Bites: The joy of cupcakes on ice

There's more than skating on offer at the annual Somerset House Ice Rink which opens on Wednesday: Tate Catering's rinkside café has a locally sourced, comfort food menu including Neal's Yard Dairy cheeses, while the chic Tiffany Tuck Shop will sell gingerbread men and cupcakes.

Prefer chilli to chilly? Try Trishna London, newly opened sister to Mumbai's A-list favourite, where head chef Ravi Deulkar from the Michelin-starred Rasoi Vineet Bhatia is cooking coastal delights including Goan masala. Staying by the sea, to celebrate the 21st birthday of Bibendum, diners at the Oyster bar of Terence Conran's London restaurant could win a free lunch – plus a cookery lesson to help recreate it at home.

More ambitiously, Heston Blumenthal is also promising fine dining for the masses; acknowledging, perhaps, that his £100 chemistry-heavy Christmas cookbook may not be entirely user-friendly, he's hinted at a pared down follow-up. But does Heston really do "pared down"?