We promised you a full review of this book. Well, here it is. For those of you who are not aware of El Bulli, it’s a 3 star Michelin restaurant in Spain, north of Barcelona. El Bulli has become so popular that reservations for its entire six-month dining season are filled on the day it ...
Books & EquipmentCertain subversive elements in the Irish wine biz threatened to turn up at Croke Park for the Australia Day Tasting clad in rugby jerseys and football shirts of the non-Gaelic variety but, for whatever reason, it didn’t happen. Perhaps as well, for there’s no doubt that ‘Croker’ is a superb venue for what’s become an ...
Wine & DrinkMy wife and I have only ever argued about two matters, I think. One is my legendary untidiness. The other is South Africa. You see the ravine between our views is cut very deep. She has fond memories of working in Cape Town in her twenties. Me, I’m a veteran anti-apartheid hard-liner who considered such ...
Wine & DrinkWe returned via the ultra-scenic mountain route; staying in Stellenbosch, the pristine university town where most of the country’s wine makers receive their education. We relaxed at a delightful guest house we’d found via the net. The Beautiful South is run by two hospitable young Germans, Lars and Emily. A thatched roof with a star-gazing ...
TravelA friend prone to both travel and hyperbole is wont to proclaim that there are only four truly beautiful cities in the world: Sydney, Vancouver, San Francisco and Cape Town. This thought was in my head, though not for long, as I drove in from the airport past the euphemistically nicknamed ‘Cape Flats’, a huge ...
TravelA great dish, easy and so tasty, originally cooked as one element of a 10-course dinner party at my house, devised and cooked by our good friend Chung Yin. The full menu detailed at Chinese Dinner Party This recipe, together with those for the duck and the melon salad, is reproduced with Chung Yin’s permission. ...
Recipes6 duck breasts 2 tsp five spice powder 1 tbsp shredded fresh ginger 1 tbsp light soy sauce 1 tbsp rice wine 1 jar Sharwood’s Hoi-Sin sauce 1 x 250g pack medium egg noodles 1/2 cucumber – halved lengthways, remove the seeds and slice diagonally 100g asparagus – cut in half diagonally Salt to taste ...
RecipesThis recipe, like the duck and the tuna came from our good friend Chung Yin, product developer for Sharwoods and is reprodued with his permission. 100g caster sugar 200ml water 50g fresh ginger – thinly sliced 1 medium melon in balls or bite-sized pieces 4 kiwi fruit – peeled and cut into wedges Serves 6 ...
RecipesWhere did all the Fun go? We (and in that roll call I include critics, restaurateurs, chefs and punters) have all got so damned serious about our food and wine that there are no laughs to be had any more. Until this week I couldn’t recall the last time I came back from having dinner ...
Restaurant ReviewsIt is difficult nowadays to imagine the impact that Rioja had on the wine drinker when it burst into our consciousness some forty years ago. Let me set the scene. For starters, Bordeaux and Burgundy, our favourite tipple, had started to escalate in price. Whereas in the 1960s the difference in cost between a merely ...
Wine & Drink