Iranian food is still surprisingly little known in the UK. We are missing out on some special tastes, as is abundantly clear when you try out London’s Iranian restaurants, which are mainly in west London. There is Hafez, a veteran eatery established 25 years ago, or Alounak, where the appetising smell of lamb cooking over charcoal
December 2008 saw me being asked to talk at the press launch of a Parliamentary inquiry into food security on a panel including Professor Tim Lang (a brilliant speaker who is one of my food heroes) and the President of the NFU.
One of the best parts of my work is that I get to meet food producers who care deeply about what they make. Writing Great British Cheeses in spring 2008, gave me an insight into the world of British cheesemakers, many of whom are wonderfully obsessive about what they do.