We’re driving through the Yorkshire Dales on an early Spring evening. The road is winding and hilly; up and down like we’re on a rollercoaster. It’s 6.25pm and it’s still light. But the kind of artificial glow when the desk lamp is on, in an otherwise dark room. Objects within the surrounding landscape are given …
Continue reading A trip to the Yorkshire Dales: ‘Walks fuelled by the painting of nature’.
Some might be surprised to know, confused perhaps, that I didn’t grow up in a house of tea drinkers. In fact, it was a complete caffeine-free zone, not even a coffee in sight. To this day, I still haven’t seen my parents drink the stuff. The first time I got into tea was at university. …
It was the depth of winter. February 2018. Fu-Schnikens, renowned for their steamed buns, hosted a ramen night as a prerequisite for what was to come. The teaser we all wanted. A new restaurant was on the horizon for Leeds. Over three years, the name House of Fu was born, with more taster nights, anticipiation …
Continue reading House of Fu, Leeds: ‘I dip my spoon in, slowly sinking into this hot bath’.
School Diner, Leeds I remove a slice to unveil the shape of Pac-Man. Studded with gems of ruby red pepper, a smothering of blistered halloumi and slugs of muddy green pesto. My pizza sits on a paper plate it’s already outgrown and as each fragile slice is airlifted towards my mouth, rings of translucent grease …
Two cinnamon bagels, a nap and several podcasts later, I'd arrived in Rotterdam. I disembarked the train (quick Passport, money, phone check) walked out of the ticket barriers and realised...I hadn't really thought this far. I was actually in Rotterdam now. A city in Europe I'd never been to in my life and I was …
"Rotterdam? Isn't that a port?" This was the response I was met with, every time I said I was going there by myself for three days. I used, "its amazing architecture", as my go-to reply but soon realised this sounded weird when I wasn't exactly a budding architect - so I quickly added "art, food …
"This place doesn't have an address," were the words uttered as we got out the Uber. "Right, where are we going then?" It wasn't long before we stumbled upon the restaurant on Stainbeck Corner, despite not being able to find the postcode anywhere (it's now on their social media). It was a Friday night and …
Continue reading Hern, Leeds: ‘A chorus of small plates started flying out of the kitchen’.
Lisbon is a city for exploring. Spend the day meandering around narrow, cobbled streets, climbing up stone steps and soaking up panoramic views from the ruins of a castle, or a rooftop bar with a porto tónico in hand. It's a city steeped in history with mesmerising architecture, plus, you're never less than ten metres away from …
The Blog Archive Series is all about unearthing some of my blog posts from the past. This interview with the founder and owner of Latitude Wine & Liquor Merchant in Leeds (around the time they were celebrating a decade) was written in July 2018. ‘I originally came up to Leeds University in 1993 and have …
Continue reading Blog Archive: Latitude Wine Celebrate a Decade
I recently visited Amsterdam for a long weekend and absolutely loved it. Staying near the beautiful Oosterpark, we rented bikes, drank great beer and just spent time getting lost in central Amsterdam, walking up and down canals and over bridges, mesmerised by the rows and rows of surreal architecture. When we weren't doing that, we …
food with mood 