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The traditional: Taittinger Prestige Rose NV
Paul A Young runs three chocolateries in London, including a flagship on Wardour Street

Paul A Young: 'Whenever you're baking anything, add a pinch of sea salt'

My earliest food memory...Going to my great-grandfather's house after school on a Monday evening, when my grandma would come over and cook stew and big Yorkshire puddings. There was a blazing coal-fired range in the kitchen, and the oven at the side was the only way of cooking. That heat from the range was different to the kind you get from gas or electric; I don't think any of us will get to taste food like that again.

White-chocolate soufflé is wonderfully light and not too sweet

Choc tactics: Bill Granger's Valentine's recipes for chocoholics

Should it be white, milk or plain? Can you make a melt-in-the-mouth pudding without using any?

Braised oxtail with celery

Age of steam: Mark Hix invests in a pressure cooker

It can save precious time in the kitchen and is the perfect piece of kit for conjuring up warming soups and stews.

Anthony Rose: 'Vini Italiani is London's first specialist Italian wine merchant'

I was intrigued by the announcement last month that London's first specialist Italian wine merchant had just opened, with the biggest selection of Italian wines in the country. I could hardly believe it was London's first. Then I realised that even independents with great Italian selections like Lea & Sandeman and Philglas & Swiggot by no means focus exclusively on Italy.

Wine: Something for the weekend

Couch potato

2. Michael Caines at Abode

The 50 Best cheap eats

From Michelin-starred tasting menus for less than you’d expect to hearty pies and doorstop sandwiches for a fiver, Sophie Morris has top spots for breakfast, lunch and dinner

After going into partnership with his brother Sam, Eddie opened Spanish restaurants Fino and Barrafina. In 2008 they took over Quo Vadis in
Soho, refurbishing it at the end of last year and re-opening with Jeremy Lee as head chef

My Life In Food: Eddie Hart

After going into partnership with his brother Sam, Eddie opened Spanish restaurants Fino and Barrafina. In 2008 they took over Quo Vadis in Soho, refurbishing it at the end of last year and re-opening with Jeremy Lee as head chef.

We are a nation of dodgy-mannered eaters

Eat it, don't tweet it: Do table manners still matter?

In the technological age, modern dining etiquette is about so much more than just keeping your elbows off the table.

The snowball has found its way on to the new menu at the Nightjar cocktail bar on London’s City Road

On The Menu: Snowballs; Sarah's Honey; Glorious soups; Naga chilli vodka; tomato sauce

This week I've been drinking...Snowballs

The 10 best knife sets

1. Henckels

Convenience food: Veg boxes have become a part of modern life

The growth industry: Veg boxes have gone from a niche product for worthies to a foodies' essential

What is it about veg boxes that they are positively prospering in the recession while supermarket sales of organic greengroceries have plunged? Is it loyalty to an ethical supplier, a determination to maintain green credentials as the planet heats relentlessly, or merely the surprise of not knowing whether a stick of black salsify or a handsome pale blue squash will turn up among the carrots, swedes and spuds to help brighten a winter supper?

Vinegar has been quietly having a bit of a makeover. Not only is it steadily overtaking olive oil as the foodies' new favourite, something for them
to obsess over and spend increasingly frightening sums on, there are also ever expanding new varieties

Sweet on sour: Vinegar adds an intriguing acid twist to everything from roasts to cocktails

Vinegar is hardly the most alluring ingredient in the kitchen cupboard. In terms of glamour, vinegar is on par with things like corned beef and custard. It carries with it connotations of grandmothers and rationing; household cleaning, even. However, in some quarters, vinegar has been quietly having a bit of a makeover. Not only is it steadily overtaking olive oil as the foodies' new favourite, something for them to obsess over and spend increasingly frightening sums on, there are also ever expanding new varieties. You just need to take a peek at the selection on offer in supermarkets to understand vinegar's new culinary status: balsamic, apple, red wine, white wine, rice, sherry, malt, onion, Asian, the list goes on.

Kenya's coffee wars

The boom in high-grade beans should be bringing rural Africa riches. Instead, it is fuelling a lethal crimewave

Genevieve Roberts watches the final touch applied to the apple charlotte

The way we eat now: Victorian puddings return

Hard times have led to a surge in sales of traditional desserts such as spotted dick and Bakewell tart. Genevieve Roberts reports

Career Services

Day In a Page

Picture preview: Portrait of London

Portrait of London

Picture preview
No secularism please, we're British

No secularism please, we're British

Arguments about the role of religion in national life have recently acquired a new urgency
Harold Tillman: 'Chinese tourists can save the high street – if we let them'

Harold Tillman interview

'Chinese tourists can save the high street – if we let them'
Working as a jail torturer ruined my life

Working as a jail torturer ruined my life

Meet the former soldier who has joined the political prisoners he tortured in Turkey's Mamak prison by suing the generals who led a regime of terror
The local high street jet shop

The local high street jet shop

Got a spare $50m and can't stand the queues at Heathrow? Get yourself down to London's first private plane dealership
Do you like your doctor? It could be the death of you

Do you like your doctor?

It could be the death of you...
The mysterious affair of how Agatha Christie is teaching foreigners English

How Agatha Christie is teaching foreigners English

Twenty of the author's novels have been adapted and presented with learning notes and a CD
Six Grammys, five years off: Adele puts love before career

Six Grammys, five years off

Adele puts love before career
The 10 Best binoculars

The 10 Best binoculars

From no-frills to bins with digital cameras
Milan for £300

Milan for £300?

A cultural family holiday - on a budget - to Italy's most stylish city
'Black-hole' resorts: Turn up, tune out, log off

'Black-hole' resorts

Turn up, tune out, log off
New Arsenal face an old question of credibility in San Siro

New Arsenal face an old question of credibility in San Siro

Remodelled since winning in Milan in 2008, for all their consistency – and prize-money – Wenger's side are yet to claim a European title
James Lawton: This prodigal son deserves no forgiveness

James Lawton: This prodigal son deserves no forgiveness

City would be putting their desire to win title ahead of morals if Tevez plays for them
Mark Cavendish: Is Olympic gold at end of the rainbow?

Mark Cavendish interview

Is Olympic gold at end of the rainbow?
Apple admits it has a human rights problem

Apple admits it has a human rights problem

After years of complaints and workers' suicides in China the technology giant faces up to the human cost of its gadgets