Lifestyle - Saturday, March 21, 2026

Hospitality can be anything but hospitable to workers. But in regional Victoria, I found a community – and rediscovered something I’d lost Get our weekend culture and lifestyle email I was a keen-bean 15-year-old when I got my first job in a commercial kitchen in Canberra, raised on a diet of Jamie and Nigella and bursting with a passion for food. I dived headfirst into an apprenticeship and eagerly put my training into practice on my days off, cooking elaborate meals for friends and creating plenty of dirty dishes. But as the years went on, my love for the kitchen was dulled by a series of toxic workplaces, bullying bosses and long hours. Eventually cooking for myself became a chore. I was more likely to eat cereal on my kitchen floor than do anything creative that would result in dirty dishes. Continue reading...

Here are 5 staff-approved spring recipes that you’ll want to add to your seasonal rotation.

Our expert taste-tester gives peas a chance – but which received a frosty reception? • The best supermarket oven chips, tasted and rated The sweetness of a pea is more than just a desirable taste; it’s an indication of a pea picked at the perfect moment. As the sugars convert into starch, peas lose their sweetness rapidly after picking, leading to a less sweet, more fibrous and lower-quality product. That’s why high-quality peas are picked, blanched and frozen as quickly as possible, usually all within two and a half hours. That said, other factors such as soil, seed quality, transportation and a stable freezer temperature all affect a frozen pea’s quality. Continue reading...

Beginner-friendly herbs that thrive anywhere. The post Want to Start an Herb Garden? These 5 Are Almost Impossible to Kill appeared first on Camille Styles .

“As controversial as AI is right now, this is one of those areas where it’s a real win,” said Julie Castle, chief executive of Best Friends Animal Society.

A moreish way to enjoy a popular Greek lamb recipe, accompanied by a pretty rhubarb pudding Easter for me immediately brings to mind two things: cracking dyed red eggs together in the style of conkers (a Serbian Easter game that we play every year) and lamb. We always eat lamb at Easter lunch, and I suppose that simply harks back to religious tradition. Today’s lamb shank dish is a wonderfully straightforward and moreish take on a popular Greek recipe. I’ve gone for rhubarb for pudding, because it’s just so representative of this time of year – it’s also very pretty on the eye and a treat to eat, too. Anna Tobias is chef/co-owner of Cafe Deco in London WC1 Continue reading...

Michael B Jordan headed there straight from the Oscars. No wonder. Their Double-Double is ‘the near perfect expression of burger-ness’ They say you never forget your first time, but for most of us, this doesn’t apply to cheeseburgers. We can’t really remember our first cheeseburger, because we start eating them at such an early age, before the memory centres of our brains are fully formed. In fact, in Wisconsin (“America’s dairyland”) babies are traditionally weaned on a fortifying diet of cheeseburgers, bratwurst and fondue, along with little sips of lager, just to make sure we acquire the taste. But while I may not be able to recall the particular details of my very first cheeseburger, the sense-memories of them are embedded deep within my subconscious. The perfect flavour-chord of ketchup, mustard and pickles on molten cheese and juicy beef occupies the same psychological space as the peppery cinnamon-and-clove aroma of my father’s Old Spice and the warmth of my mother’s hug. More than mere memories, these are encoded messages: comfort comes in the form of hugs, spicy aftershave, and cheeseburgers. Continue reading...

Havila Voyages’ coastal ferry sailings — sans casinos, spas and room service — offer an eco-friendly, slow-travel alternative to traditional cruises.

The former Countdown host on nasty rightwingers, the plane she bought to fly solo around the world, and her love of snogging Born in Bedfordshire, Carol Vorderman, 65, studied engineering at Cambridge University. Her mathematical skill secured her a role on the Channel 4 gameshow Countdown, which she co-hosted from 1982 to 2008. Since 1999, she has presented the annual Pride of Britain awards, and in 2000 she received the MBE for services to broadcasting. She has published educational workbooks, self-help guides and her latest paperback is Now What? A People’s Manifesto for a Better Britain . She is a team captain on Channel 5’s show Celebrity Puzzling. She is twice divorced, has two children and lives in Bristol. When were you happiest? I was happiest in every aspect of my life in the 1990s, when I was married to Paddy [King, a management consultant] and we had the two children and my mum lived with us, and Countdown was the biggest show on Channel 4. Continue reading...

With baby born weeks early, Grandma is “crazy with worry” and dumping it on the dad, who’s dumping it on the letter writer.