I’m not saying I’d like one of these heads hanging outside our house; but then I’m not not saying I wouldn’t (hi Val!)… First though, I need to point you to an article about the “piglet squid” (Helicocranchia pfefferi) which grows to about 8 or 10 cm long. It’s found… Read more

…define “need“. Read more

Is there anyone, who, deep in their heart of hearts, doesn’t like a pie? Whilst I’m sure there’s a metric fuck-ton of various foods that — under intense questioning — others would choose as their comfort items and the traditional Death Row prisoner’s “last meal” is a continual moveable feast for… Read more

Love the seasoning effect this stuff gives me. “You led me away from home ‘Cause you didn’t wanna be arome…” Read more

Pig pieces via Fergus & team. ’nuff said… Read more

With a population of only 5.7 million people, the Danes still manage to slaughter 32 million pigs each year. The Danish chef Christian Puglisi (at least I think it was him, can’t be sure now, you see a theme emerging here?) mentioned this statistic some time in the past 24… Read more

I know I sometimes bang on about fish sauce. No apologies from here though — sorry —  ‘cos if you know, you know… A rather spiffing new book came out just after Christmas 2021, one co-written with chef Diep Tran of Good Girl Dinette in LA, author Tien Nguyen (who… Read more

As an immigrant, I understand how the soul gets lonely for its origins. —MADELEINE KAMMAN But then there’s always a migrant in the kitchens. I’ve written little bits before about how their lived experience has, of necessity, changed for them, much of it of course as a direct consequence of… Read more

Yeah, sorry good people of America, I know that’s a problematic word for you. But us Brits were here first with this UK food item, so just live with the ambiguity. Life is after all ambiguity. There’s rough edges, there’s gaps and holes. There’s uncertainty. That’s how it is. And those of you… Read more

I actually managed to remember the source for this post — praise be — coming to you via Le Pigeon’s Gabriel Rucker. We’d watched the Nick Cage movie “Pig” and found out that he’d been given some training by Rucker… …so it seemed a good idea to dig out one of his… Read more

There’s a deep, rich humorous lode, albeit one that’s already been mined and minted somewhat, from many of the scenes of Peter Falk playing “Columbo”, where he’s caught eating or snacking or simply apparently starving, musing on how long it’ll be to his next meal and, in the meantime, dipping… Read more

A rather lovely butter knife (courtesy of an eBay bidding accident), made by a W. M. Gregory of Sheffield in the late 19th Century. One that seemed to be used in grocers & larger houses on what were obviously pretty large slabs of butter… Read more

…and, whilst reluctantly, admitting that I have [on occasion] squandered my resistance For a pocketful of mumbles [or, at least oysters] and noting that I’ve no fucking idea what ‘mumbles’ are, which memory reminded me, for no reason I can work out, of the line “I’m always in the wrong place, at… Read more

The former is a pig… …whilst the latter is porcelain pottery (albeit both started their inexorable Westward journey via The Middle Kingdom).   The Meishan (in Chinese 梅山猪 and pronounced may-shaun) pig, is very possibly one of the oldest domesticated breeds in the world, originating over 5,000 years ago around… Read more

Rather you than me. You remember the old saying that starts “You can take a horse to water…”? In comparison with this serving suggestion, that’s a sunny, quiet, calm, walk in the park.   I came across this recipe whilst looking at this lovely old wood engraving by Reynolds Stone which… Read more

Our concept was to have a Ming or Tang dynasty theme for décor, a fine crew of master chefs, and a well-organized dining room crew headed by a courteous maitre d’, host, hostesses, and so on. And we topped it off with a glass-enclosed kitchen. This would serve many purposes.… Read more

It’s a good thing. And in this lyrically written piece by the very excellent Nick Hunt you’ll find out more. It’s called “RETURN OF THE FOREIGNERS” and I’d commend you to it.   Read more

At school I steered clear (in as much as this was feasible anyway in a school that thought a caning, regularly applied, was some sort of educational incentive) from the classics. Latin — taught by a man who, at least at the time, seemed to me to be as old,… Read more

This pig breeder, Forest Coal Pit Farm, based in the Snowdonia National Park, popped up in a @JennyLinford piece about the collapse of Farmdrop this week (and in my browsing history back in 2019). They’ve still got their ‘native’ Welsh Blacks (not one of the traditional rare breeds), seen in… Read more

That my granddaughter is known as “Piglet” by her extended family is a source of deep, ongoing delight. Just sayin’…     Read more