‘Over the top and fun:’ TGI Fridays boss insists time is right for a UK revival
“I am a little crazy maybe,” admits Ray Blanchette, a former TGI Fridays kitchen manager who has taken on the revival of the bar-restaurant chain’s UK business in the face of blasting industry headwinds.Blanchette’s family investment firm, Sugarloaf, rescued the Dallas-based parent business from administration in 2025. He then went on to pick up its UK arm in January after the local franchisee got into difficulties, retaining 33 UK restaurants but closing 16, with the loss of 456 jobs.British restaurants and cafes have been struggling with higher staffing, energy and food costs while diner numbers have dwindled as households avoid eating out as their spare cash has been squeezed by similar forces. Increases in tax – including employers’ national insurance contributions and business rates – have layered on the pain
Lord Haskins obituary
Chris Haskins, Lord Haskins, was perhaps the most prominent business supporter of Tony Blair’s New Labour project, brought in to Downing Street at the start of his administration to advise on cutting red tape, and later as “rural tsar” in the wake of the devastating foot and mouth outbreak of 2001. What Blair would praise as Haskins’s invaluable “no nonsense approach” was honed during 40 years building up Northern Foods into Britain’s leading food manufacturer. There he was credited with developing the chilled food techniques that have made possible today’s enormous growth in ready meals and convenience foods.Haskins, who has died aged 88, combined the acumen of an entrepreneur and enlightened business manager with a socialist conscience. Alongside it went a compulsion to tell the truth as he saw it, which could sometimes get him into difficulties
Wake-up call: how Telstra’s ‘unreasonable’ price rises may cause customers to hang up
Telstra has long traded on its claim to have better – and far more expansive – mobile coverage than its rivals to justify a steep pricing premium that has accelerated in recent years.But the telco’s latest changes, which include steep price hikes and the closure of its cheaper “starter” plan to new users, combined with a dramatic rejection of its coverage claims by the industry regulator, risk putting off many of its traditional customers, according to consumer advocates.Telstra recently announced sweeping price changes including raising monthly charges on its mobile plans, a big money printer for Australia’s biggest telco.Telstra’s standard monthly mobile plan will increase from $70 to $74 for 50GB of data, representing an aggressive second price hike in less than a year.Its announcement cleared the path for rivals, including Optus, to make similar increases
US jobs market surpassed expectations in March but February losses were worse than first reported
The US labor market picked up in March as employers showed signs of resilience amid the US-Israel war in Iran.After an extraordinary contraction in February, employers added 178,000 jobs last month, ahead of economists’ expectations of about 70,000.The unemployment rate fell to 4.3%, according to data from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. In February, the economy lost 133,000 jobs, according to revised figures
Food prices spiked in March as Middle East conflict drove up energy costs, UN says
Food prices rose sharply in March as war in the Middle East drove up energy prices and freight costs around the world, a UN report says.An index of food commodity prices by the UN’s food and agriculture organisation increased by 2.4% in March, its second consecutive monthly rise.The index – which tracks grain, sugar, meat, dairy and vegetable oil costs – had risen for the first time in five months in February.The biggest increases were in vegetable oil and sugar prices, which increased by 5% and 7% respectively in March
M&S calls for crackdown on ‘brazen, organised, aggressive’ retail crime
Marks & Spencer has called on the government and London’s mayor to crack down on retail crime, saying it has become “more brazen, more organised and more aggressive”, after reporting an increase in shoplifting and violence at its stores.The M&S chief executive, Stuart Machin, has written to the home secretary, Shabana Mahmood, and its retail director, Thinus Keeve, has written to the London mayor, Sadiq Khan, saying greater resources are needed for police to tackle the crime effectively and target repeat offenders and crime hotspots.“In the past week alone we have had gangs forcing open locked cabinets and stripping shelves, two men brazenly emptying the shelves of steak and walking out, a large group of young people ransacking a store before assaulting a security guard, a colleague head- butted trying to defuse a situation and another hospitalised after having ammonia thrown in their face,” Keeve wrote on the M&S website.“It is worse in London, but it is happening across the country, and it is becoming routine, because it seems there are no consequences.”Police responded to reports of antisocial behaviour involving a group of “several hundred young people” this week in Clapham, south London, as part of “link-ups” using social media apps, including TikTok and Snapchat
Australia says it won’t raise drug prices after Trump’s 100% tariff on pharmaceuticals imported into US
Australia will not cave in to pressure from pharmaceutical giants and the Trump administration by removing consumer price protections on common medications, the health minister, Mark Butler says.Donald Trump imposed a new 100% tariff on branded pharmaceuticals imported into the US overnight, Australian time, trying to force manufacturers to agree to drug-pricing deals or commit to making their products domestically.It is the latest challenge for Australian manufacturers selling products to American consumers and comes as the White House tries to force changes to Australia’s Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme, which guarantees lower prices for prescription holders here.Under a new executive order signed by Trump, large pharmaceutical companies will have 120 days to announce plans to avoid the new tariff, while smaller companies have 180 days.Companies agreeing to move manufacturing to the US can see a reduced 20% tariff, with some carve-outs given to companies agreeing to preferred pricing deals for US consumers
Blue Owl Capital limits withdrawals after investors try to redeem $5.4bn
A major private credit investment firm, Blue Owl Capital, has imposed a cap on withdrawals after investors tried to pull $5.4bn from two key funds, in the latest sign of crumbling confidence in the unregulated lending market.The New York-headquartered firm released filings on Thursday that showed a surge in redemption requests, with investors asking to take back 21.9% of the cash stored in Blue Owl’s $20bn (£15bn) Credit Income Corp fund between January and March. Meanwhile, investors requested 40
Oil price jumps and markets slide after Trump warning to Iran
Oil prices have soared after Donald Trump vowed in a televised speech to hit Iran “extremely hard” over the coming weeks, knocking hopes of a near-term end to the conflict in the Middle East.Brent crude prices jumped by as much as 8% on Thursday to $109.74 a barrel, reversing Wednesday’s drop when hopes of a de-escalation in the Iran war pushed the international benchmark below the $100-a-barrel mark at one point.The cost of oil produced in the US also jumped, with a barrel of West Texas Intermediate – crude that is drilled and processed in the US – rising by 11% to $111.60 a barrel, over the $110 mark for the first time since 9 March
US crude oil hits $110 a barrel and markets drop as Trump dashes Iran de-escalation hopes – as it happened
US crude has surged over $110 a barrel today, for the first time in over three weeks.The price of a barrel of West Texas Intermediate has jumped by 10% today, after US President Donald Trump vowed to hit Iran “extremely hard” for the next few weeks, dashing hopes of de-escalation and an early end to the conflict.US crude is trading at $111 a barrel, the highest level since 9 March.This puts a barrel of WTI above the international benchmark, Brent crude, which has jumped more than 8% to $109.32 a barrel
Stellantis recalls 44,000 UK vehicles over fault that could cause fires
The European carmaker Stellantis has issued a recall for 44,000 UK vehicles after discovering a fault that could result in its cars catching fire.The fault has been found in certain models across its Peugeot, Citroën, DS Automobiles, Vauxhall, Lancia, Alfa Romeo, Jeep and Fiat brands, produced between 2023 and 2026. Key vehicles affected by the recall include the Citroën C3, Peugeot 208 and Vauxhall Mokka.The manufacturer said the issue related to a lack of clearance between the gas filter pipe and a component of the belt starter generator, which could cause water to leak into the engine bay during wet driving conditions. That created a “potential risk of fire” in the engine, in the worst-case scenario
UK firms expect to raise prices more quickly as Iran war pushes up costs
Companies in the UK expect to raise their prices more rapidly over the coming months as the war in the Middle East drives up costs, Bank of England research shows.The Bank’s regular survey of more than 2,000 chief financial officers conducted last month, after the Iran conflict began, shows they now expect to raise their prices by 3.7% over the coming year.That was a rise from 3.4% in February, while the bosses’ expectation of inflation across the economy has risen from 3% to 3
Goodbye mrbrightside416: Google allows users to alter quirky Gmail addresses
Pupils in England are losing their thinking skills because of AI, survey suggests
Claude’s code: Anthropic leaks source code for AI software engineering tool
SpaceX confidentially files to go public at $1.75tn, reports say
‘System malfunction’ causes robotaxis to stall in the middle of the road in China
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Don’t blame AI for the Iran school bombing | Letters
Patrick McKeown obituary
Apple at 50 quiz: top sellers, turkeys and turtlenecks
MP rejects Palantir’s claims that criticism of NHS England deal is ‘ideologically motivated’
US tech firm Oracle cuts thousands of jobs as it steps up AI spending
I wore Meta’s smartglasses for a month – and it left me feeling like a creep
Trussonomics still haunts parties’ economic promises in run-up to UK local elections | Phillip Inman
As local and regional elections across the UK loom into view, it is clear the spectre of Trussonomics lives on. The Greens, Reform UK, Your Party, Restore Britain, the Conservatives and even the Liberal Democrats cannot help making extravagant spending promises, often paid for by cutting something or borrowing more that, they argue, will have no negative economic consequences.Or if they do, the costs will be borne by people and businesses they do not care about.Only Keir Starmer and his cabinet colleagues seem to be immune to the hysterical demands for the UK government to somehow reconfigure the way the economy operates without any spillovers, unintended consequences or extra costs that nullify the supposed gains derived from the original policy.Liz Truss promised huge tax cuts worth £45bn paid for with extra borrowing and welfare “efficiencies”
House swaps: why exchanging home could be a ticket to a dream holiday
About six miles from Reims, beside a golf course, is a house with a heated pool and space to sleep 10 people that would probably be perfect for many of those planning to book a family holiday in France.An hour’s drive from Disneyland Paris, the four-bedroom property is quiet, located near a village with a bakery, has an electric gate that provides security, and is on almost half an hectare (one acre) of land.The cost? Nothing, if you are prepared to sign up to a “house swap holiday”, whereby you exchange your home with that of another person.Some regular home swappers claim they saved tens of thousands of pounds over the years.There are many websites where you can search for the perfect swap with (see end of story)
Kurt Strauss obituary
My father, Kurt Strauss, who has died aged 95, was a senior engineer who worked for more than two decades at the Electricity Council, the government body that coordinated electricity supply in England and Wales before privatisation in 1990.He worked for all of that time within the council’s overseas relations branch, managing international relationships, technical exchanges and consultancy services while rising steadily through the ranks to associate director. German by birth but brought up in the UK, he was a passionate European who spoke French and German, and was therefore well suited to those responsibilities.Kurt was born in Degerloch, a suburb of Stuttgart, into a Jewish family. In 1937 his parents, Viktor, who worked in the family down and feather business, and Marianne (nee Melzer), sent Kurt’s older brother, Helmut, to safety in Britain, where he ended up at a boarding school, Sidcot, in Somerset
UK’s leading AI research institute told to make ‘significant’ changes
The UK’s leading AI research institute has been told to make “significant” changes by its main source of taxpayer funding.The Guardian revealed last week that the board of the Alan Turing Institute was reminded of its legal duties by the charity watchdog after a whistleblower complaint.The UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) body, which awarded the ATI a five-year, £100m funding package in 2024 and is its largest single source of funds, said it had conducted a review of the institute and found it underperforming in terms of strategy and delivering value for money.“The review concluded that overall strategic alignment and value for money are not yet satisfactory,” the UKRI said.Last summer, the government made clear that it expected a strategic overhaul at the nominally independent organisation and indicated the need for management changes, adding that its funding could be reviewed
County cricket day two: Anderson rolls back the years with five-fer for Lancashire
Storm Dave’s approach brought with it a gutsy wind that swirled across the vast expanse of Grace Road, forcing players’ hands into pockets and the owners of an elderly labrador to swap ends to keep their faithful hound warm. But the weather didn’t put off Ollie Robinson or Henry Crocombe, who both took five wickets on another long day for Leicestershire.Robinson, whose farmhand run-up disguises his skills, grabbed five for 42 and there was a career-best five for 33 for Crocombe, who found impressive bounce and nip from the surface. The watching England and Wales Cricket Board scout will have had plenty to note down. Jake Weatherald (83) was the stand-out batter for Leicestershire, all nut-brown arms and interesting angles
Henry Arundell inspires Bath to come-from-behind win over Saracens
Henry Arundell’s two tries helped Bath to a tight victory over Saracens as they squeezed their way into the quarter-finals of the Champions Cup. The English champions trailed 10-0 at the break against a Sarries side unrecognisable from the one crushed here in the Prem, but the introduction of their heavyweight bench, with Thomas du Toit to the fore and man of the match, turned the contest.The game, in which the referee, Nika Amashukeli, was replaced at half-time for Ben Connor after coming off second-best in a collision with the Bath back-row Josh Bayliss, went down to the wire and a late try from Noah Caluori set up a nervy finish. But Arundell’s second with the final play settled the outcome for a relieved Bath and booked a last-eight tie at home to Northampton on Friday night.“Sometimes in knockout rugby, you just need to get the job done
Unions privately voice misgivings over BMA pay demands and doctors’ strikes
Trade unions have privately expressed qualms about the forthcoming doctors’ strikes, expressing frustration at the conduct of the talks and the demands of the British Medical Association.The BMA is pushing for a pay rise higher than the 3.5% offered to doctors by the government, with strikes planned for next week.However, more than a million NHS staff who are not doctors – including nurses, physiotherapists, midwives, healthcare assistants, ambulance workers and hospital porters – are due to receive an even lower pay rise of 3.3%, set via the Agenda for Change (AfC) system
Sadiq Khan protection officers ‘leave bag with guns and Taser on south London street’
Armed police officers protecting the London mayor, Sadiq Khan, allegedly left a bag containing guns and a Taser on the street which was discovered by a member of the public.The Metropolitan police said on Friday it was investigating the incident and five officers had been removed from frontline duties while inquiries were being carried out.The bag was found on a kerbside in south London at about 9.40pm on Tuesday. A Met spokesperson said: “We have made a referral to the Met’s directorate of professional standards following an incident which took place on Tuesday 31 March
Sunday best: Thomasina Miers’ recipes for aromatic chicken one-pot and salted caramel banana cake
I love Mexican chillies for the subtle flavour they give to cooking. Take the ancho, with its sweet, earthy notes of chocolate and plum. That adds immense depth to dishes traditional and avant garde alike, and is now readily available online and in shops. In today’s one-pot, which is a near-perfect way to cook a whole chicken, the ancho adds character to a classic sofrito, while in the pudding the savoury notes and touch of heat complement the dark caramel, helping to create a banana cake that is anything but bland. If you can’t find ancho, try any other medium-heat chilli flake in its place (nora, aleppo), or simply leave it out
Oats, sardines and crisps: emergency foods to stockpile – and why you should share them
People should have an emergency stockpile of food in their homes in case conflicts, extreme weather or cyber-attacks shut down supplies, leading UK experts have told the Guardian.In an ever more turbulent world, they say it is essential to choose long-life items that can be eaten without cooking – think tinned beans, vegetables and fish, rice crackers, and oats that can be soaked. But it is also important to choose items you actually like to eat, and some treats such as chocolate or crisps to keep your spirits up. You will also need water – lots of it – not just to drink but for washing too.Perhaps the most surprising advice is to be prepared to share your stockpile with neighbours
The Guide #237: Fab 5 Freddy, the street artist at the heart of New York’s creative zenith
In this week’s newsletter: A new memoir by Fred Brathwaite offers an insight into the city’s emerging underground scene in the 70s and 80s – and shows us the power of subcultures in difficult times Don’t get The Guide delivered to your inbox? Sign up hereHello everyone, I’m Coco Khan, covering for Gwilym Mumford, and this week, as the sun started to peep out from behind the clouds, I counted five Jean-Michel Basquiat T-shirts on passersby during a park walk.Sure, I may live in a trendy London borough – but it’s still hardly surprising, given that the name and works of the New York artist whose roots were in graffiti have been licensed to fashion brands from Next, Primark and Uniqlo to Supreme and Saint Laurent. It’s hard to imagine that the artist – who died at 27 of a drug overdose, and whose signature slogan SAMO© (Same Old Crap – a criticism of consumerism, and the commodification of art, with a playful copyright mark) – would approve of the Basquiat name being on keyrings, tote bags and clothing. But hey, what do I know – I’m just another purist bore still upset that Ramones T-shirts are worn by millions who couldn’t name a song, when the Ramones themselves did not care.Still, the hope is that such merchandise connects new audiences to the artist’s work and graffiti as an art form
Eminem’s 8 Mile helped me survive abuse – and opened my eyes to a world outside of orthodox Judaism
My upbringing denied me access to the arts and led to me bottling up my feelings about what was happening to me. Then I saw Eminem taking control of his destiny, and decided I needed to do the sameAt 15, I had never been to the cinema, or even watched a movie. I grew up in a strictly Orthodox Charedi Jewish household, the daughter of a rabbi, in Glasgow, where we had next to no exposure to cultural influences beyond our religious world. The bookshelves were stacked with biblical texts and teachings, we sang in Yiddish and I only saw TV at my less religious grandparents’ house, where we could watch the end of the tennis if it was finishing as we arrived.By my mid-teens, my parents had moved to Jerusalem and sent me to live in Manchester, with a scholar who would later abuse me
Labour challenges Farage over cost of private jet trip to Maldives
Starmer must call energy summit akin to 2008 crisis response, Labour MP says
Drip-feed of Reform UK controversies puts party’s policy drive in shade
UK politics Q&A, as it happened: Andrew Sparrow answers your questions on Starmer, Reform and more
Reform donor Nick Candy sells Chelsea mansion for reported £275m
Reform housing spokesperson sacked after Grenfell ‘everyone dies’ remarks
Starmer calls on Reform to sack Simon Dudley after ‘everyone dies’ Grenfell comments
‘People need hope’: Greens court voters in battle for north-east council seats
Your Party to focus local election efforts on backing independent candidates
Starmer calls for ‘ambitious’ new UK-EU ties as Trump threatens to quit Nato
Reeves criticises Trump for starting Iran war with no ‘clear plan’ to get out of it – as it happened
Energy crisis: why ‘keep calm but cut down’ may be a better message for Labour
Helen Goh’s recipe for ricotta, rum and raisin cake | The sweet spot
This is a cake for the long, ambling tail-end of an Easter lunch. It’s gently scented with orange and vanilla, lightened by ricotta, and studded with rum-soaked raisins that bring bursts of sweetness to each slice. Ideally, they’d be soaked overnight to plump them into something luscious, but if time gets away from you, take a shortcut: put the raisins and rum in a microwave-safe bowl, zap for 20–30 seconds, then leave to cool and absorb. The chocolate glaze is optional; on days when you want something simpler (or lighter), a generous sifting of icing sugar is all this cake needs. Serve with a small glass of grappa or something similarly warming for a quietly perfect way to bring a feast to a close
Cocoa-crazy: chocolate-infused liqueurs deserve their own moment
Among my minor childhood traumas was the time my dad returned from a business trip to Belgium with a smart box of assorted chocolates (cue tiny violins). Expecting caramel, I bit into a truffle and was met by an explosion of very boozy liqueur. The box seemed to be an exciting change from the usual duty-free Toblerone, but after this incident, truffle assortments have always struck me as deeply unsafe. (I have tried liqueur-filled chocolates since, but still remain flummoxed by them.)The Guardian’s journalism is independent
Baked cheesy smoked haddock and lemon icebox pudding: Henry Harris’ alternative Easter lunch
Sometimes all you want is a hot, bubbling dish and a spoon, and for me today’s cheesy haddock is that dish – a 15-minute supper to be enjoyed in front of the telly with a salad or a large bowl of hot buttered peas. Add a lemony, biscuity iced dessert, and you have a light, very easy and enjoyable supper that’s almost the perfect close to a long Easter weekend.Choose your smoked haddock carefully: you want large, thick fillets of undyed fish. Stating the obvious, here, but a good fishmonger will have this; a supermarket never. The creme fraiche must be a French, naturally soured cream, too, becausethe cheaper English versions coagulate when heat is applied, resulting in an unpleasant, watery gunk
Rachel Roddy’s Easter cannelloni with spinach, peas, ricotta and mozzarella – recipe
Fresh sheets smelling of fresh air or fabric softener (or both) with hospital corners are one of life’s great pleasures. As are fresh sheets of egg pasta – the sort that comes in squat boxes protected by clingfilm and found in the fridge section alongside ravioli. They are also one of the most useful and certainly the most multi-talented of all the pasta shapes.That they are labelled lasagne is limiting; of course, they can be lasagne, but they could just as easily be numerous other shapes. The most easy-going of which is maltagliati, meaning badly cut, which tells you everything you need to know about the approach required as you cut them (using a knife, pizza wheel or pair of scissors) into uneven bits that are ideal in all sorts of soups, but especially those with beans
As Australian food prices rise, ‘robust’ cauliflower and cabbage are April’s best value fruit and veg
As roast and soup season starts, it is “a good time for brassicas”, says Graham Gee, senior buyer at the Happy Apple in Melbourne – “cauliflower and broccoli”. “You get a good supply of cabbage, kale, silverbeet and leeks too. All the robust veggies.”While they might not be ultra cheap, he says “a whole cauliflower can go a long way. You can feed a lot of people with them
How to turn a leftover roast lamb bone into Wales’ national dish – recipe | Waste not
Cawl is Wales’ gift to the world of thrifty, slow-cooked broths and, like all great peasant dishes, it’s seasonal, versatile and immensely practical. A few years ago, Food & Drink Wales invited me to create two food sustainability toolkits, one for hospitality and one for the public, with both celebrating Welsh produce and recipes. This led me to explore Wales’ national dishes and discover cawl (or lobscows, the northern Welsh name for the dish) properly for the first time. Inspired by Welsh culinary legends Dudley Newbery and Tomos Parry’s recipes, it’s the perfect way to turn lamb leftovers, or even just a bone, into a hearty meal.The magic of cawl lies in its sheer simplicity
Australian supermarket Easter eggs taste test: ‘The quality of Easter chocolate is simply worse’
Nicholas Jordan goes on the hunt for good Easter eggs. After nibbling through 29 products, he is glad the ovum ordeal is overGet our weekend culture and lifestyle emailIf you value our independent journalism, we hope you’ll consider supporting us todayWhen I was a kid, chocolate usually came with some kind of regulatory statement: “you can have some if you finish your dinner”, or “don’t eat it all at once”. But at Easter, that went out the window. The amount of chocolate I ate then is barely believable.Now that adult me is making the decisions, I can eat chocolate whenever I want, with the fervour of an unaccompanied labrador in a pet food shop
What a slip-up! The shop in Orkney that accidentally ordered 38,000 bananas
Name: Banana bonanza.Age: A few days old – and getting riper by the minute.Appearance: Try to imagine a lot of bananas.Easy. How many bananas is a lot of bananas? About 38,000 bananas
Ways to use mint sauce without having to roast a lamb
My wife adores roast lamb with mint sauce. However, after an online purchasing blunder, my larder now contains six jars. How can I make use of them apart from serving roast lamb every Sunday from now until the crack of doom?John, by emailAs is so often the case, it all starts with a shift in mindset. “When you see a jar of sauce, there’s a real tendency to think, ‘I must use this as a sauce,’” says Kate Young, author of Dinner at Mine? Start treating that surplus mint sauce as an ingredient instead, however, and your life will be a whole lot easier. “If John is planning on using chopped fresh mint with, say, meat, cheese or veg, then consider how you might use mint sauce in its place,” Young adds
Sami Tamimi’s recipes for slow-cooked lamb with spicy pickled lemon and jewelled Easter rice
Whenever I’m asked about my favourite dish to serve to friends and family, in most cases I’d say slow-cooked lamb at the centre of the table. After a long, slow cook, the meat becomes tender and rich, and the spices melt into every bite. Served with flatbreads, tahini, fresh herbs and sharp pickles, it invites everyone to build their own perfect mouthful. Across the Middle East and Mediterranean, lamb symbolises generosity and celebration, especially at Easter, when roasting it remains an adored tradition.The lamb is marinated with garlic, olive oil and aromatic spices the night before, to give the flavours time to deepen, then, after luxuriating in the oven, it emerges golden, fragrant and meltingly tender
I can’t believe it’s got butter: this double-dairy ice-cream has gone viral – but how does it taste?
What’s yellow, a new superfood (according to the internet) and essential for hot cross bun consumption? Butter. The once-vilified member of the food pyramid is now the snack of choice for many and liberally slathered on to everything. Not even the humble soft serve has been able to escape its greasy grasp.The butter-dipped soft serve, popularised on Instagram, is characteristic of food made for social media: the questionable flavour pairing enhances its desirability. Soft serves with pale yellow shells are already being sold by Cherry’s Goods and Air Lab in Sydney and Timboon Fine Ice Cream in regional Victoria
Rukmini Iyer’s quick and easy recipe for artichoke, olive and feta pithivier | Quick and easy
Pithiviers look absolutely beautiful at the table. For the classic shape, you can buy circular all-butter puff pastry (Picard does an excellent one, with two sheets in one packet) or cut regular puff pastry into circles. That said, it’s just as delicious and there’s more bang for your buck with a big rectangle. Either way, it’s filled with moreish artichokes, olives and feta, with fresh lemon and parsley to lift the flavours. It’s 100% the type of meat-free main that everyone else wants to try, too
Post your questions for DJ Shadow
Stephen Colbert on Trump attending birthright citizenship hearing: ‘That’s mob-boss-level intimidation’
Colbert on Trump’s shifting tone on Iran: ‘It’s a military strategy known as starting a 1,000-piece jigsaw puzzle’
Jon Stewart on Trump: less war leader, more ‘grandpa who’s lost his filter’
Chatting dating, jazz and the Harlem Renaissance: the exclusive supper clubs where Black women nourish community
Smiley Face: finally, a stoner comedy for the girls who get overstimulated at the supermarket
‘After one gig, someone stole my car with my dole money in it’: Morcheeba on how they made The Sea
Jayson Gillham announces tour with Palestinian-Jordanian musician ahead of MSO court case
Fill that Glasto-shaped hole! The 40 best UK festivals you can still book
Shaun Micallef: ‘Charlie Pickering said that’s the only thing keeping him going – to vanquish me’
I thought I’d been coping with my sister’s death – a Taylor Swift song showed me I hadn’t
The Guide #236: Is celebrity casting a cynical marketing stunt or does it help to democratise theatre?
