Posts by Tom Johnston
Potage Crème Dubarry
Last week I declared that in the month of March, Tom Cooks! would be a meat free column. I noticed that we are still in February, so I’m meeting you halfway, reproducing one of the dishes which Binkie Johnston enjoyed at the Tsar’s table in 1914. Those of you with decent French will have noticed…
Read MoreDinner in St Petersburg – Guest Reviewer, Binkie Johnston
Peterhof, St Petersburg 1914 We first encountered my ancestor Binkie Johnston four years ago when we published his account of the last meal served from the First Class kitchen of the Titanic. Many of you assumed he had perished: some were kind enough to send condolences. I did drop a hint that we…
Read MoreHow To Become A Food Critic
No, I’m not suggesting for one second that you even consider joining this elite band. Heaven knows there are far too many of them/us, albeit of variable quality. On Sunday last in a national newspaper I read a review of what sounded like a very pleasant lunch – with no clue as to cost. But…
Read MoreBalinese Black Rice Pudding
Tomorrow I intend to start counselling. It will be short and I’m sure it will be successful. For the past few weeks I have been manifesting an obsession with coconut. Today, it ends. I did mention on Wednesday that for many of us in the UK coconut is an ingredient which we find only in…
Read MoreRogue, St Andrews
Rogue 209 South Street, St Andrews KY16 9EF 01334 470354 www.rogue-standrews.com The Bill* Starters £8.00 – £18.00 | Mains £22.00 – £44.00 Desserts £7.00 – £9.00 *Most seafood and premium cuts of beef are charged at market prices The Score Cooking 6/10 | Service 5/5 Flavour 4/5 | Value 4/5 TOTAL 19/25 Congratulate me,…
Read MoreIn Praise of the Coconut
If you’ve been reading these columns since we got back from Sri Lanka you’ll be aware of the importance of the coconut in the cuisine of that lovely country. Because of that I learned a great deal about it, and was appalled at my prior ignorance. While I’m sure your knowledge level isn’t as low…
Read MoreSri Lanka On The Side
Last week, a mutton curry: today, a couple of side dishes which might go with it. You’ll find daal everywhere, but the addition of coconut which you get in the Sri Lankan versions is a delight. Coconut Daal Ingredients 250g red lentils; 10 to 12 curry leaves; 1 tbsp onion finally chopped; 2 x 2-3…
Read MoreMuna’s Ethiopian Cuisine, Edinburgh
Muna’s Ethiopian Cuisine 8 Gillespie Place, Edinburgh EH10 4HS 07886 118334 Instagram munasethiopiancuisine The Bill Veggie Dishes £12.95 – £13.95 | Meat Dishes £15.95 – £16.95 Combo Platters for one £15.95/£18.95 (Larger platters are available) The Score Cooking 6/10 | Service 5/5 Flavour 4/5 | Value 5/5 TOTAL 20/25 Joy. It’s an old fashioned…
Read MoreCookery Classes – Beware of Distractions
This column is of course influenced by the two cookery courses we attended in Sri Lanka, but a lot of memories came back. Attend something similar in this country and it may well be a fairly tightly run, professional affair. You may well have not only your own prep area, but even your own cooker.…
Read MoreWallawwa, near Negombo, Sri Lanka
Wallawwa Minuwangoda-Gampaha-Miriswatta Rd, Kotugoda, Sri Lanka +94 77 363 8381 www.teardrop-hotels.com/wallawwa/ The Bill* Starters £6.25 – £11.50 | Rice and Curry £10.50 – £24.50 Mains £9.00 – £24.25 | Dessert £3.00 – £6.50 The Score Cooking 8/10 | Service – 4/5 Flavour 5/5 | Value 4/5 TOTAL 21/25 *Exchange Rate £1 – 350…
Read MoreNuwan Wejitha’s Mutton Black Curry
Nuwan Wejitha This was one of the most glorious dishes I ate during our Sri Lankan tour. For breakfast, naturally. While I did occasionally go western at the start of a day – usually because we were sated from the night before – you don’t go to Sri Lanka to eat western food. Your curry…
Read MoreCooking in Sri Lanka: Part 1 – Coconut
Shining, resplendent island. That’s Sri Lanka. Literally – it’s what the name means in the Sinhalese language, the one spoken by the majority of people here. The other, should you be interested, is Tamil, possibly the oldest spoken language in the world. But I digress. And in this lovely island, digress you will. Be entranced…
Read MoreReview of 2024. Part 2: 1 – 17=
RANK RESTAURANT TOWN SCORE COMMENTS 1 The Ritz NATIONAL RESTAURANT OF THE YEAR London 24 Perfection at a price. Executive Chef John Williams enjoys legendary status. Well deserved bit.ly/4cacb5l 2 Macau Kitchen SCOTTISH RESTAURANT OF THE YEAR Edinburgh 23 Unlikely that you will have eaten food like…
Read MoreReview of 2024. Part 1: 20 – 34
It’s very hard to believe that it’s that time of year again. Scores overall are significantly higher than in 2023. It could be that I’m getting softer as an assessor, but I think not. I can think of only two or three places where the food was mediocre or worse. Most of those at the…
Read MoreLesley Johnston’s Blinis – And What To Do With Them
As a young solicitor, the wisest advice I ever got was from a grizzled surveyor. How much do you reckon that’s worth? I asked. The answer came with a kindly twinkle. Are you buying or selling? So I’ll pose a question, and give you a similar style answer. Canapés, yes or no? My response is, are you…
Read MoreA Wassailing We Shall Go
Wassail. Is it a song? Is it a drink? Is it a drinking vessel? The answer, originally, is, none of the above, but as we have seen, especially at Christmas, traditions evolve out of all recognition. Take the day itself. There seems to be no objective evidence at all regarding the exact date of Jesus’s…
Read MoreTom Cooks! Venison Two Ways
In Wednesday’s On The Side, V was for venison. In what’s now a Tom’s Food! tradition (and it’s a good time of year for such things) what we blether about on a Wednesday we cook on a Friday. Two recipes today. The first is a fairly simple stew. When it comes to such things, simple…
Read MoreWhy Tom (Sometimes) Doesn’t Eat
A Restaurant With No Name Somewhere in Scotland A ridiculous title, of course. Anyone who knows me will be aware that I couldn’t have got to my present shape without regular sessions in the nosebag. What it should have read, had I had a half decent sub editor, was Why Tom Sometimes Doesn’t…
Read MoreV is for Venison
Nearly 900 years ago, on the Feast Day of the Holy Cross, King David I of Scotland went hunting in the royal forest around Arthur’s Seat in Edinburgh. Tsk, tsk, said the priests. Don’t do it, sire. Well he did. Encountered a huge white stag which knocked him off his horse and was about to…
Read MoreMaison François, London
Maison François 34 Duke Street, St James, London SW1Y 6DF 020 3988 5777 www.maisonfrancois.london The Bill Starters £9.00 – £25.00 Mains £18.00 – £47.50 | Dessert £3.50 – £13.50 The Score Cooking 5.5/10 Service – Dylan 3/5; Sam 5/5 – Average 4/5 Flavour 3.5/5 | Value 3/5 TOTAL 16/25 For heaven’s sake,…
Read MoreJay’s Nights Out At Home – Chicken in a Mustard Sauce
This is the third and final extract from Jay Rayner’s excellent Nights Out At Home. The recipe is inspired by a Henry Harris recipe for rabbit in a mustard sauce. Harris made this famous in a restaurant called Racine. He is now back behind the stoves in a reasonably new venture called Bouchon Racine, above a…
Read MoreMince Pies – Where’s the Beef?
Last week’s venture into the wonderful world of Greggs steak bakes turned my mind to pies. And with us being in the month of December, I suppose that even a dyed in the wool, bah humbug type must permit discourse on the topic of Christmas. So consider this. Go into a butcher’s and ask for…
Read MoreJay’s Nights Out At Home – The Steak Bake
Perhaps unsurprisingly, these extracts from Jay Rayner’s Nights Out At Home are going down a treat. The tale of the metre long cheese toastie (OK, I exaggerate slightly) boosted circulation. For those who have missed the review of the book itself and the previous article, a very brief explanation. I suggest not that Mr Rayner would…
Read MoreQuo Vadis, London
Quo Vadis 26 – 29 Dean Street, Soho, London W1D 3LL 020 7437 9585 www.quovadissoho.co.uk The Bill The Bite! £7.50 – £8.50 | Starters £9.50 – £16.50 Mains £17.00 – £38.80 | Pudding £9.50 – £11.00 The Score Cooking 8/10 | Service 5/5 Flavour 4.5/5 | Value 4/5 TOTAL 21.5/25 Did we always crave reassurance,…
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