One hundred years old this year, KitchenAid is celebrating its birthday with a new colour (it was any colour you like so long as it was white up to 1955 when the company splurged with Sunny yellow, Island Green, Petal Pink and Satin Chrome). The 2019 anniversary shade is Passion Red which makes the KitchenAid […]
British Library Food Season Talks, tastings and workshops inspired by the British Library’s extensive food-related collections. Subjects covered range from food in children’s literature, cookbook clubs, how cookery book design changes the way we eat, to women cheesemakers and how to write a cookbook. Contributing names from the food world include Heston Blumenthal, Nigella, Bee […]
Seafood platters Amongst a seductive collection of fishy stuff – silver-plated crab-shaped salt dishes (£95), lobster place card holders (£190 each; insert card into upheld pincers) and conch shell cocktail picks (£95), Thomas Goode, one of the world’s oldest luxury retailers (founded 1827) is offering covetable Au Bain Marie majolica dinner plates decorated with large […]
Wonky vegan crisps Air-dried fruit and veg crisps made from oddly-shaped, discoloured or blemished produce that doesn’t conform to supermarket standards. A virtuous bag of crisps, in other words. Each bag is 80Kcals, vegan, high in fibre. Flavours include pear and ginger, apple and cinnamon and beetroot and apple cider vinegar Spare Snacks vegan fruit […]
Princess Prosecco As luxurious as having a cake delivered once a month, the Princess P subscription box delivers a bottle of vegan prosecco, including the ingredients for a seasonal cocktail, straight from an Italian vineyard to your door. Princess P subscription, from £28.50 a month, available princessprosecco.co.uk Indian coffee The Coffee Officina, the on-line coffee […]
Pipers Farm pies Piper’s Farm, the online Devon-based butchers has launched a new range of handmade pies. They come in four fillings (steak and ale, chicken and ham, butter chicken and Pumpkin, goats cheese and spinach). Suitable for freezing, they take 40mins to cook Handmade pies, £3.95/serves 1 – 2, from Pipers Farm’s, visit www.pipersfarm.com […]
Peanut butter bonanza A new brand of peanut butter settling itself somewhere between hardcore healthy stuff and decadent old-style sugar-loaded brands – Bonanza Peanut Butter contains oleic peanuts (high in good fats, protein and fibre) and a pinch of salt. It’s free from palm oil, sweeteners and added sugar Bonanza Peanut Butter, crunchy or smooth, […]
Bee Happy It’s 10 years since Fortnums put beehives on their Piccadilly rooftop. As you might expect, this is no run of the mill bee-keeping operation. The Welsh Black bees (calm by nature and therefore less likely to mount an attack on unwary shoppers) harvest pollen from the Royal parks and gardens of Green Park, […]
Chocolate and Olive Oil Cake Free-from cake-maker, Marnie Searchwell has just won her 6th Great Taste Award – a Two-Star Award (given to a cake that was ‘beyond delicious’ according to Great Taste judges) for her chocolate and olive oil cake made with Fairtrade cocoa powder, extra-virgin olive oil, gluten-free flours and ground almonds Chocolate […]
Kute cakes Great-looking box of brownies, dense, thick dark chocolate interior, vibrant flavoured ganache toppings inc mint, cherry, mango and strawberry, coffee and banana. Order a customised box for letter-box delivery Kute Cakes, £24 for a box of 8, kutecake.co.uk Bit of a drip The Tate Shop’s Paint Drip Collection features white mugs, jugs, glasses […]
Flower plates Lovely earthenware pudding plates in the shape of hollyhocks and daisies. Designed by Maria Flor for Bordallo Pinheiro Bordallo Pinheiro flower plates, from Euro 13.40 available www.bordallopinheiro.com DIY Bread Family-run, Dublin-based Bread Tin Bakery have produced these terrifically handy bread-in-a-box kits. Contains a bag of bread mix to which you add milk (inc […]
Peak flamingo At some point flamingos will fall out of fashion, but until they do you’re safe to indulge your passion with flamingo cake tins, aprons, mugs, trays, oven gloves and biscuit barrels from prime flamingo emporium sarahmiller.london Microplane spice mill Handy, pocket-sized (ie easy to take with you to under-resourced holiday-home kitchens, or out […]
The Fuzzy Duck The Fuzzy Duck has gone from boarded-up boozer to winner of GQ’s 2018 Best Pub award. Behind the Duck’s unprepossessing exterior lurks a series of pubbish pleasures: exposed beams, open fires, locally sourced food and four chic boutique bedrooms. There’s also a garden and dogs are welcome The Fuzzy Duck, Ilmington Rd, […]
Nordic crockery Sensuous organic shapes in a pleasing pale colour-palette mixed with dark browns and slate blues and greys, make these Skandi ceramics very modern kitchen-friendly . The gravy boat is terrific (£15.27), as are the over-sized tea and coffee cups www.brostecopenhagen.com Black garlic ketchup The award-winning ketchup made with whole garlic bulbs cooked slowly […]
Ginger Pig online The Ginger Pig, high class butchers based in Yorkshire with a chain of shops in London, goes nationwide on 5th March with the launch of its new online store. First orders will be delivered on 7 March For further details visit thegingerpig.co.uk Konditor and Cook: cakes and cafes You might still be […]
Ruby Chocolate Hearts Fortnum & Mason have a pleasingly sophisticated range of Valentine’s treats, from a wallet-busting hamper for £350, a tin of Secret Admirer iced biscuits (£28.95) to this charmingly old-fashioned, affordable, Ruby Chocolate Heart lolly (£8.50) fortnumandmason.com Biscuit Hearts Gails’ Christmas bun was a winner. It’s now been superseded by their Valentine’s chocolate […]
Konditor and cook mince pies Family run firm producing a plethora of Christmas treats: terrific mince pies, boozy Whisky bombs, stollen, kipferl and lebkuken, and a chocolate Baileys cake. More traditional fruit cakes available, as well as gingerbread with rum cream frosting. Mince Pies from £10 for a gift box of 6. For details visit konditorandcook.com […]
Snowman Cheerful Snowman Advent Calendar with surprise treats including bonbons of milk chocolate with caramel or dark chocolate with sea salt and a new Christmas story. Snowman Advent Calendar, £22.50, Prestat, prestat.co.uk Wild Forest Creatures Decorated with whimsical animals and frosted glitter, drawers containing 24 chocolates (salted caramels, pearls, truffles, soft pralines and ganache) spring […]
Tree-ly scrumptious For those seeking to extend their bauble repertoire, Fortnum & Mason have introduced a whole new world of culinary tree decorations: lobsters, hampers, tea caddies, tea trays and cake stands, pheasants, teapots, champagne bottles and Christmas puds Christmas tree baubles from £15, available at Fortnum & Mason, fortnumandmason.com Vallebona’s Panettone Terrific Panettones made […]
A year amongst the fishes The renowned J Sheekey seafood restaurant in Covent Garden has produced a sea-fairing calendar featuring British trawlermen which will help to raise funds for the Fisherman’s Mission. Twelve British fishermen (two of them pictured above) have been photographed in four UK fishing hotspots by award-winning photographer Harry Borden The J […]
Wigan Central Finalist in this year’s Camra Pub of the Year awards, Wigan Central is a modern two-room pub housed in a 19th century railway arch between Wigan Wallgate and Wigan North Western Stations. It majors in real ales and continental beers, a beer club and, uniquely one imagines, has its own live screen displaying […]
Rochelle Canteen at the ICA The wonderful Rochelle Canteen based in an ex-school-bike-shed in Shoreditch has opened a second venue at the ICA on the Mall. The space was originally intended for artists, writers and scientists to debate new ideas, now its stripped back modern interior houses a bar and canteen serving RC staples such […]
It’s a wrap Design your own chocolate bars including extra ingredients (coffee nibs, stem ginger, walnuts etc) and wrappers which means you can add your own images and messages to your finished bar. Great stocking fillers, party gifts etc Design your own chocolate bars, from £20 for three bars, available from The Grown-up Chocolate Company. […]
Raw chocolate A treat for chocolate lovers who want their chocolate hit organic and free of refined sugar: Raw Halo, uses Peruvian cacao and organic coconut sugar and lucuma powder as sweeteners. Twelve beautifully wrapped bars inc dark chocolate with ginger and pecan or lemon and pink Himalyan salt and milk with vanilla or goji […]
Whale of a time Close encounters with your very own whale as it surfaces from the depths of your porridge… The Natural History Museum’s ceramic bowl featuring a sperm whale makes breakfast a whole load more fun Sperm whale bowl £15 from nhm.ac.uk Oliver Cromwell gin Gold medal winner at this year’s International Wine & […]
The Sardinistas Purveyors of gourmet tinned fish from the seas of Portugal, and other gorgeous artisan products in Altrincham Market, The Sardinistas, have now launched a pop-up Portuguese Supper Club. The menu produced in conjunction with Chef Sarah from Taste the Love MCR, will feature pesticos (Portuguese tapas) plus a wide variety of canned fish and traditional dishes, […]
Bigger Splash Billed as a beach bag, this Hockney Bigger Splash bag would also be terrific for holiday market shopping Hockney Bigger Splash bag, £40 from shop.tate.org.uk Plant for Peace Superfood bars made from fruit grown on small Afghan farms. The Plant for Peace initiative makes it possible for Afghan farmers to grow mulberries and […]
London cure smoked salmon H Forman & Son, London’s now sole remaining family-owned artisan smokehouse, has been operating since 1905. This year its London Cure Smoked Salmon has been awarded PGI status – the European protected geographical indication that celebrates traditional regional foods (other PGIs include Gorgonzola in Italy and Champagne in France). London Cure […]
Paper soil The down to earth brainchild of CheeringTech, a Chinese tech company that decided to venture into reality and came up with the idea of brightly coloured paper soil using recycled paper and old-fashioned jam jars in which to grow a variety of plants and herbs. Looks jazzy, and saves energy, water and trees. […]
Buzz at the Ritz The Ritz, in tandem with its near neighbour, Fortnum & Mason, has installed three colonies of bees on its Piccadilly rooftop. Each hive holds approximately 60,000 Buckfast bees producing up to 60kg of urban honey culled from the poshest of city flowers – those growing in Royal St James Park and […]
Artisan olive oil The Artisan Olive Oil Company is now stocking Paolo Bonomelli’s award-winning extra virgin olive oils. Produced in Italy, Bonomelli’s oils have been given the accolade of best olive oil in the world, 2017, in three international competitions: Ovibeja, Evooleum and the International Olive Oil Council’s Mario Solinas Quality Award. For further details, […]
Royal Walkers If you’re already a fan of Walkers’ Thistle Rounds, Highlanders and Shortbread Fingers, you won’t be surprised that this family-run bakery has been awarded its second Royal Warrant. This time it’s from the Queen for the supply of shortbread to the Royal Household (the first was for its Scottish oatcakes). Walkers has been […]
Birds of America The Natural History Museums new homeware collection includes the Birds of America Coasters, £12, and the Louisiana Heron espresso set, £20 from nhm.org.uk Wood fired oven First launched in 2012, the Uuni wood fired oven is a portable, affordable and easy to use wood fired oven. Uuni 3 is the updated version; […]
Hitting the sweet spot: which are the best eggs in town? IKEA’s self-assembly VÅRKÄNSLA chocolate bunny Don’t panic: this flat-pack milk chocolate rabbit contains only three pieces. Made from certified cacao from sustainable sources. Who can put theirs together fastest? £2.95 ikea.com/gb/en/ Bettys Centenary Egg To celebrate their centenary, Bettys have crafted this pretty […]
Blessed are the peacemakers The make tea not war mug – useful for households divided by Brexit perhaps, or perfect for seaside picnics Make Tea not War mug £8, from the Imperial war museum www.iwm.org.uk Smeg Portofino range Smeg’s newest cooker has five cooking levels, three fans inside the main oven, closed door grilling and […]
Cumbrian lamb Herdwick lamb reared in the Cumbrian Hills is back in Booths stores for its limited season of four months. Delicious in its own right but buying it also provides much-needed support for Cumbrian hill farming Cumbrian lamb, diced £15.50/kg, rolled shoulder £10/kg, loin chops £16/kg, visit booths.co.uk Teapot cake Hard to resist this […]
Enamel mugs Limited edition enamel tumblers in two cool and sophisticated shades of green: sage and samphire. Two sizes (£6, 9cm/310ml; £5, 6cm/124ml) Visit falconenamelware.com People’s Fridge How to reduce the shocking 900,000 tonnes of food a year thrown away by restaurants in the UK, not to mention the British households that chuck an average […]
Village shop The renovated Shop and Tea Room at Temple Guiting in the Cotswolds now offers bread from the Bertinet bakery in Bath, organic meat and pies from Piper’s farm in Devon, Paxton & Whitfield cheeses and Rococo chocolates. The tea room will host tastings, cookery classes and supper clubs Temple Guiting shop and tea […]
Mudd, glorious mudd… Eat with a spoon out of the jar or spread on bread or crumpets, Hawkshead’s jars of meltingly thick ‘mudd’ come in three flavours: salted chocolate, chocolate and honey and salted banoffi banana Hawkshead Chocolate mudd, £4.95/220g from hawksheadrelish.com Denby casserole Shallow cast iron casserole by Denby, in a soft spring-like grey, […]
Binopolis Multi-tasking kitchen bin for simple humans… Binopolis has produced a dual capacity 58 litre, metallic bin (34litre of waste; 24litre recycling bucket) with easy steel opening-pedal. Rose Gold Simplehuman CW2035 waste bin, £169.99 (H655mm by W560mm by D360mm), free delivery. Visit binopolis.com Eat on your greens Spring-like selection of mis-matched, slightly wonky, embossed […]
Brindisa Brindisa (delis, restaurants and tapas bars) is also an on-line supplier of great Spanish food, inc hams, chorizo and, especially suitable for unusual stocking fillers – a supply of chocolate covered figs (from £7.50/6 figs), salsichon (£8.95), tins of chocolate cigarillo biscuits (£6.25/200g) and wonderful Canario chocolate hazelnuts (see below, £8.95/200g), visit brindisa.com […]
Borough Box An on-line version of London’s famous Borough Market. Boroughbox.com can supply produce from the Borough’s stalls, Christmas treats and boxes of artisanal food and drink. Highlights include: Prosecco and Cheese box (French Comte cheeses, truffle oil, fig jam, £74.99); Foodie Box (products from Nudo, Love Cocoa, Joe’s teas, Smoky Brae and Fox gourmet, […]
Tea towels – cheap artwork (frame them and hang about the kitchen), useful house-warming present, good wrapping paper, fantastic stocking-fillers and handy for doing the drying-up. Here are ten of the best this Christmas… Right-hand corner top: Fruit and Veg tea towel by Louise Lockhart, £12.50 from https://todryfor.com/products/fruit-veg-tea-towel Top row, left to right: […]
Taittinger Champagne The Taittinger story begins with a Château – the glorious 18th century Château de la Marquetterie at Pierry in Champagne. Pierre Taittinger was stationed here during the First World War and fell in love with the region and the house. He vowed to return after the war and, in the 1930s, he went […]
Noa and Nani Components of a kitchen revamp, rather than a full-scale makeover, can be found at on-line furniture supplier Noa and Nani. Their Canterbury Collection includes a three-drawer wood cabinet with solid doors and pine surface (£189) and a three-drawer wood dresser with glass doors and sideboard with solid doors (£299). Both are painted […]
Pop-up picture house A month of feel-good movies plus delicious food by Tom Kerridge is on offer at Marlow’s Pop-Up Picture House this December. Films include When Harry Met Sally (2 Dec), Casablanca (10 Dec), It’s a Wonderful Life (24 Dec), Grease (31 Dec), with accompanying meals of chicken coconut curry and shepherd’s pie, beef […]
Leon cooking pot Zingy cookware from the super-healthy fast-food chain Leon. Blue and yellow stockpots (from £40/24cm), red tin trays (£12) and terracotta rectangular dishes, with glazed teal interior, microwave, freezer, grill and dishwasher safe and oven safe to 200°C (£25). All available from John Lewis www.johnlewis.com Tiger lemons Grown in Aguilas in southern Spain, […]
Feeding the foundlings Established in 1739 by Captain Thomas Coram, the Foundling Hospital in Bloomsbury, London, was a hospital ‘for the maintenance and education of exposed and deserted young children.’ Today, Coram’s philanthropic organisation still operates as a charity creating better chances for children. An exhibition, Feeding the 400, explains how the Foundling children were […]
Learn to cook Two 2016 winners in the world of food: the Michel Roux Jr Cookery School took the Cookery School of the Year Award at the Food and Travel Magazine awards; and Jack Sturgess whose Bake With Jack initiative dispenses baking lessons in your own home, was awarded top gong in the Fantastic Food […]
Haughton Honey Radmore Farm at Haughton in Cheshire began harvesting raw English honey straight from the hive in 2014. Now they’ve launched a 900g pot, the equivalent of two and a half jars, of their 100 per cent natural honey featuring traces of dandelion, chestnut, blackberry, clover and other wild flowers Haughton Honey, £5.95/340g or […]
Petersham Nurseries Already famous as the idyllically romantic restaurant by the Thames in West London, Petersham Nurseries also hosts the School of Garden Inspiration which runs seasonal workshops throughout the year. This autumn you can attend Kitchen Garden Planning for Autumn, an all day workshop including a tour of Petersham House kitchen garden, lunch, tea […]
Part Two of a brief taster of the products that have made it into the top 50 of this year’s Great Taste Awards. The 2016 regional winners and the Supreme Champion gong for overall best product will be awarded at the Great Taste Golden Fork Dinner in London on 5 September Fleur de sel […]
The mammoth undertaking that constitutes the annual Great Taste Awards is nearing this year’s conclusion. Out of 10,000 entries, the judges have produced a list of the top 50 Uk food products. And that’s only the beginning; in another few days you can find out who has scooped the top regional awards as well as […]
Acapulco chilli Plant Hot in every sense, the multi-coloured Acapulco chilli plant will provide you with a summer-long supply of fresh chillies. It’s available at Marks & Spencer alongside the citrus-flavoured Lemon Drop chilli Lemon drop chillies £1.50/30g; the Acapulco chilli plant £3.50, available Marks & Spencer, www.marksandspencer.com Etruscan jugs Famous for its blue […]
The Wood Awards, established in 1971, to give prizes for excellence in architecture and product design using wood, are celebrating their 45th anniversary this year. In the furniture and product category, there were an impressive 182 entries, 12 of which have been shortlisted including cabinets, benches, stools and extendable dining tables. Most intriguing for anyone […]
Coconut curls Coconut Curls – they sound like a Shirley Temple song, but unlike the ringletted singer, these leave you wanting more; curly shavings of coconut, dried and seasoned with salt or pepper. High in fibre, 109 calories per packet, even part of your five-a-day. Coconut curls by Ape snacks, 99p/20g available Morrisons, Planet Organic […]
Eccles cake chocolate Pumpstreet, the award-winning bakery based in Orford, Suffolk, has produced an Eccles cake chocolate bar to accompany their Rye crumb, milk and sea salt and sourdough and sea salt bars. The limited edition Eccles is stuffed with the bakery’s own Eccles cakes and is only made in small quantities Pumpstreet Eccles […]
Sprouting pencils An inspired invention – plantable sprouting pencils. Made by a Danish start-up, each pencil contains a seed capsule (herbs, flowers, veg, even trees) which, once the pencil has become too small to write with, can be planted. Latest sprouting pencils produce three varieties of chilli – hot, red cayenne, hotter purira pepper and […]
Mr Trotter’s Sausalamis Try saying that when you’ve had a couple … which is probably also the time when you might really fancy one of these air-dried pork snacking sausages by the same trio who brought you Mr Trotter’s Pork Scratchings. The sausalamis come individually wrapped, in three flavours: original, cracked black pepper and Jalapeno […]
