Food & Drink.

FEATURED

Selwyn House.

From their workshop in rural Northamptonshire, woodworkers Sean Best and Ellie Smalls create handmade wooden tableware for the modern home. Using exclusively British-grown timbers, their designs have a minimal, modern-yet-rustic aesthetic […]

Botivo aperitivo bottle yellow cap dark bottle label close-up

DRINK

Botivo

Botivo is a non-alcoholic in the style of Italian aperitivo classics such as Campari and Aperol. Despite the name, Botivo is actually not Italian, but hand-blended in small batches on Lannock Farm in Hertfordshire.

Boeuf Bourguignon-homme

One-pot cooking is apparently back in fashion, so you'll be "On-trend" with this British blokey interpretation of the French classic Boeuf Bourguignon. The recipe is really very simple, but does require a little planning.

GEAR

Laguiole Sommelier Knife

Uncorking a bottle of wine is a moment of celebration for what you're about to enjoy. Sommeliers understand this, and take the opportunity to add to the theatre of drawing the cork from the bottle by wielding a sommelier knife with panache.

RECIPE

Very Spicy Octopus Pasta

Inspired by Italian chefs' speed and simplicity, this slow-cooking enthusiast has discovered the art of transforming quality tinned fish into quick, few-ingredient pasta perfection.

GEAR

Stanley Classic Flask

Campfire stories, followed by a good night's sleep, are guaranteed on a camping trip with a shot of whisky from your flask. The Classic Stanley Flask is perfect for such occasions.

COOKWARE

Falcon Enamelware

Falcon Enamelware is a British icon; it's bacon and eggs, strawberries and cream, striped deck chairs, knotted hankies on head, warm beer, picnics, summer fêtes, baking and queuing.

COOKWARE

Le Creuset Cocotte

When Armand Desaegher, a metal casting specialist, and Octave Aubecq, an expert enamelist, met at the 1924 Belgium Fair, they decided to set up a business together making cookware.

DRINK

Skeppshult Pestle & Mortar

Swedish company Skeppshult (pronounced “hep-salt”) has been making cast iron products by hand since 1906. Its contemporary square pestle and mortar has a robust simplicity of design, while the pestle’s walnut handle is incredibly tactile — perfect for pounding your dry pan-warmed peppercorns to make cacio e pepe.

COOKWARE

Suntory Hibiki 17 Years Old

The Suntory distillery was founded in 1923, by Shinjiro Torii. It is located in Yamasaki, Kyoto, a mountainous area which produces some of the purest water in Japan, filtered through the granite mountain rock for hundreds of years.

More Stories from Food & Drink.

DESIGN

Bialetti Espress

The Bialetti Moka Espress coffee maker hasn't changed since Alfonso Bialetti (grandfather of Alberto Alessi) designed it in 1933. Its simple form and function have given it iconic status, and global recognition.

Unpotted Brown Shrimp

Brown shrimps are a seasonal shellfish that is locally-abundant on the shores of the North West. Food copywriter and friend of the obsessive, Lyssa Price, shares this simple and delicious recipe.

TABLEWARE

Apilco Bistro Ware

The Apilco range is produced by Deshoulières in Limoges. Deshoulières was founded in 1826, and like so many French companies is exceptionally proud that everything they produce is 100% French.

COOKWARE

Le Pentole

Designed by the Italian Niki Sala in 1979 for Studio Progettazione ICM, Le Pentole pans are of such a high quality that they're virtually indestructible. These pans are amazing to cook with, and beautiful too.

DRINK

Negroni

The origin story or stories for this simple clever cocktail are, as usual, not to be taken too seriously. The fact is, who really cares who invented it? We’re just happy that someone did.

DRINK

Monmouth Coffee

It’s a strange feeling, being photographed by amused French and Italian tourists, as you queue outside this tiny Covent Garden coffee shop. To Europeans, and particularly the Italians, good coffee is a human right.

Crab Pasta

My paternal grandfather was born in Tottenham, London, but raised in Australia. He had a pretty tough childhood, and would regularly literally have to catch his dinner.

REVIEW

Aperitivo & Cicchetti

Wherever you choose to take your early evening drink or cocktail, it’s best to enjoy a tasty snack with it. Aperitivo with cicchetti involves small plates that must be easy to consume. Just pick it up with your hands and pop it in your mouth—two bites max.

OUTDOORS

Snow Peak Fire Pit

The Snow Peak fireplace is an excellent example of a beautifully designed and built piece of outdoors equipment. Its perfect form and function, combined with ease of use, will make you wonder how you coped before you owned it.

DRINK

Mariage Frères' Thé

In 1660, Nicolas and Pierre Mariage were sent by the royal court of Louis XIV to research and sign trade deals with tea producers in the east. This initial trip created a tea dynasty made up of members of the Mariage family and, in 1843, they established a tea wholesale business

Old Fashioned Whiskey tumbler glass orange slice

DRINK

Old Fashioned

This cocktail is a little devil of a drink. The “Old Fashioned” is arguably the simplest, most basic version of the whisky cocktail. Born during Prohibition, when bartenders masked rough-cut spirits with sugar and bitters, it transformed constraint into an enduring mixology icon.

KITCHEN

Chambly Flatware

The Chambly baguette flatware range in stainless steel is a masterpiece of European design. Substantial, yet light and usable, and, like so many mass-produced products from France, it's elegant and immensely functional.

Rigatoni alla gricia

Pepe e cacio is a classic but if you fancy an upgrade it’s time to welcome Roman newcomer alla gricia. This is, of course, not a newcomer at all, with its origins allegedly in the portable pantries of shepherds in the Amatrice hills of Lazio, hence its moniker “Amatriciana Bianco”.

DRINK

Martini

The drinks world has gone a little Martini-mad of late, applying the word ‘Martini' or the suffix ‘tini' to almost any concoction. We always looks for the authentic original version, - the classic 1922 recipe, with a gin-to-vermouth ratio of 2:1 and the simple addition of a lemon twist or olive.

MAGAZINES

Noble Rot

Noble Rot is a contemporary quarterly magazine offering oenophiles and the wine-curious a refreshing, irreverent perspective on wine (and food) culture. Founders Dan Keeling and Mark Andrew also run three critically acclaimed Noble Rot London restaurants, so they know this world intimately.

TABLEWARE

Duodji

The Duodji is the traditional cup of the Sami people from Lapland. These beautiful cups are hand-carved from the burl of a birch tree. They have a natural aesthetic that only handmade craft objects can achieve. They're also exceedingly tactile, and practical too.

Mojito cocktail tumbler glass mint ice cubes

DRINK

Mojito

When Sir Francis Drake landed in Havana, he knew locals had remedies for many diseases, a small party went ashore. They returned with the ingredients for a medicine: aguarediente de cana, mint leaves and the juices from sugar cane and limes.

Kelly Kettle outdoors

GEAR

Kelly Kettle

The Kelly kettle was invented in 1890 by the angler, Patrick Kelly. He lived on his small family farm on the shores of Lough Conn, County Mayo, in Ireland, and spent most of his time outdoors, which meant he wanted to be able to make himself a cup of tea in all weathers.

DRINK

Daiquiri

The popular origin theory credits the Daiquiri’s creation to an American mining engineer named Jennings Cox, along with a U.S. Navy medical officer who brought Cox’s recipe from Cuba to Washington, D.C. Needless to say, on arrival in the US, it was a huge hit.

Classic Campari soda bottle glass poured

DRINK

Campari Soda

When Sir Francis Drake landed in Havana, he knew locals had remedies for many diseases, a small party went ashore. They returned with the ingredients for a medicine: aguarediente de cana, mint leaves and the juices from sugar cane and limes.

Whiskey crystal glassware set

GLASSWARE

Whiskey Glassware

Like my grandfather, Whisky is a serious drink. It demands you take a moment to appreciate and respect it. Like smoking a fine cigar. Both demand a ritual and this is when you start to consider what vessel you’re drinking your carefully chosen whisky from.

Manhattan cocktail tall glass cherry

DRINK

Manhattan

As with all cocktails, its origins are questionable, but a good story attached to the Manhattan is that it was created in 1874 for Lady Randolph Churchill (Winston’s mum) at the Manhattan club.

Pulled ray wing with fennel slaw

Ray wing might feel a little niche, but it’s a great fish “gateway” ingredient. With a quick poaching, the flesh flakes away in long juicy strands so it seems to be crying out for the “pulled pork’ treatment – here it’s folded through a tangy barbecue sauce and piled into buns with a sharp, limey slaw.

TABLEWARE

Duralex Picardie

Duralex have been producing tempered glassware from its factory near Orléans since 1945. The Duralex Picardie is as French as a Saint James Breton shirt or a Laulhère beret. They are ubiquitous because they are so good.

EARTHWARE

Classic Diner Mug

Like so many classic designs, the mug was created to answer a military brief. During World War II, the U.S. Navy sent a call out for bids to supply coffee mugs. It had to be durable, heavy and, crucially, not tip over in stormy seas. On top of that, it had to keep your coffee hot for as long as possible. The winning design came from the Victor Insulation Company.