Brithack

Couldn't agree more - it's just not a pleasant place to be. To be fair, I think many of the products are worth the premium. A medium-sized organic chicken is about £10 at Waitrose, but the equivalent Label Anglaise bird is about the same price and immensely better tasting. If you want a kilo or two of jamon Iberico, then get someone rich to pay for it for you - it's not rocket science. Fascinating to learn a similar thing's happening in Barcelona.

I often make a sweet potato soup with Thai flavours - quite a few - lemon grass, kaffir lime leaves, chilli, onion, garlic, ginger/galangal, coriander... that's really completely delicious (if I say so myself). The Thai flavours stop the sweetness being cloying. Now I can hardly wait for the weather to get cooler so I can cook a pot.

Jamie, I am presuming you know of/have read Charles Clover's excellent book End of the Line? It's fabulous, and so densely researched it's a great tool for knowing more about this issue. PS he works for the Telegraph - he's our environment editor

sorry this is a bit late - but an excellent and super-adaptable summer bacon dish IMHO is lardons and spring onions sauteed in the bacon fat, mixed with blanched, peeled broad beans, a spoon or so of creme fraiche and LOTS of dill, parsley and a little mint. This is excellent as a vegetable dish, especially with poached salmon, a pasta sauce (with pecorino if desired) and risotto. you could also make a pea puree with mint vinaigrette and griddled scallops a la the lovely Rowley Leigh and add a couple of crisped rashers. Yum.

about cast iron - yeah, my le creuset's work fine on induction hobs.

I definitely think all-vegetarian. I know Sam and Marlene think they'll hate it but I'm not being cruel - instead I'm anticipating them both saying 'I can't believe how good that was!' after the meal. And it's a challenge. I'm a massive carnivore and had to cook dinner for 10 two weeks ago that was strictly vegetarian. It took some thinking about - but then again if you're going to cook veggie, this is precisely the time you should be doing it - just think of all that wonderful produce! ...But no tofu. Bleugh...

When I moved in with my boyfriend I had to start using his induction hob. On the plus side, it boils water (for new potatoes, hard-boiled eggs etc) more quickly than you could imagine. On the minus side my treasured, expensive SKK pans don't work on it, because they're made with titanium. So I had to buy a lot more pans - he, naturally, had only one. Being a Luddite, despite the water boiling thing and the gadgetyness, I prefer cooking over a flame.

it was my mag - sunday telegraph magazine. i can send you a copy if you give me your address...

Thank you Pan - great, useful stuff! Is there really no-one else out there with a view about this? Odd...

Hello everyone, I'm taking a tour of American diners - discussed in the Adventures in Eating forum, but I'm also going to be taking a tour of New York's breakfast emporia... New York breakfasts are sort of mythical over here in England, and I want to spend a couple of weeks in the city - basically just for the sake of breakfasts. So - if I'm spending a fortnight in New York at the end of this month, where should I go? And what kind of food do they serve? I'd be extremely grateful for any guidance from a local...

APPALLING taste ! I'm amazed he has any 'friends' left with whom to dine. I can't think of any better means of showing one's total lack of charm, generosity - both material and spiritual - or bonhomie. I'm also really surprised that others have posted that they have a similar arrangement within their circle of acquaintances. I've never heard of anything similar in Britain or Europe.

... well, i would have meant whatever it was on my list at the time i submitted them. EXACTLY! That's why these things don't really matter. A subjective opinion is - well - subjective. And subject to change. Unless you're dense and/or bloody minded and/or psychotically reactionary.

pretty sure the chocolate class is at l'artisan du chocolat on lower sloane street. or it could be pierre marcolini at ken high street. but i think it's l'artisan.

I don't really have a problem with amuses-bouches BUT I do get a little irritated with cliched amuses-bouches. For instance, in London in any case, the dreaded espresso cup filled with white bean 'cappuccino' with truffles. NO MORE!!!! x

no. definitely fish cakes. yum.

I also saw this recipe a little while back for butterscotch cake and it looks great. Maybe just make less filling if it looks like to much work to do all the layers. If you do try it I'd love to hear your comments. I have a good recipe for English toffee with almonds which you could crush but if you buy english toffee bits it be hard to tell the difference. I can Pm it to you if you want it though. chantal ← xxx

wow - so grateful to everyone. will have to chew over the options now...

fish cakes!!!

There are three immutable rules for Yorkshires: 1. Always rest the batter for at least an hour, all morning if possible. 2. Always use meat drippings. 3. Put the batter into the individual/large moulds on top of the stove, so that they sizzle and fry as they go in. Result? Heaven

excellent news - i'm delighted! but tell us more - where'd you go? what'd you have? what were your general impressions? eager for more...

I don't know about being the star player, but i always use flat-leaf parsley as the salad underneath any compound salads. so i'll take a large platter, scatter it liberally with dressed parsley (think rocket [arugula]) then top with new potatoes, hot smoked salmon, anchovies, roasted peppers, roast tomatoes, anything. my point is that i definitely think parsley is a salad leaf, not just a herb.

Why haven't more people been talking about Tom Aikens's? Gordon Ramsay is yesterday's news compared to him (though I think Ramsay utterly wonderful). And WHY DIDN'T HE GET AT LEAST A SECOND STAR? Sorry for shouting, but I feel strongly about this. Surely it can't be for the past 'misdemeanour' stuff? Anyone agree with me that he's the best chef in London today?

Hello, I really need some help. A friend is leaving the office to go freelance, and I've been assigned the job of making his goodbye cake. He tells me that his favourite flavours are toffee and almond. So I've been trying to think of a cake that incorporates these flavours. My initial ideas were to make a cake with ground almonds (natch), beurre noisette and soft dark brown sugar. Then I worried that it might be a completely foul combination. Has anyone got any ideas or recipes for a cake which combines both toffee and almond flavours? Or, does anyone think it's a fundamentally misguided combination? Any help GREATLY appreciated. I have a week to work out a recipe...

Hope this isn't rude: I LOVE the pics everyone posts, and everything looks marvellous. It could very well be the fault of my computer's colour-processing stuff, but ALL the eggs look anaemic. This has, sadly, always been my experience in America for breakfast as well. Eggs are orangey-yellow. Beigey yellow are bad - off - factory farmed. And orangey eggs taste SOOOOO much better. Sorry...

RamsAy. RamsAy, RamsAy. that's two As, no Es. grrr...