Read My Writing

Essays and criticism from the coalface of restaurant culture – with an insider’s eye and a taste for food history

Writing on restaurant culture – from the inside and through the quirky lens of our food inheritance

Why brown food isn’t always best

Colour tells us nothing about nutrition so why do we still care?

The Spectator

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In defence of the airport pint

Ryanair's boss should keep his hands off my holiday pint

UnHerd

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Greggs new chicken sausage roll says a lot about modern Britain

High streets, loss and bland meat tubes

The Independent

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Greggs new chicken sausage roll says a lot about modern Britain

High streets, loss and bland meat tubes

The Independent

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Bureaucracy is killing festivals

But also we've changed: Instagram, identity and interest rates

UnHerd

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Curtain-twitchers have killed Soho

Blair wanted café culture but gave Nimbys their power

UnHerd

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5 times the government picked a fight with pubs and lost

The government loses most of the time

Substack

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Bovril’s infallible power

As a cultural asset, it really does keep Britain going

The Spectator

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Bovril’s infallible power

As a cultural asset, it really does keep Britain going

The Spectator

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Modern cruises have stripped travel of its adventure

The viruses you can get at the buffet

UnHerd

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This isn't how restaurants win

The campaign for a restaurant VAT cut is loud, and is burning goodwill

Substack

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Len Deighton taught British bachelors to cook

The late novelist's culinary competence

The Spectator

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Len Deighton taught British bachelors to cook

The late novelist's culinary competence

The Spectator

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It’s time to end the tyranny of service charge

Gordon Ramsay's 20% service charges

UnHerd

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Tip off: here’s how to fix infuriating service charges

Restaurants are finding ways around laws

City A.M.

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Tip off: here’s how to fix infuriating service charges

Restaurants are finding ways around laws

City A.M.

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Confessions of a failed restaurateur

30 years of bad governments sealed my fate

UnHerd

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Confessions of a failed restaurateur

30 years of bad governments sealed my fate

UnHerd

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Britain is dining out on delusions

We need to start facing some hard economic truths

The Critic

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Britain is dining out on delusions

We need to start facing some hard economic truths

The Critic

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Noma ccandal punctures myth of the enlightened restaurant

On co-founder René Redzepi

UnHerd

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Noma ccandal punctures myth of the enlightened restaurant

On co-founder René Redzepi

UnHerd

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Some Of The Worst Food I Have Ever Eaten

A visit to an depressing influencer market

Substack

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Some Of The Worst Food I Have Ever Eaten

A visit to a depressing influencer market in Central London

Substack

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£58.50 “Fish and Chips” – A Review

This new Chelsea brasserie takes liberties with traditional food

Substack

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£58.50 “Fish and Chips” – An In-Depth Review

This new Chelsea brasserie takes liberties with traditional food

Substack

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London is Losing a Cult Restaurant – Why Am I Not Sad to See it Go?

A cult restaurant that delivered on flavour

Substack

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London Is Losing A Cult Restaurant – Why Am I Not Sad?

A cult restaurant that delivered on flavour, and nothing else

Substack

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