

Pi or pie? - maths in the food curriculum
"If maths were food, what food would it be? MajorLeagueTeacher I'm not being that clever with my title here - many, many people have...
Jan 22, 2024


Confit - from duck to egg yolks
"Historically, this preservation technique was a necessity to survive times of scarcity. Today, it means we can enjoy produce at its best...
Jan 21, 2024


When the egg meets flour - a skill
"It is in Emilia (half of the now united Emilia-Romagna region) where the everyday act of hand rolling has been elevated into an everyday...
Jan 2, 2024


Burrata - beauty or taste?
“You can use burrata for everything, but it doesn’t need anything. You only have to open it and eat,” Felice Sgarra - Michelin star...
Dec 2, 2023


Should I wear a bib?
"Life's too short to worry about what other people think" This week one pair of trousers has been washed twice because I spilt some food...
Nov 24, 2023


Cutting up onions
"People who are knowledgable are said to "know their onions". It's a great phrase, yet nobody knows exactly where it comes from. It's...
Nov 22, 2023


Noble thistles
"The thistle is a prince. Let any man that has an eye for beauty take a view of the whole plant, and where will he see a more expressive...
Nov 21, 2023


Old or new? - En papillote
"The team in the Ottolenghi test kitchen took some persuading about the benefits of cooking en papillote – they thought it was way too...
Nov 12, 2023


The internet does not know everything
"The greatest obstacle to discovery is not ignorance - it is the illusion of knowledge." Daniel J. Boorstin This was just going to be...
Nov 9, 2023


Solving the leftover problem - 1
"The main flavouring ingredients should be well spiced and piquant; they can vary according to the taste and skill of the cook." Jane...
Oct 29, 2023


My grandchildren didn't eat the sausages
"I live in fear of the phrase "just enough". I regard just enough as nowhere near enough. Just enough means too little. It means one...
Oct 28, 2023


Making pasta
"the essential nature of pasta is simple. Take some flour and water, take some flour and eggs, combine, knead, rest, shape. Or go buy...
Oct 25, 2023


"Stuff the paccheri" (or not)
"it can also be stuffed and baked or just filled." The Pasta Project 'Just filled'. Oh yes? And how do you do that? And why am I...
Oct 24, 2023


A ball of string
I took the above photograph back in April. This week I decided to change the 'wallpaper' on my computer desktop which I do every few...
Oct 19, 2023


Two English experiments
"We would be foolish not to try everything at least once." Nigel Slater I seem to have been on a bit of an English kick of late. Is...
Sep 30, 2023


Sainte Ménéhould
"I only wish I could have cooked it for her, as I know it was one of her favourites. We would have drunk a bottle of old Rhone with it....
Sep 14, 2023


Too many onions - what to do?
"I wonder how many of you, when it comes to cooking your next meal, will start it by peeling an onion?" Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall Well...
Sep 8, 2023


A fridge raid tart
"There's a universal sweet spot by the fridges familiar space in which we've all stood, door ajar and locked into a staring match with...
Aug 20, 2023


Chapatis - first recipe, first food
"as with all bread-making, this is not the time for guesswork" Bob Granleese/The Guardian I have to say that as I read about chapatis,...
Aug 19, 2023


A new word - gastrique
"The best thing about learning how to make a gastrique is that it's extremely easy for the clueless chef to do. It makes a simple dish...
Aug 10, 2023

