Archives for Food & Drink - Page 3
Shopping with the Seasons
FIONA MCGARRY looks at what you should be buying from your greengrocer through the year. January: Christmas veg such as Brussels sprouts and red cabbage are often cut price in…
Food Crisis or Just Shop Local?
ROD WEBB Having lived through the pandemic and the more recent ‘egg shortage’, I’m a bit sceptical of media stories and government spin. During the pandemic we seemed able to…
Top Chef Comes to Sleeper Store
by STEVEN SHORT The Michelin Guide describes Cambridge’s Vanderlyle restaurant as “blending shabby chic styling and designer comfort” and offering a vegetarian tasting menu that “shows imagination and creativity.” Named…
Biscoff Key Lime Pie
by KIERAN MCGARRY Don’t like pancakes? Bored of cheesecake? Key lime pie is a great alternative and is cheap and easy to make. In this version, the biscuit base has…
Reasons to Eat Ramen
BY FIONA AND KIERAN MCGARRY Originally from China, ramen is a noodle soup that can be made with almost any ingredients you have knocking around the kitchen, served in a…
A new cafe for the ‘meeple’ of Hastings
By Jennifer Meredith There’s a new hangout spot in Hastings Old Town for all to enjoy. Whether you’re looking for something different to do on a mid-week evening, a fun…
Mulled Wine with Apples and Berries
By Fiona McGarry It’s been a cold December this year. Time to batten down the hatches, throw some spices and wine in a pan, then serve it in a glass…
Warming Up The Homeless needs YOU
Steven Short talks to WUTH about the charity’s drive to recruit more volunteers for its weekend food offerings. “It’s like Ready Steady Cook, our home cooks never know what they’re…
Seasonal Local Food: Fishbites
Alistair McDonnell gives us a round-up of the fish that is caught in Hastings in each season and suggests some different ways of cooking it. The UK imports 60% to…
Come Dine for Palestine
Foodies are invited to sample a host of Palestinian vegetarian dishes on Saturday 26 November at a one-off event. ‘Come Dine for Palestine’ has been organised jointly by Hastings Friends…
Grape Expectations
STEVEN SHORT talks to local entrepreneurs Jamie and Steph of Vine + Country Tours and gets the inside track on local vineyards with a wine tour. Jamie Thompson was working…
Brewing up a Storm
Damien Pestell meets the Brewing Brothers, Ned and Charlie Braxton, to find out about their business ventures which have culminated in the new Brewery Tap Room on the Ridge. Some…
A Lot of Bottle
HIP talks to Gina Hewitt and James Hickson to find out more about Hastings latest independent wine shop The Bottle of Hastings. Gina and James outside the off licenceCREDIT: Rachel…
Tomatoes: good for the heart
By Fiona McGarry These days, tomatoes are everywhere. Supermarkets stock so many varieties at such varied prices, it can make you dizzy. Greengrocers have them piled high, and gardeners and…
Out with the old…
Old Town vegan favourite evolves, with a new name and menu that includes vegetarian options. Steven Short talks to Dan Wiltshire of A Taste of Vitality. Dan Wiltshire knows a…
Time for Beer: Hastings Tap Takeover 22
This weekend, from 7-9 October, the UK’s largest fully independent town-wide beer festival returns to venues across Hastings and St Leonards. Fifteen independently run pubs, bars, and bottle shops are…
What’s the story? La Delizia
Emilia Esposito tells STEVEN SHORT about the delicatessen and restaurant that recently opened in The Old Custom House on the seafront in the Old Town. So … who’s behind the…
The fiver-a-meal challenge
By Sally O’Connor & Ben Bruges Local activist Claudine Eccleston set HIP a challenge to collect meals for under a fiver to help people in Hastings struggling with the increasing…
Coffee and Cake with a View
By Fiona McGarry August … the perfect time to sit near the beach, looking out to sea with a coffee, feeling the sun, absorbing the salty atmosphere – and eating…
Las Tapas Rock-a-Nore: Exclusively Spanish
By Steven Short If I might be a little A. A. Gill for a moment (ie start a review by talking about myself for ages): I lived in Spain for…
Leche Frita
If you’re looking for an unusual summer dessert, try this traditional recipe from Andalusia. It has a sweet, rich flavour and is easy to prepare using store cupboard ingredients. You…
Introducing Town Grown – a network of local food growers
By Hannah Robbins and Anna Locke Town Grown is a new project set up to support and stimulate food growing across the Hastings area. Its aim is to help anyone…
A wonderfill life
Wonderfill, St Leonards’ first refill shop in King’s Road, is now three years old. HIP spoke to HANNAH ROBBINS about the benefits of refill shops. I understand that a lot…
Spring Foraging: Jack-by-the hedge
By Fiona McGarry I recently noticed a large plant springing up everywhere I looked on my allotment. I discovered that it’s garlic mustard – or Jack-by-the-hedge as it used to…
ROOTS: The man behind the menu
William Brewin of St Leonard’s new vegan takeaway ‘Roots’ tells us about his foodie journey. How did the idea for Roots come about? During second phase of lockdown I started…
The Seadog
By Steven Short Joseph Ryan and Holly Murdoch know a thing or two about running pubs. Twelve years ago, Joseph, originally from Ireland, opened Howl at the Moon in Hackney,…
Now open: The Cove
Fairlight must be relieved and delighted to finally have its pub back in action – following its closure in 2016. The new owners of The Cove are Henry David, who…
Easter Baking
By Helen Groves The long bank holiday weekend is a great reason to get together with friends and family. I am sharing my mum’s recipe for Easter Biscuits and my…
St Mary’s Café & Bar: Sunny days and dirty nights
Straddling the old and new towns of Hastings, St Mary’s Café & Bar forms the gateway to St Mary’s in the Castle. Fiona McGarry went there to experience its relaxed…
Stag Nights In The Old Town
The Stag Inn in All Saints Street is one of the town’s oldest pubs – it even has its own Wikipedia page if you want to read about its ghosts…
Make the most of Nettles
If you like spinach and broccoli, why not try nettles? Green, fresh and healthy, they are a great free vegetable to eat in March and April when they are tender.…
Cumbia and Beyond
Helen Groves meets Jackie Turner of Cumbia Kitchen to discuss South American food, vegan cheese and her Carnival pop up at Sugarpie Honeybuns. I got to know Jackie last year…
Pancake Art
Pancake day is coming up on 1 March. Get children involved by using a range of toppings to decorate their pancakes: try doing self-portraits or making patterns. You will need:•…
Unusual wines – on your doorstep
By Jennifer Meredith The nights are still a little longer than we’d like, and the weather leaves a lot to be desired; but luckily for us, we live in a…
Will You Walk into My Parlour?
By Fiona McGarry Nowadays, we may associate a ‘parlour’ with funerals, beauty, ice cream or even milking cows. Luckily, this restaurant is named more for its more traditional meaning of…
Taking Pot Luck
Potluck suppers are organised by Energise Sussex Coast at The Common Room on the last Thursday of every month. Fiona McGarry went along to check one ; What are potluck…
Cooking Up Culinary Delights At Coast
College restaurant trains the chefs of tomorrow By Steven Short How many Hastings restaurants can you name? You probably know a couple in New Town, or on George Street in…
The Ultimate Seville Orange Marmalade
By Mick Studd Commercial marmalade tastes nothing like home-made – it’s well-worth making your own. Seville oranges are the most sought-after fruit for making marmalade, although the season for Seville…
Veganuary
By Helen Groves I’m a firm believer that vegan food is just good food; it doesn’t have to be all about meat substitutes and processed food. Cultures all over the…
Mindful January Drinking at The Nest
By Celia Farrar The arrival of New Year brings the inevitable pursuit of self-improvement, which usually means trying to achieve some sort of version of a healthier you. Pledging to…