Covid caution dampens the heady promises of ‘freedom day’
Customers remain hesitant as lockdown habits and the prospect of crowded venues put people off going outCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageStatistics suggest that very little...
View ArticleAll the butter: how chefs are transforming the world’s greatest spread
Once neglected in favour of supposedly healthier products or mass-produced substitutes, butter is back, and better than ever, thanks to chefs who are adding bone marrow, chocolate and churning their...
View ArticleNottingham restaurant Escobar accused of ‘glamourising drug lords’
Labour MP contacted by concerned residents including a relative of alleged victims of Pablo EscobarA South American-themed restaurant called Escobar has been accused by an MP of “glamourising drug...
View ArticleBurnt Orange, Brighton: ‘Delivers on its smoky promise’ – restaurant review
Heat-blistered dishes raise the temperature at Burnt Orange in BrightonBurnt Orange, 59 Middle Street, Brighton, East Sussex BN1 1AL (01273 929923). Starters £4-£10, mains £8-£19, desserts £4-£7, wines...
View ArticleWendy’s burger chain to open string of UK delivery kitchens
US chain pushes ahead with return to UK after opening Reading store, with plans for up to 10 kitchens this yearThe American burger chain Wendy’s is to open a string of “dark kitchens” in the UK to...
View ArticleWhy are restaurants’ cheapest bottles of wine becoming so expensive?
Wine lists shouldn’t be terrifying but too often they make me feel like a second-class citizenIn matters of wine, I am not Withnail. I do not crave “the finest wines available to humanity”. I merely...
View ArticleFred Sirieix: ‘I was training to be a chef, but I thought it would kill my soul’
The First Dates star and maître d’ on what his parents taught him about service, the value of hospitality and his pride in his Olympian daughterI was born in food. My dad used to say: “We don’t have...
View ArticleLondon’s cafe culture has left a sour taste for stressed residents
Licensing outdoor seats saved countless jobs but brings noise and antisocial behaviourContinental Europe has come to the UK – at least when the sun shines. In towns and cities all over the country,...
View ArticleThe Polo Lounge at the Dorchester Hotel: ‘Dismal food at inexplicable prices’...
A Park Lane pop-up produces an eye-popping dinner53 Park Lane, London W1K 1QA (020 7629 8888). Starters £16-£42, mains £32-£135, desserts £16-£20, wines from £84Editors don’t send their journalists to...
View ArticleCan hospitality’s recruitment crisis ever be fixed?
Brexit and Covid have exacerbated a problem that has been building for years. But some restaurants are trying to attract and keep staff by changing the culture of the industryWhen Danny first entered...
View ArticleKitchen sorcery: lunch with Britain’s best chef
Clare Smyth has three Michelin stars, and cooked for Harry and Meghan’s wedding. Her mission? To make the humble magicalWhen Clare Smyth first looked round the premises of her restaurant, Core, she had...
View ArticleWelcome to August’s Observer Food Monthly
Our special restaurants issue brings back memories of my own happy, exhausting years working in the industryAll I ever wanted was to feed people; to bring them something good to eat, to offer a drink;...
View ArticleKitchen porter, commis chef, novelist: how working in restaurants shaped my...
The author of the acclaimed debut novel Moth tells how hard graft in the kitchen prepared her for the world of literatureYou hear about the shouting, the “oui chef”, “non chef”, the “behind you!”, the...
View ArticleThe Delicacy by James Albon review – razor-sharp restaurant world parable
Two ambitious brothers are driven to despair by the pressures of the kitchen in a vivid, shrewdly observed satire of fine diningJames Albon’s new graphic novel, The Delicacy, is not one to be read just...
View ArticleNando’s forced to shut outlets through Covid-related shortages
Chicken restaurant chain says it expects closures to be temporary as it seconds staff to suppliersCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coveragePeri-peri chicken wings have become the...
View ArticleNorth of England restaurants dominate UK awards
Region has four of the top five venues as scene proves more resilient to pandemic than London’sThe northern food scene has proved more resilient throughout the pandemic than London’s, contributing to a...
View Article‘We need to stop talking about jollof rice’: Lagos chef aims to ‘conjure...
Michael Elégbèdé doesn’t just break from western ideas of fine dining, but aims to revive a deeper appreciation of Nigerian food among Nigerians, tooAfter wine and canapes on a patio overlooking...
View ArticleKurisu Omakase at Ichiban Sushi, London: ‘It is both dinner and theatre’ –...
London’s top sushi chefs are fighting to book a precious seat to see what this young man is doing in BrixtonKurisu Omakase at Ichiban Sushi, 58A Atlantic Road, London SW9 8PY. All bookings announced on...
View ArticleThe Guardian view on chefs: underpaid, overworked and in demand | Editorial
An acute shortage of staff offers an incentive to improve a stressful working cultureWhite Heat, by Marco Pierre White, is one of the most influential recipe books of the past 30 years. Published in...
View ArticleBoiling Point review – Stephen Graham bubbles in one-shot restaurant drama
This year’s Karlovy Vary saw the premiere of a dizzying single-take drama featuring a potent lead performance from Graham as a chef enduring a nightmarish eveningPhilip Barantini serves up a...
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