Food and Drink

A restaurant has been fined £50,000 after it continued to use wooden “plates” which could not be cleaned – despite being served with an improvement notice. Ibrahim’s Grill and Steak House was first visited in October 2016 after an alleged food poisoning outbreak affecting a party of 14. The steakhouse, in Acocks Green, Birmingham, was served with improvement notices by officers. A number of issues of concern were found, including a high-level reliance being placed on the use of disposable...

According to research from the University of Warwick, brandy is the UK’s favourite Christmas spirit – beating gin and whisky. Though Christmas has passed, it’s clear that brandy is an ideal (generally under-appreciated) spirit for the colder months at the beginning of the year. This week’s cocktail recipe – the Courvoisier espresso martini - for instance, replaces switches traditional vodka for brandy, bringing a rich sweetness perfectly paired with coffee. Moreover, the drink is incredibly easy to recreate at home. Ingredients...

Of London’s many ills, our capital is plagued with an intolerable toll of bad museum and gallery cafés. Almost every gallery or museum in London is joined by a glorified tea room, many of which are also touted as restaurants in their own right, yet most are magnificently awful. Bucking the trend, however, The Garden Museum (Britain’s only museum dedicated to the art, history and design of gardens) reopened during the summer, as did the affixed Garden Café - open...

An Indian restaurant has been fined more than £20,000 after a customer found a COCKROACH in his pilau rice. Environmental health officers visited the The Maharajah Restaurant in Luton, Beds., after the diner complained about the dead insect, which was buried in his meal. Inspectors from Central Bedfordshire Council found a build-up of dirt, grease and food debris to the pipework throughout the premises. The skirting boards throughout the kitchen were also so thick with grease and dirt that the...

Cadbury have been accused of short changing customers and wasting packaging after selling a variety box of treats – with just EIGHT biscuits inside. Pictures and video posted on social media show one disgruntled customer opening the ‘Cadbury Biscuit Assortment’ after receiving it as a gift. The customer’s wife, who works as a teacher, was given the box by one of her pupils before Christmas. The husband, from Birmingham, who does not want to be named for fear of embarrassing...

Originally founded in Cornwall by Walter Hicks in 1851, St Austell Brewery is still 100 per-cent family owned and renowned for brewing some of the South-West’s most popular beers. In addition to brewing their own beers from a brewery overlooking the bay of St Austell, their Small Batch Brewery builds on the success of a previous micro-brewery, allowing St Austell’s team of brewers to constantly experiment with new flavours and styles. Black Square Russian Imperial Stout, for instance, is a collaborative effort between...

The chef at the centre of a storm over claims she spiked a vegan's food has QUIT her job at the restaurant after receiving death threats. Laura Goodman ranted on Facebook about how she spent hours preparing a special menu for a party of vegan and vegetarian guests at her Italian restaurant. But she lost her rag when one of them ordered a Margherita pizza topped with mozzarella on Saturday night (30/12), which is not vegan-friendly. Italian-born Goodman, 47, then...

Unlike so many fusty, windowless hotel dining rooms we’ve become so accustomed to, Radisson Blu Edwardian’s ‘Kitchen’ restaurants (other than the Michelin feted fine dining temples) are a rare breed that you might actually fancy visiting for dinner, even if you’re not conveniently staying upstairs. Part of the group's Covent Garden hotel, Monmouth Kitchen opened last year, following the success of May Fair Kitchen (sic), followed by Leicester Square Kitchen earlier this year. With its own separate entrance on Monmouth...

Police were called in yesterday (Tue) after a chef received death threats for boasting on Facebook about "spiking" a vegan diner's food - with CHEESE. Italian-born Laura Goodman told how she took her revenge after a group booked a table at her Carlini restaurant on Saturday night (30/12). Goodman claims she "spent hours" preparing a special menu for the party, but lost her rag when one of them ordered a Margarita pizza topped with mozzarella, which is not vegan-friendly. In...