Local councils in the Italian city of Milan in the Lombardy region are considering whether to impose a ban on restaurants serving non-Italian food. In one town in the region, four kebab shops have been denied licenses on the grounds that their cuisine is against the traditions of Italy. This bizarre move appears to have the support of Silvio Berlusconi, the equally bizarre media magnate who is the current Prime Minister of Italy. Read more

I always like to try something new and  believe that to have old favourites is to deny yourself the pleasures of something new. So here are some of the meals and dishes that I remember with affection from last year. Read more

I woke up in a strange hotel room last Sunday and reached for my morning paper. Bleary-eyed, I worked out that I wasn’t at home, wasn’t even in India and that therefore, I would not get to see that week’s Brunch. Well, yes and no. Read more

It says something about the revolution in our eating habits that most serious Italian restaurants in India (by ‘serious’ I mean those that do not restrict themselves to pizza and pasta) put carpaccio on the menu. In most cases, it is the original though it may not actually be made from beef because the restaurant uses buffalo meat – which also tells us something about religious taboos and restaurant menus.
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Four internationally renowned chefs – Nobu, Giorgio Locatelli, Santi Santamaria and Michel Rostang – opened restaurants at Dubai’s newest luxury resort. Will the food approach the levels it reaches at their principal restaurants? Read more