"Never trust a skinny cook" it used to say on an apron hanging in my mother's kitchen. I, like Mr. Kerridge, have little danger of being described with the adjective "skinny". Although I'm sure that this similarity wasn't the only reason that I wanted to eat Tom Kerridge's food pretty much the moment I […]

I think I was one of the first local foodies to pick up on the fact that “ex Michelin two star Chef Martin Blunos” was going to open a restaurant in Cardiff. The fact that he was going to do it in conjunction with Crown Hotels and Restaurants (CHR), owners of the one Michelin star […]

Ever since I was a kid, I've always loved looking at maps. In those days it was maps in encyclopaedias and atlases. Then, in my days as a Rally Navigator, it was Ordnance Survey maps with all their incredible detail. These days, of course, anyone interested in maps or cartography is living in the golden […]

“13 weeks,” said Nathan, our waiter, in answer to my question of how long had .cn been open.  I liked Nathan and not just because apart from MrsA, the niece and myself he was the only other Westerner there. I liked Nathan because he was extremely helpful and seemed to enjoy answering all our questions […]

I don't know when I first came across Tribe Tribe. I know it was sometime last year, but whether it was pointed out to me or I discovered it's website by chance I cannot recall. What I do know is that immediately I saw the web site I thought it could be interesting and I […]

I've been to The Hardwick about 5 times before, ate food cooked by Stephen Terry at a banquet at the National Botanical Garden of Wales and also at a Chef's demo evening at The Tithe Barn in Abergavenny. You could say I'm a fan.   So when MrsA suggested we help celebrate the Bank Holiday […]

The first time I went to the Charthouse it had been open about 6 weeks and quite frankly, it showed.  Not that there was anything really wrong with the food, it was just that you could tell that front of house wasn’t quite a well oiled machine yet.  I almost reviewed it at the time […]

I’ve always had a bit of a love hate relationship with the Thai House in Cardiff. I’ve never had an issue with the food, but I have with the service and attitude of the staff. However, when my Bahamian niece, decided that it was time for Aunty and Uncle to take her out for some […]

So I have a confession to make. It's a big one so you'd better prepare yourselves, deep breath, sit down, stiff drink and all that. OK, ready? Here we go… James Sommerin took my virginity! Yes, in a hot, steamy kitchen and with a backing track of roaring gas burners, clanging pans and shouts of […]

Have you read Anthony Bourdain’s book Kitchen Confidential? Right at the start he describes how as a child he’d eat anything. By anything I’m not talking about lumps of coal or bits of wood but anything edible that nearly all children and most adults would shy away from, you know things like raw oysters or […]