Posts by Tom Johnston
Miranda Heggie Reviews Drinks Offers: Part 2 – Beers & Spirits
Miranda Heggie Last week, journalist Miranda Heggie shared some tips on wine offers available from online drinks companies. This week she turns her attention to beers and spirits. Let’s begin with beer. Beer52: Founded in Edinburgh back in 2013 and now the world’s most popular beer club, Beer52 will send you a mixed case of…
Read MoreTime to Celebrate? Reach for the Lobster
We were fortunate that the beginning of the end of lockdown coincided both with some cracking weather and the 70th birthday of a good friend. As a result we were able to fulfill a promise to cook and serve a celebratory meal while sticking to the rules. Nothing shouts swank! more loudly than lobster, so off…
Read MoreVictory In The Kitchen by Annie Gray – Book Review
So many books, especially biographies, disappoint. It is therefore the greatest of pleasures to read one which delivers far, far more than it promises. The subtitle of Dr Annie Gray’s latest book is, accurately but prosaically, The Life of Churchill’s Cook. In the introduction we learn that it is a biography of a lady named…
Read MoreRaspberries and Ice Cream and Coulis and Yoghurt…and Balsamic?
This week I saw the first British raspberries in the shops. Kent, in case you were wondering – I don’t think ours up here are quite there yet. For a cook at my level, I find it hard to write inspiringly about soft fruit. The reason is very simple: when the natural product is sublime…
Read MoreMiranda Heggie Reviews Drinks Offers: Part 1 – Wine
Miranda Heggie Since lockdown it has been reported that retail sales were at a record low and that off licence sales had soared. Journalist Miranda Heggie points out that as pubs and the majority of shops were closed, this hardly counts as news. Like the rest of us Miranda is restricted to drinking at home.…
Read MoreRestaurants Post Lockdown – What Next?
The slight easing of the lockdown rules combined with some summer weather has lifted the national mood. For us foodies who most miss the joys of eating out, what does the future hold and when? On The Side spoke to three players in the Edinburgh restaurant scene, Vikki Wood of The Wee Restaurant, Campbell Mickel…
Read MoreTom Eats! Fish and Chips
Don’t be fooled by the headline. This column has not yet resorted to the delights of takeaway food; however, your diary will have told you, as mine did, that the first Friday in June is National Fish and Chips Day. Actually, your diary has played you false. This year, owing to a little local difficulty,…
Read MoreHome Made Pasta Part 2 – Ravioli and Tortellini
So, how did your first effort go? Well enough, obviously, since you’re back for more. The only reason I got a pasta maker in the first place was to make ravioli. For a long long time I believed deep down that when it came to spaghetti or tagliatelle I preferred the dried stuff. I’m in…
Read MoreChef Watch – Roberta Hall, The Little Chartroom
Featuring Roberta Hall, chef and co-owner of The Little Chartroom, Edinburgh and finalist in the Great British Menu How long have you been a chef? I have been a chef for 20 years. Why did you become a chef? I did one week’s work experience at The Tower Restaurant when I was 16 and I…
Read MoreCarry Out and Carry On – Carol Main Reviews Merienda
Merienda 30 North West Circus Place, Edinburgh EH3 6TP 0131 220 2020 www.eat-merienda.com Campbell Mickel Carol Main For anyone reading this, it’s a fairly safe bet that one of the best things about going on holiday is the food. There is endless joy and pleasure in thinking about regional cuisine as part of choosing the…
Read MoreHome Made Pasta Part 1
The ever readable Tony Turnbull is Food Editor of The Times. Unlike his idiosyncratic food critic Mr Coren (whose job I secretly envy) he is always worth the reading, informative and entertaining at the same time. He also appears to be no mean cook. It was therefore with some surprise that I read that he really…
Read MoreI don’t use gadgets much…
I don’t use gadgets much, but a recent article in the Observer Food Magazine gave me pause for thought, as if we needed any more free time at present. Jay Rayner was writing of cooking in lockdown, and how he felt the need to use precisely the right tool for a specific job, even if…
Read MorePilgrim’s Pick Up & Provisions – Guest Reviewer Michael Greenlaw
Pilgrim’s Pick Up & Provisions 6 South Square, Rosscarbery, Co Cork, Ireland +353 (023) 88 31796 www.pilgrims.ie Drawing by Michael Greenlaw It’s probably a consequence of lock down that my sense of humour (as well as my sleeping and drinking habits) has changed. I give you a recent example from the eastern seaboard of the…
Read MoreIt’s May – Asparagus and other good things
This column has long preached seasonality. Hardly original, and to country folk it’s as natural as, well, the seasons. But when you’re on the hamster wheel of business, especially in Scotland where our dull climate means we barely need to change our wardrobe from month to month, it’s easy to let the subtle changes in…
Read MoreBook Review: The Restaurant – A History of Eating Out
The Restaurant – A History of Eating Out William Sitwell Simon & Schuster UK pp 268 £20 When William Sitwell laid down his…
Read MoreSmoked Haddock – More Delights
We don’t have a decent chip shop anywhere near us. Probably just as well. For me, not much beats a good fish supper: conversely, few things are more disgusting than a bad one. And in Scotland, the fish has to be haddock. I’ve never been a great fan of cod, favoured south of the border.…
Read MoreRestaurants – How (and Why) Do I Love Thee?
And before I start counting the ways, please do NOT write in to point out that I ought to have said ye instead of thee. As I may have written before, there’s room for only one annoying pedant in this blog. As a boss of L’s, a great stalwart of the Labour Party, was wont…
Read MoreOrodeal – Birth of a Legend
It is said that the most successful people in life are those who made plans early and followed them through rigorously. Apparently, on leaving university, Michael Heseltine scribbled down his goals on the back of an envelope. The list read – 25 Millionaire; 35 Cabinet Member; 45 Leader of the Party; 55 Prime Minister. All…
Read MoreAlison Doody’s Guinness Cake
As many of you will know, making sweet things is not my forte. In an attempt to broaden my repertoire, I have tried to develop this part of my game; however, bread making apart, baking is not my thing. I therefore suggested to my sister in law, cook and baker extraordinaire, that she might contribute…
Read MoreTo Takeaway or Not To Takeaway
Don’t let the two week break make you think that activity here at Casa Johnston has slowed. Au contraire. My willing helpers, PAs, research assistants, sous chefs and food stylists, have been beavering away as usual. No furloughing here. Material for future On The Side columns is tucked away in the can: recipes for Tom Cooks! are…
Read MoreChef Watch – Campbell Mickel, Merienda
Featuring Campbell Mickel of Merienda and Exec Chef Cuisine. See below for details of how to order their amazing food even during lockdown. How long have you been a chef? I started cooking full time when I was 15….February 1986. It was strange being so young out working 50 hours a week until very late…
Read MoreGolden Oldies – The Fat Duck, Bray
The Fat Duck High Street, Bray, Berks SL6 2AQ 01628 580333 www.thefatduck.co.uk The Bill 15 courses: £275 + Service (2017 price) The Score Cooking 10/10 | Service 5/5 | Flavour 5/5 | Value 5/5 TOTAL 25/25 Obviously there are no restaurants to review at present. Tom Eats! will provide a varied programme which will include…
Read MoreTom’s Moroccan Style Chicken Drumsticks with Potato Wedges
As I mentioned in the recent article on TV chefs, I’m not a fan of Ready, Steady Cook. Of watching it, that is. Being presented with unexpected ingredients and having to rustle something up is quite fun. And occasionally there are external factors which impact upon one’s options. It started when herself went out to…
Read MoreLamb? Yes, please, but at Easter it ain’t Scottish
On many dinner tables this Easter Sunday, there will be a roast. Not as large as if the family was coming to visit, but lots of you will maintain a traditional feast on a smaller scale. And for many, perhaps even the majority, that will be sheep meat, almost certainly lamb. That’s a very fine…
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