Category Archives: Food
A Happy Pig is a Good Pig: What Free Range Really Means
While it’s tempting to rush off and start a cooking marathon as soon as possible, it’s important to consider where your meat comes from first. Of course, discerning shoppers always try to source the best quality possible to be sure of welfare standards and good flavour. However there are so many labels to decipher and even the savviest foodie is likely to be confused by the terms “outdoor bred”, “outdoor reared” and “free range.” Based on her recent visit to Blythburgh Farm in Suffolk, Leila Dukes clarifies. Continue reading
Limited Edition Mast Brothers Chocolate Beer Float at Shake Shack Covent Garden
This week only Shake Shack and Mast Brothers are teaming up to present a limited edition Chocolate Beer Float. Available at the Covent Garden Shake Shack location through Sunday 23 August, the float costs £5 and combines the Shack’s vanilla frozen custard with Mast Brother’s non-alcoholic chocolate beer served together in a Govino wine glass. Continue reading
Tapas Revolution, Shoreditch
Opened back in the spring, Chef Omar Allibhoy’s Tapas Revolution in Shoreditch seems to have settled in nicely to its Bethnal Green Road digs. I had a lovely time recently, sampling a range of tapas over a couple of drinks at the restaurant’s gorgeous centrepiece copper-topped bar. Continue reading
Recipe: Ricotta Buttermilk Ice Cream
This recipe for ricotta buttermilk ice cream is easy to make, requires minimal ingredients, and yields some much more flavour and creamy texture than typical ice creams tend to have. The ricotta and the buttermilk came from Bermondsey’s Kappacasein dairy. I the ricotta is definitely good enough to eat on its own, and I reckon would be great in any number of dishes. Maybe next time I’ll make some cassata. Continue reading
Recipe: Mustard Greens
When making this dish for yourself, it’s worth keeping in mind that the Food Assembly ingredients I used were especially yummy and – I reckon – made the greens that much better than they might have been otherwise. Continue reading
Wine and Spice at The Cinnamon Club
Led by affable and knowledgeable Laurant Chaniac, wine consultant to The Cinnamon Club and Kitchen, the intimate event was held in the restaurant’s intimate library, where guests were invited to sample a range of greek wines paired with exceptional dishes such as pistachio and spice crusted saddle of lamb and tandoori cod with fenugreek seeds. I loved all the wines and pairings of the night, but without doubt my favourite was the one at the end served with dessert: an especially deep flavoured Assyetiko Vin Santo 2004 (of which only 1,000 bottles had been produced). Continue reading
Preview: International Street Food Challenge 2015 | Thursday 13 August | Shoreditch
This Thursday (13 August) TravelSupermarket will host a free street food festival in Shoreditch. The International Street Food Challenge 2015 will give guests the chance to sample a variety of authentic and delicious dishes cooked by a variety of vendors from around the world and to vote on which they think serves up the tastiest dish. Continue reading
You Might be a Coffee Snob If … (espressoCrazy)
Do you consider yourself to be a coffee snob? Do you judge others on how much they know (or don’t) about your favourite caffeinated drink? Have you ever done anything out of the ordinary to achieve a dream coffee situation? Do you even have a ‘dream coffee situation’ in mind? Continue reading
Whaam! Win Free Banh Mi for a Week | Get a Free Americano with Purchase of Sandwich
About two months ago, I had the pleasure of reviewing Vietnamese style sandwich shop, Whaam Banh Mi, near Piccadilly Circus. Now, I’m teeming up with this friendly little Soho eatery to offer one reader a week’s worth of banh mi for free and the opportunity for everybody to get a free cup of coffee over the next week. Continue reading
Get Ready to Crave the New Druid Street Market
Okay folks, I’ve got a couple of phrases I’d like you to repeat after me. The first one is “kimchi and Stilton grilled cheese sandwich” as this is the future of what you shall crave. The other is “Druid Street Market,” which is an important phrase to remember because that’s were you’re gonna head on Saturday to take a bite out of this ultra-umami toastie. Continue reading
Afternoon Tea with a Difference with Bird of Smithfield and Veuve Clicquot
In celebration of Afternoon Tea Week – Monday the 10th to Saturday the 15th of August – Bird will be offering guests sandwiches with a twist, classic scones and yummy cakes – all served alongside “The Earl of Veuve” cocktails (Veuve Clicquot Rich infused with delicate Earl Grey leaves). Continue reading
My Food Assembled! Falling in Love with Food Assembly
Have you heard about Food Assembly? It’s a convenient new way to shop locally and seasonally that I’ve just come across – and have fallen in love with. Over the next few weeks, I’m going to share my personal Food Assembly experience across a series of My Food Assembled! posts to whet your appetite (and maybe even run a fun competition to give one lucky reader the chance to shop Food Assembly for free). Continue reading
Celebrate Mozzarella Season with Rossopomodoro
Rossopomodoro is celebrating Mozzarella Season by transporting fresh mozzarella di buffalo twice weekly direct from Campania to its London restaurants – from production to plate with 24 hours – to offer guests two mega-milky options for festive get togethers: a 1kg Mozzarellona and a massive 3kg Trecciona. Continue reading
Potbelly Brings Chicago-Style Made-to-Order Sandwiches to Westfield Stratford City
Truly impressed and way more excited than I expected to be, I’m dying to go back – on an empty stomach – to devour more. Continue reading
Cold-Press Rapeseed Oil: Oil for One and One for Oil
One type of oil which is increasingly likely to be found in kitchens across the country is rapeseed, with sales rocketing in the last year. The golden elixir attracting discerning shoppers is not the refined, processed stuff often labeled as “vegetable” oil you may associate with rapeseed. British farmers are now producing premium cold-pressed, extra virgin oils from rapeseed crops which are comparable in quality to the best olive oils. Continue reading
Pensacola, FL Is the Foodie Paradise You Never Knew About (Miles Away)
Sunny days, sandy beaches and sensational food – Pensacola is one of America’s tastiest seaside destinations. From farmers’ markets and “flip-flop fine dining” to innovative regional and international haute cuisine, if you’re hankering for something good to eat, this friendly Gulf Coast town has plenty to go round. Continue reading
This Voucher Code Makes Jealous Sweets 20% Sweeter!
Jealous Sweets makes craft gourmet confectionery for grownups who want a little elegance from their sweet treats. I’m a fan – especially of the intensely fruity Wild Cherries – and reckon the entire range of Wild Cherries, Yummy Bears, Grizzly Bears, Fizzy Friends, Tangy Worms and Sour Beans are packed with way more flavour than any of the typical sweets on the market. Something about the experience seems amplified compared to eating most other candies. Continue reading
It’s Dawg Days for Byron Burgers with the New Freddar Cheese
The Freddar Dawg is a cheeseburger stacked with a 6oz beef patty cut into (think: conjoined slider twins) and served in a brioche-y hot dog roll with streaky bacon, onion, pickles, shredded iceberg lettuce, American mustard, Byron sauce and (drumroll please) the newly debuted Freddar cheese. Continue reading
Win a Pot of Hotel Chocolat Fruit Bombes to Chill
Hotel Chocolat’s Fruit Bombes to Chill come in five fantastic flavours: blackcurrant, lime, lemon, cherry and passion fruit. With the perfect contrast of fruit tang and smooth chocolate, they’re best served after being chilled for at least 30 minutes. Pop in the fridge then pop in your mouth. Continue reading
Yelp London’s Big Night In: Free Treats and Services Delivered to Your Doorstep
Have you heard about Yelp’s Big Night In? With mega-loads of free treats and services being offered to 30 lucky Yelpers, a quiet Friday night at home never looked so good! Continue reading
Living Lech: A Taste of Austria’s Gourmand Side
Austria, like any culture-rich nation, has a consummate tradition of food: timeless recipes, fresh ingredients, and local preferences. That’s given. What I didn’t expect from my four-day trip to Lech, a traditional valley town nestled into the sprightly Alps, was for my farm-fresh experience to cross-over with world-renown couture gastronomy. And here’s the thing about couture: it always fits. (Not sure if I could say the same for my jeans afterwards.) Continue reading
Camino Tapas Bar Carves a Path to a New Bankside Location
Furthering restaurateur Richard Bigg’s vision of casual Spanish dining in Britain, Camino Bankside offers Londoners more opportunity to enjoy Executive Chef Nacho Del Campo’s smart menu of tapas, sharing platters and more in a stylish setting with plenty of outdoor seating. Continue reading
Sunlight Gleams on My Strategically Placed Coffee Machine (espressoCrazy)
Lousy photo? Maybe. But it illustrates well what I’m most pleased to blog about at this moment. Just look at all that streaming sunlight coming into the shot from my back garden! And what’s it gleaming on? My Francis Francis … Continue reading
Nothing Jarring about a Relaxing Dinner at Drury Lane’s Jar Kitchen
A member of the Sustainable Restaurant Association, Jar Kitchen’s menu features plenty of British fare (all meat sourced from Walter Rose & Son butchers in Wiltshire) with a contemporary European twist along with tasty items presumably picked up just round the restaurant’s Seven Dials corner (chiefly Monmouth Coffee and Neal’s Yard Dairy). And – from what I could ascertain at a recent tasting event – I it’s all in good hands with Chef Dominik Moldenhauer (ex-Heston Blumenthal’s Dinner). Continue reading
Pizza Union, Pentonville Road, King’s Cross
I’m not sure which I love more: a great pizza or a great bargain. But if I can get ‘em both in one go at a convenient and actually rather stylish setting then I reckon that’s a big tasty win that warrants a shout out! Already a fan of the original restaurant in Spitalfields, I am so pleased to share the good news that Pizza Union has opened a second location on Pentonville Road near King’s Cross St Pancras station. Continue reading










