Food
Devilled kidneys: a heavenly breakfast
Iam standing in my kitchen preparing kidneys for devilling. Snipping their white cores away piece by piece until they come…
Everything Ottolenghi should be but isn’t: Delamina Townhouse reviewed
Delamina Townhouse is on Tavistock Street in Covent Garden. It is an Israeli restaurant, and a very fine and subtle…
Gene-editing won’t save our fruit
The other day, I had a dismaying experience while making my usual frugal lunch. Usually, a cheese sandwich does me.…
The gobsmacking brilliance of baked Alaska
I have never seen a baked Alaska in the wild. Have you? I knew what they looked like, of course,…
Northern Europe doesn’t get salads: Claro reviewed
Claro is at 12 Waterloo Place, St James’s, and, when I tried to find out what it used to be…
My Marco Pierre White obsession
Pierre White, Marco. Chef. Michelin stars: five (all handed back). Wives: three (all handed back). Restaurants owned: number unclear. Hours…
Long live the long lunch!
I keep on my bedside table, where others might place religious texts, Keith Waterhouse’s seminal The Theory and Practice of…
Letters: Bring back mutton
Man out of time Sir: That Mary Wakefield left Rowan Williams ‘with my questions for the most part unresolved’ will…
Lamb is for life, not just for Easter
Roast lamb is as expected on the Easter table as turkey is at Christmas. But as a nation, we are…
The simple elegance of fondant potatoes
In 1999, a relatively unknown American chef wrote an essay in the New Yorker uncovering the secrets of restaurants. ‘Don’t…
Smart even for Chelsea: Josephine Bouchon reviewed
Josephine is a Lyonnaise bistro on the Fulham Road from Claude Bosi. It is named for Bosi’s grandmother and is…
Letters: Where to find Britain’s best dripping
Open arms Sir: The latest magazine (29 March) has two references to American military capabilities, from Rod Liddle and Francis…
A creche for nepo babies: the River Cafe Cafe reviewed
The River Cafe has grown a thrifty annexe, and this passes for democratisation. All restaurants are tribal: if dukes have…
Sole meunière: simple one-pan sophistication
Picture the scene. The year is 2004. The setting, a British field or maybe a beach. There is a small…
A great-day-out cafe that’s good value: Kenwood House reviewed
The immaculate bourgeois socialists of north London – that is not code for Jews – like to eat and drink…
In defence of red velvet cake
I will admit to having been dismissive of red velvet cake in the past, considering it to be bland in…
Stop scoffing food on trains!
I’m on the 10.45 slow train to Ipswich. It’s not even lunchtime, yet everyone around me is already gorging on…
The tiramisu is one of the loveliest things I’ve eaten anywhere: La Môme London reviewed
La Môme is the new ‘Mediterranean’ restaurant at the Berkeley, Knightsbridge’s monumental grand hotel. It has changed, as all London’s…
How to get a table at Audley Public House
The Audley Public House is on the corner of North Audley Street and Mount Street in Mayfair, opposite the Purdey…
Is a soul the only thing unavailable in Harrods?
The Harrods bookshop, which I browse for masochistic reasons, is mesmerising: an homage to the lure of ownership. The first…
Can you still afford to eat out?
Many of us will remember, misty-eyed, how things changed around the turn of the century. How Britain ceased to be…
Dictator dining
The Savoy Hotel is a theatre playing Mean Girls with a hotel attached to it, so you can expect it…
Why I’m obsessed with Farming Today
Farming Today airs at an undignified hour each morning on Radio 4. On the few occasions I’ve caught it live…
