Guild of Food Writers knife clinic
The knife clinic, held last Thursday, was great fun. Delicious canapes by Daylesford Organic, great demos by Marianne Lumb and Corin Mellor. And I did a…
A Chinese view of Italian food
You can read my piece about eating my way around Piedmont with Chinese restaurateur A Dai on the From Our Own Correspondent pages of the BBC’s…
Vegetable extravaganza
For special banquets in the private rooms at Barshu restaurant, the kitchen can provide carved-vegetable centrepieces for the table. This carrot-bird ensemble is what one of…
Turin adventures
I’m just back from a week in Turin for my first Slow Food Salone Del Gusto and Terra Madre. The Salone Del Gusto centres on a…
The culinary delights of Suzhou
You can read my article about Suzhou cuisine in today’s Financial Times Weekend. Here are a few photographs from my various trips there: one of my…
Brown rice
A study in the US is suggesting that replacing white rice with brown rice could cut the risk of diabetes – findings that might provoke some…
The joy of potatoes?
According to this piece by Lauren Keane in the Washington Post, the Chinese government is hoping that the potato will help to provide greater food security…
Science vs. Gastronomy
I was just looking through one of my notebooks, and found a rather endearing story. It was in Ningbo, at the end of a fabulous dinner…
A cake, sausage or stew to rule over us?
It’s funny how the UK’s weird and inconclusive general election result has brought out the food metaphors! The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, spoke of a…
Bordeaux is the new Prada (or the new shark’s fin?)
Chinese merchants and investors are planning to snap up much of the acclaimed 2009 vintage of Bordeaux wines, according to this piece in the Guardian. The article…