Why oh why did it have to be broccoli? Why couldn't the superfood capable of keeping us free from everything from colds to cancer be something delicious like French fries or chocolate? Why couldn't it have been Krispy Kremes? No, it is just our luck that the dish of the day of doctors and nutritionists is the most boring vegetable next to the mange tout. Worse than that, no matter how quickly you eat it, broccoli is always cold. Then again, I suppose we should be grateful it isn't Brussels sprouts.

Green vegetables are just one of the many foods that scientists are banking on as playing a big part in preventing cancer. Add to that a few tomatoes, pulses and a regular supply of raw fruit and we apparently have a blueprint for continued good health. What really depresses is the list of foods and drink we should leave well alone, some of them being what life is actually worth living for. Andrew Purvis has been exploring the myth and reality of the 'anti-cancer diet' and finds there is a little more to it than 'eating your greens'. Read the latest research on page 24.

If we have been warned to cut down on our consumption of red meat then no one seems to have told the chefs of the Conran empire whose menus are still some of the most carnivorously inclined in the country. Rachel Cooke bravely followed the company's cooks across hill and dale on a stag hunt. Did the blood and guts spectacle put our intrepid reporter off her Bambi burgers?

We also have Geraldine Bedell reporting from Venice, Jay Rayner in New York, and Amanda Lamb in Barcelona. Finally, don't forget to vote in our second annual food awards. Last year your voting made a difference to many restaurateurs, producers and specialist retailers. Don't let their excellence go unrecognised.

· Nigel Slater is The Observer's cookery writer