Braised Venison Shanks with Juniper
Another delight inspired by a visit to my chums at Castle Game. I’ve cooked venison most ways, but it had never occurred to me to use the shanks. By that we mean the lower part of the leg, the calf if you will. It’s a hard working muscle, and great value. It obviously requires a…
Read MoreNational Heroes: D is for Delia
So you want to become Britain’s best known food writer and TV presenter? Build up a chain of restaurants (and possibly watch them crash spectacularly)? Go on TV and swear a lot? Or, in this modern age, get three million followers on social media? In the 1970s and 80s, the answer was, none of the…
Read MoreDuck Breast a l’Orange
Sometimes the stars or, more accurately, the random contents of your fridge can lead you to unusual culinary destinations. I’m not sure if I had ever cooked duck breasts before. Duck legs often: a regular favourite and unbelievable value. So for a wee while, the pack of mallard breasts from Castle Game had lain untouched…
Read MoreKa Pao, Edinburgh
Ka Pao St James Quarter, Edinburgh EH1 3AE 0131 385 1040 www.ka-pao.com The Bill Sharing Menu £38.00 per person Small/Medium Plates £4.50 – £22.00 | Large Plates £28.00 – £35.00 Desserts £5.50 – £7.50 The Score Cooking 8/10 | Service 4/5 Flavour 5/5 | Value 5/5 TOTAL 22/25 When you go to an established…
Read MoreThe Food Alphabetical: C is for Cabbage
Cabbage. Cabbage. Such a dull word, is it not? A word to insult a stupid person. Redolent of school dinner halls and hospital kitchens. But I pose the question – is cabbage making a comeback? But perhaps the better question is to ask if it ever went away. Certainly not in Russia, where the average…
Read MoreOxtail Stew – Caribbean Style
When I first discovered that oxtail stew is a great favourite in Caribbean cuisine, I confess to being surprised. But then I stopped to ask myself why? After all the Creole kitchen doesn’t abound in prime cuts. Think of any area where there is a need to make much from not a great deal. Rome’s…
Read MoreRavintola Teller, Helsinki, Finland – Guest Reviewer Carol Main
Ravintola Teller Fredrikinkatu 71, 00100 Helsinki, Finland Phone: +358 10 2073001 www.ravintolateller.fi The Bill (Euros) Menu Teller (5 courses) €68 A la carte Starters €14.00 – €65.00 | Mains €25.00 – €47.00 Desserts €6.00 – €14.00 The Score Cooking 7/10 | Service 4/5 Flavour 4/5 | Value 4/5 TOTAL 19/25 Carol Main Sometimes,…
Read MoreThe Young? No Staying Power
Not even two and a half years since I ranted about The Sunday Times and its choice of restaurant reviewer. Or to be more accurate, about giving my job to someone else. (See Tom Eats! A New Restaurant Critic published in October 2023.) I was then forced to concede that new kid on the block,…
Read MoreCaribbean Jerk Chicken
Just back from St Martin in the Caribbean. With it being half French, most of the restaurants were nodding in that direction. So, local grub? These days, the first thing I do on arrival is engage with the taxi driver, Francois Le Taxi didn’t let us down. Rosemary’s, he said, down by the waterfront in…
Read MoreBistrot Caraïbes/ Ocean 82, Grand Case, St Martin
Bistrot Caraïbes 81 Boulevard de Grand Case, Grand Case St Martin, 97150 +590 590 290 829 www.bistrot-caraibes.com The Bill (Euros) Starters €14.00 – €24.00 | Mains €33.00 – €46.00 Desserts €13.00 – €15.00 The Score Cooking 7.5/10 | Service 4.5/5 Flavour 5/5 | Value 4.5/5 TOTAL 21.5/25 A tale of two…
Read MoreChilli For Beginners
Once again, remember the target audience. Not the expert. While I’m reasonably comfortable with chilli these days, it’s not so long ago since I served up dishes which verged on the inedible. When the legendary Delia ventured into recipe publishing, she infamously wrote one containing a tablespoonful of chilli powder instead of a teaspoonful. As…
Read MoreThe Food Producers – Hannah Calder and Harriet Armston-Clarke of Belly Dance
Belly Dance is a new fermented soft drink. Made from water kefir, it’s low sugar, caffeine free and vegan. Tom’s Food! can confirm that it’s also delicious. We particularly like the Fiery Ginger one. Other flavours include Cherry Berry and Kiwi Mango. Drinks expert Diana Thompson has written that it’s now her favourite non-alcoholic drink.…
Read MoreRed Sky At Night, Shepherd’s (Pie) Delight
Hello and Happy New Year. I planned to let January pass me by, to enable us to take stock and regroup; however, I had an idea for a Tom Eats! piece. To maintain symmetry, I thought we’d chuck in a recipe as well. Yes, more pie. And why not? January is for comfort food. In…
Read MoreWhere Will Tom Eats! Eat in 2026?
Where Will Tom Eats! Eat in 2026? Help Required Yes, I know I said that we wouldn’t be back until February. But I can’t let the month of January go by without wishing you all a very happy new year, and expressing once again my thanks for your support and feedback. Feedback, in…
Read MoreReview of 2025 Part 2: 1 – 15=
One word. Wow! In the first ten years of Tom Eats! we had precisely two perfect scores. And in this year of grace 2025 or Food Date TE! 11, we end up with two more. Wow! as I said. But which of the two will get the nod, the coveted prize, the restaurant Oscar, Tom Eats!…
Read MoreA Pie for New Year
Tom Johnston by Edwin Horalik I know I told you that Tom Cooks! was finished for the year; however, there are a couple of reasons for the change of heart. Firstly, an opportunity to unveil the new Tom Cooks! logo, a portrait of me by grandson Edwin. Worry not, that’s a chef’s hat, not a…
Read MoreReview of 2025 Part 1: 19 – 32
Another year of great eating. As you’ll see next time, scores at the top have never been higher; however, the middle ground is really strong. Two places scoring 19.5 – that’s 78% – but can’t get into the top half. Incredible. As ever, I doff my hat to restaurateurs everywhere. Despite the difficulties they still…
Read MoreFish Pie
Let down by my own website. The horror, the horror! After ten years, most of my standards have found their way into this column. By no means are all of them off the top-of the-head. Today, the brain said fish pie. (May I assume that all of your brains give you food messages regularly, or…
Read MoreHôtel Majestic, Paris – Guest Reviewer Binkie Johnston
Hôtel Majestic Rue la Pérouse, Paris (There is still a hotel of that name, but on a different site to Binkie’s dinner. The photograph shows the current hotel) We are virtually at the end of the Tom’s Food! season. We’ll be away for a couple of weeks, then it’ll be Review of the Year…
Read MoreMore Books for Giving – Blood, Sweat & Asparagus Spears; A Taste for Wine
BLOOD, SWEAT AND ASPARAGUS SPEARS The Story of the 1990s Restaurant Revolution Andrew Turvil Elliott & Thompson pp241 £20 Britain has no habit of restaurant use. Thus wrote The Good Food Guide (TGFG) editor Tom Jaine in 1990. Every foodie is aware of…
Read MoreBeetroot Three Ways
Last week, On The Side featured beetroot: this week it had a tribute. Today I’m going to combine the two. While this is the Tom Cooks! column, today’s first two recipes are taken from Christopher Trotter’s book, Beetroot. As regular readers will be aware, Christopher died three months ago. A fabulous cook and a lovely…
Read MoreThe Khukuri, Edinburgh
The Khukuri 8 West Maitland Street, Edinburgh EH12 5DS 0131 228 2025 www.thekhukuri.com The Bill Starters £3.95 – £8.95 | Mains £10.95 – £20.95 Desserts £3.95 – £7.95 The Score Cooking 6.5/10 | Service 5/5 Flavour 4.5/5 | Value 5/5 TOTAL 21/25 Nepal. It’s different. Not just for the litter encrusted monster mountains and…
Read MoreIn Praise of the Oyster
Oysters, again, I hear you moan. Yes, best beloveds, I do keep an eye on my back catalogue. Yes, I know I wrote about the Stranraer Oyster Festival, and followed up with some bivalve recipes. But while I would never concede my prose to be dull, these were largely factual affairs. So what has brought…
Read MoreChicken Tray Bake with Potatoes, Peppers, Lemon and Sumac plus Bonus Recipe
Yes, I know I said we were going to do beetroot today. But come last night I still hadn’t written anything and I happened to create a small dish of genius (actually two, but you know how I hate to boast). Chicken Traybake I don’t know why I haven’t done that many traybakes. They are…
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