It took me years to work out why I liked chocolate eggs more than I liked bars of chocolate, even those made by the same chocolatiers. Then, a lightbulb moment, I realised my love of eggs over bars was simply down to texture. It is the fragile nature, the incredible thin, crispness of the chocolate used in Easter eggs that appeals so much. Of course, no Easter issue of OFM would be complete without our chocolate egg taste test and this year we have set Benjamina Ebuehi the task of finding the best around.
Restaurants come and go. In some cases this can be for financial reasons, the problem of finding and retaining staff or simply a question of the right restaurant in the wrong place. Making a business stand the test of time seems to be something of an art. Tony Naylor talks to three restaurateurs whose places have lasted decades, as popular now as they were when they opened. What makes a restaurant become part of the landscape and what gives it the staying power others can’t seem to get hold of? Some restaurateurs may possibly hold the answer.
Our cover star Tom Kerridge has been at the stove for many years, and we have asked him to put together a beautiful Easter menu. For this issue, Kate Mossman met him in Marlow, plus we have an interview with chef Richard Corrigan for our Life on a Plate series.
Jay Rayner is best known as a restaurant critic and author but he is also the family cook, producing most of the meals his family eats at home. In this month’s column, Jay discusses the tension that lies between cooking for yourself and cooking for others. We also have lunch with Helen Rebanks, whose book The Farmer’s Wife was a runaway success, telling the true story of her life on her Lake District Farm. Happy Easter.
