‘Our gateway to British food and culture’: the nostalgic power of the school dinner

Novelist Shahnaz Ahsan on growing up with jam roly-poly, apple crumble and sticky toffee pudding

Simon Amstell: ‘It’s difficult to retain depression if you’re jumping around every morning’

The comedian on shamanic ceremonies, vegan diets and the catharsis of performance

‘You can have fun and experiment’: inside the test kitchens where restaurants cook up new dishes

From Michelin-star meals to fast food, chances are your favourite dish was developed in a test kitchen. Meet the chefs who transform ideas into dinner

Jacob Kenedy’s secret ingredient: guanciale

It’s an intensely piggy slice of bacon – try it in this carbonara recipe to see just how good it is

The LaLee, London: ‘A menu designed for well-heeled tourists’ – restaurant review

This Lillie Langtry-themed room isn’t as seductive as it thinks, but the Caesar salad is a showstopper, says Jay Rayner

The restaurants we love are woven into our lives

There’ll always be new restaurants, but I return to the ones that are home to drama, heartbreak and joy

Annie Macmanus: ‘I can’t cook. But I’m honoured to have a macaroni cheese named after me’

The broadcaster and author on her passion for pigs and getting to grips with Nigella’s desserts

Lahpet, London WC2: ‘Now officially one of my safe places’ – restaurant review

The glorious Burmese tea-leaf salad is the colour of Fozzie Bear and army-surplus combat pants

A local’s guide to Arrecife, Lanzarote: volcanoes, sunsets and seafood

Hotelier María Álava guides us around her home town, with its cool shops and seaside restaurants, and the volcanic crater at the heart of the island

Double Dragon, London: ‘A great night out’ – restaurant review

Dramatic flavours and look-at-me food will wake the polite ghosts at a grand old restaurant haunt, writes Jay Rayner

Cédric Grolet at the Berkeley, London W1: ‘Spiking the blood sugar levels of Europe’ – restaurant review

A Frenchman wading into Britain’s fractious ‘jam or cream first?’ scone debate is either foolhardy or admirable

A local’s guide to Angoulême, France’s cobbled-streeted comic book capital

Film-maker Isabelle Fougère on the best restaurants, festivals, murals and waterfronts in this artistic French town

The Heathcock, Cardiff: ‘Identifies the good things, does them well’ – restaurant review

Dining in Cardiff has been reformed, as an exceptional lunch at the Heathcock demonstrates. By Jay Rayner

A beloved New York restaurant becomes place of unity for Ukraine

Veselka, a restaurant raved about by celebrities and food critics alike, has become a meeting place and fundraising operation

Fletchers at Grantley Hall, Ripon: ‘Confused and asphyxiatingly expensive’ – restaurant review

It’s lavish and pricey, but when you get to pudding Fletchers finally hits the bullseye