Jamon, Jamon (and Vino, Vino): Brindisa Workshop Report Joan Alcock Brindisa, The Floral Hall, Stoney Street, Borough Market, London SE1 9AF 30 March, 2012 As the Guild of Food Writers gathered outside Brindisa, we were greeted with an apology that Spanish hours prevailed and we would be a little late that evening, but soon we were welcomed in the shop, lined with products of Spain, with

Author: Monisha Bharadwaj   I was intrigued when I heard of this workshop and signed up immediately. I know the food at the Bombay Brasserie well and was keen to learn about beers, beyond the usual Kingfisher and Cobra that would be paired with it. It has been the personal experience of many of my colleagues from the food industry that it can be rather tricky matching wines and beers with

Author: Susan Fleming Photographs: Joan Ransley On 13 December, Sainsbury’s head office demonstration kitchen was the venue for the most ebullient of workshops for many a year. After retro canapés and drinks, and introductions by Joan Ransley, workshop co-ordinator, and Susi Richards, Sainsbury’s head of product development, we met the star of the evening, Jenny

Back in Fashion Again Author: Samantha Kilgour Photographs: Joan Ransley The Hospital Club in Covent Garden provided a superb venue for last November’s joint Guild of Food Writers/Circle of Wine Writers Gin Tasting workshop. Those members lucky enough to attend enjoyed an evening that was both convivial and educational: presentations from representatives of the eight gins that were

Author: Katie Caldesi I was thrilled to share an evening with Lindy in the events tent at the Charcuterie Festival on Southbank in October. I have always been fascinated by the process of curing since visiting a factory producing Prosciutto di Parma a few years ago. Enjoying a glass of Lambrusco (something that brought back happy memories of Lindy’s former life in Italy) we pondered the

Jane Suthering This was an opportunity too good to miss: a chance to taste some of the finest chocolates in the warm-up to Chocolate Week. The audience: described by Sarah Jane Evans as she started the evening’s proceedings as like a ‘school reunion’. Lots of friends, some not seen for ages as well as keen new members, all with a common delight in chocolate and a desire to

Alison Lowe We met in momentous surroundings: not just Portcullis House, but the room in which someone threw a custard pie at Rupert Murdoch! The precedent didn’t seem to bother the speakers: Sophie Bambridge, Andrew Opie, and journalists Zoe Williams, Tim Hayward, and Alex Renton. Under the skilled direction of moderator Sheila Dillon, star of Radio 4's Food Programme, they gave us an

By Angela Nilsen If you moved to another country, what would you miss most? For many of us it’s nostalgic foods that remind us of home. When Scandinavian born Jonas Aurell and Brontë Blomhøj arrived in London, they missed so many of their familiar foods, such as pickled herrings, liver pâté and crisp rye breads, that they were food inspired, four years ago, to set

La Cucina Caldesi, 24 May 2011 Jenny Linford The prospect of exploring ‘The Hidden Food of Italy’ in company of Katie and Giancarlo Caldesi of La Cucina Caldesi, the restaurant and Italian cookery school in London, proved a tempting one. Small wonder that this workshop sold out so quickly. As promised, the evening did indeed offer a fascinating insight into the culinary