How to make chocolate salami
For as long as we’ve been serving food, we’ve been unable to resist a bit of culinary deception. Making one…
The rise and fall of Smithfield Market
Smithfield has been the beating heart of London’s meat industry for more than 800 years. Located at the middle point…
The glamour of the scallop
There is a gentle irony to the dish coquilles St Jacques: a decadent, rich preparation of one of our most…
Mince, glorious mince
Sometimes, when it comes to culinary history, Britain is its own worst enemy. For a long time, British food has…
The secret to making great oysters Rockefeller
There’s nothing more intriguing than a closely guarded secret recipe. Coca-Cola and KFC are two famous examples, with the precise…
Potato crisps and the British character
Pickled fish. Lemon tea. Cucumber. Doner kebab. Stewed beef noodles. Salted egg. Soft shell crab. Coney island mustard. Smoked gouda.…
The joy of tarte Tatin
When it comes to traditional recipes, there are few things we love more than an unlikely origin story, ideally one…
Give vitello tonnato a chance
I am sure there are beloved British dishes that inspire horror in those from different cultures, that are truly unappealing…
The no-bake bliss of icebox cake
Standing in the biscuit aisle of my local supermarket, I’m overwhelmed by possibilities. This isn’t unusual for me, but normally…
American salads are weird – but an egg salad is perfect
The Americans are weird about salad. I’m sorry, but somebody had to say it. Really, their use of the word…
Yorkshire curd tart: a well-kept, delicious secret
There are many old dishes in the UK that are hyper-regional, whose reach has never extended beyond geographical boundaries but…
My shameful shortcut to perfect pesto
Forgive me Father, for I have sinned. It has been… too long since my last confession. Picture the scene. I…
How to make perfect scones
I am evangelical about scones as a gateway bake – they are the perfect entry point for the nervous baker.…
You shouldn’t be afraid of steak tartare
Whenever I think of steak tartare, I can’t help but remember a heartbreaking passage in Nigel Slater’s memoir Toast. Slater,…
The pleasure of reliving foreign travel through food
Russian hand pies, Polish chlodnik, Turkish fruit compote and a Latvian trifle are among the many dishes recreated in Edinburgh by the globetrotting Caroline Eden
How to make elderflower cordial
I have a complicated relationship with elderflower cordial. I love taking ingredients that have short seasons, preserving and squirrelling them…
The not-so-French roots of chicken cordon bleu
We all have our quirks when it comes to cooking. I have clear mental blocks over what is and is…
‘Terribly chic’: how to make chouquettes
I have become obsessed with the French idea of goûter, the time in the afternoon when French schoolchildren have a…
How to make ham and parsley sauce
Poor old parsley sauce. As someone who writes regularly about old-fashioned food, it often feels that we are living through…
How Linzer torte stood the test of time
Linzer torte has quite the claim to fame: some assert that it’s the oldest cake in the world; others that…
Tricky but delicious: how to make the perfect pretzels
My husband is obsessed with pretzels. The joy that a slightly warm, soft baked pretzel brings him is disproportionate. And,…
You are what you don’t eat
In the past, the ability to preserve food depended largely on people’s means, making Eleanor Barnett’s history of food waste also a history of changing attitudes to poverty
