Food & Drink

La Fin de L'affaire

Tom Parker Bowles laments the decline of those former neighbourhood stalwarts, the French brasserie and bistro, and names the descendants keeping the cuisine alive and well

Autumn's Fruit

This season wild mushrooms are taking centre stage on Boisdale menus, with rarely-seen examples foraged fresh every day. Bill Knott sings the praises of the magnificent fungi with names as exotic as their looks

Born to Rum

The favoured spirit of sailors and hipster mixologists can also, it turns out, make for a fine premium tipple in its own right. Mark Palmer puts aside the single malt and switches over to something spicier

In praise of stodge, podge and porridge

Forget the delicate morsel. For Bill Knott, when it comes to dessert, only a proper full-fat, treacly sweet, and winter-warming English pudding can satisfy

Eat Well with Sitwell - Food for Thought

By William Sitwell

William Sitwell praises the cookbooks that change our perspective as well as our palate

Cheers to Transgressive Drinking

By Bill Knott

Bill Knott enjoys red wine with his fish as he cocks a snook at the drinks snobs and their prescriptive pairings

All That Sparkles

By Ed Cumming

Business is booming for makers of English sparkling wines. Ed Cumming heads to the South Downs to visit one of the nascent industry’s most exciting prospects, fizzing with ideas

Get in the Game

By Mike Robinson

Chef Mike Robinson hunts the venison for his Stratford-upon-Avon restaurant himself, will benefit customers, farmers and nature itself

Gin in the City

From its Prohibition-era origins, the classic gin martini has developed into a drink that takes many forms, and the City of London Distillery has developed a range of gins to suit

From Innings to Tannins

By Joe Fattorini

Sir Ian Botham, England’s greatest cricket all-rounder, tells Joe Fattorini why he’s leaving the pitch to concentrate on his other passion – wine producing. And of course, the ’81 vintage is pretty special…

Howzat for Hospitality

By Bill knot with illustration by Wesley Merritt

Staunch medium-pacer Bill Knott recalls a time when cricket’s hallowed tea break took on a devious tactical hue

Out for the Count Tipple

By Mark Palmer

As the Negroni celebrates its 100th birthday, Mark Palmer goes in search of the perfect version, from the Italian Alps to St James’s. Just don’t mention Martini Rosso…

Untwist the Food Classics

By Rose Prince

Rose Prince calls time on restaurant dishes served, supposedly, ‘with a twist’ – particularly when their true objective is to please the smartphone camera, rather than our tastebuds

A Taste of the Coast

By Neil Ridley

With a new distillery set to open at Aldeburgh, Fishers Gin, served at Boisdale’s bars, keeps it local with a recipe infused with the botanicals of the Suffolk coastline, writes Neil Ridley