Category: Jonathan

My favourite cake has got to be black forest gateau, mainly because of the contrast between the chocolate and the slightly sour cherry. I first ate it in the spa resort of Baden Baden in south west Germany, and felt far better after one slice of it than after drinking the spa water! I...

I was in Luxembourg this week, staying in the very modern Albert Premier hotel near the old town. It was the kind of hotel where anything you touch adds considerably to the bill, so I decided not to risk eating in the restaurant. Instead I had a walk round the...

Last week I was in Munich with work, staying at the Arabella Sheraton hotel just outside the centre. The bar is quite small, probably meant for drinks prior to eating in the restaurant. Sipping a cool Paulaner pils, I checked out the fairly limited food menu anyway and saw dim sum, which was just what I felt...

I was intrigued by Madsen’s article on home cooking. Whilst I quite like the six dishes listed (except for mashed potato), it doesn’t take much effort to make them more exciting. One dish I make quite frequently is a simplified version of coq au vin, and it takes less than ten minutes. I...

On my second night in Vienna I strolled down the road from my hotel near the Opera House to Maredo. It’s a restaurant chain I have seen in Germany, but never been in. I’d perhaps describe it as an informal steak house, and this one was very large and almost full. I...

I was in Vienna last week with work, staying at the Meridien hotel just opposite the Opera house. I arrived late and checked out the bar for dinner, but it was drinks only and empty. Rather than go out again I settled on the hotel restaurant ‘Shambal’. In contrast to the exterior, the hotel was...

The plum and walnut crumble looked good in my recipe book, so I decided to give it a try never having made a crumble before. I took 75g of ready-shelled walnuts and crisped them in the oven at 180 degrees for about ten minutes. I then destoned and halved eight plums and put...

I had intended to buy pizza for a quick lunch, but came across this ready-made tarte flambée in my local supermarket and decided to give it a try instead. It’s a traditional dish from the Alsace region of France, and in a resturant would be cooked in a flaming oven for one to...

I was recently given a cookbook called “1000 recipes” by Martha Day, and thought the Easter weekend would be ideal to try a few out. I started with a simple tomato and mozzarella bake, adapting the recipe to what I had in the kitchen. I chopped six tomatoes into thickish slices, eight...

I was in another Hilton hotel bar this week, this time in the old town area of Budapest. There was a surprisingly small dinner menu to choose from, namely a Hilton burger with fries, a club sandwich and chicken or prawn caesar salad. As they all cost the same and I was quite...