Women built, and still shape, our culinary culture every day
On 8 March each year, the calendar lights up: dinners celebrating women, panel talks, articles and online events amplifying female voices.The mood on International Women’s Day is joyful, the conversations energised and it feels as if the world is finally paying attention.But then 9 March arrives.Do the celebrations stop? Do we tuck away the banners with the last of the desserts? When the events conclude, are women no longer worth celebrating? The sad truth is that many International Women’s Day events can feel like lip service.Less so in the food world – or at least in our corner of it.
For generations, cooking has been predominantly a women’s realm, and the knowledge and wisdom that sustained humanity has been passed through the female line.So the culinary world is one of the few in the professional sphere where women have an edge.For inspiration, we look at the great female cooks – Claudia Roden, Madhur Jaffrey, Elizabeth David and many more who knew the value of these traditions- and we look at countless others who innovate and stretch what food can be and do: Georgina Hayden updating traditional Greek recipes, Thomasina Miers changing the face of school canteens, Sally Abé calling out sexism in professional kitchens, Asma Khan giving value to domestic traditions (pictured top with her all-female team of chefs at Darjeeling Express).The people who champion the best and most delicious food, the people who expand the conversation around food, are very often women.Our restaurant, Honey & Co, is and always has been a matriarchy – most of our management team are women.
They lead our kitchens and run our front of house, wine programme, communications and logistics.While this was not done by design, we believe it is key to our company’s success and longevity.We don’t know much about other parts of the economy, but when it comes to food, celebrating and empowering women is something worth doing all year round.Bunheads | It is hot-cross bun season, and while we think that ours are seriously good, we were given a couple from Bakery Arch, one of St John’s three restaurants, and thought them pretty close to perfection.The HCB etiquette is as follows: cut in half and toast, butter generously, then have the bottom side with a thick slice of good cheddar and the top with a generous amount of marmalade.
Done like this, it’s a two-course meal.(And if you can’t make it to St John’s, Felicity Cloake has a masterclass on how to make the perfect ones at home.)Follow the crumbs | Is a chocolate croissant worth the 15-minute bike ride from Stockwell to Battersea? It is if that croissant is from August Bakery, where we find ourselves more and more and more.We should either move closer or further away.Baker’s delight | We’ve done a deep dive into Edd Kimber’s new book, Chocolate Baking, which is as good as it sounds – better, even.
We are hosting an afternoon tea, all from this book, and we’re not sure how it will go down, but it sold out so quickly that we suspect not many people are giving up chocolate for lent – and those who do would love this book as a gift.If you want to read the complete version of this newsletter please subscribe to receive Feast in your inbox every Thursday.
India retain T20 World Cup with 96-run final win over New Zealand – as it happened
It might not have been the thriller neutrals wanted, but it was everything India desired. They became the first men’s team to defend the T20 World Cup and the first to win it at home after drowning New Zealand in a deluge of runs in Ahmedabad in front of 100,000 giddy and almost universally blue-clad supporters.New Zealand looked forlorn while conceding 255 and wretched when attempting to chase it, and after meandering through much of their innings with defeat already a certainty they were still 96 behind when it ended. They have now reached four World Cup finals of various hues since 2015 and lost them all, plus the Champions Trophy last year to boot.The player of the tournament is Sanju Samsondouble quotation markIt feels like a dream! I’m out of words, out of emotions
India retain T20 World Cup as Samson and Bumrah inspire rout of New Zealand
It might not have been the thriller neutrals wanted, but it was everything India desired. They became the first men’s team to defend the T20 World Cup and the first side to win it at home, after drowning New Zealand in a deluge of runs in front of 100,000 giddy and almost universally blue‑clad supporters.New Zealand looked forlorn while conceding 255 and wretched when attempting to chase it, and after meandering through much of their innings with defeat already a certainty they were still 96 behind when it ended. They have now reached four World Cup finals of various hues since 2015 and lost them all, plus the Champions Trophy last year to boot.You know it is absolutely, definitely going to be your day when a fielder drops a catch while blinded and still the ball refuses to come to earth
Tears and drama amid snowboard cross chaos at Winter Paralympics
From their vantage point to the south of the San Zan course, the first sight spectators see of the snowboard cross are figures punching through the horizon. Coming off the back of a left‑hand turn, racers come into view as they make the first of a series of jumps in what is also, perversely, a part of the course where you can pick up speed. The moment is over in a split second, as athletes disappear once again behind safety fences. The impact on the gathered crowds is undeniable though: they can’t help but let out a roar.Snowboard cross is a sport with high technical demands, as athletes negotiate a series of challenges from – to adopt the lexicon – jumps and berms to rollers and drops, all along a winding course
Team GB mixed doubles curlers must beat Italy after ‘psychology’ of China defeat
Great Britain must defeat the host nation, Italy, in their final round‑robin match of the mixed doubles curling to secure a place in the semi-finals, after being roundly beaten by China.Jo Butterfield and Jason Kean started well against the unbeaten pair of Wang Meng and Yang Jun and led at the halfway stage. Missed opportunities and a sharp improvement from their opponents, however, meant a 5-3 lead became a 10-5 defeat, with the eighth end left unplayed.Butterfield said the shift in the match was explained by China getting a better measure of the force needed to “draw”, or land a stone in or in front of the scoring house. “Unfortunately, in the second half they really dialled into what draw weight was
Scotland showcase potential to chase Six Nations title and end pain against Ireland
The feeling that Scotland might just have the hang of this winning thing continues to build. Playing dazzling rugby every now and then has never been a problem. Meaningful wins? Harder to come by.Perhaps the most entertaining part of the extraordinary win against France – and there were, how to put this, quite a few of those – was watching the resolutely unmoved disposition of Gregor Townsend. As if it was no big deal
RFU backs Steve Borthwick despite England’s historic Six Nations loss in Italy
The Rugby Football Union has backed Steve Borthwick to continue as England head coach into the summer and arrest their drastic decline but the chief executive, Bill Sweeney, stopped short of pledging his support through to the World Cup next year.Borthwick is under intense scrutiny after England’s first defeat by Italy on Saturday extended their losing run to three matches following miserable losses against Scotland and Ireland. Austin Healey is among the former players calling for Borthwick to be sacked with England on course for their worst Six Nations campaign, and Ben Youngs, the most-capped men’s player, believes that the side is “set up to just not lose”.England finish their Six Nations campaign against France in Paris on Saturday before they begin their Nations Championship fixtures in July with a daunting trip to South Africa.After the 23-18 defeat in Rome, Borthwick said he was still the man to lead England and expressed belief he had the RFU’s support
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