Under the dome: The Willow Tree restaurant's innovative approach to post-coronavirus dining
The Willow Tree in the Cambridgeshire village of Bourn has a novel way of letting people enjoy a meal out in splendid isolation. Dean Usher paid a visit.
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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A Drink for All Seasons: One man's mission to create a better non-alcoholic wine, by a self-confessed 'liquid Willy Wonka'
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How to make perfect porridge
Porridge is as simple a dish as there is, yet there are dozens of ways to take it from good to great — or, as Goldilocks would have it, from a little too much of this or that to just right. Emma Hughes investigates the dish and speaks to three chefs to get their tips for perfect porridge.
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How to make Montezuma's chocolate and hazelnut cake
A chocolate cake that looks as good as it tastes – though if you get around to decorating it before cutting a slice, you've more will power than we have.
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Raymond Blanc: 'When I first came to England, I was frightened. The butchers here weren’t simply butchering the food — they were murdering it twice'
Buying local, seasonal produce isn’t merely a charming notion. It’s a philosophy with the power to save our communities, our health and the environment, urges top chef Raymond Blanc. Photographs by Daniel Gould.
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How to make Tom Parker Bowles' mackerel with potatoes and bay
Tom Parker Bowles admits he’s a terrible fisherman — and that’s why he loves mackerel. Not only are the easy to catch, they’re better the fresher they’re eaten — he shares his tips and his favourite mackerel recipe.
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How to make Shaun Rankin's grouse with blackcurrant and celeriac puree
Shaun Rankin, chef patron of Grantley Hall in the Yorkshire Dales, shares a truly special grouse recipe, with these birds having just come into season.
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How to make carrot and honey cake with mascarpone honey icing
Proof that, even when the sun is beating down and the mercury is working its way towards 100 degrees, it's never the wrong time for cake.
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Curious Questions: How did one of the world's great biscuits get named after a freedom fighter named Garibaldi?
Martin Fone delves into the curious history of the garibaldi biscuit — and how it's linked to the tale of Italian freedom fighter-turned folk hero Giuseppe Garibaldi.
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How to make blackberry jam: A quick and easy recipe
Reader Sam reveals how to make simple fruit jam in 20 minutes without pectin or a thermometer.
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Rosie and Jim: 'There’s an easy solution to all of this, naturally. Ban the sun.'
Just as our correspondents were starting to think that 2020 couldn't have dragged them any lower, the unwelcome double-whammy of blazing heatwave and a government-mandated diet regime hits home.
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How to make Princess Anne's favourite recipe — including the special ingredient that's probably already in your cupboard
HRH The Princess Royal has guest edited Country Life's 29 July 2020 issue — and one of the features covers her favourite game recipe, devilled pheasant.
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Rosie and Jim: 'I did not miss this. I did not miss the pain'
This week, the phrase 'be careful what you wish for' comes back to bite both of our corona-correspondents.
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Curious Questions: Why are pineapples called pineapples, when they're not pines and not apples?
Martin Fone delves into the curious history of one of the world's most popular tropical fruits.
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How to make gooseberry and elderflower tart, a perfect seasonal summer dessert
It's peak gooseberry season, and the ideal time to make this delicious tart.
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Want to keep chickens? Here are 22 unusual breeds that'll give you a bustling coop — and maybe some pink eggs for breakfast
Lockdown has made the idea of keeping hens — and harvesting their eggs — even more appealing, but the populations of a surprising number of delightful native breeds are dwindling. Kate Green takes a look at some unusual but rewarding poultry to consider.
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A drink for all seasons: Perfect summer tipples for long, hot afternoons
From floral and fruity gins to wines that you can drink without a pang of conscience, we've rounded up some of the best new drinks on the market, perfect for an al fresco drink as the height of summer approaches.
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Tom Parker-Bowles: Broad beans, the 'quintessence of early summer' that show the brute power of culinary simplicity
Once believed to be vessels for the souls of the recently departed, a freshly picked pod with broad beans nestling in their velvety white casing is a seasonal obsession for Tom Parker Bowles.
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How to make Mac and Wild’s Venison Chateaubriand
Scottish chef Andy Waugh shares one of his favourite venison recipes, just as the quality and availability of this meat reaches its peak.
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5 scrumptious strawberry recipes for those with Wimbledon withdrawal symptoms
A British summer without strawberries would be unthinkable.
