How to make a 'carrot cake' swiss roll
Melanie Johnson shares her recipe for an unusual — but delicious — take on carrot cake.
Food and Drink
Discover the latest in food and drink news, try our delicious and easy recipes using fresh seasonal produce and read our pub and restaurant reviews.
Here at Country Life we love to cook and we love to eat. Seasonality is important, whether you’re growing your own or visiting the farmers’ market for your ingredients – but we love to cook seasonally. Whether it’s our brilliant collection of elderflower recipes in the summertime, our ultimate sloe gin recipe in autumn or gorgeous roast goose recipes in the winter, we have collected the best seasonal recipes by ingredient on dedicated pages
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Perry: The pear cider dubbed 'the English champagne' that's been an English passion for centuries
Not to be confused with cider, the art of perry-making is more than a craft — it’s an English passion. Ben Lerwill meets some of our best producers of fermented pear juice.
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How to make tarragon chicken with garlic-roasted new potatoes
Our kitchen garden cook Melanie Johnson shares a beautiful creamy tarragon chicken recipe.
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When will your fruit be ready to pick? A complete A-to-Z guide to fruit in the gardens of Britain
From apples to strawberries, here's when the fruits in your garden will be ready to pick.
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Mark Gregory, the 'King of Chelsea', on how to create a garden whose plants taste as good as they look
Five-times Chelsea Flower Show gold medallist Mark Gregory recommends plants to grow in your garden that look as good as they taste.
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Tom Parker Bowles: Why I detested coriander — and how my loathing turned to total adoration
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Growing your own? The big mistake you have to avoid
An abundance might sound like success for a gardener, but if you're growing crops at home to supply your own needs, then little and often is a much better aim. Mark Diacono explains.
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How to make crusted salmon with watercress and wasabi
Our kitchen garden cook Melanie Johnson shares a beautiful way to cook salmon that makes the most of the new season's watercress.
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Perfect Coronation street party recipes, from Mary Berry's ultimate scones to Tom Parker Bowles' irresistible coronation chicken
Emma Hughes collects the best Platinum Jubilee street party recipes from some of Britain's best-loved chefs and food writers.
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Tom Parker Bowles: The langoustine dish that 'was one of my grandmother’s favourites', as The King told me. And it's one of his, too
Scampi evokes easy pasta dishes or deep-fried pub grub, but call them langoustines and you have a dish fit for a king — or, indeed, The King, says Tom Parker Bowles.
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The British-grown fruit once as common as the apple that's almost completely disappeared in just 50 years
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How to make radish and radicchio risotto
Melanie Johnson shares a recipe that brings zing and colour to a classic risotto.
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Curious Questions: Why do Polo mints have a hole in the middle?
Polos are famous as the mints with the hole — and have been since they were launched 75 years ago. But why did they get a hole in the first place? Martin Fone finds out.
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An exquisite prawn pasta dish to make the most of the new season's asparagus
Our kitchen garden cook Melanie Johnson is as excited as the rest of us by the first asparagus of the season.
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The best hot cross buns in Britain: Nine top-end bakeries on test
You can buy them all-year round these days (and a good thing too) yet this is still the time of year to celebrate and enjoy hot cross buns. The Country Life team put some of the fanciest on the market to the test. All in the name of consumer research, naturally...
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How to make creamy chicken and spring-onion cobbler
Spring onions are for more than merely salads, says our Kitchen Garden Cook Melanie Johnson.
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A superb salmon dish to bring out the best in the new crop of Jersey Royals
Melanie Johnson shares a salmon recipe ideal to go with 'perfect' Jersey Royals.
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Tom Parker Bowles: All hail the glory of the gratin
A no-nonsense feast to gird the belly and quicken the heart, the gratin — whether it be slathered over meat, fish or vegetables — is all about an indulgent excess of cream topped by crispy cheese, says Tom Parker Bowles.
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Michel Roux Jr: My eight favourite dishes of a lifetime
The award-winning chef and broadcaster Michel Roux Jr chooses the eight dishes he couldn't live without.
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How to eat seasonally in March: Tom Parker Bowles shares tips and recipes
Eating seasonally in March is a real treat, as Tom Parker Bowles explains.
