Food and Drink

A chilly vineyard has become Britain's most Northerly commercial WINE producer for the first time in history. The British wine boom has rarely seen vineyards pop up as far north as Watford as the French try to snap up land for the same desire across the South of England. But no other grape-grower has managed to achieve the longitude co-ordinates of breezy Malton in North Yorkshire. The effects of climate warming and hardier strains of vine have blown away the...

Britain is experiencing a beetroot boom, with supermarket sales of the root vegetable increasing by as much as a third year-on-year on the back of the ‘purple trend’ – people eating purple to consume more antioxidants and nutrients in a bid to stay healthy. Leading researchers Kantar cite the total market spend over the past 12 months on fresh beetroot - beetroot which is ready for eating, pickled in vinegar or infused with various flavours - was more than £34 million,...

A pub chain has banned STRAWS from its boozers after claiming they "suck". Oakman Inns are scrapping the use of 100,000 plastic straws every month to try and become more environmentally friendly. Instead, drinkers will be given an eco-friendly biodegradable alternative, which is yet to be developed. CEO Peter Borg-Neal, who founded the business in 2005, said: "It sounds ridiculous, but it is entirely accurate to say, that every plastic straw that was ever made, still exists today. "They pollute...

Strength: 5% ABV Brewed: Walthamstow, London Founded on the back of a hobby that turned into an obsession, Wild Card Brewery functions from its own site in Walthamstow, having opened at the beginning of 2014. Since launching, Wild Card has become renowned for producing no-nonsense, uncompromising beers with a four-strong core range inspired by playing cards. These include ‘King of Hearts’ blonde beer, ‘Ace of Spades’ London Porter, and ‘Jack of Clubs’ ruby ale and ‘Queen of Diamonds’ – an...

In addition to having become a pioneering figure in London’s ‘pop-up’ movement, Stevie Parle is a chef renowned for both his innovative take on ‘Modern-European’ food, as well as selecting a string of relatively obscure sites to open restaurants. The chef’s first permanent restaurant - Dock Kitchen, for instance, was opened in 2009 inside a converted Victorian Wharf building on the Grand Union Canal in Ladbroke Grove, renovated as part of an urban generation project. Five years later, Rotorino was...

Flicking through photographs of London’s skyline just before the turn of the millennium, it’s now impossible to overlook the colossal number of skyscrapers that have popped-up over the past seventeen years. A clear sign that London is a city dead-set on keeping up appearances with the likes of New York, Hong Kong and Shanghai. These buildings are structures of power, of wealth, of luxury – so it’s hardly surprising that so many high-end, high-rise restaurants have opened across the capital....

Launched at the end of last year, Swift is the latest project from Bobby Hiddleston and Mia Johansoon, having partnered with husband and wife duo Rosie Stimpson and Edmund Weil – the team behind Nightjar and Oriole. In the heart of Soho, the venue is a statement bar that focuses on serving an elegant, grown-up cocktail offering. A number of traditional serves with a contemporary twist are on offer, with prominent leanings towards favouring dark spirits. What’s more, the bar...

Strength: 3.8% ABV Brewed: Ealing, London Launched at the beginning of 2013, Weird Beard Brew Co. operates from a site near Ealing and produces a number of hop-driven beers alongside classic styles. With the aim to “satisfy, enthuse and be enjoyed by whoever the drinker,” Weird Beard offer a number of core beers as well as some occasional specials and one-off brews that push creative boundaries. Brewed with Perle hops, traditionally from Germany and more synonymous with lagers and pilsners,...

When I first started writing about restaurants, the whole concept of posting food photographs on Instagram irritated me beyond belief. I'd rant obstinately about the whole concept until the sloshed, fondled Wagyu cows came home. Most jobs, however, make it completely necessary to leave certain beliefs at the door. Hate it or love it, social media sites are the future. Instagram in particular has become so food-focused that (as a food writer) it's impossible to avoid getting involved. And with...