Archive For August 2011
It’s a time of belt tightening and financial gloom, and it’s said that we are all hankering after old-fashioned lifestyles. We want to be wafted back to more moderate times where riots only happened “over there” and we all knew for sure that we would have a job next week. A time for The Cookiepedia!…
The prospect of “French cooking” brings many of us out in a cold sweat. It’s the thought of a sauce with 27 stages and pastry that takes a week to prepare that sends us into a tizzy. Who has time, and who needs to eat a kilo of butter at each meal; and then there…
I love that title The Big Red Book of Tomatoes. Comforting and very reminiscent of a Christmas Annual – one of those bumper volumes that constituted a heavy lump at the bottom of the pillow-case on Christmas morning. It does indeed have an old-fashioned and trusty air about it. It’s that time of year when…
This book should have arrived a few weeks ago. One is always advised to bake bread when the estate agent is bringing viewers around. It’s that tempting aroma that makes a house seem like a home. It’s said that bread-baking is an almost dead art but I believe it’s enjoying something of a revival. A…
Sue Lawrence came to prominence in 1991 when she won Masterchef – those were the days when I actually watched it and the programme was more about the judged than the judges. She has made numerous TV appearances since then and has received awards for her writing. Eating In is a very personal cookbook. You…
I have had a coffee at Carluccio’s a time or two. Its branches are all bright with a contemporary Mediterranean air. Cool blue and turquoise, banquettes and vinyl tables. Yes, Carluccio’s is a great spot for an espresso. Every catering company or supermarket has its range of Christmas fare, and it was at their recent…
Samuel Reiss opened the ‘Grand Cigar Divan’ in 1828, on the site of the Fountain Tavern, which had been the home of the famous literary association the ‘Kit Kat Club’. It was in Simpson’s in 1851 that one of the world’s great games, the famous “Immortal Game”, was played between Adolf Anderssen and Lionel Kieseritzky….
There are a few chefs in Britain who are icons of the industry and recognised by just their first name. There is the forceful “Gordon”, the ever popular “Jamie”, the solid and respected “Cyrus”, and then there is “Reza”. Reza Mahammad has been one of the cornerstones of Indian food media in all its forms…
It’s one of London’s most iconic hotels. Ask any local or tourist to name a couple of the most famous hotels in London and the Dorchester is liable to be one of those mentioned. It’s been around for a while, since 1931, so it deserves the accolade of Classic with all the positive connotations that…
The Fulham Road isn’t my usual hunting ground, although it’s well served by public transport and easily accessible, but after my recent dining experience I may well become a habitué of that neighbourhood. Penny Black sits at number 212 as a tastefully understated icon of real British Food, and is unique in several regards. The…