Johanna Derry
Contributor
A London Restaurant Crawl with the King of Convenience Food
Jowett Yu may be head chef at high end Hong Kong restaurant Ho Lee Fook, but he also loves microwave spaghetti and convenience store fish cakes. On Yu’s first ever visit to London, I joined him and chef James Lowe for a tour of the capital’s best...
I Ate a ‘Sunshine Menu’ Created Specially for Vitamin D-Starved Brits
According to chef Paul Greening, Britain should look East to get the nutrition we’re missing from lack of UV rays. His vitamin D-rich meal of mackerel, salmon, tuna, and cod liver is like “an hour’s worth of sunshine.”
This Cookbook Will Change Everything You Thought You Knew About Soviet Food
The cuisine of former Soviet countries in Central Asia has long been written off as bland. Food writers Eleanor Ford and Caroline Eden want to change that—starting with the Uzbek rice dish of plov.
Punch Isn’t a Messy House Party Drink Anymore
Somewhere between the 18th century and your teenage house party, the definition of punch got lost. Now, London bartenders are reinventing the communal cocktail with yuzu fruit, bespoke gin, and even milk.
Making Burgers and Bourguignon with the Chef Who Democratized London Dining
Rowley Leigh, founder of legendary London restaurant Café Anglais, brought a new egalitarianism to the fine dining scene of 80s London. “I do really good food in an accessible manner. I think we were pioneering in that respect,” he says at a recent...
Meet Jon the Poacher, London's Favourite Forager
Jon is a man who pays attention to the things most Londoners never notice: the abundance of edible fruit, leaves, and fungi that grow in the city's parks and pavements. “Most people will just see trees,” he says. “I can identify them all by their...
What Happens When You Let Your Phone Take You on a Bar Crawl
A London nightlife website recently launched a “concierge” messaging service that responds to texts at any hour with bar recommendations. I tested it out on a quiet Tuesday night.
This Is What the World’s Cleanest Martini Tastes Like
London bartender Joe Petch’s martini uses vodka from the volcanic springs of Iceland, specially imported ice, and just a few sprays of Lillet Blanc vermouth. “Clean water is essential for clean-tasting spirit,” he says.
This Icelandic Chef Is Cooking with Yellow Snow
Agnar Sverrisson's “snow” is made by boiling goat cheese and whipping until fluffy. It looks exactly like the newly fallen powder you pray will fall overnight on Alpine slopes, and is served with wood sorrel and English asparagus.
London’s Master Shucker Says We’ve Been Eating Oysters All Wrong
Helio Garzon, shucker at famed oyster bar Bentley’s, has strong opinions on the traditional method of gulping the shellfish whole: “Just press it with your tongue. If you swallow it straight down and there’s a bit of shell loose, it’s too late.” He’s...
This Cocktail Tastes Like Hammersmith
One bartender is attempting to capture the flavors of London in a series of wild cocktails.
This Lancashire Sheep's Milk Cheese Might Be Better Than Feta
Grandma Singletons dairy is the UK’s largest sheep’s milk cheesemaker, producing around 60 tonnes of the stuff every year. Their speciality is Parlick Fell, a pure ewe’s milk cheese that tastes like a sweeter, creamier feta.