Food

“God gives us meat, but the devil sends us cooks,” Anthony Bourdain told the Observer two decades ago. He considered the phrase a compliment, and considered kitchens to be second homes for damned souls and “the debased and the debauched”. By this time, he was already well known in New York, as the author of … Read more

It’s 7pm on a Saturday night in Milan and a huge crowd has gathered in front of Bar Basso. The hour for the aperitif has only just begun, but inside the tables are already occupied. From the wealthy locals smoking HeatSticks to the trendy types carrying tiny dogs, they’re all holding the same rust-colored cocktail. … Read more

Hype is a vital axis of the restaurant scene. I wish I could reveal something healthier, but hype will put more bums on seats and napkins in laps than the clever condiments of a new opening or purveyors of elaborate goods. At the new 250-seat Din Tai Fung in London’s Covent Garden, those grim voices … Read more

The alchemy in preparing a cocktail is making it more than the sum of its parts. No one flavor or sensation should dominate. If, taking a sip, you find yourself thinking “too strong”, “too sweet”, “too sour”, “too bitter”, then your drink is out of balance. Don’t worry! It can be saved. The three sides … Read more

Also known as pain perdu, the poor gentlemen of Windsor, and more accurately, if less romantically, eggy bread, this simple piece of culinary genius has been giving pleasure since the last days of Rome, perhaps an era less decadent than is popularly claimed. he believes, given his thrifty ways with stale bread. Sweet or salty, … Read more

Some dishes fill me with a certain sense of accomplishment every time I make them, the magnificent Italian porchetta being one. Master the porchetta and the most wonderful pork roast awaits you: tender, flavorful and bound together by the crispiest of cracklings. However, like all good things, achieving this requires a delicate balance between technique … Read more