Food and Drink

We all love a mind-boggling puzzle on a Friday afternoon, which is why we've sourced the latest one which is boggling minds… and tickling tastebuds. It features US rockers Red Hot Chili Peppers performing – with a selection of real chilis secretly sprinkled throughout the scene. We don’t want to give it away, give it away now but apart from the four Red Hot Chili Peppers themselves, there are 15 others – including green, red, Bird’s Eye, Chipotle, Scotch Bonnet and...

Nestled in the North of Spain, bordering the South West of France, the Basque region’s cuisine has seen a meteoric rise in popularity over the past eleven months, and what’s more – the trend is showing no signs of slowing down. One of the Basque-inspired restaurants to have opened this year is the first London restaurant from Eneko Atxa, the three Michelin-starred chef behind Bilbao’s Azurmendi. Although Eneko at One Aldwych does bring the chef’s cooking expertise to the Capital,...

Strength: 4.2% ABV Brewed: Albourne, West Sussex Based on a farm near Brighton, Bedlam Brewery prides itself not only on its quality ingredients used throughout the brewing process of their core range, but also on the environment. All of the energy that’s required for brewing comes from onsite solar panels, the brewery plant and harvest their own hops, and they also supply local farmers with free hops and spent grain in order to feed their cattle. As for the beer, all six expressions are...

A new sprout and kale hybrid has been harvested in time for Christmas as a more appealing alternative to the loathed Brussel Sprout. The creation, called Kalettes, are nutty and sweet tasting and are a cross between kale and the traditional sprout. It's hoped the new green will be more popular than the classic Christmas vegetable which often proves unpopular among children and adults alike. Staples Vegetables near Boston, Lincs., is behind the idea and hope they will prove popular over...

With the new series of MasterChef: The Professionals having began last night, next Monday (14th November) will see a unique, one-off event in which 11 of the programme’s previous finalists will take over the kitchen of The Frog E1. The evening will include a five-course tasting menu with all of the proceeds donated to Dementia UK, organised by 2015 finalist Andi Walker, as a tribute to his Grandmother – Nanny Pickles - who suffers from dementia, and to who Andi...

Until recently, I was under the impression that the link between ‘gluten-free’ and flavour was strictly forbidden. Over the Summer I took part in a six-week low FODMAP research diet, completely eliminating gluten (amongst other things) from my day-to-day life. Unsurprisingly, this turned out to be very difficult when visiting restaurants and after four weeks the overbearing cravings for food with even the slightest hint of excitement became impossible to resist and the diet was left incomplete. The problem was...

Well it appears I'm your secret chef. To protect the innocent, the guilty and myself, not quite everything I tell you will be entirely true. Being a secret chef is something I know very little about. However I have spent two decades being a private chef for High Net Worth (HNW) and Ultra High Net Worth (UHNW) clients all over Europe and on super yachts. What I have become experienced at is keeping secrets. Being a private chef basically involves...

Smoked cocktails have become increasingly popular over the past year, and with Bonfire Night just around the corner – there’s no excuse to avoid getting involved with the trend at home. This twist on the classic Manhattan, from Dalston's Behind This Wall, combines rye whisky, sweet vermouth, pisco and herbal liqueur with cold apple cedar smoke. It’s by no means the simplest drink to recreate at home, though the extra effort is guaranteed to impress guests this weekend. Alternatively, the...

Sour Brexit negotiations could lead to UK pubs boycotting European produce according to Wetherspoon’s founder Tim Martin, but what would a purely British-stocked pub look like? Brexit negotiations are well up in the air following a High Court ruling that the government must consult MPs before triggering Article 50, and there’s still a lot of uncertainty over what sort of Brexit we will have, which will have big implications on how businesses operate across the channel. But staunch Brexitier Martin’s...