Nuwan 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,…
Read MoreThe Food Producers: Fiona Walsh of Redcastle Spirits, Arbroath
In the drinks world, the word terroir is a well known one. It’s used to describe the properties of a very small area of land and the particular characteristic of what grows there. Yes, I hear you ask, but what has that to do with gin or rum, two spirits which are distilled, blended and…
Read MoreRoasted Duck Legs With Potatoes and Garlic
It’s Masterchef The Professionals time again. It’s the only one I watch. Masterchef for punters just depresses me by demonstrating how far my moderate culinary talents lag behind those of serious amateur cooks. And the so called Celebrity version? How many of us can recognise more than twenty percent of them? Every year, I swear…
Read Moredulse leith, Edinburgh
dulse leith 102 Constitution Street, Leith, Edinburgh EH6 6AW 0131 283 3309 www.dulse.co.uk/dulseleith The Bill* Savoury Plates £12.00 – £35.00 Dessert Ice Cream £2.50 per scoop The Score Cooking 8/10 | Service 5/5 Flavour 5/5 | Value 4/5 TOTAL 22/25 * Oysters are available at £3.50 each. Baked Fish with Champagne & Chive Velouté…
Read MoreThe Food Alphabetical: U is for Vanilla
OK, OK, don’t write in. At least I didn’t take up your time with a competition. So what would you have included under U? Ugli fruit was the only thing which came to mind, and that’s just a hybrid which looks like a misshapen grapefruit. All that the Larousse Gastronomique could add was unleavened bread, and to…
Read MoreMakani Indian & Arab Kitchen, Edinburgh
Makani Indian & Arab Kitchen 88 Haymarket Terrace, Edinburgh EH12 5LQ 0131 287 2587 website not yet up and running The Bill Starters £4.49 – £6.49 | Mains £6.99 – £15.99 The Score Cooking 6.5/10 | Service 4/5 Flavour 4.5/5 | Value 5/5 TOTAL 20/25 Everyone, I’m sure, has heard of the Bermuda Triangle, that area…
Read MoreJay’s Nights Out At Home – A Cheese Toastie! Eh?
I suspect this is the first time that Scripture has ever been quoted in this blog. Despite that, even in this godless age, I’m sure you’re all familiar with Matthew 7:7, Ask and it will be given to you. Or perhaps the complementary Scottish saying, if ye dinnae ask, ye dinnae get. These are the texts…
Read MoreThe Air Fryer Chronicles Part 2
You may recall that I was given an air fryer as a birthday present last year, and in this column I logged my first faltering steps as a user. The blasted thing packed in after just a few months. It probably speaks volumes to relate that I had no hesitation in sourcing an immediate replacement.…
Read MoreVeeno, Edinburgh
Veeno Edinburgh 76 Rose Street, Edinburgh EH2 2NN www.veenobars.com/edinburgh The Bill I Piattini £5.50 – £13.50 | I Taglieri £15.00 – £19.50 Le Pizze £13.00 – £17.50 | La Pasta £11.00 – £15.00 Desserts ? The Score Cooking 5/10 | Service 4.5/5 Flavour 3/5 | Value 4/5 TOTAL 15.5/25 After tasting three dozen wines…
Read MoreChicken, Leek and Red Pepper Pie
The response to last week’s column about Scotland’s national dish reminded me how much we love a pie. I tend not to repeat recipes; however, today’s is one which still features in the stats tables, despite nearly five years having elapsed since it was first published. Many of you weren’t readers in these far off…
Read MoreNights Out At Home by Jay Rayner
In the world of food, there is a variation on a slur sometimes cast at teachers. Those who can, cook; those who can’t, write about it. Discuss. Very well, since you ask. In the case of some food writers, the lack of culinary knowledge is embarrassingly obvious from their writings. The converse, however, is equally…
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