The Restaurant A History of Eating Out by William Sitwell Lockdown is a time for dreaming, dreaming of things past and dreaming of things to come. The world of restaurant dining seems somewhat incongruous to us at the moment in the middle of a global crisis the likes of which we have never encountered
Rajasthan India India is a mystery that is waiting for you to solve. It comes in many flavours, colours, aromas and sizes. It is a country that despite all this is impossible not to fall in love with. Yes there is poverty, dirt (lots of it) extreme temperatures and enormous distances to travel to see
Kentucky On this adventure I travel stateside to bring you a report from the home of Fort Knox, the Kentucky Derby, and a genre of music less known on these shores and of course that delectable brown liquid so loved by the Mad Men. It would be hard to find a state in
Groningen A gastro Heaven I could have arrived at London’s Southend Airport some early ‘o’ clock to start my trip to Groningen in northern Holland, but why do that when I could have a comfortable night right next to the airport at the Holiday Inn? Dining at the 5thfloor 1935 restaurant on a fine
Hartwell House & Spa Oxford Road Vale of Aylesbury Buckinghamshire HP17 8NR Tel: 01296 747444 Perfectly placed in the vale of Aylesbury in 90 beautiful acres of Capability Brown landscaped grounds Hartwell House and Spa is straight out of a movie. The great hall of English Baroque completed in 1740 complements the spectacular staircase with
MS Zuiderdam Holland America Line A Meal to Remember I have a confession to make. I’m an experienced travel and food writer with more than a decade of passport stamps under my belt visiting all corners of the globe but (here’s the confession bit) I have never been on a cruise. There I’ve said it,
The Isle of Wight Hampshire UK The first thing to know about the Isle of Wight when taking the ferry is to get out of the car and go up to one of the decks when you’ve parked your car. M and I thought (wistfully as it turned out) that it wouldn’t take too
Antwerp: Beer, Art and Frites. One of the most culturally important cities in Europe, second in size to Brussels the Belgian city of Antwerp is an unbelievable cornucopia of art, architecture, fashion, beer and yes, (artisanal) frites. Flying from the super quick Southend Airport it took just 45 minutes to get there. The first class
Asparagus: Edible gold April in Europe can mean only one thing in the vegetable world, asparagus. That wonder of the chef’s table, speared, doused in butter, poached egged or just plain steamed. It is a thing of beauty and taste. Time to find out where most of our asparagus comes from and how to eat
Kent: In Search of Ian Fleming I have been a fan of James Bond since childhood and readers of this publication will know that given half a chance I will write and investigate more about the fictional character and its author Ian Fleming. So almost on my doorstep I set out to discover more.
The 12 Silver Caesars: A Renaissance Mystery In this post I’m going to take you into a world of historical intrigue and chicanery. A centuries old conundrum that we are curiously allowed to see the end result of (and we also know how is started) but not the details of how it got there.
Venice, Four Seasons of Home Cooking By Russell Norman In a market that loves books on Venice Russell Norman has produced something of a coup, a book that brings you into the world of the Venetian and how they live and eat. In this latest adventure he lives out his dream and goes ‘local’. On
St. Moritz Gourmet Festival St. Moritz Switzerland Crisp white stratocumulus scud beneath me on the swift 75-minute flight to Zürich. From there I take a couple of trains to that swishest of resorts where only the stylish check in and if you have to ask how much you’re in the wrong place. Or that’s
Wine House Hotel 1821 4 Picardy Place Edinburgh EH1 3JT Tel: 0131 557 1821 When taking the train up to Edinburgh I can’t help but be reminded of W. H. Auden and his atmospheric 1936 masterpiece Night Mail. As I trundled up the North Eastern line the words appear in my head without me
Hamburg Germany In the early 1960’s Hamburg had the reputation of a racy place to be as well as dangerous. The docks were not for the faint hearted and there wasn’t much to do except follow the sailors to the red light district where you might have heard the Beatles who cut their teeth there.