Eat your words
Just look at the mouth-watering contents of The Fishmongers' Company Cook Book, the nicest recipe book I've seen for ages. Interesting fish dishes by their head chef, Stephen Pini, it's available by mail order only for £28 (including postage and packaging), from Homeway Limited, Amesbury, Wiltshire, SP4 7BH, telephone 01980 622552.
Having spent 15 years eating his way around Britain as the Times restaurant critic no one could accuse Jonathan Meades of not doing his homework. He has now hung up his napkin and retired from the job and, consequently, lost one third of his body weight. Meades has now distilled his food knowledge into a collection of essays, Incest and Morris Dancing (Cassell, £20). Each one is a hearty romp though the evolution of British food in the last 20 years.
Patricia Volk's memoir Stuffed (Bloomsbury, £12.99) is another cultural tour, focusing on the life of her own restaurant- owning New York Jewish family. Volk's ancestor was the first person to bring pastrami to New York, her grandfather started the famous restaurant Morgen's. Her style is gushing, but there are wonderful descriptions of a past culinary era.
The Soil Association's new Organic Directory 2002-2003 is out now listing useful things from local suppliers to holiday accommodation.
Published by Green Books priced £4.95, it can be ordered directly from the Soil Association either by calling 0117
929 0661 or www.soilassociation.org.
Cheese burghers
www.fromages.com is the most fantastic source of unusual French cheeses. Based in Tours you can ring, email or website your order which will be Fed-exed. All you need is a little forward planning. The range on their website is extraordinary, and the Chambertin I received as part of their mixed five-cheese Discovery board was delicious and necessitated opening the windows for two days.
Tel: 00 33 2 47 66 1717; info@fromages.com.
Gadget of the month
A fantastic piece of frivolity has winged its way in from Australia that all picnickers will pack in the basket this summer. The SteadyStick is a wineglass holder attached to a prong you spear into the grass, so as long as you're not eating on tiles, you're sorted.
Available Harvey Nichols £12.95 for a pack of two.
