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Fraiche, Wirral
There are not too many things that keep me up late on a humdrum midwinter weeknight any more. And yet there I was, burning the midnight oil, poised with laptop and credit card in hand, trying to grab...
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Double Corn Dogs with Caraway Ketchup
After becoming slightly obsessed with my cheap ice cream maker the next, slightly pointless but fun, piece of kitchen equipment I coveted to clog up yet more work surface space was a deep fat fryer. I...
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The Beech House, Beaconsfield
Many moons ago I went to school in old Beaconsfield. While it goes without saying that my friends and I were always impeccably behaved, later, when we got into the sixth form, I must confess most...
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Franco Manca, Chiswick
Sometimes it felt like I was the only person on earth yet to try one of the fabled, slow-rising sourdough pizzas from Brixton’s Franco Manca. While the internet melted with praise, like buffalo...
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This Little Piggy Went to Market - Helsinki Edition
There are three main markets halls with adjoining squares in Helsinki; Hietalahti Kauppahalli, Hakaniemi Kauppahalli and Wanha Kauppahalli. As well as two of them having confusingly similar names, the...
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Coffee and Candy, Finnish Style
Finnish food has been much maligned, most notably by the charming Silvio Berlusconi who claimed, 'The Finns don't even know what Parma ham is' and that the country had the worst food in Europe (with...
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Scandanavian Summer Strawberry Cake
Alliteration and cake, what’s not to love? It’s often said that bakers are born not made, and while I spent a childhood happily licking cake mixture from wooden spoons and knocking up all manner of...
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Eating up Estonia
During our recent jaunt to Helsinki we decided to catch the ferry across the Gulf of Finland to spend a couple of days in Tallinn. It proved to be a marvellous place full of contrasts between old and...
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Hawksmoor Bar, Spitalfields
My love affair with Hawksmoor has been well documented here before, with write-ups of both visits to their Guildhall and Air Street branches. And, although my most recent visit to their revamped...
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Outsider Tart, Chiswick and Southbank
I had first fallen in love with the ‘Two David's’ (Lesniak and Muniz, or No.1 and no. 2, as they are introduced in the front of their book) baking after trying one of their cinnamon-spiked Hepburn...
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The Swan, Denham Village
After five years together, the Ewing and I decided to celebrate our half a decade of happiness and joy/pain and suffering (delete as appropriate) with dinner at the Swan, situated in the rather lovely...
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Raspberry Chambord Chip Ice Cream
This summer has, so far, been the perfect combination of good weather and good fun. We've also had the pleasure of my sweet-toothed Dad coming over from Australia to stay, giving me even more reason...
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Feu Mac at the Gamekeeper's Lodge, Chesham
Having eaten many different meals in many different places, I often return to the popular theory that the best food is inversely proportional to the fanciness of the surroundings it is served in....
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Antepliler, Green Lanes
Harringay's Green Lanes - one of the longest roads in the capital, the heart of the Turkish community in London, and, according to my Southwark-dwelling friend, Stealth, even further away than deepest...
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Jee Cee Neh, New Malden
Until our recent visit there were only two facts I knew about New Malden. Firstly, thanks to the endless post-Christmas adverts on TV when I was growing up, I knew it has a giant DFS with a huge range...
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The Tavern, Cheltenham
Cheltenham, a fine English spa town found nestled on the edge of the Cotswolds, famous for its racecourse, promenade and Regency architecture. Of course it might have been helpful for the Ewing to...
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Buttered Crumpets and Blackcurrant Curd
Buttered crumpets, possibly the two most comforting words in the English language. As a child I loved nothing more than piling Lurpack on to the freshly toasted discs of dough and then watching the...
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Caiprinhas and Custard Tarts: Lisbon Part 1
While the pastries of Portugal may not be as famous, or showy, as those of their European cousins, they have a proud and varied heritage of sweetmeats to rival any Parisian cake shop. Indeed the...
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Green Tomato and Cinnamon Streusel Cake
Arriving home, sans jumper, to rainy Heathrow from balmy Lisbon a couple of weeks ago, I had to concede defeat that autumn was well and truly on the way. While dark mornings and chilly toes seem sad...
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West is Best: Lisbon Part 2
While the traditional cuisine of Portugal could never be described as fancy or refined, I love the simple combinations of uncomplicated ingredients and bold flavours (even if the surfeit of fried meat...
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