On the agenda: Café a Vin; The Flavour Thesaurus; Cath Kidston; Nick Lloyd Webber

Biodynamic wines and the release of a flavour thesaurus kick off our food issue

Food

We're big fans of the Galvin brothers – the award-winning La Chapelle in London's Spitalfields is memorably good. Now they've tweaked the café next door to focus on the grape, including lots of biodynamic wines, which aficionados will tell you results in a better-tasting glassful. You can pull up a chair and try anything by the glass, accompanied by such delights as tarte flambé or poached salmon with asparagus and wild garlic mayonnaise. Lip-smacking. Café a Vin, 35 Spital Square, London E1, tel: 020 7299 0404, galvinrestaurants.com

Lisa Markwell

Film

Agnès Varda's retrospective at the British Film Institute may have just finished, but there is no end in sight to the French invasion of our cinemas. Releases over the coming two months include the biopic Gainsbourg, In Leaving (Kristin Scott Thomas with yet another passionate fling), François Ozon's latest The Refuge, and Alain Resnais' Wild Grass. For those who can't wait, a mini-festival, "Rendez-vous with French Cinema" is offering an early peek at five of these releases (plus Godard's classic Breathless) from Tuesday at screens around London. You'll also get a chance to meet some of the directors and stars. Allez! To Friday; institut-francais.org.uk

Adam Jacques

Books

If your food obsession is ready to move to the next level, you need The Flavour Thesaurus (£18.99, Bloomsbury). This forthcoming book by Niki Segnit goes way beyond recipes – it investigates why certain flavours work so well together (lamb and mint, for instance), offers more quirky combos and is the perfect manual for experimental cooks. Anyone for black pudding and chocolate?

LM

Fashion

Waiting lists are usually the preserve of It bags and shoes, so we were surprised to hear that a cotton dress by the British queen of kitsch, Cath Kidston is the subject of frenzied pre-ordering. Then we saw it: the ultra-flattering white linen dress looks as if it was found in a French antiques market. Form an orderly queue. Linen dress, £125, cathkidston.co.uk

LM

Music

Hip-hop giant Snoop Dogg, indie Paul Simon-alikes Vampire Weekend and grime's big new thing Tinie Tempah are all going to be in concert at the Manchester Apollo on 8 July – and to get a ticket, you're going to have to get your hands dirty. The first 4,000 people signed up to the philanthropic initiative Orange Rockcorps who complete four hours of volunteering for the likes of children's charity Moss Side Adventure Playground will get a pass to the gig. Helping others never sounded so good. Register at orangerockcorps.co.uk

AJ

Theatre

There's no hint of a stormy relationship with his father, but 30-year-old Nick Webber has never used his full name while becoming known as an accomplished songwriter and composer for TV and film. Why not? No doubt to avoid accusations of nepotism. But now Mr Lloyd Webber is casting aside any such worries as he fully embraces his father's legacy with his first piece of music for the stage. His wife's Oxford Shakespeare Company sets off with a tour of The Tempest on Wednesday (right), visiting such handsome venues as Greenwich Park in London and Wadham College in Oxford, with an original score by the newly re-monikered Nick Lloyd Webber. To 30 August, oxfordshakespeare company.co.uk

AJ