Latest Stories

Most recently published stories in Feast.

Hercules Posey: George Washington's unsung enslaved chef
Each year, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, sees millions of heritage-seeking tourists who traipse the reconstructed brick pathways of the old city, eager to see the sites that birthed ideas of American liberty such as Independence Hall, where the Declaration of Independence was signed in 1776, and the iconic Liberty Bell. But like its ties to democracy, Philadelphia's connection to great American food culture has roots that reach into the distant past, roots that until recently have been obscured in the history books.
By Gay4 years ago in Feast
Bsissa: North Africa's ancient convenience food
Along the curving bay of Tunisia's southern Gulf of Hammamet is the pretty village of Lamta, marked by its ornate blue and white doorways, eclectic architecture and shops selling bsissa, a nutritious food that has been loved and eaten by Tunisians and Libyans for millennia.
By Sweet Holdeman4 years ago in Feast
The hidden legacy of the Seychelles' island cuisine
In a steep valley high on the eastern slopes of the Seychelles island of Mahé, the spice garden of Le Jardin du Roi tells a story of unimaginable variety. Anchored by a graceful 19th-Century home of white wood, soaring ceilings and big windows designed to catch a cooling mountain breeze, Le Jardin du Roi is a window on so much that is good about traditional Seychelles Creole cooking.
By Sweet Holdeman4 years ago in Feast
Is America's best restaurant in Puerto Rico?
In the wee hours of a debauched night at La Factoría, the world-renowned bar in the Old San Juan neighbourhood of the Puerto Rican capital, one of its owners, Leslie Cofresi, swung his arm around my neck in a half-hug, half-headlock. "Tomorrow," he said, "I will take you to real Puerto Rico. Be ready."
By Gay4 years ago in Feast
Spain's 'white gold' super-drink
Stretching across the drying room in a vast, rippled expanse, the tiger nuts seemed almost like desert dunes. I'd come to Valencia towards the end of their harvesting and found the sight of this immense volume – hundreds upon thousands, perhaps even millions – impressive. Singling one out, however, I was surprised to discover a small, wrinkled form that looked distinctly less inspiring. Where tiger nuts are concerned, it turns out, appearances really are deceiving.
By Sweet Holdeman4 years ago in Feast
Italy's rare, surprisingly bitter honey
Corbezzolo honey tricks the palate. Instead of the sweetness one would expect, this extremely rare honey, born in the mountains of the Italian island of Sardinia, is surprisingly bitter, with notes of leather, liquorice and smoke. Nomadic beekeepers have been setting up beehives in the region to collect this aromatic treat – derived from the white, bell-shaped flowers of the wild strawberry tree – for more than 2,000 years.
By Gay4 years ago in Feast
Hong Kong's 'greasy spoon' cafes
With a fifth wave of the Covid-19 pandemic washing over Hong Kong, all restaurants in the city have been ordered to pull down their shutters by 18:00. Daytime business in the city's cha chaan tengs has mostly remained brisk, however. The quirky, no-nonsense cafes have long served up affordable staples to busy people needing to get in, chow down and get out in a hurry.
By Sweet Holdeman4 years ago in Feast
Japan's humble birthplace of soy sauce
Carefully climbing the steep stairs, I followed Tsunenori Kano into the loft of the fermentation room of his family's 180-year-old soy sauce brewery, Kadocho. The dark space was eerily silent except for the creaking of my steps on the old wooden boards laid between the vats of soy sauce. The soy sauce was now dormant, it being late winter, but it still filled the air with a savoury aroma. Around me, a thick, fungus-laden crust covered the ceiling, hung from the beams and grew up the walls.
By Gay4 years ago in Feast
The return of France's lost lemon
If you want to know just how attached the people of the coastal town of Menton are to their beloved lemon, look no further than the legend that credits its arrival on the French Riviera to Eve.
By Gay4 years ago in Feast
Popcorn Balls for Any Season
I've always loved making fun things in the kitchen. Holidays come around and I usually make at least one festive dish per holiday, and delving into seasonal classics and trying new recipes is one of my favorite things.
By Hope Martin4 years ago in Feast
Owamni: A (r)evolution of indigenous foods
On the back patio at Owamni – the Minneapolis, Minnesota, restaurant owned by Sean Sherman and Dana Thompson – the late-evening sun cast my dessert in a natural spotlight. Marigold-coloured agave squash caramel cascaded slowly down the sides of a sunflower-seed cake the colour of sandstone, and a deep red berry sauce shimmered atop a maple chaga cake so earthy in tone, it felt as though it were plucked from the forest floor.
By Sonny4 years ago in Feast
The UK's heritage apple renaissance
Tom Adams is a detective. But he doesn't track criminals – his targets are "lost" apple varieties hiding unsuspected in orchards around the UK, and his work taps into a renewed British passion for its rich larder of heritage apples.
By Pavlak Montoro4 years ago in Feast