Posts by Tom Johnston

Well, not much choice for today’s instalment of the Food Alphabetical. The Larousse Gastronomique devotes only six pages to the Qs, and two of these are on quail. A lovely bird, if a bit tricky to cook well. Perhaps for another day. Let’s consider some alternatives. Q is for…Quorn Not in this blog it’s not.…

First impressions can be important. Let’s take a reaction test. Loganberry Yum! Large luscious fruit. A thornless bush. What’s not to love? Genetic modification I’m hearing a lot of Boo! Hiss! Nasty Monsanto! Monkombu Sambasivan Swaminathan (MSS) I can hear a pin drop. You’ve never heard of him, have you? No, neither had I till…

For as long as I can remember, there have been food scares. Eat x, we are told, and you’ll get cancer or high cholesterol or have a heart attack. These things went in cycles, and were usually debunked fairly shortly thereafter. Milk, potatoes and eggs have all come in for the treatment. In recent times, however,…

I seldom go out for Chinese food these days. It doesn’t really work for me unless you have a decent sized group who can share a wide variety of dishes. For that reason I hadn’t used chopsticks for a good while until our recent trip to Japan. No great hardship – it’s like riding a…

    Chef Watch Featuring Brian Grigor Chef/Owner, eòrna restaurant, Edinburgh       How long have you been a chef? Just over 25 years now. Why did you become a chef? I started washing the dishes at the local hotel while I was going through the process of starting an apprenticeship in joinery. One…

I recently lost a wonderful friend who in his heyday was wont to say, 1 bottle good, 2 bottles better. And if you enjoy a glass of wine, why not 85, as recommended by Decanter? To clarify, that is their recommendation for the maximum number of wines that a taster should sample in a single…

Don’t be confused with the Tom’s Food! alphabetical. Yes, I know we haven’t done Q or R yet. When we get to S, we may do sprouts or succotash or some such, but that won’t be for a while yet. We are in Japan, where S is undoubtedly for soya. With every day that passed…

Sushi Tokyo Fish Market Some of you who noted the absence of Tom’s Food! these past few weeks may have been labouring under the impression that I was on holiday. As if! Those who follow me on social media will have known that L and I have been in Japan, researching frantically to keep these columns…