Cooking
Rachel Johnson: everyone in my family is getting quince paste for Christmas
Making membrillo is a balm to the soul this autumn
Prue Leith: When did the Samaritans lose their way?
In the past few weeks, on three separate occasions, I have met three different women who for years (one for…
What made the Two Fat Ladies great
Mary Berry’s dependable The Aga Book — a book of the last century and part of my kitchen library —…
A gratifying evocation of 1960s sweets – but I wanted more: Toast reviewed
Nigel Slater is popular because he’s an exceptionally meek cook. Not for him the sprawling restaurant empire or the transatlantic…
Gas vs inductions hobs: is there any competition?
Induction hobs are all the rage, but nothing beats gas
Prue Leith’s Christmas kitchen nightmares
Even professional cooks can muck everything up
Recipe: Kedgeree
Kedgeree is the most regal of all Anglo-Indian dishes
Even the BBC’s recipes are politically correct
I’m cooking almost full-time for my poor old Mum and learning on the job: shepherd’s pie, roast pork, cauliflower cheese.…
The painter who devoted himself to turning kitchen-weary men into kings and popes
Chaïm Soutine turned kitchen-weary men into monarchs and popes, says Laura Freeman
How can I stop a friend posting photos on Instagram of my parties?
Q. We have received a ‘save the week’ card from friends who take a villa abroad every year. We usually…
Meeting Martin McGuinness: when I saw the mask slip
We keep being incited to find it heartwarming that Martin McGuinness and Ian Paisley were known as the Chuckle Brothers.…
I’m far too right-wing for quinoa
After the Fawlty Towers incident, I decided it was best to research the origin and extraction of all future B&B…
I’m selling our Aga. Here’s why
The case against Britain’s most overrated kitchen appliance
The Food Programme is a miracle of radio
Cooking really shouldn’t make good radio. On television, it’s already frustrating that you can’t taste what you’re seeing, but on…
A few things you didn't know about the Great British Bake Off – such as how it's all faked
You know when late summer has arrived because conkers are starting to form on the horse chestnuts, your eagerness to…
Penelope Lively’s notebook: Coal holes and pub opera
I have been having my vault done over. Not, as you might think, the family strong room, but the place…
What Quique Dacosta knows that Picasso didn’t
Chefs have a problem. Think of much of the best food you have ever eaten. Caviar, English native oysters, sashimi,…
Rory Sutherland: Why don't Americans have kettles?
I enjoy reading reviews of kitchen gadgetry. Clever new kitchen products are often under-appreciated. Many rituals around food preparation are…
Cookery Books: Back to classics
The truth is, we could probably all get by with three or four cookbooks; half a dozen at most, which…
Wonders of the world’s fare
Apart from knowing your onions, you should be widely travelled, and preferably artistic, to cut the mustard these days, Fay Maschler suspects
Cookery nook
Delia Smith first published her recipe ‘My Classic Christmas Cake’ 40 years ago.
Gut instincts
Julie Powell wrote Julie and Julia, a book (and now a film) in which she described her attempts to cook a huge number of recipes by the cookery writer Julia Child.
Saints and sinners
With the publication of their Christmas cookery books, Nigella, Jamie, Delia and Gordon all have a brand image, or a halo, to polish.