October 2025 favourites list

 Welcome to my virtual kitchen table and this month’s favourites list. This month’s photos are from my very recent evening out in the London Bridge/Borough area where I stumbled upon a public art project by contemporary artist Philip Colbert. The playfulness, cartoony nature, and vivid colour of these lobster and floral sculptures put a smile on my face on what was a grey and wet evening. Thankfully, good company, good cocktails, and good food thereafter meant the evening stayed joyful, even if the weather was anything but. There were 5 artworks in the project, but I was only able to spot three. I now realise I probably should have looked up – a reminder we should do our best from time to time to change our perspective. 

I hope you enjoy this month’s selections. Happy new year to all my Hindu readers, who recently celebrated Diwali. May your year ahead be full of light and happiness. 

Food and drink writing

Many of you are watching Netflix drama House of Guinness, which focusses on the Victorian heir to the Guiness fortune, Arthur. This History Extra article explores the true life history of Arthur Guiness. https://www.historyextra.com/period/victorian/arthur-guinness-real-who-life-death/

Greggs opening a pub? Perhaps as a good way of tackling the cost of going out you could have a sausage roll and pint rather than a full plate full of pub grub. https://www.squaremeal.co.uk/restaurants/news/greggs-opens-pub_10966

Cocktails should be enjoyed in style. Here is Vogue’s collection of the best cocktail bars in London: https://www.vogue.co.uk/gallery/best-cocktail-bars-london

Kavey has written an in depth and practical review of pizza cookbook Epic Indoor Pizza Oven by Jonathon Schuhrke, concluding it’s a great set of recipes and cooking advice for home cooks: https://www.kaveyeats.com/epic-indoor-pizza-oven-jonathon-schuhrke

 

Cooking inspiration

As the days are getting colder this month, I’ve been thinking about soups. This is a great article on chicken soups from around the world for cooking ideas for you: https://www.eatingwell.com/longform/7948202/chicken-soup-around-the-world/

How to pimp a can of tomato soup: https://www.express.co.uk/life-style/food/2119661/tinned-soup-taste-better-ingredient

You will have heard about how fermented foods assist good gut health. Here is a short read with simple achievable ideas for your first home ferment projects: https://www.theguardian.com/food/2025/oct/21/how-to-make-ferments-pickles-kitchen-aide

Tinned sardines in the UK (or pilchards as they used to be called) used to be seen as a low value or low class product. But now cult and quality brands from Portugal, Spain and France are available, no longer. But what to do with them? Here’s a helpful piece: https://www.seriouseats.com/canned-sardines-love-letter-11806834

 

Recipes

Mala meat sauce is a Chinese classic, and here is a fusion version served with broken lasagne. The perfect way to use up half a box of lasagne which has been languishing in the storecupboard. https://whattocooktoday.com/broken-lasagna-with-mala-meat-sauce.html

No waste storecupboard recipes https://www.theguardian.com/food/2025/oct/22/comfort-food-recipes-max-la-manna

Ezme is a Turkish meze dish, a dip, which makes bread sing. This is how to make it: https://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/ezme

I’ve come to recognise the deliciousness of burrata rather late. I personally love it with fresh crusty ciabatta, chopped ripe tomatoes, and a touch of fresh basil. But I am always up for new ideas and my fancy was piqued by this Charred eggplant (aubergine) and pomegranate recipe: https://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/charred-eggplant-burrata-and-pomegranate-walnut-relish

Autumn doesn’t just mean soups, it also means stews. Here is a Czech beef goulash recipe for the grey days ahead: https://www.the-independent.com/life-style/food-and-drink/recipes/czech-beef-goulash-recipe-b2837170.html

 

 

TV

A must for music fans who love the sounds of the late 80s, Mix Tape is a likeable drama series following Alison and Daniel’s lives many years after their school teenage romance. With themes of class, opportunity, family life and first love, we travel from Sheffield to Australia, and time travel from the 80s to the present day.

Available in BBC iPlayer: https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episodes/m002fy6d/mix-tape

Each year the Mercury Prize honours the best British and Irish albums of the year. From new talents like to known previous nominees such as Wolf Alice, to vintage acts like Pulp and Martin Carthy. Live performances from the majority of the nominees means this is a great survey of the key albums of the year.

Available on BBC iPlayer: https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episodes/b00dl7hr/mercury-prize

Please note: as with every monthly Favourites List, all of these items have been selected by me simply because I love them. I do not receive any money, benefits in kind or other incentive for posting these links or recommendations.