Return to Aldeburgh, Suffolk

I loved Aldeburgh so much when I visited for the first time earlier this year that I immediately booked a return trip. I wanted to stay at The Cross Keys pub again and as they only have three bedrooms, they get booked up very quickly and far in advance. The Cross Keys, apart from being […]

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Two Days in Melton Mowbray

Why go? I went to Melton Mowbray as an extension of my weekend in Stamford as a friend lives there and it seemed an ideal chance to see her, for it was only a 35/40 minute drive away. However, if you talk about Melton Mowbray to anyone in UK, they will immediately think – pork […]

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Stein’s on Staycation

It was a late celebration for my birthday last month. My daughter Nicola couldn’t be with me then due to Covid restrictions (she lives in Worcestershire; I live in London) and this weekend was the first time I’d seen her – and her 2½ year old son Rufus – in over five months. Definitely celebrations […]

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A Gourmet in Lockdown

The coronavirus pandemic brings many challenges. And of course there are many more important things than a gourmet continuing to enjoy their favourite foods. However, a lot of people are finding ways to treat themselves to raise their spirits a bit, and treating myself to some of the gourmet foods I was missing was a […]

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Welcome to a Delivery World

I think the word of the week – other than ‘coronavirus’ of course – is ‘unprecedented’; we are living in unprecedented times. Certainly I’ve never known anything like it – and I’ve been around for a few decades (I have three gorgeous little grandsons now!). Theories abound about how it all started. Politicians and ‘experts’ […]

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Santa Nata – Portuguese Bakery, Covent Garden

It was one of my lovely followers, Rotwein, who recently told me about a new pastéis de nata shop about to open in Covent Garden. When heading into Covent Garden yesterday afternoon to meet my friend Annie at Cinnamon Bazaar, I did a quick online check and it seemed Santa Nata hadn’t yet opened. But […]

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Crockford Bridge Farm, Surrey

I’ve been hearing quite a bit about Crockford Bridge Farm – where local families like to go for Pick Your Own – for some time and picked up a leaflet in Gelateria Danieli recently. The fact that the farm has an ice cream parlour that sells Danieli ice cream said quite a lot about quality […]

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Italian Deli: Prezzemolo & Vitale

Wednesday was my Italian day. Fabio came for my fortnightly Italian lesson and I told him about meeting Lucia that evening at La Mia Mamma. That led to him telling me about Prezzemolo & Vitale, an Italian delicatessen, also in King’s Road, Chelsea. Fabio was enthusiastic about how good it was and as Prezzemolo & […]

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Travel Gourmet’s 5 Quick Fixes in the Kitchen

My attitude to preparing meals is very ‘pure’ in the sense that I never buy ready-made meals, I buy good quality – mostly organic – ingredients and keep things simple; an emphasis on cooking Italian style with just a very few ingredients. When I was a young thing with a young family, I used to […]

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Restaurant Review: Ottolenghi

It’s been so many years since I last went to Ottolenghi that it was pre-blog days – and the blog turned 6 last month! So when Annie suggested we ate there last night before going to the Almeida Theatre, I was really pleased. I’m not sure quite why it’s taken me so long … I’ve […]

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