Unsavoury scenes

Cinema and food has a complex relationship. There’s the gastronomic pleasures of Chocolat and the vitalisation of wine in Sideways, but personally when I think of film and food I remember the less pleasant scenes. The cooked lover in The Cook, The Thief…, the live squid eaten in Korean shocker Oldboy, the boy forced to eat an entire chocolate cake in Matilda …

What’s in a name – update

Thanks to everyone who provided their suggestions on restaurant names (400 + at last count). The Ken Livingstone Coffee Shop takes some beating but I’m particularly tickled by Jason’s Doner Van. Special mention must go to Bill Bailey’s fantasy butcher – Halal, Is It Meat You’re Looking For.

What’s in a name?

Restaurants are often given a bad name. Quite literally in the case of Marylebone’s vegetarian Eat and Two Veg. With a name to make even a provincial barber groan, ETV (I refuse to type it again) rather undermines the meat-free diner’s attempts at contemporary style. It would seem good food does not equal good taste.

Of course, it’s not just vegetarians eateries but all specialist or niche restaurants which seem especially prone to the pun. Could you stomach the Mussel Inn, Thai’d Up or Mad Mex? And could a love affair with falafel survive a meal at Syriandipity?

Oprah’s favourites

Oprah is a woman who likes to share. We know how she votes, who she wears and her daily calcium update, thanks to the exhaustive oprah.com. You’ll probably be delighted to hear that “her diet is healthful but far from dull” and that she’s a “real fiber champion, too, averaging 34g a day”. While we wait for her to post her endoscopy video, amuse yourself with Oprah’s favourite things from this year. Perhaps unsurprisingly, food and cooking features heavily.

Catching her eye this year have been Perfect Endings cupcakes from celebrity cakemaker Sam Godfrey (previously responsible for Oprah’s 400lb 50th birthday cake) and gourment orange sorbet. In addition to this are mixing bowls and cake mixer, somewhat undermining those claims of Winfrey’s “healthful” diet.

Best of all is the panini maker which has revolutionised Oprah’s “love sandwich”. To the barbarians who don’t know of it, this is a weekly treat Ms O makes featuring hot pepper cheese, basil and smoked turkey. “It takes the ‘love sandwich’ to a whole new level,” she gushes.

Such is Oprah’s love for food, it seems she’ll do anything to delay leaving the kitchen. Her final favourite thing is a $4000 fridge complete with LCD TV, DVD player, Internet connection and the all important five-day weather forecast. How did the Von Trapps survive without it?

Degrees of starvation

As Jamie Oliver learned this week, it’s not easy telling young folk what to eat. And as anxious parents deposited their darlings to universities up and down the country this last fortnight, they undoubtedly enclosed a student cookbook alongside the de rigueur kettle and toaster.

The agony of choice

I should have had the jambalaya. I know that now. Staring down at my rapidly congealing laksa I realise five minutes too late what I should have ordered instead. Blame the 40 item strong menu, blame the throngs of decisive people gathering behind me but don’t blame me; I’m just no good with knowing what to choose.