Roast Lamb Steaks with Broccoli, Chimichurri and Gratin Dauphinois This month's entry is, I concede, a questionable cross-continental mish-mash but I had been living out of a suitcase for ten days on a buying trip and it was what I fancied cooking and eating. I didn't refer to any texts so my quantities and timings […]

Regular customers will no doubt have noticed that we have updated our website. Our old website had served us well, but at over ten years old it was beginning to show its age. We have tried to keep the character of the old site, and the simplicity of the navigation, whilst putting in place a […]

Poulet au Citron Now that my beloved (and vegan) progeny have departed to their seats of learning and the proverbial nest is empty (and tidy!) I look forward once more to roast chicken. I favour a simple recipe with lemons, for which I think Marcella Hazan is the fons et origo but I have cooked […]

As a keen oenophile and Francophile I have an enduring interest in the celebrated ‘Grands Vins’ of Burgundy, Bordeaux and the Rhône as well as less well-known wines from the Loire, Alsace and Provence but the region that is increasingly commanding my attention is the Languedoc. Specifically, the limestone outcrops of the Hérault, which lie […]

    “After a long summer break, Jason, the man with ‘the most embarrassing recycling box in the street,’ is ready to pile on even more embarrassment for the furtherance of oenological knowledge and David is more than willing to help him. With their feet firmly under Jason’s kitchen table and ISO wine glasses under […]

I have previously praised Rukmini Iyer’s ground-breaking ‘The Green Roasting Tin’ for the variety of its recipes and their ease of execution. That said, Ms Iyer, like most of her profession, is disingenuous about some of her prep times. ‘Ten minutes’ might be viable with a sous-chef but I need at least quarter of an […]

Veg Every Day A recent trip to visit my octogenarian progenitress in Devon found her enthusing about a newly-acquired cookery book, the latest addition to an extensive library that dates back to battle scarred early editions of Robert Carrier and Elizabeth David. The volume in question was yet another offering from fellow Devonian, environmental activist […]

1. Did you have a seminal wine tasting experience that made you want to pursue a career in wine? On Christmas Eve 1954, my first Christmas in long trousers, at the end of dinner in the family house, my grandfather said I was old enough for a glass of Port. The butler brought a glass, […]

Extremely costly wines are, unsurprisingly, often also very rare but it would be a mistake to conflate rarity and value. Bordeaux’s ‘First Growths’ command eye-wateringly high prices and yet are actually produced in relatively prolific volumes of 15-20,000 cases (of 12 bottles) per annum. Conversely, some wines are so rare that they are practically impossible […]

For various reasons my household is consuming much less meat these days but meaty fish, like tuna or swordfish, is a welcome ingredient when any committed vegetarians are absent. Griddled Tuna Steaks with Mexican Rice and Tomato Salsa [Serves 3-4 adults]. Mexican Rice: Olive oil Spanish onion x 1 Garlic cloves x 2 Long grain […]