Corenucopia by Clare Smyth, London SW1: ‘Posh, calories-be-damned cooking and a dad rock soundtrack’ – restaurant review

A Michelin-adjacent bistro with white tablecloths, red-trousered guests and a chunky wine listIn a room packed with fancy types just off Sloane Square in London, I am eating a £52 plate of dover sole and chips while Status Quo’s Rockin’ All Over the World blasts cheerfully through the room. The chips are very nice, all crunchingly crisp and yieldingly fluffy in all the right places. All 12 of them were perfect, in fact, stood aloft in their silver serving vessel. “A-giddy-up and giddy-up and get awaaaay,” sings Francis Rossi as I perch on a velvet, pale mustard banquette that’s clearly so very expensive that I shudder every time my greasy paws so much as skim close to touching it.Clare Smyth, of three Michelin-starred Core fame, is letting her hair down with this new project, Corenucopia, where she’s cooking a less pricey, more comfort food-focused menu

Two stars from Michelin, one for hygiene: star chef’s poor score ignites UK dining debate

According to a critic who has eaten at every three-star Michelin restaurant in the world, Gareth Ward, the star chef and owner of Ynyshir, on the southern edge of Eryri national park, is a groundbreaking visionary.“He knows which rules to break and when,” Andy Hayler wrote. “He’s like Picasso; if you look at his early still lifes, they’re unbelievably perfect.”Food safety officers at Ceredigion county council clearly do not agree. Ward’s two-Michelin-starred establishment was given a one-star hygiene rating in a recent inspection, which means it is operating below minimum legal standards

The rule of thumb when using a mandolin in the kitchen | Letters

My sympathies to Lucy Mangan after she “sliced half the ball of [her] thumb off with the mandolin” (Digested week, 9 January). I fear that mandolin injuries may amount to a significant drain on the NHS. A few years back, I was in an A&E queue, having mandolined off my thumb tip. The chap behind me had done exactly the same thing, though, unlike me, he had brought along the severed tip in a shopping bag, on ice. (My wife later thought she’d found my thumb tip in the sink

Still confused about swedes and turnips | Brief letters

When I was growing up in Sunderland, the big round vegetable with orange flesh was a turnip and the small round purple and cream vegetable with white flesh was a swede (Letters, 14 January). When I moved to London, the big vegetable was called a swede and the small one a turnip. After 57 years of living in London, I’m still confused.Linda SealHammersmith, London In the quiz by Thomas Eaton (10 January), Swindon Town were incorrectly listed alongside Elgin City, Juventus and Marseille as having had league titles stripped from them. In 1990, after finishing second in the old Second Division and winning the playoff final, they were found guilty of financial misconduct and denied promotion, but they never won a title to have it stripped from them

Benjamina Ebuehi’s recipe for Viennese fingers | The sweet spot

If I were to rank my top biscuits of all time, Viennese fingers would sit firmly in my top three. There’s not too much going on: just a good, buttery crumb, melt-in-the-mouth texture and chocolate-dipped ends, which are a must. While they’re pretty straightforward to make, issues often arise when it’s time to pipe the dough, and it can be tricky to strike a balance between a consistency that has enough butter but still holds its shape once baked. I find that the addition of a little milk helps make it more pipeable, as does using a large, open-star nozzle to avoid cramped hands and burst piping bags.Prep 5 min Chill 15 min Cook 40 min Makes 10130g very soft salted butter 50g icing sugar ½ tsp vanilla extract 170g plain flour 2 tsp custard powder 1 tsp milk 70g milk chocolateHeat the oven to 180C (160C fan)/350F/gas 4, and line a large baking tray with greaseproof paper

Not keen on feeble nolo wine? Try these instead

Are you a lover of oaky rioja, or maybe zingy Kiwi sauvignon blanc, and looking to find a non-alcoholic lookalike? To put it bluntly, I’m afraid you’re out of luck. Alcohol does much more than make you tipsy; it is the magic ingredient that gives so much of wine’s wondrous complexity, character and charm. Not only does it carry volatile compounds that make up wine’s endlessly fascinating combinations of scents and tastes, along with a sensation of warmth, it also creates that viscous body and texture – what’s rather grossly known in the trade as “mouthfeel” – of the liquid in your mouth, and the overall balance of all these factors in the wine.The Guardian’s journalism is independent. We will earn a commission if you buy something through an affiliate link