There is one element of cooking these days that has deteriorated beyond redemption and that is sauce making. There is simply just not...

UDDER GRAND TOURS I recall hearing about food tours for the first time when I read about rich Americans who would traipse around the best...

There was a time when running a restaurant meant you did not have to set a foot outside the front door, a chef or owner could stay in the...

I am all for market stalls where small traders can sell their wares which they have manufactured at home directly to the public with no...

Prawn cocktail will be one of the most popular starters at this of year with the whole world already being prawn crazy. Our appetite is...

I remember family visitors to Ireland asking what we grew or produced in the Boyne valley when I was going to school in the seventies and...

I was talking about careers in the world of food, catering and hospitality to some classes of senior students lately and it was...

I was served a couple of miserable soups lately and its sad sight when they come out presented badly for starters never mind their taste...

It is only when you go upmarket in eating out these days that you will automatically be presented with a basket of bread and some butter....

One piece of equipment essential to any kitchen is decent chopping board. I have several but I have the one big reliable one gifted to me...

With all companies by law now having to disclose their activities that influence the environment and society and how they manage it, the...

Biscuits are something we all take for granted and I am partial to a few favourites myself with a cuppa. They are as popular as ever, you...

There is nothing as classy in dining as having a chef or waiter carve up a joint, fillet a fish or flambé a dessert at your table. It can...

There was some news lately of restaurant staff having to compensate their employers for customers they had served who after eating and...

AVOIDING BANANA SKINS I was listening to the long list of grievances the Italians have about how the rest of the world abuse their sacred...

It is the mantra of food marketing both in shops and restaurants that all natural products have to be as fresh as possible for the...

VAST SUPPER We always get asked in the food world what was our best ever meal we had eaten and most responses are the likes of mega...

I was intrigued when living on the continent how ordinary people were fixated about how they wanted to be in control of their morning...

It is true that there is a trend towards less meat eating across societies and the debate on how we replace the taste and nutrition of...

You may have noticed in the last few years more and more customers bringing laptops to cafes and coffee shops to quietly work away in the...