Why biscuits will see us through the good times and the bad | Rachel Cooke
A person’s choice of biscuit can say a lot about character. Pass me another Jammie Dodger… I associate the 1920s very strongly with cocktails: sidecar in hand, I hear the distant buzz of jazz trumpets...
View ArticleJames Blunt: ‘My body has not been a temple. I’ve put it through painful...
The singer talks about sharing rations with the Russians, after-party toasties and his mum’s signature dishI was an army brat who lived on army patches – in Cyprus, Hong Kong, Germany and as far afield...
View ArticleMandy Yin's Malaysian recipes: soy-braised chicken, fish curry, prawns in...
Simple dishes like her mother made from the chef-owner of Nasi Economy Rice In Malaysia, it is drummed into you from a young age that a nourishing hot meal is a non-negotiable necessity, any time of...
View ArticleChristmas gift ideas for food lovers 2020
From £5 cookie cutters to Fergus Henderson’s hangover-cure hamper, selected by Observer Food Monthly Pierre Marcolini Saint NicolasContinue reading...
View ArticleLen & Alex Deighton’s Mexican Cookstrips: Queso Fundido
Alex: I’m having one helping, then I’m scraping the bottom of the pan with the last tortilla.Len: Not if I get to it first.Len Deighton is the author of the Action Cookbook and French Cooking for Men...
View ArticleGiorgio Locatelli's perfect Christmas recipes
A childhood Russian salad, honey-glazed duck and ricotta cake: seasonal family dishes filled with memoriesOur Christmas is a very different occasion each year, from my Italian family to my English one...
View ArticleThe 20 best wines for Christmas 2020
Drinks to suit every budget, including supermarket best buys, chosen by Observer Food Monthly’s wine expertTaste the Difference Viognier IGP Pays d’Oc, France 2019 (£7, Sainsbury’s)Laurent Miquel has...
View ArticleDavid Lammy: ‘You can be critical of your country and still love it’
The Labour MP talks about belonging, Brexit and Caribbean comfort food“I make sure I know where all the new Caribbean restaurants and takeaways are,” says David Lammy, “because there are times I need a...
View ArticleWelcome to November’s Observer Food Monthly
Christmas recipes from Giorgio Locatelli and great gift ideasChristmas has always been about hospitality, making our friends, family and strangers welcome, bestowing gifts (however small) and feeding...
View Article'All I want is chocolate': Jamie Oliver and other top chefs on their...
Tinned fish, ceramic tableware and cornettos – Santa’s sack is full of unusual treats for our chefs and food writers Bread, cheese… and ginJamie Oliver, celebrity chef and authorA couple of loaves of...
View Article'I'm seeing an industry disappear': how lockdown is leaving hospitality...
For thousands working in bars, restaurants and hotels, the future is uncertain. We talk to the casualties of lockdown – and to those battling to support themWhen chef Sam Pinnock lost his job in late...
View ArticleProsecco crisps, pigs in blankets pot noodles – please make these Christmas...
What to do with festive specials in the supermarket aisles? Probably leave well aloneWhat really says Christmas to you? Is it a squeezy bottle of Sainsbury’s “Pigs in Blankets Mayo”? No? You surprise...
View ArticleSamuel West: ‘We have kippers for Christmas breakfast, with a glass of...
The actor on his mum’s cheese sauce, homemade cocktails with his partner, and having dinner with FalstaffWhen I was young, whenever my mother [Prunella Scales] cooked kippers and the smell would drift...
View ArticleHow to get through Christmas in the time of coronavirus
Celebrations will be diminished for everyone by Covid this year: we need to focus on the things we’d love. Like lobster for twoWho are you going to bubble with? Which households will you choose? At...
View ArticleThe Christmas taste test challenge: the chef v the critic
Ravinder Bhogal and Jay Rayner eat their way through the supermarkets’ mince pies, cheese, chocolates and more. Whose verdict do you trust? Taste the Difference Buck’s Fizz Marmalade340g, £1.60,...
View ArticleBenjamina Ebuehi's luxurious Christmas bakes and cakes
Almond cinnamon cake, sage and onion twists, mulled wine tarte tatin – recipes inspired by the scents of the seasonThere’s something rather special about cooking and baking during the festive season....
View ArticleA restaurateur, a radical chef and a cook-turned-campaigner: ‘What 2020 has...
From Covid-19 to Black Lives Matter and the storm around food inequality, it’s been a tumultuous year. Three people in the hospitality industry reveal how it’s changed their livesOwner, Lunya...
View Article10 great food books of 2020
Observer Food Monthly’s choice – in no particular order – of recipes, memoirs and great readsThe Flavor Equation: The Science of Great Cooking Explained in More Than 100 Essential RecipesNik...
View ArticleJung Chang: ‘Most Chinese people in my generation experienced starvation. You...
The Wild Swans author discusses China, London and her indomitable motherI meet Jung Chang between lockdowns – our lunch is the first time she has eaten out since the spring. “I feel liberated!” she...
View ArticleMix with the best this Christmas
Vermouths, bitters, fruit liqueurs – retro mixers are just the thing for a festive cocktailA sniff of vermouth will always make me think of Christmas. It’s a nostalgic thing: a drop of one of the big...
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