Food
A Damascene moment in London: Imad’s Syrian Kitchen reviewed
Imad’s Syrian Kitchen is an eyrie off Carnaby Street, a once-famous road which seems to exist nowadays to sell trainers…
Organic food isn’t better for us – or the environment
The case against organic food
A salt and sugar tax doesn’t make much sense
What is the point of the National Food Strategy? When Henry Dimbleby was hired as Britain’s ‘food tsar’ several years…
An utterly convincing dreamworld: The Ritz reviewed
The Ritz is still here, and still gaudy. No grand hotel in London feels quite so complete, if pink; as…
Boris's 'lobster law' is ridiculous
Sometimes, there is only one conclusion to be drawn – that somehow, the calendar is stuck. Though days appear to…
The best food podcasts
You have to hand it to Ed Miliband. After bacon sandwich-gate, he might never have eaten in public again, but…
Cake expectations: afternoon tea has gone OTT
Afternoon tea has gone OTT
Harry Potter meets Ikea: Backlot Cafe reviewed
Harry Potter is a fictional orphan locked in a cupboard by his aunt and uncle, after which he discovers a…
What makes a pasty Cornish?
This week, world leaders are doing what countless Brits do every summer: unpacking their bags in a charming corner of…
A careful parody: Noble Rot Soho reviewed
Noble Rot sits in Greek Street, Soho, on the site of the old Gay Hussar, which squatted here from 1953…
Are you ready for the chicken nugget revolution?
The ‘fake meat’ revolution is on its way
The podcast that makes the world strange, mysterious and compelling again
It’s interesting that we have decided shaming and yelling are the easiest ways to change people’s minds. Which is not…
Crunch time: why has Walkers changed its salt and vinegar crisps?
Henry Walker might never have got into the crisp business were it not for the fact that his Leicester butcher’s…
Bad food is back: The Roof Garden at Pantechnicon reviewed
The Roof Garden is a pale, Nordic-style restaurant at the top of the glorious Pantechnicon in Belgravia — formerly a…
Pretty food with a side order of pollution: 28-50 reviewed
You cannot have cars and dining tables in the same dreamscape: it doesn’t work, unless you think carbon monoxide is…
My post-lockdown resolution: drink more Alsace
Freedom approaches. Should we be humming ‘Va, Pensiero’ or ‘O Welche Lust’ — perhaps both. Thinking of Fidelioreminds me of…
Pleasing perversity: St Pancras Brasserie and Champagne Bar by Searcys reviewed
The St Pancras Brasserie and Champagne Bar by Searcys is as expansive as its name, but ghostly. It is an…
Wine by the jug in Venetian Venice
We were discussing travel, that forbidden delight now tantalisingly close. Where would be our first destination? Forswearing originality, I chose…
Back to the future: Bentley’s Oyster Bar & Grill reviewed
The west end of London is still pale and necrotic, but there are points of light. Hatchards the bookseller is…
Spring lamb and the bread of affliction: our Zoom seder
This week my son came home from school and asked me if it was true that the Jews killed Jesus.…
The finest humous in England: Arabica food boxes reviewed
Restaurant-goers who cannot let go of restaurants — for professional or other reasons — are floating on a sea of…
Nights – and wines – to remember in Paris
Some friends claim to be making marks on the wall to count the days until liberation. Ah, the forgotten delights…
Which TV interviews have attracted bigger audiences than Harry and Meghan’s?
Good for the goose The government indicated that it will ban foie gras, out of animal welfare concerns. While it…
Cornwall, but not as the locals know it: Stein’s at Home reviewed
The Stein’s at Home steak menu box (£65) says ‘Love from Cornwall’: it is not for people who live in…
The real reasons children are going hungry
‘We’re idiots, babe, it’s a wonder we can even feed ourselves.’ I listened to The Food Programme on Radio 4…
