THE DISHES I COOK
Quite often I am asked what sort of food I cook. After all how would you know what to expect from one of my pop-ups? It’s the leap of faith presented by cooking without recipes and which I write about in my book. I often genuinely don’t know exactly what I am making until finally [...]
THE DARK DANGERS OF THE BAKER BOYS
It’s a new year and everyone’s banging on about diets. So Channel 4 launches a new pie and pudding banquet. Putting aside the fact that the recent arrival of the ‘We are the Fabulous’ Baker Brothers on Channel 4 pushes me yet another two posh boys further away from telly land. Is this really the [...]
COOKING WITHOUT RECIPES IN TELEGRAPH TOP 10
ISLINGTON BARN
Islington Barn is a one stop shop for Christmas. Here you can order your turkey, buy books gifts and order your food to be delivered to your door. Come and join us for some kids theatre, mulled wine or book a night at the PipsDish Pop Up Christmas Barn Dinners.
PIPSDISH BARN SUPPERS
For those of you who enjoyed the PipsDish pop-up restaurant at The Marquess Tavern, the good news is that PipsDish is returning to Islington with a series of dates in an unusuak location for something rather sparkling over the festive period. Once again, working with my partners at Farm Direct, we’ve transformed an old Citroen [...]
PHEASANT WITH BREAD SAUCE
The season for pot roasted pheasant
I suppose one of the main influences that inspired me to write Cooking without Recipes was the seemingly natural instinct my mother had in the kitchen, as she moved effortlessly around her Aga, her sleeves rolled up, barking orders to a young boy standing on a stool, to wash dishes or peel vegetables. Sometimes I [...]
PIPSDISH AT THE MARQUESS TAVERN
These have been three exciting weeks for many reasons. First and foremost, I’ve been given the great privilege by my friends at The Marquess Tavern in Canonbury of using their kitchen and elegant restaurant for my PipsDish pop-up. The reason this is so generous is that as a successful gastro-pub, The Marquess has it’s own [...]
TASTE OF THE CITY – MALTBY ST
(Taken from South London Press) There has always been a strong habit and energy for market shopping all over South London. Every year a few stalls pop up somewhere or a farmer’s market locates in a new area, from Croydon to Oval and Brixton to Greenwich. The art of hunting for the best ingredients, from [...]
PIPSDISH POP UP
PipsDish Pop Up @ The Marquess Tavern, 32 Canonbury St, Islington, London N1 2TB 14 September – 1 October Weds, Thurs, Fri, Sat @8pm As I progress my culinary adventures, learning about new ingredients and cooking for new audiences from Edinburgh to Brussels and Barcelona to London, I’m running a pop-up London restaurant, taking over [...]
NEAL’S YARD CHEESE
Always do as you please, and send everybody to Hell, and take the consequences. Damned good rule of life. N This was the advice given to Elizabeth David by her good friend and mentor, the writer Norman Douglas. Certainly taking on the stodge of British culinary traditions after the war was a bold endeavour. Particularly [...]
TASTE OF THE CITY – BLACKHEATH
(Taken from South London Press) Today the once, bleak and blasted Blackheath is the perfect spot for a summer picnic or a windy walk. The wide open spaces make this the ideal place for dogs, kites and kids. And there are some excellent finds for foodies on the search for new and interesting culinary experiences. [...]
TASTE OF THE CITY – CAMBERWELL
(Taken from South London Press) Like many of south London’s grand suburban junctions, with main routes in all directions, Camberwell is a hugger-mugger of people, cultures and cuisines. Certainly arriving in the hectic streets around the Green you could be forgiven for passing through without stopping to explore. But you might just be surprised by [...]
NEW WRITING: JAMES RAMSDEN AND VANESSA KIMBELL
books and their cooks
Summer’s been slow in coming this year. None of the seasonal heatwave, flip-flops and shorts I’ve been patiently waiting for. Which is a bore because I’d like to have got into our little garden and done some damage to the kiwi vine that seems to be taking over the roof. Still it’s been a busy [...]
REVIVING THE SALAD
Tossing ingenuity and flair in your salad bowl
You can really let your imagination loose on salads. You can compose anything you want, from recreating a standard hot dish as a salad to combining the bizarre and the sublime in hitherto unknown combinations.
‘TROUBLE’ BY LYNNE REES
This month's guest writer
I learnt the secret of a good Bolognese sauce from a man who looked like George Best. It was 1979. I met him at the bar of Lord’s Discotheque in St. Helier, Jersey . He said his name was Joe, that he drove tourist coaches for a living and he came from Argentina . I [...]
‘MAKING CAKE’ BY JASMINE GARTNER
This month's Tell Your Story is from my good friend Jasmine Gartner who makes the most fabulous macaroons
Ask me to create something in the kitchen that entails sticking precisely to a recipe, and I can’t help but improvise. I’m the kind of person who thinks a “pinch,” a “handful,” and “until it looks right” are actual measurements. My sister, Marieke, on the other hand, is a scientist in the kitchen. Everything she makes a second time reliably turns out the way it did the first time
HOW TO EAT CHEESE
Review of Androuet at Spitalfields Market
Cheese is like wine, so much is it an expression of the combination of where it comes from, the natural and human processes it undergoes, the maturation and ultimately the circumstances under which it is relished by the human palate. And no-one has enthused me with such passion for this noble product more than Alexandre Guarneri, the owner of Androuet in Spitalfields Market.
MAKING HAGGIS FOR BURNS’ NIGHT
As Burns’ Night comes round again, the wheels of the Haggis industry turn fast and furious. Orders at home and from around the world need to be met. Burns Suppers are held from Bergen to Sau Paulo and the ‘ great chieftan o’ the puddin’ race’ is after all the most important guest.Where normally the [...]
PUY LENTIL DAL AND CHARD
A quick and easy recipe for using puy lentils with a bit of spice
‘NEW COOK’ BY BHUPEN THAKKER
From time to time, Pips Dish will publish articles and posts from guest writers. New Cook is an excerpt from “New Gandhi, New Krishna, New Princess and 3 others” by Bhupen Thakker. I think the first point for life, for me, is “being grateful”. I like that feeling of positivity when I think of the [...]
LATE SUMMER WINES
Three top drops for your table
I don’t know much about wine, except what I like. And that I like to cook with it. This page is to showcase and recommend the wines I’m drinking at the moment and am introduced to by those who know much more than I do. This month, I am dedicating this page to my late [...]
GINGER AND CORIANDER BEEF STIR-FRY
In a pestle and mortar pound fresh chopped ginger, soy sauce, garlic, lime juice, green peppercorns, sliced red chilli and chopped fresh coriander. Cut a fillet steak into thin strips and marinate in this mixture for an hour. Before cooking, remove meat from sauce and pat dry. Stir fry quickly in a hot wok in [...]
SILVERSIDE WITH RED CABBAGE
Roast Silverside with Red Cabbage Silverside isn’t always the finest cut so responds well to the added flavours of the mixture of thyme, lime juice and honey you coat it with. Roast the joint rare and when it’s done add some red wine to the roasting pan and reduce the liquid for gravy. While the beef [...]
PERFECT SUMMER PICNICS
Picnics, summer pudding and skinny dipping
A picnic should be organised like any other meal; with timing, balance, poise and companionable guests. And given the potential style of a picnic, an eye for detail.The flavours, textures and colours of the experience need to match the perfection of our natural surroundings.
COOKING VEGETABLES
Great recipes for cooking vegetables
For years, the poor vegetarian has been relegated to meatless lasagne and risotto, never allowed to move beyond goat cheese tartlets. Exercise aplomb and a pioneering spirit in your culinary matchmaking. Go for things you don’t recognise or haven’t had before. There is always a literal cornucopia of new and interesting contenders.




Follow me on Twitter
Facebook me
Updates by RSS