Posts by Tom Johnston
Le Chapon Fin, Bordeaux – Home to the Worst Service in the World
Le Chapon Fin 5 Rue Montesquieu, 33000 Bordeaux, France +33 556 791 010 www.chapon-fin.com The Bill (Euros – 2018 Prices) Lunch Set Lunch 35€ Dinner Set Menus 69€ – 99€ A la Carte Starters 29€ -33€ | Mains 37€ – 55€ | Desserts 16€ The Score Cooking 5/10 Service Sommeliers 5/5, Waitresses 0/5 – Average…
Read MoreChef Watch – Bill Kerr, Superstar and Legend
CHEF WATCH Scottish Chef of the Year Featuring Bill Kerr, two time winner, Scottish Chef of the Year, producer of some of the best food I have ever eaten in my life. Why did you become a chef? At high school when I was 12, the Scottish Electricity Board advertised a cooking competition. I came…
Read MoreTom’s Frittata
After last week’s article on Spanish tortilla it occurred to me that in the five years or so of this column eggs have rarely featured, which seems odd. They are, after all, the ultimate fast food. Here at Casa Johnston, they also form the basis for many types of comfort food. Can you beat an…
Read MoreThe Kitchin, Leith, Edinburgh
The Kitchin 78 Commercial Quay, Leith, Edinburgh EH6 6LX 0131 555 1755 www.thekitchin.com The Bill Lunch 3 courses £39.00 | 4 courses £51.00 Dinner A la Carte 2 courses £75.00 | 3 courses £90.00 Tasting Menus Surprise/Vegetarian Surprise £100.00 Prestige Surprise £150.00 The Score Cooking 9.5/10 | Service 5/5 | Flavour 5/5 | Value 4/5…
Read MoreHow To Create a Restaurant
Most of us will have eaten in a restaurant which has only just opened its doors. We will take in the decor, probably smile a little at the inexperience of the waiting staff, then get stuck in to the menu and wine list. How many of us give any thought at all to the process…
Read MoreSpanish Tortilla
In Wednesday’s On The Side, I promised you a Spanish classic. It doesn’t get more typical than this. Go into any snack bar, or anywhere offering the most basic selection of tapas and you will find tortilla on the bill of fare. Confusingly, given the close links between Spain and Mexico, this has nothing whatever…
Read MoreWhiskers Wine Bar & Bistro
Whiskers Wine Bar & Bistro 48 Raeburn Place, Stockbridge, Edinburgh EH4 1HL 0131 343 3681 www.whiskerswinecafe.co.uk The Bill Lunch 2 courses £16.00 | 3 courses £19.00 Sunday Roast Lunch 2 courses £20.00 | 3 courses £24.00 Dinner Starters £7.00 – £10.00 | Mains £15.00 – £25 | Desserts £2.00 – £7.50 The Score…
Read MoreCookery Courses: Some Pros and Cons
Last month I spent a pleasant Sunday at the Edinburgh New Town Cookery School. It occurred to me that although I have been on a fair few such courses over the past twenty odd years, and on several continents, I don’t recall reading many column inches on them. So here are some thoughts. Michelin Starred…
Read MorePizzeria 1926, Edinburgh
Pizzeria 1926 85 Dalry Road, Edinburgh EH11 2AA 0131 337 5757 www.pizzeria1926.com The Bill Bites/Starters £3.95 – £7.95 | Pizzas £9.95 – £13.95 | Desserts £4.00 – £4.50 The Score Cooking 5/10 | Service 4.5/5 | Flavour 4/5 | Value 3.5/5 TOTAL 17/25 What do you look for in a great pizza? For me there…
Read MoreTwo More Chocolate Goodies
Last week’s chocolate recipes turned out to be stunningly popular. Having made and sampled them both, I’m not surprised. Given the feedback, I thought you might like a couple more. Both of these come from the vast folder of recipes from the late lamented Let’s Cook Scotland cookery school, run by the wonderful Sarah Mellersh,…
Read MoreThe Food Producers: Tom Courts, Scottish Haggis Champion
One of the many benefits for me since I launched the On The Side column has been the chance to meet so many new people in the food industry. I can’t say that about today’s food hero, Tom Courts. Why not? Because I’ve known him since he was a very young man. And to make…
Read MoreChocolate Puddings: Not One but Two
I couldn’t tantalise you with Wednesday’s On The Side column about the development of chocolate without bringing you something to get your teeth into. To make sure my own sweet shortcomings don’t get in the way, I bring you offerings from two maestros, Sarah Mellersh and Lesley Johnston. Sarah Mellersh’s Gooey Hot Chocolate Puddings This…
Read MoreThe Townhouse Hotel, Melrose
The Townhouse Hotel Market Square, Melrose TD6 9PQ 01896 822645 www.thetownhousemelrose.co.uk The Bill Soup & Sandwich – £6.95 (Lunch only, I think) 3-2-1 Menu | 3 courses plus bottle of house wine – £60 for 2 A la Carte Starters £3.00 – £7.95| Mains £13.95 – £22.95 Desserts £2.50 – £6.95 The…
Read MoreC is for Cocoa and Chocolate
If you want to begin at the beginning, you will have to go back about 4000 years to what is now Mexico. Archaeologists have established – I know not how – that chocolate beverages were being consumed from that time. The word they use for those early consumers is Mesoamericans, whose area stretched from modern…
Read MoreHow To Cook a Grouse
I’ve been cooking a fair bit of game lately, and regular readers will know that my favourite food suppliers of the moment are Castle Game Scotland in West Lothian. For feathered game, this is the time of year. The pheasant season starts on 1 October, and we have been able to enjoy grouse since the…
Read MoreCraig Millar @ 16 West End, St Monans
Craig Millar @16 West End 16 West End. St Monans, Fife KY10 2BX 01333 730327 www.16westend.com The Bill Lunch 2 courses £25 | 3 courses £32 | 4 courses £38 Dinner 4 courses £55 | 5 courses £65 The Score Cooking 9/10 | Service 5/5 | Flavour 5/5 | Value 5/5 TOTAL 24/25 I…
Read MoreChef Watch – Craig Millar @16 West End, St Monans
CHEF WATCH Featuring Craig Millar, Chef proprietor of Craig Millar @16 West End, St Monans, Fife How long have you been a chef? I have been a chef (including college) for 33years Why did you become a chef? I always say I became a chef as a matter of survival as my Mum was never…
Read MoreThe Ship Inn, Elie
The Ship Inn The Toft, Elie, Fife KY9 1DT 01333 330246 www.shipinn.scot The Bill Nibbles £3.50 – £5.95 | Starters £6.95 – £10.50 Mains £13.95 – £29.95 | Desserts £2.00 – £8.50 The Score Cooking 4/10 | Service 3/5 | Flavour 3/5 | Value 2.5/5 TOTAL 12.5/25 There is nothing to suggest that the…
Read MoreTom Cooks With Tarragon
So what’s unusual about that, I hear you ask? Well, for one, L is not fond of anything with a strong aniseedy flavour. Nor am I – Pernod, Pastis and the like are a big no no, and I have never visited Greece for fear of being force fed ouzo – but when the flavour…
Read MoreSudi Pigott – A Real Food Writer Comes to Town
Even as lockdown eases, life can still seem a little, well, humdrum. We may be able to eat out, but there is a definite lack of spontaneity. Even the simple pleasure of popping in somewhere for a drink is accompanied by someone (alarmingly) pointing what looks like a laser site at the middle of your…
Read MoreCooking with Castle Game – Venison Steaks and Wild Boar Sausages
This article is timed to coincide with Wednesday’s On The Side column celebrating the delights of Castle Game Scotland. It features two dishes. The first is made using their wild boar sausages with Italian herbs, the second a great way to serve their venison leg steaks. Wild Boar Sausages with Green Lentils The lentils are a…
Read MoreThe Boat House, South Queensferry
The Boat House 22 High Street, South Queensferry, EH30 9PP 0131 331 5429 The Bill Lunch and Dinner Starters £3.95 – £12.95 | Mains £10.95 – £25.00 | Desserts £6.45 The Score Cooking 5.5/10 | Service 3.5/5 | Flavour 4/5 | Value 4/5 TOTAL 17/25 Can it be that every COVID has a…
Read MoreThe Food Producers – Castle Game Scotland
Neil Gilmour and Andy Smith It’s the middle of August. Andy Smith and Neil Gilmour should be celebrating the second birthday of their fledgling business, Castle Game Scotland. The truth is, however, that they are far too busy. I was introduced to them and to their wonderful produce some time before lockdown. L and I…
Read MoreVietnamese Fresh Spring Rolls with Nước Mắm
Just over six months ago (though it now seems like half a lifetime) I was in Vietnam. Our holiday was organised around food, including visits to markets, food producers and, of course, cookery classes. We travelled up river from the ancient town of Hoi An to the Red Bridge Cooking School, where today’s recipe comes…
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