How and what we cook has changed over the years. Particularly, the rise of jars and ready-meals means that you don’t have to know how to cook to have a cooked meal. Personally, I think being able to cook a meal from scratch is an important life skill. But then I would:…
Istanbul is an amazing city. It’s perfect for a weekend break and is easily reached. So after you’ve visited the Blue Mosque, the Topkapi Palace and the Spice market (and many, many more delights), where to eat? Let Lunchquest introduce you to the best steak anywhere. Over to you Blythe.…
I don’t really miss meat or fish. I miss particular dishes. When C goes away I cook and eat differently from when he’s here. Within minutes of the door closing behind him I revert to an earlier eating pattern and slow cooking for pleasure. Breakfast becomes fruit salad instead of…
Two years ago, friends took me to L’Escagot Bleu for a birthday dinner. It was a wonderful birthday present for someone like me. The restaurant used to be a favourite with me when I worked off Broughton Street. It was close by, the food was superb and the ambiance was…
Recently, I had the chance to taste a range of cooked meats from Tarbet’s fine foods. I particularly enjoyed the slow roast beef – it was moist and very much like the sort of beef you’d like to cook yourself if you had the time! As it was chilly, salads…
Those of you who read the blog regularly, will know that I have a thing about pigs. And, as this is a food blog, my admiration of the living beast naturally to eating. So it was a natural step to butcher one (or two). Music and pigs I recently met…
With a glamorous companion in tow, I went to Kyloe, the new restaurant and grill at The Rutland. Kyloe is an old Scots word for for highland cattle and it is obvious from the wood, leather and pony of the interior that this is a meat – specifically beef – focused…
You might remember that Mr EF built his own sous vide machine and provided instructions last March – can it really be that long ago? Here’s a long overdue report on how we’ve got on. We have to say: “We love sous vide cooking” So we thought we’d share our…
Some dishes find a special place in a country’s conscience. Béarnaise sauce has stuck in the Swedish one. A rich emulsion of butter and lemon flavoured with tarragon and sharpened with vinegar, béarnaise sauce is a great companion to red meat. In Sweden, my home country, it is ubiquitous. You find it on most restaurant menus,…
By all accounts Michael Smith cut quite a dash in Manhattan on a recent visit with Visit Scotland. The kilted chef (@Kiltcuisine on Twitter) certainly stood out at the recent Taste of Edinburgh Festival. He was relishing the fact that there were so many real food lovers around that weekend. I…
