review Archive

  • Not content with producing a 3-course meal in 30 minutes, Mr Oliver has cut that time in half to bring us his 15-minute meals.  Even with only one course to prepare and cook, 15 minutes is a short amount of time to produce a decent well-cooked and nutritious meal.  So, has Jamie pushed the envelope too far or is his latest a must-buy?

    Book review: Jamies 15-Minute Meals

    Not content with producing a 3-course meal in 30 minutes, Mr Oliver has cut that time in half to bring us his 15-minute meals. Even with only one course to prepare and cook, 15 minutes is a short amount of time to produce a decent well-cooked and nutritious meal. So, has Jamie pushed the envelope too far or is his latest a must-buy?

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  • As with the Cocoa Orange before it, I was fully expecting some kind of better quality After-Eight mint, the tour-de-force in the chocolate/mint confectionary market

    Product review: nakd Cocoa Mint

    As with the Cocoa Orange before it, I was fully expecting some kind of better quality After-Eight mint, the tour-de-force in the chocolate/mint confectionary market

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  • I was looking forward to the nakd Cocoa Orange bar.  It was going to be just like a Terry's Chocolate Orange wasn't it?  And who doesn't like them?  No-one, that's who.

    Product review: nakd Cocoa Orange

    I was looking forward to the nakd Cocoa Orange bar. It was going to be just like a Terry's Chocolate Orange wasn't it? And who doesn't like them? No-one, that's who.

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  • I'm not averse to a supermarket pre-packed sandwich but they can be awfully expensive when compared to say, a local sandwich shop and they're often hit-and-miss with the quality.

    Product review: Sainsbury’s Egg & Bacon Sandwich

    I'm not averse to a supermarket pre-packed sandwich but they can be awfully expensive when compared to say, a local sandwich shop and they're often hit-and-miss with the quality.

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  • There are some constants in life.  Sky is blue (or in England, a kind of dreary grey), grass is green (again, England's is more grey) and Weetabix have produced their unadorned breakfast cereal for what is probably a thousand years.

    Product review: Weetabix baked with Golden Syrup

    There are some constants in life. Sky is blue (or in England, a kind of dreary grey), grass is green (again, England's is more grey) and Weetabix have produced their unadorned breakfast cereal for what is probably a thousand years.

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  • Is ginger man enough to stand up to those dates?

    Product review: nakd Ginger Bread

    Is ginger man enough to stand up to those dates?

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  • After the nakd Berry bar I tried earlier, I was looking forward to this Cashew Cookie

    Product review: nakd Cashew Cookie

    After the nakd Berry bar I tried earlier, I was looking forward to this Cashew Cookie

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  • Who'd have thought it?  How can marinating raisin and sultana's in a natural cola infusion work?  Well, it does.  Nakd, that make-glorious company who were on the receiving end of a very positive review for their Berry bar, have now released a new range of flavours to tempt us into their all-natural universe of other-worldly goodness.

    Product review: nakd Crazy Cola Raisins

    Who'd have thought it? How can marinating raisin and sultana's in a natural cola infusion work? Well, it does. Nakd, that make-glorious company who were on the receiving end of a very positive review for their Berry bar, have now released a new range of flavours to tempt us into their all-natural universe of other-worldly goodness.

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  • Don't they say that Yorkshire folk are the most welcoming in the World?  If that's the case, someone ought to tell the Landlord of the Old Moor in Broomhill near Barnsley.

    Restaurant review: The Old Moor Tavern, Broomhill

    Don't they say that Yorkshire folk are the most welcoming in the World? If that's the case, someone ought to tell the Landlord of the Old Moor in Broomhill near Barnsley.

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  • Threading through this cosmopolitan, free-spirited city are a maze of cobbled streets and closeted buildings and with it, an endless array of culinary and other delights waiting to be discovered.  Look deeply enough and you'll find El Piano, located on Grape Lane, one of the oldest quarters in town still standing.

    Restaurant review: El Piano, York

    Threading through this cosmopolitan, free-spirited city are a maze of cobbled streets and closeted buildings and with it, an endless array of culinary and other delights waiting to be discovered. Look deeply enough and you'll find El Piano, located on Grape Lane, one of the oldest quarters in town still standing.

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  • I wanted to hate Nando's, I really did.  I don't know why either and I can only put it down to an irrepresible yet irrational urge to dislike anything that's remotely corporate, uniform and homogenous.

    Restaurant review: Nando’s, Sheffield

    I wanted to hate Nando's, I really did. I don't know why either and I can only put it down to an irrepresible yet irrational urge to dislike anything that's remotely corporate, uniform and homogenous.

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  • Taking advantage of a fleeting pre-theatre meal at Relish was our first visit to this modern, funky eatery on East Laith Gate in Doncaster.

    Restaurant review: Relish, Doncaster

    Taking advantage of a fleeting pre-theatre meal at Relish was our first visit to this modern, funky eatery on East Laith Gate in Doncaster.

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  • This book represents something of a departure for the effervescent Essex-boy.  By combining the usual high quality recipes that we've come to expect from Mr Oliver and a new-found passion for home-growing vegetables, he's created an amalgam of cookery twixt gardening book for beginners.  The inevitable, accompanying TV series showed Jamie cooking some quite delicious-looking dishes in the cold comfort of a wind-swept allotment and these are all lovingly re-created here, along with quite a few others.  It was an enjoyable series (I thought), but does the book live up to Jamie's usually-high standard and accessibility?  Boringly, yes but with some caveats.

    Book review: Jamie at Home

    This book represents something of a departure for the effervescent Essex-boy. By combining the usual high quality recipes that we've come to expect from Mr Oliver and a new-found passion for home-growing vegetables, he's created an amalgam of cookery twixt gardening book for beginners. The inevitable, accompanying TV series showed Jamie cooking some quite delicious-looking dishes in the cold comfort of a wind-swept allotment and these are all lovingly re-created here, along with quite a few others. It was an enjoyable series (I thought), but does the book live up to Jamie's usually-high standard and accessibility? Boringly, yes but with some caveats.

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  • To accompany the TV series of the same name, Jamie Oliver's 30-minute meals is a bold and ambitious book, aiming to put good, tasty food on the table in half an hour.  Does it live up to Jamie's usual high standards or are the recipes simply too much for 30 frantic minutes of cooking?

    Book review: Jamie’s 30 Minute Meals

    To accompany the TV series of the same name, Jamie Oliver's 30-minute meals is a bold and ambitious book, aiming to put good, tasty food on the table in half an hour. Does it live up to Jamie's usual high standards or are the recipes simply too much for 30 frantic minutes of cooking?

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  • Like a vulture I circled, my preying eyes ablaze with the flames of indignant hunger.  I had a skant few coppers to my name, their incessant jangling in my pocket matched only by the rumbling in my empty stomach.  It had been hours, nay days, since my last meal, where I gorged and ate my fill on the butchered carcass of a pig (it was a bacon sandwich).  That memory, like the nutrition it provided, had faded to a smoky greyness, dwelling in the pit of obscurity that my hunger recepticles had now fallen into.

    Product review: Ugo’s Chicken and Mozzarella Panini

    Like a vulture I circled, my preying eyes ablaze with the flames of indignant hunger. I had a skant few coppers to my name, their incessant jangling in my pocket matched only by the rumbling in my empty stomach. It had been hours, nay days, since my last meal, where I gorged and ate my fill on the butchered carcass of a pig (it was a bacon sandwich). That memory, like the nutrition it provided, had faded to a smoky greyness, dwelling in the pit of obscurity that my hunger recepticles had now fallen into.

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  • The short version: It's a pie.  It's got chicken and mushroom in it.  It's barely mediocre.  59p, 452 calories, 10% saturated fat.

    Product review: Sainsbury’s Chicken and Mushroom Puff Pastry Pie

    The short version: It's a pie. It's got chicken and mushroom in it. It's barely mediocre. 59p, 452 calories, 10% saturated fat.

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  • Man Flu.  It's a deadly disease that affects one half of the population.  Serious scientific studies by serious men in serious white coats have shown that Man Flu is responsible for more lost days at work, more abandoned home DIY projects and consigned a whole species of people to the settee than any other disease on the planet.

    Product review: Halls Extra Strong Mentho-lyptus Lozenges

    Man Flu. It's a deadly disease that affects one half of the population. Serious scientific studies by serious men in serious white coats have shown that Man Flu is responsible for more lost days at work, more abandoned home DIY projects and consigned a whole species of people to the settee than any other disease on the planet.

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  • The Feasters Smoked Bacon Butty is free of any mayonaissally-inspired ambitions and comes with a sachet of tomato ketchup instead.  Looking at it through the plastic packaging, the bacon is almost as anaemic as my mate Nigel.  His skin is virtually translucent and if he stands up to the sun, you can see his internal organs.

    Product review: Feasters Original Smoked Bacon Butty

    The Feasters Smoked Bacon Butty is free of any mayonaissally-inspired ambitions and comes with a sachet of tomato ketchup instead. Looking at it through the plastic packaging, the bacon is almost as anaemic as my mate Nigel. His skin is virtually translucent and if he stands up to the sun, you can see his internal organs.

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  • Feasters are a company specializing in the microwave ready-meal market and produce a range of snacks and ready-to-go sandwiches.  One of their Unique Selling Points (USP, or gimmick if you like) is their 'Crispy Baguette' which is basically a bread roll inside a tube of corrugated cardboard.  You see, this makes the bread 'crispy' when heated in a microwave.  I bet Hovis are really worried.

    Product review: Feasters Chicken, Bacon and Cheese Melt

    Feasters are a company specializing in the microwave ready-meal market and produce a range of snacks and ready-to-go sandwiches. One of their Unique Selling Points (USP, or gimmick if you like) is their 'Crispy Baguette' which is basically a bread roll inside a tube of corrugated cardboard. You see, this makes the bread 'crispy' when heated in a microwave. I bet Hovis are really worried.

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  • He's a successful entrepreneur who in the spirit of enterprise, grew his small food stall serving the crowds of the Notting Hill Carnival to a multi-national food production company.  His profile rose somewhat with a charismatic appearance on BBC TV's Dragons Den, securing funding from none other than Peter Jones and Richard Farleigh.

    Product review: Levi Roots Caribbean Hot Chilli Beef

    He's a successful entrepreneur who in the spirit of enterprise, grew his small food stall serving the crowds of the Notting Hill Carnival to a multi-national food production company. His profile rose somewhat with a charismatic appearance on BBC TV's Dragons Den, securing funding from none other than Peter Jones and Richard Farleigh.

    Continue Reading...