Spectator Life

Pasta proficiency from Italy, noodle knowledge from Thailand, dumpling education from Georgia, taco tips from Mexico. We might have lost something in the intimacy, the sociability, the hands-on help when it comes to virtual cooking courses, but what we have gained is access to culinary masters from ardour the world, encompassing an extraordinary diversity of cuisines and techniques. There are plenty to get stuck into, but here are a few of the best, taking your tastebuds and your techniques from Tbilisi to Koh Tao. Pasta with an Italian Nonna For the last few years, on the outskirts of Rome, Nonna Nerina has been initiating cooking enthusiasts into the art of pasta.

Analog motion, the brand behind the incredibly popular AM1+, are back with their latest model, the AMX Stealth. The company — so I’m told enthusiastically by their CEO — claims to have had a rethink, and wants to now ‘focus on making products that people love’. This surprised me, since their AM1+, reviewed last year, was exactly that: a lightweight, fun, cool and incredible loveable bike (with a loveable price tag). Even more surprising, then, was the news that it wants to depart from this model and focus on higher-value, higher spec — and of course higher cost — models, the first of which is the AMX Stealth.

How do you enjoy a socially distanced kiss on screen? Come to that, how do you film a socially distanced murder? And, between takes, can robots carry out COVID testing? These are just some of the perplexing issues that actors, writers and directors on film and TV sets have been grappling with of late.  Hollywood productions, and their stars, haven’t been immune to the on-set stresses, an increasingly surreal side-effect of the pandemic. Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Lawrence have been pictured wearing full plastic face visors on set in Boston for the forthcoming Netflix comedy Don’t Look Up.

This February 14th might be the one night of Lockdown 3.0 when it’s no hardship to have to stay at home. Who really wants to go to a restaurant on Valentine’s Day, full of couples who never usually speak to one other? The food is invariably as naff as a Forever Friends foil balloon; everything comes drizzled with pink coulis and at some point you’ll be offered a single red rose for your beloved which has been flown half-way round the world, stiffened with chemicals and devoid of scent. But nor should you think of cooking — bar a bit of finishing off here and there. So don’t say it with flowers, say it with one of these divinely decadent food deliveries.  My bloody Valentine Hawksmoor At Home have surpassed themselves with their Valentine’s box.

Every weekend Spectator Life brings you doses of topical trivia – facts, figures and anecdotes inspired by the current week’s dates in history. 23 January In 1571, the Royal Exchange opened in London. The building (or rather its Victorian replacement) still bears a golden grasshopper, the emblem of the Exchange’s founder Thomas Gresham. He chose this to commemorate one of his ancestors, who as an illegitimate baby was abandoned in a Norfolk field. A local family, the Greshams, were out walking, and only found the baby because their young son chased a grasshopper into the field. They adopted the infant, calling him Roger. Thomas Gresham knew that without that grasshopper he would never have existed.

President-Elect Joe Biden is due to formally occupy The White House after his inauguration on 20 January 2021. For those who take an interest in such things, The White House was not formally called such until 1901, when President Theodore Roosevelt officially gave the building its name. Previously it had been informally known by the term, but also as ‘The President's Palace’, the ‘President's House’, and the ‘Executive Mansion’.  For the residence of the most powerful person in the world, The White House is surprisingly modest, considerably smaller than the likes of Buckingham Palace, The Élysée, Quirinal, Kremlin, Hofburg and The Forbidden City.

The Burns Supper is not so much a dinner as it is a celebration of Scotland’s great contributions to poetry, distilling, and sausage making. Even though this year’s celebrations are set to be smaller scale than usual, the 25th of January still represents an opportunity to defy the winter gloom and raise a few glasses of guid auld Scotch drink. A dram or two, taken neat or with water, is traditional for toasting – but this is by no means the only way to enjoy your whisky on Burns night.  Scotch represents a broader range of styles and flavours than any other spirit and as such has enormous cocktail potential. A good serve can convert purists and whisky-sceptics alike so there’s lots to be gained by getting creative with your malt.