Food and Drink

A fresh take on a classic style.

Pride is a double-edged sword. To be in the right, I’ll take the most extreme measures, yet there's something oddly rewarding about being proven wrong, on occasion, especially when done with such pizazz, such finesse. At the beginning of last year, I visited Monica Galetti's pop up at the top of 30 St Mary Axe (The Gherkin) for lunch. I'd never had the chance to visit Le Gavroche with Monica on board, but I'd heard great things, as well as...

Once a topic of controversy, even amongst the most carnivorous of us, veal (particularly Rose Veal) is becoming increasingly popular on the menus of high-end restaurants around London and the United Kingdom. A leading UK restaurant supplier, Lake District Farmers supply premium, breed-specific meats to fine dining establishments, providing customers with the full supply chain history. Working with a group of 50 Lake District-based farmers, the company renowned as “the hidden pearl of the Lake District” manages to produce some...

With a continuous rise in restaurants serving exciting meat-free food, heightened awareness of animal welfare and health-conscious dieting, it’s unsurprising that vegetarianism, veganism and flexitarianism (semi-vegetarian) are on the rise. In fact, since Linda McCartney introduced her range of vegetarian dishes over 25 years ago, the number of vegetarians in Britain has more than doubled – launched as an attempt to save vegetarians from a bleak future of eating unexciting food. Research in 2016 also showed that 12 per cent...

Just over a year ago, when Sartoria opened on the corner of Saville Row – like everybody else in London with a passion for food - I couldn’t wait to visit. Renowned as one of London’s finest Italian chefs (having previously worked at L’Anima), D&D London recruited Francesco Mazzei to run the kitchen of its swanky new venue. Bedecked with heavily starched linen and cutlery so heavily polished that neighbouring diners could be blinded with one misjudged mouthful – it...

Culminating with the release of a brand new free-standing steam oven, high-end home and kitchen appliance innovators Miele have teamed up with chefs Skye Gyngell and Marianne Lumb. Created using the new Miele steam oven, one of Australian chef Skye Gyngell’s recipes is for a sweet farro tart (farro is a composition of certain wheat grains, often eaten crispy), that’s relatively simple to recreate at home, best served with ripe strawberries and espresso caramel. “Created by Australian multi-award winning chef,...

One of Britain's most celebrated Chefs, Heston Blumenthal's résumé of achievements is beyond belief. Alongside starring in numerous food-focused television shows, Heston has opened five restaurants over the past 20 years, with his Fat Duck group having garnered a total of six Michelin stars. Three of those belong to The Fat Duck, just one of the chef's restaurants in the otherwise sleepy village of Bray (near Maidenhead). Most recently, Heston has launched a five-strong barbecue range with Australian specialists Everdure....

It was with a certain sense of delight that I received a news release this morning noting a potential price hike on olive oil following environmental factors that put 19.8 per cent on the price back in 2015. Granted I use olive oil in most of my cooking, but coupled with the news that avocado prices are set to rise and zesty fruits such as lemons and limes may also be in for a price hike we could finally be getting rid of the "foodie...

A London fine-dining institution, lunch at Michelin-starred Galvin La Chapelle, behind Spitalfields, is an absolute delight. Instead of serving an exclusive menu of (often pompous) haute cuisine, the restaurant offers some of the best French gastronomic delights available in London, alongside one of the most stunning settings. The grade II listed location of brothers Chris and Jeff Galvin’s third restaurant has a long colourful history. At the end of the 19th century, the building was used as the parish of Bishopsgate and...