Inspiration, bite-size news, reviews and great stuff to do
REQUIRED LISTENING
The brilliant wild food chef Harriet Mansell (pictured) is launching season 2 of her weekly podcast, If A Tree Falls. If you’re new to its joys, you’re in for a thought-provoking treat. Each week Harriet heads off to forage, walk and talk with a nature-knowledgable guest. Expect the likes of Amy Jeffs, author of Wild, as well as restaurateurs and even theoretical physicists discussing how they find meaning in everyday life. Catch up with the previous series and listen to new episodes (from Tuesday 9 April) wherever you get your podcasts. harrietmansell.com/podcast →
PUB OF THE MONTH THE BULL, CHARLBURY
thebullcharlbury.com
PUBBY CREDS
In a cute Oxfordshire Cotswolds village, The Bull manages to be a cosy, calming retreat and a lively neighbourhood local. There’s a roaring fire and, outside, a smart semi-covered terrace, as well as comfortable rooms (from £195 room only) if you’re staying over.
THE BOOZE
Interesting craft ciders and beers, including from Deya brewery in Cheltenham, and carefully chosen wines by the glass, such as a Romanian pinot noir. Don’t miss bar snacks like veg with cod’s roe and an epic sausage roll.
THE FOOD
Local ingredients are cooked simply but exquisitely, often over fire. Highlights included scallop with langoustine gravy, muntjac escalope with plum sauce, and creamy leeks in Lincolnshire poacher cheese. The chefs buy whole animals and showcase day boat fish on their daily changing menu. They’ve even started a regenerative farm up the road, with the hope of eventually supplying all their vegetables.
OUT AND ABOUT
Walk through the ancient forest of Wychwood on the doorstep.
COULD YOU EAT INSECTS?
Think you’ll have grubs on your dinner table one day? As part of its Meat The Future exhibition, The Food Museum in Stowmarket, Suffolk, is hosting an event with Nick Rousseau, founder of the UK Edible Insect Association, and insect food distributor Perez Ochieng to talk about overcoming the ‘yuck factor’ around eating bugs. Learn about the history of insect-scoffing, the nutritional and agricultural benefits, and how insect-based products are currently regulated in the UK. 27 April, £18, foodmuseum.org.uk (there are also free daily talks and tours)
IN SPACE, NO ONE CAN HEAR YOU SLURP
Would miso soup help astronauts bowl-dly go where no man has gone before? Space scientists think so and sent some miso to the International Space Station (ISS) to see if
