Food and drink
The inappropriate use of wines
Qin Xie uses some very decent clarets for cooking wine. And has then had the audacity to defend herself. What’s your take? Is there a limit to the quality of wine you’re willing to sacrifice to the cooking pot?
By Qin Xie, published on 4 January 2012
London’s new Ginstitute: Quench your thirst for knowledge
Holding class in a pub is a guaranteed means of getting students to rock up – especially when the subject is gin, Amy Laughinghouse discovers.
By Amy Laughinghouse, published on 21 December 2011
Masters of Maraschino: The quest for the perfect Luxardo Maraschino cocktail
Dublo’s been drinking again. Heavily.
By Dublo, published on 21 December 2011
For whom The Bell tolls
If only “local roast pheasant as tough as a shoe” and “vanilla set cream as tense as the latex of a Spitting Image puppet” were the worst things about Douglas Blyde’s overnight stay at The Bell in Ticehurst. His tribulations recall those of Hemingway’s Robert Jordan. It’s a harrowing tale indeed.
By Douglas Blyde, published on 14 December 2011
Time’s up. Work’s over. It’s Friday night
While most people will list Scotch, Cognac, rum and port among the ideal cigar accompaniments, we suspect the truth is that a large percentage of cigar smokers drink wine with their smokes. Which is why we sent Monty Cristo, our man ‘on’ Havanas, to seek out the best cigar / wine pairings. Happy Friday!
By Monty Cristo, published on 9 December 2011
Seamless Mr Wing is hard not to like
A lovely setting, fantastic staff and excellent food – what’s not to like?
By Alex Larman, published on 5 December 2011
On food and relationships
Food and relationships, it seems, is a subject so fertile that a bare few hundred words would not do it justice. So while the seed of this idea is sown here, new contributor Qin Xie will ruminate over what grows from it in the columns which will faithfully follow.
By Qin Xie, published on 28 November 2011
A masterclass with Vivek Singh
Executive chef at the Cinnamon Club and Cinnamon Kitchen, Vivek Singh, recently demonstrated his own alternative take on the great British dish of fish and chips as part of a series of events for London Restaurant Festival. Watch as Vivek puts his own inimitable spin on a delicious dish of Amritsar spiced halibut, tandoori wedges and mustard mushy peas.
By Alex Larman, published on 24 October 2011
JW Steakhouse gives Hawksmoor, Goodman, Cut et al a run for their money
JW Steakhouse is a worldwide group that prides itself on offering the best steaks in any given city, and the ones in London are certainly magnificent – not bad, given that the nearby competition includes Goodman, Hawksmoor and now Wolfgang Puck’s establishment, Cut.
By Alex Larman, published on 5 October 2011
Names Can’t Be Bulldozed: The Capability at Waldorf Astoria Syon Park
The multi-coloured Waldorf Astoria at Syon Park is an example of what our man Douglas Blyde refers to as “identity theft.” Here, butterfly motifs trespass slate signs to the business centre where a Phillip Morris convention occurs whiIe all’s immobile in a token butterfly cage in the lobby. But we’ve not come to stare at an empty butterfly sarcophagus; we’ve driven over to pick at a grouse at main restaurant, The Capability.
By Douglas Blyde, published on 28 September 2011
