Were a CV a sure indicator of a chef’s potential, as only gullible restaurateurs and food critics are led to believe, then Isaac McHale would already be counting his Michelin stars. 3 weeks shy of 30 and 3 months from running his own kitchen for the first time at autumn arrival Elliot’s Borough Market, the Glaswegian [...]

Two dear colleagues would be visiting from LA and I had to plan the meals and coffee breaks for their London stopover. The pressure I felt was considerable: Were these demanding food obsessives coming directly from California and not via Italy my task would have been difficult enough. But knowing they would be arriving with [...]

When the old hall of London’s Borough Market was shut a month ago to facilitate construction of a new Thameslink train line into London Bridge station, the baker De Gustibus was one of four traders suddenly forced to give up their stalls. That was a devastating development both for the DG employees who would likely [...]

Is August a bad month for salt beef? I certainly hope so. For if the drop in form at two of London’s very best salt beef purveyors is not due to seasonal disruptions, it isn’t only my list of the top 5 salt beef sandwiches in London that will need to be overhauled. I’ll have [...]

Salt beef, like New York-style corned beef, is a Jewish deli meat made from beef briskets cured in brine. The salt breaks down the tough brisket meat while letting its flavours emerge.  Salt beef ought not be an exercise in aerobic mastication, as some London purveyors would have you believe, nor should it be stringy [...]