Food and Wine Matching

Raspberry, gooseberry, apple, jam tart – tell me the name of your sweetheart. I always like to think that nature's compensation for shorter days and chillier nights is the rich harvest of produce that becomes available in the autumn – game, hedgerow berries, fungi, pumpkins, sweet orchard fruit and brassicas are all a cause for […]

T S Eliot may have reckoned April to be the cruellest month but September can be unkind too. Going back to school or back to work after carefree days of languid summer indolence can be a shock to the system. To that end I like to have some pre-prepared foodstuffs squirreled away to leave time […]

As we head in to high summer it is time to take some time off work, break with the usual routines and appreciate the great outdoors as much as possible. If there is one thing our island race excels at it is the art of picnicking, whatever the weather, so this month I thought we […]

The last time I moved house I was given the sage advice from staff at Yapp HQ that, as long as I had a kettle and a corkscrew easily accessible during the day, all would go well. This weekend, as we often are during summer months, we were based in our 'second home' (a caravan...) […]

When it is sweltering in the garden nobody wants to be slaving in a hot kitchen so it is a good time to stock up on salad ingredients and accompaniments that can be hastily thrown together to provide a satisfying al fresco repast. Tins of tuna fish and anchovies can readily be combined with boiled […]

I was interested to read Elizabeth David opining on the English habit of pairing sweet and delicate spring vegetables with deeply savoury meats then matching those courses to red wines which only complimented the latter. Her suggestion was to serve the vegetable dishes as a separate course (Italian style) and to match them with a […]

May is just about my favourite month not least because it's full of good things to eat. As well as asparagus and artichokes, waxy new potatoes are now available and can form a delicious dish if dressed with vinegrette, chopped hard boiled eggs and capers and perhaps chopped red onions and flat leaf parsley. Enjoy […]

It's good to have a reliable house white - something light, fresh and unpretentious. We often serve Domaine Gardrat: Vin de Pays Charentais Sauvignon 2014 as an aperitif with Sicilian nocellara olives, Spanish corn kernels or habas fritas (fried & salted broad beans). You shouldn't judge a book by it's cover but how could you […]

A real treat at this time of year are the beautiful sweet and juicy blood oranges grown in Spain and Italy. Lovely to eat alone they are also good in winter salads, especially when paired with any combination of fennel, watercress, chicory and beetroot. An unusually colourful and refreshing dish for the colder months. Serve […]

Chicken, poussin or guinea fowl spatchcocked & cooked on a bed of fennel and thinly sliced waxy potatoes makes a simple and delicious meal with the great advantage of using only one dish to cook. Add a splash of white wine to the dish and enjoy with a minerally white such as Chablis 2013: Christophe […]