There are now several burger restaurants in Walthamstow, Leyton and North East London. Last week we visited Uptown Burger Co on Leyton High Road. There were slim pickings of restaurants in Leyton and Walthamstow when I moved here from Shepherds Bush over ten years ago. Post Olympics, Waltham Forest feels less of an opposite to West London and […]
ALL Accor hotels loyalty card and Suite Novotel Calais
We used our Le Club Accor hotels loyalty card to book our stay at Suite Novotel Calais – amongst the nearest hotels to Calais Coquelles Eurotunnel terminal and Cite Europe shopping complex. When you exit the Eurotunnel terminal in Calais Coquelles, the nearest hotels are at the Accor complex on Place du Cantorbery opposite Cite Europe […]
A Pizzeria Made From Ice
You’ve probably heard of ice hotels but did you ever see an ice pizzeria? For one day only a pizzeria made out of four tonnes of ice opened outside a London railway station and you too can see how it was done. The short video below shows sculptors working through the night to craft an […]
Baked Eggs with Avocado
Here’s an easy to make non spicy version of Huevos Rancheros (Spanish Eggs recipe) with avocado that’s the perfect family brunch recipe. I don’t like to brag. But we had this for breakfast on Saturday. I am not usually one for “brunch”, generally I have had breakfast way earlier than anything approaching lunchtime but when […]
The Hundred Foot Journey: Everyman Immersive Event
Our tastebuds are always a satisfying way to travel and this week mine were transported from France to India via Islington at an “immersive screening” of The Hundred Foot Journey. The film, starring Helen Mirren, falls within one of my favourite cinematic sub-genres: English language films set in France. Better still, it’s a film focussed on food which […]
Thai Turkey Curry Quick One Pan Dinner
Here’s a quick family dinner for Thai turkey curry that you can make inside ten minutes. It uses ready cooked roast turkey chunks by Bernard Matthews, sponsors of this recipe video. Thai turkey curry is a regular supper in our house and I make lots of variations. The three core ingredients are always a can […]
Chocolate Easter Cupcakes with Mini Egg Nests
These sticky Chocolate Easter Cupcakes with Mini Egg Nests look fantastic and are really easy to make – with vanilla sponge bases topped with classic chocolate cornflake crispy nests, there’s no need to make buttercream. Dotted with mini chocolate eggs, they’re a springtime treat perfect for bake sales and school fundraising. Updated 2026 · Originally […]
Meringue Nests with Quark Chocolate Mousse
These easy meringue nests are an emergency Easter dessert you can make in minutes. Just two ingredients plus ready made meringue nests plus some egg shaped chocolates. An optional extra ingredient is the crumbled speculoos biscuits although you could use any kind of crushed biscuits or cake sprinkles instead. Updated 2026 · Originally commissioned by […]
12 chocolate layer cakes: We Should Cocoa piles on the layers
If you are looking for a chocolate cake show stopper this Easter here is a run down of all the chocolate layer cakes submitted to this month’s We Should Cocoa. Have you enjoyed my layer cakes this month? I’ve done four chocolate layer cakes since March 1st and the diminutive six inch three layer cake […]
Creme egg goodies, hot cross buns, Bake of the Week round up and linky time
There’s a wide variety in this week’s #BAKEoftheWEEK ranging from Easter themed goodies to savoury dinners. If you bake something this week – and we’re loose enough to accept things that are baked in slow cookers – you can submit it via the linky widget below to appear in next week’s round up. We are […]
Easter Chocolate Praline Layer Cake
Here’s a little chocolate show stopper for Easter – a chocolate layer cake topped with yummy praline Easter bunnies, chicks, ducks and eggs. Updated 2026 · Originally commissioned by The Co-operative Today’s post is a commission from The Co-operative and it was a handy stop off after the school run to pop in and grab […]
St Patrick’s Day Shamrock Cupcakes
Here’s a super fast cupcake decorating idea for St Patrick’s Day and all you need is a small heart cutter and some green sugar paste. To bake these cupcakes you can use the sponge recipe in my chocolate chestnut layer cake (should be enough for a generous dozen large cupcakes) and the same icing recipe […]
