Every once in a very long while, one has a meal so truly memorable that you don’t think it can ever be surpassed. This grand family dinner was enjoyed at The Old Vicarage restaurant in the bucolic Derbyshire village of Ridgeway.
Continue reading “A SUBLIME EXPERIENCE”
Helen Keller once remarked, “Alone we can do so little. Together we can do so much.” That’s what our wine scribe Jim Walker thought when he decided to take on a partner.
Continue reading “A PARTICULARLY PERNICIOUS PARTNERSHIP”
A trifle is to be the official pudding for the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee after winning a UK competition to find a new dessert, beating out my brilliant Jubilee Mess.
Continue reading “YOU CAN’T WIN ‘EM ALL!”
Nope! This is not an advice column about your romantic status. It’s the story of how I decided I needed a new career and came up with the idea of becoming a screenwriter.
Continue reading “KEY TO LOVE”
Monkfish fillets freeze well, so I always have some on hand for an emergency. Today we have unexpected guests and I’m going to offer them this tender fish that tastes a bit like lobster, with no fishy taste. It’s perfect for those who don’t really like fish.
Continue reading “MARVELLOUS MONKFISH”
On St. George’s Day, a holiday in Newfoundland, let’s reflect on the island’s heritage and some iconic images from The Rock, including John Cabot’s ship, The Matthew, cod and fish cakes.
Continue reading “CELEBRATING THE ROCK”
There are those who think that a wine agent’s life is a great big bowl of cherries – slurping the finest wines, visiting exotic locales and dining in utter splendor. But nature loves symmetry. So, to even things out, she sent us the Liquor Control Board of Ontario. Jim Walker, our wine scribe tells us about the joys of picking up his wine from the LCBO warehouse in Toronto.
Continue reading “SITTIN’ ON THE DOCK OF THE … LCBO WAREHOUSE”
Three (out of four) of the most important women in my life are Aries, the Zodiac’s sign of the ram, with birthdays in April.
Continue reading “MY ARIES LADIES”
If the Brits can put bangers in Yorkshire pudding and call it toad-in-the-hole what shall I call green veggies in Yorkshire pudding? Frog-in-the-hole?
Continue reading “A BETTER BATTER DISH”
Half a century ago my folks upped sticks from fashionable London and decamped to then unfashionable Gran Canaria in the Spanish autonomous region of the Canary Islands. The food was delectable.
Continue reading “SPAIN’S SPICY SALTY SPUDS”
Gentlemans Portion 