A SQUARE MEAL:

THE INSTAGRAM
FOOD GAME
by Natalie Whittle

347 12
 36
Rowley Leighs
artichoke gratin

Issue number 711 Online

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FOOD & DRINK SPECIAL ISSUE

5 Gary Silverman Salmon and the single man 6 The Inventory Paul A Young, chocolatier
18
Koks head chef
8 How to Understand any sport 10 Mehreen Khan The politics of saying sorry 10 Letters Poul Andrias Ziska

24
12 Feeding Instagram How the photosharing app influences restaurateurs, by Natalie Whittle
18 A ve
ery remote restaurant Robbie Lawrence heads to the Michelin-starred Koks on the Faroe Islands
Jonathan Meades 24 Observations Jonathan Meades on culinary plagiarism
recipe for cassoulet 30 Dairy revolution Polly Russell goes in search of exceptional farmhouse cheese

36 Rowley Leigh Artichoke gratin 39 Jancis Robinson Indian wines

40 My addresses Adam ORiordan on Manchester 41 Tim Hayward Breddos, London
43 Lindsey Tramuta Parisian sweet somethings 45 Games 46 Gillian Tett The House of Donald

Cover photograph by Luke & Nik for the FT

FT.COM/MAGAZINE APRIL 8/9 2017 3

 A
fter 20 years of marriage, I get a
funny feeling when I eat salmon.
Im not allergic to the sh, nor
do I dislike its avour. Grilled,
broiled, served raw over sushi
rice or smoked, sliced thin and
piled atop a schmear of cream
cheese on a bagel, salmon almost
always works for me. Even the
dried-out version they serve at
diners in the US isnt half bad if
GARY
you squeeze enough lemon on it.
My issue with the dish is purely a by-product
of my psychosexual development. So central
was this particular food to my life as a young
man that I toyed with the idea of writing a book
SILVERMAN
about my dating experiences titled Ill Have
the Salmon (a companion piece to my as-yet-
unwritten but exhaustively researched self-help
guide: Stop While Youre Behind Learning to Live
Without Reaching Your Potential).
Rightly or wrongly, I came to see salmon as
the answer to one of lifes more dicult ques-
OPENING SHOT tions what to eat when one is attempting to fall
in love and might have sex. The issue is rarely
Salmon and the
addressed in traditional romantic literature,
I suspect, because it is so problematic. Even
single man
Shakespeare would have been hard-pressed to
render a Juliet reeking of the anchovies in her
Caesar salad or a Romeo weighed down by the
slab of porterhouse he downed at dinner.
Although courtship often involves meetings
over meals, culinary obstacles to intimacy
abound. There are oily sauces that splatter
and stain, the cloves of garlic that linger in the
gastrointestinal tract long after the linguine has
been eaten, and those infernal chilli peppers
that lurk in Thai dishes, threatening the tongues
of would-be lovers with outright incineration if
they dare to look up from their food to gaze into
the eyes of their beloved.
My digestive problems as a dater were com-
pounded by my taste in romantic partners. As
a young man of somewhat literary sensibilities,
I was drawn to women who were characters
the kind I knew from 19th-century novels,
French New Wave lms and the popular songs
of my youth (hello, Ruby Tuesday!). A queasy
nervousness goes with this particular territory;
after Tony meets Maria in West Side Story, they
dance, they sing, they embrace, but they never
call Dominos and order a pepperoni pizza.
I began to understand that for someone like
me, looking for love demanded sound menu deci-
sions. On general blandness grounds, the obvious
solution would have been to stick to chicken. But
there was a rub. Chicken is often the least expen-
sive dish at a restaurant and no man wants to
look like a cheapskate to the woman who was
going to make his life worth living at least not
right away.
Salmon, like so many aspects of relation-
ships, represented a compromise. It cost more
than chicken but less, say, than lobster. There
FT.COM/MAGAZINE APRIL 8/9 2017 ILLUSTRATION BY HARRY HAYSOM
was always the odd chance of biting into a bone,
but the dish could be consumed without pick-
ing anything up with your hands or making any
unfortunate slurping sounds. I even came to
like the fact that salmon is often served in small
portions and without signicant adornment; it
helped me focus on the matter at hand.
Salmon became such a regular companion
during my romantic pursuits that I started
waxing on the subject while drowning my
sorrows on dateless nights, giving rise to the
Ill Have the Salmon concept. Looking back on
Rightly or wrongly, I came
to see salmon as the answer
to one of lifes more dicult
questions what to eat when
one is attempting to fall in
love and might have sex
it, I would say the book failed to materialise
for two reasons. Given the authors record of
accomplishment in the eld, there was a serious
possibility that the tome would have come in at
pamphlet length. It was also the case that the role
of food in my life evolved. Somehow my internal
organs began to operate more independently as I
I
made my way in the world, enabling me to follow
my heart without upsetting my stomach.
met the woman who became my wife at
a party where dinner was served. The
strange thing was that on the way over, I
had stopped at a store to buy a bottle of
wine, saw her and a friend doing the same,
and wondered why I never seemed to go
to parties attended by women like them.
They were there when I walked in.
Although its politically incorrect to admit
this, I started irting with her friend rst.
I only met my wife when we both went
back to the buet for second helpings. She
didnt make me nauseous then, nor did she a few
days later when we met at an Italian restaurant,
where I skipped the salmon.
Two decades on, my wife handles nearly all
of the serious cooking in our house. Although
our children prefer their salmon raw or smoked,
she grills a llet from time to time. I tend to eat
my portion after it has been reheated in the
microwave, one of the consequences of working
fairly late and having to commute back to the
New York suburbs.
Dining in front of my television set, the salmon
tastes like it used to. But now, its just sh, no
more, no less.
The writer is the FTs US national editor
gary.silverman@ft.com @GaryRSilverman
Simon Kuper is back next week
5
 Paul A Young, 43, opened his rst
chocolate shop in Islington in
2006. He has opened two more
stores since and won many
awards for his artisanal
creations, including Outstanding
British Chocolatier 2014.
What was your childhood or
earliest ambition?
My mums a musician and I was
in lots of brass bands from about
the age of eight, so I always thought
music was going to be the thing.
Private school or state school?
University or straight into work?
Welleld Comprehensive, County
Durham. I left at 15. I applied to
Hartlepool art college because I
loved art, and got in. Then, the
Friday before I was meant to start,
I changed my mind and said I was
going to catering college. I thought
Id always have a job if I could cook.
I did my foundation course at New
College, Durham. There were no
celebrity chefs at the time, other
than Keith Floyd. Then I heard
about Marco Pierre White and
thought: Heres somebody who
will change the way chefs cook.
Who was or still is your mentor?
Tom Young and Frances
Openshaw, two fantastic lecturers
who encouraged me. Marco Pierre
White; I went on to work for him.
Roger Pizey, who taught me all my
skills while I was at MPW.
I N V E N T O R Y P A U L A Y O U N G , C H O C O L AT I E R How physically t are you?
Very! I got a personal trainer for
the rst time last October. He
trains the mind and the body;
hes brilliant.
Ambition or talent: which
matters more to success?
You have to have ambition. Some
have natural talent, some need to
be taught, but the drive to be the
best is key.
How politically committed
are you?
I wasnt, until I started my
business. Now I am quietly political
with things like making sure
my suppliers get paid correctly.
At school I was told
Im very committed to equality:
equal standing, equal voices and
equal opportunity. And I support
that if you wanted to
lots of charities that dont get
supported by government and
need outside help.
be a chef, you werent
What would you like to own that
you dont currently possess?
Id love an Aston Martin. I view
very intelligent
cars like pieces of art. And a
brother or sister for Billington,
my miniature dachshund.
6 FT.COM/MAGAZINE APRIL 8/9 2017
Whats your biggest
extravagance?
My new house. I moved to London
in 1996, and Ive only just got on
the property ladder! Ive got the
kitchen Ive wanted for a
signicant amount of time.
In what place are you happiest?
The kitchen. And Staithes, a small
shing town in North Yorkshire.
What ambitions do you still have?
To expand the business outside the
UK, to open real chocolateries
where we can train people to work
from scratch. Id like to be one of
the rst to do that. And Id love to
have the rst dedicated chocolate
school where everyone and anyone
can come and learn.
What drives you on?
Our family chemistry. I was
brought up with the understanding
that you dont get anywhere if you
dont work hard. Ive got a healthy
obsession with everything I do!
What is the greatest achievement
of your life so far?
At school I was told that if you
wanted to be a chef, you werent
very intelligent. Ive had books
published, Ive trained people,
people listen to me. Ive fullled
what I set out to achieve, but Im
still learning every day.
What do you nd most irritating
in other people?
People who talk the talk
but cannot deliver!
If your 20-year-old self could see
you now, what would he think?
Youve survived. Youve achieved
more than you thought you would.
And youre still relevant.
Which object that youve lost do
you wish you still had?
My mums Cona coee maker. You
lit a ame underneath, the water
bubbled up. I was fascinated by it
when I was tiny, I remember the
smell, the sounds. She gave it to me
when I got a at of my own.
I moved into a house with granite
worktops and it shattered.
What is the greatest challenge of
our time?
Sustainability.
Do you believe in an afterlife?
I believe theres something else,
but I dont know what form it
would take.
If you had to rate your
MAXINE KIRSTY SAPSFORD
satisfaction with your life so far,
out of 10, what would you score?
Seven.
Interview by Hester Lacey
paulayoung.co.uk
 WATCH
ANYSPORT
by Murad Ahmed,
I love sport. Whether its football, cricket or basketball, I cant
get enough. Last year, though, I covered the Olympics for
the FT and suddenly had to get to grips with an array of
sports that were completely new to me: from fencing to
diving and Greco-Roman wrestling. It was a blast, but it was
also a little bit daunting. If youve ever been invited round to
FT leisure correspondent watch the World Cup or the Super Bowl and not had a clue
what was going on, youll know what I mean. So, if you find
Financial Times experts some spectator sports baffling rather than thrilling, here are
share their views on some simple tips to help you stay on the ball.
everyday challenges

Top-level sport is about extraordinary human

beings performing superhuman feats. No, its
not just a bunch of people kicking a ball around
a field. Only a tiny percentage of the worlds
population are able to move like this. Even if
you dont yet understand what theyre trying to
achieve, focus on their skill and creativity.
Dont worry about knowing the rules. Even if you
dont know what 15-love or deuce means in
tennis, youll quickly connect the action on the
field to the changes on the scoreboard. All sport
is about winning, so concentrate on working out
how a player or team gains dominance. Once
you identify key tactics, you can start to spot
them in action.

ILLUSTRATIONS BY MATT JOHNSTONE PHOTOGRAPHS: GETTY IMAGES; BETTMANN/GETTY IMAGES

THE NEXT DOWN IS CRUCIAL!

THIS REF IS HAVING A MARE!
Listening to a commentary is just like
learning a language. At first, itll sound like
gobbledygook. But, slowly, the words will match
up to the pictures. If you want to sound more
knowledgeable, just repeat and agree with
whatever the commentators say. Most sports
have a few key phrases that you can learn, from
this next down is crucial (in American football,
a down is the period in which a play occurs) to
oh, a glorious triple Salchow, double Axel, triple
toe! (OK, maybe dont learn that one).
8
Great sport is about great stories and great
characters. Roger Federer beating Rafael Nadal
(right) in the Australian Open this year was a
grand epic between two supposedly fallen
heroes. Leicester City winning the Premier
League was a modern David and Goliath an
underdog upsetting giants. The New England
Patriots comeback against the Atlanta Falcons
at the Super Bowl? An against-all-odds thriller.
Rules, scores and players create plotlines,
myths and histories. Sport creates spontaneous
narratives that we all get to discover together.
And who doesnt like great stories?
ft.com/howto
 MEHREEN KHAN
THE NATIONAL CONVERSATION
The politics of
saying sorry
A
familiar feeling descended
on European Muslims,
including myself, in
the aftermath of last
months Westminster terror
attack. Amid the horror, the
speculation over the identity of
the perpetrator held added dread
for anyone who identies with
Islam from the most devout
to the lapsed practitioner.
My phone soon lit up with
anxious messages from friends and
family about the motives of the
man who killed three pedestrians
with a car before murdering
a policeman. Is the attacker
Muslim? (As a journalist, my loved
ones mistakenly assume I have
inside intelligence on these matters,
ignoring the fact that I spend most
of my day writing about ination.)
Images of the scene soon showed
the alleged perpetrator: a dark-
skinned man with a beard. Given
the context, it was enough to
provoke the sinking feeling many
Muslims have grown accustomed
to since 9/11. Never mind that as
it later emerged Khalid Masood
was born in Kent as Adrian Russell
Elms, had accrued a string of
convictions from the age of 18
ranging from criminal damage
to grievous bodily harm, and did
not convert to Islam until later in
life. (One former friend told the
media that, as a younger man,
Masood had complained about his
local pub being converted into a
mosque.) His eventual embrace of
the religion, probably in prison, was
enough to fan ames of the Muslim
question in the UK once again.
How should Muslims
react following such events?
One London friend said she
immediately felt the need to over-
compensate in disavowing the
attack to her co-workers. That
sentiment is not uncommon.
In the days after the attack, a
crowdfunding campaign for the
victims was created by Muslims
United for London, and public
tributes included a human chain
of mainly Muslim women linking
arms on Westminster Bridge.
Highlighting these everyday acts
10
PHOTOGRAPH BY RICHARD BAKER
of Muslim compassion has become
a necessary corrective in a world
where invective rules the airwaves.
British Muslims, accustomed to
accusations that they harbour
radicals within their communities,
have become increasingly assertive
in condemning terrorism conducted
in the name of their faith.
But persistent apologies raise
questions. Why should Muslims
feel the need to say sorry at all?
How often should any Muslim
have to disassociate herself from
individuals with whom she shares
nothing but membership of a faith
that numbers more than 1.5 billion?
The UKs debate on the causes
of homegrown terror has come a
long way since the attacks on July 7
2005. It is now known that many
Islamist terrorists share traits
such as low-level criminality, often
including domestic abuse, and tend
to have only a very loose grasp of
even the basic tenets of Islam.
Extrapolating about a group
based on the actions of a violent
criminal is laughable when
applied in any other context. As
one tweet put it: Nigel Farage
is 52 and from Kent. So is the
alleged Westminster attacker.
When will we tackle this problem
of 52-year-olds from Kent?
After the attack, an image of
a hijab-wearing woman walking
past an injured person while
looking at her phone spread like
wildre on rightwing blogs and
Twitter. Behind her, bystanders
were seen attending to the victim.
GETTY IMAGES
This is how radicals are able
to take hold and kill thousands.
The moderates turn a blind eye
and do nothing to stop them,
said one online commentator.
Within a day, the woman felt
forced to issue an apologetic
statement, explaining the
photograph had been taken as
she contacted her family to tell
them she was safe, and that she
had already oered to help.
The presumption of guilt
until proven otherwise has
reawakened my lingering fear that
Muslims, for all our apologies,
will always be perceived as
Europes integrated aliens.
In the past, I have bristled
at the lengths taken to humanise
Muslims in the press the
articles that xate on the fact
that we can enjoy high fashion
or nice food, as if shared
materialism were denitive
proof that we really are
just like everyone else.
Yet, the response to the events
in Westminster have made
me drop the cynicism. In an
age of febrile, identity-driven
politics, the task of de-vilifying
Muslims has a long way to go.
And, in an age where we are
told to embrace British values,
there are few things more British
than saying sorry for something
that is not your fault.
mehreen.khan@ft.com;
@MehreenKhn
Robert Shrimsley is away
Reply
Re: Leslie Hooks Running out of
road (April 1/2). We already have
self-driving planes only take-o
and landing are intermediated by
humans. And oil tankers and other
similar vessels are self-driving,
piloted in port but not on open seas.
The truck-stop towns will shrink
with the arrival of self-driving
trucks, its true. The same happened
when the post-chaises and coaches
were replaced by the railway in the
1820s. Its what happens if you are
Freedom) 4. Venice 5. Miami Vice 6. The Girl from Ipanema 7. Malibu 8. Juno (D-Day beach) 9. Newport 10. Palm Sunday Picture quiz Dan Snow + Lucille Ball = Snowball
dependent on a single industry and
Quiz answers from page 45. The link was names of beaches 1. South Korea 2. The Copacabana 3. Long (The Long Goodbye, Long Days Journey into Night, Long Walk to
have no other reason to exist.
Nobodys found a cure for that, yet.
manticore Via FT.com
@PhotoLondonFair Apr 1
Great piece by Liz Jobey on the
mischievous Peter Mitchell loved his
show @rencontresarles last summer
Simon Kuper sums it up (Cold war
spies: the sequel, April 1/2).
Western institutions and political
elites have been completely cap-
tured by either foreign billionaires
or domestic billionaires, and this
process began several years ago.
What has now changed is that you
have rightwing, populist politicians
(Trump, Le Pen etc) who are openly
courting them, knowing that there is
no societal momentum to do any-
thing about it. When the pressure
intensies, they can throw their
ignorant supporters the red meat of
scapegoating and blaming those
Muslims, Mexicans and immigrants.
Interesting time to be alive.
Newbie Via FT.com
Im afraid Robert Shrimsley (Das
Kaffee, April 1/2) has exposed
himself to coee acionado snob-
bery. The AeroPress almost cer-
tainly produces a better cup than his
automatic machine. A good home
set-up would cost more than 3k.
I blame the success of the third-
wave coffee movement and the
olfactory and gustatory revolution it
brought upon us. For what it is
worth though, ultimately, de gustibus
non est disputandum.
Dieuetmondroi Via FT.com
To contribute
Please email magazineletters@ft.com. Include
a daytime telephone number and full address
(not for publication). Letters may be edited.
FT.COM/MAGAZINE APRIL 8/9 2017

Some 208 million posts
have been hashtagged food
since the photosharing app
launched in 2010. No wonder
restaurateurs are placing
such a premium on pretty
and pink. By Natalie Whittle.
Photographs by Luke & Nik
12
FEEDING
INSTAGRAM
L
eonid Shutov pulls out his phone. Its just
past breakfast in London, and he is sip-
ping an espresso at a green banquette
inside Bob Bob Ricard, his restaurant on
the corner of Upper James Street and
Beak Street in Soho. This is the kind of
place that, like fabulous wealth or a bad hangover,
isnt seen much before lunchtime. Its too delicate.
The walls are lined with chiyogami bookbinding
papers imported from Japan, a dappled pattern of
silver cranes flying across an ink-blue night. At each
table there is a button in which capital letters spell
out: PRESS FOR CHAMPAGNE. A huge blousy
bouquet of pink flowers overwhelms the bar, where,
later on, theyll be serving fine vodkas at -18c.
What the 50-year-old restaurateur, in his cheer-
ful accent (half native Russian, half adopted
English), opens up Instagram to show off is a photo
of a drinks coaster. Just this morning, I was looking
at someone in San Francisco posting a picture of one
of our coasters, he says proudly. In the comments
underneath the post, Shutov notes, somebody else
had deduced from the coasters livery that it was
from Bob Bob Ricard. BBR has a light gold, art
deco logo that adorns much of a meal here, from the
plates to the menu to the coaster to the billfold.
Theres a value of having someone be able to recog-
nise that. If you search on Instagram by London
restaurants and food, a lot of beautifully executed
shots come up on fine china but youd be hard
pressed to say where they were without looking at
the geotags to identify them easily.
FT.COM/MAGAZINE APRIL 8/9 2017
FT.COM/MAGAZINE APRIL 8/9 2017 13
 Food is a great feeder of Instagram some 208
million posts have been tagged on the photosharing
app with the food hashtag since it was founded in
2010 and, for a restaurant like Shutovs, it is a
branding opportunity. The photographic revolu-
tion sparked by the modern mobile phone and its
inbuilt camera means that a large number of con-
sumers arrive with a nuanced understanding of
what might make an appealing image on a forum
such as Instagram. Increasingly, as the social
sphere becomes more crowded, the challenge for a
restaurateur is to anticipate the customers visual
tastes correctly to create tables, dishes and set-
tings that are photographs waiting to happen.
Shutov almost always uses pictures on his restau-
rants Instagram feed that customers have taken
themselves. It creates a flattering reflection of the
good times people have at BBR, while also reinforc-
ing the graphic identity of what is a relatively small
restaurant with 176 covers, best known for those
PRESS FOR CHAMPAGNE buttons and the gallons
of fizz it drinks through as a result more than
3,000 bottles in a slow month, Shutov says. We
absolutely love social media as far as restaurants
go, its the great equaliser. Its amplified word of
mouth. You cant distort it easily but it allows you
to bypass a lot of the conventional media. Stories
that wouldnt be big enough to make it on to con-
ventional media will flourish on social media, and
thats very important to us.
Which is why Shutov, who founded an advertis-
ing agency in Russia that he sold in 2007 to Ogilvy,
and opened BBR in 2008, has just invested an
undisclosed sum in making his restaurant more
Instagrammable. That means whiter plates, clearer
logos, pretty photo-catching new dishes such as
chicken Kiev in a bonnet shape, truffled fries and a
goats curd and beetroot starter that looks like a
Parisian petit four. We always had people photo-
graphing the table when its filled with food, Shutov
notes, with the Beef Wellington and Chocolate Glory
popular choices, however, as soon as we changed
to new plates, people got excited; we know weve
done something right.

I
nstagram began with a yellow fluffy dog at a taco
stand in Mexico. The first image on the photo-
sharing app was taken in Todos Santos by its co-
founder Kevin Systrom, of a Labrador lying
winsomely at his girlfriends feet. After being
uploaded to a test site, the photo and Instagram
went live in October 2010. The rest, Systrom said,
is history people flocked to the idea of retro
square-format photos that could be processed on
their phone through different filters and edited for
effect, creating public albums of whatever a person
wanted to show from their life (barring full nudity).
Now Instagram is much more than that: a plat-
form for businesses in fashion, food and media to
net new interest in their products, to play with
brand identity and to make instant impact when
they need to refresh a corporate image thats going
stale. Not every brand uses it well, but Instagram
counts 600 million monthly active users worldwide
and was sold to Facebook for $1bn in 2012. Last year,
to keep pace with the more youthful aesthetic of its
rival Snapchat, it introduced Stories, a feature that
enables users to upload snippets of video and photos
that theyve taken in the past 24 hours, which then
disappear after a day a little self-dissolving diary
that is like an extra window into someones life. Like
much of Instagram, it can become addictive.
This allure is part of what makes hospitality
designers now include Instagram in their thinking
right from the drawing board. Afroditi Krassa,
who has her own design studio based in London,
has worked for clients from Heston Blumenthal to
Curzon Cinemas. She has been in the industry for
15 years so, like the original interior of Bob Bob
Ricard, her experience pre-dates the explosion of
social media. Should Instagram be part of the
modern restaurants strategy? One hundred per
cent yes, she says, sitting in Bala Baya, the
Bermondsey pitta caf-bar she designed and
invested in. Housed in a converted railway arch, it
has an open kitchen, white marble counter and a
huge chandelier hanging from the Victorian brick
ceiling. Over the days lunch special of orange-
and-harissa fried chicken in fresh-made pitta
wraps, Krassa explains her view of social media
and its role in hospitality marketing: Its still
word of mouth but the mouth is Instagram.
Hoteliers were ahead of the game they sell their
product through photos. They were the first to say
five or six years ago, How would this photo-
graph?. In food, the first [to use social media]
were not luxury restaurants but casual street-
food places with a younger audience.
Every little detail counts and, as an example
of how minutely considered restaurant design can
become, she cites the Mexican eatery chain
Barburrito, which has 14 outlets across the UK.
There is an obsession with photographing the
burrito in foil. People make shapes with the foil
and so it has branded the foil. When you look at
Instagram posts from people eating out, she adds,
90 per cent of the photo is food, not the space.
Hence the branding on a foil wrapper can become
important, and why the size of the plates, the
colour of the glasses all matter. I see the table as
an artist would a canvas. If you want to get people
taking photos from outside the restaurant, you
have to create something out of the ordinary
what Krassa calls kerb appeal. In Soho, she
designed the Greek grill Suvlaki and with a rela-
tively small budget she struck on the idea of
painting a Greek poem on to the restaurant faade.
And so Ithaca by CP Cavafy, about a craving and
longing for a sense of home, often pops up on
social media in pictures of the restaurant.

14 FT.COM/MAGAZINE APRIL 8/9 2017

 Clockwise from
far left (all pictures
taken at Bob Bob
Ricard): a selection
of dishes including
pork belly pyramid,
truffled fries and
minted peas; a
celebratory cake;
Leonid Shutov;
goats curd and
beetroot cake; a
floral display

We absolutely love social

media as far as restaurants
go, its the great equaliser
LEONID SHUTOV, BOB BOB RICARD

Ali Busacca, head of community at Instagram for

Europe, Middle East and Africa, says that the Italian
restaurant Pietro Nolita in New York is another
venue that was very vocal about keeping
Instagram in consideration when designing the
space; its entirely pink, and people were IG-ing it
[shorthand for Instagramming] before it was open.
So-called millennial pink is the colour of the
moment. Sketch in London is another predomi-
nantly pink restaurant that pops up a lot on
Instagram, Busacca says, but she also notes that
there is a move away from the obvious and con-
trived on Instagram, and the apps users are starting
to change the way in which they photograph food
and social food occasions. Weve seen a shift from
ordered tables and menus to an over-the-top and
chaotic style, with an explosion of colour, and tables
filled with plates. Its more family style and congen-
ial, flatware is mismatched.
For the past few years, this was not the prevailing
style of food photography on Instagram accounts
such as Symmetry Breakfast, which shows over-
head shots of perfectly matching breakfast portions,
epitomised a technique that came to be known as

FT.COM/MAGAZINE APRIL 8/9 2017 15

 Top and below:
truffled fries;
Beef Wellington
Every time people are at
a restaurant they eat with
their phones first its a
common theme now
FAH SUNDRAVORAKUL, SHUANG SHUANG
the flat lay an aerial view of an invariably
enviable lifestyle. It was easy enough to achieve, if
you were prepared to get the necessary height on
your shot of a cafs latte art by standing on a chair.
But nowadays it has become unfashionable to be
too overt about your social media activity over a
meal. Six, seven years ago, people had cameras the
size of a small car; it made it a lot more disruptive,
Shutov says. Taking a good photo on a phone is
easier; ultimately, people want to take the photo as
quickly as possible and then move on.
Fah Sundravorakul, a restaurateur who runs
hotpot specialist Shuang Shuang at the edge of
Londons Chinatown, says: Every time people are at
a restaurant they eat with their phones first its a
common theme anywhere now. At the moment
Instagram is not showing any signs of slowing down.
The photosharing site can be a stranger to itself
in this regard; a community of users that is as
unpredictable and faddish as a community in any
sphere, with trends that can cross continents.
Things bubble up quickly and spread quickly,
says Busacca. The Freakshake [a milkshake piled
high with cookie chunks and whipped cream] is a
16
good example, as it started in Australia in August
2015 and then made its way to London. Out of New
York there is a trend called unicorn lattes a light
blue-violet concoction of sugar and wellness ingre-
dients sprinkled with fairy dust. Its a whimsical
approach to food.
Sundravorakul is preparing to bring the rain-
drop cake to Yamagoya, the ramen pop-up above
Shuang Shuang. The raindrop cake is a water jelly
served with soybean powder and brown sugar
syrup an Instagram hit in New York but a
Japanese creation from Yamanashi prefecture. Im
100 per cent sure [customers] would take a picture
of it. The raindrop cake is a social phenomenon
Stateside, so it will be interesting to see if it has the
same effect here.
L
eonid Shutov travelled to the Czech
Republic to find a factory that could make
his new titanium crystal glassware for the
right price; its an important cost to keep
as low as possible, since glasses get broken
every night at BBR, and a few also find
their way out the door in customers bags. As
markets are getting more international, in a way
sometimes the internet is making things harder to
find because youre trying to access things that are
different. So we focused on creating things that
were bespoke. We are very conscious that the
unique look that we have gives us a very strong
presence on Instagram Its an endorsement of
your design if its so desirable that people want to
have it. (The Richard Caring-owned Mayfair
restaurant Sexy Fish has anticipated this impulse
too with a message on the underside of its chopstick
rests: Stolen from Sexy Fish an eminently
Instagrammable picture, naturally.)
Mid-market restaurants are getting a lot more
competitive, says Shutov. They are able to
emulate what high-end restaurants can do; if you
expect people to see you as a step above, you need
to give them a distinctive reason why it is so. The
mid-market is very good at picking up on big design
ideas and doing it convincingly.
His new plates were made from bone china by
Wedgwood, whiter than normal porcelain, with
greater contrast. They fired samples for us and we
looked at all the different lighting settings that we
have. Like Pietro Nolita and Sketch, BBR also has
its splashes of pink, but its a complicated relation-
ship because strong colour competes with food,
Shutov says. On arrival the whole table is com-
pletely pink. Whereas when the food starts to arrive
theres a lot more white and gold; pink remains on
bread plates, accent plates and little underplates for
side dishes. Theres been a lot of trial and error.
Sometimes you think, What have I done?
What Instagram has done is create a market-
place for everyday visual ideas, but its
underwritten by the complexity of social impulses.
Why do people want to share photos of their food?
One answer emerges from the mini-birthday
gateau with sparkler that Bob Bob Ricard offers as
a complimentary cake for anybody celebrating
its very West End musical. You want to make it a
memorable experience. And if it makes you want
to photograph, its probably special. Whether
Instagram is making food taste any better is yet to
be seen.
Natalie Whittle is associate editor of
FT Weekend Magazine
FT.COM/MAGAZINE APRIL 8/9 2017
Waves crashing
against the rocks of
Gjgv. Located on
the north-eastern
tip of Eysturoy, this
small village is one of
the most picturesque
spots in the Faroe
Islands. With fewer
than 50 inhabitants,
Gjgv is named after
the 200-metre-long
gorge that runs
from the village into
the ocean

THE
RESTAURANT
AT THE
EDGE OF
THE WORLD
Bleak, isolated, windswept and
barren not many chefs would
choose to run a restaurant on
the Faroe Islands. Yet one young
man who does using only
local ingredients for his dishes
has just won a Michelin star

Words and photographs

by Robbie Lawrence

19
20 FT.COM/MAGAZINE MARCH 2/3 2015
 Facing page: Right: during the
skate with peas, winter period,
sandseaworth and which stretches from
blue mussels October until late
March, it is almost
Left: Leif Hj of fish impossible to grow
supplier Fofish holds vegetables on the
up a stingray from Faroe Islands. Farmer
the mornings catch. Jannes Johannessen
Operating out of Mistovuni has
Runavk, a small fishing countered this by
town situated towards setting up a small
the south of the island, greenhouse system
Hjs fleet of longline on his estate. Koks
vessels are Koks receives a regular
primary fish supplier. supply of his
Head chef Poul Andrias vegetables from the
Ziska says Fofishs local ferry that braves
reliability is key to the the short, choppy
smooth running of his ride between Sandoy
business, as is knowing and Kirkjubur
exactly where the
fish have come from,
and how they have
been caught

Koks stands at the top of a steep verge leading

down to the coastal village of Kirkjubur, on the
southern tip of the Faroe Islands. Jutting into the
temperamental sky, this understated building,
with its dark walls and turf roof, is the nucleus of
the countrys burgeoning food scene. In late February,
the restaurant was awarded the Faroes first Michelin
star, an accolade that was not only celebrated by the
local population but viewed as a symbol of a broader
shift in attitudes towards fine dining.
For centuries, the harsh climate and isolation of
the islands has made food a precious commodity.
When a sheep was slaughtered, every morsel was
dried, fermented and packed for winter. Driven by a
desire to bring these traditional Faroese processes out
of the home and into a restaurant, Koks enigmatic
head chef, Poul Andrias Ziska, 26, set himself the
daunting task of sourcing his produce entirely from
the islands meagre resources.
Indeed, while the North Atlantic has always been
a bountiful hunting ground for the Faroese, the Left: head chef Above: an exterior
Poul Andrias shot of the restaurant,
storm-battered pastures of the archipelago yield little. Ziska searching for which opened in 2011
To grow vegetables or forage herbs here you have to driftwood down by the
be aware of the verdant parts of the island, and Ziskas Kirkjubur shoreline.
FOOD PHOTOGRAPHS BY CLAUS BECH POULSEN

Inspired by the natural

focus has been to gather a skilled team of foragers, produce that the Faroe
farmers and divers who provide him with the likes of Islands has to offer,
Ziska has made it his
wild sorrel, angelica and sea purslane on a daily basis. mission to research
Karin Visth, the restaurants young sommelier, is and experiment with
keen to emphasise the vital role that these producers the most unlikely of
ingredients. Despite
have played in bringing the restaurant the Michelin having recently
award. Each of them owns a little corner of the star, received a Michelin
star for his ingenuity,
she says. Ziska aims to raise
the bar further with
Koks is open from April 11 to September 2017. this years menu

For more information, visit www.koks.fo

FT.COM/MAGAZINE APRIL 8/9 2017 21

22 FT.COM/MAGAZINE MARCH 2/3 2015
 Below: farmer with local beer.
Jhan Dvur The texture of the
Joensen displaying meat is much like
mould-covered Parma crudo but it
lamb shanks of rst, takes a couple of
which are stored helpings to get used
in vented wooden to the extremely
sheds over winter. pungent flavour.
Once ready for According to Koks
consumption, the chef Ziska, Joensen
chef will wash the provides the best
meat, cut it into small rst on the island
chunks and serve
Below: Jannes
Johannessen
Mistovuni, whose
family have farmed
the island of Sandoy
since the early 15th
century. He is part
of a collective of
local producers who
supply Koks with
vegetables such as
potatoes, carrots,
leeks and cabbage.
While Johannessen
has enjoyed his
career, he has actively
encouraged his
children to seek other
occupations and
believes that when
he retires, the long
tradition of farming
in his family will
come to an end

Facing page: farmer Above: the Faroese Below: Jannes

Jhan Dvur Joensen delicacy rst semi- Johannessen
takes a walk over dried and fermented Mistovunis flock
the turnip patch at mutton on a bed of sheep huddle
the bottom of his of reindeer lichen together against
garden. Joensen is with mushroom cream an incoming spring
predominantly a and elderberries storm. First brought
sheep farmer. His to the islands in
farm, located next the ninth century,
to the great waterfall sheep have played
of Gsadalur on an integral role in
the west side of Vgar, the survival of the
is brutally exposed Faroese people.
to the raging winds They are allowed to
of the Atlantic, roam free and can
which regularly often be seen calmly
batter his fields with grazing on the most
torrential downpours vertiginous of cliff
edges. Hardened by
the brutal conditions
of the North Atlantic,
the native breed
is stocky and
thick-coated

FT.COM/MAGAZINE APRIL 8/9 2017 23

 Observations
by Jonathan Meades
To catch a
culinary thief
The writer and former restaurant critic has
created an anti-cookbook a collection
of recipes inspired by other peoples ideas.
Here, he interrogates himself about why all
cooking is a form of plagiarism
24
I am not out to make
friends. The dishes are ones
that please me. The only
criterion for inclusion was
that I have at some time
or other cooked them
Jonathan Meades
The Plagiarist in the Kitchen couldnt that title
be applied to countless cookbooks?
JM
It could. But it isnt. The majority of authors of
such books decline to admit their thefts and
borrowings. I guess that they reckon they can
get away with them though they are sheerly
obvious. Youd think that the public would see
through it.
JM
Are you really celebrating plagiarism? After all,
the etymology takes us back to kidnapping.
JM
Etymology, schmetymology. The Roman
epigrammatist Martial did not dierentiate
between stealing children or slaves and lifting
from someone elses literary works. I do tend
to dierentiate. Im not so much celebrating
culinary plagiarism as suggesting that its
inevitable, even when we dont know we are
stealing. We all suer cryptomnesia, the
delusion that we have invented something
which we havent.
JM
Is that what you mean when you say that
cookbooks feed o cookbooks?
JM
Precisely. You read a recipe or, more likely,
a description of a dish, forget about it then
months, or even years later, attempt to cook it.
A triumph. Save that Escoer did it a century
ago. On a dierent, baser level, cookery
columnists nick each others work and
disguise their sources with dierent degrees
of success.
JM
Your contention that cooking is at best a craft
is faintly patronising to chefs, I mean.
JM
I quote Gore Vidals dictum that craft must
always be the same, art must always be
dierent. I dont necessarily agree with those
stipulations. But however you put it, its a
matter of dierent categories. One might
equally say that craft has a duty to be useful
while art doesnt. Art should engage at a level
that no craft can ever attain. Of course these
Illustrations by Anna Wray
FT.COM/MAGAZINE APRIL 8/9 2017 FT.COM/MAGAZINE APRIL 8/9 2017 25
 Observations
by Jonathan Meades
are counsels of perfection Both are generally
found wanting.
JM
By fessing up to multiple thefts, a lifetimes
thefts, youre dismissing your colleagues and
smugly presenting yourself as a gure of
culinary probity. The prig in the kitchen.
JM
Thats the rst time Ive been called a prig:
I dont like it. The French for a knuckleduster is
une poigne amricaine. Remember that.
Im not embarking on a career as a cookery
writer. Im not a pro. This is the only such book
I shall write. Colleagues? I know very few people
who have written cookbooks. And I hardly
regard them as colleagues. I admire some more
than others. I tend to admire those who can
write rather than those who provide mere
blueprints for dishes. But I feel little
commonality with them... I am no more likely
now to become a member of the Guild of Food
Writers or any other chapter than I was during
the decade and a half when I wrote about
restaurants. Im not a joiner.
JM
Very few of the recipes you include derive
from that decade and a half. You wrote mainly
about London restaurants. Yet theres a bias
towards Europe...
JM
Approximately half the restaurants I wrote
about during that period were in London,
a quarter in the rest of Britain, a quarter in
western Europe, America and Argentina.
The inuence of London is greater than might
be immediately apparent. London looks
outwards and will continue to do so despite
Ingerlandlands wanton self-harm. It is
unconstrained by culinary tradition. It is,
collectively, a magpie nicking from everywhere,
I tend to admire those
who can write rather than
those who provide mere
blueprints for dishes
26
mostly from Europe, evidently. So I am,
I suppose, in that regard a typical Londoner,
even though I havent lived there for 10 years.
JM
Theres little indication in the recipes that you
live in Marseille.
JM
Marseilles repertoire goes far beyond
bouillabaisse and pieds et paquets. The former is
a restaurant con, the latter (lambs tripe and
trotters) is not to be attempted at home. Or,
rather, not in my home, much as I like them. An
Italian inuence is everywhere apparent. The
pizza, ofter close to a tarte ne, is generally
better than Napless. Again, it is not a dish for
the home. The same goes for couscous. It wasnt
my intention to folklorically link dishes to
places. As I make clear, the best cassoulet Ive
had was not in the south-west but in Paris.
Dishes are necessarily international like
people, they migrate. Theresa Mays If you
believe you are a citizen of the world you are a
citizen of nowhere is the assertion of a half-wit.
JM
Isnt that just a bit boorish? Only to be expected
though: there are numerous instances
throughout the book of bloody-mindedness,
contrarian swagger, provocative dicta and so on
which are designed to draw attention to yourself
and infuriate your readers should you be so
lucky to have any.
JM
Some may be infuriated, others not. And who
else should I be drawing attention to? I am not
out to make friends. I dont have the entertainers
or politicians creepy yearning to be liked. The
dishes are ones that please me. The only criterion
for inclusion was that I have at some time or
other cooked them. Nothing new, then. It meant
I had, for instance, to relearn sous, which
I hadnt made for years. The short digressions
on plagiarism, inuence, appropriation and the
various layers between them are, again, squibs
and jests that please me. The subject is
fascinating but not so fascinating that Id want
to undertake a detailed study of it.
The Plagiarist in the Kitchen is published
by Unbound on April 20 (20). Recipe overleaf
FT.COM/MAGAZINE APRIL 8/9 2017
 Observations
by Jonathan Meades

Cassoulet

This is one of the worlds great dishes. It should lunchtime, well, there was something dierent
be approached with seriousness. But not with about it. The parts were there, the whole wasnt.
undue reverence. There is no true way. There is Yes, the recipe seemed to be the same but
no denitive inventory of ingredients. There is cooking is about more than recipes. Even
no immutable method. There are schools and though I knew the answer I asked a waiter:
schisms and bickering factions, often within the Is M Faussat no longer here?
same cook. My ideas have changed over the He has moved on.
years, largely because indisputably the best Thats a shame.
cassoulet I have eaten was indisputably No, no. Now we have M Godiard.
incorrect; that is, incorrect according to the Evidently.
prescription I had then long adhered to. I still advise against tomato and carrot, on
In the mid-Nineties I drove for more than a grounds of colour as much as anything, but am
week round the cassoulet belt of south-west won round to lamb, just so long as Dutournier or
France in an attempt to nd the cassoulet that Faussat (whose own restaurant La Braisire is in
dened cassoulet. The one. This was a daft idea the 17th arrondissement) is cooking. Another
that turned out to be a dismal failure. Version self-imposed rule is no smoked meat. It is a dish
after version lurched between mediocre and that should be cooked in large quantities. This
moderate. Many of the guilty parties were recipe is for about 12 people.
big-name restaurants. This wasnt like ***
Marseille, where bouillabaisse turns out to be an
Step 1 sausages in duck fat for
Occitan word for we seen you coming. There 1.5kg haricot beans 10 minutes at 150C. Add
was no scam involved, just repeatedly torpid, Tarbes, Arpajon and the onions and cook for a
tired, approximate cooking. Soissons are the best further 10 minutes so they
Pork rind soften but dont brown.
Nothing began to approach even the foothills 2 onions stuck with
of the cassoulet at Alain Dutourniers Au Trou cloves Step 3
Pork rind
Gascon, 700km north in the 12th arrondissement 1 head of garlic
2 litres stock
500g salt pork not
of Paris, near Omnisport Bercy. If theres a lesson belly, a leaner cut 10 cloves garlic
here it is that best is not to be found on home 1 end of raw ham on 8 confit legs of duck
(take o the bone)
territory. And if theres a second lesson it is that the bone
Breadcrumbs
250g diced raw ham
our prejudices are there to be broken down so 1 large garlic boiling Assemble everything. Put
that we can begin to build a replacement set sausage pork rinds on the bottom
based on empirical observations. Soak the beans overnight. of the vessel. Then a layer
Lamb! Dutourniers recipe includes lamb. Bring to the boil in plenty of beans, a layer of boiled
meats, more beans,
And tomato. And carrot. Heresies, all of them. of water. Discard the
water. Bring to a simmer in roasted meat/sausages,
The second time I went to Au Trou Gascon, more rinds (which add to
fresh water with the other
Dutournier had installed his former sous-chef ingredients. Skim. Cook the unctuousness), garlic,
Jacques Faussat and had himself moved on to for 90 minutes. Discard beans, confit and so on.
Distribute the ingredients
his swankier Carr des Feuillants. Faussat was the pork rinds, onion and
evenly. Add the beans
garlic. Do NOT discard the
as good as his master. I must have eaten his liquid. Chop the meats cooking liquid and stock. A
cassoulet three or four times. Then one into 4cm 4cm dice. cassoulet should be quite
liquid. Sprinkle the top
Step 2 with breadcrumbs. Spray
Toulouse sausages or with duck fat. Cook at a low
Italian all-pork sausages, heat, 130C, for 2 hours.
quartered Watch it. Top up with stock
1kg pork loin, chopped if necessary. The folksy
I drove for more than a week into 4cm dice (if you are practice of breaking the
going to include lamb, crust 7 times and pushing
round the cassoulet belt reduce the pork to 500g it down into the cassoulet
and add the same amount is inadvisable because it
of south-west France in an of cubed lamb shoulder) overthickens the liquid.

attempt to find the cassoulet. 4 onions, sliced

This is an edited extract
Roast the pork loin (and from The Plagiarist
It was a dismal failure lamb) and the quartered in the Kitchen

28 FT.COM/MAGAZINE APRIL 8/9 2017

 THE DAIRY
REVOLUTION
Deep in the Somerset countryside,
Polly Russell goes in search of exceptional
farmhouse cheese makers and encounters
the worlds first cheddar-turning robot.
Photographs by Tommy Sussex

Wheels of cheddar at Westcombe Dairy

31
 t is a cold February afternoon and I am watching Turning 6,000 blocks of cheese
wheels of cheese the size of small footstools being

I is challenging. Robots dont get

turned and gently brushed by the worlds first and
only cheddar-turning robot. Tina the Turner, as
the robot is affectionately called, is at the frontline tired and they dont get bored
of cheddar innovation in the UK. Despite the
TOM CALVER, CHEESE MAKER
cutting-edge technology, however, this is not an
industrial food factory but Westcombe, a small
family-run dairy located deep in the Somerset countryside, some 100
miles west of London.
Hours before sunrise, I was driven out of the city accompanied by a
trio of cheese aficionados from Neals Yard Dairy. We were embarking on
a cheddar run, primed to select cheese from the Montgomery and
Westcombe dairies. Our expedition leader was Owen Bailey, senior
cheese maturer at Neals Yard in London, where he has worked for more
than 20 years. Also in the car were Gareth Hewer and Clem Chabert, who Above: cheddar-
work in Neals Yard shops. For my companions, cheese is a calling. Hewer turning robot Tina
joined the company three years ago after a Damascene moment with a the Turner in action
Neals Yard cheddar. It just changed what I thought cheddar was, he Left: turning
says with a sigh. For Chabert, a young Frenchwoman with a background set blocks of
curd during the
in food science, tasting Neals Yard cheese ended a life-long prejudice. cheddaring process
I was one of those awful French people who think only French cheese Far left: the FTs
is good. Then I tried some cheese in the Bermondsey store and two History Cook
minutes later I was asking for a job. Polly Russell

32 FT.COM/MAGAZINE APRIL 8/9 2017

 From top: part
of the cheese-
making process;
Tom Calver at
Westcombe Dairy;
extracting some
cheese for tasting
with a cheese iron

Over the past four decades, Neals Yard has championed British farm-
house cheese, helping to halt a decline that began with the industrial revolu-
tion. Today the business sells 550 tonnes of cheese to retail, export and
wholesale customers. When Randolph Hodgson started the first shop in the
eponymous Neals Yard in Covent Garden in 1979, there were about 100 farm-
house cheese producers in the country, with numbers falling. Fast forward to
2017 and there are more than 200.
Our goal, Bailey explains, is improving British farmhouse cheese. This
simple-sounding aim, it turns out, is fiendishly complicated. The dairies sup-
plying Neals Yard mostly use raw, unpasteurised milk from their own cows.
Flavour and texture can vary significantly depending on cheese-making
skills, a cows diet, changing seasons and maturing facilities. By contrast,
mass-produced block cheddar made from pasteurised, blended milk elimi-
nates most of these variables. This enables a standardised product but the
range of flavours available is more limited.
Neals Yard sells 70 varieties of cheese and cheddar represents a quarter
of its sales. Cheddar is just fundamental to what we do, says Hewer as we
pull into the Montgomery dairy. The Montgomery family have been produc-
ing cheddar using unpasteurised milk since 1911. We are greeted in the farm-
yard by Jamie Montgomery, a third-generation cheese master with a serious
demeanour and Heathcliff looks. Waiting next to Montgomery is Jason Hinds,
a Neals Yard cheese buyer of some 25 years who is exuberant, engaging and,
like the others, besotted with cheese.
Montgomery leads us across a farmyard towards a huge shed 80 metres
square. Inside are more than 6,000 wheels of cheddar, neatly stacked on wood
and metal racks about 18ft high. The smell savoury, musty and dense is
mouth-watering. Each cheese is made using milk from Montgomerys herd
of 200 Friesians. To the right of the entrance stand rows of three-day-old
cheeses, creamy-pink like newborn babies. This is the nursery stage but as
they age, mould covers the outside like camouflage, explains Hinds, steer-
ing me towards the others through a platoon of cheese.
We are due to sample cheddars made in April 2015 that will be ready for
sale in winter 2017. You can tell in a batch which one will last longer, which
will be mellower, which will be less forward, says Hinds as Montgomery
hands out the first sample. Hinds rolls the cheese between his fingers, feel-
ing the texture: This warms it up, helps release the smell. The more senses
you can engage, the better. For the next hour we taste our way through a
month of cheese. Different batches are declared very direct, bouncy,
fruity, brassy and high heels and lipstick. We try one made on April 25
and the otherwise understated Montgomery punches the air with delight.
Thats packed with flavour. Unapologetic! says Hinds with a grin. After sam-
pling some 25 cheeses, Hinds and Bailey confirm which batches they want.

ichard and Tom Calver of Westcombe Dairy, a father

Different batches of cheese
are described as very direct,
bouncy, fruity, brassy and
high heels and lipstick
and son team, are the owners of Tina the Turner.
R Richard manages the dairys herd of 380 cows and Tom
is responsible for making the cheese. Cheddar has been
made on the Westcombes site since 1890 and Richard
joined the business in the 1960s. By the 1970s, the dairy
was buying in milk from 32 other pastures and produc-
ing block cheddar. It was standard, uniform product
made at cost, says Tom. Were really proud about the quality of our milk,
and we wanted to express what we do well. Block cheddar wasnt the way.
The Calvers decided to change tack. We thought, Lets do something
really difficult, so lets do raw unpasteurised cheese! laughs Richard. Soon
after, Hodgson, on the lookout for new cheddar suppliers, paid a visit.
Randolph came down every few months, remembers Tom. Each time, he
would taste the cheese and say, Its good but its not good enough. He mustve
known there was potential because this went on for about four years! Finally,
in 2003, Neals Yard placed an order for Westcombe cheddar.

34

At first glance, Westcombe looks like an ordinary farm with its jumble
of outbuildings and barns. To one side, though, is a modern concrete
faade 80ft wide with stylish arched windows and oak-panelled doors.
Dug deep into the side of a hill, this is the Calvers cheese cave, a project
10 years in discussion that took two years to build. Tom leads us inside,
a distinct bounce in his step. There we find ourselves in a cool room the
size of a tennis court, thick with the smell of ageing cheese. Stacked floor
to ceiling in front of us in evenly spaced rows are 4,800 wheels of cheddar.
We are here to taste cheese produced in March 2015. Tom plunges a
cheese-iron into a cheddar and the tasting commences. As the group
intensely discuss each sample, the atmosphere is serious but friendly and
there are a few laughs too. When I ask Tom to explain the variation
between batches made a day apart, he responds, smiling: Oh thats the
farmer, its definitely the milk. Richard rolls his eyes and laughs.
Before they built the new cave, the Calvers were using an old storage
unit. When youre making raw milk cheese, there are so many variables
and with storage you need as stable an environment as possible, explains
Tom. This is why we decided going underground would be the best solu-
tion because the temperature is constant and we can control humidity.
Encouraged by Hodgson and Hinds, the Calvers visited the Jura region
of eastern France to see the Fort des Rousses. Formerly a Napoleonic
stronghold, the fort was converted in 1997 into a state-of-the-art ageing
facility for 170,000 comt cheeses. The Calvers returned with a blueprint
Buyer Jason Hinds rolls the cheese
between his fingers. This warms it
up, helps release the smell. The more
senses you can engage, the better
for a cheese cave, but that was not all. When we were there, we saw
these amazing cheese-turning robots, recalls Tom. We thought, This
is the future. Wheels of farmhouse cheddar have to be turned every two
weeks to ensure a consistent texture and they are regularly brushed to
reduce the risk of dust mites. To make someone turn 6,000 blocks of
cheese, its really challenging, says Tom. Robots dont get tired and they
dont get bored. Sold on the idea, they commissioned a Swiss engineer-
ing firm to design a bespoke cheddar-turning robot. Richard looks lov-
ingly at the elegant, stainless-steel machine steadily working its way
along a corridor of cheese. People said were getting rid of tradition but
we dont carry cheese on our shoulders across the yard any more, so why
not this? The robot effortlessly lifts a wheel of cheese, turns it over,
brushes it down and replaces it carefully on the shelf.
Cheese tasted and orders placed, it is time for us to leave. As we pull
away from the farm, I ask Bailey about tradition. You can spend too
much time worrying about these words like tradition and farmhouse and
not enough time thinking about how to be a good cheese maker, he says.
A lively conversation ensues and it lasts all the way back to London.
Britains most devoted cheese makers, it turns out, can talk about cheese
until the cows come home.
Polly Russell is a curator at the British Library
and the FTs History Cook columnist
 Rowley
Leigh
Artichoke gratin
T
his recipe, from Richard Olneys Four decent artichokes will
Simple French Food, requires you to prove enough for a lunch
or supper dish for four or
turn an artichoke. I realise that an accompaniment for six.
turning artichokes, or paring The gratin tastes best
away the fibre to leave the heart, warm, half an hour after
may be unfamiliar territory. Most leaving the oven.
home cooks have never bothered
to learn this little skill, either not eating them 125g dry bread, crusts
removed
at all or just boiling the hell out of them and 1 onion
serving with vinaigrette and melted butter. 2 large cloves garlic
Alarmingly, I am not sure if todays chefs can 2 heaped tbs chopped
be bothered to turn artichokes either. On a recent parsley
episode of Masterchef: The Professionals, contestants 4 medium-to-large
were asked to perform the task and most failed artichokes
200ml olive oil
abysmally. It is now possible to buy frozen turned 50g grated Parmesan
artichoke bottoms and if you see an artichoke
pure or soup on a menu it will probably be either 1 Cut the bread into
a Jerusalem artichoke no relation or made small cubes and soak for
with these convenient but inglorious comestibles. 10 minutes in hot water.
When the professionals give up on something, it Drain and squeeze out as
much water as possible
is time for the amateur to pick up the standard. and then chop the bread
It is not so difficult. Except for one thing: into a sort of meal. Add the
the white artichoke heart discolours quickly finely chopped onion,
and will become black if nothing is done
Provenal
garlic and parsley and
about it. Traditionally, one dips it in a vinegar season well with salt and
solution or lemon juice; you can also cook it pepper. Coat the bottom
of a gratin dish (I used a
in a blanc (dont ask: Olney says this produces
providence
30cm oval dish but smaller
one of the characteristic and recurrent will work) with a film of
flavours of international hotel cooking in olive oil.
which the native qualities of the artichoke are
hopelessly perverted) or coat it in olive oil, 2 To turn the artichokes,
as in this recipe. The modern way is to soak you will need two knives,
a large serrated knife and
them in ascorbic acid (vitamin C), which keeps a small, sharp paring knife.
them beautifully white and is pretty much The former is needed to
flavourless. If you dont have any, simply rub cut across the base after
them with a cut lemon and coat in olive oil. you have snapped off the
Many of Olneys recipes were formed from stalk, pulling stringy fibres
his deep knowledge of Provence. This is a out of the heart as you do
so and then across the
simple dish of artichokes cooked with bread, top of the heart to get rid
onions and garlic but it has an addictive of all the top part of the
savoury quality. Olney comments: The artichoke, which is devoid
surface, sides and bottom should form a richly of interest. Then you work
golden brown encasement and within, the away with the paring knife,
layer of artichoke slices should be of a white holding the artichoke in
your left hand and paring
tenderness in their voluptuous and alliaceous away with a rounded
sheath. You cant say fairer than that. action all the green and
fibrous matter around
More columns at ft.com/leigh the artichoke.
36
3 After doing so, cut
them in half vertically and
remove the hairy choke
with a teaspoon. Turn
them so the cut side is
down and cut the hearts,
vertically again, into
half-centimetre slices,
turning them in the olive
oil as you proceed.
4 To make the gratin, lay
half of the bread mixture
tightly over the base of
the gratin dish. Lay the
(seasoned) artichoke slices
on top, packing them
tightly and forming a
single, flat layer, retaining
a little of the oil. Place the
remaining bread mixture
over the top, spreading
it evenly and tamping it
down to make a flat
screed. Cover with the
Parmesan cheese and
then sprinkle with the
remaining olive oil. Bake in
a hot oven (220C) for
15 minutes and then turn
down the heat to 160C
for another 50 minutes,
keeping an eye that it does
not burn.
Wine
Artichokes are notoriously
difficult to match. Olney,
whose wine choices were
precise but occasionally
eccentric, has no problem
recommending a light
white wine from the
Loire Valley with most
artichoke dishes.
FT.COM/MAGAZINE APRIL 8/9 2017
Photographs by Andy Sewell
 Jancis
Robinson
Wine
The Indian wine downpour
I
ts a miracle that Indian wine
exists at all. For a start, the
tropical climate is, shall we say,
unhelpful. Extreme heat and
months of monsoon rains mean
that although all the vineyards are
in the northern hemisphere, they
are forced, by multiple prunings,
into a southern hemisphere annual
cycle a rst rough pruning just
before the monsoons arrive in
May, then a second, more precise
one after the summer monsoons.
The growing season is eectively
from October to March.
With a full range of wine styles,
from zz to a concoction known
as Indian port (about which
Peter Csizmadia-Honigh writes
in his book The Wines of India,
I highly recommend that wine
drinkers avoid it), harvest is
prolonged. Last year, for instance,
the leading wine producer Sula
was picking grapes to make base
wine for the increasingly popular
sparkling wine category from
December 15 and continued right
through until April 10. Its last red
wine grapes had to be pulled o
the vine before the summer heat
shrivelled them into raisins.
Asian wine specialist Denis
Gastin can only think of one part
of Thailand that faces anything
like the same wine-growing
challenges as India, but by no
means all of the Indian wine
industrys challenges are natural.
Prohibition of alcohol is part
of the constitution (although it
is not enforced in all states).
Even the word wine is
negatively charged. So many of
the holes in the wall selling hooch
have been known as wine shops
that the recently reconstituted
national organisation governing
wine production is known with
ne euphemism as the Indian
Grape Processing Board.
The tangle of vague, illogical
and contradictory taxes and
bureaucracy would cripple most
nascent industries. Every state
has its own complicated system
FT.COM/MAGAZINE APRIL 8/9 2017
For wine lovers
in India
Recommended whites
Grover Zampa,
Zampa Soire Brut
2014 Nashik Valley
Grover Zampa, Vijay
Amritraj Reserve White
2015 Nandi Hills
Recommended reds
Fratelli, Sette (any vintage
except 2010) Pune
Grover Zampa, Insignia
2015 Nandi Hills
Drinkable whites
Sangiovese Bianco
2016 Maharashtra
Fratelli, MS Chardonnay/
Sauvignon Blanc
2016 Maharashtra
Fratelli, Vitae Barrel
Fermented Chardonnay
2015 Maharashtra
and levies its own taxes on wines
imported from other states
so, for example, Grover of the
Nandi Hills near Bangalore in
Karnataka, the producer with
the longest history, has merged
with Zampa in Maharashtra, the
state to the immediate north, so
that it can oer wines at better
prices to the lucrative Mumbai
market, also in Maharashtra.
This means that wines carrying
the same label will be dierent in
dierent states but since only
a small minority of Indians have
even tasted wine, that may not
be the disadvantage that it would
be in a nation of wine nerds.
It is presumably the enticing
prospect of the burgeoning
Indian middle class with an
estimated 35 million potential
drinkers coming of age each
year, according to Fratelli, an
Italo-Indian joint venture near
Pune that has lured about 50
wineries, most of them tiny, into
existence. Although India has
As imagined by Leillo
The enticing prospect of
the burgeoning Indian
middle class has lured about
50 wineries into existence
long been a major grower of table
Grover Zampa, La Reserve grapes, the total area of wine-grape
Blanc 2015 Nandi Hills vineyards is about 2,500 hectares
Soma Chenin Blanc not that much more than its
2014 Nashik Valley
English counterpart, whose
Sula Reserve Chenin
Blanc 2016 Nashik Valley
challenges are so very dierent.
Sula Riesling 2016 So unfamiliar are most Indian
Nashik Valley authorities with wine that state
Sula Riesling 2014 ocials require not only each
Nashik Valley separate wine label to be registered
at considerable cost with each
Drinkable reds
Fratelli, MS Red 2015
individual state, but also the
Maharashtra expensive re-registration of brands
Grover Zampa, Zampa every time the vintage changes.
Chene Grand Reserve Another problem is that by far
2014 Nandi Hills Fratelli, Sette 2012 the majority of grapes are grown
Grover Zampa, Insignia (17.94 GP Brands) is a
by smallholder farmers who know
2014 Nandi Hills perfectly respectable
blend of 70 per cent tangy
more about pomegranates than
Stockists on Sangiovese with Cabernet. wine, and are naturally inclined to
winesearcher.com Indias Supertuscan? maximise quantity rather than
39
 quality. The founder of Sula,
Rajeev Samant, inspired by
Napa Valley during his time in
California, is cool about owning
just 5 per cent of the vineyards
that supply the grapes for his
9.6 million bottles a year.
We want to make fruit-forward
wines rather than complex ones,
he said from his newly constructed
La Source de Sula, an ambitious
boutique hotel at his base, a dusty
three-hour drive north-east of
Mumbai. Ninety-nine point nine
per cent of Indian homes have no
corkscrew or cellar, so making
ageworthy wine is a conceit.
Samant must be doing
something right: Sula, close to the
holy city of Nashik and oering
what he calls wine and shrine
tourism, notches up 240,000
visitors a year, he says. He also
claims that the terrace overlooking
his vines, his new reservoir and,
in the distance, the local dam, is
the single place on earth where
the greatest number of people
have had their rst taste of wine.
Samant has introduced Sulafest,
a music festival, and has an
amphitheatre, two restaurants,
a gift shop, a ea market and
plans for a petting zoo.
falls during the growing season,
so all the vines need continuous
MY ADDRESSES
irrigation until they are picked.
The Grover Zampa winery
MANCHESTER
is also in Nashik, but south of ADAM ORIORDAN, POET
the city and a 45-minute-drive
closer to Mumbai. Like the
Gurnani family, who own the
York winery down the road from
Sula, the Grovers see tourism as
an essential part of selling wine
and have just signed a deal to
build a hotel and visitor centre
behind their winery, with views
over their nearest dam.
In the nearest village, Sanjegaon, The bar at The Refuge (above, left), in the grand Principal Hotel on Oxford
I observed two young women Street, is where the citys many tribes collide: drag queens, Cheshire
carrying giant steel canisters of money, Madchester survivors. Run by The Unabombers DJs turned
water on their heads, an old man restaurateurs Luke Cowdrey and Justin Crawford its come as you are
in a white tunic swinging a ask of ethos makes it glamorous and welcoming, as only Manchester can be.
water on his handlebars, a naked
From there its a quick cab ride to Matt and Phreds on Tib Street (above,
child pouring a jug of water over
right), one of the great jazz clubs of Europe. Its where Dickie Greenleaf
himself by the roadside, and a girl
would take the talented Mr Ripley if they were in town for the night.
of about seven tending to a bowlful
of washing. Like Grover Zampas For Japanese food its got to be Yuzu in Chinatown. The gyoza and
vines, they are lucky enough to agedashi tofu are world beating the only place Ive eaten Japanese as
have ready access to water, but its good was on Abbot Kinney Boulevard in Los Angeles. For Indo-Pakistani
so dry here that clothes are hurled food its always the Yadgar Cafe in the Northern Quarter: the aloo paratha
over washing lines all bunched and karela and lamb are stand-out dishes, served by the restaurants
up; no need to stretch them out inscrutably suave proprietor.
to get them dry.
If Im after a little midweek glamour Ill head to Cicchetti off Deansgate,
In Indias major cities, young
with its long marble bar the little sister of San Carlo and Fumo. Its lobster
people can now be seen drinking
ravioli melt in the mouth. If I want a place with more of a neighbourhood
wine in the smartest locales,
feel Ill go to the Rose Garden on Burton Road, run by chef-patron Bill Mills,
even if the habit of combining

N
ashik in Maharashtra,
the most wine-friendly
state, is where the great
majority of all Indian wine
is produced, despite its punishing
climate. Annual rainfall is about
3,000mm (the norm for good-
quality wine production is closer
to 500mm). However, none of it
wine with food is still in its infancy.
But wine is such a novelty for
most Indian palates that I nd
it quite amazing that the wines
I list on the previous page are
even drinkable.
More columns at ft.com/
jancis-robinson
its sleek styling and clean lines designed by his architect father.
Lupo Caff Italiano opposite The Lowry Hotel is the gold standard in the
city for espresso and tiramisu.
For Manchester details go to ft.com/myaddresses
Adam ORiordans debut collection of stories, The Burning Ground,
is published by Bloomsbury; his latest collection of poetry, A Herring
Famine, is published by Chatto & Windus

40 FT.COM/MAGAZINE APRIL 8/9 2017

 Restaurants
Tim Hayward
Breddos, London
T
heres a debate developing
on the American food
scene around cultural
appropriation. Restaurateur
Rick Bayless, for example, has come
under re for his take on Mexican
cuisine. In spite of the fact that hes
been cooking, writing about and
championing authentic Mexican
food for his whole career, he is, not
to put too ne a point on it, a white
guy from Oklahoma. Given our
current febrile political ecology, this
debate will probably move to our
shores and it will be entertaining
to have to rethink everything
from Jamies Italian to Elizabeth
Davids French Provincial Cooking
as covert works of oppression.
I dont think the controversy
will run long here. In spite of our
recent behaviour, as a nation we
remain resolutely multicultural in
our cuisine and its too deep rooted
ever to be unravelled. If you doubt
me, visit Breddos, a taco joint that,
in one A4 sheet of daily-varying
menu, sums up what relaxed, bred-
in-the-bone diversity feels like.
Breddos began as a food stall
run by Nud Dudhia and Chris
Whitney. Back then, it turned out
tacos for vertical eating and all was
as it should be. But going bricks-
FT.COM/MAGAZINE APRIL 8/9 2017
PHOTOGRAPH BY CHARLIE BIBBY
and-mortar unleashed a burst of
chaotic creativity. Walking in, you
can tick o vinyl-and-turntable,
beardy sta and a light dusting of
Mexican-inected art from your
checklist, but then comes the food.
Masa fried chicken arrived
on a taco and was anked and
supported by heritage tomato pico
de gallo and habanero sauce. The
presentation was recognisable as
Mexican but the meat itself was
the purest appeal to the palate a
fat gobbet of the interesting parts,
sealed in a spiced shell, where it
could dismantle itself in a bath
of its own moisture and scent.
Kung Pao pork belly can be an
unadventurous order in a Chinese
restaurant but the soy-heavy
marinade can give bland meats
real depth. Replace some of the
chilli heat with Sichuan pepper,
birds eye chilli and a topping of
chopped spring onion and you
have well, Im not sure. Its not
in the Mexican textbook but now
its too late to kiss Ava Gardner,
it might be the most interesting
thing that will ever pass my lips.
If there was ever a piste at
Breddos we are now a couple of
kilometres o it and losing track
of any useful landmarks. Yes,
thats a tostada under there. They
made it themselves this morning,
like they make all their tacos.
you. Lost and gasping just a little at
Now its too late to kiss between sources of inspiration, the
Ava Gardner, the Kung
theres also a deep understanding
Pao pork belly might be
the most interesting thing
that will ever pass my lips
about as much right to relaunch
the taco as Donald Trump, but they
Breddos
82 Goswell Road
London EC1V 7DB
020 3535 8301
clerkenwell@breddostacos.com
Starters 2.50-6 writer; tim.hayward@ft.com;
Mains 7-20
Chilmole is a Yucatn speciality
made from dried chillies, burned
almost to ash and then ground into
a black sauce, but topped with fresh
shredded Brixham crabmeat, moist,
generous and clearly brought from
the boat at life-threatening speeds.
Bewildering, and close to genius.
The Baja sh taco was possibly
my favourite. Served with habanero
sauce and a hint of white onion on
a bed of cabbage was a single well
lump really of meaty white sh
in a batter that would shame all
but the nest chippies. And if that
sounds a bit coarse there was also
a plate of line-caught wild seabass
and wild prawn served tiradito
Peruvian sashimi style amid
chey dottings of verjuice, ramson
oil, lemon verbena and grapefruit.
And to accompany your mezcal,
sir? Queso fundido is how best
to put this? a tub of hot melted
cheese with a tomato salsa. Its
supplied with nixtimalised potatoes
(think 2mm thick Pringles) the
better to greedily hoick the boiling
cheese into your drooling gob. Its
the perfect end. Youve gone so far
o piste youre eating fondue.
And that is where Breddos leaves
the sheer inventiveness, the mad
avours. Dudhia and Whitney came
from a background in advertising
and theres something of that in
the menu. The shameless itting
easy creativity of the mash-up, but
of their consumers. Its clever to
quote and draw inspiration but
it takes a phenomenal level of
self-condence and courage to
then lead your customers back
through their favourite fried
chicken shack, Chinese takeaway,
seaside shellsh stand, sashimi
counter and chip shop on the way.
I loved Breddos for its complete
inability to understand the rules.
It is true that neither Dudhia nor
Whitney is Mexican and they have
are making amazing food in a city
that clings ercely to a diversity
thats almost unmatched globally.
And if you want to argue that
amounts to cultural appropriation,
good luck with that.
Tim Hayward is an FT contributing
@TimHayward
41
Pariss sweet somethings
By Lindsey Tramuta
PHOTOGRAPH BY CHARISSA FAY
Ptissiers in the French capital
have become fetishists for single
products selling and specialising
in just one delicious temptation
P
arisians approach sweets
as joys that dont need
to be conned to special
occasions. You can
hardly scan a street
without clamping your
eyes on treats of all colours and
sizes, glistening in shop windows
and beckoning impressionable
gourmands. These are the corner
pastry shops of our imaginations,
but they have been joined by a
more modern style of ptisserie
and chocolaterie that plays with
fresh tastes and ideas: blackcurrant
chocolate ganache at La Maison du
Chocolat, perhaps, or Le Lipstick
Pastry fruit-topped almond tart
at Des Gteaux et du Pain.
So what comes after creating
new recipes and ring on old ones?
Specialisation. Not just focusing on
one genre of pastry chocolate
tartes or choux-based desserts
but winnowing the selection to one,
sole dessert. The much-loved
macaron helped pave the way for
this approach. Pierre Herm,
Pain de Sucre and Jonathan Blot
at Acide showed sweet-lovers
that though simple in form, the
macaron had endless possibilities.
Olive oil, vanilla and slices of green
olives; foie gras and chocolate;
white true and hazelnut the
combinations are sometimes
curious but always intriguing.
More recently, Christophe Adam,
clair master of Fauchon fame,
sustained the charge of single-
product shops with Lclair de
Gnie, his wonderland of rainbow
clairs in raspberry passion fruit,
lemon yuzu, Madagascar vanilla or
mascarpone salted caramel.
Popelini, La Maison du Chou and
Proterole Chrie followed, with
recipes developed entirely around
the cream pu. You might say
the cream pus at Popelini have
dethroned the king-of-cute
macaroon. Parisians are beguiled
by the varieties Lauren Koumetz
A caf for chocolate lovers
Michelin-starred chef Cyril Lignac,
whose pastry shop La Ptisserie
has made its mark on the 11th
arrondissement, launched a
chocolate-focused outpost in
2016 his personal contribution
among the phalanx of chefs
working to preserve French savoir
faire in chocolate making. Lignac
devised La Chocolaterie as an
alternative to the jewellery-box
preciousness of most chocolate
shops. Everything here is meant
to be accessible, Lignac says.
People can come drink our
home-made hot chocolate, share
a pastry, read the paper, and stay
a while comfortably. Its designed
to be an everyday caf for
chocolate lovers.
25 rue Chanzy, 75011 Paris;
lachocolateriecyrillignac.com
We have a resurgence of
specialists experts
in clairs, in madeleines,
in meringues
dreams up: coee, rose with cont
raspberries, salted caramel,
pistachio with cont morello
cherries, not to mention the
chou du jour.
Meringues have also found
a space to shine. Lille ptissier
Frdric Vaucamps brought his
shop, Aux Merveilleux de Fred,
to Paris. Credited with popularising
the century-old merveilleux recipe
an ethereally light, layered
meringue mound coated with
sweet whipped cream and
enveloped in coatings from
chocolate akes to caramelised
hazelnuts that originated in his
native northern France, Vaucamps
prepares them in exactly the same
fashion as when he rst began
churning them out in 1982.
Focusing on one thing allows us
to be competitive as pastry chefs.
I used to have a regular bakery, and
le merveilleux always outsold my
other pastries. So not only was it
a smart business move to listen
to his clients but it also allowed
him to dedicate his attention to
perfecting the pastry, thereby
establishing him as the reference.
Vaucamps shops all have
discreet wooden storefronts,
counters in Rojo Alicante marble, a
crystal chandelier over the open
kitchen, murals inspired by
18th-century art. The merveilleux
are prepared in front of customers.
The modern twist lies in the recipe,
far less rich than the original.
As a business, single-product
shops make sense. With a poor
economy, many of us asked
ourselves how we could make
protable what is eectively a
mtier de passion, Jonathan Blot
says. Not only that, but people are
looking for the best, so we
have a resurgence of specialists.
Experts in clairs, in madeleines,
in meringues it is reassuring
to customers.
For sisters Fiona Leluc and
Fatina Faye, the single-product
format t their nostalgia for the
sabl, a shortbread biscuit as tied
to the French identity as the
chocolate-chip cookie is to
Americans. It takes pride of place
at Bontemps, their two-year-old
neo-retro ptisserie, in the form
of bite-sized sandwich cookies
lled with creams avoured with
gianduja, orange ower, lemon,
coee, passion fruit, bergamot
and Madagascar vanilla. We
dont just work with avours
considered traditionally French,
because we love peanut, banana,
mango we listen to our cravings!
Leluc says.
Bontemps has found a loyal
clientele. The adjunct mayor of the
3rd arrondissement, whose oce
is across the street, came into the
shop one day while I was eating
some mini sabls. She said how
proud she was of what the
women had contributed to the
neighbourhood: Their shop is
my antidepressant! she told me.
Mine too.
The New Paris: The People, Places
& Ideas Fueling a Movement by
Lindsey Tramuta, is published
by Abrams on April 18 (18.99)
43
 Games

A Round on the Links The Crossword

by James Walton No 329. Set by Aldhelm
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

9 10

11 12

00

13 14

15 16 17 18

19
All the answers here autobiography by 8. In Roman
are linked in some Nelson Mandela mythology, who is
way. Once youve (below)? the equivalent of the
spotted the link, any Greek goddess Hera? 20 21
4. Bellini, Tintoretto
you didnt know the
and Titian were 9. Whats the
first time around capital of the Isle
Renaissance artists
should become easier. from which city? of Wight (above)? 22 23
1. In 2013, Park Geun- 5. Crockett and 10. In the Christian
hye became the first Tubbs were the calendar, whats
female president of main characters in the more common 24 25
which country? which TV series? name for the sixth
2. Which celebrated Sunday of Lent?
6. The 17-year-
New York nightclub The Across clues are straightforward, while the Down clues are cryptic.
old Helosa Eneida
now in Times Square Menezes Paes Pinto
opened in 1940 at ACROSS DOWN 16 Florida islands
inspired which song
10 East 60th Street? 1 Very busy (6) 2 Big creature with rising stormy night
reckoned to be the
5 Idle, be energy to help out for sailing (8)
second most recorded
3. Which word unproductive (8) tiny creature (8) 17 Unusually fine
in pop history?
appears in the titles 9 Regretful (8) 3 Vitamin A Im taking and tidy spot (8)
of a 1953 novel by 7. Which brand of 10 Maiden (6) in, being grabbed 18 Shook at charge
Raymond Chandler, a coconut-flavoured 11 Winner (8) by article (8) for old port (8)
1956 play by Eugene rum is now owned 12 Two-piece 4 Subjects emotional 19 Barrys worried
ONeill and the 1994 by Pernod Ricard? garment (6) rapport (9) about university
13 No one at all (3, 1, 4) 5 Have fun with an old grant (7)
15 Eye seer, perhaps, without
inflammation (4) working (3, 4, 4, 4)
The Picture Round 17 Skin irritation (4) 6 Very slow head
by James Walton 19 Avoided (8) of governments
20 Pakistani city (6) all confused
Who or what do these pictures add up to? 21 Slowing suddenly about spies (7)
(music) (8) 7 This month
Solution to Crossword No 328
22 Of the grooms incorporated time C O M E L Y A N A U T I L U S

partner (6) for intuition (8) H

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Answers page 10 vessel is sweet (8) S T E E R A G E A S P L E E N

FT.COM/MAGAZINE APRIL 8/9 2017 45

 I
n recent weeks, I have been binge-watching
the Netflix show House of Cards (an
update of the classic BBC adaptation
of Michael Dobbs novel). It is addictive
and compelling, largely because of
the clever dialogue and plot but also
because it sheds light on the presidency of
Donald Trump.
This is not just because the show, which
follows the rise of an unscrupulous
politician called Frank Underwood (played
GILLIAN
by Kevin Spacey), illustrates the grubby
back-room deals often involved in pushing
legislation through Congress, nor because its
themes are familiar from inghting among
(largely) unprincipled politicians, to battles with
terrorism, job-creation schemes, Chinese trade
TETT
wars and so on.
What I found most thought-provoking was that
the dramas portrayal of Washington DC is exactly
what President Donald Trump loves to dene
himself against. If you want to understand why
Trump cant stop tweeting and why his
no-holds-barred statements are so popular
among his base watching House of Cards is a good
PA RT I N G S H OT start. It throws light on the oppositional
symbolism that he has used so well; the way he
Trump, House of has exploited his outsider status to appear as the
opposite of all that is wrong with politics.
Cards and the
Released on Netix in four series between 2013
and 2016, the show was wildly popular when it
aired, not just in America but around the world.
art of being real Its success marked a powerful moment for the
renaissance of television, which has become
much hotter than lm as a creative medium in
recent years.
I believe that the drama almost certainly inu-
enced how politicians have become seen and
discussed by TV viewers-cum-voters. While
House of Cards was not the rst TV programme to
depict the machinations of the White House (and
its plot lines are sometimes extreme), it reected
and reinforced a rising public perception that
21st-century Washington DC is corrupt, selsh
and unconcerned with the lives of ordinary
people living outside the Beltway.
Just 7 per cent of the public believe members
of Congress have high ethical standards, accord-
ing to a recent poll by Gallup a score that placed
them below car salespeople at 8 per cent. Part of
the reason why the series was so popular may be
that it tapped into a pre-existing mood of distrust
with politicians, if not disgust.
So how does Trump t into this? At rst glance,
he might appear to be a natural t in Underwoods
unpredictable world. Indeed, when I walked into
the White House last week to conduct an
interview with the president, I initially had the
surreal feeling that I was on a television set.
Trump spends parts of his day sitting at that vast
wooden desk in the Oval Oce, surrounded by
historic portraits, nervous aides and burlesque
drama, moving about the West Wing just like the
ctional leader.
46 ILLUSTRATION BY SHONAGH RAE
But there is one crucial dierence. Underwood
is crafty, subtle and duplicitous a politician who
has spent years in Congress and is accustomed to
lying in a endishly clever way and cutting shady
deals with rivals, friends and lobbyists while
maintaining an unrued public manner. Trump,
by contrast, operates with a crass, in-your-face
style that gives the impression that he is nothing
like a professional politician. He wears his
emotions on his sleeve (or his Twitter feed).
A cynic might argue that this is an even more
duplicitous pose. Past behaviour suggests that
Trump can be strategic; he knows the art of
blung, double-dealing and playing games with
the truth. But the way he talks and tweets
creates the impression that he is blunt and
upfront, a man of business not politics. And this
gives him powerful symbolic appeal, precisely
E
because he does not adhere to the bland, scripted
clichs of politicians such as Underwood.
ver since the anthropologist Claude
Lvi-Strauss developed the theory of
structuralism, anthropologists have
known that cultural patterns tend to
operate in binary pairs, such as hot-
cold, dark-light and so on. Trumps
appeal to some voters is that he has
used symbols to dene himself against
the perceived status quo.
The White House team is now
grappling with its own dramas and
scandals, and some of the allegations
that have started to swirl around like those
concerning Trumps former campaign manager
Paul Manafort seem as bizarre as any ction. In
time, the public may come to view Trumps White
Frank Underwood is crafty,
subtle and duplicitous. Trump,
by contrast, operates with an
in-your-face style that gives the
impression he is nothing like
a professional politician
House as being as swampy as anything seen on
TV; almost too bizarre to be in a Netix plot line.
But what is fascinating to watch is what hap-
pens next not just to Trump but also to House
of Cards, which returns for a fth series next
month. Thus far, the plot has been kept under
wraps. But if the ctional president Underwood
now undergoes a personality shift, and starts
tweeting in a crass style, the boundaries between
art and life will blur again. All eyes on the Oval
Oce in real life and on screen.
gillian.tett@ft.com; @gilliantett
Read the FTs exclusive interview with
Donald Trump on ft.com
FT.COM/MAGAZINE APRIL 8/9 2017