August 2026 favourites list

This month’s pictures are from a very pleasant lunch I had at the famous London restaurant Fallow. The restaurant serves up “modern British cuisine” putting a principle of “conscious usage of British produce” at the forefront of what they do, with sustainable practices. The two main chefs, Jack Croft and Will Murray, have worked at some top restaurants Dinner (Jack), Core, The Fat Duck and The Clove Club (Will), but at Fallow they have managed to be classy but not snooty. It feels like a pleasant and relaxed place to treat yourself to a special meal rather than the more demanding “fine dining” experience.  

 

I hope you will like the food photos, but also the selections of food writings, kitchen tips, and recipes for this month. If you have been wilting in the heat, I feel your pain. Let us hope for rain and for the mercury to fall in September! 

Foodie inspiration 

Chinatown Bakery’s Roast pork bun and roast pork pastries are something I love to buy either when in London’s Chinatown or any of the Chinese grocery shops which sell their products. If you love pandan cake and all the other gorgeous baked treats, you will be pleased to know they are expanding: https://www.timeout.com/uk/news/chinatown-bakery-20-locations-080426  

 

The much missed chef, food writer, and culinary explorer Anthony Bourdain was not just a born genius chef. He worked his way up from washing up to food preparation to cooking, learning skills from many people who were migrants and people of colour. In this article, Jason Jesudason says the new film Tony concentrating on the year of his life where he started to work in restaurants does not properly honour his work and legacy:  https://www.bbc.co.uk/culture/article/20260812-why-anthony-bourdain-biopic-tony-fails-to-honour-the-chefs-work  

Emiko Davies' defence of Japanese food, after *that* horrible racist piece in The Canberra Times exposes the original author's stunning ignorance. It is also a good read on Japanese food. [I know it is on Substack, I can't help that.] https://emikodavies.substack.com/p/japanese-curry-is-the-worst-curry 

A history of Japanese food culture with the startling revelation that eating red meat only started in Japan in the mid to late 19th Century.   https://buttondown.com/theswordandthesandwich/archive/notable-sandwiches-145-yakisoba-pan/  

 

Science expert Hannah Fry talks air fryers: https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m0029kt8/the-secret-genius-of-modern-life-series-3-1-air-fryer  

Nigel Ng AKA Uncle Roger on MSG and why it is misunderstood plus some chat about the Uncle Roger phenomenon and the best egg fried rice (podcast plus bonus cook along edition): https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/howto/guide/nigel-ng-aka-uncle-roger-on-msg-and-the-best-egg-fried-rice  

Kitchen tips 

What is the best way to store tomatoes? Cold in the fridge makes them tasteless, that’s for sure. But can I be bothered to tape them all at the top? I am unconvinced. https://www.foodandwine.com/best-way-to-store-tomatoes-12032959  

Personally, I use parmesan rinds by putting them in my risotto when I leave it to sit with grated parmesan and butter, but it’s too hot to sweat over a pan of stock, ladling it into risotto, right? So here is Tom Hunt’s pesto recipe using up a single parmesan rind.  https://www.theguardian.com/food/2026/aug/12/how-to-leftover-parmesan-rind-pesto-recipe-zero-waste-cooking  

 

They are a bit light on the cooking details, but Science Daily have explored the idea that microwaving your chips before frying might make them absorb less oil when you fry. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/07/260729044048.htm  

Recipes  

Mieke has shared a new recipe, which you can call a vegan sobrasada or a sun dried tomato dip. Either way, it will taste great on toast, flatbread or on pasta. https://www.dorothy-porker.com/vegan-sobrasada-from-sundried-tomatoes/ 

 

Grain salads might be a way to go this summer if you are bored of salad leaf. This chicken, chickpea, and grain-salad with green harissa is served warm and takes 10 minutes: https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/uk/food/recipes/a73403903/chicken-chickpea-grain-salad-green-harissa/  

Kavey recently reviewed the Chinese Made Easy cookbook by Kwoklyn Wan, sharing this Minced Lamb and Aubergine Noodles recipe from the book. Sadly, I couldn’t get hold of any lamb mince in my local supermarket, but I did make it with pork mince and it was delicious: https://www.kaveyeats.com/minced-lamb-and-aubergine-noodles   

May at Eat Cook Explore shares the recipe for Shakalaka, a sweet and spicy vegetable relish originating in Soweto, South Africa: https://www.eatcookexplore.com/chakalaka-recipe-a-south-african-condiment/  

 

Diana Henry’s recipe for Turkish spiced chicken with flatbreads and green relish from Saturday Kitchen:  https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/turkish_spiced_chicken_12732  

Fowl Mouth’s supperclub host and cookbook author Melissa Thompson uses Japanese flavours in this Bavette steak recipe with ponzu:  https://www.nigella.com/recipes/guests/ponzu-pepper-and-garlic-bavette  

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.