Food and Drink

Brewed: Amsterdam, Netherlands Strength: 6% ABV Heavily inspired by the often forgotten history of Dutch brewing, using herbs, spices and fruits brought home by Dutch sailors, Lowlander Beer use botanicals during the brewing process of all of their beers. Named after the literal meaning of The Netherlands (‘Low Lands’), the brewery source all of their botanicals, herbs and spices from Jacob Hooy, the oldest spice store in Amsterdam and intend to ‘create great tasting beers which are full of both character and...

"Vodka is a tainted spirit in Britain", we wrote back in 2014 at a tasting session for the world’s first super-premium vodka from Ukraine. After all, "its bedfellows are typically a sugary brand of the Coca Cola franchise or the more fashionable pick-me-up-throw-me-down energy drink mix - very few people would opt to drink it straight". Britain is undergoing a spirit revolution of late, with premium gins littering the market and a smorgasbord of rums now on offer. But vodka has...

London's most romantic restaurants for Valentine's Day Valentine’s Day is around the corner and if you like me have left booking a place to eat until the last moment, never fear. We have a list of London’s 10 most romantic restaurants to eat from this weekend right through to the special day. From Nordic set menus to wine matching evenings we have compiled something for everyone in this list of London’s Valentine hotspots. There is also something to suit all...

On a humid afternoon last summer, I met with Jay Rayner in order to interview the esteemed restaurant critic over lunch. Jay chose for us to meet at Dumplings Legend on Gerrard Street, the beating heart of London’s China Town, and alongside talking about his new book and stage show, we spoke in quite some depth about Jay’s love of Chinese food - dim sum in particular. I, too, have always been fond of dim sum, but since eating at...

British supermarket shelves have long been awash with cooking cheats that are convenient aides but ultimately additive-ridden rubbish. White sauce sachets, bolognese pots, pasta sauce tins and the like have become a mainstay of our culinary landscape, but things may about to change. As Brits become more health conscious and start to establish more of a connection with food the use of readymade sauces seems to be in decline. Cooking sauce sales plummeted by £30 million in a year after the...

As a man who eats meat, and always has, I’ve never been in the position to take the moral high ground as far as dinner table ethics are concerned. I do, however, respect peoples’ choice to follow vegetarian diets, and understand that vegetarian food is not necessarily boring food. Alas, it is only within the past five years that so many British restaurants have begun to understand the true, delicious potential of vegetables. Until recently, most token vegetarian dishes would...

The Scotch Egg Challenge returns to Islington for its sixth year next week, with contestants taking to the kitchen in a head-to-head competition. Shortlisted contestants will compete in two categories, with chefs from Ealing Park Tavern and The Rat Inn taking part in the Traditional Egg category honouring the classic Scotch Egg. Whilst the Unconventional Eggcategory allows a little more culinary freedom, rustling up their egg-centric creations will be chefs from The Cinnamon Collection and Tang. The Canonbury Tavern hosts the free...

Here's a story about going shopping in Italy. Usually in order to protect the innocent, the guilty and myself, nothing I write is quite true. In this case it is all true. I have no client identities or world events I need to mask, because this story is solely about me being an idiot. My qualification for being your Secret Chef is having spent two decades being a private chef for High Net Worth (HNW) and Ultra High Net Worth...

With plenty of exciting restaurant openings constantly taking place across the Capital, here’s our pick of the best new restaurants arriving in London over the coming month. Aster – Victoria The latest restaurant from D&D London, Aster has opened at Nova Food next to Victoria station. Set across two floors, the space comprises a 161-cover café and deli, plus an upstairs 122-cover restaurant and cocktail bar. As for the food, the kitchen will be overseen by Executive Chef Helena Puolakka, having previously held the...