Posts by Tom Johnston
Boeuf Bourgignon/ a la Bourgignonne/ Beef Stew
Call this beef stew if you like, but that’s akin to saying that Leonardo da Vinci could paint a wee bit. Today’s column was inspired by two things. After being delighted by Felicity Cloake’s Red Sauce, Brown Sauce, reviewed in On The Side a few weeks ago, I bought a copy of her earlier work, One More…
Read MoreCafe Murano, St James, London
Cafe Murano St James 33 St James’s Street, London SW1A 1HD 020 3371 5559 www.cafemurano.co.uk The Bill Menu del Giorno (Served daily 1200 – 1500 and 1700 – 1900) 2 courses £23.00 | 3 courses £28.00 A la carte Starters £6.00 – £20.00 | Mains £18.00 – £38.00 Desserts £2.00 -…
Read MoreThe Tollhouse, Edinburgh
The Tollhouse 50 Brandon Terrace, Edinburgh EH3 5BX 0131 224 2424 www.tollhouse.scot The Bill A la carte Starters £6.50 – £11.00 | Mains £15.00 – £23.00 Desserts £6.50 – £7.50 The Score Cooking 8.5/10 | Service 5/5 Flavour 5/5 | Value 5/5 TOTAL 23.5/25 Did you see the flash? Bright blue. Even if…
Read More… Breaking Eggs
Well, what a stooshie we had after last week’s article about omelettes. I fear I may have lost a couple of friends in the fall out. I shall say no more other than to quote the wise words of Elizabeth David in French Provincial Cooking. As everybody knows, there is only one infallible recipe for…
Read MoreChef Watch Featuring Calum Montgomery of Edinbane Lodge, Skye
Chef Watch Featuring Calum Montgomery of Edinbane Lodge, Isle of Skye How long have you been a chef? I’ve been working in kitchens for almost 19 years now! Scrubbed my first professional pot in early 2004 whilst still in school (aged14) but started to make my way through the ranks at 16. Why did…
Read MoreSessions Arts Club, Clerkenwell, London
Sessions Arts Club Old Sessions House, 24 Clerkenwell Green, London EC1R 0NA 020 3793 4025 www.sessionsartsclub.com The Bill A la carte Plates £5.00 – £27.00 | Desserts £7.00 – £10.00 The Score Cooking 8.5/10 | Service 5/5 Flavour 5/5 | Value 4.5/5 TOTAL 23/25 What’s in a name, eh? This place isn’t a…
Read MoreOther Schnitzels Are Available
Last week’s article about Wiener schnitzel attracted a bigger postbag than usual. Breaking free of the authoritative Austrian shackles – it must be veal and it must be made in Austria – two things became clear. It’s a great favourite of many of you, and the majority would use pork or chicken over veal. The…
Read MoreYou Can’t Make An Omelette Without…
French Style That’s actually true of many people. Never mind. The inspiration for today came from the chronicles of Mr C’s trip to Egypt. Among his many posts on social media, he commented on the (poor) quality of the omelettes served to him in a particular hotel. They were so poor that he felt he…
Read MoreAmarone Edinburgh
Amarone Edinburgh 12 – 13 St Andrew Square, Edinburgh EH2 2AF 0131 523 1177 www.amaronerestaurant.co.uk The Bill Lunch and Early Dinner Menu *2 courses £13.50/£14.95 3 courses £19.50/£17.95 A la carte Starters £5.95 – £12.95 | Pasta £11.95 – £23.95 Pizza £11.75 – £14.95 | Meat and Fish £16.95 – £32.95 Desserts £4.65 -…
Read MoreWiener Schnitzel
Today’s ramblings were inspired by two things. A recent visit from the Vienna based members of the family brought back memories of my first (and thus far only) trip there earlier this year; and a brief snippet from a Radio 4 programme this morning. Wiener schnitzel translates simply as cutlet from Vienna. What I didn’t realise…
Read MoreBecause We’ve Always Done It That Way
I’ve done a bit of teaching over the years. I enjoyed it, but living with an education professional made me realise that, as with cooking, there’s an awful lot more to it than the untrained amateur might think. A lot of it was in my specialist field of liquor licensing. Lectures, seminars and master classes…
Read MoreClaire Macdonald’s Sardine and Mushroom Paté
Now don’t recoil in horror. I can guarantee three things. Firstly, if it’s a Claire Macdonald recipe, it will work, no matter how unlikely the combination of ingredients may sound. Secondly, although there are only three principal ingredients, no one will correctly guess all three. And finally, it is absolutely delicious. And if it’s a…
Read MoreLa Bocca, Edinburgh
La Bocca 108 Raeburn Place, Edinburgh EH4 1HH 0131 374 1584 www.laboccastockbridge.com The Bill Lunch Menu (Served 12.00 – 16.00) Plates £7.00 – £15.00 A la carte Small Plates £8.00 – £12.00 | Mains £14.00 – £22.00 Desserts £6.00 – £8.00 The Score Cooking – L’s 7/10; Mine 5/10. Average 6/10…
Read MoreChef Watch Featuring Adam Newth of The Tayberry, Broughty Ferry
Adam is on the right Chef Watch Featuring Adam Newth of The Tayberry, Broughty Ferry How long have you been a chef? I was 14 years old when I first started in a small cafe in my home town of Arbroath. So 17 years now. Why did you become a chef? To cut a long story…
Read MoreRavioli with Vegetables, Cheese and Walnuts
I tried to steal spaghetti from the shop, but the female guard saw me, and I couldn’t get pasta. Believe it or not, Masai Graham’s piece of hilarity was voted the funniest joke at the year’s Edinburgh Festival Fringe. It did two things for me. Firstly, I found it a depressingly sad reflection of the…
Read MoreIgnite, Edinburgh
Ignite 272 – 274 Morrison Street, Edinburgh EH3 8DT www.igniterestaurant.co.uk 0131 228 5666 The Bill Tasting Menu For 2 £59 | For 4 £116 Vegetarian Tasting Menu For 2 £54 | For 4 £106 A la carte Starters £5.25 – £8.50 | Mains £10.95 – £18.50 The Score Cooking 7/10 | Service 5/5…
Read MoreThe Savoy Cocktail Book
Last week’s Tom Cooks! on the subject of the martini cocktail attracted more attention and comment than I anticipated. Some of you also expressed interest in The Savoy Cocktail Book, compiled by Harry Craddock, head bartender at the hotel’s American Bar. While the book is long out of print, an enterprising publishing company, Martino Fine…
Read MoreWill The Real Martini Please Stand Up?
Charles Dickens goes into a bar. -I’ll have a martini, please. -Certainly, sir. Olive or twist? Your task is to spot the anachronism. Well the cocktail (then known as a Martinez, named for a town in California) almost certainly existed at the time of Dickens’ last trip to the States; however, the practice of adding…
Read MoreJack ‘O’ Bryan’s, Dunfermline
Jack ‘O’ Bryan’s 5 Chalmers Street, Dunfermline, KY12 8AT www.jackobryans.com 01383 324720 The Bill Lunch A la carte Starters £8.00 – £12.00 | Mains £12.00 – £22.00 Desserts £8.00 – £10.00 Dinner A la carte Starters £8.00 – £12.00 | Mains £18.00 – £38.00 Desserts £8.00 – £10.00 The Score Cooking 7/10 |…
Read MoreThe Food Producers – Robin Sherriff of Koji Kitchen
Passionate. I must stop it. It’s just too Mills & Boon. Perhaps, but it’s easier said than done when you meet food enthusiasts, the ones who go wild eyed when talking about their produce, the ones who can declaim about it for hours while never, ever being boring. I first encountered Robin at a demonstration…
Read MoreDulse, Edinburgh
Dulse 17 Queensferry Street, Einburgh EH2 4QW www.dulse.co.uk 0131 573 7575 The Bill Lunch Menu 2 plates £19.00 A la carte Plates £9.00 – £44.00 | Desserts £8.50 The Score Cooking 9/10 | Service 3/5 | Flavour 5/5 Value 4/5 TOTAL 21/25 One door closes, and all that. For many years…
Read MoreGazpacho
You ungrateful lot may not appreciate it, but this recipe writing is fraught with peril, not to say downright danger. Seasonality is one thing, but to publish a recipe which works only when the mercury is high can be fool hardy at best. Worse still if you have a restaurant and need to plan menus…
Read MoreInverleith Food Festival
Well, it’s the opening day of the Edinburgh Festival. Last night we’ve been at Murrayfield, entertained by the National Youth Choir of Scotland and a troupe of gravity defying Australians, appropriately titled Gravity & Other Myths. What to do before the opening event? I’d passed Inverleith Park a day or two earlier, and had learned…
Read MoreCaribbean Rice and Peas
Way back I used to be a lawyer, remember? That’s why you have to trust me. It’s also why my disclaimers are printed very clearly at the top. #1 This recipe is not from last week’s heroine Sandra Folkes-Joseph. I did ask her, but I was pushing my luck. Once I get her the publishing…
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