The most successful hotel restaurants make you feel as if you aren’t in a hotel at all

Some dining rooms in hotels can be magnificent. But at other places it’s very quickly time to check out, says Jay Rayner

With restaurant doors still shut, there’s only one thing to be done: order a takeaway

There’s a wide variety available says Jay Rayner, from literally gilded to cheap and cheerful

Don’t stand so close to me: top tactics for Covid-era socialising

From dining mannequins to tables with bumpers, restaurants and attractions around the world are using creative ways to ensure guests keep their distance

Many restaurants won’t make it through Covid-19. Those that do should reinvent the industry

The Australian restaurant industry has been hit with a steamroller, but things weren’t exactly rosy before Covid-19

Family cooking under coronavirus: ‘I’ve become a chef with two grumpy regular customers’

Cooking and clearing up has been relentless – and that’s without adding a special birthday cake to my range of signature dishes

Are we really drinking more wine during the coronavirus crisis?

Home drinking is up, but overall sales are plummeting. Meanwhile, some enterprising producers are turning to webinar tastings to keep customers happy

How to make apricot jam – amaretto optional

Making jam is trickier than most people think – get it right with the author of The Modern Preserver

Daydreaming of your first meal out after lockdown?

Well, quelle surprise, it’s most likely to be French. Jay Rayner explores our enduring love affair with the cuisine of France

My daily coronavirus lockdown walks are full of food discoveries

Pink wafers from a corner shop, fresh naan at the grocer’s – and a heart-warming sign in one shop window: ‘We are still baking’

Our baby was born. Then coronavirus lockdown began

We always knew a baby would mean a change of gear. But we’ve had a crash course in an old-fashioned way of feeding a family

Jack Monroe: ‘My back-up plan is to go back to working at the supermarket’

The cook and campaigner talks about growing up in a house full of foster children, her large appetite, and why she doesn’t take her career for granted

I’m becoming emotionally attached to my frying pans – am I going stir crazy?

I have three frying pans but two are really only there for use on violent intruders. I might be losing the plot …

As Germans prepare for foreign holidays, I console myself with travel books

The deckchairs are all theirs In the past month some mundane words seem to have regained their old mystery. “Travel” is one. In my dutiful daily hour on the rusting exercise bike in the garden I’ve been listening to favourite … Continue reading →

What does it take to get really great service in restaurants?

The first rule is, don’t be a complete schmuck. Top maître d’s tell their stories

My favourite restaurants: a trip down Memory Lane

There have been some real beauties down the years, and not all the best ones were grand. By Jay Rayner