe Hawksmoor is the perfect meat restaurant, for instance. They’re entitled to their opinions, of course, yet my personal idea of perfection doesn’t include eating carelessly-cooked steaks, suffered in an atmosphere beleaguered by toxic masculinity. The menu at Flank – a new addition to Old...

Chicago’s original craft beer company, Goose Island Beer Co. first launched in 1988. Pioneers of barrel-aged beer, the brewery have introduced a wide portfolio of beers to the UK since launching on this side of the Atlantic, including their core Goose IPA and Honkers Ale. Following the colossal success of the brewery’s first launch of Bourbon County Brand Stout in the UK - traditionally released in the US on Black Friday - Goose Island have released yet another for 2017....

Against all odds, South London is firmly the place to be in 2017. Once criminally best known as the setting for Only Fools & Horses (actually filmed in West London and Bristol), or as an area plagued with violence – Peckham has topped The Sunday Times’ list of the best places in London to live, this year. At long last, SE15 is cool again, but hasn’t (yet) been developed to the sterile peaks of Shoreditch and Dalston, even though so...

A recent survey conducted by Waitrose suggests one in six Brits now celebrate Thanksgiving. Coinciding with Thanksgiving’s increased UK popularity, a number of American food trends have also escalated – notably the value of the US barbecue food market, now worth £68m in Britain. Numerous stateside food and drink establishments have successfully launched on this side of the Atlantic in recent years, including Shake Shack, Red Rooster and Dominique Ansel Bakery. Creator of the world-famous Cronut, Chef Dominique Ansel was awarded World’s Best Pastry...

The secret of how to pour the perfect pint of Guinness has been discovered... by Japanese scientists! And it's all to do with the bubbles, they say. Creating a creamy head, the world renowned symbol of the Irish stout, is the result of a complex chain of events - and not just a matter of chance. The breakthrough could help guarantee customers will be served up an appealing froth topped pint every time. Researchers from the University of Osaka, Japan...

Frying food bad for your diet and lungs Having a fry up really is not only bad for your diet but also bad for your lungs because you breathe in tiny droplets of hot fat, a study found. As food is fried, water droplets "explode" not only spitting hot fat onto your skin but into the air forming dangerous indoor pollution. And chicken, other meat pumped with water or Chinese stir frys are the worst offenders. Scientists at Texas Tech...

Blended from a selection of single malt whiskies aged in rare Mizunara oak casks for at least 18 years, Suntory Whisky launched Yamazaki Mizunara 2017 last week. Spicy, evocative of incense and uniquely Japanese, the production of this limited-edition whisky pushed the blenders at Yamazaki to perfect new cask-making techniques, creating flavours never before tasted in whisky. The result? An exceptional Japanese whisky, but with a high retail price of £1000 per bottle. Though the price point will seem intimidating...

Inspired by Wilkins Micawber – a fictional character from Charles Dicken’s David Copperfield – and his love of gin punch, this week’s recipe is ideal for the winter months. Created by Duncan McRae, Global Ambassador of Hendrick’s Gin, the hot gin punch is served in teacups; a nod to the prohibition act of drinking gin from teacups, in order to disguise the contents. Featuring Hendrick’s Gin, distilled in minuscule batches in Scotland with fresh cucumber and rose petals, the recipe...

What is the secret to making a good wine? Ask the French and they'll say they'll say its the terroir. Ask any New World grower and their more likely to say its the human input that really makes the difference. But ask the Leaf Plucker vineyard on the Western Cape of South Africa and they'll put it down to one rather unusual factor: sheep. Winner of the Gold badge at the Quality Drink Awards for Best White Wine Under £7, Leaf Plucker is a lovely example...