Desert Island wines with Bordeaux Index founder Gary Boom December 9, 2014 While we’re toiling away at screens and desks, day-dreaming about the Grand Cru we might open with friends on Saturday, Gary Boom is doing just that. He’s the former City broker who had a brainwave about the wine business after making his first fortune, and has turned it into Bordeaux Index, one of Britain’s largest [...]
The best take-away Christmas lunch: From Benugo’s hot roast turkey sandwich to Itsu’s “aggressively disgusting” pot of chicken December 1, 2014 December is upon us and it’s now perfectly acceptable to buy a take-away Christmas lunch – our sandwich committee checked out some of the most popular. Fred’s at Tesco Thanksgiving Sandwich Turkey, vegetable crisps, tomato, lettuce, cucumber, brie ★★★☆☆ Full marks for presentation but zero for practicality; trying to fit this [...]
Mince pies with a very Spanish twist by Salt Yard chef Ben Tish November 25, 2014 Ben Tish, executive chef of Salt Yard, Ember Yard, Opera Tavern and Dehesa talks mince pies. I was brought up on mince pies. My gran made them with puff pastry and they were amazing. After she passed away my parents switched over to M&S ones. I’ve always loved them and I’ve always cooked [...]
Ice: We celebrate the frozen friend of cocktail drinkers the world over – Mix it up November 25, 2014 We all get by with a little help from our friends. Behind every phenomenal sports person there’s a host of coaches and physios; every celebrated chief exec relies on lesser-celebrated staff to succeed; and every famous bartender needs a team of bar-backs to prep the garnishes, load dishwashers and dry the glasses. Exceptional talent [...]
Christmas for food lovers: The best new cookbooks November 24, 2014 There is no shortage of cookbooks emerging in time for Christmas. We pick out some of our favourites, featuring mouth-watering cuisine from across the globe. MEXICO Margarita Carrillo Arronte You haven’t tried pulled pork until you’ve tried it Mexican style. That’s just one of the dishes in this bible of Mexican cooking from [...]
Graciano: An obscure but memorable wine from Rioja and Navarra November 18, 2014 It’s not often I come across a completely new wine these days. But that’s what happened when I was wandering through the vineyards of Rioja a few weeks ago at harvest time. Intriguingly, it is a wine made from a grape variety that has been around for more than a century. The grape varietal [...]
Go all the way with Beaujolais November 5, 2014 My least favourite date in the entire wine calendar is 19 November. It is, of course, Beaujolais Nouveau Day, the time when marketing men and desperate wine bar owners flood the Square Mile with cheap, nasty, pink plonk and try to kid us that it is something special. If I haven’t made myself clear, Beaujolais [...]
Restaurant review: Tredwell’s – Marcus Wareing’s new venture in St Martin’s Lane October 29, 2014 Upper St Martin’s Lane, which neatly bisects the tourist wastelands of Leicester Square and Covent Garden, seems like the last place Marcus Wareing would pick for his third UK restaurant. His flagship venture “Marcus” – formerly Marcus Wareing at the Berkeley – is a two Michelin-starred love-letter to formal dining (and home to one of [...]
How to make Blanchette’s perfect beef fillet October 15, 2014 Tom Storrar, head chef at Soho's Blanchette, on his beef fillet with courgettes, sarladaise potatoes and green peppercorn sauce I’ve been at Blanchette since the restaurant opened late last year. The beef in this recipe is a new dish on the menu; a restaurant version of steak and chips. I chose it because many [...]
The Bottle Opener: Why you shouldn’t overlook Rioja October 14, 2014 There are perks to being the Bottle Opener, and this is definitely one of them. I’m relaxing in the late Autumn sun, gazing across a rich vineyard down to the river Ebro. With me are two charming fifth generation descendants of the founder of one of Rioja’s great houses, and we are tasting some magnificent [...]