To cook a camel
I’ve been discussing camel cookery with my friend Anissa Helou, an expert on Middle Eastern food, and Charles Perry, an expert on Medieval Arabic food, on…
Helpful hints
One thing I never thought I’d be is an agony aunt for people struggling to cook ox penises!
Woof woof
According to reports in various newspapers (such as the Guardian in the UK), legal experts in China are proposing that a new law to prevent the…
Shark’s fin encore!
You can hear me talking about eating shark’s fin (or not) on the BBC today (or read the piece here). While I was writing it, I…
Greed and biodiversity
The Chinese penchant for eating endangered species is in the news again. Today the BBC ran a report by Moscow correspondent Rupert Wingfield-Hayes about the poaching…
China’s artisanal foods
There’s an article of mine in the Financial Times Weekend today, about the dilemmas facing China’s artisanal food producers. The picture on the right was taken…
The mystery of the mango pancake
I was intrigued while in Sydney to find ‘mango pancakes’ an apparent staple of Chinese restaurants there. I’ve never come across this speciality anywhere in China,…
A world first?
While I was in Turkey, my friend Aylin took me to a marvellous sweet shop in Kadıköy – Sekerci Cafer Erol, an old family business specialising in…
Eating ladies’ thighs
It’s been a while since I posted here, mainly because I was away on holiday for a couple of weeks, and then came back to an…
Deep-fried jellyfish, anyone?
A bizarre story in the Guardian this week: apparently Chinese immigrants are surprising the people of Tuscany by gathering and eating jellyfish. Actually I always recommend…