I grew up in the culinary wastelands of Luton. My love of good food came from my parents and family friends. Not only did mum teach herself to cook dishes from around the world, we also encountered all kinds of new tastes and techniques whilst travelling overseas during the holidays. My dad enjoyed eating out ... Read more »
A Rather Unusual Job Interview + Pear & Ginger Chutney Recipe
Green & Black’s Head of Taste, Micah Carr-Hill, is looking for a Taste Assistant. The winning candidate will support Micah in the development of new Green & Black’s products – sourcing ingredients from all around the world, working with marketing on the development of ideas, developing kitchen samples, scaling small trials to factory scale and ... Read more »
Remembrance Day
Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it I have always had an interest in World War Two. Not a Boy’s Own fascination with military manoeuvres, tanks and planes or playing soldiers, but from a historical, political and people perspective. At school, history was one of my favourite subjects. I never much ... Read more »
Birthday Blow Out at Launceston Place
When it came to choosing a restaurant to visit on my birthday at the end of September, it didn’t take me very long at all to settle on Launceston Place. A great experience there earlier in the year, together with very reasonable prices for what’s on offer, made it a no brainer. I was joined ... Read more »
Orchards in the Oasis: Travels, Food and Memories with Josceline Dimbleby
The best thing about blogging is meeting people. People who share the obsession with food and people who work in the industry – as chefs, producers and writers. One such individual I met recently was the charming and talented Josceline Dimbleby, at a lunch event for the launch of her latest book Orchards in the Oasis: ... Read more »
Brown & Forrest: A Family Smokery in Somerset
One of the best things about travelling around Britain is the opportunity to visit high-quality, local, specialist producers and try and buy their products. One such producer is Brown & Forrest, a small family run smokery producing a wide range of smoked goods including eel, salmon and duck, to name just a few. Started ... Read more »
My Hallowe’en Courgette
You’ve seen my (first ever) Hallowe’en Pumpkin. Now, please put your hands together for my Hallowe’en Courgette! We grow courgettes in our back garden most years and usually choose the spherical yellow ones, just because they’re a bit different. This little guy, though much smaller than most carving pumpkins, was a little long in ... Read more »
My Hallowe’en Pumpkin
Hallowe’en has it’s origins in the Celtic festival of Samhain, meaning “summer’s end”: The ancient Celts believed that the border between this world and the Otherworld became thin on Samhain, allowing spirits (both harmless and harmful) to pass through. The family’s ancestors were honoured and invited home while harmful spirits were warded off. It is ... Read more »
Green Romanesco Cauliflower Cheese
A few months back, while chatting with friends, I bemoaned my lack of adventurousness, inventiveness and originality when it comes to cooking vegetables at home. One of my friends disappeared momentarily, and returned with a copy of The Farm Shop Cookbook by Christine McFadden, which she kindly gifted me. A few weeks later, I got ... Read more »
Shaking it with the Zulu warriors
Shaka Zulu isn’t normally the kind of restaurant I choose to visit. I made the mistake of going to Gilgamesh, located in the same building in Camden’s Stables Market and was terribly disappointed. Twice. Style, pomp and circumstance over substance; the food was terrible, both times. When Shaka Zulu opened in August, it’s self-marketing as ... Read more »