Posts by Tom Johnston
Ralph & 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,…
Read MoreThe Little Chartroom, Edinburgh
The Little Chartroom 14 Bonnington Road, Edinburgh EH6 5JD 0131 556 6600 www.thelittlechartroom.com The Bill Starters £15.00 – £15.50 | Mains £27.50 – £32.00 Desserts £10.50 – £11.50 The Score Cooking 8.5/10 | Service 5/5 | Flavour 4.5/5 Value 5/5 TOTAL 23/25 Beginnings are tricky. Ask any columnist. Or indeed any Gospel writer. Take…
Read MoreIs It Just Me? The Right Tool for the Right Job
I have to share something personal and embarrassing with you. Is it just me? The it in question is insistence on a very specific implement for a particular job, even though one’s batterie de cuisine contains many alternatives. A couple of years ago I counted up 118 gizmos in two drawers under the hob. But,…
Read MoreSuprème de Volaille aux Petits Pois à la Française
Before the break I wrote about a memorable week’s butchery course at the Edinburgh School of Food & Wine. As well as cutting up animals, we did a fair bit of cooking. Course teacher Ash and I lunched very well, and usually quite late, to the discomfiture of trouble and strife L. Not only did…
Read MoreRestaurante José Carlos Garcia, Màlaga, Spain
Restaurante José Carlos Garcia Plaza de la Capilla, Puerto de Màlaga 29001, Spain + 34 952 003 588 www.restaurantejcg.com The Bill Menu 126€ Tasting Menu 198.50€ The Score Cooking 9.5/10 | Service 4/5 | Flavour 5/5 Value 4.5/5 TOTAL 23/25 Màlaga’s Paseo de la Farola is a modern bustling place. After the line…
Read MoreChef Watch Featuring Geoffrey Smeddle of The Peat Inn, Fife
Chef Watch Featuring Geoffrey Smeddle of The Peat Inn, Peat Inn, Fife How long have you been a chef? I started training in the summer of 2003 after completing a history degree. I had an uncle and aunt who at the time ran a hotel and restaurant in France. I spent a summer with…
Read MoreStrawberry Sorbet and Granita
Last week we mentioned in passing strawberry coulis. Making a sorbet, or its crunchier cousin a granita, are just variations on the theme though the technique is slightly different. I’ll repeat last week’s disclaimer that the requisite degree of sweetness will depend on your berries and your personal taste. In true cheffy style I should…
Read MoreArdnamurchan Scottish Restaurant & Bar, Glasgow
Ardnamurchan Scottish Restaurant & Bar 325 Hope Street, Glasgow G2 3PT 0141 353 1500 www.ardnamurchan.biz The Bill Market Menu 2 courses £17.95 3 courses £20.95 A la carte Starters £5.00 – £12.00 | Mains £16.00 – £30.00 Puddings £5.00 – £7.50 The Score Cooking 4/10 | Service 4.5/5 | Flavour 3/5 Value 4/5 TOTAL…
Read MoreA Lot of Meat at The Edinburgh School of Food & Wine
On Sunday I was cooking burgers at the Jubilee street party. Been up to much this week? enquired a friend. Yes indeed, I replied. Five days cutting up dead animals. It’s not the most normal of replies, and attracted the attention of a good few folk. More details? Certainly. Ash MacMillan A couple of months ago, I wrote about…
Read MoreClipstone, London
Clipstone 5 Clipstone Street, London W1W 6BB 020 7637 0871 www.clipstonerestaurant.co.uk The Bill Lunch Snacks £4.00 – £8.50 2 courses £30.00 | 3 courses £35.00 Dinner Snacks £4.00 – £8.50 | Starters £13.00 – £14.00 Mains £21.00 – £29.00 | Desserts £9.50 The Score Cooking 8/10 | Service 5/5 | Flavour 5/5 …
Read MoreStrawberry Cheesecake With Strawberry Coulis
We’re starting to get into prime strawberry season, one of summer’s principal delights. I refer of course to British strawberries, not these ghastly forced things, consistency of wood, which arrive bearing hundreds if not thousands of air miles. But be warned. In the early part of the growing season on this sceptred isle, you will…
Read MoreChef Watch Featuring Robert Corrigan, lately of Mr C’s Pies
Chef Watch Featuring Robert Corrigan latterly of Mr C’s Pies How long have you been a chef? I started cooking in a professional kitchen on 14th February 1969. A Saturday job at a Stakis Steakhouse. I turned 15 the following week. In the June the chef went on holiday and I was the “chef” for…
Read MoreNational Barbecue Month? In May?
As the rain bounces off my window, I have two inspirations for today’s column. The first of these was reading that someone somewhere had decreed May to be the National Barbecue Month. In fairness, the weather in Scotland in May can often be surprisingly good. Sadly, not this year. I have cleaned my barbie in…
Read MoreUNALOME by Graeme Cheevers, Glasgow
UNALOME by Graeme Cheevers 36 Kelvingrove Street, Glasgow G3 7RZ 0141 501 0553 www.unalomebygc.com The Bill A la Carte 3 courses £90 Tasting Menu 6 courses £110 Tasting of Vegetables Menu 6 courses £110 The Score Cooking 9.5/10 | Service 5/5 | Flavour 5/5 Value 5/5 TOTAL 24.5/25 So what’s the coolest…
Read MoreDo You Know The Michelin Man?
No one does, of course. These faceless men and women who selflessly eat out anonymously in the world’s finest establishments, paying their bill at the end and leaving without comment. But what is Michelin all about? The idea for this piece came about from a conversation over dinner. In a Michelin starred restaurant, as it…
Read MoreClaire Macdonald’s Salmon With Watercress And Shallot Sauce
Claire Macdonald A few weeks ago I had the great pleasure of meeting Lady Claire Macdonald. Not only meeting her, but getting her permission to reproduce recipes from her huge range of cookery books. We own about a dozen. I commend each and every one of them to you. Needless to say, you’ll never get…
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