Why do luxury hotels have to treat us like children?
From lollies at reception to posh chocs in the bedroom, everything has to be sugar-coated – and I hate itPeople worry about the way sugar is pushed at children. But it’s happening to the rest of us,...
View ArticleIt’s time for restaurants to get rid of tips | Jay Rayner
The system of service charges is crass, inefficient and demeaning. Let’s end itI am a control freak and as such completely unsuited to my job as a restaurant critic. Every time I visit a restaurant I...
View ArticleArianna Huffington: ‘No one should have phones on the table at a meal'
The co-founder of the Huffington Post on her Greek mother’s cooking and modern eating etiquetteI grew up in a one-bedroom apartment in Athens with my mother and sister. Life centred on food for Mother....
View ArticleFrozen in time: Julie Christie in the supermarket queue, June 1965
In the year the actor’s celebrity went stratospheric, Julie Christie could be found looking bored at the checkoutQueuing up for groceries amid resigned-looking, behatted shoppers didn’t quite fit Julie...
View ArticleOFM’s classic cookbooks: Patience Gray’s Honey From a Weed
In the second of our series celebrating vintage books from our kitchen shelves, Jeremy Lee shares his love for Honey From a WeedIt was 1986. I had not long arrived in London but regularly visited the...
View ArticleTaste test: sweet biscuits
Nuts about ginger, digestives or shortbread? Lily Vanilli blind-tests Britain’s best cookies McVitie’sMilk Chocolate Digestives300g, £1.50, ocado.comA slight caramelised sugar flavour. You can taste...
View ArticleWelcome to April’s Observer Food Monthly
It’s a special issue on front of house, with tips and comments from top maître d’s – and a clarion call to end the practice of tippingEnough of chefs, let’s hear it for the front of house. No matter...
View ArticleFrom east to west: seven recipes from Sabrina Ghayour
Cumin-roasted aubergine, spiced lamb kebab, dark chocolate cake: recipes from Sabrina Ghayour’s new book SiroccoCookbooks can be a slow business. It’s been almost two years since Sabrina Ghayour’s...
View ArticleLen Deighton's new Cookstrips No. 16: Gnocchi di patate
There’s no definitive recipe. Every nonna has her own. I use minimal flour (normally “00” but plain is also fine), minimal egg and minimal kneading. For extra-light gnocchi, I also use some...
View ArticleThe art of service: secrets of the maître d’
A great meal is about much more than food – and it’s the people who work front of house who know how to make you feel specialFred Sirieix, general manager, Galvin at WindowsRelated: I'm a waiter, I...
View ArticleMy life in San Francisco’s restaurant alley
The customers were bad, the bosses worse: novelist Kathleen Alcott recalls her days in the food tradeMy first tastes of fine food were just that – mouthfuls, just enough that I could later describe the...
View ArticleDamien Hirst and Mark Hix: ‘We could do Viagra oysters at the restaurant’
The artist and the restaurateur behind Pharmacy 2 form a comic double act with tales of magic mushrooms, mortuaries, and why ‘food is like art without the evidence’Damien Hirst has arrived early for...
View ArticleThe irresistible charm of prosecco
When it comes to sparkling wine, we are all northeastern Italians nowIt’s an early spring afternoon in the Piazza dei Signori in the heart of Padua in the Veneto, north-east Italy. This is a quietly...
View ArticleBreakfast wars: when the hipster diner comes to town
You know your area is on the way up when your neighbours develop an overwhelming desire to spend too much money on croissants and sourdoughIt was our neighbour, Richard B, who first mentioned it....
View Article20 best spring recipes: part 1
The first instalment of Observer Food Monthly’s selection of brilliant spring recipes, including dishes from Nigel Slater, Yotam Ottolenghi and Angela Hartnett Tomorrow: 20 best spring recipes part...
View Article20 best spring recipes: part 2
More delicious spring recipes including asparagus with morels, poached chicken, and vegetables ‘a la Grecque’Tomorrow: 20 best spring recipes part 3The breasts of smaller birds, such as pigeons, are...
View Article20 best spring recipes: part 3
Claire Ptak’s mozzarella and new potato tarts, Vivek Singh’s mace and cardamom grilled lamb, Fergus Henderson’s grilled pork chop and moreTomorrow: best spring recipes part 4I learned about this...
View Article20 best spring recipes: part 4
Cod and ginger congee, green garlic pudding soufflé and rhubarb meringue pie: great spring recipes from Uyen Luu, Alice Waters and Nigella LawsonThis congee recipe is healing, invigorating and...
View Article20 best Chinese recipes: part 1
The first instalment of Observer Food Monthly’s collection of the best Chinese recipes, including dishes from Kenneth Lo and Fuchsia DunlopTomorrow: best Chinese recipes part 2Simple as it is, this is...
View Article20 best Chinese recipes: part 2
Stuffed squid, a classic Peking duck and stir-fried clams: OFM’s collection of Chinese recipes from cooks including Yan-kit So and Hunan’s Mr PengTomorrow: best Chinese recipes part 3Both chicken and...
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