Posts by Tom Johnston
Wiener 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…
Read MoreRalph & Finns, Glasgow
Ralph & Finns 23 – 25 St Vincent Place, Glasgow G1 2DT www.ralphandfinns.co.uk 0141 248 5636 The Bill Snacks £4.50 – £8.00 | Starters £5.00 – £15.00 Mains £15.00 – £37.50 | Desserts £5.00 – £7.50 The Score Cooking 6.5/10 | Service 4.5/5 | Flavour 4/5 Value 4/5 TOTAL 19/25 I have…
Read MoreBook Reviews – Red Sauce Brown Sauce: Dirt
RED SAUCE BROWN SAUCE A British Breakfast Odyssey Felicity Cloake Mudlark pp373 £16.99 It was Somerset Maugham who said, to eat well in England you should have…
Read MoreSandra Folkes-Joseph’s Curry Goat
On Wednesday, we introduced you to the remarkable Sandra Folkes-Joseph. Having spent some time in Antigua tracking it down, I was blown away by her signature dish of curry goat. Tongue in cheek, I offered my services in her kitchen free in exchange for the the recipe. With astonishing generosity she sent it to me …
Read MoreThe Wheatsheaf Hotel and Restaurant, Swinton. Guest Reviewer, Carol Main
The Wheatsheaf Hotel and Restaurant Main Street, Swinton, Duns TD11 3JJ 01890 860257 eatdrinkstaywheatsheaf.com The Bill Starters £4.95 – £8.95 | Mains £15.45 – £24.95 Desserts £1.75 – £6.95 The Score Cooking 7/10 | Service 4/5 | Flavour 4/5 Value 4/5 TOTAL 19/25 Carol Main For some of us, heading off to…
Read MoreChef Watch Featuring Sandra Folkes-Joseph of Sandra’s Island Fusion, Antigua
Chef Watch Featuring Sandra Folkes-Joseph of Sandra’s Island Fusion, English Harbour, Antigua How long have you been a chef? Nine years. Why did you become a chef? It gives me a sense of satisfaction to see someone enjoy an nice meal. Favourite ingredient The famous Curry Goat All types of peppers. Favourite or…
Read MoreCatherine’s Café, English Harbour, Antigua
Catherine’s Café Pigeon Point Beach, English Harbour, Antigua +1 268 782 5050 www.catherinescafe.com The Bill (For the price conversion, see below. Rounded to the nearest £0.50) Starters £13.00 – £216.00 | Mains £21.00 – £54.50 Desserts £9.50 – £13.00 The Score Cooking 5.5/10 | Service 1/5 | Flavour 3.5/5 Value 1/5 TOTAL 11/25 It’s…
Read MoreThings to Do with Mangoes
Well on Wednesday you had me rhapsodising about mangoes in the flesh, as it were, luscious, soft, exquisite, juicy … (that’s quite enough – Ed.) But if you can’t get fruit of that quality, you can still do good things. The first of these is a recipe of L’s, always popular if catering for a…
Read MoreM is for … Mango
Mangoes in Antigua Prominent among the products of J K Rowling’s imagination were the food and the sweets beloved of her heroes and heroines. In particular I remember Bertie Bott’s Every Flavour Beans. It is significant that the good Mr Bott had no need to create an Every Flavour Fruit. It exists and is called the…
Read MoreFocus on Venison Part 1
Here at Johnston Towers we’ve been eating a lot of venison of late. In a fit of thoughtless shopping I’d stocked up the freezer at Castle Game Scotland just a week before my butchery course at Edinburgh School of Food & Wine. To be frank it’s no hardship. I know I’ve featured venison dishes before,…
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