Posts by Tom Johnston
Brasserie Zédel, London
Brasserie Zédel 20 Sherwood Street, London W1F 7ED 020 7734 4888 www.brasseriezedel.com The Bill Prix Fixe 2 courses £13.00 | 3 courses £17.25 Formule (including a glass of wine) 3 courses £27 A la Carte Starters £3.75 – £19.25 | Mains £11.75 – £32.50 Desserts £3.00 – £8.75 The Score Cooking 6/10 |…
Read MoreChef Watch Featuring John McMahon of Prestonfield House, Edinburgh
Chef Watch Featuring John McMahon, Executive Chef of Prestonfield House, Edinburgh How long have you been a chef? I have been a chef for over 35 years ever since leaving school. Why did you become a chef? My father was a publican and as I had no real direction in life at 16 years old…
Read MoreAnn Smyth’s Flourless Chocolate Cake
I am not a great eater of puddings. You may have noticed that the dessert selection is often missing from the Tom Eats! column. (My simple response is to say that it seems to work for Giles Coren, and he’s made a good living out of his scribblings.) I make an exception, however, whenever I…
Read MoreThe Adamson Hotel, Crossford, by Dunfermline, Fife
The Adamson Hotel 27 Main Street, Crossford, Dunfermline, Fife KY12 8NJ 01383 736132 www.theadmasonhotel.com The Bill Set Lunch Sandwiches £5.75 – £7.50 | Soup and any Sandwich £7.95 A la Carte Starters £4.50 – £6.75 | Mains £9.75 – £26.50 (Half Portion Selected Mains £6.75) Desserts £4.95 – £6.75 The Score Cooking 4.5/10…
Read MoreDiets: The Wee Fat Lawyer Revisited
In June and July we published 15 articles aimed at helping you to lose weight and keep it off. On The Side featured, in five instalments, The Wee Fat Lawyer’s Diet Book. For the first time ever, Tom Cooks! had two columns a week, The Wee Fat Lawyer’s A – Z of Food and Recipes from The Wee…
Read MoreChallah Six Strand Loaf
Well, it’s Easter and we like to be seasonal, and give you something to celebrate with. To be extra topical, my plan was to feature Paska, a Ukrainian loaf traditionally made at Easter time. It’s a sweet loaf topped with a coiled, three strand braid. It’s usually jazzed up with saffron, raisins and other fruit. The…
Read MoreAizle, Edinburgh
Aizle 38 Charlotte Square, Edinburgh EH2 4HQ 0131 527 4747 www.aizle.co.uk The Bill 6 Course Tasting Menu £85.00 The Score Cooking 10/10 | Service 5/5 | Flavour 5/5 Value 5/5 TOTAL 25/25 It was twenty years ago today! (No, not actually today. The anniversary to which I refer occurred on the day of…
Read MoreOur Daily Bread at The Edinburgh School of Food & Wine
The plea to the Almighty to give us this day our daily bread is probably the most common prayer in the Christian world. After two days at the Edinburgh School of Food & Wine, I found myself with a fortnight’s worth, and did wonder if I had overdone things a bit. I have been making…
Read MoreCan’t Sear, Won’t Sear: Scallops Part 2
These days, were you to go on a programme such as Masterchef and cook scallops any way other than searing in a hot pan, you would be met with derision. It wasn’t always thus. I remember asking a chef some decades ago how one should cook them. Gently in a lot of butter was the…
Read MoreA Street Near You, La Casa Dalry, Edinburgh
La Casa Dalry 103 – 105 Dalry Road, Edinburgh EH11 2AB 0131 337 2875 www.la-casa-restaurant.co.uk The Bill Set Lunch 2 courses £9.95 | 3 courses £11.95 A la Carte Tapas/Mezze £2.95 – £7.50 | Mains £10.95 – £19.95 Desserts £4.95 – £5.95 The Score Cooking 5.5/10 | Service 4.5/5 | Flavour 4/5 Value 5/5…
Read MoreTom Eats! With The Master Chefs
It’s early April. Another batch of you with 31 March year ends will have hung up your gowns, spreadsheets, laptops or whatevers and joined the happy band. The band, that is, of the wastrels, parasites on society, to wit the retired. So let me tell you how it is, by relating something which happened to…
Read MorePassorn, Edinburgh
Passorn 23 – 23 A Brougham Place, Edinburgh EH3 9JU 0131 229 1537 www.passornthai.com The Bill Set Lunch (Wed – Sat) 2 courses £12.95 Pre Theatre Supper (Mon – Thu 5.00 – 6.45) 2 courses £15.25 A la Carte Starters £6.00 – £8.00 | Mains £10.75 – £18.25 The Score Cooking 8/10 |…
Read MoreScallops Part 1
In Wednesday’s Chef Watch column, Graeme Cheevers chose scallops as his favourite ingredient. He’s certainly not alone in that. It’s a dish I always find hard to overlook on any menu. Like many stars of Scottish produce (especially those from the sea) we’ve moved on a long way from how we used to (mis)treat them.…
Read MoreChef Watch Featuring Graeme Cheevers of Unalome, Glasgow
Chef Watch Featuring Glasgow’s Latest Michelin Star Holder Graeme Cheevers Unalome, Glasgow How long have you been a chef? I’ve been a chef for 19 years now, it is all I have ever done or wanted to do from a young age. Why did you become a chef? I suppose it was just something…
Read MoreCôte Brasserie, Edinburgh
Côte Brasserie 51 Frederick Street, Edinburgh EH2 1LH 0131 202 6256 www.cote.co.uk The Bill Prix Fixe (Mon – Thu all day; Fri 12 – 7) 2 courses £14.95 | 3 courses £18.95 A la Carte Starters £5.95 – £9.25 | Mains £11.95 – £23.50 Puddings £5.25 – £7.25 The Score Cooking 6.5/10 |…
Read MoreRecipes From Lupe Pintos
On Wednesday, On The Side introduced you to Dougie Bell of Lupe Pintos. Between them, he and his partner Rhoda Robertson have produced three excellent cook books, coveriing a broad range of cuisine from Mexico through the southern states of the USA and on to the Caribbean. The fourth in the series, The Mexican Wrestlers Cookbook was produced…
Read MoreThe Food Retailers: Dougie Bell of Lupe Pintos Deli
Meet Dougie Bell for the first time, and you immediately notice two things. The first is the trademark pork pie hat, worn at all times. The second is the permanent twinkle (albeit not in my truly dreadful photos.) You just know at first encounter that this has not been an ordinary life. Two of his…
Read MoreRistorante Settimo Cielo, Vienna
Ristorante Settimo Cielo (Hotel Royal) Singerstraβe 3, Stock 10, 1010 Vienna +43 1 5123875 www.settimocielo.at The Bill Dinner A la Carte Starters €8.00 – €18.00 | Mains €17.50 – €35.50 Puddings €8.50 – €9.00 The Score Cooking 6.5/10 | Service 3/5 | Flavour 3.5/5 Value 3/5 TOTAL 16/25 Muted. In a city…
Read MoreA Simple Curry – Chicken, Chickpea & Preserved Lemon
I seldom follow recipes when it comes to Indian food. I had got very cocky and reckoned I’d cracked it. There then followed a trio of dishes which were, as they might say it in my home town in Fife, pish poor. But undeterred, a pack of chicken thighs in hand and not a great…
Read MoreChristmas Books – What Happens To Good Boys
In December I highlighted a few food books and cook books which looked promising as presents for people of quality who know and love their food. And, would you believe it? I now find myself the proud owner of most of them. It definitely pays to advertise. TASTE: My Life Through Food Stanley Tucci Fig…
Read MoreBlonde Restaurant, Edinburgh – As Told To Tom Johnston
Blonde Restaurant 75 St Leonards Street, Edinburgh EH8 9QR 0131 668 2917 www.blonderestaurant.co.uk The Bill Set Lunch 2 courses £13.90 | 3 courses £16.90 Dinner A la Carte Starters £4.95 – £6.95 | Mains £14.25 – £22.95 Puddings £5.95 – £6.75 The Score Cooking 6.5/10 | Service 4/5 | Flavour 4/5 Value 5/5…
Read MorePie With No Pastry
And before you start, no potato either. No shepherds or cottagers are involved in today’s offering. As with many of my odder, off the cuff recipes, this was inspired by an item which was needing used. Without being obsessional about it, I dislike seeing food going to waste. A week or two ago I created…
Read MoreChef Watch Featuring Jamie Scott of The Newport, Newport on Tay
Chef Watch Featuring Masterchef: The Professionals Winner Jamie Scott The Newport Restaurant, Newport-on-Tay, Fife How long have you been a chef? I have been a chef professionally for 15 years Why did you become a chef? I became a chef because I failed to become a professional golfer and I love food Favourite ingredient Onions,…
Read MoreSwilcan Loft, Old Course Hotel, St Andrews
Swilcan Loft, Old Course Hotel Old Station Road, St Andrews, KY16 9SP 01334 474371 www.oldcoursehotel.co.uk The Bill Starters £10.00 – £16.50 | Mains £21.50 – £42.00 Desserts £9.20 The Score Cooking 4.5/10 | Service 4.5/5 | Flavour 3/5 Value 3/5 TOTAL 15/25 I’ve been coming to The Old Course Hotel on a…
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