‘More bling’: Matt Weston targets second Winter Olympics gold after skeleton glory
Matt Weston celebrated becoming the first British athlete to win a gold medal at these Olympics by having three slices of margherita pizza and then going straight to bed.“Some people might find it surprising,” Weston said on Saturday morning, “but I’ve got to keep my head together for the team race on Sunday.”The mixed team skeleton is a new event at these Olympics, and it means Weston has a shot at becoming the first British athlete to win two medals at the same Winter Olympics.“Doing the individual is one thing, and it’s an amazing kind of position to be here with a gold medal in front of me on the table,” Weston said, “but it would be amazing to become a double Olympic champion, I think we do have a pretty good chance.”Weston will be paired with the fastest finisher among the three British athletes competing in the women’s competition, Tabby Stoecker, Freya Tarbit, and Amelia Coltman.
They will both make one run down the track, and their combined time will be what counts,The key difference is that, unlike the regular event, the mixed team skeleton uses a reaction start,Sledders can only go when the start lights change, and there’s a half-second penalty for anyone who makes a false start,“I think we’re going to be one of the strongest sets of teams out there,” Weston says,“We can definitely take it to the rest of the nations, and hopefully come back with a few more bits of bling.
”Their strongest competition comes from China, Austria, and Germany, whose men won the silver and bronze in the men’s event behind Weston, and women filled the same positions after the first two heats of their event,Germany has won the event on four of the five times it has been held at the world championships, but Weston finished second on each of the last three occasions, twice in partnership with Stoecker,“We’ve had quite a few of them now, although this year I only actually took part in one because I have been restricting how much I’ve been doing because of the pretty bad injury at the start of the season,But I haven’t forgotten how to do it so, yeah, I’m excited to see what we can do and I think the team’s in a great position,”Weston has broken the track record in Cortina four times already this week, but is convinced he can be even quicker.
“I’m very much a perfectionist so even in that last run there’s some bits that I wasn’t quite happy with,” he says,“I look at it as a continuation, like a five-heat race,The only difference is that reaction start, and that’s quite exciting, it adds a bit of jeopardy and adds a bit of adrenaline so hopefully I’ll push a bit faster as well,It’s just laying it all out there,”Weston’s roommate at these Games, Marcus Wyatt, will also compete in the mixed team event, along with the second-fastest of the British women.
Heard it on the grapevine: Polish wine’s quiet renaissance
Swap the staid stereotypes of Żubrówka vodka and Żywiec lager for vineyards and vintages, because Poland is in the throes of a viticultural renaissance, the likes of which hasn’t been seen for centuries. On a road trip tracing Poland’s best terroirs back in the summer of 2023, I met winemakers going against the grain, unshackled by tradition and producing unpretentious, expressive pours that more than merit a place on your dining table.Lately, Polish wines have been cropping up all over bar and restaurant lists: Niemczańska’s chardonnay at London’s most emblematic Polish restaurant, the borscht-fronted Daquise in South Kensington, say, while chic bar Spry in Edinburgh has started stocking my favourite producers, Dom Bliskowice, Kamil Barczentewicz and Nizio. But you won’t find bottles nestling between the neat rows of kabanos sausages of your local Polski sklep, nor lining the supermarket shelves. Or not just yet, anyway
My love letter to Brittany’s best exports
Every February – or occasionally March – I get together with two friends to gorge on pancakes; I provide the pan, Caro does the cocktails and poor old Harry is invariably the chef because she never fails, even three ciders in. With two half-Frenchies in the room, we always start with buckwheat galettes, usually served complète with gruyère, ham and a fried egg (though the more we eat, the more adventurous the combinations become). Then we move on to softer, thicker British sweet pancakes with lemon juice and crunchy demerara sugar to finish. We rarely manage to meet on Shrove Tuesday itself, but apart from the year I went vegan for Lent, that’s no problem. After all, any cold, dark evening is improved by a pancake party
Rachel Roddy’s recipe for cacio e pepe, the old-fashioned way | A kitchen in Rome
Nightclubs, mechanics, restaurants, a theatre, a wholesale butcher and an Apostolic church occupy some of the network of caves and tunnels that, over the centuries, were burrowed into Monte Testaccio, an ancient rubbish dump hill in the middle of Rome that’s made entirely of broken amphorae. Some places make a feature of their situation, revealing sections of pots not dissimilar to the cross section of snapped wafer biscuits, while others have smoothed the curves with plaster.A few use the caves as originally intended – that is, as natural warehouses offering steady low temperatures and good humidity. In short: the ideal temperature for storing certain foods and wine. Most recently, Vincenzo Mancini, whose project DOL distributes artisanal products from small agricultural realities in Lazio, has taken over a deep cave behind door 93, reclaiming it as an urban ageing space for cheese and cured meat
How to use up leftover pickle brine in a tartare sauce – recipe | Waste not
Depending on country, region, household or restaurant, every cook makes tartare sauce in their own way. Inspired by Auguste Escoffier’s exceptionally simple tartare, I’ve given his recipe a zero-waste twist by using whole boiled eggs and swapping in pickle brine from a jar of gherkins or capers to replace the vinegar. Everything else is optional: tarragon, mustard, cayenne … add what you like or have in store.Traditionally, tartare sauce is delicious with fish and chips, calamari or in a chicken sandwich, but I also like it tossed through potato salad with tinned sardines and radicchio. It’s also great as a dip with crudites and on top of a steaming jacket potato
Cocktails and crepes in bed? Ravinder Bhogal’s recipes for Valentine’s Day breakfast
Give me breakfast in bed over a bunch of limp supermarket roses any day. Nothing says “I love you” more genuinely than a decadent tray of delicious things to savour between the sheets. Because V-Day falls on a weekend this year, you can do better than just buttered toast and an unbidden cup of tea. Whether it’s sweet or savoury (or even a cheeky cocktail), I’ve got you!These French crepes are given the Midas touch with a pinch of saffron. Use your favourite fish – mackerel and salmon also work well here
‘Boy kibble’: why are young men turning to dog food for meal inspiration?
The dried food, traditionally for pets, has become an unlikely influence for meal preppers. Some commenters have even claimed the trend could be an antidote to toxic masculinity Name: Boy kibble.Age: It’s new.Appearance: Like a dog’s dinner.Isn’t that what kibble is? Traditionally, yes, kibble is dried food for pets in pellet form, made of grains, vegetables and meat
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