37 11 APRIL 2024 DIANA HENRY Idon’t think I’m judgemental about other people’s cooking. Some of my friends don’t cook at all, and rely on ready-meals. I could bring them up to speed on the latest thinking about ultra-processed food, but I’ve just eaten a handful of Pringles (the manufacturers must put something in them to make them so irresistible). I’m not holy, so I don’t have the right to criticise, or even ‘help’. It’s a di erent matter when it comes to the younger members of my family. With them, I find it impossible to hold my tongue, although it’s mostly about food waste or spending money on products they could make. When I came home after a few weeks away recently, the kitchen was sparkling, but the fridge was not (in my sons’ defence, they weren’t there much of the time and had clearly felt it was not their responsibility). There was a bano ee pie that had turned to brown banana slush, an aerosol can of UHT cream (what on Earth…?), and a jar of tomato and chilli sauce, out of which only two tablespoons had been used. A bowl of black paste which looked like spent co ee grains turned out to be leftover pesto (why had someone made enough for six when only two were eating?). There were various bags of mulch – spinach, lettuce, tarragon and parsley – four sausages (past their sell-by date) and a pack of bacon which was hard at one end, having not been wrapped properly. Don’t get me started on all the little dribbles of soured cream, tubs of half-used Skyr and chunks of feta swimming in stinky brine. There were also enough carrots to keep Peter Rabbit fed for life. My friend Lucy came round the next day and listened to me moaning about profligacy and the abomination that is UHT cream. “For God’s sake,” she said. “They have to learn and it’s quite hard to eyeball quantities when you’re starting out. At least they’re full of enthusiasm!” I cook so that there is little waste, and I thought I had taught them to do the same. Maybe I just have to say, more often, but in a gentle way, what you can do to make four sausages into a dish. One of them is cooking risotto for his girlfriend – the first meal he has made for her, so this is significant. I was on the verge of asking him which rice he was going to use (a question for a seasoned risotto maker) and whether there was chicken stock in the freezer, but I kept schtum. I didn’t even ask if he was making dessert or which wine he was buying. Those close to you aren’t going to cook the way you do. Nor should you want them to. They must develop their own style, their own favourite dishes. There are times when older but well-meaning cooks – like me – should butt out. I recall the steak Diane I used to make on a Saturday night, the sauce swimming in so much brandy you could have got drunk just by smelling it. To her credit, Mum never said a word. She was just glad that I was cooking. Diana is The Sunday Telegraph’s food writer. @dianahenryfood It’s best not to judge other people’s cooking – unless they’re family From The Good Food Guide Freshford, Wiltshire Iford Manor Café & Kitchen Tucked away at the bottom of a steep valley that feels lost in time, this hidden gem of a farm-to-table restaurant is an entrancing prospect complete with prettily planted suntrap terraces, while terracotta walls hung with gardening tools give a stylishly rustic feel inside. The Italian menu showcases vegetables from the estate’s walled kitchen garden alongside locally reared meat, with everything from bread to ice cream made in-house. This attention to provenance and process pays dividends – whether in a starter of pickled beet salad with an appleThe tangy, ery avours of Korean cuisine have been quietly winning over food lovers all over the UK, and a pot of Cooks’ Ingredients Gochujang Chilli Paste (£1.85/105g) is a simple but punchy way to get a taste of it. Traditionally made from fermented soy beans and gochugaru – chilli powder – gochujang is used to add a little sweetness, umami and lots of spice to dishes such as udon (left), rice or slow-cooked stews. Mix it into a marinade or drizzle over crispy chicken goujons and you’ll see what all the fuss is about. Light the fire What’s hot fennel gazpacho poured at the table, or a main of tender, grilled pork with a tangy lemon, anchovy and tomato salsa. Our spring lunch finished with limoncello curd tart topped with Italian meringue. Committed, friendly sta combined with the restaurant’s community-minded ethos create a warm welcome, and there’s a short European wine list to round things o . The restaurant is only open for lunch, with occasional supper clubs. Next door is the private Georgian manor house and the beautiful Grade I-listed Peto garden, open from April to September. Find more eateries to try in The Good Food Guide with this QR code Photographs: (c) Marianne Cartwright-Hignett, Gareth Iwan Jones
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