Main Courses
Lancashire Hotpot
A hearty Lancashire hotpot with tender lamb, slow-cooked vegetables and golden, rosemary-topped potatoes. Chef Andy Campbell shares his take on this comforting British classic.
November 5, 2026
Main Courses
Traditional Irish Lamb Stew
A comforting traditional Irish lamb stew with tender lamb, seasonal vegetables and a naturally rich, silky broth. Discover Andy’s secret to the perfect Irish stew, using floury potatoes instead of flour to thicken the sauce.
November 5, 2026
Main Courses
Coq au Vin
A classic French bistro favourite, Andy’s Coq au Vin features tender chicken thighs slow-braised in rich red wine with smoky bacon lardons, mushrooms and pearl onions. A comforting, flavour-packed dish that’s perfect for a leisurely Sunday lunch or dinner.
October 31, 2026
Homemade Snacks
Mini Argentinian-Style Cheese & Onion Empanadas
These homemade Argentinian-style empanadas combine buttery, golden pastry with caramelised onions, mature cheddar, goat’s cheese and warming spices. Served with a tangy tomato and chilli dipping sauce, they’re perfect for sharing.
October 25, 2026
Potatoes
Dauphinoise Potatoes (Gratin Dauphinois)
Discover the secret to perfectly creamy dauphinoise potatoes with this professional kitchen method. Tender layers of potato, double cream, garlic and butter, finished in the oven until beautifully golden.
October 25, 2026
Beef
Bobotie – A Cape Malay Classic
Rich, aromatic and packed with warming spices, bobotie is the ultimate autumn and winter comfort food. This traditional South African dish combines beautifully spiced minced beef, fruity chutney and a hint of citrus, all finished with a golden, savoury egg custard topping.
October 15, 2026
Main Courses
Moules Marinière
Moules Marinière cooked with cider, shallots and garlic, finished with crème fraîche and fresh parsley — a simple French classic with my own twist.
August 21, 2026
Main Courses
Butternut Squash Tortellini
Handmade spinach and ricotta tortellini served with a smooth butternut squash sauce, toasted pine kernels, Parmesan and a crisp.
August 16, 2026
Main Courses
Chicken & Cashew
A quick chicken and cashew stir-fry inspired by a cookery course in Goa, with toasted cashews, vegetables and a glossy soy and chicken-stock sauce.
August 6, 2026
Main Courses
Recipes
There’s something deeply satisfying about making and eating a one-pot dish. The ultimate comfort food – proper fork food – Lancashire hotpot is just the thing to enjoy during the darker months.
If you can get hold of lamb neck fillets, they’re my preferred cut for this traditional British classic.
A proper Irish stew is a celebration of simple ingredients, slow cooking and honest, comforting flavours. Unlike many other lamb stews, the meat isn’t browned beforehand. Instead, it’s gently simmered with vegetables and herbs to create a beautifully delicate broth.
The secret to a rich, silky sauce lies in the potatoes. Floury varieties such as Maris Piper or Rooster gradually break down during cooking, naturally thickening the broth without the need for flour or other thickeners.
If you prefer your stew with distinct chunks of potato, add half at the beginning of the vegetable cooking stage and the remainder 20 minutes before the end. You’ll get the best of both worlds: a wonderfully thickened broth and tender pieces of potato.
Poultry
Coq au Vin is a classic French bistro dish of chicken slowly braised in red wine, traditionally Burgundy, with bacon lardons, pearl onions and mushrooms. The result is beautifully tender chicken in a rich, deeply flavoured sauce.
Julia Child famously helped popularise the dish among American home cooks, using a whole chicken cut into eight pieces. My version uses chicken thighs exclusively, as I find they remain much more succulent during the long, slow cooking process.
The chicken is marinated overnight with aromatic vegetables, herbs and red wine before being gently braised. A little beurre manié — a simple mixture of butter and flour — thickens the sauce and gives it a wonderfully silky finish.
Homemade Snacks
Bring a taste of Buenos Aires into your kitchen with these delicious mini empanadas, filled with caramelised onions, mature cheddar, soft goat’s cheese and warming spices.
A favourite throughout Argentina, empanadas are savoury pastries traditionally made with a rich wheat flour dough and a variety of fillings. Unlike some other Latin American variations, Argentinian empanadas are commonly baked rather than deep-fried, giving them a beautifully golden, crisp exterior.
This version combines a buttery homemade pastry with a rich, gently spiced cheese and onion filling. Each empanada is finished with a traditional hand-crimped edge and served with a vibrant tomato, chilli and lime dipping sauce.
Perfect for sharing, serving as a starter or enjoying as part of a relaxed lunch.
Potatoes
Sides and Components
Rich, creamy and beautifully golden, dauphinoise potatoes are a luxurious accompaniment to duck confit, traditional roast chicken or slow-braised meat dishes.
Adapted from professional restaurant kitchens, this method involves gently cooking the potatoes in cream and milk before transferring them to the oven for a final bake. This ensures the potatoes are perfectly tender, with a rich, velvety sauce and a beautifully golden top.
The secret is to avoid rinsing the potatoes after slicing. Their natural starch helps thicken the cream and gives the finished gratin its wonderfully rich texture.
Beef
The Hout Bay Ostrich Escape
Rich, aromatic and packed with warming spices, bobotie is the ultimate autumn and winter comfort food. This traditional South African dish combines beautifully spiced minced beef, fruity chutney and a hint of citrus, all finished with a golden, savoury egg custard topping.
I first discovered bobotie while working on a consultancy for Stanley Dorman at Fisherman’s Wharf in Hout Bay, South Africa.
Getting there was an adventure in itself. A bank error over a long weekend left my Pretoria-born girlfriend and me without a rental car, forcing us to embark on an epic bus journey from Pretoria, through Johannesburg, all the way to Cape Town.
The following day, a much-needed walk took an unexpected turn when we found ourselves being chased by a rogue ostrich! Cue a frantic sprint and a desperate leap over a fence to escape.
Thankfully, we lived to tell the tale, and later laughed about our narrow escape over plates of this incredible Cape Malay dish.
My version uses Madras curry powder for an extra punch of warmth and spice, but a milder curry blend works just as beautifully if you prefer something a little gentler.
The result is a wonderfully comforting dish that’s sweet, savoury, fragrant and satisfyingly zingy.
When I had my first restaurant on Tower Bridge Road, I became friends with some wealthy Parisians whose parents had an old farmhouse in Normandy, complete with a cider press and a still for making Calvados.
I remember eating this dish with them there, and years later I put it on the menu at The Tree Bistro. Classically, Moules Marinière doesn’t contain crème fraîche, but my customers loved the addition — so it stayed.
Vegetarian & Vegan
Working for my friend’s father near Ferrara, in Emilia-Romagna, I learned to make pasta—20kg a day, to be precise. Most of it was made by machine, but the tortellini and cappelletti were cut and formed by hand. No one spoke Italian, and I wanted to learn, but they all spoke Ferrarese, the local dialect. I was the only man in the kitchen while the chefs were away doing three months of national service, and the older women used to rib me—but it was all in good fun.
Traditionally, tortellini are cut from squares and the name means “little pies” or “little cakes”. For this recipe, I use an 8cm round cutter and fill them with spinach and ricotta, then serve them with a smooth butternut squash sauce. You could also use a butternut squash and ricotta filling and serve the tortellini with sage butter.
After a gruelling three weeks in rehab, I treated myself to a short cookery course in Goa. That was 25 years ago, so this recipe is recreated from memory. I have added chicken stock, which gives the dish a little more sauce.
Salads
I have included more ingredients than the title suggests. The warmth of the chilli and fennel is balanced by bright citrus and fresh mint. Green beans and peppery rocket are brought together with a citrus, honey and mustard dressing. It works especially well alongside grilled seafood, poultry, beef or a hearty pasta dish.
I first had this dish with naan bread in Jaipur, Rajasthan — the Pink City. While travelling around India, I became vegetarian because I did not trust the meat I saw in the markets.
You can substitute the spinach with peas. In some UK Indian restaurants the sauce is enriched with cream or even condensed milk; this version uses strained yoghurt.
Savoury
Pure ‘street food’ combined with a great, easy-to-make chutney. The first time I was in India was at the age of twenty-one. I used to eat this delicious snack in every new place I visited. Sometimes it would be fiery hot, other times made with more flavour than heat. I substitute sweet potatoes for white potatoes. These are oven-roasted for a healthier option, but if you deep-fry or air-fry, make sure you seal the outer layer with a paste made from flour and water.