I cannot believe how debased the art of baking is in this country. Don't get me wrong, there are a few decent bakeries in London, but if you go into even quite an up-market supermarket they will have a wide selection of breads with all kinds of flours, flavours and seeds all of which are utter shit. Going into a branch of the ubiquitous Gregg's is to suffer a fate worse than death. Somehow, between them this unholy alliance has managed to rid themselves of all other competition thus leaving us with little choice but to accept their pap.

Food can not get any simpler than bread, yet few things are more delightful than sinking one’s teeth into a fresh baguette, bloomer or boule. As the inheritors of 7000 years of civilisation, we have a right to expect fine, properly made bread to be easily available locally, daily and affordably. In Britain this seems to be far too much to ask.

If you you are lucky enough to live near, don't mind either travelling for hours, or eating stale bread I suggest you try the Exeter Street Bakery (15 Exeter Street WC2E, 1b Argyll Road W8, or selected branches of Waitrose). Degustibus is also worth investigating, they have a shop in Borough Market.

Daniel

A recipe that is great for a light summer meal: Hot and sour beef salad. Don't worry, there is not that much of the dangerous lettuce in it. You will need per person.

A thickish piece of fillet steak (roughly 200g)
Four lettuce leaves
One shallot finely chopped
One red chili finely chopped
Two dessert-spoonfuls of Thai fish sauce, Nam Pla
Two dessert-spoonfuls freshly squeezed lime juice
A teaspoonful of sugar

Fry the fillet steak for one and a half minutes a side at the hottest temperature you can get a pan up to. Whilst frying that arrange the four lettuce leaves on a plate. Mix the fish sauce, lime juice and sugar in a small vessel. When the steak is fried it should be incredibly rare. Slice the steak into thin strips and arrange these on top of the lettuce; there should be the thinnest of crusts on each side of the steak slices, with a big rare stripe down the middle. Sprinkle the chopped shallots and chilies over the top and pour over the fish sauce/lime juice mix.

It should all look like this:

If you get really fiery chilies it is alright to scrape some of them off the meat to leave them, but really this is a dish to make you sweat and feel good over the summer. It is light, themed on meat and very invigorating; what more could you ask for?

David

Spring has arrived in the UK, and this means some good food is available. At Borough Market last weekend we purchased some of the first Lincolnshire asparagus of the season. It was quite expensive, but very good indeed. We also got some Jersey Royal new potatoes. We cooked these both up with some quail for Sunday dinner. It was perhaps the only meal we have cooked in which the vegetables were more expensive than the meat. The potatoes were the best we've had in some months.

Here is the quail barded with goose fat and bacon ready for roasting.

Ready to eat.

David and Daniel