More from life
The Spectator’s 2025 Christmas quiz
Events, dear boy In 2025: 1. Name the singer of ‘(Everything I Do) I Do It for You’ whose concert…
I’m a Christmas pudding convert
I used to be a Christmas pudding denier. I couldn’t see the attraction of a dense pudding made mostly of…
The glory of gravy
In Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island, when Ben Gunn is found by Jim Hawkins, sunburnt and wide-eyed after three years…
The Italian approach to cheating
Dante’s Beach, Ravenna The unseasonably warm wind blowing in across the fields from the brooding Adriatic caused my wife Carla…
How to make the perfect pecan pie
A pecan pie has been on my kitchen table for the past few days, due to circumstances rendering every other…
My family dinner table debates about Gaza
Dante’s Beach, Ravenna I was in the Land Rover Defender with Rita, my youngest daughter (16), parked up near Dante’s…
Cullen skink is comfort in a bowl
They say not to judge a book by its cover – but what about judging a recipe by its name?…
The secrets of sachertorte
My theory is that sachertorte is a victim of its own success. Over the past 150 years, it has become…
My run-in with airport security
Dante’s Beach, Ravenna ‘Welcome back, signore!’ said the woman in uniform at the all-seeing security doorway which passengers must walk…
Bacon and egg pie, the perfect throw-it-together, please-the-whole-family dish
There are a handful of elements that make me nervous about tackling particular classic recipes. First, if it’s a dish…
Was I the victim of a sex crime?
Dante’s Beach, Ravenna I went up to her and got straight to the point: ‘What are you using for bait?’…
The secrets of a British apple pie
‘As American as apple pie’, or so the saying goes. But what happens if the apple pie in question isn’t…
Whatever happened to chicken à la king?
As sure as eggs is eggs, what was once comfort food will be reinvented as fine dining. Lancashire hotpots will…
How Italy’s ‘new young’ party
Dante’s Beach, Ravenna The Feast of the Assumption began for me just after midnight with a WhatsApp message from my…
What to do with the last of the summer’s apples
The double-edged sword of eating with the seasons is the glut. A blunt, un-pretty word, which is a joy in…
The glorious richness of rillettes
I admit to feeling a little intimidated by charcuterie. I have a clutch of books on my shelf all laying…
The magic of Danish dream cake
I am, for the most part, a rule follower and a people pleaser. It’s one of the reasons I love…
Our seven chickens are ruling the roost
Dante’s Beach, Ravenna All seven chickens we recently acquired are now laying eggs – except the one called Giovanna, which…
Salad cream is more than a poor man’s mayonnaise
Salad cream makes me feel oddly patriotic. It’s one of those products that is so distinctively British that it has…
My daring escape from the Italian police
Dante’s Beach, Ravenna I often feel as if I know what it was like to be a member of La…
The key to a great American key lime pie
A few years ago, a friend wrote a cookery book for the UK market, full of gorgeous dishes, many of…
I love sausages!
‘Sausages,’ my son says to me, leaning forward from the back of the car, with the authority and confidence only…
No, I’m not a British spy
Dante’s Beach, Ravenna The youngest of our six children, Giuseppe, nine, received the Eucharist for the first time on Sunday.…
It’s time to reclaim tapioca pudding
‘Nothing will surely ever taste so hateful as nursery tapioca,’ wrote Elizabeth David. She’s not alone in her hatred of…
Pope Francis, my love rival
To be honest, I felt relief when Pope Francis died. This had nothing much to do with his regular assertion,…
