Time to take your pick of soft fruit before it’s too late - Get your orders in quick for soft fruit this year – demand is sky high, and nurseries are running out of stock. >more
Kicking off your winter with the beautiful game - Two things set me off on a game tack this week. The first being Marion, a regular in our shop who is always ...>more
Don’t potter – there’s still plenty of work to do before winter sets in - WHY fool ourselves? It’s turned nippy, and Oxford Street has gone bonkers for Christmas. >more
A Sunday night laugh sets you up for the week ahead - ON Sunday evening, I took my goddaughter to the Comedy Store, just off Leicester Square, to watch...>more
When it comes to the crunch, English is the apple of our eye - ENGLISH apples deserve better. For far too long, we’ve been reaching for imported fruit on shop shelves. >more
Icing on the cake will bowl them over this Christmas - YOU will probably not like the fact that I am writing about Christmas already, but with half-term now over...>more
Tea at Number 10 – these would take the biscuit - Clare Latimer passes round a jar of homemade chocolate cookies that should help the Prime Minister decide ...>more
The treasured chestnut hoard - I WENT for a walk in a west London park the other day and was amazed how many plump chestnuts were lying on the ground ...>more
Straight to the intoxicating heart of the West Indies - IF you ask any West Indian which rum is best, they would undoubtedly reply a brand from their respective ...>more
Many happy returns to Hall - I WAS given the most wonderful present for my birthday recently of three days at a health spa up near Leicester. >more
Always rising to the occasion - I WENT to Ireland last weekend for a birthday party and hoped that when I left home I could totally relax. Well, Ryan Air put paid to that. >more
The autumn night porter - I went to the Sandringham Show in Norfolk a few weeks ago and came across a company called Grain who brew the most fabulous beers. >more
Apples falling out of favour? - I JUST can’t get my head around why at this time of year, when there are more apples on the trees than we have had in years, the ...>more
Tomatoes make for vine dining - TOMATOES come in all sizes, shapes and colours. There is even one called Jack Hawkins, and for those of you old enough...>more
Health benefits to beetroot to - THE beetroots in my garden are now perfect. So many people just eat pickled beetroots but there are many alternatives. >more
To help us out of a sticky situation - I HAVE been hearing that so many people this year are making jam again and that is one good thing to come out of... > more
If weather doesn’t burst our bubbly...IT is not often that I am sent recipes that I like enough to put on this page but the three below came from a company...>more
Deserving of ‘shelf diversity’ award - MEETING the diverse and often contradictory requirements of demanding shoppers can’t be easy. > more
You won’t need fries with these! - BURGERS are one of the most popular takeaway lunches that we do in our shop and only recently have we started doing all ...>more
I’ll have that with cheese please! - I HAVE just been up to Edinburgh for an 80th birthday, staying in a bat-protected house. Some highlights: bats on the bathroom ...>more
Stay home and go on holiday - THEY say that the Mediterranean diet is the healthiest in the world and this time of year lends beautifully to the theory, with... > more
Time to respect your elders! - I was walking my dog round the edge of a field in the country last week and huge white clusters caught my eye.>more
Rich food at no great expense - What with all the shenanigans going on with our honourable members in the Houses of Parliament and the tall stories that are ...>more
Why visit Tresco? Scilly question! - ON the idyllic island of Tresco there is only one shop and certainly no cars or traffic lights. You are met off ...>more
Delights of a dessert Ireland - EVERY year at this time a bunch of us go to one of the most beautiful places in the world – Delphi Lodge at Leenane on the ...>more
Scones and sponges – the crème de la crème - AS the weather warms up and the days lengthen, the mind is filled with pleasant thoughts of balmy days to come. >more
Marscapone umasked - MASCARPONE is an Italian cheese and very underused in my view. It has a very rich and creamy taste and is perfect for adding to ...>more
Top asparagus tips for spring - MAY has to be one of the most exciting months of the year with the long evenings, the trees at their greenest, flowers opening ...>more
Peas and love – the secret of happiness - FOR the greedy gardener, growing peas is dangerous – it’s impossible to resist gobbling their delicate young shoots. >more
Wartime dish in a blitz on costs - I HAVE a lovely reader in Belsize Grove who encourages me and writes to give me ideas. She has asked if I could ...>more
How to get the better of molluscs - KNOW your enemy, says the proverb, and it’s top advice for dealing with slugs and snails, the dreaded garden pests.>more
How now brown cow? - LAST week I watched a superb programme on the history of milk in this country (first of a four-part series – Mud, Sweat and Tractors...>more
Rocket Gardens’ box of delights - ROCKET Gardens are going to change my life and my business. This great company, started by Mike Kitchen and a fabulously ...>more
Grow your own perfect salad days - IF you grow one crop this year, it’s got to be salad. Not those pointless Iceberg lettuces. I mean the zingy, interesting stuff ...>more
Seed of an idea for the Olympics - A FEW weeks ago, I cycled down to Somers Town for a meeting for Capital Growth, the new campaign to create... > more
Here’s to a very sunny Easter... - EASTER is upon us. Let’s keep our fingers crossed for good weather as this really does kick us all off to a happy start... > more
Expert advice: It’s OK to cheat! - GROW food, not flowers – that’s my motto. Why bother with roses when you could grow herbs or chillies? > more
A feast of Cornish Yarg cheese Fast food for a last-minute meal - What do you cook when a large group of friends turn up at your door?... > more
Food for thought after the Old Vic - I HAVE always loved the Old Vic theatre due to its personal touch and the fact that you can park right outside... > more
Heavenly aroma of ‘home’ cooking - A FORMER William Ellis schoolboy’s passion for cooking has paid off now that he’s the proud owner of one of... > more
Make casserole 'til the sun shines! - THE days are getting longer and, hopefully, will soon be getting warmer, but until the clocks go forward I still think comforting... > more
A fine taste of the local life - GOOD for Sadie Frost for publicly pointing out the importance of buying locally in these times of cutbacks (February 26). > more
Culinary roads lead to Rome - MY cousin Charles Cavendish has tapped the toes of 90 and as long as he feels needed he is happy to go on living. > more
Pancakes are flippin’ great! - I’M not quite sure why, but I love making perfect, thin pancakes. > more
Spread a little breakfast cheer - IN my mind marmalade is the epitome of breakfast through- out the whole year, so, while the days are dark, cold and dull, what... > more
Why not take it slow and easy? - I HAVE almost ground to a halt this month what with the dark evenings and fairly dark days as well. I know four people in their nineties... > more
You can’t beat a French classic - I AM sure that most of you by now know that Jean Christophe Slowik, known to all locals as jc, opened a gem of a restaurant... > more
Hot tips to beat financial gloom - WELL, here we are again at the start of a new year, with all those “fresh start” feelings. One thing I’m sure about is I’m glad Gordon... > more
What sauce for the goose?- AS this newspaper has a great website with all my past recipes, I have decided not to write about cooking turkey or goose as they can... > more
You can have your cake and eat it! - UNBELIEVABLY, having just gone to a funeral in Cornwall, I then had to jump straight on a train to Scotland... > more
A hollow centre, filled with food - LAST week I braved going to see the new Westfield shopping centre. The best description I can come up with is it is like being in... > more
Treats in memory of my ‘Cornish mum’ - Tragically, my “Cornish mum” Patricia Munro died suddenly last week and, as she was the one who started me on the... > more
Get back to a comfort zone I am sure you are aware that I lean heavily towards traditional recipes for everyday fare in this column, as opposed to trendy... > more
Tails of the unexpected? THERE seem to be many articles about cooking squirrel – and I can’t be left out! There certainly are far too many squirrels around... > more
Halloween recipes - HALLOWEEN weekend and long dark evenings. The winter is now truly upon us. Nature is curling back into its self for a few months and that... > more
Supper date in historic style - The best kept secret is now out. Many of you will have heard of Burgh House, the stunning Queen Anne house in New End... > more
Ace in the Hole for British Food Fortnight - WE are right in the middle of British Food Fortnight so I felt that I should write about truly home-grown produce. > more
The veal truth about the lives of our calves - I KNOW that a great many of you hate me writing about veal but some new facts have just come up and they need to... > more
Summer rain clouds bring a berry nice bonus - I HAVE just got back from a few weeks in Cornwall and in the last few days I have noticed that the hedges are glistening... > more
Make haste while the sun shines – have a picnic! - I AM amazed by how many people pour onto Primrose Hill on a fine day and how well... > more
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