The true story of Eton Mess – and how to make the perfect one
The question, it turns out, isn't 'why' it's called Eton Mess, but whether it's actually called 'Eton Mess' at all...
Food and Drink
Discover the latest in food and drink news, try our delicious and easy recipes using fresh seasonal produce and read our pub and restaurant reviews.
Here at Country Life we love to cook and we love to eat. Seasonality is important, whether you’re growing your own or visiting the farmers’ market for your ingredients – but we love to cook seasonally. Whether it’s our brilliant collection of elderflower recipes in the summertime, our ultimate sloe gin recipe in autumn or gorgeous roast goose recipes in the winter, we have collected the best seasonal recipes by ingredient on dedicated pages
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Eton Mess: Making a virtue out of a vice since the 19th century. Credit: Alamy Stock Photo -
Credit: Alamy The strange case of the Negroni revolution
Sharp and complex, the bitter-sweet Italian digestif Amaro is enjoying a new-found popularity on British shores, says Flora Watkins.
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Tom Parker Bowles, extols the virtues of offal. Pictured at Claridges Hotel, London. Credit: Simon Buck/Country Life Why you shouldn’t fear eating offal — it's food 'to soothe, comfort and delight'
Sustainable eating means cutting waste — and that means using the whole animal. Yet it’s nothing that should make you feel squeamish, says Tom Parker-Bowles.
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Credit: Alamy Stock Photo Curious questions: What's the best way to cook a crab?
Simon Hopkinson shares his tips on cooking crab – with a little help from a classic book by the brilliant Rick Stein.
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Credit: Dinner Time Story The Banquet of Hoshena: A night out for dinner with side-dishes of art, magic and storytelling
When is a meal not a meal? When it involves five courses, five cocktails and a generous helping of art and magic. Alexandra Fraser paid a visit to the Banquet of Hoshena to experience erring kings, talking tables and mystical lands in need of rescue.
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Rose wine in hand with sunset and sea at background Credit: Alamy Stock Photo 5 perfect rosé magnums for sipping in the sunshine this summer
Red is for red meat and white is for poultry and fish, but what is rosé for? The answer is of course that rosé is for summer, anywhere, anytime, from pale blush to startling pink. Sophie McAlpine has rounded up some of Country Life‘s favourite‘s to be enjoyed this summer. And after all, if youre going for a bottle, it may as well be a magnum...
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Credit: PetsPyjamas Five gin cocktails to try this weekend in honour of World Gin Day
To properly mark World Gin Day on Saturday 8th June, we've pulled together five of the very best gin cocktail recipes for you to try, from a classic G&T with a very special gin to the rambunctious Rock, Rattle and Rose.
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Devilled crab bubbling with Parmesan... delicious. Credit: Jason Lowe/Country Life Picture Library Simon Hopkinson's perfect devilled crab recipe
An ideal starter? A sumptuous light supper? However you eat it, few things are more decadent than devilled crab, as you'll understand after reading Simon Hopkinson's mouthwatering recipe.
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Tinos island, Cyclades. Tinos is a Greek island situated in the Aegean Sea, located in the Cyclades archipelago, Greece. Credit: Alamy Why we should be turning to sunny Greece for our summer wines
Some particularly attractive Greek wines deserve our attention, states Harry Eyres.
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Credit: Melanie Johnson Recipe: Spring-onion and cheese scones for those who prefer savoury to sweet
Savoury scones are just as easy to make as sweet ones, without the added need of jam and clotted cream. Melanie Johnson's latest offering are the perfect savoury snack on a hot summer day.
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The Royal High Tea at the Shard. Credit: Tim Winter Three of the finest high teas on offer in London this summer
Alexandra Fraser rounds up some of the most unique and tasty afternoon teas available in the capital this summer, from sky-high scones to fashion-forward finger sandwiches.
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France, Marne, Villedomange, a village close to Reims. Credit: Alamy Are we living in the golden age of Champagne?
Our regular wine columnist Harry Eyres rounds up the best of a miracle decade and tells us why we should be drinking vintage bubbles.
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Credit: Tim Winter Recipe: A deliciously aesthetic blueberry cheesecake, from the mother of the Shangri-La's head pastry chef
The Shangri-La's TĪNG Lounge and Restaurant chefs celebrated the arrival of the royal baby by creating the Royal High Tea, full of recipes taken from the recipe books of their mothers. Head Pastry Chef Benoit's offering? A stunning blueberry cheesecake.
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Melanie Johnson's potato salad with salmon and pomegranate. Credit: Melanie Johnson / Country Life Turning the humble potato salad into a thing of beauty, with a touch of salmon and pomegranate
Potato salad is turned into something with a real dash of panache by our kitchen garden cook Melanie Johnson.
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Halibut with pea veloute and baby gem lettuce. Credit: HOME, Leeds HOME, Leeds: A restaurant with authenticity, passion and homespun touches — and how to make one of their finest dishes
Mary Miers visited HOME, a Leeds restaurant with authenticity, passion and homespun touches — and also found out how to make one of their finest dishes.
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Credit: Simon Hopkinson How to make Simon Hopkinson’s warm, summery salad with asparagus, bacon and an unusual touch of chicken
Tender, pink chicken livers, young asparagus and pea shoots are perfect with a creamy vinaigrette of sherry and Dijon mustard spooned over them, says Simon Hopkinson.
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Elderflower cordial on a summer's day. Bliss. Credit: Alamy Beyond Pimm's: Five delicious summer drinks, from gin and beer to elderflower champagne
As the sun makes its usual sporadic and dismal efforts to warm Britain up as summer approaches, thoughts turn to the great question of the day: what to sip while sitting out in the sunshine. Whether your poison is wine, beer or something harder, we’ve a suggestion for you.
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A man at work in the milk dispatch area in the Express dairy. Credit: Getty The return of the milkman: Does this time-honoured tradition still have a place in the 21st century?
Good for farmers and good for the planet, the milk round is back with a 21st-century twist, discovers Emma Hughes.
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The Oak SW11: How to make the signature dish from one of London's new breed of smart neighbourhood restaurants
There was a time not so long ago when, outside the centre of London, it was all but impossible to find truly decent restaurants within the M25. Rosie Paterson paid a visit to The Oak, an SW11 restaurant which proves that those days are long gone.
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The 2018 Bordeaux vintages are already being tucked away in fine cellars across the world... Credit: Thorben Maier / Alamy 2018 Bordeaux: How weather from ‘hell and paradise’ has produced Claret that's truly exceptional
Winter snowfall, springtime mildew, hail and the hottest, driest summer in generations have conspired to make 2018 Bordeaux something you must absolutely snap up, explains Harry Eyres.
