What the experts say
Fine dining at the home of cricket
Cricketers, more than other athletes, have always been partial to their grub, says Mark Mason in The Spectator. Think of W.G. Grace and Ian “Beefy” Botham: both legends of the sport, and both renowned for their appetites and waistlines. For any cricketer fond of good food, the greatest treat is to play at Lord’s. This is largely down to Nancy Doyle, an Irishwoman who presided over the Lord’s kitchen from the early 1960s until 1996. An instinctive cook, she “never followed recipes, or even used scales to weigh ingredients”, and her lunches were both delicious and vast: soup for starters, followed by meat with roast potatoes and veg, and a pudding with custard or cream. When Mike Brearley, England’s captain in the late 1970s, suggested she tone down her offerings, she replied: “Tell you what, Michael, you don’t tell me how to feed my boys, and I won’t tell you how to bat. OK?” Since then, Lord’s has lightened its lunches – but by all accounts they’re still remarkable. One 2017 menu, revealed on Twitter, featured monkfish wrapped in pancetta with lemon beurre blanc, while “the desserts on offer during the 2019 World Cup final included fruit tartlet with vanilla brulée”.
The basics of pasta-sauce pairing
“If you’ve ever put a sauce and pasta together and thought the combination wasn’t quite right, there may be a reason,” says Becky Krystal on The Independent: “not all pastas are ideal for all dishes”. Italians know this well – the country has strong traditions governing pasta-andsauce pairing – and it’s worth familiarising yourself with the basics. Long thin pastas work well with light emulsified sauces: think linguine with clams, garlic and oil; or spaghetti with a smooth and buttery tomato sauce. Long ribbons such as tagliatelle or pappardelle are excellent with heartier but still relatively homogenised sauces – such as a Bolognese. Chunkier sauces – a vegetable ragu, or a meat sauce with a pronounced texture – are a natural pairing for penne or rigatoni, which trap the morsels within their tubular structures. Shells and bows work well with lighter vegetable sauces, and are good for a salad; fusilli is a friend of pesto; and “fun, diminutive shapes” such as orzo, fregola and ditalini are best for adding texture to a soup or broth.
The best food shops in Paris
The French capital is justly celebrated for its restaurants, says Israeli chef and restaurateur Assaf Granit in the FT. But it’s also home to many superb food shops – which I return to “again and again”. The “best chocolatier” is Pierre Marcolini (89 Rue de Seine, 6th arr.): though the brand is “world-renowned”, when you go to the shop, you still feel as if you’ve stumbled on a “small, independent chocolatier with special handcrafted treats”. Le Palais du Fruit (62-74 Rue Montorgueil, 2nd arr.) is a fruit and veg store that’s a “feast for the eyes”. Everything is of such quality, and arranged on the shelves with such care, it could be in a “jewellery shop”. Also worth a visit is cooking supply store A. Simon (48 Rue Montmartre, 2nd arr.): though it caters mainly to the industry, individuals can visit, and it’s worth it simply to gaze at its collection of top-of-the-line Frenchmade equipment. (It’s the ideal place to buy copper pans.) Finally, the “heavenly” La Fermette (86 Rue Montorgueil, 2nd arr.) stocks cheeses, charcuterie and sausages from all over France.