Beginning with the premise that taste is primarily subjective and for most of the time utterly elusive, why on earth would anyone want to comment on food, its producers, its consumers or its cooks. For my part I think it is because we wish to share the overall experience with at least one other, to find common ground, to contribute joy and most of all, to avoid disappointment. So much of the historical reasoning behind food has been lost, but as a result of our interest and our efforts over the last few decades, so much is now being re-discovered. We require guidance and illumination in the face of biased marketing and social hypnosis, and to be part of such a continuous cultural dialogue is a privilege, it is also hugely enjoyable.Food writing blogs
It’s not what we eat but when we eat… – May 2010
I got a telephone call recently that spun me back through two decades. It came in the form of an old friend from London, now residing in Suffolk, who invited me down to his part of the world to 'do lunch'. I had not heard the phrase used as an active verb since the...
Pork Pies – May 1 2010
Firstly, the Observer magazine food section, where restaurant critic Jay Rayner had written a eulogy to all things porcine including ham, bacon, crackling, belly and chops. I was in full agreement with his fond portrayal of nose to tail cuisine including pork...
Slow Food movement – April 3 2010
Although my recent article on Masterchef clearly divided opinion, and as much as I would wish to share my less than flattering thoughts on Greg Wallace’s new restaurant in London as a result, I will now have to wait as I defer willingly to a number of requests for...
Turning up the heat… – December 2009
As I write another dusting of snow is covering my neck of the woods in North Norfolk. Although I am aware of the many inconveniences snow has brought to Norfolk this year, I nevertheless welcome seasonal weather conditions that stand to delineate one quarter of our...
Game time – September 26 2009
Please forgive me for stating the obvious but I have spent the last couple of months totally underwhelmed by the drifting aromas of surrounding barbeques, in fact I have barely noticed that Papal puff of white smoke drift over any garden fence as the Alpha male sets...
Keith Floyd RIP – September 19 2009
My proposed article this week, that would now have been filed on matters culinary and read by you today, has been abandoned. The news this week of the death of Keith Floyd has rather overshadowed many of my thoughts and I suspect some of yours. A star that shone...
Nose to tail at St John – Eastern Daily Press July 25 2009
Within the troubled arena of the pub and restaurant sector and the concomitant skirmishes of the financial world, the hard pressed customer can be forgiven for not knowing which way to turn when seeking the practical or sensual rewards sitting down to eat can provide....
Rural Life – June 27 2009
I am far too young to have ‘dug for Britain’ in the last bash, but I am laying copious plans to go for it this time around. I have recently been swept up in a torrent of feverish ruralism, unknown to the startled members of my family. I am making plans to transform...
Local Sourcing – May 30 2009
I steer clear of too much heated debate on the subject of local sourcing, after all my credentials as a wine merchant are based principally on importation, so my own morphic resonance may well return to haunt me one fine day. On the subject of food however, and, more...