On The Side

Some things just creep up on you, don’t they? Old age is the most pernicious one, but at least you have the advantage of an annual excuse to celebrate. I knew I had been punting out these columns for a while, but I didn’t half get a start the other day. Searching for something or…

Chef Watch Featuring Kei de Freitas of Macau Kitchen, Edinburgh How long have you been a chef? On and off for about 10 years, and full on for the last 10 years. So 20 years. Why did you become a chef? I enjoy cooking food for people, and seeing them enjoy that food. Food is very…

Sorry, Jay. For once you’re getting no sympathy from me. My food hero Jay Rayner has written a cookbook*. In a recent article in the Observer Food Monthly he writes about the problems of a bish-bash-bosh cook trying to explain to his readership how to make a particular dish. Tell me about it, mate. When I set out…

Well, we all do it, don’t we? Get beyond the age of, say, 40 and the way you were taught things generally remains the way you do them. For many it remains the only way to do them, all others being heresy. In the context of cooking, how easy is it for professionally trained people…

Where do you get your ideas from? I’m often asked. Well, today the inspiration came from a pinny (that’s an apron for you non Scots.) I had a chuckle when I saw this in a shop the other day. Sound advice, probably, for the average man in the Scottish barbecue season. Note that I used…

Chef Watch Featuring John Williams Executive Chef, The Ritz Hotel, London   How long have you been a chef? 50 years. Why did you become a chef? I became a chef because of my deep-rooted passion for cooking that started in my childhood. Ever since I was a kid, I loved watching my mum cook;…

In life, as in baseball, you can often be thrown a curve ball. If, like Babe Ruth, you have exceptional talent, reactions and flexibility, you can smash it out of the park. To be a successful columnist, advance preparation is everything. (Actually, that’s a big fat lie: but it can make life less stressful.) Take…

STUFFED A History of Good Food and Hard Times in Britain Pen Vogler Atlantic Books                      pp453                                        £22 The Godfather; Back To The Future; Beverly Hills Cop.…

When writing the Caesar Salad recipe last week, I began to discourse on Chicken Caesar. I had got as far as a rant about grilled chicken, then realised I would end up with an article twice the required length. The more I thought about it, the more I thought some chicken musings might be appropriate.…

Cesare “Caesar” Cardini   I notify you of this a week in advance so you have time to prepare. To gather the ingredients, to deck the halls. But to celebrate what? Let’s think of all the things that happened in 1924. In January, Ramsay Macdonald became the UK’s first ever Labour Prime Minister (though he…

We’ve met Wendy Barrie before in this column. That was in a feature about Slow Food Scotland. Despite it having been in existence since 2002, I have to confess I knew little about her core business, the Scottish Food Guide. This lady has many strings to her bow. So it was back to Aberdour. This…

Diana ThompsonPicture by Phil Wilkinson If you’re interested in wine and don’t know the force of nature that is Diana Thompson, you are a disadvantaged person. Fortunately help is at hand. Come to the Assembly Roooms in Edinburgh’s George Street on Saturday 1 June when Diana is running the second annual Edinburgh Uncorked Wine Fair.…

The recent spell of half decent weather has cheered up the general population – but not nearly as much as it’s brought a smile to the faces of ice cream makers and sellers. Observing the eating of ice cream in the street is very much like watching the growth cycle of the average homo sapiens.…

I suspect we all suffer from impostor syndrome from time to time. In my case I had it in spades a week or so ago, finding myself on a bus with a bevy of beauties, food professionals all. Thanks to the lovely Cat Thomson, journalist and hen keeper extraordinaire I found myself invited on a…

Back? Did it ever go away? And where did it come from? Maybe it was just in my newspapers of choice (yes, paper ones, and yes, I do know how that dates me) but I’ve been reading a lot about this recently. Stuart Ralston is one of Scotland’s most influential chefs (Aizle, Noto, Tipo and…

Chef Watch Darin Campbell Head Chef, Cromlix, by Dunblane How long have you been a chef? I’ve been a chef for nearly 30 years. I started out working in a small local hotel in my home town of Largs. I realised I had a passion and talent for cooking so I moved to Edinburgh and…

How long would you like the extended warranty to be for? Like all attempted con tricks, this one was delivered with flair, with a smile and, of course, with absolute confidence (hence the name). If, on the first of June this year, you part with some of your hard earned for a five year warranty…

March 31 was the tenth anniversary of my retiring from the practice of law. One door closes, a hundred restaurant doors open. It wasn’t quite the plan. People have asked why the Tom’s Food! domain name is www.ormidalels.com. Simple, really. It’s short for Ormidale Licensing Services. Glasgow’s coat of arms features a bird that never…

When news is slow, journalists (and, I confess, food bloggers) can struggle to find material. On the food front, a constant source of entertainment is to look up the mutitudinous foodstuffs which have been allocated a specific day or week. There are of course a few which have long standing significance. Perhaps the best known…

Come On, You Reds! Today’s column is inspired by a recent visit to Vienna, to visit the grandson (and his parents, of course). The boy’s education is coming along nicely. If you say to him, come on, he will, without bidding, add, you Reds. I’m fairly certain his choice of weekend attire was responsible for Man…

My next vocation will be a hazardous one. It will involve walking through great crowds. There will almost certainly be fire eaters. Chainsaws may be buzzing and the noise will be infernal. That is a modest description of Edinburgh’s Royal Mile during the Edinburgh Festival in August. Eh? Oh, let me explain. I am on…

Anything is expensive if you can’t afford it. Of course I get that. And with the horrendous across the board price increases which we have seen recently, many have had to readjust budgets. Luxuries such as eating out are the first to be culled. I get that too; however, I guess you don’t read a…

Or maybe you like the idea of a free meal for 2 with wine and cocktails at Tapa in Leith, the Tom Eats! Restaurant of the Year in 2023? Yes, for once we are offering a real prize, not just a year’s free subscription. All you have to do is to pen a review of a…

After my recent article R is for Rum, my friend Ian I and I exchanged a few emails about phrases in the English language which are food related. My dealings with Ian go back to when he was Clerk to one of Scotland’s major licensing boards. Many of you will know that I was once…