Welcome to September

This is a month with a spark of promise in the air. Even if you don’t have skin in the ‘back to school/college/uni’ game, the feeling that a brand-new year full of possibility begins right now is hardwired into all of us. September is also a month of seasonal generosity and the promise of an extended summer, which makes it perfect for the Italian slant that we’ve given our content.

O’s new start includes the return of Pro vs Punter. We’ve sorely missed going out to eat and this issue we are back in the saddle with our new restaurant writer and member of Black Book, a global representation platform for black and non-white people working within hospitality and food media (blackbookorg.com), Eileen Twum. You can read her review of London’s Tavolino, an Italian restaurant with a front-row view of Tower Bridge, on p80.

If staying in is more your style then our cover star recipe, Italian meatball melt, makes a winning dish to share. Our main feature delivers six recipes from Italian chefs we guarantee you’ll love: take things easy with a watermelon, chicory and pecorino salad, or crack out the pasta machine and make Lina Stores’ burrata pansoti (you won’t regret it).

In the spirit of September learning, immerse yourself in even more things Italian by brushing up your aperitivi and digestivi knowledge with Hannah Guinness’s lowdown on Italian drinks, mastering Italian meringue with Adam Bush or taking a deep dive into the colourful, exuberant cuisine of Sardinia.