The fourth of twelve people, men and women, all of whom in their various ways work with food and all of whom are passionate about what they do. It's a truism to say there has been a revolution in food - but these twelve have all taken fresh approaches: all have a sense of rootedness and authenticity. It was a great pleasure meeting all of them: from the lovely Jeremy Lee working in a down-to-earth way at his grand and history-imbued Quo Vadis to the three artisan producers at Spa Terminus: extraordinary people working enormously hard at what they love. Our great thanks to them all.
Hidden away in what appears to be a small garage on a quiet residential street in furthest west London are two beautiful copper stills. From this small and discreet headquarters Sipsmith produce their delicious gin, vodka, supper cup et al. The master distiller behind these spirits is Jared Brown, an erudite east coast American, a historian of drink who combines expansive literary knowledge, practical application and great gustatory enthusiasm. He loves his work - as witnessed by the bookshelves in the distillery, where a thousand dusty bottles of obscure and wonderful aperitifs and digestifs are punctured with 18th century recipe books.
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