The Times
Tea - The new spice must-have
For a nation that adores a cuppa, it’s surprising more British chefs don’t cook with tea. In Asia, tea has a centuries-old culinary pedigree, while even American chefs seem to use it far more than the Brits. Whether it’s being too long wedded to the idea of just drinking the stuff, or the weight of classic European cooking traditions, British menus have tended just to dabble with a bit of tea-smoked fish here or the odd flavoured pudding there.
Restaurant
Magazine
Salsifaction Guaranteed
For such plain-looking veg, salsify and its close cousin scorzonera (aka black
or Spanish salsify) can excite strong reactions. “My kitchen has always
been divided,” says Amanda Powley, founder of arguably Britain‘s
best vegetarian restaurant, the award-winning Terre A Terre in Brighton. “I
love the stuff, but I recently had a head chef who refused to even handle it!”
The
Guardian
The Sherry Revival
Why do people get sherry so wrong? They either ignore it completely or dig out some ancient bottle of sweetened stuff to dole out at Christmas to visiting aunts. For centuries, though, the English had a far stronger bond with what they called ‘sack‘. Drake pillaged thousands of barrels from Spain while Shakespeare‘s Falstaff called on audiences “to forswear thin potations and to addict themselves to sack.”