“I went to Vienna and ate seven schnitzels over the course of three days. It was testament to how well they make the dish in the Austrian capital that I could have eaten more.“
Going in search of the perfect Wiener Schnitzel in this week’s travel @fthtsi
This week’s @ft_htsi is guest edited by filmmaker Celine Song and explores the theme of “beautiful inconveniences”. Those activists, non-conformists and perfectionists who make us re-appreciate the world and push against the notion of a frictionless society.
Applying that idea to food, I look at the phenomena of high-wire canapes - small bites that are slaved over in the kitchens of the world’s top restaurants, reach the table and are gone in an instant - and high-admin foods which demand a lot of effort (whether through shelling, boning or other fiddly preambles) to get at the good bits.
When is the effort worth the reward?
And when is the effort intrinsic to the reward?
“I do”. The art and history of popping the question in a restaurant in this week’s @fthtsi .
The successes, the failures, the best locations, the dos, the don’s, the presidential way and the Austenesque….
2026 is the year of the cabbage….apparently. And why not? Despite the lingering stigma around cabbages, these are surely the most beautiful and wholesome vegetables out there. Particularly when used to make the classic French stuffed cabbage dish Chou farci. Done right, this is possibly the most spectacular cabbage recipe in the canon, and for this week’s piece on stuffed cabbage, I got to try a corker - the lobster, scallop and bacon stuffed Chou farci on by special request @cordrestaurant .
Happy Easter.
Long live the cabbage
Opening March 26, Impala is the highly anticipated solo debut restaurant of Kiln head chef and co-owner Meedu Saad (@meedu_saad ), who brings his Egyptian heritage and spirit of north London grills to the fore at this new open fire restaurant.
It's latest venture from Super8 (@super8restaurants ), the group behind Smoking Goat, Kiln, Michelin-starred Brat and Mountain. As writer Ajesh Patalay (@ajesh34 ) puts it, they’ve “not only ignited the trend for buzzy open-fire restaurants in London, but continue to set the benchmark.”
Tap the link in our bio for Ajesh's exclusive first look at Impala 🔥
Photography by Benjamin McMahon
The restaurant Bice in Milan is a fashion favourite. This year it celebrates its 100th year. Why is it so beloved by the style crowd? Its location in the golden triangle is one reason. During the 70s when Milan became a fashion capital it was adopted as something of a fashion canteen for the likes of Versace and Armani. Another reason is its reliably comforting Tuscan\Milanese food - including signatures such as the pappardelle al telefono- so called because its stretchy mozzarella strings look like the cord of an old telephone. It’s during fashion week in particular that @bicemilano fills up with editors, stylists, designers and celebrities, and becomes the lively centre of all things fashion amid much table hopping.
In this week’s @fthtsi I pay tribute to the restaurant and the woman arrived in Milan in 1926 from a small Tuscan village to open it.
I loved chatting to @danielbmarks@bencercio@jjmartinmilan@noonasmithpetersen@10magazine #sophianeophitou
Does Cheddar belong on your cheeseboard?
Absolutely. But apart from a few mass produced block cheddars, you’d do best to stick to the flavour-rich farmhouse varieties. And rather than crowd out your board with lots of different cheeses, what about one whopper piece of Cheddar to be chopped away at through the holidays? In praise of cheddar in today’s final @fthtsi of the year. Free to read online
@nealsyarddairy@cheesetastingco
Off to Caiazzo about an hour outside Naples to visit the restaurant @pepe_ingrani which many regard as home to the greatest pizza in the world. The pizzas there have earned this accolade for a number of reasons starting with the dough which is as light as air. Order the “tasting menu” and you get served try deep-fried cone pizzas, dessert pizzas and even “healthy” pizzas served with raw vegetables and a dressing designed to provide a balance of macronutrients and endorsed by nutritionist.
The man behind Pepe in Grani is the third-generation pizzaiolo @francopepeingrani . Much has been written about his culinary innovations. But my focus in this week’s @fthtsi is on the seismic impact he and his pizzeria have had on the whole region - a contribution that earned him recognition from the Italian government.
When Pepe launched the pizzeria over 10 years ago he wanted not only to elevate pizza as a food but showcase the varied produce of the area. Tomatoes, cheese, olives, apricots, onions...He poured all his money and time into the venture. Fell out with his family and community and went through years of personal hardship and isolation to pursue his dream. Now the pizzeria and his hometown are destinations for visitors from round the world. The undervalued produce of the area - some of which was near extinction - is being used and celebrated by chefs round the world. And Pepe is working with the Italian government to devise an official training curriculum for future pizzaoli - raising the status of a profession that was for years dismissed as second-rate.
An inspirational chef who makes magical pizza. In today’s How to Give It @fthtsi themed issue.
A new book @phaidon reproduces his recipes and story.
Winter calls for stew and none answers the call quite like Irish stew. Possibly the only dish the Irish argue about, because there’s not much consensus over how to make it. Tradition says mutton, but you will see it with beef and who knows what else. Still, when done well, it’s a corker. In today’s @fthtsi
