Handing down the family secrets – one dish at a time

We can trace the course of our lives through the recipes we collect along the way, handed down through generations or shared between friends

Mary Beard: ‘Everyone is policing everything, and the left are just as bad as the right’

The classicist on life on the culture wars’ frontline, what she owes her mother – and how pizza shaped her TV career

Ferdinand Montoya’s secret ingredient: bagoong

This Filipino fermented shrimp paste provides a strong hit of umami

‘Wow! This looks like a cosmos’: Jeremy Lee’s Easter egg taste test

The Quo Vadis chef rates 2023’s chocolate eggs, from the dazzling to the dismal. But which one is marbled with the flecks of lost souls?

‘It was ridiculous’: does food TV show fame still matter for chefs?

They’ve been a screen staple for years and, as another series of Great British Menu nears its climax, chefs tell how their lives and careers have been changed

Socca, London: ‘Much is very good, but the missteps baffle’ – restaurant review

Chef Claude Bosi’s masterful touch can be felt at Socca in Mayfair, but sadly not in everything

People are boiling their wooden spoons on TikTok. I won’t be joining them

I’m the daughter of a microbiologist – which is why this crusade against unseen germs doesn’t impress me

Syabira Yusoff: ‘Bake Off really helped my self-confidence’

The Great British Bake Off winner on the stress of the show, growing up in a family of seven children, and why egg and cress sandwiches made her cry

I don’t need more gadgets in my kitchen. Well, maybe that pineapple corer

I’ve found so many life-enhancing kitchen utensils on Instagram that I’ll have to share them with you. It’s the thoughtlessness that counts

Isibani, London: ‘Bathe me in the pepper soup’ – restaurant review

The fiery flavours of West Africa are bringing London to life, from swanky Knightsbridge to homely Peckham, writes Jay Rayner

10 Tib Lane, Manchester: ‘There’s a lot to be stimulated by’ – restaurant review

The Roman orgy murals are long gone, but the cooking at 10 Tib Lane is full of voluptuous pleasure, writes Jay Rayner

Kino, Leeds: ‘Expect dramatic bursts of harissa and tahini’ – restaurant review

The brasserie at Opera North features a rotating cast of pop-up stars, and Levantine-inspired MorMor is a fine example. By Jay Rayner

Selin Kiazim’s secret ingredient: baharat spice mix

The chef’s go-to, as used by her grandmother, to add warmth to bread, sweet and savoury dishes

As Catherine Cawood well knows, sometimes a cup of tea is all that’s needed to say ‘I love you’

In my family, a Sunday roast is a happier alternative to mushy verbal outpourings. And, goodness knows, we all need a bit of kindness on a plate these days

Making dinner means dicing with danger, but it’s a risk I’m willing to take

I am fond of my all cooking scars – they are my life in the kitchen, written on the body