Top chefs' reveal bizarre homemade snacks they swear by - including a Marmite 'calzone' and bacon topped vanilla ice cream
Britain's top chefs have revealed their guilty pleasure snacks, ranging from the typical - biscuits - to the more unconventional, such as bacon topped vanilla ice cream.
Cooks from the UK and beyond have shared what the reach for when they're peckish in a new interview with The Times; and some of the answers may have you questioning their culinary tastes.
Legendary French-born restaurateur Raymond Blanc, of Le Manoir aux Quat' Saisons in Great Milton - which holds two Michelin stars - was first to dish the secret on his favourite between-meals munch.
He may be one of the finest chefs in the world, but the self-taught 76-year-old loves nothing more than a simple spoonful of cottage cheese drizzled with maple syrup, telling the publication he didn't have 'many unusual favourite snacks'.
Meanwhile, Michel Roux, once the owner of the two Michelin-starred restaurant, Le Gavroche in London, admitted to combining two peculiar food items in an unlikely sweet and savoury fusion.
'I have to say that a tangy cheese on a digestive is rather nice, and I could live on cheese for sure, but what I really love to snack on is saucisson sec... on good crusty bread with lots of salted butter,' he told the publication.
Even royal-related tastebuds are partial to an unusual treat, as Tom Parker-Bowles, 50, revealed.
The son of Queen Camila admitted he enjoys chowing down on 'cheap American-style cheese slices', insisting on corner shop versions only, topping it with cracked black pepper and Tabasco.
Next, Emily English, an online nutritionist and now the author of a #1 Sunday Times bestseller cookbook, So Good, also shared her most unwonted treat.
The 29-year-old loves nothing more than to tuck into a bowl of full-fat yoghurt topped with a salted rice cake, peanut butter, honey, and a handful of frozen raspberries - a treat that she insisted 'tastes like a popcorn ice-cream sundae'.
Another chef revealed their unusual twist on a classic bowl of vanilla ice cream. Elliot Hashtroudi, head chef at London's Camille, a French restaurant serving up regional classics, confessed to stirring bits of cooked bacon into his ice cream.
The chef said he became inspired to try the unlikely but 'amazing' combination after noting how well a burger and milkshake go when eaten in conjunction.
Hannah Evans, deputy food editor at The Times, said hers was what she called a Marmite and cheese 'calzone', which involved microwaving the two ingredients smushed into a tortilla wrap.
She professed that the snack would likely ruffle some feathers among Italian traditionalists, describing it as her 'particularly indulgent' treat reserved for days when 'nobody else is home'.
Elsewhere, chef and restaurateur of Michelin star Pollen Street Social, Jason Atherton, also enjoys tucking into a simple sandwich.
Brimming with British classics, the 53-year-old said his staple snack sarnie is filled with cocktail crisp sandwiches, grated cheddar and HP Sauce.
And Theo Randall, who specialises in Italian cuisine and has previously earned a Michelin star working The River Cafe in London, said his favoured choice was a slice of buttered sourdough with salted anchovies and a squeeze of lemon.
Elsewhere, José Pizarro, chef and restaurateur, who runs José Pizarro Group, which currently includes six restaurants in the UK and one in Abu Dhabi, added that he enjoys mussels on salt and vinegar crisps.
It comes amid a delicious time for foodies, as Deliveroo has recently revealed the top takeaway restaurants in the UK, including a TikTok viral sandwich shop and high street bakery Gail's.
The winners of the food delivery platform's annual awards were announced on Wednesday, based on 160,000 customer votes and the verdict of a panel of judges; Deliveroo founder Will Shu, food critic Jimi Famurewa and Tilly Ramsay.
Winners were split across five different categories including independent businesses on both national and regional levels - and a new category sponsored by darts sensation Luke Littler who uncovered the nation's best kebab.
The most prestigious accolade, the Independent Restaurant of the Year UK & Ireland, won by trendy London sandwich shop, Crunch, based in Spitalfields Market.
Competing against Crunch for the crown, were restaurants who'd already picked up regional awards, including a Leeds cake shop and Bristolian fast-food chain.
Each were judged by the panel on brand personality, food quality and value, packaging and presentation, customer reviews and loyalty, innovation, and going the extra mile.
First place winner Crunch, a brioche bread sandwich pop-up shop, was awarded two prizes.
After being crowned the International Restaurant of the Year for Greater London, it went on to battle against the other regional winners before winning the national category too.
The self-described 'experimental' eatery, which opened in 2022, shone brightest with its 'Patty Melt', a sarnie containing truffle beef, red Leicester, and black truffle mayonnaise on golden brioche, which was the most popular dish on Deliveroo.
Having amassed a cult following on social media, the trendy bap makers were praised for their string of five star reviews, and by judges 'for creating a new era of game-changing sandwiches and their fearless approach to cooking.'
Regional categories were won by a mixture of pizza, cake and salad outlets.
In Belfast, health food restaurant and burrito bar, Seed, won the Independent Restaurant of the Year for Ireland.
Serving acai bowls, superfood salads, burritos and smoothies, health conscious Seed won the hearts of the Irish.
Scotland preferred pizza over salad, with the nation nominating Big Manny's Pizza as their winner. The Aberdeen-based eatery serves a range of decadent cheesy pies and is famed for their unrivalled meat specials and 18-inch pizzas, available by collection only.
Bristol won on burger and chips with the city's Oowee Diner located on North Street, winning the area for its burgers, tasty dips and loaded dirty fries.
Get Baked, a cake shop and bakery located in Leeds, took home the crown for Manchester and Leeds. The eatery has amassed a cult following online, in particular for its Bertha cake, a huge layered chocolate cake that was inspired by the Roald Dahl tale Matilda.
Leeds was also the destination for the winner of the Luke Littler x Deliveroo Best Kebab Award, with the city's Sqew Shawarma Bar nabbing the title.
The darts prodigy shortlisted ten 'Litter-approved' venues, all of which went to a public vote with Sqew Shawarma Bar, coming out top.
Sqew's Khobez kebab with chicken, salad and sauce, was a notable mention.
Additional awards were granted in acknowledgment of other hospitality strengths, including Deliveroo's Above and Beyond awards.
Divisive high-street bakery, Gail's, was also given a Heart of the Community award across the nation, a win that will no doubt come as a surprise to those who have accused the chain of 'gentrification'.
The bakery was at the heart of fierce debate last year, as locals in a number of locations, including Worthing and Wandsworth, fought back against plans to build new outlets on their high-streets.
Others in the category included the Environmentally Sustainability award, given to Bujo in Dublin, the Customer Obsession award, which went to Burger Me Up in Birmingham, and the Rider Love award given to Thunderbirds, a chicken restaurant with various outlets across London.
The Icon awards also showcased the talents of UK restaurant owners, with Naeem Aslam, Director of Aagrah Leeds winning the Lifetime Achievement, and Rich Myers, Founder of Get Baked scoring the Changing the Game award.
The Rising Star award went to Enrico Pinna, Co-Founder of Ad Maiora, in Manchester.
The Role Model award was given to Tim Vasilakis, Founder of The Athenian, which boasts multiple locations across the UK, including in London, Bristol and Sheffield.
Reflecting on the overall winner of this year's Deliveroo awards, Jimi Famurewa, food critic and Deliveroo restaurant awards judge, said: 'It's an honour to be a returning judge for Deliveroo's UK & Ireland restaurant awards, and I was blown away by the passion and talent on display at the Independent Restaurant of the Year cook-off.
'Each finalist brought something unique and delicious to the table, making the final decision incredibly tough for us.
'However, Crunch from London stood out amongst the fierce competition, showcasing immense creativity, fine dining-level technique and mindblowing flavour that impressed us all.'
Michael Medovnikov, Co-founder of Crunch: 'From our humble beginnings in a Shoreditch pub to winning Independent Restaurant of the Year for UK & Ireland with Deliveroo in just a few years – it's an absolutely surreal and incredible feelinh.
We poured our hearts into every single sandwich we've made for our customers, so this award is for our amazing team and all the customers who've supported us from the start of this wild journey. Thank you to Deliveroo and everyone who voted for us to receive this amazing recognition!'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
BBC News
28 minutes ago
- BBC News
Garden Rescue returns to BBC One and iPlayer with brand new additions to its presenting line up
Recommissioned for series 11, BBC Daytime's popular weekday gardening programme Garden Rescue is to have a fresh new look, with the addition of some of the country's best-known gardeners. Joining the team are Diarmuid Gavin, Frances Tophill, Joe Swift, and Sue Kent - four top designers bringing their vision, creativity, and unique garden flair. Together, they'll add a fun new dimension to the show, along with their unique design perspectives and a healthy dose of Garden Rescue friendly competition. They'll be joining fan favourites Charlie Dimmock, Lee Burkhill, Chris Hull, and Flo Headlam, who've been inspiring audiences and transforming outdoor spaces across the country. Each episode will see one designer go head-to-head with one of the new recruits, each pitching their vision to homeowners who are desperate for a dream outdoor space but don't know where to begin. As always, there's only one design that gets chosen and brought to life. From family-friendly gardens to serene, low-maintenance retreats, the team will bring their trademark transformations to gardens across the country bringing imaginative solutions, and plenty of banter, gardening tips and surprises along the way. Caroline O'Neill, Assistant Commissioning Editor for BBC Daytime comments, 'It's great to have such well-loved and hugely respected gardeners joining the team. Each bringing their green fingers and creative flair to their unique designs, making for the best competitions yet! Audiences will also get to enjoy revisiting the spaces to see how the people are using their newly transformed gardens, with lots of helpful tips and tricks to be mastered at home too.' Executive Producer Sarah Trigg for Spun Gold TV comments: 'We're absolutely thrilled to be making another brand-new series of Garden Rescue. It's a joy to see our brilliant existing designers joining forces with a fantastic line up of garden designers. We can't wait to see the amazing transformations they'll create together and to share them with all of you at home.' Garden Rescue is commissioned for BBC One and iPlayer by Head of BBC Daytime and Early Peak Commissioning, Rob Unsworth. The Commissioning Editor for BBC Daytime is Caroline O'Neill, Sarah Trigg is the Executive Producer for Spun Gold TV . You can watch series 10 of Garden Rescue on BBC One at 3.45pm and on iPlayer now. Series 11 will be confirmed later this year. Watch Garden Rescue on BBC iPlayer and add to your Watchlist HD3 Follow for more
The Sun
30 minutes ago
- The Sun
Our UK seaside village is inundated with tourists after TV show made us globally famous – it's forcing us out our home
A POPULAR TV show is forcing residents to leave their picturesque coastal village - because it has become a mecca for tourists. Residents in the Cornish village of Port Isaac have fumed that droves of Doc Martin fans arriving each year have made their town unlivable. 9 9 9 Tens of thousands of 'Clunatics' - the nickname for fans of the show and star Martin Clunes - flock to the peaceful fishing village annually. During the summer months, the town's narrow winding lanes are so crowded that locals steer clear of the historic harbour. Fans from the UK, USA, Australia and mainland Europe has turned the once quiet village into an international tourism hub. To some in Port Isaac, this has brought new opportunities including walking tours, cafes and merchandise shops. Rubber-necking tourists reportedly flock to view iconic landmarks such as the home of Martin Clunes' character Dr Martin Ellingham, and Aunty Ruth's cottage above Squeezy Belly Alley. But locals have suggested that their home has become a "victim of its popularity". Over the past two decades, house prices in the area - renamed Port Wenn on the show - have quadrupled. Mum-of-two Anne Wilce, 44, a lifelong Port Isaac resident, told how it had become "unrecognisable". She fumed: 'It is horrific, there is no affordable housing available for anybody now. 'My sons are 19 and 22 and they won't ever be able to afford to buy a house at this rate. 'Without more affordable housing in the village the younger generation will move away because there is nothing here for them. 'My house is 30 years old and it's part of the last affordable housing that has been built here. 'I don't go down to the village centre, I have no reason to because it's all second homes. "Even when something does come up for sale it's ridiculously priced - nobody around here can afford it. 'Doc Martin brought a whole load of money into the village which has created jobs for people and helped this community. "But it is also a victim of its popularity and it doesn't feel like our village any more.' Tourism has long since overtaken fishing as Port Isaac's main industry. Local businesses have thrived as a result of the town's worldwide fame. 9 9 9 John Cleave, who was brought up in the village and runs the Boathouse fashion and gift shop, agrees that the show has changed village life. "The locals talk about BDM – that's Before Doc Martin. "It was always favoured by comparatively few people who simply saw it as a beautiful, typical Cornish fishing village. "As a business you could close your doors from October to Easter and it wouldn't make a lot of difference. "Thanks to Doc Martin we now have all-year-round trade." The British comedy-drama first aired in 2004. On the outer edge of the village - next to Port Isaac's real GP surgery - sits a small housing estate containing some of the village's only affordable homes. They were constructed around 30 years ago and according to residents they were the last affordable homes built in the village. There are now just two active fishing boats remaining in the village - compared with 174 holiday lets on Airbnb alone. In the past year, semi-detached properties in Port Isaac sold for an average of £810,000, with terraced properties fetching £616,250, according to Rightmove. Shop worker Elisha Scott, 19, and her family have lived in the area for 10 years. She said: 'Nobody my age can afford to rent let alone buy a house here, all my friends still live with their parents. 'I'm not really thinking about house prices though because I don't think I'll stay here for a long time, there just aren't the job opportunities. 'Doc Martin definitely made a difference to Port Isaac, there are always fans of the show looking around the village. "What has come with that is a lot of people buying second homes here which has made it too expensive for locals.' Earlier this month a new plan was unveiled to build more affordable homes for local people. Tre Haven Community Land Trust (CLT) has started negotiations with Cornwall Council to purchase land for 25 affordable housing developments. The proposal has support from the area's Lib Dem MP Ben Maguire and local celebrity chef Nathan Outlaw. But critics point out the site sits on a main road several miles from the village - with almost no public transport links to shops or schools. Unemployed Ciaran Patching, 20, said: 'It took me two years of searching and I feel incredibly lucky to be here, before that I was living with my mum in the town. 'I would love to be able to buy my own house here but it doesn't feel like that will ever be an option at the moment. 'Port Isaac is definitely very popular in summer but in winter it can be dead. "The popularity of Doc Martin has helped a lot of businesses around here but it has made it hard for year round residents.' 9 9 9
Daily Mail
31 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Sophie Turner 'reconciles romance' with aristocrat Peregrine Pearson as pair enjoy cosy lunch date after reconnecting on social media
Sophie Turner appears to have rekindled her romance with aristocrat Peregrine Pearson - two months after sparking split rumours. The actress, 29, was revealed to be dating Viscount Cowdray's son, 30, in December 2023, after the breakdown of her four-year marriage to Joe Jonas. Yet, the pair were said to have gone their separate ways in April, unfollowing each other on social media and Sophie allegedly telling friends she was 'single'. However, the pair seemed to have put their differences aside as they were spotted on a lunch date in London on Thursday. Sophie kept cool in the heatwave as she went braless in a skimpy grey crop top that she paired with black denim hot pants. The mother-of-two completed her look with shades and flip flops as she strode along behind Peregrine, who also looked casual in a T-shirt and chinos. As well as being spotted out together, the pair have also reconnected on social media, with Sophie following Peregrine on Instagram on once more. Sophie's representatives declined to comment. MailOnline has contacted Peregrine's team. In April, Sophie is said to have been telling friends that she was 'single'. A source told The Sun: 'Sophie and Peregrine had a great time together but the relationship ran its course. She is single and is focusing on her career and her two daughters.' Her alleged comments came after she unfollowed him on Instagram. It was unclear whether he still followed her page because he has a private platform. The couple have documented their relationship online, with Sophie last sharing pictures of Peregrine - known as Perry - in a post from January. In a round up for the year, Sophie included several snaps of Perry, including one loved-up photo where she was wrapped around him taken in a bathroom mirror. However, Perry's presence on her page has been less visible since, with Sophie not including him in a post from a Paris trip in March he was on with the Game Of Thrones star and her friends. Before their lunch date last week, Sophie and Perry were last pictured together at the Louis Vuitton show on March 10 before having dinner at Siena in the French capital. While the couple appeared to have hit a rocky patch, it was only the end of last year that it was reported that Sophie could see herself having children with him. In November, it was claimed he would 'love to have children' with Perry in the future, according to sources who revealed the actress believed he could be 'the one'. Insiders revealed that while Sophie is not planning to have children with Perry anytime soon - she does see them welcoming a child together in the coming years. The insider stated: 'Sophie is open to having kids one day even though that is not on the slate for right now. 'She is in love with Peregrine, and she knows that he wants to be a father one day as this is discussed with couples. 'She loves her kids very much and is a great mom. She puts her children first which Peregrine admires her for.' The Do Revenge actress was famously married to Joe Jonas and the pair share two children, daughters Willa, four, and Delphine, two. Sophie and Joe began dating in 2016, got engaged in October 2017 and got married on May 1, 2019 in Las Vegas before splitting in September 2023. The former couple finalized their divorce in September 2024, a little over a year after the Jonas Brothers star filed for separation. As Sophie continued to move on from the failed marriage, another source dished at the time that she could see herself settling down with Peregrine. 'Sophie wants her happy ever after. Joe wasn't it,' the source explained. 'Peregrine seems to be the one and she would love to have children with him one day and the likelihood of that happening is pretty good. They will certainly try.' Noting that the Joan actress was putting her time and focus on her children and her career, the source continued: 'But right now, she has some career opportunities to pursue along with being a mom already, she wants to enjoy the relationship with Peregrine and what they can build before they add anything more to it. 'Everything is going as well as it can go, she is happy, relieved to have a partner she is in love with and has no issues with.' The source made it clear that the future is looking bright Sophie as they continued: 'Her life is pretty amazing right now and adding a child would add to the amazingness of it all, but don't expect a nursery to be built in the near future. 'They have other personal goals and relationship goals to reach before that happens.' Sophie and Peregrine confirmed their relationship last December after it was revealed last September that Sophie and Joe had filed for divorce. Peregrine is the eldest son and heir of Michael Pearson, the 4th Viscount Cowdray – a former film producer who owns a significant chunk of the Pearson media empire. While Sophie is said to be worth $10million, this pales in comparison to Peregrine's family fortune which is said to be more than $224million. He has a $5million pad in Chelsea while his father owns a sprawling mansion in West Sussex with 22 bedrooms and 16,500 acres of grounds. His ancestral estate is home to Cowdray Park Polo Club – which boasts ten pitches and hosts more than 450 matches each year. The prestigious club hosts the annual Gold Cup, where both Prince William and Prince Harry have played. Last month, Sophie shocked fans when she showed her support for ex Joe following their acrimonious divorce. The Game of Thrones actress, shared an image of his new album, Music for People Who Believe in Love, on her Instagram Stories. She captioned it, 'Go go @joejonas.' The album officially dropped on Friday, May 23.
