– With Dr Susan Merrell
I admit to not knowing much about Bologna in northern Italy – until recently that is. I knew that Spaghetti Bolognaise was probably named such because it was from Bologna and that was about the sum total of my knowledge. As it turns out, the citizens of Bologna don’t use spaghetti in their cooking – […]
Firstly, I should say that I love Nespresso. The convenience and ease of making a decent brew that this system affords, means never having to drink instant coffee ever again – and that has to be a good thing. However, in my opinion, their marketing and sales strategy leaves a lot to be desired. They […]
It was around seven years ago that I first discovered Arles. I was on a train from the Languedoc in south west France to the Cote D’Azur (The Riviera) in the south east to meet my brother at Cannes, where the annual film festival was in progress. One of the stops along the way – […]
Some people consider that a hotel is just somewhere to sleep and if it’s clean and the bed’s OK, then it’s OK – I’m not one of those. I’ve never been too good at roughing it for the sake of frugality alone. Having said that, I also have champagne taste on a beer budget…well… not […]
The eighteenth century epicurean and food writer, Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin called them ‘diamonds of the kitchen’ and given that nowadays their cost can exceed $2500 per kilo, it’s an apt description. Truffles are edible, mushroom-like tubers that grow on the roots of trees – notably the Oak, Birch, hazelnut, pine and poplar tree – they […]
