Rick Stein never wanted to be a chef. In fact, he wanted to run a nightclub. But after the police shut down his disco in Padstow in the Seventies, he and his first wife Jill turned the building into a seafood restaurant. Fifty years later, The Seafood Restaurant is one of the most enduring names in British hospitality – and still, some locals accuse him of ruining the place. Emma Henderson meets the Stein family to mark the milestone, tracing their rise from picking mussels off the rocks to building a generational empire. There are ups and downs, egos and exes, but also a clear-eyed portrait of what it takes to run a family business for half a century. Spoiler: it's not just the lobster.
Meanwhile, wine writer Rosamund Hall questions everything about how we talk about wine – and whether any of it is helpful. Are we tasting cherries or just thinking about cherries? Can a wine really smell like bacon Frazzles? (Apparently yes, and it's a compliment.) She argues that wine should be about pleasure, not pretension, and includes four bottles to prove the point.
Elsewhere, we head to the pub – several, actually – to ask whether we've reached peak gastropub. Thirty years after the term was coined, what started as a middle ground between the boozer and the fine-dining restaurant has evolved into something far more polished – and far more expensive. The roasts now cost £30, the pies are Michelin-starred and the wine is decanted. But does all that refinement mean we've lost sight of what makes a pub a pub? We speak to the chefs behind the country's best gastropubs to find out whether the model is evolving or collapsing under its own weight – and whether you can still just walk in for a pint and a packet of crisps.
In another deeply reported feature, we explore the uncertain future of Britain's Chinese and Indian restaurants – the kind that shaped the national palate and the high street, but are now struggling to survive as their founders age and their children look elsewhere. We meet the next generation: the ones trying to honour their family legacy without being trapped by it. Some are adapting. Some are walking away. All are asking: does it end with us?
And yes, it's that time again. Wild garlic season. Every spring, menus sprout pesto and chefs lose their minds. But what are you actually meant to do with it? We have the answers, plus tips from chefs across the country and five standout recipes – from wild garlic duxelles on toast to a Scottish tortilla and fermented jars that'll keep the flavour going till next year.
Finally, we catch up with Noor Murad, the Ottolenghi alum running her first London Marathon later this month – and publishing her debut cookbook at the same time. Lugma is bold, nostalgic and brimming with Bahraini flavours: black lime, date molasses, burnt honey and rice for days. We've got an interview with Murad and three knockout recipes – including a crispy halloumi with spicy olives and a wildly good date loaf – that are worth the sprint to the kitchen.
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The last generation? Why Britain's family-run Chinese and Indian restaurants are at a crossroads |
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They shaped Britain's culinary identity – and sacrificed everything to do so. But now, the children of Chinese and Indian restaurateurs face a choice: preserve the legacy, reinvent it or walk away. Hannah Twiggs reports on a defining moment for a fading institution |
At a certain point in the 1980s, Amy Poon realised that her childhood was unusual. While her friends were pooling together their pocket money to share a McDonald's milkshake, she was hosting them at her parents' restaurant and signing off the bill. "I was certainly a friend with benefits!" she laughs now. But behind the scenes, it wasn't always as glamorous as it seemed.
"Although we were surrounded by people the whole time, it was quite a lonely childhood," Poon reflects. "My parents worked six days a week – they didn't clock off at 5pm. I spent a lot of time at the restaurant."
Her parents, Bill and Cecilia, opened Poon's of Covent Garden in 1973, earning a Michelin star in 1980 and becoming one of London's most iconic Chinese restaurants, helping to shift perceptions of the cuisine in Britain.
Around the same time, in Southall, Dipna Anand was also growing up in a restaurant. Aptly named, Brilliant Restaurant, the establishment was founded in Nairobi in the 1950s by her grandfather and brought to London by her father Gulu in the early 1970s. Specialising in Punjabi cuisine, it won plaudits from locals, critics and visiting dignitaries alike.
But for Anand, "The restaurant was like a second home," she says. "Some of my earliest memories are of being in the kitchen, watching my dad cook." She remembers stacking bottles, laying out paper tablecloths and learning to peel garlic, roll chapatis, and blend spices...
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| Lugma in Arabic means a bite. For Noor Murad, her career has been centred around taking bites of food and analysing them to create the perfect dish. Her recipes are inspired by the foods of her upbringing: the elaborate rice dishes and black limes of the Gulf, an abundance of herbs and sour flavours from Iran, liberal spice and chilli heat from India and the vibrant foods of the Levant – to create a unique collection of traditional and re-imagined dishes from the Middle East. |
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