Jack Hughes

The Green Fairy's Mirror: Absinthe and Affectation in a Clouded Glass A story of a Northern lad, a nineteenth-century glass, and a crisis in confidence.

I fell for absinthe at Cambridge, partly for the swagger of the slotted spoons, the clouded glasses, the nod to French intellectualism and bohemian mischief - and partly because I genuinely loved it. What started as performative cleverness soon became ritual.

#absinthe #cocktails #mixology #france

The Christmas Buffet and the Anarchist Within The most exciting meal of the festive season lies not with a dry turkey and all the trimmings, but with a dazzlingly eclectic table groaning with chipolatas, devilled eggs, and tempura prawns.

The most exciting meal of the Christmas season lies not with a dry turkey and all the trimmings, but with a dazzlingly eclectic table groaning with chipolatas, devilled eggs, and tempura prawns.

What's your favourite part of a Christmas buffet?

#christmas #xmas #christmasfood #food #buffet #york

A Mornay Misstep: The Case Against Cauliflower Cheese at Christmas When cheese sauce collides with gravy, harmony flees the festive plate.

A controversial festive take for this fine Sunday afternoon.

Let me know what you think!

#christmas #xmas #christmasdinner #cauliflowercheese #roastdinner #food #foodwriting #foodhistory #history #britain #uk #england #turkey #culture #york #yorkshire

A Mornay Misstep: The Case Against Cauliflower Cheese at Christmas When cheese sauce collides with gravy, harmony flees the festive plate.

A controversial festive take for this fine Sunday afternoon.

Let me know what you think!

#christmas #xmas #christmasdinner #cauliflowercheese #roastdinner #food #foodwriting #foodhistory #history #britain #uk #england #turkey #culture #york #yorkshire

Tinsel and Torment: A Rejection of Christmas Market Mediocrity How York's Yuletide bazaar surrendered itself to the worst of seasonal excess.

How York's Christmas Market surrendered to the worst of seasonal excess.

#christmasmarket #xmasmarket #christmas #xmas #york #yorkshire #festive #food

How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Jerusalem Artichoke A seasonal confession in praise of a misnamed, misunderstood, and magnificently knobbled root.

I avoided the Jerusalem artichoke for years, haunted by memories of a joyless globe artichoke on a hot Madrid evening.

Imagine my astonishment when I discovered it was not an artichoke at all, but a sunflower’s buried treasure - sweet, nutty, and undeservedly maligned.

#food #history #autumn #uk

Molasses and Smoke: A Love Letter to Yorkshire Parkin How oats, treacle, and ginger conspired to turn a humble cake into a statement of northern identity.

Something seasonally sweet for the weekend, and particularly personal to me as a Yorkshireman: a deep-dive into the history and cultural resonance of parkin.

#parkin #bonfirenight #uk #food #cake #history #foodhistory #foodwriting #spice #yorkshire #york

Of Gourds and Ghosts: A History of the Pumpkin's Bewitchment An autumnal fantasia of mythmaking, folklore, and flame-coloured flesh.

Pour yourself a cup of something warm and linger for a moment.

This Sunday, I invite you on a deep, sumptuous dive into the pumpkin’s extraordinary cultural and culinary legacy.

#halloween #pumpkin #fall #autumn #history #foodhistory #food #uk #travel #foodwriting #thanksgiving #christmas

Review: Brancusi, York How a York eatery is showing off the best of intelligent, local, seasonal cookery, from game terrine to damson sorbet.

Something a little different for the weekend:

A review of Brancusi in York, where considered simplicity and seasonal autumn fare shine in dishes like the rich game terrine and jewel-toned damson sorbet, offering a quiet, refined celebration of modern British cuisine.

#york #food #uk #yorkshire

Review: Brancusi, York How a York eatery is showing off the best of intelligent, local, seasonal cookery, from game terrine to damson sorbet.

Something a little different for the weekend:

A review of Brancusi in York, where considered simplicity and seasonal autumn fare shine in dishes like the rich game terrine and jewel-toned damson sorbet, offering a quiet, refined celebration of modern British cuisine.

#york #food #uk #yorkshire

The First Temptation: Falling Once More For Eve's Pudding An ode to soft sponge, stewed fruit, and the tender alchemy of an often-forgotten English pudding.

Eve’s pudding is a quintessential yet often forgotten autumn dessert, uniting the best of British baking, comfort food, and seasonal indulgence.

Soft, golden, and fragrant, this classic apple sponge pudding captures the nostalgic heart of English home cooking.

#food #autumn #fall #apples #uk

No Meat Left Behind: The Case for Yorkshire Pudding Equality A manifesto for gravy's greatest ally.

Food for thought this weekend:

A luscious hymn to the Yorkshire pudding’s emancipation, calling for an end to the barbarous exclusion that has long kept it shackled to beef.

Let me know what you think!

#history #food #uk #yorkshire #york #culture #weekend #sundaylunch #roastdinner #foodie

From Orchard to Boulevard: The Tarte Bourdaloue A priest, a Parisian street, and the pear's pastry apotheosis.

A sweet piece for a dreary Tuesday:

On the Bourdaloue tart, where Jesuit sermons, Haussmannian geometry, and the fragile perfection of pears converge in a single, enduring artefact of Parisian taste.

I need help too:

What's your favourite autumnal pear recipe? I want to hear them all.

#food #uk

From Orchard to Boulevard: The Tarte Bourdaloue A priest, a Parisian street, and the pear's pastry apotheosis.

A sweet piece for a dreary Tuesday:

On the Bourdaloue tart, where Jesuit sermons, Haussmannian geometry, and the fragile perfection of pears converge in a single, enduring artefact of Parisian taste.

I need help too:

What's your favourite autumnal pear recipe? I want to hear them all.

#food #uk

The Injustice of the Isolated Steak The disappointment of fragmentary feasting in the age of added charges.

A piece for Sunday:

On the modern meal’s descent into a ledger of indignities, where culinary completeness is rationed, the humble fry becomes a matter of moral philosophy, and diners are subjected to the relentless nickel-and-diming of a la carte absurdity.

Burgers without fries? Hell no.

#food

Parisian Lightning: A History of the Eclair How a choux pastry treat became a jewel in the vitrine of the French capital.

A little something for the end of the week:

The story of how Paris conjured lightning from choux and cream, turning a fragile baton of pastry into a jewel of desire, a proclamation of modernity, and an edible hymn to fleeting splendour.

Let me know what you think!

#food #history #pastry

Collapsed Medlars and Golden Quinces A celebration of autumnal excess.

This week’s long read: a celebration of autumnal excess. Think bruised medlars and luminous quinces, hedgerows stained with blackberries, and the sumptuousness of falling light.

Let me know what you think!

#food #autumn #fall #yorkshire #foodhistory #history #substack

June's Scarlet Ephemera: Strawberries and the English Imagination The paradox of permanence and perishability at the heart of English summertime.

This week's long-read on Substack: An in-depth exploration of the summertime strangehold of the strawberry and what it has to tell us about ideas of Englishness.

#strawberry #foodhistory #history #food #england #uk #britain #june #summer

June's Scarlet Ephemera: Strawberries and the English Imagination The paradox of permanence and perishability at the heart of English summertime.

This week's long-read on Substack: An in-depth exploration of the summertime strangehold of the strawberry and what it has to tell us about ideas of Englishness.

#strawberry #foodhistory #history #food #england #uk #britain #june #summer

The Valley of Fifteen Eyes: On the Particularity of the Jersey Royal From côtil to table: The provenance of a potato whose appearance marks the high point of spring.

This week's long-read: A celebration of the Jersey Royal and the virtues of seasonal eating. Enjoy!

#jerseyroyal #food #potato #history

The Valley of Fifteen Eyes: On the Particularity of the Jersey Royal From côtil to table: The provenance of a potato whose appearance marks the high point of spring.

This week's long-read: A celebration of the Jersey Royal and the virtues of seasonal eating. Enjoy!

#jerseyroyal #food #potato #history

A recent rhubarb soufflé I devoured. Tall, trembling, and just beginning to crack at the top. A scoop of vanilla-scented custard ice cream offered a delicious contrast to the hot pudding. And for extra oomph - a coulis, electric pink and sherbet-sour that flickered across the tongue like static.

A recent rhubarb soufflé I devoured. Tall, trembling, and just beginning to crack at the top. A scoop of vanilla-scented custard ice cream offered a delicious contrast to the hot pudding. And for extra oomph - a coulis, electric pink and sherbet-sour that flickered across the tongue like static.

Gastronomy in the Gloom: When did Restaurants Get So Dark? Fine food deserves to be highlighted by its surroundings, not obscured.

When did restaurants get so dark? I ask this question in this week's long-read. Do you find yourself squinting to read menus? Does dingy lighting prevent you from enjoying food to its full extent?

#food #restaurants #uk #england #yorkshire

Gastronomy in the Gloom: When did Restaurants Get So Dark? Fine food deserves to be highlighted by its surroundings, not obscured.

When did restaurants get so dark? I ask this question in this week's long-read. Do you find yourself squinting to read menus? Does dingy lighting prevent you from enjoying food to its full extent?

#food #restaurants #uk #england #yorkshire

The Last Stalks of Spring: A Farewell to Forced Rhubarb A meditation on how a candlelit crop came to represent the very best of Yorkshire's identity.

A subject close to my heart for this week's long read. How forced rhubarb came to represent the very best of Yorkshire's identity.

#rhubarb #yorkshire #food #history #foodhistory

The Last Stalks of Spring: A Farewell to Forced Rhubarb A meditation on how a candlelit crop came to represent the very best of Yorkshire's identity.

A subject close to my heart for this week's long read. How forced rhubarb came to represent the very best of Yorkshire's identity.

#rhubarb #yorkshire #food #history #foodhistory

Nothing beats salted caramel cheesecake brownies on a random Tuesday. What's excess anyway?

#brownies #saltedcaramel #caramel #cheesecake #chocolate #cake #spring

Spears of Influence A new season dawns. Across Europe, a love for all things asparagus runs deep.

A deep-dive into the layered history of asparagus with a particular focus on the German love for all things Spargel.

#asparagus #history #foodhistory #germany #food #spring #easter