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North West's Best Food Shops
2007-01-18 15:42:00
Sometimes I really miss London. I lived in an area that is widely regarded as a little oasis for foodies, even by London’s high standards. The local supermarket was renowned for being utterly useless which no doubt helped trade in the independent shops but this didn’t detract from the fact that they were absolutely incredible. Populated by socially aware thirty-somethings, Chiswick is where ‘new meedja’ types go to have kids when they move from Shepherd’s Bush and Notting Hill and the range of specialist shops on offer reflects this fact. There is an organic supermarket, a great butcher, a multi-award winning deli, two fishmongers, an amazing Greek run shop that could have been plucked out of the 1950’s, a dedicated chocolate shop that sold hot chocolate so strong and luxurious it was impossible to finish and a place that did the best sandwiches I have ever tasted as well as offering some of the finest cheeses and cold cuts known to man. I relished my Mondays off when I ...
More About: Food , North , West , Shop , Best

Best Chef on TV
2007-01-18 12:02:00
On Tuesday night BBC Three aired a show which they thoughtfully titled The Roadkill Chef . Despite the slightly disturbing title, the inclusion of the word ‘chef’ pretty much galvanised my interest and there was no doubt that the hour between nine and ten pm would be taken up sat in front the of the television. Reviews had said kind things about the show presented by self styled “wild man of food’ Fergus Drennan who has been foraging for his food for fifteen years. The decision by the BBC to focus so heavily on such a potentially shocking and tiny aspect of his life was deeply disappointing. Yes, Drennan does cook and consume animals that have been killed by passing cars but states on his website that such food constitutes no more than 5% of his diet, the vast majority of what he eats is fruit, vegetable and fungal matter. Where the show succeeded in its attempts to shock (the gutting of a squirrel was not a nice image), doing so negated the crux of Drennan’s moral, health ...
More About: Best

Fish Pie? Maybe but I have got a bit of a haddock
2007-01-16 15:10:00
Firstly, please excuse the poor pun that adorns the title of today’s little journey through my culinary habits, my brain isn’t firing on all cylinders and it was the only fish based pun I could think of at short notice. No doubt I’ll have a whale (and they’re off) of a time trying to come up with a few more though. I love a good fish pie and Jamie Oliver’s recipe has proved a good, if a little time consuming, standby over the past few years (regular readers may remember that I cooked that very version a few short weeks ago). It is, however, a little heavy and as part of a healthy eating drive I thought I’d try to create a version a little less reliant on cream and cheese but still just as tasty and comforting. In other words, the sort of recipe you’d sell your sole for (sorry!). I think smoked fish is an absolute must in any fish pie and I went for smoked haddock which I gently poached in milk and black pepper for a few minutes to allow the skin to be removed easily. T...
More About: Fish , Maybe , Dock , Have