Why worrying about food miles is missing the point

Getting your lamb from New Zealand isn't hurting the planet and buying your potatoes from the other end of the country is fine. Jay Rayner says food miles are not the problem and, below, visits an abattoir

Wines of the week: two Europeans and a taste of Chile

A great-value Spanish red, an Italian-Chilean co-production and a chameleon French white

Beer: Scotland hops to it

The Scottish beer industry is enjoying a bit of a revival, which is good news for ale fans, says Fiona Beckett

Restaurant: Social Eating House, London W1

'The food is great. Really up there,' Marina O'Loughlin says. 'Liberated, unstarchy, affordable and fun'

The hottest French restaurants of 2013

Long ignored while foodies chased less familiar thrills, classic French cuisine is being revived by new restaurants like Balthazar, says Marina O'Loughlin

Readers’ recipe swap: sugar on top

Readers' recipe swap: Felicity Cloake tries your sugar-topped recipes, including rose petal shortbread and a fig and quince loaf

Our goat’s milk ice-cream sells like billy-o

Meet the producer: Goat's milk is not only low in lactose but is perfect for ice-cream, says Craig Allen of Greedy Goat

Why broad beans are good for you

Good for you: Broad beans are a beautiful looking, highly companionable veg stuffed with protein

How to make cider peg

Drinks: Now is the time to sample Devon's new-season cider. Try mixing with alcoholic cordial

Michael Pollan: Why the family meal is crucial to civilisation

Michael Pollan, the American food writer and campaigner, says eating together round the table every night is the way children learn best how to get along in the wider world. Interview by Richard Johnson

Italian culture minister’s comments about food leaves chefs simmering

Ilaria Borletti Buitoni chastises Italian chefs for trying too hard to be fashionable and copying the French

Horsemeat company regularly mixed horse in with beef, say Polish workers

Former employees of Willy Selten plant tell how horse entered European food chain over at least five years

Morrissey attacks Duchess of Cambridge over taste for foie gras

Singer singles out Kate Middleton and calls on fans to lobby London department store Fortnum & Mason for stocking 'savage and cruel' French delicacy

Shot in the dark: the spirit-beer mash-up

Tony Naylor: For years we were warned, don't mix your drinks. So why are tequila-spiked lagers, rum ales and beer cocktails popping up in supermarkets and craft beer bars?