Masterchef winner and chef Julie Friend has opened her garden for up to six guests to enjoy delicious food in beautiful countryside
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EAT TING better with South African flavours
South African cuisine is diverse, unique, and delicious. Influenced by centuries of migration and colonisation, many of its flavours originate from such places as Malaysia, India, France and The Netherlands but has more recently been diluted by cheap, highly processed, junk food that offers people little in the way of healthier, better eating choices. It’s […]
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Honey, I’m bee whispering in Lombardy
High up in the hills of Lombardy, south of Milan, are 400 bee hives dotted around fields, woodlands and edging vineyards. They belong to siblings Michela and Paolo who for the past ten years have created a life in the countryside of Lombardy in northern Italy looking after bees, showing a sincere love and caring […]
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Bitter orange flowers offer sweet flavours
High above the Mediterranean Sea in Vallebona, an ancient town in the Italian province of Liguria, lies a grove of bitter orange trees. Family run, the La Vecchia Distilleria grove is developing a reputation for high quality orange water known as Acqua di Fiori d’Arancio Amaro and for a limited production of neroli, an essential […]
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Cooking with strangers around a Table Less Traveled
Squinting into the screen of my mini-iPad I see friendly, smiley anonymous faces staring back at me in a culinary Zoom session. We’re gathered with a sense of community, to share our time and isolated spaces and take part in an interactive cooking class. I’ve signed up for 90 minutes of expert tuition, connecting with […]
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White beans of Liguria
Hidden behind cardboard boxes of polenta and rice and alongside flimsy plastic bags of dried pasta lay a smallish cotton bag full of magic beans, known in the Italian province as Fagiolo Bianco di Conio, White Beans of Conio. This drawer sits in a cupboard in my Italian kitchen, in a small town about an […]
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Memories of Kabu and a Japanese masterclass
A vigorous swirl of finely battoned turnip in a generous splash of vinegar, rice is best, and chemistry takes over. The once clear bowl is suddenly vivid purple. Let it rest for a few minutes and then a forkful of this fresh, bright vegetable is irresistible. Taking small bites, you feel energised, fresh and wanting […]
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Snap the peel to make the perfect Martini
Want to make the perfect Martini? Well it’s all in the squeeze, apparently. Get a sliver of fresh lemon or orange peel about 4-5cm long and about 1.5cm wide at the middle, pinch the longer edges in you fingers and ‘snap’ over your cocktail, says Richard Ehrlich, martini aficionado, prolific food writer and stalwart of […]
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Tree of Hope Cook Book
A group of west Kent, England chefs, cooks, restaurateurs and artisan food producers have left the white heat of the kitchen and joined with Tonbridge-based charity Tree of Hope to produce ‘The Cook Book’, a tasty collection of lavishly illustrated foodie stories and recipe. Family-focused Tree of Hope latest fundraising initiative is ‘The Cook Book […]
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French cooking with Le Cordon Bleu and Parma ham
Tucked away in a quiet London square close to the British Museum is the UK headquarters of cook school owned by the achingly famous French cooking school Le Cordon Bleu, which aims to teach students the culinary arts and French-style cooking techniques. There’s always something new to learn about cooking and with this in mind […]
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