Riot restaurant named best in London
During last month’s riots The Ledbury was beset by looters and lunatics, its customers robbed and its staff called upon to defend them with spatulas. This week it was named the best restaurant in London in the 2012 Harden’s guide. Gordon Ramsay at Claridge’s was voted the most disappointing.
Child obesity climbs in Italy
We still think of Italy as being a country with a healthy ‘Mediterranean’ diet, but this week it was reported that 36% of Italian children are either overweight or obese by the age of 8. Coupled with recent news that the best-selling shop-bought pizza in Italy is German-owned, Manchester-made Dr Oetker, you have to wonder if perhaps France isn’t the only country suffering a gastronomic crisis.
Rock and lobster roll – a rockstar cookbook comes out
Photographer Patrice de Villiers has created a new cookbook in aid of Teenage Cancer Trust. Love Music, Love Food: The Rockstar Cookbook collects musicians’ tales of food and cooking, with photographs of the likes of Paloma Faith lying on a paella beach. As you do.
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Other food news this week:
* Obama’s favourite chef, Wolfgang Puck, opens in London.
* Warnings about salt levels in bread.
* French Laundry popping up at Harrods. For £250 a head.
* Where are all the ice cream vans?
* Waitrose with wines from India.
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Blog of the week:
* I’ve recently discovered the charming and beautifully photographed Food From Flossie.
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Website of the week:
* Trufl is a fab website for rootling out great deals on restaurants, hotels etc.
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Video of the week:
* They might be in the middle of a gastronomic and political crisis, but the Italians still know how to make a damn fine automobile: