Given how much I adored Saraban, I was really excited about getting my hands on the latest title from Greg & Lucy Malouf, Malouf: New Middle Eastern Food. Whilst I was immediately taken by many of the recipes, one major problem with the book revealed itself very early on: The typography and page layout may ... Read more »
The 25th anniversary of a restaurant in the heart of Soho might be taken to signify that it’s a good restaurant. If that means attracting customers, serving them something edible and taking their money, then certainly Maison Touareg succeeds. Unfortunately, based on our recent experience, it seems to rely almost entirely on the custom of ... Read more »
Southern Lebanon is not much visited by tourists, given its volatility. Only a few days ago, six Italian soldiers were hurt in a bomb attack on the main highway near Saida (Sidon). Less than two weeks before that, there were 11 fatalities and many injuries, during clashes at the Lebanese Israeli border. The region is ... Read more »
What comes to mind for you when I ask you to think about Lebanon? Is it the mass exodus of Palestinian refugees into Lebanon during the Arab-Israeli war of 1948? Is it the Lebanese civil war, which lasted from 1975 to 1990, during which Beirut in particular was so often on the news? Internal conflict ... Read more »
As I wrote recently, I fell in love with Saraban: A chef’s journey through Persia by Greg & Lucy Malouf, the moment I saw it. In this post, I want to share a most wonderful recipe from the book – tahcheen-e morgh (baked yoghurt rice with chicken). During a talk I attended recently, Greg was ... Read more »
I fell in love with this book the moment I saw it, on a friend’s coffee table, towards the end of last year. Sitting in her flat, steaming a number of Christmas puddings and occasionally checking they hadn’t run low on water, I had plenty of time to give the book lots of attention. By ... Read more »
We certainly ate well during our stay in Marrakech. Chez Chegrouni (inexpensive) is one of the grand dames of the Place Jemaa El Fna and, in common with the others, has dining on the ground floor as well as on two terraces overlooking the square. Popular with locals and tourists alike so arrive early whether ... Read more »
During Morocco’s long history many, many different visitors, invaders and settlers have influenced it’s cuisine which is, today, a mix of Berber, Moorish, Middle Eastern, Mediterranean and African cooking. The other major influence, of course, is the availability of produce which is dependent on the climate and the fertility of the land – Morocco is ... Read more »
The Place of Onions, in old Lille. After last night’s rainstorm the intense sticky heat has broken and today is cool, breezy, fresh… I love it! A drop of… [more]
We went to Star Wars: Secrets of the Empire at The Void this morning, an amazing VR experience where we got to be Rebel Alliance members going undercover as… [more]