Food and Drink

I had an Avocado for lunch, in fact I had one for dinner as well last night. It seems to be something we all increasingly use regularly in our meals, it isn’t just for hipsters and Waitrose shoppers anymore. However, the popularity of Avocados in our diets is allegedly causing deforestation in central Mexico, according to the Guardian. Farmers in the country, which has suffered from thousands of drug related murders in recent years, are able to make larger profits...

Strength: 5% Brewed: Surbiton, Surrey Initially set up as a microbrewery behind The Antelope pub in Surbiton, Big Smoke Brew Co. have become massively renowned for their beer over the past two years, most of which are vegan-friendly. Operating from an old stables premise, Big Smoke’s produce is representative of the beer that the brewery founders personally enjoy drinking, which is all flavoursome, hard-hitting and additive free. The brewery also makes a clear point of refraining from using Isinglass finings...

The vegan diet is hailed as one of the healthiest, the actor Jared Leto seems to be the poster boy for a vegan lifestyle. So it is a shock that over in Italy an MP wants to make children who are exposed to a vegan diet victims of a crime. Elvira Savino, a Centre-right MP, is lobbying for a law which would protect any children from diets that may not contain enough vitamins and iron. This could mean that parents...

The American Hot can prove hard to handle for most people, but Pizza Express lovers will struggle to even find this one. A new brain teaser has been released with an illusive chilli pepper pizza hidden amongst a colourful array of other pizzas. The single American Hot, topped with pepperoni and slices of fresh green peppers, has been concealed in this graphic puzzle to tie in with their new summer specials menu which includes a Barbacoa Romana pizza, an Eton Mess...

Generally speaking, I’ve never been a great fan of tasting menus. It’s less of a problem with the sheer quantity of courses served, than it is with the chef’s decision to commonly present an array of gratuitously pretentious dishes. All too often this leads to spending three hours (or more) sycophantically congratulating the kitchen staff and pretending to enjoy outrageous flavour combinations like white chocolate and raw sturgeon or foie gras and marshmallow. Combinations that have never worked, and surely...

It would be fair to say that the Maldives’ summertime is far more gratifying and reliable than ours in the United Kingdom. Named after the Dhonakulhi Island in the north of the Maldives, this week’s featured cocktail recipe - ‘Dhon Kulhi’ - was created by mixologist Jayson Santos Del Rosario for the island’s luxurious Hideaway Beach Resort & Spa. What’s more, the bartender has also won the Grape Expectation Bartender’s Challenge for 2016, as well as having participated in the...

Founded in 2014 by brothers Ed and Sim Cotton, The London Beer Factory operates from South-East London’s increasingly trendy West Norwood. Dedicated to crafting beers with character, unique flavours and distinctive qualities, they are also the first ever UK brewery to use 360° cans, with a unique ring pull design that allows the lid to be removed completely, allowing a full spectrum of tastes and aromas to be enjoyed, without the need for any glassware (or washing-up). What’s more, alongside...

We're all aware that wine is generally regarded as the ideal drink when it comes to accompanying food, yet in recent years a new contender has risen to prominence, with so many restaurants now offering specific beers paired alongside dishes, as well as (or sometimes instead of) wine pairing. Of course, food and beer have always been close friends, yet it is only more recently that so many of London’s restaurants other than a select few of London’s absolute finest,...

I’d heard excellent things about Italian restaurant Fed By Water, but nothing could have prepared me for the level of awesomeness I was about to experience. Firstly, you are spoilt for choice by the large, innovative menu which features plant based food prepared and cooked in pure water - hence the name. The difficult part is knowing which meals to order, here are so many mouth watering options to choose from. In the end, we opted for warm handmade focaccia...