Food and Drink

By Jonathan Hatchman, Food Editor, @TLE_Food Strength: 5.6% Brewed: Akureyi, Iceland Named after the Icelandic word for “unique” – Einstök Brewery is located within the fishing port of Akureyi, 60 miles south of the Arctic Circle. Boasting some of the Earth’s purest water, which flows from rain and prehistoric glaciers through the Hlíðarfjall Mountain and ancient lava fields, thus allowing the brewery to craft some truly brilliant beers. Three beers currently make up their core range, including a truly remarkable white ale, an...

"Gourmet burgers have become a gluttonous overabundance", I wrote in an editorial back in February calling for restaurants to do the basic ingredients well rather than shove a basket of deep fried junk in a bun. But if you are faced with a significant dismantling job, we may have the perfect solution for you. A mind-boggling maze of burger ingredients which features just one solitary gherkin has been released on the web by on demand restaurant delivery service www.deliveroo.co.uk. The puzzle,...

By Jonathan Hatchman, Food Editor, @TLE_Food At the start of 2012, a young chef named Ollie Dabbous opened his first solo restaurant, having previously worked in the kitchens of Raymond Blanc’s Le Manoir aux Quat'Saisons, and Texture. Following some rave reviews alongside a swathe of excitement, the small Fitzrovia restaurant became an almost instant success, with tables virtually impossible to book - whereas four years later, in the present day, London’s foodie elite would be queuing the entire length of...

There are some 9,000 ‘curry’ restaurants in Britain, yet 99 per cent of them are cut from the same cloth. The Balti of Birmingham, the Tikka Masala of Glasgow and the onslaught of other salty, creamy dishes acting under the guise of ‘Indian food’ have created a unique Anglo-Indian style far removed from its country of origin, but that could be about to change. Britain is facing an unprecedented curry crisis as ageing chefs shut up shop at a rate...

If you ever want to get a taste of the vibrant multiculturalism in London, take a stroll down the backstreets of Covent Garden. Along New Row approaching St Martin’s Lane there is a French Asian bakery, Thai and Jamaican restaurants and then Italian and Egyptian street food alongside Greek and Indian eateries within a stone’s throw of each other. The West End is a microcosm of the cultural hot pot that is London, which makes it a food-lover’s dream. Murakami...

By Jonathan Hatchman, Food Editor, @TLE_Food Heavily inspired by family tradition, R&B Distillers launched two brand new whiskies at the end of last year, setting the blueprint for what’s to expect from an ongoing project to build not one, but two new distilleries. Co-founder Alasdair Day’s great-Grandfather was a master blender in the Scottish Borders during the 19th century, and his other great-Grandfather hailed from the Hebrides, thus prompting the decision to build distilleries at these twin roots in the...

A highlight from the north London brewery's core range.

By Jonathan Hatchman, Food Editor, @TLE_Food It’s no secret that Paris is generally regarded as the fine dining capital of the Universe. With thousands of restaurants, brasseries, and patisseries located across the French capital, boasting a selection of both classic and contemporary examples of the type of French cooking that has become so universally renowned. However, a tired stereotype often accompanies the notion of French gastronomy here in the UK, with grand expectations of stuffy dining rooms with over-starched table...

Around £1 in every £4 spent on beer in London now goes to a "super-premium" brand, according to Miller Brands. Defined as beer that has a clearly defined and understood provenance, authenticity and brand story and costs £4.15 per pint or higher, super-premium brands have corned a massive 25 per cent of the London beer market. Peroni Nastro Azzurro is the UK's number on super-premium beer, with Pilsner Urquell and Kozel also building a head of steam registering a double-digit revenue growth in...